Walking Training Apparatus with Overhead Harness for Weight Dispersion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional walking training apparatuses cause pain and scratches due to crotch pressure and are not effective in training walking motion, as they concentrate weight on the saddle, leading to a non-natural walking experience.
Innovation Solution
A walking training apparatus with a main body, footrest, and upper body support that disperses weight across the armpits and forearms, allowing for natural walking motion without a saddle, featuring adjustable support structures to accommodate different body types and prevent forward or backward falls.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stress or pressure
If the conventional walking training apparatus with saddle is used, then the weight of the patient is dispersed to the saddle and footrests, but the crotch part of the patient is pressed a lot causing pain and the patient with thick thighs would have a scratch due to friction
Solution Approach 1:
The upper body support structure is divided into multiple components: a pair of support arms extending forward, a pair of support legs extending backward, and a head support portion. This segmentation allows the weight to be distributed across multiple contact points (armpits, forearms, back, and head) rather than concentrating it on a single saddle, thereby preventing crotch pressure and associated pain and scratches.
Solution Approach 2:
The support arms and support legs act as intermediary structures between the patient's upper body and the main body. These intermediaries transfer the weight from the upper body to the main body through multiple contact points (armpits and forearms for support arms, back for support legs), preventing direct pressure on the crotch area.
2Stress or pressure
If the conventional walking training apparatus with saddle is used, then the weight loaded on the saddle is increased, but the patient is used just to pedal and thus it is not useful to train the walking
Solution Approach 1:
The saddle is completely removed from the system. Instead of having the patient sit on a saddle that causes them to pedal, the invention uses an overhead harness system with support arms and support legs that allow the patient to walk naturally without the constraint of a saddle. This extraction of the saddle eliminates the pedaling motion and restores natural walking training effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of having the patient sit on a saddle and pedal (conventional approach), the invention inverts the approach by having the patient stand and walk naturally while the overhead harness system provides support. The weight distribution is inverted from bottom-up (saddle supporting the patient) to top-down (overhead harness supporting the patient's upper body), enabling natural walking motion.
3Stress or pressure
If the overhead harness type apparatus is used, then the upper body of the trainee is hung to disperse weight of the walking trainee loaded to the lower body, but the trainee has to wear a harness tightening vest which takes long time
Solution Approach 1:
The tightening vest is completely removed from the system. The invention replaces the vest-based weight distribution system with an overhead harness system that attaches directly to the patient's upper body (armpits, forearms, and head), eliminating the need for the patient to wear and adjust a tightening vest, thereby saving time.
Solution Approach 2:
The overhead harness system acts as an intermediary that directly connects to the patient's upper body structures (armpits, forearms, head) without requiring an intermediate tightening vest. This intermediary system provides the necessary weight dispersion while eliminating the time-consuming vest-wearing step.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a walking training apparatus which includes: a main body to be ridden by a walking trainee; a footrest part coupled to the main body rotatably to support feet of the walking trainee; and an upper body support part coupled to the main body at a position spaced apart from the footrest part to support an upper body of the walking trainee and thus disperse load supported by the footrest part, wherein the upper body support part supports an armpit and a forearm of the walking trainee.