Seat configuration
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional seating designs fail to adjust anthropometrically and biomechanically to individual users, leading to prolonged discomfort, pain, and potential health issues due to improper posture, as they do not effectively counteract shear forces and pressure on the pelvic and thoracic regions, causing instability and discomfort.
Innovation Solution
A seating configuration featuring a contoured seat with a pelvic well and inclined femoral surface, combined with separate upper and lower back supports that can be adjusted, to maintain the pelvis in a neutral position, reducing peak pressures and shear stress, and promoting a natural spinal alignment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional seating designs apply posterior lifting features to the pelvic and thoracic regions, then the intent is to support proper posture, but the forces from the back supports create equal and opposite shear force across the seat of the occupant, impacting Ruffini corpuscles and causing discomfort
Solution Approach 1:
The seat pan is pre-configured with an inclined surface that applies an anteriorly directed force to the occupant's pelvis, counteracting the posteriorly directed shear force generated by the back support before the occupant can slide forward. This preliminary counter-action prevents the harmful sliding motion and associated discomfort.
Solution Approach 2:
The inclined seat pan creates a counterbalancing force that opposes the shear force from the back support. The geometry of the inclined surface is designed to generate an equal and opposite reaction force that neutralizes the harmful anterior sliding tendency caused by the back support's posterior lifting action.
2Reliability
If back supports apply force to the sacral and thoracic regions, then the intent is to maintain spinal alignment, but this leads to the pelvis of the occupant sliding forward over time, resulting in an unstable posture
Solution Approach 1:
The inclined seat pan surface is designed to apply a continuous anteriorly directed force that prevents the pelvis from sliding forward in response to the back support's posterior lifting action. This preliminary counter-action stabilizes the pelvis and maintains postural stability throughout prolonged sitting.
Solution Approach 2:
The seat pan is designed with a specific inclination angle that optimizes the counterbalancing force. By changing the geometric parameter of the seat pan surface angle, the system adjusts the magnitude and direction of the counteracting force to match the shear force generated by the back support, thereby stabilizing the occupant's posture.
3Ease of operation
If a chair is designed to adjust to fit the size and shape of the user, then the intent is to reduce pain and improve comfort, but this increases device complexity and manufacturing difficulty
Solution Approach 1:
The seat pan is designed with a fixed inclination angle that universally accommodates various user sizes and shapes without requiring complex adjustment mechanisms. The geometric parameter of the inclined surface is optimized to provide the necessary counterbalancing force for a wide range of occupants, simplifying the overall device design while maintaining comfort and support effectiveness.
Data Source
AI summary
A seating configuration is described. The seating configuration includes a seat. The seat includes a feature to retain a user in a specific position on the seat. The seating configuration includes a first back support. The first back support is positioned adjacent a posterior pelvic area of the user. The seating configuration includes a second back support. The second back support is positioned adjacent to the thoracic area of the user. The seat, the first back support, and the second back support together can be configured to create a natural alignment of a spinal column of the user.