Outdoor furniture
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Solution Overview
Problem
Beach chairs are underutilized during autumn and winter months as they are either stored or left exposed to weather, lacking functionality and protection from the elements.
Innovation Solution
Designing an outdoor furniture item, such as a beach chair, that can be reconfigured into a sauna cabin, changing cabin, garden shed, or storage space by using two shell elements that can be rearranged to form a closed inner space, providing weather protection and thermal insulation, with optional features like a sauna heating stove and ventilation openings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If beach chairs are stored during autumn and winter months, then they are protected from weathering, but labor costs increase significantly and they remain unused
Solution Approach 1:
The beach chair is designed to serve multiple functions: during summer months it functions as a traditional beach chair, while during autumn and winter it can be converted into a protective covering or cabin structure that shields the chair from weathering. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate storage and protection measures, allowing the chair to remain in place year-round without incurring additional labor costs.
2Reliability
If a tent-like covering is drawn over the beach chair for protection, then weathering is prevented, but an ugly tent mass stands unused in the garden
Solution Approach 1:
The protective covering is integrated directly into the beach chair structure itself, merging the protection function with the chair's aesthetic design. The covering becomes an inherent part of the chair rather than a separate tent-like addition, maintaining visual appeal while providing weather protection during off-season months.
3Reliability
If shell elements are designed to form a closed inner space for cabin functionality, then weather protection and thermal insulation are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The protective shell is divided into multiple separate elements that can be independently assembled and configured. These modular shell segments can be attached to the beach chair in different arrangements to create various cabin configurations, providing weather protection and thermal insulation while keeping the structural complexity manageable through standardized, interchangeable components.
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 the beach chair to be used year-round, offering protection from rain and weather, and can be converted into different functional configurations, including a sauna, while maintaining thermal efficiency and aesthetic appeal.
Implementation Method 1
the first shell element and the second shell element together enclose an essentially closed inner space, in which the at least one seating and/or lying unit is located
Implementation Method 2
the interior is preferably effectively thermally closed to a minimal extent, i.e. with a heat transfer coefficient (U-value) of at the most 10 W/(m2·K), preferably below 5 W/(m2·K)
Data Source
AI summary
An outdoor furniture item (1) includes at least one seating and/or lying unit (3), a first shell element (5), and a second shell element (7). The first shell element (5) and/or the second shell element (7) can be selectively rearranged into a first configuration and into a second configuration with respect to the respective other shell element (7, 5). In the first configuration, the first shell element (5) and the second shell element (7) are at least partly nested in one another. In the second configuration the first shell element (5) and the second shell element (7) together enclose an essentially closed inner space, in which the at least one seating and/or lying unit (3) is located.