Segmented Shower Seat Pads for Stable Full-Body Cleaning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Showering while seated poses challenges as body surfaces normally inaccessible when seated remain uncleaned, and manually assisting a disabled person can be physically demanding and hazardous.
Innovation Solution
A shower unit with moveable seat pads that retract to expose obscured body surfaces, supported by grab bars and torso supports, and equipped with automatically controlled spray nozzles for full-body cleansing with minimal user input.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a simple shower chair is used to allow seated showering, then the user can shower in a seated position, but the body surfaces upon which the person is seated (buttocks and backs of thighs) are obscured by the chair and made difficult to clean
Solution Approach 1:
The seat is divided into multiple independent movable pads instead of a solid continuous surface. Each pad can be independently retracted to expose the underlying body surface for cleaning, then returned to provide support. This segmentation allows the seat to simultaneously provide support and enable access to all body surfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The seat pads are made movable rather than fixed, allowing them to dynamically change position between extended (providing support) and retracted (exposing body surfaces) states. This dynamic capability resolves the contradiction between needing the pads in place for support and needing them out of the way for cleaning.
2Ease of manufacture
If an assistant manually bathes a disabled person on a shower chair, then all body surfaces can be cleaned, but it is physically demanding for the assistant and hazardous for the disabled person who is subject to fall or topple over
Solution Approach 1:
The shower system performs the cleaning function automatically through movable pads and spray nozzles controlled by a microprocessor, eliminating the need for manual assistance. The system self-regulates the pad movement and spray activation sequences, providing complete body cleaning without requiring an assistant to physically handle the user.
Solution Approach 2:
The manual mechanical action of an assistant bathing the user is replaced with an automated electromechanical system comprising motorized pad actuators, spray nozzles, and microprocessor control. This substitution eliminates the physical demands on the assistant and reduces safety risks to the user.
3Ease of manufacture
If seat pads are retracted to expose body surfaces for cleaning, then all body surfaces become accessible to spray, but the user loses support and may become unstable
Solution Approach 1:
The seat is segmented into multiple independent pads rather than a single solid surface. When one pad is retracted, the remaining pads continue to provide support. This segmentation allows the system to maintain support while enabling access to body surfaces underneath the retracted pads.
Solution Approach 2:
The pad positions are dynamically adjusted in a coordinated sequence where pads are retracted and extended in alternation. At any given moment, sufficient pads remain extended to maintain user stability, while the retraction of individual pads enables cleaning of specific body areas.
4Ease of manufacture
If spray nozzles are mounted in the seat pads, then they can spray body surfaces when pads are retracted, but the nozzles would be too close to the body when pads are extended
Solution Approach 1:
The spray nozzles are mounted on the movable pads and move with them. The control system dynamically activates nozzles only when their associated pads are in the retracted position, ensuring safe operation. When pads are extended, the nozzles remain inactive and close to the body, preventing harmful spray contact.
Solution Approach 2:
The control system monitors the position of each pad and uses this feedback to determine when to activate the corresponding spray nozzle. Nozzles are activated only when pads are retracted to a safe distance from the body, and deactivated when pads return to the extended position, preventing harmful spray contact.
Data Source
AI summary
A shower unit includes a shower seat having a plurality of moveable seat pads. Each seat pad is moveable between an extended position wherein the pad is in contact with the body of a user sitting on the seat and a retracted position wherein the pad is spaced away from the user's body. When a pad is in the retracted position, the body surface that would normally be occluded by the pad becomes accessible to spray from a nozzle so that the body surface can be cleaned. While any one pad is in the retracted position, the user is supported on enough of the other seat pads to remain in a stable sitting position. The spray nozzles may be mounted in the seat pads themselves, or may be mounted in the shower seat proximate to the pads.