Modular Scoring and Beverage Station for Tool-Free Toss Game Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Toss games like corn hole, washers, and horseshoes lack convenient solutions for displaying scores, holding beverages, and storing playing pieces, especially in portable and tool-free setups suitable for outdoor and evening play.
Innovation Solution
A modular kit for assembling a scoring station and beverage station, comprising an upright member, scoreboard, shelf structure, and base, with removable components for easy assembly and disassembly, and optional illumination, designed for stability and portability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If a permanent scoring station structure is used, then stability and functionality are improved, but portability and ease of transport deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The scoring station is divided into separate modular components including an upright member, base, scoreboard, and shelf structure. Each component can be independently assembled and disassembled, allowing the station to be stable during use but easily transported by separating pieces when not in use.
Solution Approach 2:
The upright member incorporates telescopic sections that can extend and retract, allowing the structure to be compact for transport and extended to full height for stable gameplay. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction between compact portability and full operational stability.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the upright member is made taller to accommodate scoreboard and shelf, then functionality is improved, but stability and ease of assembly deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The upright member is segmented into multiple telescopic sections that can be assembled in a compact configuration during transport and extended to the required height for functionality. This segmentation allows the tall structure to remain manageable and stable during assembly and disassembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The telescopic design allows the upright member to dynamically adjust between a compact stored height and an extended operational height, maintaining stability at both states while accommodating the scoreboard and shelf structure at the extended position.
3Ease of operation
If tool-free assembly is implemented, then ease of operation is improved, but assembly strength and reliability may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The connection mechanisms are designed as simple modular interfaces between components that can be assembled by hand without tools. The segmented design with standardized connection points ensures reliable assembly while maintaining ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The upright member features self-aligning telescopic sections with integrated locking mechanisms that automatically engage when sections are pushed together, providing reliable connection without requiring tools or complex assembly procedures.
Data Source
AI summary
A multicomponent modular kit for assembling a scoring station for a toss game includes an upright member, a scoreboard adapted to be repeatedly removably affixed to the upright member, a shelf structure adapted to be repeatedly removably affixed to the upright member and to hold cylindrical beverage containers and a base adapted to be repeatedly removably affixed to the lower section of the upright member to stably hold it in a vertical orientation when the scoreboard and shelf structure are affixed to the upright member and the base is placed on a hard essentially horizontal surface. A multicomponent modular kit for assembling a beverage station has the same components as the scoring station except that it may omit the scoreboard.