Portable Table Leg-Brace Slot Assembly for Faster Setup
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional portable tables require significant time and effort to assemble and disassemble due to long bolts or screws, and support braces with lateral slats are prone to fatigue and breaking, necessitating frequent replacements.
Innovation Solution
A portable table design featuring a table top with slots for legs and a support brace with longitudinal slots of varying lengths, allowing for efficient assembly and disassembly, and a configuration where bolts are predrilled into legs for quick attachment to the table top and support brace, reducing assembly time and enhancing structural integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If long bolts or screws are used to attach legs to the table top, then the connection strength is improved, but the assembly and disassembly time increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the connection system into segmented components: the table top is divided into multiple slots, and the support brace is divided into sections with longitudinal slots of varying lengths. This segmentation allows legs to be positioned and secured independently at different locations, enabling quick assembly without requiring long fasteners to span entire distances.
Solution Approach 2:
The support brace is designed with pre-formed longitudinal slots at specific positions and orientations before assembly. These slots are prepared in advance to receive the legs, eliminating the need to create connection paths during assembly. The varying lengths of slots are predetermined to provide optimal engagement for each leg position, reducing assembly time while maintaining connection strength.
2Strength
If support braces with lateral slats are used to reinforce the legs, then the structural support is improved, but the braces become more prone to fatigue and breaking
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using traditional lateral slats that run perpendicular to the legs (which create stress concentration points), the patent inverts the approach by using longitudinal slots that run parallel to the direction of force application. This inversion allows the support brace structure to flex and distribute stresses more evenly along the length of the brace, reducing fatigue and breaking risks while maintaining structural support.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the table top is made rigid and non-flexible, then the stability during use is improved, but the storage space requirement increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the table top adaptable to different states: during assembly and storage, the table top can be flexed or folded to reduce volume; during use, the same table top maintains rigidity and stability when legs are inserted into the slots. The slot design allows the table top to accommodate both flexible and rigid states, enabling compact storage while ensuring stability during operation.
Data Source
AI summary
A table apparatus and method of constructing the same including a table top having a plurality of slots, a plurality of legs, each of the legs inserted into a corresponding slot, and a support brace having a first longitudinal slot and a second longitudinal slot, the first longitudinal slot having a longitudinal length greater than a longitudinal length of the second longitudinal slot. A first leg of the plurality of legs is positioned in the first longitudinal slot. A second leg in the plurality of legs is positioned in the second longitudinal slot. The first leg can have a first bolt, the first bolt positioned to extend through a first slot of the plurality of slots and the first longitudinal slot. The second leg can have a second bolt, the second bolt configured to extend through a second slot of the plurality of slots and the second longitudinal slot.