Chair Rolling Surface with Elastic Damping for Quiet Stable Tilting

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional tiltable chairs with rolling surfaces experience excessive deformation, leading to instability and noise due to uneven curvatures, making it difficult for users to maintain posture and balance.

Innovation Solution

A chair design featuring a connection member with relief holes and an elastic member between the upper and lower base units, allowing smooth movement and preventing rattling and noise, with the upper base unit capable of 360-degree rotation and the elastic member being an elastic resin foam body or sheet.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If a rolling surface is used to enable seat movement, then the seat can follow user movement and improve comfort, but uneven curvatures in the rolling surface cause rattling and noise

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveseat movementVSAvoidrattling and noise
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces an elastic member as an intermediary element between the upper and lower base units. This elastic member absorbs the irregularities and uneven curvatures in the rolling surface, preventing them from transmitting rattling and noise to the seat structure while still allowing smooth movement. The elastic member acts as a mediator that decouples the harmful vibrations from the functional movement.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The elastic member is positioned in advance between the base units to cushion and absorb potential rattling and noise before they can propagate through the structure. By pre-positioning this damping element, the design proactively prevents harmful vibrations rather than reacting to them after occurrence.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #11Beforehand cushioning (Prior cushioning)

2Adaptability or versatility

If the rolling surface has uneven curvatures for functional reasons, then design flexibility is improved, but stability and smooth operation deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedesign flexibilityVSAvoidoperational stability
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSStability of the object's composition

Solution Approach 1:

The elastic member serves as a mediator that allows the rolling surface to maintain its uneven curvature design for functional flexibility while preventing these irregularities from affecting operational stability. The elastic component absorbs the geometric imperfections, enabling both design freedom and smooth operation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Ease of operation

If connection members with relief holes are used to enable movement, then ease of operation is improved, but structural rigidity may be reduced

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemovement capabilityVSAvoidstructural rigidity
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSStrength

Solution Approach 1:

The connection members are designed with relief holes that segment the structure, allowing localized flexibility for movement while maintaining overall structural integrity. The relief holes create discrete zones of flexibility rather than compromising the entire connection member's strength.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The relief holes are strategically positioned to provide local flexibility only where needed for movement, while the rest of the connection member maintains its full structural rigidity. This localized approach to flexibility preserves strength in critical areas while enabling operation where required.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

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

Enables the chair to follow the user's movement, maintaining balance and stability while preventing rattling and noise, even with uneven curvatures, by using connection members and an elastic member to absorb changes in curvature.

Implementation Method 1

an elastic member 33 is interposed between the region having a different curvature 31P and a corresponding region of an opposing surface

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectElasticity: Elasticity

Data Source

PatentEP4159088B1chair
Publication Date: 2024.07.31 KOKUYO CO LTD
  • EP4159088B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4159088B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4159088B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

Provided is an unprecedented chair in which movement of a seat by using a rolling surface can be smoothly performed. The chair includes an upper base unit 31 and a lower base unit 32 facing each other, and a seat 1 that is provided in the upper base unit 31 and swings when the upper base unit 31 rolls with respect to the lower base unit 32, and the upper base unit 31, which is at least one of the upper base unit 31 and the lower base unit 32, includes a rolling surface 312a being curved. In the chair, a region having a different curvature exists in a part of the rolling surface 312a, and an elastic member 33 is interposed between the region having the different curvature and a corresponding region of an opposing surface.