Stack Chair Seat Suspension for Controlled Multi-Directional Motion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional chairs lack the ability to facilitate subtle multi-directional body positional and attitude adjustments, leading to user discomfort and fatigue during long seating sessions.
Innovation Solution
A chair design featuring shock absorbers mounted to the frame that suspend and support the seat, allowing limited range of motion with an integrated stopping mechanism, enabling users to change their seating attitude and preventing fatigue.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the chair seat is made fixed and stable for stacking, then the chair maintains structural stability and space efficiency, but the user cannot make subtle body positional adjustments leading to discomfort and fatigue
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by replacing the fixed chair seat connection with shock absorbers that allow controlled motion. The shock absorbers enable the seat to dynamically adjust to user movements while maintaining stability through their damping characteristics, resolving the contradiction between fixed stability and movement capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical parameter of the connection between seat and frame from rigid to compliant by introducing shock absorbers. This parameter change allows the system to transition from a completely fixed state to one that permits subtle multi-directional adjustments, improving ease of operation while preserving stability.
2Ease of operation
If shock absorbers are added to allow seat motion, then user comfort and adjustment capability improve, but the chair structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the chair into distinct functional modules: the frame, the shock absorbers as separate components, and the seat. This modular approach allows the shock absorbers to be independently selected and replaced without redesigning the entire chair structure, managing complexity through functional decomposition.
Solution Approach 2:
The shock absorbers serve as intermediary elements between the rigid frame and the seat. These intermediaries provide the necessary motion capability while isolating the complexity of the motion mechanism from both the frame and seat structures, simplifying the overall system design.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the seat is allowed to move freely on shock absorbers, then multi-directional adjustment is enabled, but the chair loses structural stability and stacking functionality
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by allowing motion only within limited ranges that are sufficient for comfort adjustments but insufficient to compromise stacking stability. The shock absorbers are selected with specific travel limits that provide just enough adaptability for bodily adjustments while maintaining structural integrity for stacking operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent controls the degree of freedom by changing the parameters of the shock absorbers (such as stiffness, damping coefficients, and travel limits) to achieve the optimal balance between adaptability for motion and stability for stacking. These parameter adjustments ensure the seat can adjust for comfort without compromising structural stability.
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 chair provides improved user comfort and reduces fatigue by allowing subtle multi-directional motion, maintaining functionality and space efficiency while maximizing work efficiency during seating sessions.
Implementation Method 1
flexible supports, i.e., shock absorbers, mounted to the frame of the chair which suspend and support the chair's seat
Implementation Method 2
flexible supports, i.e., shock absorbers, mounted to the frame of the chair which suspend and support the chair's seat
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a chair that allows small, subtle multi-directional motion by the user while maintaining the functionality and space requirements of a stack chair. The chair of the present invention comprises motion that is facilitated by flexible supports mounted to the frame of the chair which suspend and support the chair's seat. A range of motion in the seat is thereby provided which is limited by integrated stopping mechanism built into the chair's frame. Allowing the user to change seating attitude with concomitant motion of the chair seat improves user comfort and prevents or delays user fatigue during long seating sessions while maximizing efficiency of work accomplished during a seating session.