Table with swingable stools
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional tables with attached stools lack a practical mechanism for easily transitioning between storage and use positions, compromising space efficiency and user accessibility.
Innovation Solution
A table design featuring stools with hinges and gas cylinders that pivot and slide between a retracted-storage position and an extended-use position, allowing the stools to adjust height and engage with the surface for user support, while also retracting for storage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If stools are fixed at a low position for user support, then user accessibility is improved, but space efficiency and ease of cleaning are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The stools are designed with a hinge mechanism that allows them to dynamically change position between a lowered extended-use position for user support and a raised retracted-storage position for space efficiency. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction by making the stool position adaptable rather than fixed.
2Area of stationary object
If stools are raised for storage, then space efficiency is improved, but user accessibility and ease of operation deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge mechanism enables the stools to be easily positioned in either the raised retracted-storage configuration for maximizing space efficiency or the lowered extended-use configuration for user accessibility, depending on operational needs.
3Device complexity
If stools are fixed in position, then structural simplicity is maintained, but adaptability and versatility are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge mechanism provides a relatively simple dynamic connection that allows the stools to pivot between two primary positions (raised and lowered), achieving adaptability without requiring complex adjustment systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The stools utilize the user's body weight to automatically lower into the extended-use position when sat upon, and the biasing element automatically raises them to the retracted-storage position when the user stands, eliminating the need for manual operation or complex control mechanisms.
4Adaptability or versatility
If a hinge mechanism is added for stool movement, then adaptability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge mechanism provides a straightforward rotational joint that enables the stools to pivot between raised and lowered positions, achieving adaptability through a single degree of freedom rather than complex multi-axis adjustments.
Solution Approach 2:
The combination of the hinge mechanism with the biasing element creates a self-actuating system where the stool automatically transitions between positions based on user interaction, reducing the need for additional control mechanisms.
5Ease of operation
If biasing elements are added for automatic positioning, then ease of operation is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The biasing element (such as a spring or gas strut) is coupled between the stool and the frame to automatically bias the stool toward the retracted-storage position. When the user sits on the stool, their weight overcomes the biasing force to lower the stool to the extended-use position, and when the user stands, the biasing element automatically raises the stool back to storage position without requiring manual operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The biasing element acts as a counterbalancing mechanism that offsets the weight of the stool, making it easy to lower when needed and automatically returning it to the raised position, effectively using stored mechanical energy to assist the positioning action.
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 efficient space utilization by allowing stools to be raised for storage and lowered for user support, enhancing accessibility and ease of cleaning, while maintaining stability and user comfort.
Implementation Method 1
a biasing element is coupled to the seat and to the hinge. The seat is configured to slide along the swing tube of the hinge, and the biasing element is configured to bias the seat away from the surface. In illustrative embodiments, the biasing element is a gas cylinder.
Data Source
AI summary
A table includes a frame, a table top coupled to an upper portion of the frame, and a plurality of stools coupled to legs of the frame. The stools are swingable relative to the frame from a retracted-storage position to an extended use-position. The stools are arranged to engage with a surface beneath the table in the extended-use position to support a user of the table relative to the table top. The stools are arranged substantially within a perimeter of the table top in the retracted-storage position for access around the table.