Hammock With Segmented Enclosures For Sensory Stimulation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing body supporting structures, such as hammocks, often reduce blood supply to body parts and fail to stimulate additional senses simultaneously, limiting their effectiveness in providing relaxation and sensory stimulation.

Innovation Solution

A hammock design featuring an upper and lower layer connected to form enclosures with freely moving support members that act as pressure points, stimulating kinesthetic, vestibular, and proprioceptive senses by allowing movement and pressure distribution, adaptable to various users through adjustable hardness and size of support members.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If body supporting structures such as blankets are used to stimulate kinesthetic sense, then ease of anxiety is provided, but blood supply to the resting body part is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveanxiety relief effectivenessVSAvoidreduced blood supply
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The hammock is divided into multiple independent enclosures (20-30 enclosures), each containing individual support members. This segmentation allows each enclosure to independently support body parts while maintaining space between them, preventing the continuous pressure that would restrict blood flow, while still providing comprehensive kinesthetic stimulation across the entire body surface.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Each enclosure contains support members with specific local properties (hardness, size, spacing) that can be optimized for different body regions. The support members are configured to provide appropriate pressure points for sensory stimulation while their distributed arrangement ensures that no single area experiences excessive pressure that would harm blood supply.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

2Ease of operation

If traditional hammocks are used for relaxation, then body support is provided, but additional senses are not stimulated simultaneously

Engineering Contradiction:
Improverelaxation comfortVSAvoidsensory stimulation capability
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The hammock is designed to simultaneously perform multiple functions: providing body support for relaxation, stimulating kinesthetic sense through support member pressure points, and activating vestibular and proprioceptive senses through the array configuration. This multi-functionality is achieved by integrating support, sensation, and positioning capabilities into a single system.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The invention transitions from traditional single-layer hammock design to a three-dimensional array of enclosures containing support members. This dimensional expansion creates multiple interaction points between the user's body and the support structure, enabling simultaneous stimulation of multiple sensory systems while maintaining relaxation comfort.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

Data Source

PatentEP4166126B1hammock
Publication Date: 2024.08.14 SPEKTRUMSHOP APS
  • EP4166126B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP4166126B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4
  • EP4166126B1 patent drawingFigure 5~6

AI summary

A hammock comprising an upper part and a lower part is disclosed. The upper and lower part are connected together in such a manner that they form a layer comprising a plurality of enclosures. Each enclosure comprises a plurality of support members. The plurality of support members are arranged and configured to freely move within the enclosures. The support members are rigid structures.