Chair ganger with interpersonal shield
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Solution Overview
Problem
In crowded seating arrangements, such as concert halls or waiting rooms, the spacing between chairs can be inadequate to prevent the transmission of airborne diseases, particularly during pandemics, as exhaled gases can easily spread between adjacent users.
Innovation Solution
The integration of an interpersonal shield within a chair ganging bracket assembly that positions a transparent or partially transparent barrier between the respiratory orifices of adjacent chairs, creating a physical obstruction to exhaled gases while maintaining airflow and preventing physical contact, and a ganger bracket that connects chairs at a spaced configuration to resist racking movements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If chairs are ganged together with minimal spacing to maximize seating capacity, then productivity increases, but the risk of airborne disease transmission increases due to inadequate spacing between respiratory orifices
Solution Approach 1:
A transparent shield is introduced as an intermediary element between adjacent chairs, physically blocking the transmission of airborne particles while allowing light to pass through. The shield is mounted on the ganging bracket and extends between the respiratory orifices of adjacent users, creating a barrier that prevents disease transmission without compromising seating capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The solution adds a vertical dimension to the spacing problem by extending the shield upward from the ganging bracket to a height that intersects the respiratory orifices of seated users. This vertical barrier creates effective separation in the third dimension, preventing lateral transmission of airborne diseases while maintaining horizontal seating density.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a transparent shield is added to the ganging bracket to block exhaled gases, then protection against airborne diseases improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The shield is integrated with the ganging bracket assembly, combining the structural support function of the bracket with the protective function of the shield. The bracket serves dual purposes: mechanically connecting adjacent chairs and providing mounting support for the transparent shield, thereby reducing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
A thin, transparent shield material is used to create the barrier. This thin-film approach provides effective obstruction of airborne particles while minimizing structural complexity, weight, and visual interference. The transparent nature of the material maintains an open feeling in the seating area.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the ganging bracket is designed to provide adequate spacing between chairs, then protection against disease transmission improves, but the bracket becomes an inappropriate structure for users to sit on
Solution Approach 1:
The transparent shield acts as an intermediary element that makes the ganging bracket unsuitable for sitting. By positioning the shield between the bracket and the user's potential contact area, it creates an uncomfortable barrier that prevents users from sitting on the bracket while maintaining the spacing function.
Solution Approach 2:
The shield extends vertically from the bracket, creating a three-dimensional obstruction that interferes with the comfort and appropriateness of sitting on the bracket. This vertical extension ensures that even if users attempt to sit on the bracket, the shield provides an uncomfortable barrier.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If the shield extends fully to the floor to maximize obstruction, then protection against disease transmission improves, but airflow for the user is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The shield is positioned with specific local quality characteristics: it extends vertically to a height that intersects the respiratory orifices of adjacent users, providing effective obstruction where needed. However, it does not extend fully to the floor, allowing airflow to pass underneath and maintaining user comfort while achieving the protective function.
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 configuration enhances protection against airborne disease transmission by obstructing the flow of exhaled gases and resisting racking forces, thereby maintaining optimal spacing and stability between chairs.
Implementation Method 1
the interpersonal shield can be transparent so as to preserve a feeling of openness. Additionally, in some embodiments, the interpersonal shield does not extend all the way to the floor or completely surround each chair. Rather, in some embodiments, the interpersonal shield is suspended above the ground and spaced from each chair such that there is enhanced airflow for the user.
Data Source
AI summary
A chair ganging assembly can include a chair ganger bracket connecting two chairs together and an interpersonal shield for supporting an interpersonal shield between two chairs that are ganged together.