Telescopic Table Support With Grooved Rollers for Smooth Height Adjustment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing telescopic supports for tables and desks require high precision manufacturing to ensure smooth extension and retraction, which is costly, and can lead to unintentional lowering under heavy loads due to lack of positive mechanical locking and potential spring failure.
Innovation Solution
A telescopic support design featuring an outer leg part with radially extending splines and an inner leg part with rotatably mounted grooved rollers, allowing for longitudinal reciprocating movement while constraining relative rotation, and accommodating manufacturing imperfections through elastic deformation, enabling smooth and robust height adjustment without high precision manufacturing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If high precision manufacturing is used for telescopic support components, then smooth extension and retraction is achieved, but manufacturing cost increases substantially
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the surface geometry parameter by introducing circumferential grooves in the rollers and corresponding splines on the tubes. This geometric modification allows the rollers to engage with the splines, providing guidance and constraint that compensates for manufacturing tolerances, enabling smooth operation without requiring high precision manufacturing
Solution Approach 2:
The grooved rollers act as an intermediary element between the inner and outer tubes. The grooves in the rollers engage with the splines on the tubes, creating a positive mechanical connection that guides movement and accommodates manufacturing variations, thereby enabling smooth telescopic action without high precision manufacturing
2Ease of operation
If spring-mounted rollers are used to provide smooth operation, then telescopic movement is smooth, but reliability decreases due to spring slacking or breaking
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the spring element from the roller mounting mechanism. Instead of spring-mounted rollers, the design uses grooved rollers that engage directly with splines on the tubes. This extraction of the spring component eliminates the reliability issues associated with spring slacking or breaking while maintaining smooth operation through the groove-spline engagement
Solution Approach 2:
The design replaces the fragile spring mechanism with a simpler, more durable groove-spline engagement system. The grooved rollers and splines create a robust mechanical connection that does not rely on elastic components prone to failure, thereby improving reliability without sacrificing smooth operation
3Device complexity
If no positive mechanical locking is provided, then device complexity is reduced, but stability deteriorates due to unintentional lowering under heavy load
Solution Approach 1:
The grooved rollers are pre-configured with circumferential grooves that engage with splines on the tubes before any load is applied. This preliminary geometric engagement creates inherent mechanical constraints that prevent relative rotation and provide positional stability, eliminating the need for additional locking mechanisms while preventing unintentional lowering under heavy load
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 the construction of cost-effective, robust desks and tables that can be smoothly raised and lowered, with enhanced stability against unintentional lowering under load, and reduced reliance on precise manufacturing processes.
Implementation Method 1
The fit between the outer leg part and the inner leg part defines a negative allowance and the tubular body deforms elastically during said reciprocating movement to accommodate such negative allowance
Data Source
AI summary
A telescopic support is disclosed and has outer and inner leg parts. The outer leg part has: a tubular body defining a longitudinal axis and having an interior passage through which the axis extends centrally. The inner leg part has: a shuttle body part disposed at least partially in the tubular body; and rollers rotably mounted to the shuttle body to support the inner leg part for longitudinal reciprocating movement in the tubular body. The support can be secured to a base and topped with a work-surface defining member to form a height-adjustable table, as also disclosed.