Moveable Shield Coupling System for Food Station Airborne Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing food stations lack a flexible and efficient protective enclosure system that allows side panels to be easily raised and lowered, and fixed in multiple positions, which is essential for transitioning between self-serve and served modes while ensuring protection against airborne contamination.
Innovation Solution
A coupling system that pivotably and slideably couples moveable and positionable side panels to a support structure using a slot system, allowing the panels to act as their own counterweight, making them easier to move and deploy, and enabling multiple fixed positions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a protective enclosure with fixed side panels is used, then protection against airborne contamination is provided, but the ability to easily transition between self-serve and served modes is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The side panels are transformed from fixed to moveable, allowing them to be raised and lowered between different positions. This dynamic configuration enables the food station to adapt between self-serve mode (panels raised) and served mode (panels lowered), resolving the contradiction between adaptability and device complexity by using a relatively simple hinge and slot mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The side panels serve multiple functions: they provide protection against airborne contamination when lowered, allow self-serve access when raised, and can be positioned at intermediate heights. This multi-functionality increases adaptability without proportionally increasing device complexity, as the same structural elements perform multiple roles.
2Ease of operation
If traditional fixed side panels are used, then structural simplicity is maintained, but ease of operation for raising and lowering panels is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling system incorporates a counterweight mechanism where the side panels themselves act as counterweights through their interaction with the slot system. As a panel is raised, its weight creates a balancing effect that reduces the force needed to move it, improving ease of operation while keeping the added mechanical complexity relatively minimal.
Solution Approach 2:
The coupling system acts as an intermediary mechanism between the side panels and the support structure. It includes components such as hinges, slots, and bearing surfaces that mediate the movement, allowing smooth raising and lowering of panels while distributing mechanical stresses and reducing the effort required by operators.
3Adaptability or versatility
If side panels can be moved freely, then flexibility in positioning is improved, but ability to maintain stable fixed positions is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The slot system is pre-configured with specific geometric features that guide the side panels to predetermined stable positions. The bearing surfaces and slot geometry are designed in advance to create natural stopping points, ensuring that when panels are raised or lowered, they settle into stable, reproducible positions without requiring additional locking mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The coupling system creates equipotential positions where the gravitational force on the side panels is balanced by the mechanical constraints of the slot and bearing surface geometry. At these positions, the panels are stable and require minimal force to maintain, allowing multiple fixed positions to be achieved while maintaining stability through gravitational and mechanical equilibrium.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides protective enclosures and food and/or beverage stations with these enclosures in which one or more of the side panels are easily raised and lowered and easily fixed in one or more positions as desired. For example, side panels can be easily lowered or closed or easily raised and fixed in one or more open configurations. The present invention is based at least in part on a coupling system that pivotably and slideably couples the moveable and positionable side panels to the protective enclosure. The coupling system uses a system of coordinated slots that cooperatively guide the movement of the side panel in its range of motion.