Adjustable Body Brace Locking Assembly for Variable Fit
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional body braces are unable to adjust their total length, leading to inadequate support for varied body sizes and requiring multiple purchases due to changes in injury conditions or disease progression.
Innovation Solution
An adjustable body brace with an adjusting assembly featuring a base, slider, and fixing module, allowing for adjustable total length through a locking mechanism that enables easy adjustment of the slider's position relative to the base.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a conventional body brace uses a fixed length design, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but it cannot accommodate varied body sizes and requires multiple purchases for different users
Solution Approach 1:
The body brace is divided into multiple segments including a first board, a second board, and an adjusting assembly with base and slider. This segmentation allows independent adjustment of each component's position, enabling the brace to adapt to different body sizes while maintaining manageable structural complexity through modular design
Solution Approach 2:
The adjusting assembly introduces dynamic elements including a slider that can move along the base and a fixing module with engaging units that can be positioned at different locations. This dynamic structure allows the brace length to be adjusted and locked at various positions, providing adaptability to different body sizes without requiring multiple fixed-length braces
2Adaptability or versatility
If a conventional body brace has fixed support positions, then the manufacturing and inventory cost is lower, but it cannot accommodate changes in injury conditions or disease progression
Solution Approach 1:
The adjusting assembly with its movable slider and multiple engaging units allows a single body brace to serve multiple functions by adjusting support positions according to different injury conditions or disease progression stages. This multi-functionality eliminates the need to manufacture and stock multiple specialized braces for different conditions, reducing overall manufacturing and inventory costs
3Ease of operation
If a body brace requires frequent replacement due to size or condition changes, then a single design can be maintained, but user convenience and cost-effectiveness decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The fixing module includes pre-designed engaging units positioned at predetermined locations along the base, allowing users to quickly adjust and lock the slider at the desired position without complex procedures. This preliminary arrangement of adjustment mechanisms enables rapid adaptation to size or condition changes, significantly reducing the time and effort required for adjustment compared to replacing the entire brace
Data Source
AI summary
“An adjustable body brace includes an adjusting assembly and two board units. The adjusting assembly includes a base, a slider, and a fixing module. The base has a limit groove and two wall surfaces. The limit groove extends along a length direction; two wall surfaces are located at two opposite lateral sides of the limit groove. The slider is movably mounted on the base. The fixing module is connected to the slider and includes an engaging unit and an elastic unit connected to each other. The engaging unit has an engaging portion selectively located in the limit groove and engaging with the two wall surfaces to fix a position of the slider with respect to the base. The two board units are respectively connected to the base and the slider. With the engaging unit engaged in different positions of the limit groove, the position of the slider is adjustable.”