Snap-Lock Frame Assembly for Flexible Display Orientation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional free-standing frames require significant space and increase manufacturing costs due to the use of pivotable supports, making it difficult to transition between landscape and portrait displays.
Innovation Solution
A frame assembly with a stack comprising a transparent window panel, a floor structure, and an outer annular wall with a locking feature that snap-locks into a display cavity, allowing for easy orientation changes and reduced material usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional free-standing frames use a pivotable support to enable orientation changes, then the frame can transition between landscape and portrait display, but the frame takes up significant space and increases manufacturing costs
Solution Approach 1:
The frame is divided into separate components: a frame body, a stack (containing the article and window panel), and a floor structure. This segmentation eliminates the need for a pivotable support mechanism, allowing the frame to be displayed in different orientations without requiring additional space for mechanical components.
Solution Approach 2:
The frame assembly is designed to function in multiple display orientations (landscape and portrait) without requiring different mechanical configurations. The universal design achieves orientation flexibility through the removable stack and floor structure rather than through complex pivotable mechanisms, thereby reducing the space required.
2Adaptability or versatility
If conventional free-standing frames use a pivotable support mechanism, then the frame can transition between orientations, but the manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the frame into separate components (frame body, stack, floor structure), the manufacturing process is simplified. Each component can be manufactured independently using standard processes without requiring complex pivotable support mechanisms, thereby reducing manufacturing costs while maintaining orientation flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The complex pivotable support mechanism is extracted and replaced with simpler components. The orientation transition capability is achieved through the removable stack and floor structure rather than through integrated mechanical pivoting systems, reducing manufacturing complexity and cost.
3Ease of manufacture
If the outer annular wall has uniform thickness, then manufacturing is simpler, but the locking feature cannot effectively snap-lock the stack within the display cavity
Solution Approach 1:
The outer annular wall employs varying thickness: a first thickness in the region of the locking feature and a second thickness in other regions. This local quality variation enables the locking feature to effectively snap-lock the stack within the display cavity while maintaining overall manufacturing feasibility. The thicker region provides the necessary structural integrity for the locking mechanism.
Data Source
AI summary
A frame assembly for supporting a flat article. In one aspect, the frame assembly may include a stack including a transparent window panel and a frame. The frame may include a floor structure for supporting the stack and an outer annular wall coupled to and surrounding the floor structure, the outer annular wall including a plurality of corners, an outer surface defining a periphery of the frame, an inner surface defining a display cavity, and a front edge that defines a display opening configured to allow the stack to pass therethrough into the display cavity. The inner surface of the outer annular wall may include a plurality of recessed regions, each of the recessed regions encompassing one of the corners of the outer annular wall.