Beds – Support means for discrete portion of user – useable with bed...
Reexamination Certificate
2003-05-16
2004-11-30
Trettel, Michael (Department: 3673)
Beds
Support means for discrete portion of user, useable with bed...
C005S632000, C005S633000, C005S652000, C005S657000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06823545
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a back support system for maintaining a person in a variety of positions on a generally horizontal surface. More specifically, the therapeutic back support system comprises three separate foam members that may be positioned in different ways to provide the support for a user's back and neck and/or feet.
2. Description of Related Art
Many people are restricted by back pain and find comfort in lying in a supine position that supports the spine and neck in a flexed position. To provide comfortable back support, utilizing various combinations of cushions and pillows has become customary. Although such combinations occasionally provide some back support, they are often cumbersome, unwieldy and usually of limited therapeutic effectiveness. In addition, many people spend time lying on their backs while watching television or reading and desire support for their back. There are numerous variations of back supports, which are adapted to various uses ranging from recreational furniture to more formal structured therapeutic devices. Many of these furniture pieces can be folded into a compact shape for storage or transport.
An example of recreational furniture is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,469,882 to Larson, wherein there is disclosed a piece of furniture having a cylinder shape when placed in a folded position. The disclosure illustrates several embodiments using a different number of cushions that are pivotally interconnected along an edge. The cushions may be placed in relation to each other such that one of the cushions constitutes a seat abutting the floor while another cushion may be a backrest. The backrest may be divided into two cushions that are hinge connected with each other at the top of the backrest so that they may be swung out to form a lying surface. The backrest has a substantially planar front side and a curved rear side with the greatest thickness at the middle. The cushions are hinged together by using one continuous piece of material and thus the cushions are not interchangeable.
Another example of convertible furniture is shown in the Monteforte patent, U.S. Pat. No. 3,902,759, wherein there is disclosed an easy chair. The easy chair comprises a number of upholstered cushion members of substantially parallelepiped configuration. Each of the members is interconnected by a hinge to its adjacent member at a seam line running along horizontal corner edges of the confronting parallelepiped faces. The dimensions of the cushion members and the hinge connected edges allow the cushions to be folded up. The cushions may be positioned to be converted to different embodiments including, for example, a couch or a bed. However, none of the embodiments provides support for the back and neck or legs.
The Rashid patent, U.S. Pat. No. 6,270,155, discloses a chair made from three foam cushions. One cushion forms a seat having a back and a contoured, concave seat. Attached to the front edge of the seat cushion by an elongated fabric hinge is an arcuate leg rest cushion. The leg rest has a gently contoured, convex side that complements the concave contour of the seat. The opposite side of the leg rest cushion is concavely contoured to complement the upper contour of an ottoman. The ottoman is a separate piece. When folded, the leg rest cushion nestles with the seat cushion, and when the ottoman is placed within the concave contour of the leg rest a cube is formed. Because the chair seat is used as such, it does not provide support to the back and neck or legs of the user.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,987,625 to Edelson discloses a multi-membered support device that may be adapted to provide head and body support for persons working or resting in prone, supine or other positions. A primary wedge-shaped upper-body cushion is joined at its thick end by hinged means to a smaller parallelepiped shaped head cushion that may pivot so as to lie either on top, or in front of the inclined upper surface of the primary cushion. The cushions of the support device are flexibly attached in a collapsible unitary structure, which may be easily adjusted to provide head and body support for persons.
Despite the various forms of recreational and therapeutic furniture, there remains a desire for a back support system of the type described by the present invention that provides a number of different positions that support the back and neck or legs of the user.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is, therefore, an object of the invention is to provide a piece of furniture that serves as a back support system that may be positioned to support a user in a variety of positions that provides beneficial support and comfort to the back and neck, and legs and feet when the user is in a reclined position.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide a three member back support system of triangular shaped foam cushions that may be folded to nest together into a single unit for storage or easily transported.
It is another object of this invention is to provide a three member back support system wherein the members may be placed in various positions and are connectable to each other.
The present invention is a back support system of three foam members serving as a piece of recreational or therapeutic furniture. The foam members are covered with fabric to provide a comforting “zero gravity” position. The three foam support members have a generally rectangular shape when viewed from above and a triangular shaped when viewed from their sides. Each of the three cushions varies in size. The unique triangular shape of each of the three members enables the pieces to be assembled in a variety of positions depending upon the desires of the user. For example, one of the triangular pieces may be positioned to fit underneath the back and head area of the user while the second member may be placed under the legs of the user to lift the knee area and the third and smallest member may be placed under the lower leg area to keep the feet in an elevated position.
Each cushion is made of a resilient foam polymeric material that is covered with a protective fabric. When positioning the members under a user, the members may be held in place relative to each other by fabric hinges. These fabrics are of various widths and have zippers incorporated within to allow the three members to be spaced and maintained apart at different intervals or used separately. When the three members are folded to nest together, a unitary object is formed for easy shipment or storage.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3469882 (1969-09-01), Larsen
patent: 3742526 (1973-07-01), Lillard
patent: 3902759 (1975-09-01), Monteforte et al.
patent: 4171549 (1979-10-01), Morrell et al.
patent: 4473913 (1984-10-01), Ylvisaker
patent: 4635306 (1987-01-01), Willey
patent: 4777678 (1988-10-01), Moore
patent: 4802249 (1989-02-01), Bills
patent: 4853993 (1989-08-01), Walpin et al.
patent: 4905330 (1990-03-01), Jacobs
patent: 4970742 (1990-11-01), Keener
patent: 4987625 (1991-01-01), Edelson
patent: 5448790 (1995-09-01), Saro et al.
patent: 6270155 (2001-08-01), Rashid
Alston & Bird LLP
Banyan Licensing LC
Trettel Michael
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