Modular Worktop Table With Removable Tiles for Hidden Accessories
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current tables for supporting removable accessories, such as chafing dishes, either have a fixed appearance that limits their use or are aesthetically unpleasing due to exposed cables and require multiple tables for different dimensions, making them difficult to clean and adapt to various purposes.
Innovation Solution
A multiuse table with a removable tile element and steel worktop that can be interchanged, featuring adjustable rod positions for varying accessory sizes, integrated cable management, and modular design for easy cleaning and configuration, allowing the table to be used for multiple purposes while maintaining a clean and adaptable appearance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If the table has a fixed appearance with integrated accessories, then the aesthetic appearance is improved, but the adaptability and ease of cleaning are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The table top is segmented into removable tile elements that can be detached to reveal housings for accessories. This allows the table to maintain a clean aesthetic appearance when tiles are in place, while enabling access to integrated accessories when needed, thus resolving the contradiction between appearance and adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The table design allows dynamic reconfiguration by removing and repositioning tile elements. The transition from a closed aesthetic surface to an open configuration with accessible accessories provides adaptability while maintaining visual appeal, addressing both requirements simultaneously.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the table has exposed cables and apparatuses for removable accessories, then the adaptability is improved, but the aesthetic appearance is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The aesthetic tile elements are extracted as separate removable components from the table structure. When removed, they reveal the functional accessories and cables housed below. This extraction allows the aesthetic elements to be separated from the functional elements, enabling adaptability without permanently compromising appearance.
Solution Approach 2:
The cables and apparatuses are nested within housings that are concealed by the tile elements when in place. This nesting allows the functional components to be hidden within the aesthetic structure, maintaining appearance while preserving adaptability when tiles are removed.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple tables with matching housings are used for different accessory dimensions, then the adaptability is improved, but the device complexity and space requirements are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The table design incorporates universal housings that can accommodate accessories of various dimensions through adjustable rod positions and removable tile elements. This multi-functional capability allows a single table to replace multiple specialized tables, reducing device complexity and space requirements while maintaining adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The adjustable rod positions and removable tile elements provide dynamic reconfiguration capability, allowing the same table structure to adapt to different accessory dimensions and types. This dynamic adaptability eliminates the need for multiple fixed-configuration tables.
4Manufacturing precision
If the table has fixed openings for accessories, then the manufacturing precision is improved, but the ease of operation and cleaning are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The table top is divided into removable tile elements that can be easily detached for cleaning access. This segmentation maintains precise fixed openings for accessories while enabling easy removal of surface elements for cleaning purposes, resolving the contradiction between manufacturing precision and ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The removable tile elements provide dynamic access to the areas around fixed accessory openings. While the openings themselves remain fixed for manufacturing precision, the removable tiles enable easy cleaning operations by allowing removal of surface components that would otherwise obstruct access.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention concerns a worktop (11) suitable for being associated with hollows obtained both in tables and in fixed structures, said worktop (11) having a variable configuration for supporting and inserting removable accessories (12) and a plurality of tile elements (15) in mutual lateral contact in a plurality of openings (14); said worktop (11) comprising a perimetrical frame (13') shaped complementarily to the hollows of said table or fixed structure, said perimetrical frame (13') comprising portions (82) protruding towards the inside of the table which are provided with means for variably positioning rods (13") into the perimetrical frame (13'), which define said openings (14).