Glass Ceramic Worktop with Movable Support for Component Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
The use of glass ceramic sheets in furniture units, especially large dimensions, poses challenges in maintenance due to their heaviness and the need for complex dismantling procedures when components require repair, often necessitating a full change-out of the assembly.
Innovation Solution
A glass ceramic sheet-based furniture unit with elements positioned on a mobile support coupled to a safety device, allowing for easy activation and deactivation of components without special tools, enabling maintenance without replacing the sheet, and incorporating a safety device to prevent electrical hazards.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If glass ceramic sheets are permanently fixed with accessories and components, then structural stability and safety are improved, but maintenance complexity and time increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the worktop system into separable modules: the glass ceramic sheet remains fixed for structural stability, while electronic components and accessories are mounted on removable supports or panels. This allows individual components to be accessed and replaced without dismantling the entire assembly, resolving the contradiction between permanent fixation and ease of maintenance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces dynamic accessibility by designing removable supports and interchangeable accessory panels that can be easily installed and removed. This creates a system that transitions from static permanent fixation to dynamic configurable assembly, maintaining structural integrity while enabling simple maintenance operations.
2Area of stationary object
If glass ceramic sheets of large dimensions are used, then functional area and versatility are improved, but weight and handling difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the heavy glass ceramic sheet from the removable accessory components. By separating the fixed structural element (the large sheet) from the movable accessories mounted on removable supports, the system maintains the benefits of large surface area while reducing the weight that must be handled during maintenance operations.
3Ease of manufacture
If components are permanently bonded to the glass ceramic sheet, then assembly simplicity is improved, but component replaceability and adaptability decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a dynamically configurable system where accessories and electronic components are mounted on removable supports rather than being permanently bonded. This allows the assembly to be simple during initial installation while enabling easy reconfiguration and replacement of individual components later, resolving the contradiction between assembly simplicity and component replaceability.
Data Source
AI summary
A worktop or furniture unit, made up of at least one glass ceramic sheet and elements for its operation, at least one of said elements being positioned on a two-dimensional or three-dimensional mobile support coupled to a circuit breaker, so that, when the support is in a first position, said element lies facing one face of the sheet at a distance from the sheet and can be activated, and, when the support is in a second position, obtained by a movement thereof, in which position at least one of the ends of the support is moved by, or lies at, a distance with respect to the sheet and perpendicular thereto and is moved by, or lies at, a distance with respect to its first position, said element is deactivated.