Counter Intelligence 01/11/00

Project: A big step for kids in the kitchen. The hideaway, under-the-kickboard step.

By John McBean

This is a rad little design for a step that would greatly improve life in the kitchen for kids, as well as your shorter-than-average adults. It is a step that hides away when under the 3.5-inch kick space under the cupboards when not in use. The entire useable perimeter of the kitchen could be equipped with such steps, in all accessible kick spaces. When deployed, this step rises about 9 inches from the floor, enabling kids in the kitchen to work comfortably and safely on the countertop, either alone, or alongside an adult who is not using the step. People of all ages may find the step useful in reaching the upper cabinets and shelves in the kitchen.

Safety and convenience are the big pluses for the step. The traditional solutions for the not-tall-enough problem involve moving around cumbersome stepping stools, dragging tipsy, unsafe chairs across the kitchen floor, or other, perhaps safer but more time consuming approaches. The step would be just a kick or a push of a button away, and would prevent a very quick, stable surface to stand on while leaving the rest of the kitchen undisturbed and occupying minimal space. The step will actually have a minor surface at approximately 3.5 inches, and the top surface will be at approximately 9 inches relative to the floor, so no need to worry about 9 inches being to big of a step for a youngster.

There are, however, two distinct disadvantages of the step: cost and cupboard access. The cost of the prototype (a four-foot long segment of step) will be pushing $1000. It will be made of aluminum and will be much more expensive than a production model could cost, but it is clearly a huge expense to solve an age-old problem. The second problem with this design is that, when the step is deployed, the cupboards from under which it was deployed are rendered inaccessible until the step is tucked away again. This isn't a terrible thing, and is virtually unavoidable. Currently, the same problem applies: if someone is standing on a chair to reach the counter top, they must get off the chair and move it if they wish to access the cupboards in front of it.

User interface: There are several options for a user interface for the step. My preference is to simply have a button or a touch sensitive switch in the vicinity of each step segment (either on the counter top, or under the lip, or on the front of a drawer, etc.) that actuates the step. Another more familiar option would be to have the step be kick-activated. A simple latch would keep the step hidden away, and if you user wish to use it, he/she would simply give a light kick to the kick space, take a step back, and out comes the step. This latter idea would certainly feel more natural to people, and the first idea, I believe, would have a more dramatic, Jetson's-like feel to it. The desired feel depends greatly on the target audience, I suppose. Further ideas could involve a master switch on the way in the kitchen door, where a child entering the kitchen could automatically activate all steps, knowing that he/she can't reach any of the countertops or cupboards! Height and weight sensors upon entering the kitchen could also play a future role in having the kitchen attempt to determine if the person entering the kitchen might be in need of the step. This, as well as other more far-fetched ideas (voice activation?) remain as conceptual brain candy.

Essentially, the step starts out as an aluminum box approximately 3.5 inches thick, and extends and expands to a step that is 9 inches tall. There will be only one motor to actuate all motions of the step. While latched in the closed position, there is a compressed spring between the step and the wall. Upon activation, the latch is released and the spring drives the step forward, out from underneath the cupboards. There will of course be a damper in parallel to with this spring, so the motion of the cupboard will be a smooth and gentle one, and the step won't knock the poor unsuspecting child off his/her feet! Once the step portion of the box has cleared the cupboards, two spring-loaded hinged rails will spring open (also damped, of course), supporting the surface of the upper step on top of them. These rails will spring to a beyond stable position (10 degrees past vertical) where they will hit stoppers and will be unable to fall back down into their closed position once stepped on. The two spring-loaded rails that support the step will run the full width of the step (in this case, four feet), and therefore run perpendicular to the direction of motion of the step as it slides out. The step is now fully deployed and safe to be stepped on. The step will not open if someone manages to jump onto it before it is fully deployed!

The one motor is utilized in retracting the step, bringing it back to its home under the cupboards. The motor is mounted in the base of the step itself, and consists of a spool for winding steel cable. The cable runs from the spool of the motor, straight through a pulley attached to the wall at the back of the cupboards (where the main compression spring is attached), out through another pulley at the midpoint of the step (simply to change the cable's direction from horizontal to vertical), where it is attached to another short cable that connects the tops of the two now-deployed rails. Upon winding, the cable tenses throughout, and the springs in the rails (by far weaker than the main compression spring) are the first to give, causing the rails to fold inward. Once the rails have folded all the way down and hit the base of the step, the load on the motor increases slightly as it now begins to compress the main compression spring, as it pulls the step back into the space under the cupboards. Once the step is all the way back into its dark home, a switch is triggered which shuts the motor off, and the latch is deployed, holding the step in place. One implementation that is clear is that, in order for the step to extend under spring power alone, the motor geartrain must be backdriveable. This could actually be used in our favor, as the backdriving of the motor could partially serve as a damper to smooth out the harsh motions imparted by the springs.

This is a legitimate solution to an old problem, albeit an expensive and somewhat complex solution. For this reason, the step is not being built right now, but remains as an innovative idea. Alternative solutions could include hiding two pistons or screwdrive transmissions beneath the kitchen floor for each segment of step, and have it rise vertically from the floor. This solution could actually be activated while the person stood on the step. While it is a simpler solution, it is probably even more expensive than the hide-in-the-kickspace style.