Retractable Handrail Pivot Assembly for Easy Stowage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing handrails for recreational vehicles are labor-intensive to attach and detach, require suitable storage during travel, and often involve complex structures that increase fabrication costs and susceptibility to disrepair.
Innovation Solution
A retractable handrail system with a rail assembly, upper and lower pivot assemblies, and a support shaft, allowing for easy deployment and stowage through a slider mechanism, and a lower pivot assembly with interlocking connection blocks for secure positioning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If detachable hand bracket is used to avoid travel interference, then mobility is improved, but labor-intensive attachment and detachment operations increase
Solution Approach 1:
The hand bracket is designed with a telescopic mechanism that allows it to dynamically change between extended (deployed) and retracted (stowed) positions. The telescopic sections slide relative to each other along guide rails, enabling the hand bracket to adapt its length and position based on operational needs versus travel requirements, eliminating the need for complete attachment/detachment cycles.
Solution Approach 2:
The hand bracket is divided into multiple telescopic sections that can independently slide and lock at various positions. This segmentation allows the structure to be divided into movable segments connected by sliding interfaces, enabling partial retraction or extension without complete disassembly, thus reducing operational complexity while maintaining adaptability.
2Adaptability or versatility
If detachable hand bracket is used, then storage during travel is required, but suitable storage space must be provided
Solution Approach 1:
The telescopic hand bracket employs a nested structure where inner sections slide within outer sections, allowing the hand bracket to compact into a space-efficient configuration when retracted. The multiple telescopic sections nest within each other like nested dolls, minimizing the storage space required while maintaining the full extended length when deployed.
3Adaptability or versatility
If collapsible hand brackets with pivotally interconnected segments are used, then collapse functionality is achieved, but structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces static pivotally interconnected segments with dynamic telescopic sections that slide along guide rails. This dynamic sliding mechanism provides collapse functionality while maintaining a simpler, more rigid structural framework compared to multiple pivoting joints, reducing structural complexity while preserving adaptability.
4Ease of operation
If telescopic sections with sliding interfaces are used, then ease of deployment is improved, but friction between sliding surfaces increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces direct metal-to-metal sliding contact with a ball-bearing-based rolling contact system. Balls are positioned within the telescopic sections to facilitate rolling motion between sliding surfaces, substituting high-friction mechanical sliding with lower-friction rolling motion, thereby reducing the force required for deployment while maintaining ease of operation.
Data Source
AI summary
A retractable handrail comprising a rail assembly including a rail rod, an upper pivot assembly connected to the rail rod, a lower pivot assembly, and a support shaft pivotally connected to the lower pivot assembly. The support shaft including a slider configured to slide within the rail assembly. Rotating the rail rod about the upper pivot assembly causes the slider to slide along the rail rod, thereby causing the support shaft to rotate about the lower pivot assembly. The lower pivot assembly including a fixed part and a movable part. The lower pivot assembly can include grip arms to grip the support shaft, the movable part can be stepped, and the movable part can have two interlocking connection blocks and the fixed part can include a single interlocking connection block between the two interlocking connection blocks of the movable part.