FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This disclosure relates to the field of personal comfort, health, and fitness devices, especially those relating to enhanced furniture items such as specialized or multi-purpose footrests.
BACKGROUND
Modern indoor environments provide numerous ways for an inhabitant to become sedentary. Whether it's working at the office, working from home, binge-watching a different new series every week, or gaming, sitting for long periods of time has simply become the norm. Many are less inclined to engage in outdoor activities, while others are simply unable to do so as often, if at all. Prolonged sitting and lack of exercise, key components of a sedentary lifestyle, can lead to a host of health issues. Physical inactivity can increase the risk of certain diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and certain types of cancer. It can also contribute to weight gain and obesity. People with certain clotting issues in particular are advised to avoid being completely sedentary at all costs, further being prescribed mandatory activity schedules such as hourly walks between sitting. Prolonged sitting in the same position can also lead to poor posture and musculoskeletal problems, such as back and neck pain.
As a further matter, stress and anxiety are two mental health issues that can be exacerbated by a sedentary lifestyle. Chronic stress can lead to a variety of health problems, including heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and other illnesses. Anxiety, meanwhile, can interfere with one's daily life, making it difficult to work, socialize, or simply engage with daily routines. These issues can commingle with focus and attention issues, affecting productivity and performance at work or school, while also interfering with personal relationships. This can lead to feelings of frustration and inadequacy, further contributing to stress and anxiety.
In general, a sedentary lifestyle can negatively impact both physical and mental health. It can lead to chronic health conditions, mental health issues, and a decreased quality of life. It may be difficult to avoid sitting for long periods of time, however, in modern society. In addition to making lifestyle changes, other options are needed when one engages with prolonged sedentary activities, either by necessity or by choice.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 illustrates a top front perspective view of an actuating footrest in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 2 illustrates a bottom front perspective view of an actuating footrest in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 3 illustrates a bottom back perspective view of an actuating footrest in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 4 illustrates a side view of an actuating footrest in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 5 illustrates a front view of an actuating footrest in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIGS. 6a-b illustrate closeup exploded views of an upper and lower hinge mechanism, respectively, of a flexible frame of an actuating footrest in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 6c illustrates a closeup view of pins used in lower hinge mechanisms in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 7 illustrates a top back perspective view of an alternate embodiment of an actuating footrest in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 8 illustrates a front view of an alternate embodiment of an actuating footrest in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 9 illustrates a back view of an alternate embodiment of an actuating footrest in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 10 illustrates a side view of an alternate embodiment of an actuating footrest in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 11 illustrates a side perspective view of another alternate embodiment of an actuating footrest in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
In the following discussion, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed subject matter. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present disclosed subject matter may be practiced without such specific details. In other instances, well-known elements, processes or techniques have been briefly mentioned and not elaborated on in order not to obscure the disclosed subject matter in unnecessary detail and description. Moreover, specific details and the like may have been omitted inasmuch as such details are not deemed necessary to obtain a complete understanding of the disclosed subject matter, and are considered to be within the understanding of persons having ordinary skill in the relevant art.
The present disclosure includes a multi-purpose health and wellness device geared toward seated users in home and office settings. The present invention provides a movable, or actuating footrest that is capable of receiving a plurality of applied forces, including a downward force, applied by a seated user via their lower body muscles, or legs and feet in particular, and returning the applied force to the user with a rebounding force-response action-particularly in an instance of applied downward force. The actuating footrest is ideally placed on any flat floor surface for usage. In some embodiments, the footrest redistributes the applied force into and throughout the device by utilizing hinge mechanisms (see embodiments depicted in FIGS. 1-10). In other embodiments, the device, while receiving an applied force from the user, stores potential energy in a flexed frame structure comprising strategically angled levers/arms, or lever arms, each arm having a plurality of elbows, without the use of spring mechanisms (see alternate embodiment of FIG. 11 having lower, or second elbows 15d instead of hinge mechanisms). In most embodiments, removal of the applied force results in an upward recoil effect observed in the angled lever arms, this force moving an attached, force-receiving footboard back toward the user and into a position of rest. The device remains in a resting configuration until force is once again applied by the user.
