• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.267-279
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• 2014

Objective: The objective of this study was to define the Dynamic Sitting (DS) through trend analysis and research on the Dynamic Chair (DC) and applied technologies. Background: The effects of changing posture on the human body have been studied to find out healthy sitting postures. It is believed that changing posture is effective in reducing disc pressure on spinal cord and preventing back pain and musculoskeletal disease. But, the definition of DS and trends of DC have not been researched yet. Therefore, trend analysis of DC and its applied technologies are required to define dynamic sitting posture. Method: We researched the type of occupant postures from previous studies. And then, sitting behaviors were classified into three types; (1) sitting and standing, (2) working and studying, (3) taking a rest. Results: Variety shapes of DC and applied technologies were found out. From the result, the trend of DC and applied technology were summarized from three perspectives. ; (1) changing the chair functions according to user's intention, (2) conversion of dynamic chair technologies to office chair mechanism, (3) enables the user to change their sitting posture without operating control device. Conclusion: From this study, we defined dynamic sitting posture and analyzed the trend of DC and its applied technologies. This result might be used to develop an office chair for healthy sitting. But further investigation is required to figure out the technologies and functions for development of healthy chair. Application: The results of the publishing trend analysis might help to determine design concept of office chair.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2011.06a
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• pp.949-950
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• 2011

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2023

Objective: This study identifies the difference among the heights of a chair's backrest (High, Mid, No), the biomechanical changes chair users undergo over time, and the variables that can measure musculoskeletal disorders, eventually providing information on the appropriate type of backrest. Method: Eleven healthy subjects in their 20s and 30s who had no experience with musculoskeletal disorders or surgical operations within the last 6 months participated in this study. Computer typing tasks were randomly designated and performed according to the type of chair backrest, and evaluation was performed for Flexion-Relaxation Ratio (FRR) analysis after the computer typing tasks. This study used eight infrared cameras (sampling rate: 100 Hz) and nine-channel electromyography (sampling rate: 1,000 Hz). ANOVA with repeated measures was conducted to verify the results, with the statistical significance level being α = .05. Results: Although there was no significant difference in craniovertebral angle (CVA), this study showed time and interaction effects depending on the height of the backrest (p<.05). When working without the backrest, the head-spine angle was lower compared to the chairs with backrest, based on the computer work. As for the head angle, the higher the back of the chair was, the less the head flexion and the body angle became, whereas the body flexion became less when there was a backrest. In addition, the body flexion increased over time in all types of backrests (p<.05). The muscle activity of the upper body tended to be high in the high backrest chair. On the other hand, a lower muscle activity was found with a low backrest. Conclusion: These results show that a chair is more ergonomic when the body angle is correctly set without bending and when it is supported by a low backrest. Accordingly, this study determines that the backrest affects shoulder and neck musculoskeletal disorders during typing and that medium-height backrest chairs can help prevent musculoskeletal disorders, contrary to the expectation that high-backrest chairs are preferable.

• International Journal of Safety
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.35-38
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• 2008

The purpose of this study is to extract typical body shape of Korean VDT workers based on the three-dimensional Korean shape data and recommendation supported by Korea Occupational Safety & Health Agency during VDT task. Desirable desk heights and chair heights for the selection of the VDT working posture is proposed by analyzing moment, compression and joint shear for lumbar and spine of Korean adult(male and female). The desirable heights for desk and chair can be selected by the least load method during VDT tasks. In the current work the figures of Korean 50th percentile offered by CATIA-HUMAN are used as the average body type of the grown-ups and this research is accomplished with the recommended size of all working attitude such as the height of a monitor except for the height of desk and chair and the degree of watching the monitor.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.161-166
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• 2009

Although the entrance of house has been identified as a hotspot for older adults' fall accidents, there was not any lift chair to prevent older adults' accidents. In this study, a lift chair was developed to reduce fall accidents that can occur when older adults put on or take off their shoes in the entrance. In order to develop the product, we considered two aspects. Firstly, we considered older adults' anthropometric data to determine the design specification of the product. Also we considered the environmental characteristics of space using the product. In order to overcome the limited spatial freedom and use the entrance space effectively, we took a simplified and folding type for the product.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.167-174
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• 2010

