Foldable Walking Pad Alignment Structure for Flush Pad Surfaces
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Solution Overview
Problem
Foldable walking pads in the prior art face challenges in maintaining the top surfaces of unfolded front and rear pads on the same plane, leading to unevenness and complicating the manufacturing process with additional flexible material layers.
Innovation Solution
An alignment structure with matching elements on each pad that abut and align, ensuring the top surfaces of the folded and unfolded pads remain on the same plane, using strips and longitudinal rods for connection, and folding connection structures for stable folding and unfolding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a thicker layer of flexible material is laid on the front and rear walking pads to eliminate unevenness, then the flatness of the top surfaces is improved, but the manufacturing complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The walking pad is divided into front and rear sections with matching elements (first matching element and second matching element) that can independently adjust their positions. This segmentation allows each part to be precisely aligned without requiring complex thick flexible material layers, thereby simplifying manufacturing while achieving flat top surfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
Matching elements serve as intermediary components between the front and rear walking pads. These elements include matching surfaces that abut against each other to maintain alignment, acting as mediators that ensure the top surfaces remain coplanar without requiring additional thick flexible material layers.
2Manufacturing precision
If matching elements with complex shapes are used to ensure precise alignment, then the alignment precision is improved, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The matching elements have different shapes at different locations: the first matching element has a V-shaped matching surface while the second matching element has a corresponding V-shaped structure. This local differentiation provides precise alignment at the critical junction area without making the entire structure complex, achieving high alignment precision with minimal structural complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The matching elements utilize geometric parameters (V-shape angle, position, and dimensions) that can be precisely controlled during manufacturing. By optimizing these parameters, the patent achieves high alignment precision without requiring complex structures, as the precision is obtained through parameter control rather than structural complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A walking pad includes an alignment structure, a first walking pad and a second walking pad which is foldable onto the first walking pad, where the alignment structure includes a first matching element connected to the first walking pad and a second matching element connected to the second walking pad, the first matching element is configured to be able to abut against the second matching element, a first abutting surface of the first matching element is matched with a second abutting surface of the second matching element, and a top surface of the first walking pad and a top surface of the second walking pad are on a same plane when the first matching element abuts against the second matching element. The walking pad can eliminate the feeling of unevenness between the first walking pad and the second walking pad.