Apparatus and method for a releasably locked desktop in a modular cubicle
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing desktop solutions for modular business cubicles often use fasteners like screws or nails, which can pose hazards due to their length exceeding the desktop thickness, potentially causing impalement.
Innovation Solution
A releasable desktop apparatus featuring a desktop element with receptacle brackets, support brackets with projections, and release devices that allow for safe and secure attachment to the cubicle walls without the need for hazardous fasteners.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If fasteners like screws or nails are used to connect the desktop to support brackets, then the desktop can be securely attached, but the fasteners may pierce the desktop and pose impalement hazards to users
Solution Approach 1:
The connection system is divided into separate components: support brackets with projections, desktop with receptacles, and release devices with buttons. This segmentation allows secure attachment through mechanical interlocking without requiring long fasteners that would pierce the desktop, thereby eliminating the impalement hazard while maintaining attachment strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The release device acts as an intermediary mechanism between the desktop and support brackets. It provides a controlled method for engagement and disengagement through button actuation, replacing the need for hazardous fasteners while ensuring secure connection during use.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a releasable locking mechanism with multiple components is implemented, then user safety is improved by eliminating fasteners, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The release device is integrated directly into the desktop structure, merging the release mechanism with the desktop element itself. This reduces the number of separate components and simplifies assembly, as the release buttons are built-in rather than requiring separate attachment mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The system is designed to be self-aligning and self-locking. The projections automatically align with and engage into the receptacles when the desktop is positioned on the support brackets, and the release buttons automatically lock into place, eliminating the need for complex alignment procedures or additional fastening steps.
3Ease of manufacture
If traditional fasteners are used, then the desktop can be easily manufactured and assembled, but the assembly process poses safety risks and requires additional safety precautions
Solution Approach 1:
The hazardous fasteners (screws or nails) are completely extracted from the system and replaced with a fastener-free mechanical interlocking mechanism. The projections and receptacles provide secure attachment through their geometric configuration, eliminating the need for separate fastening components and the associated safety risks.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses simple, inexpensive plastic components that can be easily manufactured through injection molding. The receptacles and projections are designed as integral parts of the desktop and support brackets, requiring no additional fasteners or complex assembly steps, thereby simplifying manufacturing while eliminating safety hazards.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus and method for a releasably lockable desktop in a modular cubicle. The apparatus includes a pair of support brackets that releasably secure to at least one cubicle wall. Each bracket includes a horizontal flange that includes a plurality of projections thereon. These plurality of projections fit into corresponding chambers in corresponding receptacle brackets that are installed on the bottom of a desktop element. Each receptacle bracket includes a release device with a release button that is compressed and rides along the horizontal flanges of the support brackets. When the desktop element is pulled back towards the user, the release buttons are seated in respective apertures in the support brackets, thereby releasably locking the desktop element on the support brackets. Each support bracket secures to a respective C-shaped mounting bracket that have an upper lip that gets trapped between two respective vertically-stacked cubicle tiles.