Land vehicles – Wheeled – Extensible
Reexamination Certificate
1997-10-02
2001-04-17
Swann, J. J. (Department: 3611)
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Extensible
C280S079200, C280S047380, C280S047400
Reexamination Certificate
active
06217057
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to therapeutic seating appliances for invalid or handicapped patients, and more particularly, to a seat appliance that accommodates an orthosis and a patient.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is a need for a seat appliance that securely accommodates an orthosis, such as a GILLETTE seating orthosis, that conforms to the body of an individual patient, such as a child, to maintain body alignment and prevent deformities. The term “orthosis” as used herein includes, in addition to custom molded arrangements adapted to the specific physiology of a particular patient, other seating inserts for patients, such as students, that require more support than is provided by a conventional chair. The prior art provides various forms of walkers, table potty chairs, wheelchairs, and the like, which fall short of fulfilling certain needs of invalid or otherwise handicapped children. For example, it is desired that an invalid or handicapped child or student disposed on a seating appliance be positioned such that the student is brought closer to his or her peers. Such proximity provides significant psychological advantage to the student as it reduces the psychological impact of the ever-present hospital-like structures, including the seating appliance, the orthosis, etc. Known arrangements often include associated work tables for the students, because the structure of such known appliances often requires predetermined cut-outs in the table to accommodate the student and the seating appliance. Thus, in a conventional setting, the handicapped or invalid students are separated from one another and perform their classroom work on individual tables associated with their respective seat appliances. Such isolation limits interaction between the students, and since conventional seating appliances are bulky, the students cannot avoid the constant reminder of the hospital-like environment.
There is additionally a need for a mobile orthosis seat arrangement wherein a broader range of physical therapies can be administered to the patients than can be administered in a conventional handicapped seating arrangement. Such a seat should provide easy access for therapists to facilitate desired movements or hand-over-hand patterning for the patient. Such enhanced ergonomics would reduce the possibility of injury to the patients. In addition, there is a need for a streamlined orthosis seat appliance wherein a student can be brought, at an appropriate height, to a table work surface, such as a classroom table, with or without a cut-out. In addition, the improved seating appliance should facilitate the spatial orientation of the orthosis with the patient thereon to facilitate the administration of therapies to improve muscle tone and head and neck control.
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a mobile orthosis seat arrangement for a patient suffering from a motor impairment, the mobile orthosis seat arrangement accommodating a seating orthosis in which the patient is seated.
It is another object of this invention to provide an adjustable mobile orthosis seat arrangement for a patient that is seated in a seating orthosis, wherein the patient can be brought to a table at a predetermined correct patient-to-table relationship.
It is also an object of this invention to provide a compact mobile orthosis seat arrangement whereby the number of orthosis seats that can be arranged about a table is increased over known arrangements.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a mobile orthosis seat arrangement for a child in a seating orthosis, wherein motion of the arms of the child is not restricted.
It is additionally an object of this invention to provide an orthosis seat arrangement wherein therapies for improving muscle tone and head and neck control of the patient are easily administered.
It is yet a further object of this invention to provide a simple and economical orthosis seat arrangement that easily can be adjusted in response to a physical size characteristic of the patient.
It is also another object of this invention to provide a simple and economical orthosis seat arrangement that easily can be adjusted in response to a physical size characteristic of an operator or therapist of the patient.
It is yet an additional object of this invention to provide a simple and economical orthosis seat arrangement that easily can be adjusted to place the patient in a predetermined spatial orientation, such as tipped from front to back or from side to side, to facilitate the administration of physical therapy.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The foregoing and other objects are achieved by this invention which provides, in a first aspect thereof, a therapeutic support arrangement for a patient, the therapeutic support arrangement being mobile on a substantially horizontal surface in response to a directional force applied by an operator or therapist. In accordance with the invention, the therapeutic support arrangement is provided with a base member having an underside, a rear side, and a pair of distal lateral sides. A plurality of casters extend downward from the underside of the base member for facilitating multi-directional displacement of the base member along the substantially horizontal surface. A pair of handle support stanchions is coupled to, and arranged to extend upward from, the base member. A handle arrangement is coupled to the pair of handle support stanchions for receiving the directional force applied by the operator. There is additionally provided an orthosis support member for supporting an orthosis device for the patient. A pair of orthosis support member stanchions is coupled to, and arranged to extend upward from, the base member for supporting the orthosis support member. The orthosis support member is slidably engaged with, and fixable to, the pair of orthosis support member stanchions, whereby the height of the orthosis support member, with respect to the base member, is adjustable.
In one embodiment of the invention, the handle arrangement is slidably coupled to the pair of handle support stanchions. Additionally, there is provided a handle lock arrangement for facilitating a height adjustment of a handle arrangement with respect to the pair of handle support stanchions. Thus, operators or therapists of different heights can operate the therapeutic support arrangement of the present invention comfortably.
Further in accordance with the invention, the orthosis support member is slidably coupled to the pair of orthosis support member stanchions for facilitating a height adjustment of the orthosis support member with respect to the pair of orthosis support member stanchions. In a preferred embodiment, there is additionally provided a third orthosis support member stanchion arrangement substantially intermediate of the handle support stanchions extending upward from the rear of the base member. The orthosis support member is slidably engaged with the third orthosis support stanchion, whereby respective sections of the orthosis support member are fixable at different heights from one another. This permits the orthosis support member to be positioned in a tipped spatial orientation that facilitates the administration of therapy to the patient. Therapies can therefore easily be administered to the patient for improving muscle tone and improving head and neck control.
In a further embodiment of the invention, the base member has a substantially rectangular configuration. There are therefore provided four casters arranged at respective corners of the base member. Each such caster is adapted to be steerable to improve the maneuverability of the therapeutic support arrangement in response to the directional force applied by the operator or therapist. In a preferred embodiment, each such caster has an associated braking arrangement for fixing the therapeutic support arrangement at a desired position on the horizontal surface.
In a highly advantageous embodiment of the invention, the base member, the ort
Kitchen Carol
Perrin Melody Ann
Macomb Intermediate School District
McClellan James S.
Monsanto Raphael A.
Rohm Benita J.
Swann J. J.
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