Breakaway Walker Tray With Crushable Grip-Fit Structure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing walker trays are typically made of hard-plastic materials that can be unsafe if a user falls on them, are difficult to install, and increase the weight and instability of the walker, making them unsuitable for users with reduced dexterity or strength.
Innovation Solution
A breakaway walker tray made from a lightweight, crushable material like expanded polystyrene, featuring tubular grips that engage with walker supports for easy attachment and detachment, ensuring safety by breaking under user weight and providing a secure fit.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a hard-plastic material is used for the walker tray, then the tray is durable and washable, but it becomes unsafe if a user falls on it and can cause injury
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter from hard plastic to a softer, yieldable material that can deform under impact forces. This parameter change allows the tray to maintain durability for normal use while providing safety by yielding when a user falls on it, preventing injury from rigid surfaces.
2Stability of the object's composition
If a traditional walker tray is designed to permanently attach to the walker, then it provides stable support, but it becomes difficult to install and remove, especially for users with reduced dexterity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the attachment function from the tray body by incorporating separate grip structures that can be independently engaged with the walker frame. This segmentation allows the tray to be easily attached and removed through simple grip engagement while maintaining stability during use, making it accessible for users with reduced dexterity.
3Reliability
If a walker tray is designed with complex attachment mechanisms to ensure secure attachment, then it improves reliability, but it increases the weight and complexity of the overall walker system
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the attachment mechanism from complex multi-component structures and simplifies it to integrated grip structures that are part of the tray body itself. This extraction reduces overall device complexity and weight while maintaining reliable attachment through the simplified but effective grip design that engages directly with the walker frame.
4Weight of moving object
If a walker tray is made from lightweight material, then it reduces the overall weight of the walker, but it may compromise the structural strength and durability of the tray
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs composite material characteristics by combining a yieldable, lightweight material with integrated grip structures that provide structural reinforcement where needed. This composite approach allows the tray to remain lightweight for ease of walker movement while maintaining sufficient strength through the composite structure of the yieldable material and integrated grips.
Data Source
AI summary
The breakaway walker tray includes a body defining a relatively planar surface and a pair of tubular grips formed from a portion of the body and selectively engageable with a pair of supports at least partially defining a frame of a walker. Each of the pair of tubular grips may be respectively engageable with the pair of supports in substantial friction-fit engagement therewith substantially along an entire surface area thereof. Moreover, the pair of tubular grips may break away from the pair of supports when under a load of a user falling on the body. Additionally, the body may also be made from a material having a rigidity maintaining the structure of the relatively planar surface when the body is coupled to the walker, while also being crushable under the weight of a user of the walker.