Thermoplastic Bicycle Saddle with Deformable Stressed Regions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing human body supporting structures, such as bicycle saddles, face challenges in achieving a balance between mechanical strength, resilience, and cost-effectiveness, often resulting in heavy and expensive products due to the complexity of manufacturing and the need for precise aperture matching in thermoformed composite materials.

Innovation Solution

A load-bearing shell with a continuous thermoplastic resin matrix and embedded reinforcement fibers, featuring differently deformable portions with a smaller thickness and higher average density at stressed regions, which are achieved through thermoforming and local thickness reduction, allowing for improved mechanical strength and resilience while reducing weight and production complexity.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Strength

If multiple thermoformed sheet elements with apertures are interleaved to create differently deformable portions, then mechanical strength and resilience are improved, but manufacturing complexity and cost increase due to the difficulty of matching apertures perfectly

Engineering Contradiction:

Core Design Contradiction:

StrengthVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The shell is divided into multiple sheet elements with apertures that are interleaved to create differently deformable portions. This segmentation allows each sheet element to be manufactured separately with standardized aperture patterns, reducing the overall manufacturing complexity while maintaining the mechanical strength and resilience through the layered composite structure.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The invention uses composite materials consisting of multiple sheet elements with apertures interleaved in a layered configuration. This composite structure combines the advantages of individual sheet elements while creating a unified shell with enhanced mechanical properties and controlled deformability in different regions.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #40Composite materials

2Strength

If a considerable number of sheet elements are laid one above the other to obtain adequate mechanical strength, then strength is improved, but the final product becomes excessively heavy and poorly cost effective

Engineering Contradiction:

Core Design Contradiction:

StrengthVSWeight of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The shell incorporates differently deformable portions with specific local properties - certain regions have higher resilience while others are more rigid. This local quality variation allows the shell to achieve adequate mechanical strength in critical areas without requiring excessive sheet elements throughout the entire structure, thereby reducing overall weight and cost.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of using a uniform number of sheet elements throughout the entire shell, the invention applies sheet elements selectively in regions where mechanical strength is most needed. This partial action approach ensures adequate strength where required while minimizing material usage and weight in other areas.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

3Adaptability or versatility

If a continuous thermoplastic base sheet element is interleaved between thermosetting composite material sheet elements, then differently deformable portions are created, but the manufacturing process becomes very difficult to implement due to precise aperture matching requirements

Engineering Contradiction:

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The sheet elements with apertures are pre-formed and prepared before assembly. The aperture patterns are standardized and pre-configured on each sheet element, allowing for easier assembly while maintaining the creation of differently deformable portions. This preliminary preparation reduces the difficulty of matching apertures during the final assembly process.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

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 solution results in a lighter, more cost-effective, and sturdy support structure with enhanced mechanical properties, enabling the production of efficient and repeatable manufacturing processes for human body supporting products.

Implementation Method 1

The forming step comprises thermoforming and local reduction of the thickness of the at least one sheet element at the differently deformable portions

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectThermoforming:

Data Source

PatentUS8128164B2Human body supporting structure, particularly bicycle saddle and method of making same

Publication Date: 2012.03.06

AI summary

A human body supporting structure, particularly a bicycle saddle, includes a load-bearing shell having a topside designed to face towards a user and an underside designed to face a bicycle frame. The shell includes at least one continuous sheet element having at least one differently deformable portion located at particularly stressed regions of the user's body. The sheet element is formed of a thermoplastic resin matrix with reinforcement fibers embedded therein. The differently deformable portions have a smaller thickness (Si) and a locally greater average density (pi) than the rest of the extension of the shell, said portions are formed in a thermoforming step wherein a local thickness reduction is carried out by compression and by heating said sheet element to a temperature near the melting temperature of the thermoplastic matrix. A method of making such support structure is further provided.