Joint Stabilizer Valve Structure for Sustained Resistance Force
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing devices for stabilizing body joints using shear-thickening fluids fail to maintain protective effects over time, particularly when forces transition from high-speed unphysiological to low-speed physiological ranges, leading to inadequate support for joints like the ankle.
Innovation Solution
A device with a receptacle filled with a filling medium, featuring a first body and a second body elastically coupled via a coupling element, where the second body has a passage opening for additional flow paths, allowing the medium to flow between the bodies, and valve-like interactions to manage shear stress, ensuring resistance forces are maintained even at lower speeds.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If a single body with shear-thickening fluid is used to stabilize body joints, then high-speed unphysiological forces are effectively resisted through shear hardening, but the protective effect disappears quickly when the force velocity decreases to physiological ranges
Solution Approach 1:
The device divides the single body into two separate bodies (first body and second body) with shear surfaces between them. This segmentation allows the shear-thickening fluid to be distributed across multiple interfaces, maintaining resistance forces even when relative velocity decreases, as the fluid can be squeezed between the closely spaced bodies rather than requiring high-speed shear motion.
2Force
If the distance between the first body and the second body is reduced to maintain shear hardening, then resistance forces are sustained at lower speeds, but the device complexity increases due to additional components and constraints
Solution Approach 1:
The second body is positioned within or alongside the first body in a nested arrangement, with the shear surfaces of both bodies contained within the receptacle. This nesting allows the multiple shear surfaces to be integrated into a compact structure without significantly increasing overall device complexity, while still maintaining the sustained resistance force effect.
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 device provides sustained resistance and holding forces, effectively counteracting both high-speed and low-speed forces acting on body joints, ensuring prolonged protective effects and improved stability, especially in applications like the ankle joint.
Implementation Method 1
the shear-thickening fluid experiences a shear jump, which causes its viscosity to rapidly increase
Implementation Method 2
the second body is elastically coupled to the first body via a coupling element
Data Source
Figure 1A~1C
Figure 2A~3B
Figure 4A~8
AI summary
The present invention relates to a device (1) for stabilizing body joints, comprising a receptacle (20) wherein the receptacle (20) is filled with a filling medium (30), a first body (40) for interacting with the filling medium (30) wherein the first body is slidably arranged in the receptacle (20), a force transmission means (50) for transmitting an external force to the first body (40), a second body (60) for interacting with the filling medium (30) which is slidably arranged in the receptacle (20) wherein the second body is elastically coupled to the first body (40) via a coupling element (70), wherein the second body (60) and/or the first body (40) has at least one passage opening (64) through which the filling medium (30) can flow, and wherein the first body (40) forms a valve body and the second body (60) forms a valve seat.so that the flow of the filling medium (30) through the passage opening (64) can be allowed or prevented depending on the valve position.