Bicycle Saddle with Crossed Struts for Pressure Relief
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional bicycle saddles exert excessive pressure on the perineal area in men and the pubic bone in women, leading to discomfort and potential sexual performance issues, and cause back pain due to inadequate pressure relief and lack of adaptability to individual body features.
Innovation Solution
A bicycle saddle design featuring a standard frame with carbon fiber, titanium, or steel struts that allow for controlled lateral tilting movement, providing a progressive spring characteristic and adjustable flexibility to minimize pressure on sit bones and promote comfort, using a combination of material hardness and fiber design to adapt to different body types.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a conventional hard saddle shell is used, then the saddle provides structural stability and support, but it creates excessive pressure on the perineal area and pubic bone
Solution Approach 1:
The saddle is divided into a hard shell structure and a separate suspension system with struts, allowing the shell to maintain structural integrity while the suspension elements independently manage pressure distribution and reduce harmful pressure points
Solution Approach 2:
The suspension struts act as intermediary elements between the hard saddle shell and the rider's body, mediating the force transmission and reducing direct pressure on sensitive areas while maintaining overall structural support
2Stability of the object's composition
If the saddle is made stiff to ensure stability, then the saddle maintains its position, but it cannot adapt to individual body features and causes back problems
Solution Approach 1:
The saddle incorporates dynamic suspension struts that can flex and adjust to different body positions and weights, allowing the saddle to adapt to individual riders while maintaining stability through the progressive spring characteristic of the suspension system
3Object-affected harmful factors
If soft materials are used in the saddle shell to reduce pressure, then pressure on sensitive areas decreases, but the saddle shell bends in the longitudinal direction and loses support
Solution Approach 1:
The saddle system is segmented into a rigid shell for longitudinal stability and separate suspension struts for pressure management, allowing each component to perform its specialized function without compromising the other
Solution Approach 2:
The suspension struts use composite material construction (carbon fiber, titanium, or steel) to achieve optimal balance between flexibility for pressure relief and structural integrity for maintaining saddle shape and support
4Weight of moving object
If carbon fiber struts are used, then the saddle becomes lighter and more flexible, but the manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent provides parameter options for the struts, allowing manufacturers to select from different materials (carbon fiber, titanium, steel) and cross-sectional designs to balance weight reduction goals with manufacturing cost constraints based on specific application requirements
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
The saddle reduces pressure peaks on the perineal and pubic areas, minimizes back pain by mobilizing intervertebral discs, and ensures stability and lightness, while being cost-effective and adaptable to various body characteristics.
Implementation Method 1
The struts (2, 3) enable a lateral tilting movement of the saddle shell (1)... This elasticity and adaptability of the saddle through the tilting movement
Implementation Method 2
If weight is applied to the saddle shell, the seat stays 2, 3 bend downwards, increasing the length of the stays and tensioning the saddle shell 1. This results in a progressive spring characteristic
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
1. Saddle for two-wheeled vehicles, in particular for bicycles, comprising at least one saddle shell (1), with or without padding, and with two struts (2, 3), a left strut (2) and a right strut (3), which are connected to the saddle shell (1) both at the saddle nose (4) and in the rear saddle area (5), wherein the two struts (2, 3) cross once (6) in the rear saddle area (5) without touching or being connected to each other, so that they are each connected to the saddle shell (1) via the rear attachments (7, 8) on the opposite side of the saddle from the side on which they are attached at the front at the saddle nose.