Height adjustable support surface and system for encouraging human movement and promoting wellness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional height-adjustable sit-stand desks lack intelligence and fail to adapt to user changes and environmental conditions, leading to inconsistent use and reduced health benefits due to lack of biometric data integration and adaptive operation.
Innovation Solution
A power-assisted sit-stand workstation with an electronic controller that uses user-profile information, biometric sensors, and environmental data to create a custom height-adjustment schedule, adapting to user fatigue and fitness levels, and encouraging regular use through sound, light, and displacement cues.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional height-adjustable sit-stand desks are used, then basic height adjustment functionality is provided, but they lack intelligence and fail to adapt to user changes and environmental conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates biometric sensors that continuously monitor user physiological data (heart rate, body temperature, galvanic skin response) and environmental conditions, feeding this information back to the controller which automatically adjusts desk height and provides reminders, enabling adaptive operation without requiring complex manual programming by the user
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs self-adjustment based on sensor data, automatically modifying workstation parameters and issuing reminders without user intervention, while still allowing manual override when needed, thus reducing the operational burden on users while maintaining high adaptability
2Ease of operation
If conventional sit-stand desks without adaptive features are used, then device complexity is low, but user adherence to regular standing and sitting intervals is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses biometric sensors to monitor user state and provides real-time feedback through visual, auditory, and haptic reminders when standing or sitting intervals are due, significantly improving user adherence to healthy posture patterns without requiring complex user programming
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual timing and reminder mechanisms with automated electronic control based on biometric sensor data, using microprocessors and communication circuits to manage height adjustment schedules and user reminders, thereby improving ease of operation while accepting increased device complexity
3Reliability
If height-adjustable desks with basic functionality are used, then device complexity is manageable, but health benefits are inconsistent due to lack of adaptive operation
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors user biometric data and environmental conditions, automatically adjusting workstation parameters to maintain optimal health benefits, ensuring consistent and reliable health outcomes through closed-loop control rather than static pre-programming
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic height adjustment based on real-time sensor data rather than static pre-set positions, allowing the workstation to adapt continuously to changing user needs and environmental conditions, thereby ensuring consistent health benefits through flexible, real-time optimization
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems for reminding a user to adjust a height adjustable workstation that includes a worktop supported by a frame, an interface including user input controls and a vertical displacement drive mechanism, the user input controls including at least one input control, each of the user input controls for receiving manual direct user selections from a workstation user to activate the drive mechanism to initiate worktop elevation adjustments to a different worktop elevation positions, an exemplary method comprising the steps of monitoring at least one condition related to ongoing use of the worktop over a period of time while a user is associated with the worktop and when the at least one condition occurs, without any user selection to initiate a change in worktop height via the interface subsequent to the at least one condition occurring, moving the worktop to remind the user to perform some activity.