Walking Aid Swivelable Support Legs Upper Shaft Deployment

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing walking aids with foldable support legs are cumbersome, prone to mechanical faults, and soiling, and have an inelegant design due to complex leg mechanisms.

Innovation Solution

A walking aid with swivelable support legs that can be folded out at a predefined angle for setting down and locked in place, featuring a sliding sleeve and electric motor for automatic positioning, and adjustable shaft length, with locking devices to ensure safety and ease of use.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Stability of the object's composition

If traditional foldable support legs are used at the lower end of the walking aid, then the walking aid can be set down stably on the ground, but the design becomes elaborate and voluminous with complicated appearance and susceptibility to faults and soiling

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvestability when set downVSAvoiddesign complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Stability of the object's compositionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The support legs are extracted from the traditional location at the lower end of the shaft and repositioned to the upper region of the shaft. This extraction resolves the contradiction by removing the complex folding mechanism from the problematic lower end location, thereby eliminating the appearance complications and susceptibility to soiling while maintaining the stability function through the alternative upper position deployment mechanism

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of having support legs fold out from the lower end as in traditional designs, the invention inverts the approach by having support legs deploy from the upper region of the shaft. This inversion allows the support legs to be retained in a streamlined position during use while still providing stable ground contact when deployed, thus resolving the contradiction between stability and design complexity

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

2Reliability

If support legs are provided at the lower end of the walking aid for setting down, then the walking aid can be set down in a standing position without falling over, but the actuation technology becomes susceptible to faults and soiling

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprevention of falling overVSAvoidsoiling and faults

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The support leg actuation mechanism is extracted from the lower end location and repositioned to the upper region of the shaft. This extraction removes the actuation technology from the area most susceptible to soiling and mechanical faults, thereby improving reliability by placing the deployment mechanism in a cleaner, more protected environment while still achieving the anti-falling function

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The invention replaces the traditional mechanical folding actuation at the lower end with an alternative deployment mechanism from the upper region. This substitution eliminates the complex mechanical linkages that are prone to faults and soiling, using a simplified retention and deployment system that reduces susceptibility to harmful factors while maintaining the stability function

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

3Ease of operation

If multiple swivelable support legs are used that can be folded out at a predefined angle, then the walking aid can be set down on the ground, but the design becomes cumbersome and inelegant

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveability to set down on groundVSAvoidelegance and compactness

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSShape

Solution Approach 1:

The support legs are extracted from the lower end position and repositioned to the upper region of the shaft. This extraction allows the support legs to be kept in a compact, streamlined configuration during normal use, preserving elegance and compactness, while still enabling the function of setting down on the ground when deployed from the upper position

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of deploying support legs from the lower end as in traditional designs, the invention inverts the deployment location to the upper region of the shaft. This inversion allows the support legs to remain concealed and streamlined during use, maintaining an elegant appearance, while still providing the necessary ground-contact capability when deployed

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Data Source

PatentUS12090114B2Walking aid with fold-out support legs for sitting down

Publication Date: 2024.09.17 WILKENS PATRICK

AI summary

A walking aid for taking up a deployment supported force for supporting a person using the walking aid, including a support upper part for engaging around the person, a shaft and a support foot arranged at a lower end of the shaft and having multiple swivelable support legs which can be moved between a storage position in which they are folded out from one another at a predefined angle and the walking aid can be set down on the ground, and a use position in which the support legs are folded together and arranged next to one another and the walking aid can be used, characterized in that the support legs are swivelably retained at a lower end of the shaft, and in that they are designed for taking up the deployment supported force in the use position.