A combination of hinge mechanisms and angled lever arms can be implemented in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention seen in FIG. 1. An exemplary actuating footrest 1 comprises a metallic flexible frame 10 attached to a force-receiving footboard 5, the frame 10 further comprising a pair of parallel force-resisting lever arms 15, a pair of lower hinge mechanisms 20 and an upper hinge mechanism (see upper hinge mechanism 25 of FIG. 2), and a stationary base 35. An exemplary flexible frame 10 is streamlined to have a minimalistic, modern design, having a substantially aluminum powder composition and finish, along with a silver coating. The generally flat lever arms 15 each have a length, width, and minimal thickness, both arms terminating at one end with the attached force-receiving board 5 (the board being pushable by the user via their feet), and at an opposing end with the lower hinge mechanisms 20, each lower hinge mechanism including a joint 21 with an integrated pin 22 about which one or more springs 23 are coiled. Each lever arm 15 transitions to the stationary base 35 at an angle θh (see side view of FIG. 4 for angle θh) formed by the lever arm's structurally associated lower hinge mechanism 20. The flexible frame 10 can resist and return at least one type of applied force, the resistance and return of an applied downward force causing the flexible frame 10 to flex and extend, respectively, at the lower hinge mechanisms 20. The resistance and return of this flexion force causes an altered distance between the footboard 5 and the stationary base 35, along with an altered size of angles θh of the lower hinge mechanisms 20, the altered angle sizes remaining constantly equal to each other during flexion and extension. Motion arrows 90 of FIG. 4 indicate this vertical, up-and-down, movement of the footboard 5.
The flexible frame 10 is attached to the footboard 5 via a connecting plate 11 (see bottom perspective views of FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 showing the connecting plate 11 mounted to the bottom of the footboard 5). An exemplary force-receiving footboard 5 is a generally flat and rectangular slab (having a length and width) of layered or engineered wood having a walnut stain and a thickness of about one inch (see side profile view of FIG. 4 for footboard width and thickness). Other embodiments may implement a plurality of wood stains having different colors for various models of the device. The footboard 5 can receive a plurality of forces applied by the user's feet. With the actuating footrest 1 in a resting configuration, as shown in FIG. 1, the force-receiving footboard 5 sits nearly parallel relative to the stationary base 35, having a bottom surface that faces a floor, and an opposing top surface 5a (see FIG. 4 for the top surface 5a of the footboard 5) that is facing the user. The bottom surface is partitioned by the upper hinge mechanism 25 (and rod 26) into two halves, or a front bottom surface 5b and rear bottom surface 5c (see FIG. 4 for these portions of the bottom surface). The user's feet are positioned at the top surface 5a.
Exemplary attachment means between the lever arms 15 and footboard 5 can include a generally flat connecting plate 11, seen in the bottom front perspective view of FIG. 2, which spans a substantial length of the footboard 5, this length running orthogonally to the lengths of the lever arms 15 (see FIG. 2 and front view of FIG. 5 to assess this orthogonal relationship). In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-6, the connecting plate 11 is fixed to the footboard 5 and has a hinged relationship with the lever arms 15, an associated upper hinge mechanism 25 comprising a rod 26 spanning a substantial portion of the length of the footboard 5, the connecting plate 11 having a pair of hooks 11a that hook the rod 26 (see FIG. 2, FIG. 3, and FIG. 6a for hooks 11a and rod 26). In another example, the connecting plate 11 is welded to or formed with the lever arms 15 (see alternate embodiment of FIG. 11 for an example of this). In yet another example, the connecting plate 11 is connected to the lever arms 15 using screws, bolts and/or other similar attachment means. The connecting plate 11 can be attached to the footboard 5 using an industrial adhesive along with screws, bolts, and/or similar attachment means. In another embodiment, the connecting plate 11 attaches to the footboard 5 with adjustable or rotatable attachment means 12, via which the angle of the footboard 5 may be changed and subsequently locked (see alternate embodiment of FIGS. 7-10). In such an example, the attachment means 12 are rotatable with sufficient adjustment friction during usage of the device 1 to require a comfortable applied force from the user, preventing unwanted rotation when little to no force is being applied, thus accommodating various alternate sitting or reclining positions of the user as they move and shift.
The lever arms 15 extend and bend away from the footboard 5 and connecting plate 11 at a shared distance, parallel to each other, to equidistantly meet the lower hinge mechanisms 20. The lever arms 15 are connected to each other via a central (lever arm) crossbar 16 (see FIGS. 2-3) spanning a substantial portion of the length of the footboard 5 and running parallel with the rod 26 while running orthogonally to the lever arms 15. The lever arm crossbar 16 comprises rod hooks 16a, while the connecting plate 11 similarly comprises rod hooks 11a (see exploded view of upper hinge mechanism 25 in FIG. 6a for both pairs of rod hooks). Each lever arm 15 terminates in one lower hinge mechanism 20, and comprises an angled upper, or first, elbow 15a (see FIG. 1 and FIG. 4 for elbow 15a, FIG. 4 showing its angle θe) positioned closer to the upper hinge mechanism 25 than its structurally associated lower hinge mechanism 20. In an exemplary embodiment, the angles θe of the lever arms' elbows 15a directionally oppose the angles θh of the lower hinge mechanisms 20, as seen in the side view of FIG. 4.
