Electromagnetic Anti-Tipping Device for Mobility Aids
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Solution Overview
Problem
Individuals with impaired mobility and balance, using mobile balance and mobility aids like walkers and canes, often experience falls due to instability, especially in environments like maritime vessels, as these aids lack secure attachment to stationary surfaces.
Innovation Solution
An electromagnetic anti-tipping device that uses battery-powered electromagnets to securely attach the legs or wheels of mobility aids to a magnetically responsive surface, allowing users to activate a steady attachment mechanism via a grip or touch-activated sensor, transforming the mobile aid into a fixed balance aid.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If mobile balance and mobility aids are used to provide portability and flexibility, then ease of operation is improved, but stability and reliability deteriorate due to lack of secure attachment to stationary surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The mobility aid incorporates electromagnets that can dynamically switch between active and inactive states. When activated, the electromagnets create a magnetic field that attracts to the magnetically responsive floor, providing stable attachment. When deactivated, the aid remains mobile. This dynamic switching capability allows the same device to fulfill both portable and stable functions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the magnetic field parameter from zero (when electromagnets are off) to a specific magnetic flux density (when electromagnets are on). This parameter change enables the mobility aid to transition between mobile and stationary states, resolving the contradiction between portability and stability.
2Reliability
If fixed balance and mobility aids are installed to provide secure attachment and stability, then reliability is improved, but adaptability deteriorates because they are available for use only where installed
Solution Approach 1:
The electromagnet system allows the balance aid to dynamically transition between fixed and mobile states. When the electromagnets are activated, the aid behaves like a fixed installation with secure attachment. When deactivated, it becomes mobile and can be moved to different locations, providing adaptability that fixed installations lack.
Solution Approach 2:
The mobility aid serves multiple functions: it can be used as a portable support device during movement, and as a stationary stable support when electromagnets are activated. This multi-functionality allows a single device to replace both mobile and fixed balance aids in different situations.
3Reliability
If electromagnets are activated to secure the mobility aid to the floor, then stability is improved, but use of energy increases due to battery power consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The electromagnets are activated periodically or on-demand rather than continuously. The system can be triggered by sensors detecting user needs, or manually activated by the user when stability is required. This periodic activation reduces overall energy consumption while maintaining stability when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates sensors that can automatically detect when stability assistance is needed and activate the electromagnets without continuous user input. The mobility aid serves itself by monitoring its own operational state and activating the magnetic attachment system only when necessary, optimizing energy usage.
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
The device effectively prevents falls by providing a secure attachment to the floor, enhancing user stability and reducing the risk of injuries, allowing users to regain balance and move safely, even in unstable conditions.
Implementation Method 1
electromagnets cause the legs and/or wheels of the mobility aid to be attracted magnetically to the magnetically responsive floor beneath them
Data Source
AI summary
An electromagnetic anti-tipping device uses electromagnets to steady users and prevent falls by persons with impaired mobility and balance. The device's steadying effect is accomplished by magnetically attracting the legs and/or wheels of balance and mobility assisting apparatus (“balance and mobility aid(s)”) to a stationary surface such as a floor which is made of or covered with a magnetically responsive material. In one embodiment, the device's electromagnet attraction to the floor or other stationary surface is actuated when the operator of the device triggers the device's mechanism or sensor by grip or touch. Once actuated, and until deactivation by the user, the device's electromagnet(s) secure the legs or wheels of the balance and mobility aid to the magnetically responsive floor or other stationary surface. The electromagnets are battery-powered.