Seating aid
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Individuals, particularly children and those with ADHD or autism, face difficulties in maintaining a stable seated position, leading to distractions and reduced focus due to frequent movement, which hinders task completion and disrupts others nearby.
Innovation Solution
A seating aid with sensory input means that provides resistance to outward thigh movement and attaches to a chair, featuring barriers and an attachment mechanism to guide users into a stable seated position, offering proprioceptive, vestibular, and tactile input to encourage proper posture.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If a person sits on a standard seat, then the person can be positioned for tasks or lessons, but the person cannot remain still and frequently moves to various positions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces side guards as intermediary elements between the person and the seat. These side guards provide tactile boundaries that guide the person's thighs into proper positioning without directly restraining the person, serving as a mediator that promotes stable sitting through sensory feedback rather than mechanical constraint
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs sensory input mechanisms that provide tactile and proprioceptive feedback to the person. The side guards and sensory input means create tactile sensations that help the person感知 their body position and maintain proper seating posture through sensory guidance rather than visual or mechanical control
2Ease of operation
If the person moves frequently to various positions, then the person may seek sensory input or accommodate stability weaknesses, but this hinders task completion and causes disruption
Solution Approach 1:
The side guards and sensory input means are positioned in advance to provide tactile boundaries and sensory feedback before the person needs to maintain focus. The device proactively guides the person into proper positioning and provides continuous sensory input that prevents the need for frequent position changes, thereby maintaining productivity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the side guards and sensory input means provide tactile and proprioceptive feedback to the person. This feedback loop helps the person感知 and maintain proper seating position, reducing the urge to move and improving ability to complete tasks without disruption
3Reliability
If a seating aid with barriers is used to guide proper posture, then the person can receive sensory input and maintain position, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the seating aid into separate modular components: side guards that can be independently positioned, sensory input means that can be separately attached, and attaching means that connect these elements. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function while simplifying the overall device structure and enabling easy adjustment and maintenance
Solution Approach 2:
The side guards serve multiple functions simultaneously: they provide tactile boundaries for positioning, offer sensory input to the person, and act as structural support elements. The attaching means also serve dual purposes by securing the side guards while allowing for easy installation and removal. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional separate components, thereby reducing overall device complexity
Data Source
AI summary
A seating aid includes: sensory input means for providing sensory input to a person while sitting on a seat, the sensory input means for resisting outward movement of thighs of the person while sitting on the seat; and attaching means for releasably attaching the sensory input means to the seat such that the sensory input means will be disposed above the seat; where the seating aid is configured to allow, with the seating aid disposed on the seat, the person either to sit directly on the seat or to sit on a flexible material of the seating aid that is overlying and in contact with the seat.