Chair for an enhanced learning environment

Abstract

A chair with a vertically moveable seat member and a knee-shin rest member mounted on a base unit with foot rest members in a relationship to provide a kneeling-like sitting position.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60 / 619,445, filed Oct. 15, 2005, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by this reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] This invention relates to seating and more particularly to a chair providing movement and dynamic activity and is especially useful in the learning environment for students. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Some students are very sluggish and tend to lay their heads on their desks or prop themselves up on their elbows. Other students tend to be so full of the wiggles that they can't stop bothering their neighbors or focus on the directions from the teacher. Both groups of students need help with getting “ready” to learn. With the expectation that no child will be left behind, schools and teachers need help with providing the student with learning options. Diversity within a classroom is becoming more of a requirement, simply ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0015] The huge implicit sensory systems of vestibular (movement and gravity, located in the inner ear), proprioceptive (muscle spindle activity) and tactile (skin boundary) are important for the “physical sense of self”. The physical sense of self is the foundation for a psychological sense of self. A psychological sense of self allows higher cognitive function of attention, memory and problem solving. In a classroom a child must have a reliable foundation in order to learn. The physical sense of self also relies on good sleep, nutrition and emotional supports. Symptoms of ADHD, Autism and Learning Problems appear to be on the rise. These children require enriched learning experiences to reach their potential.

[0016] The seating positions of the chair of this invention offer several physical advantages to learners. These positions “alert” the system by stimulating the anti-gravity muscles. This activates head and neck activity that helps focus the eyes on what is important. A student who is in a position of sitting upright with legs “locked” into a kneeling position feels more “grounded,” safe and secure. The arms are free to work at tabletop activity such as writing or math work. The chair permits the hips to be active and as a result, the spine becomes active. This is feeding the systems that tell us where we are, what is up / down, and in what relationship we are to other people and objects. It feeds the discriminatory central brain systems that help us inhibit extraneous stimulation or tune out what is unimportant, like the noise of the neighbors pencil or the scratching of items or voices other than the teachers. The brain chemicals that help us modulate (tune up what is important and tune down what is unimportant) are all elicited by the huge sensory systems of vestibular, proprioception and tactile information.

[0017] Sitting in the chair the user, generally a student, is placed in a kneeling-like sitting position with the feet firmly against rests on the floor. The chair has a seat member, a knee-shin rest member and a rest member for each foot. A base unit supports the seat member, the knee-shin rest member and the foot rest members. The seat member is loosely supported in the base unit to permit vertical movement of the seat member against a spring in the base unit. This results in bounce of the seat member which causes strong sensation to two large sensory systems, viz., the vestibular and proprioception.

Problems solved by technology

This results in bounce of the seat member which causes strong sensation to two large sensory systems, viz., the vestibular and proprioception.

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