Surface-Top Assembly with Elevated Padding to Reduce Wrist Impact
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is caused by repetitive wrist flexion, leading to significant wrist pain, and there is a need for a product that reduces impact and pressure on the wrists.
Innovation Solution
A surface-top assembly with a cushioned device placed on top of a surface, featuring a padding disposed vertically higher than the surface, which includes foam or similar materials, and can be inflatable, with adjustable dimensions and various closure mechanisms, to provide support and comfort.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a hard surface is used for the surface-top assembly, then structural strength and stability are improved, but impact and pressure on the wrists worsen
Solution Approach 1:
A cushioned device is placed on top of the surface-top assembly before the user's body part makes contact. The cushioned device includes padding material designed to absorb impact and reduce pressure on the wrists during repetitive flexion movements, preventing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome symptoms while maintaining the underlying structural strength of the hard surface.
Solution Approach 2:
The surface-top assembly combines a hard structural base with a localized soft cushioning layer. The cushioned device is positioned only at the contact area where the user's body part rests, providing softness and impact absorption precisely where needed, while the rest of the structure maintains its strength and stability.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a soft cushioned surface is used, then comfort and impact absorption are improved, but structural support and stability worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The cushioned device is positioned on top of the stable surface-top assembly, creating a layered structure where the hard base provides structural stability and the upper cushioned layer provides impact absorption. This sequential arrangement ensures both structural integrity and comfort are achieved simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The soft cushioning material is applied locally only at the surface level where contact occurs, while the underlying structure remains hard and stable. This localized application of different material properties allows the system to exhibit both softness for comfort and hardness for structural support in different regions.
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 cushioned device alleviates symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome by reducing pressure and impact on the wrists, potentially preventing the onset of painful conditions and minimizing the need for surgical intervention.
Implementation Method 1
a cushioned device placed on top of the surface-top assembly to soften an impact created when a body part is to be placed on top of the surface-top assembly
Data Source
AI summary
A surface-top in accordance with the present disclosure includes a surface and a padding disposed vertically higher than the surface.