Hip-Supported Mobility Frame to Reduce Arm and Shoulder Pain
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional mobility assistance devices, such as crutches and walkers, cause significant pain and discomfort by transferring body weight to the arms and shoulders, limiting individuals' ability to stand or walk for extended periods, and often lead to dependency on wheelchairs, which is detrimental to health due to prolonged sitting.
Innovation Solution
A mobility assistance device with first and second frames positioned on the sides of the user, a hinge arm mechanism, and a walking seat that secures the user with a belt, allowing weight transfer from the legs to the hips or pelvis without requiring arm support, enabling standing, semi-standing, or walking for extended periods.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional mobility assistance devices (crutches and walkers) are used to support body weight, then mobility is enabled, but significant pain and discomfort occur due to weight transfer to arms and shoulders
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a mobility device with a frame and support structure that acts as an intermediary between the user's body weight and the ground. The device transfers weight through the hips or pelvis to the frame rather than through arms and shoulders, eliminating the harmful weight transfer path while maintaining mobility capability
Solution Approach 2:
The mobility device is divided into separate functional components: a frame structure, a hinge arm mechanism, and a walking seat. This segmentation allows the weight-bearing function to be separated from the mobility function, enabling weight transfer to the frame while keeping arms free for other purposes
2Stability of the object's composition
If conventional mobility devices require arm support for standing or walking, then stability is provided, but arms are not free to use for other purposes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the weight-bearing function from the arms by providing a dedicated frame structure that supports body weight through the hips or pelvis. This allows arms to be removed from the support function entirely, making them available for other purposes while the frame provides the necessary stability
3Ease of operation
If individuals use wheelchairs for mobility, then mobility is enabled, but health deteriorates due to prolonged sitting
Solution Approach 1:
The mobility device enables dynamic movement in a standing or partially standing posture rather than static sitting. The hinge arm mechanism and walking seat allow the user to move while maintaining an upright posture, promoting blood circulation and preventing the health deterioration associated with prolonged sitting in wheelchairs
4Ease of operation
If prosthetic leg wearers stand or walk, then mobility is achieved, but significant stress occurs at the juncture of the prosthetic and the limb
Solution Approach 1:
The mobility device acts as an intermediary that bears the user's body weight through the hips or pelvis, preventing the transmission of stress to the prosthetic limb juncture. The frame structure absorbs the weight-bearing load, allowing prosthetic wearers to stand and walk without subjecting the prosthetic connection point to significant stress
Data Source
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AI summary
A mobility assistance apparatus includes first and second frames positioned on left and right sides of a user; a hinge arm mechanism coupled to the first and second frames; and a harness or a walking seat coupled to the frames to transfer at least a portion of the user's body weight from the legs and to transfer weight through the user's hip or pelvis to the first and second frame enabling the user to stand or walk for an extended period without requiring the user's arms to hold the frame.