Lift-Stabilizer for Portable Sign Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current portable sign systems are vulnerable to damage, theft, and instability due to their design, which includes permanently attached trailers and towing devices, leading to high acquisition, repair, insurance, and operational costs.
Innovation Solution
A separable and deployable portable sign system with a lift-stabilizer apparatus that includes an arm with a pivot at one end for attaching to a sign base and a support surface engager at the other end, allowing for increased stability and reduced footprint, thereby addressing the issues of damage, theft, and operational costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a portable sign system uses a permanently attached trailer and towing device, then it can be transported easily, but it becomes vulnerable to damage, theft, and has high acquisition and repair costs
Solution Approach 1:
The sign system is divided into separate components: a sign assembly and a trailer, which can be detached from each other. This segmentation allows the sign to be deployed independently without requiring a permanently attached trailer, reducing vulnerability to damage and theft while maintaining transportability through separate trailer attachment when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The stabilizer apparatus is extracted as a separate functional component from the main sign structure. It includes a stabilizer arm that can be independently deployed from the sign assembly, allowing stabilization functionality to be separated from the sign body, thereby reducing overall complexity and vulnerability.
2Ease of operation
If a portable sign system uses a permanently attached trailer and towing device, then it can be transported easily, but it has high acquisition, repair, and insurance costs
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the system into a sign assembly and a separate trailer that can be attached or detached, the patent reduces the overall cost base. The sign can be manufactured and deployed without requiring a permanently attached trailer, reducing acquisition costs. Repair costs are reduced because damage to the sign does not necessarily require replacement of the entire assembly with the trailer attached.
3Stability of the object's composition
If a portable sign system uses a separable design with lift-stabilizer, then stability against wind is improved, but the setup and takedown process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The stabilizer arm is designed as a dynamic component that can be rotated between a stored position (parallel to the sign assembly) and a deployed position (extending outward). This dynamic design allows the same component to provide stability when needed while maintaining a compact form factor during transport and setup, reducing the complexity of the overall setup process.
Solution Approach 2:
The stabilizer apparatus is merged with the sign assembly through a pivot connection, allowing the stabilizer arm to be integrated into the sign structure. This merging reduces the number of separate components and simplifies the setup process, as the stabilizer is already attached to the sign and can be deployed without requiring separate assembly steps.
4Ease of manufacture
If a portable sign system uses a separable design with lift-stabilizer, then acquisition and repair costs are reduced, but the structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The separable design segments the sign system into a sign assembly and a trailer, reducing the overall structural complexity compared to a permanently attached design. The stabilizer apparatus is segmented as a separate functional component that can be independently deployed, reducing the complexity of the main structure while maintaining cost-effectiveness.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution significantly reduces acquisition, repair, and insurance costs, decreases susceptibility to theft and vandalism, and lowers operational costs by simplifying setup and takedown processes, while enhancing stability against wind and other environmental factors.
Implementation Method 1
a pivot disposed at a first end of the arm, wherein the pivot has a bottom end with an attachment for a portable sign base
Data Source
AI summary
A lift-stabilizer apparatus for a separable and deployable portable sign which has an arm, a pivot disposed at a first end of the arm, wherein the pivot has a bottom end with an attachment for a portable sign base, and a support surface engager disposed at the second end of the arm.