Table cover assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing table covers lack a rigid canopy with slidably mounted doors and a turntable mechanism for easy access to items while protecting against pests and environmental hazards.
Innovation Solution
A table cover assembly comprising a base with a rotatable top member and a canopy with slidable doors, where the canopy defines access openings and can be secured with magnetic fasteners, allowing items to be accessed through rotating the turntable and sliding doors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a rigid canopy with multiple access openings is used to protect items from pests, then protection effectiveness is improved, but access convenience deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the doors movable rather than fixed. Each door can be independently opened to provide access to items while keeping other sections closed for protection. This dynamic configuration allows the system to adapt between maximum protection and convenient access as needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The canopy is segmented into multiple sections with individual doors that can be opened independently. This segmentation allows selective access to specific items without compromising the protection of other items, resolving the contradiction between maintaining protection and enabling convenient access.
2Ease of operation
If a turntable mechanism is added to rotate the canopy, then access convenience is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The turntable mechanism introduces dynamic rotational capability to the canopy assembly, allowing it to be rotated to any angular position. This enables users to access items from any direction without disassembling the structure, improving operational convenience while adding only moderate mechanical complexity through the turntable bearing system.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple doors are mounted to the canopy for selective access, then access flexibility is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The canopy is divided into multiple segments, each with its own door assembly. This segmentation provides selective access flexibility while allowing each segment to be manufactured and assembled independently, actually simplifying the overall manufacturing process through modular construction rather than increasing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
Each door assembly appears to be a standardized, multi-functional unit that can be replicated across multiple canopy segments. This universality allows the same door design to serve multiple purposes across different sections, reducing manufacturing complexity through standardization and economies of scale.
Data Source
AI summary
A table cover assembly for enclosing items over a table to protect the items from pests or other environmental hazards includes a base and a canopy. The canopy defines a cavity and is removably positionable atop the base in a covering position wherein the base covers an opening to the cavity. The canopy defines a plurality of access openings which extend through the canopy to the cavity. A plurality of doors is mounted to the canopy. Each door is movable to access the cavity from outside the canopy through at least one of the plurality of access openings of the canopy. The canopy may be rigid and may support a track for slidably moving the doors over any of the access openings. A turntable is provided for moving the items closer to a user.