Weighing scales with adjustable foot
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing construction and assembly of leveling feet for scales are complex and costly, requiring a leveling wheel that adds unnecessary height and expense.
Innovation Solution
A scale design featuring an adjusting spindle with a snap connection section at its upper end, which engages an undercut in the receptacle, eliminating the need for a leveling wheel and allowing for adjustable feet with a simple and reliable snap connection, along with an actuating section for easy assembly and a removable load plate for accessibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a leveling wheel is used to hold the adjustable foot, then the foot can be axially held, but the overall height of the scale increases and costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the leveling wheel component entirely and replaces it with a snap connection section that engages directly with an undercut in the receptacle. This extraction of the unnecessary component achieves the same axial holding function while reducing overall height and eliminating the associated cost increase.
Solution Approach 2:
The adjusting spindle is designed to perform multiple functions: it provides axial positioning through the snap connection, enables height adjustment through threading, and allows rotational movement for leveling. By combining these functions into a single component, the patent eliminates the need for a separate leveling wheel while maintaining reliability.
2Reliability
If a leveling wheel is used to hold the adjustable foot, then the foot can be axially held, but the costs for the adjustable foot increase
Solution Approach 1:
By removing the leveling wheel component, the patent reduces the bill of materials and manufacturing complexity. The snap connection section integrated into the adjusting spindle requires fewer parts and assembly steps, directly reducing production costs while maintaining the axial holding function.
Solution Approach 2:
The snap connection design uses simple, easily manufactured components that can be produced cost-effectively. The undercut in the receptacle and corresponding snap hooks on the adjusting spindle create a reliable connection without requiring expensive precision machining or specialized components.
3Ease of manufacture
If the adjusting spindle is inserted from below into the receptacle, then assembly is simplified, but the upper end must reach through an opening requiring a leveling wheel
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates the leveling wheel and the opening it sits in by using a snap connection that engages an undercut formed within the receptacle structure. This allows the adjusting spindle to be inserted from below and secured internally, simplifying both the assembly process and the overall structural design.
Solution Approach 2:
The snap connection section is nested within the receptacle structure, with the undercut formed as part of the receptacle's internal geometry. This nesting eliminates the need for external components and openings, reducing structural complexity while maintaining ease of assembly.
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
This design simplifies the construction and assembly of the scale, reduces overall height and costs, and provides a secure, adjustable foot system without the need for a leveling wheel, while allowing adaptation to different surfaces through interchangeable installation surfaces.
Implementation Method 1
the adjusting spindle having a threaded section at its lower end with which the adjusting spindle engages in a counter-thread formed in the base piece, wherein a rotary movement of the adjusting spindle causes a longitudinal movement of the foot piece relative to the adjusting spindle
Implementation Method 2
the adjusting spindle has a snap connection section at its upper end, which engages an undercut formed in the respective receptacle, forming a particularly detachable snap connection
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a scale with a housing and one or more adjustable feet, the housing having a respective receptacle into which the respective adjustable foot is inserted, the respective adjustable foot being insertable into the respective receptacle from below, the adjustable foot being non-rotatable and axially movable base piece mounted in the receptacle and an adjusting spindle which is axially fixed and rotatably connected to the housing, the adjusting spindle having a threaded section at its lower end with which the adjusting spindle engages in a counter-thread formed in the base piece, a rotary movement of the adjusting spindle causing a longitudinal movement of the base piece relative to the adjusting spindle. At its upper end, the adjusting spindle has a snap-on connection section which, forming a snap-on connection, engages an undercut formed in the respective receptacle.