Massage Chair Touch Interface with Irregular Body Part Selection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing massage chair systems lack user-friendly and intuitive interfaces for customizing massage programs, often requiring complex navigation and text-based instructions, making it difficult for users to select and adjust massage parameters effectively.
Innovation Solution
A massage system comprising a massage chair and an input device with a touch screen display that uses a human body representation to allow users to select and adjust massage parameters through intuitive gestures and visual interfaces, including irregularly shaped body part representations defined by cubic Bezier curves and Jordan curve theorem detection for touch input recognition.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a predefined list of massage programs is used, then the operation is simplified, but the user cannot customize massage for specific body parts
Solution Approach 1:
The human body is divided into multiple selectable body parts (head, neck, shoulder, back, waist, leg, foot), each representing a segment that can be independently selected and massaged. This segmentation allows users to customize massage programs for specific body parts while maintaining simple operation through visual selection.
Solution Approach 2:
A graphical user interface with body part representations acts as an intermediary between the user and the massage chair's control system. This visual mediator allows users to select and customize massage parameters for specific body parts without complex text-based instructions or complicated navigation flows.
2Adaptability or versatility
If text-based instructions and complicated navigation flows are used, then comprehensive control is achieved, but the user interface becomes difficult to navigate
Solution Approach 1:
The traditional text-based instruction system and complex navigation menu structure are replaced with a graphical visual interface. Body part representations with intuitive icons and visual feedback replace text instructions, making the system easier to navigate while maintaining comprehensive control capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The interface uses color changes and visual distinctions to indicate selected body parts and massage parameters. Different colors and visual states provide intuitive feedback to users, replacing the need for text-based instructions and complicated navigation flows.
3Ease of manufacture
If regular shaped body part representations are used, then the interface is simple to design, but the representations do not accurately cover corresponding body parts
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using uniform regular shapes for all body parts, the system employs asymmetric irregular shapes that match the actual contours of different body parts (head, neck, shoulder, back, waist, leg, foot). This asymmetric design accurately represents each body part's unique shape while maintaining visual clarity and ease of selection.
Solution Approach 2:
The body part representations use curved boundaries and organic shapes rather than straight lines and angles, better matching the natural contours of human body parts. This curvilinear approach improves accuracy in representing body part geometry while maintaining visual appeal and ease of touch selection.
Data Source
AI summary
A massage chair and an input device in data communication with the massage chair is disclosed. The massage chair has several massaging mechanisms, each of which is for massaging a corresponding one of a number of body parts of a user. The input device includes a touch screen display. The input device is operable to display on the touch screen display a body part selection screen. This body part selection screen includes a human body representation and a number of body part representations corresponding to the body parts of the user. Each body part representation is individually selectable for actuating a corresponding massaging mechanism to massage a corresponding body part of the user. One of more of the plurality of body part representations is of an irregular shape and of a size that at least substantially covers a corresponding body part of the human body representation.