Self-Securing Shower Chair Handles for Compact Safe Support
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional support devices for daily activities like showering and toileting, such as shower chairs and toilet seat risers, are often bulky, expensive, and difficult to fit properly, making them inaccessible to those in need, and they lack secure handle attachment mechanisms.
Innovation Solution
A support device with a seat, legs, and handles where the handles are secured via receptacles on the seat, allowing a force component parallel to the receptacle's central axis, reducing the risk of detachment and eliminating the need for complex securing elements, with removable handles for flexibility and adjustable configurations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional shower chairs and stools are used to reduce falling risk, then safety is improved, but the devices become bulky and expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The support device is divided into separate components: a seat, multiple legs that can be positioned independently, and removable handles. This segmentation allows the device to provide comprehensive safety support while maintaining a compact, manageable structure that is less bulky than conventional monolithic shower chairs.
2Ease of operation
If conventional toilet seat risers are used to assist standing and sitting, then ease of operation is improved, but the devices become expensive due to fitting difficulties
Solution Approach 1:
The device incorporates adjustable parameters including multiple leg positions and removable handles that can be configured to fit different toilet bowl sizes, shapes, and user requirements. This adjustability eliminates the need for multiple fixed-size models, simplifying manufacturing while improving ease of operation across diverse applications.
3Reliability
If complex securing elements are used to attach handles to the seat, then reliability of attachment is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The handle attachment mechanism is designed to be self-securing through simple insertion into receptacles on the seat, potentially with basic friction or snap-fit features. This self-service design provides reliable attachment without requiring complex securing elements, tools, or assembly procedures, thereby maintaining high reliability while minimizing device complexity.
4Stability of the object's composition
If fixed handles are attached to the seat, then structural stability is improved, but adaptability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The handles are designed to be removable and reconfigurable, allowing the structure to transition from a static fixed configuration to a dynamic adaptable one. Users can attach, detach, and reposition handles according to their needs, maintaining structural stability during use while providing adaptability for different users and situations.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a support device for assisting a user in showering or toileting. The support device comprises a seat comprising a seating surface for supporting a weight of the user; a plurality of legs attached to the seat; a pair of handles configured to attach to substantially opposite side portions of the seat, each handle comprising a pair of end portions for attaching to the seat; and a securing element for securing each handle to the seat; wherein each of the substantially opposite side portions of the seat comprises a plurality of receptacles for snugly fitting the end portions of a respective handle, and wherein the support device is configured such that a portion of the user's weight on the handles of the support device applies a force that has a force component directed into each receptacle and parallel to a central axis of each receptacle.