Chairs and seats – Bottom or back with means to alter contour – Providing support for lower back region
Reexamination Certificate
2002-01-31
2004-06-08
Cuomo, Peter M. (Department: 3636)
Chairs and seats
Bottom or back with means to alter contour
Providing support for lower back region
C024S339000, C403S326000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06746081
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The subject matter of the invention is an anatomically deformable support, in particular a lordosis support, for seats, couches or the like with a frame that is connected to anatomic supporting part that can be arched in a reversible manner.
Supports that can be deformed corresponding to anatomic specifications, are being used in increasingly greater numbers. Apart from supports allowing a posture of the thigh that essentially avoids maximum pressure, the so called lordosis supports are of particular significance. Due to the preferred forward bent posture of the sitting person, the naturally intended forward concave curvature of the spinal column is displaced by an essentially convex outward curvature, leading, in addition to faster fatigue, also to pain and an undesirable deformation of the intervertebral discs. However, to hinder such undesirable yet partly involuntarily occurring curving of the spinal column, lordosis supports are provided both on couches and seats. To achieve the desired purpose, these lordosis supports must, however, suit the natural original curvature of the spinal column. Such lordosis supports can have a height adjustable construction so as to be able to suit the various spine lengths and consequently the lordosises of various heights. Such a height adjustment may be neglected, since, as a rule, geographic regions have a relatively sharp maximum of the possible heights. Of particular significance is, however, the convex formation of the lordosis, since for one height there are several curvatures and the support should be provided not only at one or two vertebrae of the spinal column, but an as large as possible number of vertebrae of the spinal column should be supported to achieve the desired purpose, namely to reduce fatigue and prevent pain. Such lordosis supports can have also asymmetric curvatures which are achieved, for example, by forming a support member from materials having different thicknesses in the direction parallel to the spinal column for the curvature of the support member.
Lordosis supports having various technical constructions are known. One of the most simple forms is by providing an inflatable cylinder in the possible region of the lordosis. Apart from the technical difficulty that a pump unit has to be provided to increase the lordosis support, due to the identical deforming forces along the arching the lordosis support will adapt itself to suit the already existing incorrect curvature of the spinal column.
In the case of a further lordosis support, two parts articulately joined can be shifted along a guide towards or away from one another. The disadvantage of this known lordosis support is that the curvature cannot be varied, so that a support of the lordosis is provided merely in a narrow range of the highest position, by virtue of which only one or two intervertebral discs will be supported and the other discs of the lordosis have to be arbitrarily adjusted again. Such a lordosis support is described, for example, in WO 95/19123.
A further embodiment of a lordosis support has an essentially flat supporting part, wherein the flat part has either cut-outs or has individual supporting elements arranged next to one another, which may have a construction that tapers outwards. The end regions of this flat supporting part can be moved towards one another, so that a curvature of the same can be achieved. By having various thicknesses according to EP 0 698 360 B, a desired asymmetric form, corresponding essentially to the lordosis, can be achieved.
The lordosis supports described above are, as a rule, connected to a frame, for example the squab of a seat, e.g. of a car seat. At the same time, the supporting part of the lordosis support is connected, for example, to a further frame, that has two external carriers which run essentially parallel to the spinal column, along which sliding elements can be displaced, for example for the lordosis support acting like a knuckle joint and on which transverse carriers are positionally fastened for the supporting part that can be arched.
This fastening of the supporting part on the outside carriers is of outstanding importance for the permanent fastening of the same. As a rule, the supporting part is not constructed integrally with the frame of the seat or the couch, but is manufactured separately from it. Depending on its dimensions the connection of the supporting part is either directly connected to the frame or by means of an intermediate part. This connection is an elastically deformable one. Such a connection is described, for example, an AT 402.145 B, whereby in the end regions of an anatomically deformable support undercut mountings are provided, into which wires can be pressed and a rigid web and an elastically deformable web are provided. The inside width of the mounting is smaller than the diameter of the wire connecting the two carriers.
In the case of two wires, they must be able to transfer the entire force, acting on the supporting part, to the frame. The result of this is that these wires have to be dimensioned to be thick, due to which on the one hand the forces that have to be applied during the curving of the supporting part, are relatively great, since during its arching the two end regions are moved towards on another, so that a deformation of these wires towards one another has to take place, whereby the supporting forces of the lordosis are so great that a matching of the actually required curvature cannot always be carried out in the required manner. To enable an easier matching of the supporting parts and to simultaneously facilitate the mounting of these wires, the use of at least two wires instead of each single wire at one or both end regions of the supporting part is known. Such a solution is described, for example, in EP 0 780 262 A1. In the case of this lordosis supporting part a mounting for two wires is provided at both end regions, while the mounting is divided into two by a flexible web. The inside width of the mounting is smaller than the sum of the diameters of the two wires. Since the depth of the mounting is greater than the diameter of the wires, when one wire is on the bottom of the mounting not only can the other wire be easily introduced into the mounting, but it can also be removed from the mounting by using the least possible force; merely the flexible part has to be bent slightly as the construction of the two webs bounding the mounting essentially rigidly is only slightly reinforced. Accordingly, when curving the supporting part, necessitating a different position of the two wires relative to their openings, preferably one wire can slide out from the mounting. After the wire leaves the mounting, the flexible web is no longer in the position to act as a boundary of the discharge opening from the mounting for the further wire, the opening being smaller than the diameter of the wire, so that after the exit of the first wire from the recess the second wire can exit from the mounting with the least force. If both wires are simultaneously moving out of the recess, then merely a force of 60 kp per cm of the recess has to be exerted for both.
From WO 95/19123 a lordosis support is known, that has no supporting part that can be arched but two arms articulately jointed with one another. The ends of the arms can move relative to one another and the other ends are connected via rails having two cylindrical mountings. Instead of the two cylindrical mountings this rail, serving as a sole lordosis support, can be formed by two adjacent partly cylindrical mounting which are formed by a common rigid central part and externally situated continuous partly cylindrical elastic webs, so that the metal arms can be pressed into them. The forces acting on this rail during use are always such that the wire brackets can be pressed into the recess. No forces act in the opposite direction.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the invention is to produce an anatomically deformable support, that allows not only a punctiform or linear support of body p
Cuomo Peter M.
Haldiman Robert C.
Husch & Eppenberger
Kang Grant D.
Schukra Berndorf Ges. m.b.H.
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