Low-Profile Balance Board With Convex Pivots for Controlled Rolling
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing balance boards lack critical safety features, posing a risk of injury or even life-threatening injuries, especially for the elderly or infirm, due to their elevated height, slow roll, and large pivot members that can cause sudden changes in rotational velocity and motion.
Innovation Solution
A low-profile balance board with a board and multiple members of varying sizes, featuring a low-height profile, fast roll, and smooth convex pivots that maintain stability and minimize rotational forces, allowing for safe and effective balance training.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If existing balance boards use elevated height and large pivot members, then balance training effectiveness is improved, but safety risk increases due to sudden changes in rotational velocity and motion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the height parameter of the balance board from elevated to low-profile design, and modifies the pivot member size from large to small. These parameter changes reduce the moment of inertia and rotational forces while maintaining balance training effectiveness through the low-profile geometry that provides sufficient instability for training purposes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs smooth convex pivot members with curved surfaces that reduce sudden changes in rotational velocity. The spherical or convex geometry allows for more gradual and controlled rotation compared to flat or angular pivot surfaces, thereby reducing harmful rotational forces while maintaining training effectiveness.
2Stability of the object's composition
If existing balance boards use large pivot members, then structural stability is improved, but rotational forces increase causing sudden changes in motion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent reduces the size parameter of the pivot member while compensating for structural stability through the low-profile board design. The smaller pivot member reduces rotational forces and moment of inertia, while the low-height profile provides sufficient structural stability for safe operation during balance training.
Solution Approach 2:
The smooth convex or spherical shape of the pivot member distributes forces more evenly and reduces sudden rotational impulses. The curved geometry provides continuous contact surfaces that minimize impact forces while maintaining adequate structural support for the balance board.
3Ease of operation
If existing balance boards have slow roll characteristics, then control is improved, but training effectiveness decreases due to lack of realistic balance challenges
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies the roll characteristics by changing the pivot member size and board geometry parameters. The low-profile design with smaller pivot members creates faster roll response that provides more challenging and realistic balance training, while the overall structural design maintains sufficient control for safe operation.
Data Source
AI summary
A balance board comprising a board, a first member, and a pivot interface. The board has a top side for applying active use resistance and active use effort, a bottom side, and an outer circumference. The first member consists of a base, a first side, a second side, and a pivot, the base having a width and the pivot having a second width, the first width greater than the second width. The first pivot interface comprises a roll section of the pivot and a first section of the bottom side of the board. The board and the first member have a low-height profile and a restricted roll in response to an active use resistance and an active use effort applied to the top side of the board. The pivot is rounded convex or bullnose shape. The base has a width 5 times greater than the width of the pivot's base.