Patent Application
20140259378
Various portable sink stands have been developed for deployment at a remote site. Field hospitals, barracks, kitchens, mess halls, disaster relief shelters, decontamination stations, holding cells, laboratories, and schools are some applications that may require portable sink stands. When a portable sink stand is no longer needed at a site, it may be reconfigured for transportation to another site. This often requires a relatively large amount of time and many personnel. In some instances, multiple portable sink stands are arranged in a variety of plumbing configurations. These configurations may depend on the number of bathrooms, kitchens, or washing stations deployed at a remote site. The use of multiple portable sink stands and different configurations may lengthen the time and increase the number of personnel needed to setup the portable sink stands. As more institutions require portable equipment suitable for remote site applications, particularly in the military environment, there is an increasing need for equipment that is easily transportable and configurable.
The detailed description is set forth with reference to the accompanying figures. The use of the same reference numbers in different figures indicates similar or identical items.
As discussed above, portable sink stands are often deployed at remote sites, requiring the sink stands to be transported to and set-up at the sites. Due to the need to change locations frequently and quickly, as in many applications, including the military, the sink stands are taken down and transported quite often. However, as noted above, conventional sink stands take considerable time and personnel to set-up and take down, making them ill-suited for rapid deployment. When multiple sink stands are used, and in multiple configurations, the time and number of personnel needed to deploy the sink stands in the field may be increased.
This application describes a sink stand that is collapsible to form a compact portable structure. The sink stand may be easily transported and configured. For example, the portable sink stand may be efficiently set-up and taken down, shipped, and arranged to a modular “daisy-chain” configuration. One example embodiment employs a sink retaining body pivotably coupled to an upstanding partition. The sink retaining body may include a horizontal surface positioned around a basin with a drain hole, a vertical surface extending up the back side of the horizontal surface, and a gusset that connects the horizontal surface to the vertical surface. The upstanding partition may include a planar surface that is pivotably coupled along one edge to the vertical surface of the sink retaining body.
In some embodiments, the pivotable coupling may allow the upstanding partition to be movable between a stowed state and a deployed state. In the stowed state, the upstanding partition may be substantially perpendicular to the vertical wall and substantially parallel to the horizontal surface. In the deployed state, the upstanding partition may be substantially coplanar with the vertical wall and substantially perpendicular to the horizontal surface. The portable sink stand may have latches, notches, snap fixtures, or clips to maintain the portable sink stand in the stowed state or the deployed state.
In some embodiments, the portable sink stand may include a support structure coupled to the sink retaining body and positioned below the sink retaining body when the portable sink stand is in a deployed state. The support structure may include any number of legs extending down from corners of the horizontal surface of the sink retaining body. In some examples, a back wall may be disposed between two of the legs of the support structure. In the deployed state, the legs of the support structure may make contact with the ground or floor and provide load bearing support for the portable sink stand.
In a stowed state the support structure may pivot so that the back wall of the support structure and the vertical wall of the sink retaining body are substantially perpendicular. With both the support structure and the upstanding partition folded perpendicular to the sink retaining body in the stowed state, the portable sink stand may resemble a rectangular cuboid. Handles may be positioned on the portable sink stand so that, in the stowed, rectangular cuboid state, the portable sink stand may be well-suited for carrying, stacking, storing, and/or transporting.
Some examples may include a fluid distribution system arranged in a space defined by the legs of the support structure. The fluid distribution system may include a main pipe that runs the length of the portable sink stand. The main pipe may be coupled to the drain hole of the basin. The main pipe may be used to distribute fluid into the portable sink stand and for removing fluid from the portable sink stand. Some embodiments may employ multiple portable sink stands, in which case the fluid distribution systems of the portable sink stands may be linked in series, or “daisy-chained”, reducing installation time and cost. Some embodiments of this disclosure may include additional, or alternative, elements. Examples of several embodiments are disclosed with reference to the figures.
Multiple and varied example implementations and embodiments are described below. However, these examples are merely illustrative, and other implementations and embodiments may be used to deploy a portable sink stand with reduced installation time, an efficient shipping form factor, and modular “daisy-chaining” capabilities without departing from the scope of the disclosure.
Turning now to the figures, details are provided concerning various example embodiments. In general, the embodiments disclosed in the figures are presented by way of example. The components disclosed in the figures may be combined as desired to create a portable sink stand having various configurations. The components disclosed in the figures may be rearranged, modified, duplicated, and/or omitted in some configurations.
With reference to
In some embodiments, the sink retaining body 102 may house a first sink 116 and a second sink 118, although any number of sinks may be employed. Sink 116 may comprise a basin 120A, a faucet 122A, a knob 124A, and a drain hole 126A, while the sink 118 may comprise a basin 120B, a faucet 122B, a knob 124B, and a drain hole 126B. The first sink 116 and/or the second sink 118 may be permanently or removably affixed to the horizontal surface 108 and may comprise a same material as the sink retaining body 102 or a substantially different material. In some embodiments a horizontal shelf 128 that may be affixed to the rear wall 114.
The portable sink stand 100 of
The portable sink stand 100 may also comprise the support structure 106 coupled to and positioned below the sink retaining body 102. The support structure 106 may include a first leg 140, a second leg 142, a third leg 144, and a fourth leg 146, although any number of legs could be implemented. The first leg 140 and the second leg 142 may, in some examples, define a first side 148 of the support structure 106. Similarly, the third leg 144 and the fourth leg 146 may define a second side 150 of the support structure 106. A back wall 152 may be positioned between and coupled to the first leg 140 and the third leg 144. The legs 140-146 and the back wall 152 that comprise the support structure 106 may be comprised of substantially the same material as the sink retaining body 102 or a different material or a combination of materials.
In some embodiments, the portable sink stand 100 may have handles 154A and 154B disposed on the first gusset 110, as shown in
A fluid distribution system 156 may be implemented, by way of example, substantially below the sink retaining body 102 in a space enclosed by the support structure 106, as shown in
The portable sink stand 100 may be positioned in a deployed state, such as in
In some embodiments, as illustrated in
A first latch 166 may be employed, in some examples, to couple the partition 104 to the sink retaining body 102. A second latch 168 may be employed to couple the support structure 106 to the sink retaining body 102. The position of the first latch 166 may be anywhere on the portable sink stand 100 where the partition 104 abuts the sink retaining body 102 in the stowed state. Similarly, the second latch 168 may be positioned anywhere on the portable sink stand 100 where the support structure 106 abuts the sink retaining body 102. Although latches 166 and 168 are disclosed in some examples, many quantities and methods of coupling surfaces together could be used such as, fasteners, screws, clips, protrusions and cavities, hooks, and/or straps.
In some embodiments, the rectangular cuboid 158 form factor that the portable sink stand 100 may comprise in the deployed state, may allow the portable sink stand 100 to make efficient use of space during transportation.
In some examples, as illustrated in
Although the disclosure describes embodiments having specific structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the claims are not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described. Rather, the specific features and acts are merely illustrative of some embodiments that fall within the scope of the claims of the application.
