Spa Cover Lifter Stowing Below Top Edge
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing spa cover lifter designs protrude the folded cover above the spa's top edge, obstructing views and requiring cumbersome manual handling, which is inconvenient for users, especially the elderly or disabled.
Innovation Solution
A compact mechanical unit installed on both sides of the spa, utilizing springs or air-struts and mechanical advantage to fold the cover over a cross bar, allowing it to be easily lifted and stowed below the spa's top edge, with a mechanism that guides the cover into a hidden storage position using lever arms and weight-compensating air-struts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the folded spa cover stack is stored above the top edge of the spa, then the cover can be easily accessed, but it blocks the view of occupants and obstructs the serene atmosphere
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions the cover storage from a horizontal arrangement (above the spa top edge) to a vertical arrangement (below the spa top edge). The cover stack is positioned in the vertical dimension beneath the spa, eliminating horizontal projection and view obstruction while maintaining accessibility through the lifting mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a lifting mechanism with cross-members, lever arms, and air-struts as intermediaries between the cover and the storage position. This mechanism mediates the movement of the heavy cover stack, enabling it to be positioned below the spa top edge without requiring manual handling by occupants.
2Reliability
If the spa cover is made heavy-duty for durability and thermal efficiency, then the cover provides better protection, but it becomes difficult for elderly or disabled owners to handle manually
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs weight-compensating air-struts that provide upward force counterbalancing the heavy cover weight. The air-struts are positioned to lift the cover stack during opening and closing operations, effectively neutralizing the weight burden and enabling elderly or disabled owners to operate the heavy-duty cover effortlessly.
Solution Approach 2:
The lifting mechanism with air-struts and lever arms enables the cover system to serve itself by automatically compensating for its own weight. The mechanism requires minimal user input while handling the heavy cover, making the system self-sufficient in overcoming the manual handling difficulty.
3Device complexity
If a single-fold cover design is used, then the cover structure is simple, but the folded cover width exceeds the spa height making vertical stowage below the top edge impossible
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the single-fold cover into multiple stackable sections that can be vertically arranged. The cover is segmented into upper and lower portions that stack on top of each other, reducing the horizontal width of the folded cover and enabling it to fit within the vertical space below the spa top edge.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent reconfigures the cover storage from horizontal placement to vertical stacking. By arranging cover sections in the vertical dimension rather than horizontal, the folded cover width is reduced to fit within the spa height, enabling stowage below the top edge while maintaining a simple single-fold structure.
4Area of stationary object
If the cover stack is positioned vertically adjacent to the spa, then it saves horizontal space, but it protrudes above the upper edge of the spa blocking the view
Solution Approach 1:
The patent moves the cover stack from a horizontal projection above the spa top edge to a vertical position below the top edge. The cover is positioned in the vertical dimension beneath the spa, eliminating horizontal projection and view obstruction while maintaining compact vertical adjacency to the spa structure.
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 the spa cover to be effortlessly stored and retrieved without obstructing views, reducing user effort and preventing damage to the spa or cover, while accommodating various spa sizes and configurations.
Implementation Method 1
weight-compensating air-struts
Implementation Method 2
utilizing springs or air-struts and mechanical advantage
Implementation Method 3
utilizing springs or air-struts and mechanical advantage
Data Source
AI summary
A spa cover lifting device that easily lifts and stows the removed cover out of sight below the upper edge of the spa is disclosed. When closing, the lifter assists the cover up out of its hidden stowage, and guides the cover back into position on the spa. One difference in this design from current art is that the spa cover when stowed disappears out of sight to those in the spa, below the top edge of the spa. Current spa cover lifters generally all park at least part of the stowed cover above the top edge of the spa, blocking views and reducing apparent roominess. Fourteen exemplary methods are shown to accomplish such a spa cover lifter, accommodating different size spas and cover designs, but it could also be done in other ways.