Back pain is a relatively common problem in children and adolescents. There are many causes, including genetics, muscle strain, sleep problems and more. One large cohort study found associations between back pain and uncomfortable school desks; not to mention the neck and muscle strain from spending multiple hours in these desks (Achar &Yamanaka, 2020). In order to create a more comfortable school environment and alleviate back pain, our group decided to invent a new school chair/desk design. This new design is called the Rubik’s Chair 180. Our goals are to make the chairs comfortable for long hours, adjustable for different physiques, easy to clean and maintain, and cost-effective. The technical environment of the innovation is school classrooms. Therefore, we’re taking into account the space in the room and the classroom activities, for example, reading, writing, and taking notes. The space of the room affects the size of our desks because we want students to be able to walk up and down the rows between desks. The classroom activities affect the size and function of the desks because we want students writing at a comfortable height where they don’t have to lean over constantly. In order to foster a safe and engaging learning environment, we are making sure the chairs are as simple, yet useful as possible. For example, we decided not to have chairs with wheels on the bottom because this would distract the students from focusing in class. Additionally, we added a cup holder that can hold students’ water bottles, pens, etc. This component is important because it eliminates the need to go digging into a school bag for a water bottle, which is distracting to others because it creates a lot of noise and needless movement.

 

Previously Proposed Engineering Innovations

            The Node Tripod Base by Steelcase is a unique chair model for educational spaces and offices. The chair provides flexible seating, an adjustable work surface, a cup holder, and a base for storing personal belongings. However, the design of the node chair is designed around mobility in the classroom which means their focus is on creating a mobile learning space rather than on comfort for long lectures. Additionally, the classrooms they focus on are those on campuses, not middle/high school classrooms. The chairs are also costly; without a desk, the chair costs $307 but, the cost ranges from $459-$527 for chairs with a desk and other amenities. Because of the cost and the selective higher education focus, the node chair would not be an effective option for adolescents in public schools. The wheels that allow for mobility would most likely distract the students and scratch hard floors unless one purchases the hard floor wheels for an extra $21.

 

Technical Description

Mesh Back:

Figure 1: Mesh Back

The 20”x19” polyester mesh lining fabric backrest of the Rubik’s Chair 180 allows the chair to adjust to any user, providing comfortable and flexible back support, which helps improve posture and mitigate back pains over extensive sitting intervals. The netting structure of the mesh also allows for better ventilation of air between the chair and body, preventing heat accumulation which in turn would lead to discomfort. The light material keeps the chair light, and easily accessible, as well as very easy to clean and hard to stain. Additionally, the back of the seat can be adjusted by pulling a lever attached to an 8”x3”x2” stainless steel rectangular tube.  This allows the back of the chair to be raised or lowered along the tubing, giving individuals of all body types and height the ability to take advantage of its supportive qualities. The rectangular tube has a 6” adjustable difference and is connected to the seat of the chair through an L-bracket. With a 5” round off, the mesh back is framed by 1 ⅙ inch wide, 0.5-inch-thick industry plastic T slot U shaped cover solid sealing block, keeping the product very light while also providing sturdy support.

Vinyl Seat:

Figure 2: Vinyl Seat (Flash Furniture, n.d.)

The seat of the chair is 20”x20”, 1-inch thick Uline Soft Foam covered by Ottertex Marine Vinyl, held up by 20”x24”, 1-inch JINBAO PVC board plastic. Vinyl, in addition to being a more affordable option, is also very durable. Because of its durability, it is able to maintain color and shape over long periods of time and through extensive use. In addition to being durable, it is stain resistant and very easy to clean, which only contributes to the longevity of the material (Howe, 2018).

Legs:

Figure 3: Rubik’s Chair 180 Leg

       The legs of the chair are attached by four, 16-inch vertical steel rods, collectively an inch in width, as well as four, 19-inch horizontal rods of the same width. By keeping the legs attached, rather than four separate objects, the “wobbliness” and instability that most often accompanies the average school desk is eliminated. Therefore, the user can write with much further ease, and the class will be less noisy without desks constantly shifting as people move in their seats.

Storage Tray: 

Figure 4: Storage Tray

                    Attached to the legs of the chair under the seat is an 18”x22” cage of 10 intersecting steel rods, each 1 cm in diameter, made from recycled steel of older chairs. This flat panel gives a convenient storage space to the user, which can be utilized to store books as to not have a cluttered area. By keeping the books under the seat, they are both close and easily accessible, as well as out of other people’s way. The cage structure, rather than one solid surface, helps decrease the required material for production, in addition to keeping the overall product light.

Pivot Bar:

Figure 5: Pivot Bar

The pivot bar is 40.25” of 1 ⅛ inch thick steel, attached to 3”x2”, ⅛” steel by a bolt, connecting the seat to the desk, which can rotate 180 clockwise and back. By doing so the desk can be adjusted from left-handed to right-handed depending on the preference of its user at the pull of a lever. Adjusting the desk using the back bar is very easy, as the bar itself is hollow and is very light, and can be done either from a seated or standing position.

Top Desk:

Figure 6: Top Desk

The top desk provides an area for the user to write notes on a book or laptop and helps substitute the lack of a writing surface without sacrificing space. Designed to support up to 150lbs, this 18” x 24”, 1-inch thick garolite hard plastic desk, with a 5”x10” armrest, can hold as many books or objects as necessary without any toppling or damage. Additionally, its covering layer of melamine prevents any noticeable physical damage, as well as providing heat resistance, meaning the desk won’t burn like a playground slide in the summer.

