Folding table with locking mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional banquet tables are bulky, difficult to store and transport, and require significant space due to their large size, making them inconvenient and costly to manage, especially for smaller facilities, and they often lack the strength to support heavy loads and are cumbersome to set up and fold.
Innovation Solution
A folding table design featuring a blow-molded plastic table top and support structures that can be easily moved between extended and collapsed positions, allowing for compact storage and transport, with a locking mechanism that simplifies setup and takedown, and a frame with hinge assemblies and cross members that secure the table top in place.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If conventional banquet tables are made with large table tops and folding legs, then the table can be used for large groups of people, but the table requires a large storage area and is difficult to transport
Solution Approach 1:
The table top is divided into two separate sections that can be folded relative to each other. This segmentation allows the table to be folded in half for compact storage while maintaining a large surface area when unfolded for use with large groups, directly resolving the contradiction between storage space requirements and adaptability.
2Strength
If the table top is made from stronger and thicker materials to support significant weight, then the table can support heavy loads, but the weight of the table top increases making it more difficult to manufacture, ship, carry and move
Solution Approach 1:
The table top sections are constructed from composite materials - specifically a lightweight core material (such as honeycomb structure or foam) sandwiched between thinner outer skins. This composite construction provides high strength-to-weight ratio, enabling the table to support significant loads while keeping the overall weight manageable for a folding table design.
3Strength
If multiple locking mechanisms are added to secure the table top in the unfolded position, then the table can support significant weight, but the table becomes more difficult and time consuming to set up and take down
Solution Approach 1:
The locking mechanism is designed to automatically engage when the table top sections are folded together and to automatically disengage when folded apart. This self-service locking mechanism provides secure weight support without requiring manual operation, thereby maintaining ease of setup and takedown while ensuring structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
A latch mechanism serves as an intermediary component that automatically locks the table top sections when folded. This latch acts as a mediator between the folding action and the locking function, providing secure connection without requiring direct manual intervention, thus resolving the contradiction between strength and ease of operation.
Data Source
AI summary
A foldable table may include a table top and legs that are movable between an extended position and a collapsed position. The table top may include a first section and a second section that are connected by a hinge assembly. A locking member may be sized and configured to lock the hinge assembly in a fixed position. Advantageously, moving the legs between the extended and collapsed positions may cause the locking mechanism to move between the locked and unlocked positions. Thus, when the legs are in the extended position and the locking mechanism is in the locked position, the table top may be secured in the unfolded position.