Viscoelastic Leg Support Structure for Supine Rotation Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing stabilization devices fail to automatically maintain the leg of a supine user in an upward orientation and minimize rotation, particularly for individuals recovering from knee and hip injuries or surgeries, necessitating a device that can conform to the leg shape and provide a retaining perimeter.
Innovation Solution
A knee and hip stabilization apparatus with a viscoelastic surface and elevated rim that conforms to the leg shape, maintaining an upward orientation and minimizing rotation through a deformable viscoelastic surface and enclosing structure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If a rigid structure is used to maintain leg orientation, then stability is improved, but comfort and adaptability to different leg shapes deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes a viscoelastic material that forms a flexible yet supportive surface. This material can adapt to different leg shapes and sizes while maintaining the required orientation stability. The viscoelastic properties allow the surface to deform gently under leg weight and then slowly return to its original shape, providing both comfort and stabilization without requiring a rigid structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the support surface by using viscoelastic material with specific density and firmness characteristics. This material can change its effective stiffness based on the applied load and duration, allowing it to be soft initially for comfort and then firm enough to maintain orientation. The elevated rim height and enclosure depth are also optimized parameters that balance stability and adaptability.
2Ease of operation
If conscious effort is used to maintain leg orientation, then orientation control is improved, but user fatigue and difficulty in sustaining focus worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The device is designed to automatically maintain leg orientation without requiring continuous user attention or effort. The viscoelastic material and elevated rim structure work together to naturally guide and hold the leg in the correct position. Once the user places their leg on the device, the orientation is maintained passively through the material's physical properties, eliminating the need for sustained conscious focus.
Solution Approach 2:
The device pre-configures the support surface and rim structure to automatically guide the leg into the correct orientation before the user even lies down. The elevated rim creates a natural barrier that prevents rotation, and the viscoelastic surface is shaped to cradle the leg in the proper position, so the orientation control is established in advance rather than requiring ongoing effort.
3Stability of the object's composition
If an elevated rim structure is added to form a retaining perimeter, then leg orientation stability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the support surface and the retaining rim into a single integrated viscoelastic structure. Rather than adding a separate rigid rim component to a basic cushion, the entire device is formed as one piece where the rim is an extension of the viscoelastic material itself. This integration maintains stability functionality while avoiding the complexity of multiple components, joints, and assembly requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The elevated rim is constructed from the same viscoelastic material as the support surface, creating a flexible rather than rigid retaining structure. This flexible rim can gently guide the leg into position and prevent rotation without requiring the structural complexity of rigid bars, hinges, or mechanical locking mechanisms. The rim's height and curvature are optimized to provide retention through geometry alone.
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 apparatus effectively maintains the leg in a straight orientation, facilitating therapeutic exercises and muscle building, while reducing the risk of reinjury and scar tissue formation.
Implementation Method 1
receive a user's leg on a viscoelastic surface suitable to deform in response to a leg being placed thereon
Data Source
AI summary
A knee and hip stabilization apparatus which allows a user to lie in a supine position with their leg automatically maintained in an orientation defined by their foot pointing upward, away from the surface the user is lying on. The knee and hip stabilization apparatus has an elongated base body that includes an elevated section and enclosure section, with the elevated section providing a retaining perimeter around the enclosure section, and the enclosure section being configured to receive and contour to the leg of a user. The enclosure section is configured to not only maintain an upward orientation of the leg positioned thereon for an inactive user, but also allow a user to perform therapeutic reciprocating exercises involving the user sliding their heel within the enclosure section without allowing any undesired rotation of the leg.