Foldable structure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Resilient foldable structures that coil when folding, known as 'pop-up' structures, are difficult to coil back up for storage, leading to user frustration and a decline in popularity as users prefer easier folding designs.
Innovation Solution
A coiling-assist assembly is introduced, featuring a releasable grasp, latch, and tether system that temporarily holds and constrains the resilient frame, facilitating its coiling by allowing it to move through defined configurations from unfolded to folded states.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If the resilient frame is designed to coil automatically when folding, then setup speed is improved, but control during folding deteriorates (user cannot figure out how to coil it back up)
Solution Approach 1:
The coiling-assist assembly serves as a mediator that provides mechanical guidance and control during the folding process. It includes features such as a reel with flanges, a winding mechanism, or guide rails that physically direct the frame segments into the correct coiling sequence, making the process intuitive and controllable for the user.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the mechanical parameters of the folding process by introducing the coiling-assist assembly, which modifies the force, direction, and sequence requirements. This transformation converts a complex, hard-to-control coiling action into a simpler, more predictable operation that users can easily perform.
2Device complexity
If no coiling assistance is provided, then device complexity is reduced, but folding reliability deteriorates (user cannot successfully coil the frame)
Solution Approach 1:
The coiling-assist assembly is introduced as a relatively simple intermediary component that dramatically improves folding reliability. It may consist of a reel, winding mechanism, or guide structure that provides the necessary mechanical assistance without adding excessive complexity to the overall system.
Solution Approach 2:
The coiling-assist assembly is designed to work with the resilient frame's inherent properties, allowing the frame's own elasticity and memory to assist in the coiling process. The assembly provides guidance and mechanical advantage, while the frame's material properties do much of the work, creating a synergistic system that is both reliable and simple.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides for the first time a foldable structure comprising a resilient frame and a coiling-assist assembly for facilitating coiling the resilient frame while folding. The coiling-assist assembly comprises a releasable grasp coupled to the resilient frame at a pre-determined first location. The releasable grasp temporarily holds the resilient frame in a first folding configuration, whereby the pre-determined second location of the resilient frame is diametrically opposed to the pre-determined first location of the resilient frame.