Supporting Foot Assembly with Spherical Fitting to Reduce Material Use
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing supporting feet have a limited contact area, leading to deformation under substantial weights, and increasing thickness to address this issue results in increased material and weight, while not fully resolving the defects of conventional designs.
Innovation Solution
A supporting foot assembly featuring a spherical convex base, a swingably fitting member with a spherical concave, a prop component with a bolt and nut system, allowing stepless adjustment and enhanced supporting strength through spherical fitting, and optionally including a bottom pad for additional support.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the thickness of supporting feet is increased to provide greater supporting strength, then the supporting strength is improved, but the material use and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The supporting foot employs a spherical convex structure that contacts the supporting surface, replacing a conventional flat or thick cylindrical foot. The spherical shape concentrates the supporting force at a point, allowing the foot to bear substantial weights without requiring increased thickness. The curvature enables the structure to maintain strength while using minimal material, as the spherical geometry naturally distributes stress efficiently.
2Strength
If the thickness of supporting feet is increased to provide greater supporting strength, then the supporting strength is improved, but the weight of supporting feet increases
Solution Approach 1:
The spherical convex shape allows the supporting foot to achieve maximum supporting strength with minimum material. The curved surface distributes loads efficiently, enabling the foot to support heavy equipment without requiring additional weight or thickness. This curvature principle creates a high strength-to-weight ratio.
3Device complexity
If a conventional supporting foot design is used, then the structure is simple, but the contact area is limited leading to deformation under substantial weights
Solution Approach 1:
The spherical convex design maintains structural simplicity while dramatically improving supporting strength. The single curved surface geometry is easy to manufacture and assemble, yet provides superior load-bearing capability compared to conventional flat or thick feet. The spherical shape prevents deformation by concentrating forces along its curved surface.
Data Source
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AI summary
A supporting foot assembly includes a base (10) having a spherical convex (11), a disk (12) connected to the spherical convex (11), a through hole (13), and an internal space (14); a swingably fitting member (20) having a spherical concave (21) swingably and fittingly contacting the spherical convex (11) of the base (10), a lower edge (22) located at a lower periphery of the spherical concave (21), an aperture (23), and an upper outer edge (24); a prop component (30) having a bolt (31) passing through the through hole (13) and the aperture (23), a retaining portion (33) integrated to or combined with the bolt (31) and located in the internal space (14) of the base (10) so as to prevent the bolt (31) from completely departing from the through hole (13) of the base (10); and a nut (40) screwed to the bolt (31) of the prop component (30) to abut against the upper outer edge (24) of the swingably fitting member (20). Alternatively, the nut (40) is integratedly formed on the swingably fitting member (20).