In this study, the optimal position for the backrest pivot of an office chair was investigated by evaluating its performance in terms of the lumbar support and sliding distance of the back from the backrest during tilting motions. The simulation was performed using a mathematical model, which included a human body and a chair. Forty-two backrest pivot points were selected on the sagittal plane around the hip joint of a sitting model. A motion analysis study was also performed using a prototype of an office chair (A-type) with a backrest pivot located on the hip joint of a normal Korean model and a typical office chair (B-type) with its pivot located under the seat. The simulation results showed that both the lordosis angle and the slide distance of the back were minimized when the backrest pivot was positioned close to the hip joint. The experimental results showed that the slide distance and gap between the sitter's lumbar and the backrest was smaller with the A-type than the B-type. Based on the simulation and experimental results, it can be concluded that the backrest can support the sitter's lumbar area more effectively as the pivot position for reclining approaches closer to the hip joint. In this position, the sitter can maintain a comfortable and healthy sitting posture. This paper presents the methods and guidelines for designing an office chair with ergonomic considerations.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.32-41
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to suppose basis data the influence of different chair type and pelvic control on quadriceps muscle activity and strength during knee joint extension isometric exercise in hemiplegic patients. This research were investigated in ten healthy adults and tens hemipelgic patients. Surface electromyography (EMG) and Biodex system were used to collect kinematic data and muscle activity, respectively. Independent t-test, paired t-test and one-way repeated ANOVA were used to determine a statistical significance. The results showed as follows: (1) Posterior pelvic angles in healthy group and hemiplegic group were significantly different on isokinetic equipment (p<.05). (2) Different chair type and pelvic control on quadriceps muscle activity and strength were significantly different in hemiplegic patients (p<.05). From the result of this research, posterior pelvic angle control during knee joint extension isometric exercise in hemiplegic patients on isokinetic equipment is necessary to increase quadriceps muscle strength in hemiplegic patients.

• IE interfaces
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.82-88
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• 2002

A study was conducted to develop user-centered kitchen furniture and workspace to reduce fatigue and to prevent housewives's disorders such as low back pain and musculoskeletal disorders from housekeeping activities. A questionnaire survey and interview were performed on 150 households those live in 32Pyung-type($105m^2$) apartment in Seoul vicinity. Also actual housekeeping activities for 24 hours were video-taped for further motion analysis. Results of the study revealed that housewives complained the inconvenience and small size of storage space, and worksurface height as the most important problems to be considered for redesign. And they responded, if feasible, sitting is preferred over standing while they are working. After adapting a sit/stand chair in the kitchen, a physiological experiment measuring heart rate(HR) and oxygen consumption($VO_2$) as response variables was conducted to examine the effects of sit/stand chair in reducing physiological demand during housekeeping activities. The results showed that working on sit/stand chair reduced energy expenditures by maximum of 30% and 31.0% in terms of HR and $VO_2$, respectively. Also rearrangement of kitchen structure based on motion analysis showed that walking distance during daily housekeeping activities can be reduced by 5.5% on the average. Hence, it is concluded that adapting a sit/stand chair in the kitchen could reduce fatigue and occupational disorders of housewives from extended housekeeping activities.

• Journal of the Institute of Convergence Signal Processing
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.56-62
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• 2015

In this study, we implemented an unconstraint ECG monitoring system on a chair. Nowadays, modern people spend most of their time sitting on the chair. Therefore, it is necessary to have an unconstraint ECG monitoring system that can be used for a long time. The implemented system can perform measurement even with clothes on and it has great advantage on motion artifacts. A pair of unconstraint electrodes are placed on the back of the chair. Amplifier and filters are designed to remove motion artifacts, The baseline noise and power line noise are filtered and very low level of bio-signal is amplified to give a final measurement. Control unit and wireless transmission unit are implemented. Analog signal is converted into digital signal and transmits biological signal to the PC and the smart phone. Therefore continuous ECG monitoring in daily life is made possible. A comparison experiment between Ag / AgCl electrode and unconstraint electrode is conducted to evaluate the performance of the implemented system. As a result, we confirm our unconstraint system can be used for daily life ECG monitoring.

• Journal of the Korea Computer Graphics Society
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.29-38
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• 2017

We propose a method for tree-inspired chair modeling that can generate a tree-branch pattern in the skeleton of an arbitrary chair shape. Unlike existing methods that merge multiple-input models, the proposed method requires only one mesh as input, namely the contour mesh of the user's desired part, to model the chair with a branch pattern generated by tree-growth simulation. We propose a new method for the efficient extraction of the contour-mesh region in the tree-branch pattern. First, we extract the contour mesh based on the face area of the input mesh. We then use the front and back mesh information to generate a skeleton mesh that reconstructs the connection information. In addition, to obtain the tree-branch pattern matching the shape of the input model, we propose a three-way tree-growth simulation method that considers the tangent vector of the shape surface. The proposed method reveals a new type of furniture modeling by using an existing furniture model and simple parameter values to model tree branches shaped appropriately for the input model skeleton. Our experiments demonstrate the performance and effectiveness of the proposed method.