Portable Sunshade Segmented Frame Design for Large Area and Low Weight
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Solution Overview
Problem
Portable sunshades are often large, heavy, and difficult to set up, while lightweight options lack sturdiness and are ineffective at shielding from sunlight due to reduced size.
Innovation Solution
A compact, lightweight portable sunshade design featuring a backrest member, chair holding member, sunshade member, and connecting member with ratchet mechanisms, allowing for easy folding and deployment, and a modular construction with elastic cords for stability and portability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If sunshades are made larger to provide better sunlight shielding, then the shielding effectiveness is improved, but the weight and portability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The sunshade is divided into multiple sections that can be separated and reconfigured. The frame is segmented into vertical rails, horizontal crossbars, and fabric panels that can be independently adjusted. This allows the sunshade to provide large coverage when needed while being compact and lightweight when folded for portability.
Solution Approach 2:
The sunshade incorporates adjustable and movable components including telescopic crossbars, adjustable fabric panels, and reconfigurable frame sections. These dynamic elements allow the user to expand the sunshade area when providing sunlight shielding and collapse it to a compact form for easy transport, resolving the contradiction between large area and lightweight portability.
2Weight of moving object
If sunshades are made lightweight for portability, then the portability is improved, but the sturdiness and wind resistance deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The sunshade employs pre-tensioned elastic cords and bungee cords that are installed in advance to provide structural reinforcement. These elastic elements are stretched during assembly to create tensile strength that stabilizes the frame against wind loads, allowing the use of lightweight materials while maintaining structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The sunshade uses elastic cords and bungee cords that change their mechanical properties based on tension. When the sunshade is assembled and tensioned, these elements transition from a relaxed state to a taut state, providing increased structural strength and wind resistance while adding minimal weight to the overall structure.
3Volume of moving object
If sunshades are made compact for portability, then the portability is improved, but the ease of setup deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The sunshade incorporates self-adjusting mechanisms including automatic tensioning systems, self-locking connectors, and elastic cords that automatically tighten and secure the structure during assembly. These self-service features reduce the complexity of setup procedures and make the compact sunshade easy to assemble without requiring complex tools or multiple people.
Solution Approach 2:
The sunshade frame sections, crossbars, and fabric panels are designed to nest within each other when folded, creating a compact configuration that minimizes volume. The telescopic and collapsible design allows components to be stored inside one another, reducing the folded volume while maintaining ease of assembly through a simple nesting sequence.
4Weight of moving object
If sunshades are made lightweight with reduced size, then the portability is improved, but the shielding effectiveness deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The sunshade employs a three-dimensional configurable structure that can be expanded in multiple directions. The frame allows vertical adjustment of fabric panels, horizontal extension of crossbars, and angular positioning of sections, enabling the lightweight structure to achieve large shielding area by utilizing spatial dimensions rather than simply increasing material quantity.
Solution Approach 2:
The sunshade uses adjustable and expandable components that allow the structure to dynamically increase its shielding area when deployed. The telescopic crossbars, adjustable fabric panels, and reconfigurable frame sections enable a lightweight base structure to achieve large coverage area through dynamic expansion rather than requiring a permanently large and heavy frame.
Data Source
AI summary
A portable sunshade configured for removable connection to a chair backrest has first, second and third sections removably connected to one another. The first section having a pair of first frame tubes, a pair of first cross tubes, a pair of second cross tubes, and joint connecting the first and second pairs of cross tubes to the frame. The second section is removably mounted to one end of the first section and has a pair of second frame tubes, a first fabric panel supported by the second frame tubes, and a pair of first hinge mechanisms connecting end portions of the second frame tubes to respective first end portions of the first frame tubes of the first section so as to permit the second section to undergo pivotal movement relative to the first section. The third section is removable mounted to another end of the first section opposite the one end thereof and has a pair of third frame tubes, a second fabric panel supported by the third frame tubes, and a pair of second hinge mechanisms connecting end portions of the third frame tubes to respective second end portions of the first frame tubes of the first section so as to permit the third section to undergo pivotal movement relative to the first section.