The lever arm crossbar 16 further comprises a protruding plate 16b (see FIGS. 2-4) that angularly projects away from the footboard 5 and toward the lower hinge mechanisms 20. The protruding plate 16b has a length and width, its width running parallel to the aforementioned extension distance of the lever arms 15 following the bends in the angled elbows 15a. The protruding plate 16b and angled upper elbows 15a provide stopping points for the footboard 5 as it pivots within a full range of rotation (as indicated by pivoting range 91 in FIG. 4), such that the protruding plate 16b and angled elbows 15a oppose each other and each alternatingly make contact with the bottom surface of the footboard 5 as it pivots back and forth within the full range of rotation 91. The contact that is made with the angled elbows 15a occurs simultaneously with both elbows. In an exemplary embodiment, both the protruding plate 16b and angled upper elbows 15a comprise a plurality of contact points, or bumpers 50 that protect the footboard 5 from damage during pivoting 91, the protruding plate's bumpers making contact with the rear bottom half 5c of the footboard 5, while the angled elbows' bumpers make contact with the front bottom half 5b of the footboard 5.
Each lever arm 15 further comprises a terminal hook 15b that hooks the pin 22 of the lower hinge mechanism 20. Similarly, the lever arm crossbar 16 comprises the above-mentioned pair of rod hooks 16a that hook the rod 26 of the upper hinge mechanism 25. The above-mentioned rod hooks 11a of the connecting plate 11 are disposed at a distance apart from each other that is larger than the distance maintained between the two rod hooks 16a of the lever arm crossbar 16, each of the connecting plate's rod hooks 11a positioned proximate to a terminal end of the rod 26 (see exploded view of upper hinge mechanism 25 in FIG. 6a). Together, these components of an exemplary upper hinge mechanism 25 allow the footboard 5 to pivot at the upper hinge mechanism 25 in response to one or more forces applied by the user's feet, particularly via a pivoting of the feet at the ankles (with feet planted flat upon the footboard 5) to cause rotation or pivoting of the footboard 5 about the rod 26. Pivoting motion arrows 91 indicate this footboard movement in FIG. 4. An exemplary rod 26, having a diameter, is substantially embedded within the footboard 5 (see bottom views of FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 for indications of this feature), such that approximately half of the rod's diameter is embedded within the footboard 5.
Each lever arm 15 further comprises an upper spring cover 15c that retains a portion of the coiled spring 23. The upper spring covers 15c (or lever arm spring covers) are formed in the lever arms 15, while lower spring covers 36b (or base arm spring covers) are formed in the stationary base 35, all of the spring covers serving to hide, house, or retain the coiled springs 23, each lower hinge mechanism 20 being structurally/rotatably integrated with the stationary base 35 via a base arm 36 that extends away from the hinge 20. The base arms 36 run parallel to each other and have equal lengths, the base arms 36 curving toward each other to form a central/base crossbar 37 at a distance away from the lower hinge mechanisms 20, this distance substantially defining the lengths of the base arms 36, these base arm lengths being substantially similar to the width of the footboard 5 (see side view of FIG. 4 for an indication of these length/width dimensions). Further in such an exemplary embodiment, each lever arm 15, base arm 36, and spring cover (including lever arm spring covers 15c and base arm spring covers 36b) has a width, this width being the same among them and running orthogonally to the width of the footboard 5, or parallel to the length of the footboard 5 (see front view of FIG. 5 to view this width as exhibited by each lever arm 15).
