Chair with ergonomic motion features
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional ergonomic chairs primarily focus on static posture support, neglecting the health implications of prolonged stationary sitting, and non-traditional ergonomic seating alternatives like stools or mushroom-shaped seats have not been widely adopted due to design issues.
Innovation Solution
A chair design featuring a suspended seat pan and moveable lumbar support, allowing for dynamic movement in multiple degrees of freedom, along with an ergonomic position sensor system to encourage active sitting and provide feedback on posture.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If conventional ergonomic chairs are designed with static posture support, then posture correctness is improved, but user health deteriorates due to prolonged stationary sitting
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by transforming the static seat pan into a dynamic, movable component. The seat pan is suspended by cables and can move in multiple degrees of freedom (forward-backward, left-right, tilting) in response to user movement, encouraging active sitting while maintaining ergonomic support. This resolves the contradiction by making the previously static posture-supporting structure dynamic, allowing users to move freely while still receiving ergonomic guidance.
2Adaptability or versatility
If non-traditional ergonomic seating like stools or mushroom-shaped seats are used to provide freedom of movement, then user mobility is improved, but design problems and lack of widespread adoption occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the seat pan into multiple independent movement zones using cable suspensions at different locations. Each cable can move independently, allowing the seat pan to articulate in multiple degrees of freedom. This segmented approach provides the movement freedom of non-traditional seating while maintaining a more manageable and manufacturable design structure compared to monolithic alternative seating designs.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses cables as intermediary elements between the user's body and the chair frame. These cables transmit and control the movement forces, mediating between the user's natural movement tendencies and the structural requirements of the chair. This intermediary mechanism enables complex multi-directional movement while keeping the overall system design manageable and manufacturable.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a suspended seat pan with multiple degrees of freedom is implemented, then dynamic movement capability is improved, but structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies self-service by designing the suspension system to automatically respond to user movement without requiring external control mechanisms. The cables and seat pan configuration allow the system to self-regulate its movement and positioning based on the user's body movements and weight distribution, reducing the need for complex control systems, sensors, or actuators while maintaining high adaptability.
Data Source
AI summary
A chair comprises a seat pan member, a seat back member having a lumbar support member, a lumbar support assembly operatively connected to the lumbar support member and configured for moving the lumbar support member, with respect to the seat pan member and the seat back member, between at least a first position and a second position, and an actuator configured to operate the lumbar support assembly for movement of the lumbar support member between at least the first position and the second position. When the lumbar support member is in the second position, the lumbar support member is positioned forwardly, in a direction toward the seated user's lower back, relative to the seat back member so as to enable the user to be seated forwardly on the seat pan member while being engaged with the lumbar support member.