Pivoting Drying Grid Layout for Hanging Long Laundry Items
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing laundry drying racks with foldable grids are cumbersome to maneuver laterally, making it difficult to efficiently hang long items of laundry without obstructing lower grids.
Innovation Solution
A laundry drying rack design where at least one drying grid can be pivoted or rotated 180 degrees about a horizontal axis off-center, allowing lateral adjustment and temporary vertical positioning to accommodate long items without obstructing other grids.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If drying grids are arranged exactly one above the other, then space utilization is improved, but long items of laundry cannot be hung without obstruction
Solution Approach 1:
The drying grid is made dynamically reconfigurable through rotation about a horizontal axis. The grid can switch between a standard horizontal position for compact stacking and an angled/vertical position for accommodating long laundry items, resolving the contradiction between space efficiency and adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces a new degree of freedom by allowing rotation about a horizontal axis perpendicular to the usual vertical stacking direction. This enables the grid to move out of the vertical plane, creating lateral offset that accommodates long items while maintaining compact footprint when in standard position.
2Device complexity
If drying grids are made fixed in position, then structural simplicity is improved, but lateral adjustment for long items becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
Rather than complex lateral sliding mechanisms, the invention uses simple rotational movement about a horizontal axis. This dynamic transformation converts a two-dimensional lateral adjustment problem into a one-dimensional rotation operation, maintaining structural simplicity while improving ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of moving grids laterally to accommodate long items, the invention inverts the approach by rotating grids out of the horizontal plane. This transforms the problem from lateral displacement to angular displacement, achieving the same functional goal with simpler mechanics.
3Adaptability or versatility
If drying grids are rotated 180 degrees about horizontal axis, then lateral offset is achieved, but grid orientation changes
Solution Approach 1:
The system accepts dynamic reconfiguration of grid orientation as a necessary trade-off for achieving lateral offset. The rotation mechanism allows the grid to adapt its orientation temporarily when long items need to be hung, then return to standard orientation when not needed, maintaining both adaptability and operational stability.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The stand (1) has upper, middle and lower drying grids (2 - 4) arranged in planes lying on top of each other, where one of the drying grids is useable at both sides. A horizontal position of one of the grids is changed relative to another drying grid by rotating around 180 degrees around a horizontal axis (5), where the grid is eccentrically and rotatably supported at the axis. The grids are arranged accurately on top of each other in a drying position, where each grid is horizontally displaced to another drying grid and is temporarily transferred to a vertical position.