Bottom Entry Sauna Design for Heat Retention and 360 Seating
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing saunas and therapy rooms with side entrances suffer from heat loss and reduced seating capacity due to the door being at the same level as the heated chamber, leading to frustration among users and inefficient energy use.
Innovation Solution
The solution involves locating the ingress and egress point on the floor of the structure, lifting the sauna or therapeutic room off the ground, and maintaining an open bottom aperture to minimize heat loss and allow 360-degree seating, reducing energy consumption and enhancing user experience.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a side door is used for ingress and egress, then users can easily enter and exit the sauna, but heat is lost every time the door is opened and the seating area is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional side-door entry location to a bottom-floor entry location. This inversion allows the door to be positioned at the lowest point of the sauna structure, below the main heated chamber, thereby minimizing heat loss while maintaining ease of entry and exit.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a horizontal side-door entry to a vertical bottom-entry configuration. By moving the door location from the side wall to the floor level and incorporating steps leading down to the door, it utilizes the vertical dimension to separate the entry point from the main heated space, reducing thermal exposure during entry and exit.
2Ease of manufacture
If a side door is used for ingress and egress, then the structure is simple to construct, but the seating area is reduced and users cannot face each other in 360 degrees
Solution Approach 1:
By inverting the door location from side to bottom, the patent frees up the entire side wall perimeter for continuous 360-degree seating. The door is positioned at the floor level with steps leading down, allowing benches to wrap around the entire interior circumference without interruption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the entry function from the main seating space by placing the door at the floor level with steps leading down to it. This separation allows the upper heated chamber to be completely surrounded by seating areas, maximizing the usable seating perimeter.
3Loss of time
If users enter and exit frequently through a side door, then short-duration users can quickly leave, but the room temperature drops and frustrates long-duration users
Solution Approach 1:
By positioning the door in the vertical dimension below the main heated chamber and requiring users to descend steps to enter, the patent creates a thermal buffer zone. This vertical separation reduces direct thermal exchange during frequent entries and exits, stabilizing the room temperature for long-duration users.
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
This design significantly reduces heat loss, increases usable seating area, and promotes social interaction by allowing users to face each other, while requiring less energy to maintain a consistent thermal environment, thus improving user satisfaction and energy efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
since heat rises, if the door is located on the floor of the therapeutic chamber 1, heat is not lost when individuals enter or exit
Data Source
AI summary
The invention disrupts the paradigm of the side entrance within the field of saunas, steam rooms and therapeutic chambers. The invention reorients the entrance from a door in the side of a therapeutic chamber, as is the situation in the prior art, and places the point of ingress and egress to the bottom or floor of the chamber. Without a side entry door, much less heat is lost when individuals enter and exit the chamber. Furthermore, this invention creates the opportunity for 360 degree seating in steam rooms and saunas, which is exemplified in the embodiment of the prototype named Steam Egg, which is a ten and a half foot tall freestanding egg shaped, mirror covered, steam room that is entered through a hole in the bottom, hovering 33.5 inches off the ground stabilized on three steel legs.