Open Concept Charging Cart with Inclined Shelves
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional computer carts are heavy and costly due to their enclosed design, making them difficult to maneuver and requiring significant labor to wire and maintain, especially when one of the charging bricks fails.
Innovation Solution
An open concept computer cart design with a frame, rearwardly inclined shelves, and a forward-facing brick storage area featuring a wiring retention strip and power outlet strip reduces weight and complexity, allowing for easier installation and management of charging tethers, eliminating the need for a separate brick storage area.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional enclosed computer cart design with doors and panels is used, then security and protection of portable computers is improved, but weight and cost of the cart increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the external panels and doors from the computer cart design, extracting the enclosing structure while maintaining the core functionality of storing and charging portable computers. This extraction eliminates unnecessary material while preserving security through alternative means such as supervised access in educational settings.
2Reliability
If traditional enclosed computer cart design with doors and panels is used, then security and protection of portable computers is improved, but cost of manufacturing the cart increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates external panels, doors, and complex locking mechanisms from the cart design. This extraction of enclosing components directly reduces material costs, manufacturing complexity, and assembly requirements while maintaining the essential function of the cart.
3Stability of the object's composition
If bricks are stored in separate brick storage area at the back of the cart, then organization and security of charging equipment is improved, but device complexity and wiring complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the brick storage area with the main computer storage area by providing individual storage bays that can accommodate both portable computers and their corresponding charging bricks together. This integration eliminates the need for separate brick storage and reduces wiring complexity by allowing direct connection between computers and bricks within the same bay.
Solution Approach 2:
The storage bays are designed to serve multiple functions: storing portable computers, storing charging bricks, and providing charging connections all within the same space. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate dedicated brick storage areas and simplifies the overall system architecture.
4Ease of operation
If individual storage bays with charging tethers fed through to each bay are used, then ease of operation for students is improved, but labor required to wire the cart increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent provides power outlet strips pre-installed in each storage bay, allowing bricks to be connected to power immediately upon placement. This preliminary preparation of power connections eliminates the need for complex pre-wiring of individual tethers to each bay, significantly reducing installation time while maintaining ease of student access.
Data Source
AI summary
An open concept computer cart has a frame, a lower computer storage shelf supported by the frame, an upper computer storage shelf supported by the frame, and a forward-facing brick storage area formed vertically intermediate the upper and lower computer storage shelves. The upper and lower computer storage shelves are rearwardly inclined to prevent computers stored thereon from sliding off of the shelves. A single wiring retention strip is formed along a front surface of the open concept computer cart, and a power outlet strip is formed along a rear of the brick storage area. The wiring retention strip has wire retention cutouts formed along its length to retain charging tethers for computers stored on both the upper and lower computer storage shelves.