The stationary base 35 keeps the footrest 1 stationary while it is operated by a user. Its base arms 36 are connected to each other via the base crossbar 37 running parallel and having a substantially similar length to the lever arm crossbar 16, each base arm 36 terminating in one lower hinge mechanism 20 and comprising a pair of terminal base/pin hooks 36a that hook the pin 22 of the lower hinge mechanism 20. Each pair of base hooks 36a flanks the pin hook 15b of a lever arm 15, each base arm 36 further comprising the above-mentioned base arm spring cover 36b that retains a portion of its associated coiled springs 23. As well, in an exemplary embodiment, each lower hinge mechanism 20 includes a pair of these coiled springs 23, the coiled portion of each spring being retained within a base hook 36a (see exploded view of FIG. 6b to view relative positions of pin hooks and coiled springs). The stationary base 35 as a whole sits substantially flush with any flat floor surface upon which the footrest 1 is placed. In order to better maintain a consistent or stationary position upon a floor, the base 35 further includes a plurality of floor grips 38 which make high friction contact with a floor surface, thus promoting a stationary position for the footrest 1 (see bottom views of FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 for floor grips 38). An exemplary embodiment of the footrest 1 includes four floor grips 38, two positioned proximate to the lower hinge mechanisms 20, and two positioned at the curved ends of the base crossbar 37.
Exemplary coiled springs 23 (see exploded view of FIG. 6b) are torsion springs housed within the lower hinge mechanisms 20, or lever arm spring covers 15c and base arm spring covers 36b. When receiving an applied force from the user, via the force-receiving footboard 5, the lever arms 15 simultaneously become compressed, or pivot, at the two lower hinge mechanisms 20 via the coiled springs 23. The lower hinge mechanisms 20 serve as fulcrums about which the lever arms 15 rotate, resisting or assisting the lever arms 15 when force is applied or removed, respectively. When not receiving an applied force by a user, the mechanical system of the flexible frame 10 is in a static equilibrium position, or resting configuration, wherein net force and net torque, or rotational force are both zero. Once the coiled springs 23 of the lower hinge mechanisms 20 are compressed or stretched from their equilibrium position, they develop a restoring force. This force is directly proportional to the displacement of the spring from its equilibrium position, and causes the footboard 5 to bounce back to the user with a level of force that is dependent upon the user's level of foot retraction away from the footboard 5. In various embodiments, longer lever arms 15 can achieve increased torque via the torsion springs 23, thus increasing the intensity of the bouncing effect experienced by the user when bouncing their feet on the force-receiving footboard 5.
The continuous application and withdrawal of force continuously produces a rebounding effect, thus providing a physically interactive, therapeutic experience for a user of the actuating footrest 1. Using the device 1, a user can expend excess energy while sitting for long periods of time, promoting the reduction of stress and anxiety, or simply providing a means of fidgeting and tension relief while working from home or at the office. Moreover, continuous usage of the device can promote attention stimulation. Casual or even high intensity gamers can benefit from such stimulation and tension relief, as they tend to sit for long periods of time, playing ever more engaging and expansive games. Additionally, using the device 1 with varying levels of intensity provides a form of low impact leg exercise for a user, helping with weight management, strengthening leg muscles, and offering a gentle means for recovering lower body injuries. In one example of usage, the light lower body exercise burns about 40% more calories than if the user were sitting motionless.
Another important benefit of using the device 1 is improved blood circulation, which assists in the prevention of blood clot formation. This feature is especially useful for those users who are in the high risk category for heart-attack and stroke due to clotting. Such users are generally advised to walk or exercise at frequent intervals throughout the day when diagnosed with an elevated clotting risk. When sitting inevitably becomes necessary, the actuating footrest offers a means for extending the previous period of movement, or traditional exercise, by promoting gentle, zero-impact leg movements even while sitting.
Many variations may be made to the embodiments described herein. All variations are intended to be included within the scope of this disclosure. The description of the embodiments herein can be practiced in many ways. Any terminology used herein should not be construed as restricting the features or aspects of the disclosed subject matter. The scope should instead be construed in accordance with the appended claims.
There may be many other ways to implement the disclosed embodiments. Various functions and elements described herein may be partitioned differently from those shown without departing from the scope of the disclosed embodiments. Various modifications to these implementations may be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and generic principles defined herein may be applied to other implementations. Thus, many changes and modifications may be made to the disclosed embodiments, by one having ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the scope of the disclosed embodiments. For instance, different numbers of a given element or module may be employed, a different type or types of a given element or module may be employed, a given element or module may be added, or a given element or module may be omitted.
It should be appreciated that all combinations of the foregoing concepts and additional concepts discussed in greater detail below (provided such concepts are not mutually inconsistent) are contemplated as being part of the inventive subject matter disclosed herein. In particular, all combinations of claimed subject matter appearing at the end of this disclosure are contemplated as being part of the inventive subject matter disclosed herein.
Patent Application
20250176728
