Flexible member with adjustable stiffness for bedding and/or seating furniture
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing flexible elements with adjustable stiffness for seating and sleeping furniture are complex and bulky, failing to provide a simple and compact solution for adapting to different user preferences and anatomies.
Innovation Solution
A flexible element with adjustable stiffness featuring radially deforming springs and a rotary part with elastically flexible fingers, allowing for gradual adjustment of resistance through rotation, enabling the creation of a support surface with adjustable firmness by varying the overhang of the springs, and potentially integrating multiple elements for simultaneous adjustment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If complex mechanisms are used to adjust stiffness of flexible elements, then stiffness adjustment capability is improved, but device complexity and footprint increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a dynamic adjustment mechanism where a rotating element changes the position of spring anchors along flexible fingers. This allows the stiffness of the flexible element to be continuously adjusted by rotating the element, which modifies the cantilever length of the spring anchors. The dynamic reconfiguration of the spring-finger arrangement enables stiffness adaptation without complex mechanical structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the geometric parameter of the spring-finger system by rotating the adjustment element, which alters the effective cantilever length of the spring anchors. This parameter change (rotation angle) directly controls the stiffness characteristic of the flexible element, providing a simple yet effective way to adjust mechanical properties without adding complexity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If existing adjustment mechanisms are implemented, then stiffness variability is improved, but structural footprint and bulk increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the adjustment mechanism with the existing spring-finger structure. The rotating element is integrated into the assembly, and the spring anchors are positioned along the flexible fingers rather than being fixed. This merging allows the adjustment function to be achieved within the existing structural envelope, minimizing additional footprint while providing variability in stiffness.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces rotational movement in a third dimension (around the central axis) to achieve stiffness adjustment. Instead of linear extension or complex multi-axis mechanisms, the solution uses rotation to reposition spring anchors, effectively using angular displacement to control mechanical stiffness. This dimensional approach compactly packs the adjustment mechanism within a small radial space.
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 solution provides a simple, compact, and adjustable flexible element that can be integrated into furniture, allowing for customizable firmness and comfort by adjusting the resistance of the springs, enhancing user experience through adaptable support surfaces.
Implementation Method 1
one or more adjustable springs, each configured to deform radially about a central axis under the effect of an axial stress along the central axis
Implementation Method 2
one or more elastically flexible fingers, each extending from a first end fixed to the hub of the rotating part, along an arc of a circle around the central axis, to a second end... each cooperating, in a radial direction about the central axis, with one or more of the adjustable springs
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
The invention relates to a flexible element (10) with adjustable stiffness for a sleeping and/or seating unit (200, 300). This element (10) comprises one or more adjustable helical springs (15, 16) and a rotating part (20). The rotating part (20) has a hub (21) capable of rotating about the central axis (Z) and one or more elastically flexible fingers (23). Each finger (23) extends from a first end (23a) fixed to the hub (21) of the rotating part (20), along an arc (A) around the central axis (Z), to a second end (23b), and cooperates with a corresponding end (15a, 16a) of one or more of the adjustable helical springs (15, 16).