Stackable Medical Transfer Chair with Under-Frame Storage

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Solution Overview

Problem

Nestable medical transfer chairs compromise patient comfort and safety due to simplified structures and lack of equipment storage, making it difficult to transport necessary items like oxygen bottles and medical files without compromising compactness.

Innovation Solution

A medical transfer chair design with a storage device under the displacement structure, allowing equipment transport while maintaining compactness, featuring an inclined seat plane and converging movement structure for easy nesting and improved steering, along with damping elements to reduce noise and wear.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a medical transfer chair is designed with storage device and equipment mounting structures, then patient comfort and safety are improved, but the chair's bulk increases and nesting capability is compromised

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepatient safety and comfortVSAvoidchair bulk
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSVolume of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The chair is designed with a converging movement structure where the front part can be nested within the rear part of an equivalent chair. The movement structure has a shape converging towards the front part, allowing the front displacement means to be engaged between rear displacement elements when nested, achieving compact storage while maintaining full functionality including storage device and equipment mounting capabilities.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #7Nested doll (Nesting)

2Adaptability or versatility

If a medical transfer chair is designed with storage device for equipment, then equipment transport capability is improved, but the chair structure becomes more complex

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveequipment transport capabilityVSAvoidchair structure
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The storage device is arranged under the movement structure between the front and rear movement means, serving multiple functions: storing equipment necessary for patient transport, providing mounting structures for additional equipment, and maintaining the chair's nesting capability. The converging movement structure design allows the storage device to be integrated without compromising the chair's ability to be nested in an equivalent chair.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

3Ease of operation

If the movement structure is simplified to enable nesting, then nesting capability is improved, but patient comfort and safety deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvenesting capabilityVSAvoidpatient comfort and safety
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The movement structure has a shape converging towards the front part, creating an asymmetric design where the front part is smaller and can be nested within the rear part. This asymmetric converging shape enables easy nesting while maintaining sufficient structural integrity and space for storage devices and equipment mounting structures to ensure patient comfort and safety during transport.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #4Asymmetry

Data Source

PatentEP3020382B1Stackable medical transfer chair
Publication Date: 2018.08.29 ACIME FRAME
  • EP3020382B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3020382B1 patent drawingFigure 2~3
  • EP3020382B1 patent drawingFigure 4~5

AI summary

The invention relates to a medical transfer chair (10) for fitting into an equivalent chair, the chair having a longitudinal direction (L) and comprising: - a seat (12); - a frame supporting the seat and comprising a movement structure (22) having a front plane (P1) and front (30) and rear (32) portions; and - front movement means (16) and rear movement means (18) attached respectively to the front and rear portions of the movement structure. The invention is characterized in that the chair further comprises a storage device (100) disposed under the front plane, between the front and rear movement means, the chair being configured such that when the front portion of the chair is fitted into the rear portion of an equivalent chair, the movement structure (22) of the chair extends over the storage device (100) of said equivalent chair.