Adjustable Sink Insert Plate with Spindle Lift for Space Efficiency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sinks with integrated or separately attachable inserts restrict usability and space due to fixed height positions, requiring manual adjustment and limiting flexibility.
Innovation Solution
A sink with a separate insert plate that can be vertically adjusted using a length-variable lifting unit with a spindle drive, allowing continuous height adjustment and enclosed protection, ensuring space efficiency and user-independent operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If an integrated plinth is formed with the basin floor, then the plate can be placed on it creating a cutting board, but the overall design becomes more complex and the available space is significantly restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The insert plate is extracted from the fixed integrated plinth concept and made into a separate, movable component that can be inserted into and removed from the receiving space. This allows the cutting board function to be available when needed while maintaining full sink capacity when the plate is removed, thus resolving the space restriction problem.
Solution Approach 2:
The insert plate transitions from a static integrated structure to a dynamic, adjustable component. The lifting device enables the plate to move vertically between different height positions, allowing it to be raised when cutting function is needed and lowered to minimize space occupation, thereby resolving the contradiction between versatility and space availability.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a plate is placed on an integrated plinth, then it creates a cutting board, but the plate is always at a single height and can only be attached or removed by one user
Solution Approach 1:
The lifting device is equipped with a spindle drive mechanism that enables automatic height adjustment of the insert plate. The system can autonomously raise and lower the plate to predetermined heights without requiring manual intervention, thus eliminating the limitation that only one user can attach or remove the plate and improving ease of operation for all users.
3Adaptability or versatility
If various inserts are placed on the upper edge of the basin, then they can be positioned in one specific way, but the usability of the sink is severely restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The insert plate is transformed from a static component fixed at one position to a dynamic component that can be vertically adjusted to multiple heights using the lifting device. This allows the plate to be raised when needed for cutting or lowered to maximize sink usability, directly resolving the contradiction between insert positioning and overall sink usability.
4Adaptability or versatility
If a lifting device with length-variable lifting unit is used, then the insert plate can be moved vertically to different heights, but the lifting unit requires space for operation
Solution Approach 1:
The lifting device employs a telescopic structure where the lifting unit can be extended when height adjustment is needed and retracted into a compact form when not in use. This nested design minimizes the space occupied by the lifting mechanism while maintaining full height adjustment functionality, resolving the contradiction between versatility and space efficiency.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables precise and continuous height adjustment of the insert plate, maintaining mechanical robustness and space efficiency while preventing user contact and protecting against environmental conditions, enhancing sink usability.
Implementation Method 1
The lifting mechanism is a spindle drive and has at least two separate and interconnected spindles that are guided within each other
Data Source
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AI summary
One aspect of the invention relates to a sink (1) with a basin (2) which has a base wall (3) and lateral walls (4, 5, 6, 7) adjoining the base wall and which has a receiving area (8) delimited by the walls (4 to 7). The sink (1) has an insert plate (10) which is separate from the basin (2) and which is inserted into the receiving area (8), and the sink (1) has a lifting device (11), by means of which the insert plate (10) can be moved relative to the basin (2), wherein the lifting device (11) has a lifting unit (28) with a variable length, and the lifting unit (28) has a lifting mechanism (39) which is a feed chain or a spindle drive (52).