Seating arrangement
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current seating arrangements often compromise on comfort, durability, and cost-effectiveness, with complex designs and high manufacturing costs due to the need for multiple parts and intricate mechanisms.
Innovation Solution
A seating arrangement utilizing a combination of flexibly resilient shell members, a flexibly resilient support member, and a rigid support member to form a deformable four-bar linkage, along with an active back arrangement that allows independent movement from the seat support, reducing part counts and manufacturing complexity while maintaining comfort and durability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional seating arrangements use multiple parts and intricate mechanisms to achieve comfort and adjustability, then user comfort and functionality are improved, but manufacturing costs and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple traditional seating components (seat pan, backrest, armrests, and adjustment mechanisms) into a single integrated shell structure. This merging eliminates the need for separate parts and intricate adjustment mechanisms while maintaining comfort and adjustability through the shell's inherent flexibility and deformation capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes changes in the shell's physical parameters (flexibility, resilience, and deformation characteristics) to provide adjustability and comfort. The shell can deform under user weight and return to its original shape, providing dynamic comfort adjustment without mechanical mechanisms.
2Adaptability or versatility
If traditional seating arrangements use multiple parts and intricate mechanisms, then adjustability and comfort are improved, but manufacturing costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
By merging multiple components into a single shell structure, the patent simplifies manufacturing processes and reduces material costs. The shell can be manufactured as a single piece using molding or forming techniques, eliminating assembly steps and reducing overall manufacturing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent achieves adjustability through changes in the shell's physical properties (flexibility and deformation) rather than through multiple mechanical components. This approach reduces material costs and simplifies manufacturing while maintaining adaptability to user needs.
3Adaptability or versatility
If traditional seating arrangements use intricate mechanisms for recline and adjustment, then functionality is improved, but durability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines adjustment and recline functions into the shell's structural design, eliminating separate mechanical mechanisms that are prone to failure. The integrated shell structure has no moving parts to wear out or break, significantly improving durability while maintaining functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The shell provides self-adjusting functionality through its flexible and resilient properties. When a user sits or reclines, the shell automatically deforms and returns to its original shape without requiring mechanical assistance, eliminating the need for maintenance-prone adjustment mechanisms.
4Ease of manufacture
If traditional seating arrangements reduce part counts, then manufacturing costs decrease, but comfort and adjustability may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent compensates for the reduced part count by optimizing the shell's physical parameters (thickness, material composition, and geometric design) to provide the necessary comfort and adjustability. The shell's flexibility and resilience are engineered to deliver comfort equivalent to or greater than traditional multi-component designs.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent may utilize composite materials for the shell construction, combining different materials with complementary properties (flexibility, strength, and resilience) to achieve both cost-effectiveness and comfort. The composite structure allows for optimized performance with fewer components.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides a cost-effective, durable, and comfortable seating arrangement with reduced manufacturing costs and part counts, while ensuring proper fit and function, and allows for easy adjustment and recline mechanisms, enhancing user experience.
Implementation Method 1
a biasing member configured to bias the bearing member from the arm stalk and into abutment with the arm base
Implementation Method 2
a lead screw rotatable with respect to one of the arm stalk and the arm base, a lead nut fixed with respect to the other of the arm stalk and the arm base
Implementation Method 3
various combinations of a pair of flexibly resilient shell members, a flexibly resilient support member and a rigid support member that cooperate to form a deformable and flexibly resilient four-bar linkage
Data Source
AI summary
A seating arrangement including a seat member, a base, and an arm assembly including an arm base having a central portion and a receiver portion and exclusively supported from the base via a central portion at a position located between lateral outermost edges of the seat member, an arm stalk telescopingly received within the receiver portion and movable between retracted and extended positions, an arm support supported by the arm stalk, where the arm support moves in a forward direction with respect to the seat member as the arm stalk is moved from the retracted position to the extended position, and a bearing arrangement positioned between the arm stalk and the receiver portion and including a bearing member located between the receiver portion of the arm base and the arm stalk and a biasing member configured to bias the bearing.