One-Piece Metal Platform for Electronic Scales
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing platforms for electronic scales, particularly in automated scales, are difficult to clean and replace without damaging the weighing mechanism, and their multi-part design leads to manufacturing complexities and prolonged drying times due to gaps, which can affect measurement accuracy.
Innovation Solution
A one-piece metal sheet platform with a support, centering pin, and anti-twist protection that can be easily inserted into a holder without play, allowing for precise alignment and easy cleaning, and a holder with a wedge-shaped groove and receptacle for secure positioning, enabling easy assembly and disassembly without tilting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the platform is made from multiple parts, then it is easier to manufacture and assemble, but it creates gaps that prolong drying time and can affect measurement accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The platform is manufactured as a single integrated piece from one metal sheet, combining the support structure, centering pin, and anti-twist protection into one continuous component. This eliminates gaps between parts, allowing rapid drying after cleaning and preventing measurement errors from residual liquids.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the platform is made from multiple parts, then manufacturing flexibility increases, but the platform becomes more susceptible to incorrect mechanical loading and requires careful handling
Solution Approach 1:
By integrating all functional elements into one piece, the platform achieves superior mechanical stability and resistance to incorrect loading. The unified structure eliminates weak points at joints and connections, making the platform more robust during handling and operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The platform utilizes a composite structure combining a metal sheet base with integrated functional elements (centering pin, anti-twist protection), creating a unified component that maintains both design flexibility and mechanical reliability.
3Ease of operation
If resilient elements are used to fasten the weighing pan, then the weighing pan can be easily replaced, but the weighing pan weight increases and the holder must be accessible in specific directions
Solution Approach 1:
The centering pin and anti-twist protection are integrated directly into the platform structure, eliminating the need for separate resilient fastening elements. This reduces overall platform weight while maintaining ease of replacement through the simplified one-piece design.
4Ease of operation
If the platform is made in one piece from a metal sheet, then cleaning becomes easier and drying time is reduced, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The manufacturing process utilizes metal sheet forming and bending operations that can achieve high precision through controlled parameters. The one-piece construction allows for precise positioning of the centering pin and anti-twist protection during fabrication, meeting stringent precision requirements while enabling easy cleaning.
Data Source
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Figure 4a~4c
Figure 5A~5D
AI summary
A platform for an electronic scale, a holder into which the platform can be inserted, a method for manufacturing a one-piece platform, and the use of multiple platforms and holders in a weighing lift. The platform has a support for a load to be weighed, a centering pin, and an anti-rotation device located between the support and the centering pin; wherein the platform is manufactured in one piece from a sheet of metal and can be inserted into a holder with substantially no play, which has a terminal first coupling point with a wedge-shaped groove for receiving the anti-rotation device and a body in which a receptacle for the centering pin is formed for positioning the platform parallel to the load direction.