Foldable Exercise Platform for Bed Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Individuals with mobility impairments face difficulties in performing exercise routines due to inability to get down to or up from the floor, and soft mattresses provide an ineffective or unsafe surface for exercise, acting as a barrier to compliance with prescribed exercise programs.
Innovation Solution
A portable exercise platform with hinging panels that can be unfolded and placed on various surfaces, including beds and mattresses, featuring a top surface for user support and a bottom surface for contact with the substrate, with optional padding, upholstery, and sliding supports to prevent folding and ensure stability on soft surfaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If exercise is performed on a soft mattress or bed, then accessibility and comfort are improved, but exercise effectiveness and safety deteriorate due to insufficient support
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a firm exercise platform as an intermediary surface between the user and the soft mattress. This platform provides the necessary rigidity and support for effective exercise while allowing the user to remain on the bed, thus mediating between the conflicting requirements of comfort/accessibility and exercise safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The exercise platform is divided into multiple panels that can be folded or assembled, allowing it to be easily deployed on soft surfaces and stored when not in use. This segmentation enables the platform to adapt to different bed configurations while maintaining structural integrity for safe exercise.
2Reliability
If exercise is performed on the floor, then exercise effectiveness is improved, but accessibility and safety deteriorate for individuals with mobility impairments
Solution Approach 1:
The exercise platform raises the exercise surface to the same level as the bed, eliminating the need for users to lower themselves to the floor. This creates an equipotential surface that is accessible to users with mobility impairments while still providing a firm, effective exercise surface.
3Reliability
If a firm exercise surface is used, then exercise safety and effectiveness are improved, but portability and ease of storage deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The firm exercise surface is divided into multiple panels that can be folded together for compact storage or easily separated for transport. This segmentation maintains the structural rigidity needed for safe exercise while enabling portability and simple storage in small spaces.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of the present invention comprise a portable exercise platform allowing users to exercise on a soft substrate. The portable exercise platform comprises at least three panels wherein the at least three panels are connected by at least one hinging device allowing the at least three panels to lay flat or fold into proximity to each other. The at least three panels are configured with a top surface and bottom surface such that the top surface is configured to support a user and the bottom surface is configured to contact the soft substrate when the portable exercise platform is lying flat.