Tableware Stand with Removable Adapter for Multi-Size Support
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Solution Overview
Problem
Elderly, disabled, and impaired individuals face difficulties while eating due to the distance between their mouth and the food surface, leading to food spillage and accidents, as existing tableware holders are not adaptable to varying sizes and shapes, and lack sufficient elevation and support, causing discomfort and strain.
Innovation Solution
A portable tableware stand with an arcuate shaped surface and a raised circular base, featuring a removable adapter with convex openings and radial channels, allowing secure engagement of different sized and shaped tableware items, providing elevated support and a planar platform for comfortable eating.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a fixed diameter receiving area is used in plate and cup holders, then the structure is simple, but it cannot accommodate tableware items of widely differing sizes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs adjustable components including telescoping arms with movable joints and reconfigurable clamps that can dynamically adapt to different tableware sizes. The holder transitions from a static fixed-structure to a dynamic adjustable-structure, allowing users to modify the receiving area dimensions to match various plate and cup sizes.
Solution Approach 2:
The holder is divided into multiple independent segments including adjustable arms, modular clamps, and separable support elements. These segmented components can be independently positioned and configured to accommodate different tableware dimensions, providing versatility without requiring a completely different holder for each size.
2Ease of operation
If tableware is positioned on the user's lap while eating away from a table, then portability is improved, but the distance to the user's mouth increases causing neck strain and food spillage risk
Solution Approach 1:
The holder incorporates an extendable vertical support structure that increases the height dimension, raising the tableware from lap level to a more ergonomic eating height. This dimensional adjustment reduces the vertical distance to the user's mouth while maintaining the portability benefit of eating away from a table.
Solution Approach 2:
The holder acts as an intermediary device between the user's lap and the tableware, providing elevated support that bridges the height gap. This intermediary structure allows the tableware to be positioned at an optimal height without requiring the user to bend down or reach forward excessively.
3Stability of the object's composition
If both hands are used to hold the food service item while eating away from a table, then stability is improved, but the ability to use both hands for eating purposes is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The holder is designed with self-stabilizing features including non-slip surfaces, friction-based clamps, and gravity-assisted positioning mechanisms that secure the tableware without requiring continuous manual holding. The structure serves itself by maintaining tableware stability through its own mechanical properties rather than external manual support.
Solution Approach 2:
The holder serves as an intermediary support structure that takes over the stabilizing function from the user's hands. By providing mechanical support and securing mechanisms, the holder frees both hands for eating while maintaining tableware stability through its own structural design.
4Adaptability or versatility
If a single dimension holder is used for tableware, then manufacturing is simple, but it is not adapted for use with a variety of sizes by the user
Solution Approach 1:
The holder is designed as a universal multi-functional device that can accommodate various tableware sizes through adjustable components. Rather than manufacturing separate holders for different sizes, a single holder with telescoping arms, adjustable clamps, and reconfigurable supports serves multiple size requirements, reducing manufacturing variety while increasing versatility.
Data Source
AI summary
An improved tableware stand with a cylindrical base providing vertical elevation of an adapter for use to receive and retain tableware, the cylindrical base including a circumferential sidewall adapted for receiving a removable, reversable tableware adapter which securely engages the food service item with misaligned receiving structure. The receiving structure includes a plurality of concentric channels for securely receiving and retaining different sized, dimensioned, configured, or shaped food service items while providing a substantially planar platform elevated from an underlying support surface.