Articulating Chair Seat and Footrests for Easier Standing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional chairs do not effectively stretch inner leg muscles, leading to muscle stiffness and making it difficult for individuals, especially older or convalescing people, to arise from a seated position without straining their back or legs.
Innovation Solution
A chair design with a separable front portion and adjustable footrests that allows users to sit with one foot on each footrest, pronate their knees, and then align one foot beneath their buttocks, facilitating muscle stretch and reducing the effort required to stand up by allowing the seat to be raised in elevation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a conventional chair with a fixed seat is used, then the chair structure is simple and stable, but it does not effectively stretch inner leg muscles and makes it difficult for users to stand up without straining
Solution Approach 1:
The chair seat is divided into multiple sections: a fixed rear portion and a front portion that can be separated laterally. This segmentation allows the front section to move independently to facilitate leg stretching and easier standing, while the rear portion remains stable to support the user's body weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The chair incorporates movable components including the separable front seat section and adjustable footrests that can be positioned at different elevations. These dynamic elements enable the chair to adapt to different user needs during sitting, leg stretching, and standing transitions, improving ease of operation.
2Ease of operation
If the chair seat is raised to a higher elevation to reduce effort for standing, then ease of standing is improved, but the chair structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The chair incorporates a height adjustment mechanism that allows the seat to be raised or lowered as needed. This dynamic height adjustment enables users to optimize the seat elevation for easier standing while maintaining a relatively simple overall chair structure through the use of standard adjustment components.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the front portion of the seat is made laterally separable to stretch inner leg muscles, then muscle stretching is improved, but the chair structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The chair seat is divided into multiple sections: a fixed rear portion and a front portion that can be separated laterally. This segmentation allows the front section to move independently to facilitate leg stretching, while the rear portion remains stable to support the user's body weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The chair allows for lateral separation of the front seat section by a variable distance, enabling users to adjust the separation extent to achieve optimal inner leg muscle stretching. This parameter adjustment capability provides adaptability while maintaining structural simplicity through straightforward mechanical connections.
Data Source
AI summary
A method to facilitate moving from a seated position to an upright position utilizes a chair including a seat with articulating sections and associated foot rests.