Cup holder:

Figure 7: Cup Holder

The cupholder appliance, due to the fact that the desk may alternate from left to right-handed, is also adjustable. Modeled after the design of collapsible bowls, the cupholder can be pushed out to create a pocket to hold a drink. If the desk needs to be flipped, the cupholder can be flattened to its original position and then once the desk is flipped to the other side, it can once more be pressed down to create a pocket. The silicone material keeps it flexible and durable and allows the cupholder to alternate between forms without any sort of noticeable degradation, and with an inner radius of 3” and 2.95” depth, can fit any sort of beverage of all shapes and sizes. Connected by a 304 stainless steel flexible metal water corrugated tube 2” deep into the desk with 3” of length to be utilized, the cup holder has no chance of breaking off, and can be adjusted to fit the user’s preference of position. For example, if the cupholder is not in use, it can be retracted underneath the desk to free up space for walking around the classroom.

 

Process of the Innovation

Since we care about the quality of our innovation, we also care about the final cost of our product. Our furniture parts are made from good quality materials that are bought overseas. Most parts will be purchased with the help of the Alibaba Group. Table 1 reflects the cost of the furniture parts of the innovation as well as the final cost of it as shown next. These costs were estimated using product listings from the Alibaba Group (Alibaba Group, 1999-2020).

Costs with furniture parts
Component/part	Dimensions	Material	Cost
Mesh back	20’’/19’’	Mesh	$0.5
Vinyl seat covering	20’’/20’’	Vinyl	$2.69
Top desk	18’’/24’’/1’’	Hard plastic	$43.86
Plastic frame for seat	20’’/24’’	Hard plastic	$6.32
Seat cushioning	20’’/20’’	Foam	$8.5
Pivot bar	40.25’’	Steel tube	$35.67
High adjustment box	8’’/3’’/2’’	Steel	$27.98
L-bracket	30.1’’/4’’/3’’	Steel	$16.79
Legs of Chair	16’’ long x4 19’’ wide x4	Steel tube	$8.50
Storage tray	18’’/22’’	Steel	$3.5
Cup holder	3’’ inner diameter 3.2’’ outer diameter 2.95’’ deep	Silicon	$0.65
Cost with assembly and distribution
Assembly and delivery			$57
FINAL COST			$ 203.24

Table 1: Total Costs of Rubik’s Chair 180

Alibaba is the world’s largest retailer, a Chinese multinational technology company specializing in e-commerce, retail, internet, and technology. The cost of their products has almost no competition and that will help us to stay on track with our budget. All the chair parts will be sent from China and then assembled in California, USA. There, the Virco Manufacturing Corporation will oversee putting together our chair model. Virco, is an American furniture manufacturer which focuses on providing products for educational markets and it has provided high-quality classroom furniture to schools across the globe.

At Virco, the engineering experts are ready to assist us by providing customized products that correspond to our functional needs. They have well-equipped staging and assembly areas – and experienced American workers – that can process any custom Virco-made furniture combination.

The average salary for an assembler at Virco is $13.52 per hour and according to Virco Annual Report, a chair can be assembled in less than two hours and that process needs the help of maximum two workers. The chair production will be estimated in function of the educational institution’s needs (Virco MFG. Corporation, 2019). As most Virco products are GREENGUARD certified, our innovation will be to, and it will be backed by a 10-year warranty.

Virco proudly complies with all laws and governmental regulations affecting our products, including the California Air Resources Board (CARB) regulation on formaldehyde emissions from composite wood products and the federal Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) (Virco Inc., 2017).

The back-pain problem that students have from sitting daily in a regular school chair can now be solved. Thanks to the Rubik’s Chair 180, posture can be corrected because of the chair’s unique height adjusting feature and because of the rotatable desk that can be moved from right-handed to left-handed depending on one’s preference. Our chair model will include a 180-degree rotatable desk that has an integrated cup holder, a storage tray at base of the chair, a vinyl seat, and a perforated mesh back for enhanced airflow. The height of the chair will be between 33-39 inches because of the height adjustment feature and will have a weight of approximately 44 lbs. Since the cost of our innovation is one of the lowest on the market for the benefits that it can offer, Rubik’s Chair 180 is definitely an innovation that most schools need for a better and more comfortable learning experience.

 

References

Achar, S., & Yamanaka, J. (2020). Back pain in children and adolescents. American Family Physician, 102(1), 19-28. https://www.aafp.org/afp/2020/0701/p19.html#afp20200701p019-b2

Alibaba Group. (1999-2020). Find Quality Manufacturers, Suppliers, Exporters, Importers, Buyers, Wholesalers, Products and Trade Leads from Our Award-Winning International Trade Site. Import & Export on Alibaba.com. Alibaba. Retrieved from https://www.alibaba.com/

Howe, Rachel. (2018, January 11). Pros & Cons of Different Chair Materials. Retrieved from https://www.officechairs.com/blog/pros-cons-different-chair-fabrics

Flash Furniture. (n.d.). Hard Black Vinyl Chiavari Chair Cushion[Stock Image]. Church Chairs 4 Less. Retrieved from https://www.churchchairs4less.com/BH-BK-HARD-VYL-GG.html?gclid=Cj0KCQiAqdP9BRDVARIsAGSZ8AkWTOCt0SlP09y9a8jLUv-ef7DuDmBuan9OtedeniDs_WZYezJPvhMaAtkAEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Virco Inc. (2017). A Classic American Manufacturing Story [PDF file]. Retrieved from https://virco.com/sites/default/files/catalogs/a_classic_american_manufacturing_story_pdf.pdf

Virco MFG. Corporation. (2019). Virco Annual Report (2018 ed.) [PDF file]. Retrieved from https://virco.com/sites/default/files/pdf-versions/2019-ar.pdf