Reconfigurable Pet Potty with Automatic Locking Joint
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional indoor pet potty systems are difficult to transport, maintain, and use effectively, often leading to accidents as pets may not properly utilize them, and require extensive training for pets to avoid indoor bathroom use.
Innovation Solution
A reconfigurable pet potty system with a locking joint mechanism that allows easy transition between use and storage configurations, featuring pivot and fixed joints to secure frames in place, minimizing the system's footprint for transport and storage while preventing unintentional configuration changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the pet potty system is designed to be reconfigurable between use and storage configurations, then the ease of transport and storage is improved, but the device complexity increases due to the need for pivot joints and locking mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The pet potty system is divided into multiple frame members connected by pivot joints, allowing the structure to be segmented into collapsible sections. This segmentation enables the system to transition between expanded use configuration and collapsed storage configuration, improving ease of transport while maintaining functional integrity through the joint connections.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates pivot joints that allow dynamic reconfiguration between use and storage states. The walls and base frame can pivot relative to each other, transforming the structure from a static operational form to a collapsible storage form, thereby improving transportability without permanently increasing complexity.
Solution Approach 3:
The locking mechanism is designed to automatically lock the pivot joints in place during use, eliminating the need for manual locking operations. The mechanism self-activates when the frame members are positioned correctly, simplifying user interaction while maintaining structural stability without adding complex control systems.
2Reliability
If pivot joints with locking mechanisms are used to secure frames in place, then the reliability of configuration stability is improved, but the ease of manufacture decreases due to additional components and assembly steps
Solution Approach 1:
The locking mechanism is integrated directly into the pivot joint structure, merging the locking function with the existing joint components. This integration eliminates the need for separate locking devices and reduces the number of parts, simplifying manufacturing while maintaining reliable configuration stability through the combined pivot-locked joint design.
Solution Approach 2:
The pivot joint serves multiple functions: it enables the wall frames to pivot relative to the base frame for reconfiguration, provides automatic locking through the locking mechanism to maintain stability, and allows for easy assembly and disassembly. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional specialized components, improving ease of manufacture while ensuring reliable operation.
3Ease of operation
If the system uses fixed joints to secure frame members, then the ease of operation for maintaining configuration is improved, but the adaptability decreases as the system becomes less flexible for reconfiguration
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses a hybrid joint system where pivot joints provide flexibility for reconfiguration and fixed joints provide stability for maintenance. The wall frames are connected to the base frame through pivot joints that can be locked in fixed positions, allowing the structure to maintain its configuration easily while still enabling reconfiguration when needed, thus balancing both requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
A reconfigurable pet potty system that is selectively configurable between use and storage configurations. In the use configuration, the system is operable to be used as a toilet by a pet. In the storage configuration, the system is collapsed, with its footprint minimized, thereby facilitating transport and/or storage of the system. The system includes a plurality of different types of joints including a pivot joint that is operable to automatically lock the system in either of the configurations to prevent unintentional transformations of the system between the different configurations.