Adjustable Undermount Sink Support Without Countertop Drilling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing solutions for installing heavy, rimless sinks under countertops face challenges such as the need for robust support systems, difficulty in attaching hardware to stone or masonry surfaces, and inefficiencies in space usage and adjustability, often relying on bulky framing and shims.
Innovation Solution
A high-strength, lightweight, adjustable sink support apparatus that attaches to under-counter cabinetry, using vertically and horizontally adjustable supports and lift actuators to suspend sinks without requiring hardware attachment to the countertop, allowing for precise positioning and adjustment without occupying floor space or using shims.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If heavy rimless sinks are supported by traditional wooden framing and shims, then the sinks can be mounted under countertops, but the support system occupies significant floor space and is prone to rot from water exposure
Solution Approach 1:
The support system transitions from organic materials (wood) to inorganic materials (metal brackets and adjustable supports), fundamentally changing the material parameter to achieve water resistance while eliminating rot susceptibility. This material substitution resolves the reliability issue without requiring the same volumetric space.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts the support function from the floor area and relocates it to the vertical cabinetry surfaces. By mounting brackets on the sides of the cabinet rather than the floor, the system eliminates the need for extensive floor-space-consuming wooden framing while maintaining structural support capability.
2Reliability
If mounting hardware is attached to the underside of stone or masonry countertops, then sinks can be secured, but drilling receiving holes into the countertop is difficult or impossible
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of attaching support hardware upward from the countertop underside (which requires drilling into stone), the system inverts the approach by attaching brackets to the vertical cabinet surfaces and having the sink engage with these side-mounted brackets. This reverses the mounting direction and eliminates the need to drill into the countertop material.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces cabinet side brackets as an intermediary mounting surface between the sink and the cabinet structure. These brackets serve as a mediator that provides attachment points on easily accessible vertical surfaces rather than requiring direct attachment to the difficult-to-drill countertop underside.
3Adaptability or versatility
If adjustable support devices are installed before the sink, then size adjustment is possible, but the devices are not easily adjustable once the sink is in place
Solution Approach 1:
The support system incorporates dynamically adjustable components including telescoping support rods with locking mechanisms and adjustable bracket positions. These features enable easy modification of support height and position even after the sink is installed, allowing for level adjustment and accommodation of sink asymmetry without requiring disassembly.
4Shape
If rimless sinks are mounted without rims or lips to engage mounting hardware, then the sinks can achieve a clean undermount appearance, but there is no engagement feature for traditional mounting hardware
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting engagement moves from the horizontal plane (rim engagement) to the vertical dimension (side bracket engagement). The brackets extend vertically from the cabinet sides and engage with corresponding features on the sink's vertical surfaces, providing secure mounting without requiring horizontal rim protrusions that would compromise the undermount aesthetic.
Data Source
AI summary
An adjustable support device for under-mounted sanitary fixtures which enables the installation of rimless and rimmed fixtures to a countertop without the use of counter attaching hardware. The system includes mounting brackets for attachment to under-counter support cabinetry and moveable carriages suspended from the mounting brackets by adjustable lift actuators. Length adjustable hanger beams are attached to the opposing moveable carriages to create a support surface for the fixtures. The moveable carriages and attached hanger beams are lowered by the lift actuators to accommodate the insertion of a sanitary fixture and then raised to position the supported, upward facing rim of the fixture to the desired position relative to the countertop.