Table with Multiple Horizontally and Vertically Adjustable Table Top Sections
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional tables do not accommodate individuals with varying physical needs, such as those in healthcare facilities or elderly individuals, by providing adjustable surfaces for comfortable use, which limits social interaction and inclusivity during meals or activities.
Innovation Solution
A table with multiple adjustable top sections that can be independently adjusted vertically and horizontally, allowing each user to customize their position, featuring separate and independent control actuators for vertical and horizontal adjustments, ensuring comfort and accessibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a conventional fixed table is used, then the table structure is simple and stable, but it cannot accommodate individuals with varying physical needs and limits social interaction
Solution Approach 1:
The table top is divided into multiple independently adjustable sections (first table top section, second table top section, etc.), each capable of separate vertical and horizontal adjustment. This segmentation allows different users to customize their viewing positions without requiring complete table reconfiguration, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces adjustable mechanisms that enable the table top sections to change position dynamically. First and second table top sections can be independently adjusted vertically and horizontally relative to each other, transforming a static table into a dynamic system that adapts to different user needs while maintaining overall structural stability.
2Ease of operation
If multiple table top sections are independently adjustable, then user comfort and accessibility are improved, but the adjustment mechanism complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The adjustment mechanisms are designed to be manually operated by users themselves. First and second table top sections each have their own independent adjustment mechanisms that users can directly control to achieve comfortable viewing positions, eliminating the need for external assistance and simplifying the overall control system.
Solution Approach 2:
The adjustment system is segmented into independent mechanisms for each table top section, with separate vertical and horizontal adjustment capabilities. This modular approach isolates complexity into manageable components, where each section's adjustment mechanism operates independently without interfering with others, making the system easier to manufacture and maintain.
3Adaptability or versatility
If table top sections are adjusted vertically and horizontally independently, then customization for each user is maximized, but the control system becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The control system is segmented into independent adjustment mechanisms for each table top section, with separate vertical and horizontal control capabilities. First table top section has its own adjustment mechanism, and second table top section has its own, allowing maximum customization without requiring a centralized complex control system.
Solution Approach 2:
The adjustment mechanisms are designed with universal functionality, where each mechanism can perform both vertical and horizontal adjustments. This multi-functionality reduces the overall number of specialized components needed, as the same basic mechanism type is reused across different sections with different adjustment directions.
Data Source
AI summary
Multiple table top sections are separately and independently adjustable both vertically and horizontally, so that multiple patients/users can sit and use the table comfortably and with a feeling of inclusion and community. The controllers for unlatching each table section may be biased paddles under, but very near, the right and/or left edges of the table sections. By placing the user's palm on the top of table section and curling the fingers down around the edge to engage the paddle, the user can grasp both the right or left edge and the associated paddle with the same hand, to both unlatch the table top section and apply force to the edge to move the table section into the desired adjusted position. Release of the paddle and the edge automatically re-latch the table section in the desired adjusted position for use of the table.