Standing Step Trainer Spring Mechanism for Nitric Oxide
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing devices for increasing nitric oxide production through whole body periodic acceleration are either too large, heavy, or designed for specific positions, making them impractical for use in everyday activities like working at a standing desk, and require significant user effort and attention, which can be distracting and uncomfortable.
Innovation Solution
A portable standing step trainer that facilitates pulsatile shear stress by allowing users to easily move their body's center of mass upward and downward with minimal effort, using a stable standing plate and elastic springs to assist in knee flexion and extension, enabling autonomic control of postural balance and movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If whole body periodic acceleration devices are used to increase nitric oxide production, then cardiovascular health is improved, but the devices are too large and heavy for practical everyday use
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential function of whole body periodic acceleration from large, heavy equipment and implements it through a lightweight standing step trainer that uses simple spring mechanisms and user body weight to achieve the same physiological effects for nitric oxide production and cardiovascular health
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces expensive, heavy, complex acceleration devices with a simple, lightweight, portable standing step trainer that can be easily manufactured and transported, making the health benefits accessible without the burden of large equipment
2Reliability
If existing acceleration devices are designed for specific positions, then they provide targeted exercise benefits, but they cannot be used during everyday activities like working at a standing desk
Solution Approach 1:
The standing step trainer is designed to be universally applicable during various everyday activities including working at standing desks, watching television, and performing other daily tasks, combining exercise benefits with multi-functional usage scenarios that existing position-specific devices cannot accommodate
Solution Approach 2:
The device allows dynamic movement during static activities, enabling users to perform knee flexion and extension exercises while maintaining an upright standing position during work or leisure activities, thus integrating exercise into everyday life rather than requiring dedicated exercise time
3Reliability
If users engage in significant physical effort for movement, then exercise intensity is increased for better health benefits, but it becomes distracting and uncomfortable for extended use
Solution Approach 1:
The spring mechanisms in the standing step trainer provide automatic assistance during knee flexion and extension movements, reducing the physical effort required from the user while maintaining effective exercise intensity for nitric oxide production, thereby enabling comfortable extended use without excessive fatigue or distraction
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
Enables increased nitric oxide production and improved cardiovascular health while allowing users to maintain focus on other tasks, as it reduces the effort required for movement and provides comfort during extended use, making it suitable for various activities like working at a standing desk.
Implementation Method 1
a first spring secured to the base, the first spring being positioned along a forefoot axis and located a distance y away from the flange member; and the first spring providing a spring rate sufficient to assist a return of a user's ankle or knee to a more vertical position
Implementation Method 2
a flange member integrally attached to the base, wherein the flange member is designed to secure a planar standing plate so that the connection between the standing plate and the base forms a fulcrum
Data Source
AI summary
The standing step trainer is a device that allows a user to engage in movement that is similar to walking, although less strenuous. The standing step trainer assists users in raising their center of mass after it has been lowered via plantar flexion, ankle flexion, dorsiflexion, and knee flexion. Because users receive an assist in returning to an upright, neutral standing position, they are able to move on the standing step trainer for extended periods of time. This type of movement has been shown to provide myriad health benefits including an increase in the flow of nitric oxide throughout the blood. The methods of the present invention disclose using the standing step trainer to attain these and many other health benefits while working at a desk, watching television, attending class, or any other activity that has heretofore been done from a sitting or standing position.