Plastic Rotating Owl Head Mount for Easier Scarecrow Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing scarecrow designs with movable heads require significant skill and time for assembly due to unstable mounts and one-piece head constructions, which are difficult to balance and install.
Innovation Solution
A two-piece molded plastic head design with a 360-degree rotatable mount, featuring a lower and upper pivot assembly, simplifies assembly by allowing press-fit installation and balancing during molding, reducing the need for additional weights and labor.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a one-piece head construction with unstable mount is used, then the scarecrow provides desired appearance and head movement, but assembly requires significant skill and time
Solution Approach 1:
The head is divided into two separate molded pieces (first and second head portions) that are assembled together, allowing each piece to be pre-balanced and pre-prepared during manufacturing. This segmentation enables workers to simply join the two pieces without complex balancing adjustments, dramatically reducing assembly skill requirements and time while maintaining the unstable mount's desired head movement capability.
2Device complexity
If a one-piece head construction is used, then the structure is simple, but balancing is difficult and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
Dividing the head into two molded pieces allows each piece to be independently balanced during the molding process itself. The weighting ports in each piece enable balance weights to be integrated during manufacturing rather than requiring post-assembly balancing adjustments, making the manufacturing process easier while maintaining simple overall structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The balancing weights are incorporated into the head portions during the molding process itself, before assembly. This preliminary action of pre-balancing the components eliminates the need for time-consuming balancing adjustments during final assembly, making both manufacturing and assembly easier.
3Ease of operation
If traditional unstable mount assembly is used, then head movement functionality is achieved, but skill and time are required for assembly
Solution Approach 1:
The mount structure is segmented into separate components (first head portion, second head portion, body) that can be independently manufactured and pre-assembled. The weighting ports and mounting features are built into each segment during molding, allowing workers to simply join pre-prepared components rather than assembling complex parts from scratch, reducing both skill requirements and assembly time.
Solution Approach 2:
The two head portions are designed to fit together with one nested within or alongside the other, creating a compact assembled structure. This nesting approach simplifies the final assembly step while maintaining the complex functionality of the unstable mount system.
Data Source
AI summary
A scarecrow including a scarecrow body corresponding generally in shape to a body of a live animal; and a scarecrow head corresponding in shape to a head of a live animal; and an unstable mount disposed between the scarecrow body and the scarecrow head onto which the scarecrow head is rotatably mounted for 360-degree movement of the scarecrow head to the scarecrow body without interfering with free movement of the scarecrow head. The unstable mount includes a lower pivot assembly rigidly connected to the scarecrow body and an upper pivot assembly rigidly connected to the scarecrow head and balanced onto the lower pivot assembly, the lower pivot assembly being of two-piece molded plastic construction and including a foot and an upper member that press-fit together, with the foot configured to press-fit install into the scarecrow body.