Sensorimotor Exercise Device With Low Viscosity Fluid
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing exercise and rehabilitation devices fail to simulate everyday balance conditions and are often cumbersome and difficult to manage, lacking a fluid element as a necessary functional aspect to improve user balance and reflex skills.
Innovation Solution
A sensorimotor exercise device with a lightweight, elongated casing containing a low viscosity fluid, featuring tapered end members and a cylindrical center member, designed to provide dynamic stability and functional joint stability through natural and functional movements, without the need for user-generated instability or fluid refilling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If prior art devices use water-filled PVC pipes to create instability, then balance training is provided, but the device becomes extremely difficult to manage and grip due to its size and weight
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the device by using a lightweight rigid casing instead of heavy PVC pipes, and by optimizing the fluid volume and viscosity to achieve the desired instability effect while maintaining ease of handling. The fluid amount is controlled to be between 10-50% of the casing volume, creating effective balance training without excessive weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The device combines a rigid lightweight casing material with a viscous fluid to create a composite system that provides both structural integrity and dynamic instability. This composite approach allows the device to be lightweight enough to handle while still generating sufficient instability for effective balance training.
2Ease of operation
If prior art devices allow users to empty fluid to reduce weight, then transport is facilitated, but the device requires refilling and user intervention
Solution Approach 1:
The device is designed with a permanent seal that allows the fluid to remain contained without requiring user intervention for refilling. The sealed design makes the device self-sufficient, eliminating the need for users to empty or refill the fluid while maintaining the ability to transport the device conveniently.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the refilling operation from the device usage cycle by implementing a permanent seal. This removes the harmful aspect of requiring user intervention and refilling, while preserving the beneficial portability of the device.
3Stability of the object's composition
If prior art devices use large diameter pipes filled with water, then instability is generated, but the device becomes too heavy and cumbersome to handle
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the parameters by using a rigid lightweight casing material instead of heavy PVC pipes, and by optimizing the fluid viscosity and volume to generate sufficient instability effects without requiring large amounts of heavy fluid. The viscosity is specifically controlled to be between 10-1000 centipoises to achieve the desired effect.
Solution Approach 2:
The device uses a tapered end design where the diameter varies along the length, with larger diameters at the ends and a smaller diameter in the center. This local variation in geometry creates effective instability during balance exercises while minimizing the overall weight of the device.
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
Enhances balance, strength, coordination, and motor control integration by simulating real-life balance conditions, reducing the risk of injury and overuse, while being aesthetically pleasing and easy to handle.
Implementation Method 1
a low viscosity fluid at least partially filling a hollow interior of the sensorimotor exercise device
Data Source
AI summary
A sensorimotor exercise device including a casing is provided. The casing includes an elongated center member having a first end and a second end, a first end member provided at the first end of the center member and a second end member provided at the second end of the center member. The casing also includes a low viscosity fluid at least partially filing a hollow interior of the sensorimotor exercise device. The center member has a cylindrical shape and the first and second end members have a tapered configuration. A diameter of each of the first and second end members increasing from a first end thereof toward an opposing second end thereof.