Movable Arm Stair Safety Device with Motorized Guide Rail
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing stair safety devices lack comprehensive fall protection and continuous assistance for individuals with mobility issues, particularly elderly or less able-bodied persons, and are often perceived as invasive, deterring their use.
Innovation Solution
A reversible safety and assistance device featuring movable arms with adjustable padding, a motorized block, and a power system, allowing for secure support and adjustable positioning to prevent falls, with features like a deadman's device for safety and on-board battery power for mobility assistance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual assistance devices with mechanical sliding rails or counterweight systems are used, then climbing assistance is provided, but fall protection is completely absent
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines two previously separate functions (climbing assistance and fall protection) into a single integrated device. The movable arm simultaneously provides mechanical assistance for climbing through its motorized block moving along the guide rail, and fall protection through the same arm's ability to support the user's weight and the presence of protective bars with padding. This merging resolves the contradiction by making the device provide both functions without requiring separate systems.
2Ease of operation
If stair elevators with seats and electric motors are installed, then mobility assistance is provided, but the device becomes complex and invasive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential function of stair elevators (motorized assistance along a rail) and removes the complex seat mechanism and extensive safety systems. The movable arm provides the necessary motorized assistance through a simplified structure that moves along a guide rail, eliminating the need for complex seating arrangements while maintaining the core mobility assistance function.
Solution Approach 2:
The device is segmented into functional components: a guide rail fixed to the staircase, a motorized block for propulsion, and a movable arm with protective bars. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function efficiently while keeping the overall system simpler than traditional stair elevators that require integrated seat and safety systems.
3Reliability
If protective barriers are added to existing stair devices, then fall protection is improved, but the device becomes more restrictive and harder to use
Solution Approach 1:
The protective bars are designed to be movable rather than fixed, allowing them to adapt to the user's position and movements. The movable arm can adjust its position along the guide rail and the protective bars can move with the user, providing protection without creating a rigid, restrictive structure. This dynamic design maintains safety while preserving ease of operation.
Data Source
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AI summary
The device has frontal and dorsal arms (8, 10) driven in a horizontal position or retracted position and fixed on a fixation device in manner to bring the arms at height of user (1). Each arm has a grip bar (24) rotating around an axis of frontal and dorsal protection bars (9, 11), where adjustment angle (alpha) of the bar (24) measured relative to a horizontal plane is of 90 degrees towards bottom and of 45 degrees towards top such that the bar (24) of the dorsal arm supports the user below a waist and the bar (24) of the frontal arm allows the user to support forearm.