Pull-Out Shelf Height Adjustment With Spring-Assisted Locking
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional household appliances with horizontally displacing shelves require users to bend, straining their back muscles and spine, as existing height adjustment mechanisms are either costly with additional drives or require manual effort without precise control.
Innovation Solution
A device with an energy storage element, such as a tension spring, connected to the height adjustment mechanism, allowing precise raising and lowering of shelves without additional drives, featuring a guide for the arms and a locking mechanism for secure positioning, providing a cost-effective and energy-saving solution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a drive mechanism (e.g., belt drive) is used to adjust shelf height, then the shelf can be raised automatically, but additional costs for the drive and its installation are incurred
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex drive mechanism from the system and replaces it with a simple energy storage device (spring) coupled with a guide mechanism. The guide element and guide groove combination provides the necessary mechanical guidance without requiring motors, belts, or complex control systems, thereby eliminating installation costs while maintaining automatic height adjustment functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The energy storage device (spring) is designed to automatically store and release mechanical energy to raise and lower the shelf without external power sources. The guide mechanism self-regulates the movement path, and the locking element automatically secures the shelf at desired positions, making the entire system self-sufficient without complex control systems.
2Device complexity
If manual lifting is used to adjust shelf height, then no additional drive costs are incurred, but the user must exert great effort
Solution Approach 1:
The energy storage device (spring) acts as a counterweight mechanism that stores potential energy when the shelf is lowered and releases it to assist lifting. This counterbalances the shelf weight, reducing the effort required by the user to change shelf height while maintaining mechanical simplicity without complex drives.
3Ease of operation
If a height adjustment mechanism is added to raise shelves, then user strain is reduced, but the mechanism must be precisely guided to function correctly
Solution Approach 1:
The guide element acts as an intermediary component that mediates between the arm movement and the guide groove. This simple geometric interface provides precise guidance through its groove shape, constraining the arm to follow the desired path without requiring high-precision manufacturing of multiple components. The guide element translates complex arm movements into controlled vertical shelf displacement.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables precise and effortless adjustment of shelf height, reducing user strain and operational costs, while ensuring the shelf remains stable and securely locked in position.
Implementation Method 1
an energy store (8), in particular a tension spring
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
An apparatus for adjusting the height of a counter (18) which is guided in a household device by way of at least one pull-out guide (20, 20'), comprising at least one sliding rail (3, 3') on which a counter (18) can be guided and pulled off in a pull-out direction A, a height adjustment mechanism (1) which can be fixed to opposing side walls (21, 27) of the household device, wherein the height adjustment mechanism (1) has two arms (5, 6) which are rotatably fixed to each of the side walls (21, 27) with a first end parallel to the plane of the side walls (21, 27) and which are disposed parallel to and at a distance from each other, wherein two guide rails (2) can be fixed at respective second ends of the arms (5, 6) in a rotatable manner parallel to the plane of the side walls (21, 27) such that the guide rails (2) can be raised from a lower position in the household device into an upper position at least partially in front of the household device, wherein an energy storage device (8) can be fixed to at least one of the opposing side walls (21, 27) of the household device, which is operatively connected to one of the arms (6) fixed to said side wall (21, 27) such that a raising or lowering of the guide rails (2) can be supported by the energy stored in the energy storage device (8).