Modular Console with Self-Balancing Cup Holder for Spillage Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing solutions for organizing and storing personal items on upholstered furniture face challenges such as difficulty in accessing items, risk of spillage, and loss or misplacement, particularly when seated on sofas.
Innovation Solution
A modular console with a tub, spacer guide frame, and removable storage compartments, including a self-balancing cup holder, tray, and snack cup, designed for easy access and stability on uneven surfaces, with optional USB C hub and inductive charging.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If items are placed on coffee tables or TV snack trays, then items are accessible to seated individuals, but items can be knocked over and personal items can be lost among other items
Solution Approach 1:
The console is divided into multiple compartments including a beverage container compartment, food container compartment, and electronic device compartment. Each compartment is separated by partition walls, preventing items from mixing and being lost among other items while maintaining accessibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The cup holder is nested within the beverage container compartment, and the electronic device compartment contains both the electronic device and its associated cord. This nested structure organizes items hierarchically, preventing knock-over risks while maintaining easy access.
2Ease of operation
If open containers are placed on upholstered furniture cushions and armrests, then items are closely adjacent to seated individuals, but spillage risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The console separates beverage storage from the upholstered furniture surface using a dedicated beverage container compartment with containment walls. This segmentation prevents direct placement of open containers on cushions, eliminating spillage risk while keeping beverages accessible through the compartment design.
Solution Approach 2:
The console acts as an intermediary structure between the upholstered furniture and beverage containers. It provides a stable, spill-proof platform that mediates the conflict between needing close access to beverages and avoiding spillage on upholstered surfaces.
3Ease of operation
If personal items are placed among upholstered furniture cushions, then items are closely adjacent to seated individuals, but items can be lost or misplaced
Solution Approach 1:
The console creates dedicated, segmented compartments for different item types: electronic devices in one compartment, beverages in another, and food in a third. This segmentation eliminates the confusion of items being lost among cushions by providing fixed, organized locations for each item category.
4Adaptability or versatility
If a modular console with multiple compartments is used, then organization and storage are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The console uses segmentation into standard-sized compartments separated by partition walls. This modular segmentation provides versatile organization capability while maintaining relatively simple construction using common materials and assembly methods.
Solution Approach 2:
The console compartment serves multiple functions: it stores electronic devices, provides structural support, defines spatial organization, and protects contents. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional separate components, balancing organization capability with structural simplicity.
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
Provides organized storage and easy access to personal items, preventing spillage and loss, while allowing customization and flexibility in component arrangement.
Implementation Method 1
an inductive battery charger for electronic devices is associated with the tray, so that batteries of electronic devices in contact with the tray may be charged
Implementation Method 2
A gimbal ring is joined for rotational tilting movement to the top rim of the cup holder and is joined for rotational tilting movement to the upper frame
Data Source
AI summary
A console for storing personal items has a tub defining an inner volume onto which tub a windowed spacer guide frame defining at least a first window and a second window is removably installed. A tray is removably held within the first window, and defines at least one slot to hold an electronic device. A self-centering cup holder is removably held within the second window. The self-centering cup holder is gimbaled to a frame so that a cup or beverage container held within the cup holder remains stably supported upright notwithstanding movement or canted orientation of the tub and/or the spacer guide frame. Optionally, a snack cup is held within the second window, spaced apart from the self-centering cup holder by a spacer guide. The spacer guide has flaps that splay open to cover a greater portion of the second window as desired. Optionally, the tub is removably seated in a supporting shell. Optionally, a cover for the tub forms a tray table surface, with portions of the tray slidably extendable away from one another to enlarge the tray table surface when the cover is separated from the tub.