Straddling Lifting Device for Confined Spaces
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional devices for lifting people from the floor are large, cumbersome, and costly, limiting their use to unobstructed spaces and often forcing individuals to relocate to assisted-living facilities due to their inability to handle falls in tight quarters.
Innovation Solution
A portable, personal lifting device where the user straddles the device, allowing for compactness and lightweight design, enabling use in tight spaces, with a central member, seat, and actuator system that allows for easy operation and storage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional lifting devices are used, then lifting function is provided, but device size and weight increase, making them cumbersome and difficult to move and store
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional configuration by positioning the lifting device between the user's legs rather than having the device straddle the user. This inversion allows the device to be compact and lightweight while maintaining the lifting function, directly resolving the contradiction between device size and lifting capability
Solution Approach 2:
The device is divided into separate functional components: a central member, a seat, and an actuator system. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently for minimal size and weight while maintaining the overall lifting function, addressing the contradiction between device compactness and operational capability
2Ease of manufacture
If conventional lifting devices are used, then lifting function is provided, but device complexity and cost increase, making them difficult to acquire for home use
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates unnecessary structural elements from conventional lifting devices, retaining only the essential components (central member, seat, actuator) needed for the lifting function. This reduction in complexity directly lowers manufacturing costs and makes the device suitable for home acquisition
Solution Approach 2:
The device incorporates a user-operable actuator system that allows the user to independently control the lifting mechanism without requiring complex external power sources or assistance systems. This self-service capability simplifies the overall device structure and reduces manufacturing complexity while maintaining full lifting functionality
3Adaptability or versatility
If conventional lifting devices are used, then lifting function is provided, but device size limits use to large unobstructed spaces, preventing use in tight quarters
Solution Approach 1:
By inverting the conventional configuration and positioning the device between the user's legs, the patent eliminates the need for large unobstructed spaces. The device can be used in tight quarters such as bathrooms, tubs, and cluttered basements, directly resolving the contradiction between device size and space adaptability
Solution Approach 2:
The device components are arranged in a nested configuration where the seat moves along the central member and the entire assembly fits within the user's body boundaries. This nesting approach minimizes the device footprint and enables use in confined spaces while maintaining full lifting functionality
Data Source
AI summary
A portable, personal lifting device (10, 100) includes a central member (12), a seat (14) attached to the central member (12) in such a way that the seat is capable of translating linearly along the central member (12), an actuator (16) for causing translation between the seat (14) and the central member (12), and a support member (24) to stabilize the central member (12). The central member (12) is positioned between a user's legs in such a way that the user straddles during operation of the device (10, 100), thereby providing an inexpensive, lightweight lifting device that can be used in very close quarters.