US2929375A - Hand supinator - Google Patents

Description

March 22, 1960 J. M. SPINKS HAND SUPINATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 12, 1955 INVENTOR. JOSEPH M SPINKS BY Z 1 ATTORNEY FIG 3 March 22, 1960 J. M. SPINKS 2,929,375

HAND SUPINATOR Filed April 12, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. JOSEPH M SPINKS BY @gwq ATTORNEY This invention relates to a hand supinator, and more particularly to an exercise device wherein the hand and arm of a person are lifted and rotated to exercise the ligaments and muscles, particularly in a paralyzed or immobilized hand and arm.

Following a cerebro-vascular accident, such as hemialgia, or a stroke, certain of the brain cells are damaged which in turn incapacitate certain muscles usually in one arm and leg. Because of the partial or complete paralysis, the stronger muscles retract, overcoming the weaker muscles to draw up the hand and rotate it inwardly toward the body and downwardly into what is known as a pronated position.

If the paralyzed hand, arm and shoulder are to be rehabilitated, it is necessary for certain other undamaged brain cells to take over the direction and operation of the muscles previously controlled by the damaged cells.

In order to effect this change in control, it is necessary to exercise the hand by rotating the same from its pronated position to a position wherein the palm of the hand is facing upwardly. This later position is known as the supinated position. It is also desirable while exercising the hand to exercise the affected arm and shoulder as well, since some muscles in the arm are usually affected to draw up the arm against the body with the elbow sticking outwardly. Thus, it is seen that a desirable type of exercise for a paralyzed hand and arm would be to lift the arm above the head while, at the same time, rotating the hand to the supinated position.

Now, in most hemialgia cases, the muscles and tendons of the affected parts of the body are left dormant for a period of time following the attack, and these muscles and tendons usually become so tight that substantially any exercise will cause a great deal of pain and suffering to the patient. To utilize a machine or other apparatus which will apply predetermined force along a predetermined path would be to subject a patient, in some instances, to more pain than is desirable; therefore, it is most desirable to provide apparatus which may be manipulated by the patient himself so that at no time will the patient be required to subject himself to more pain than he himself determines.

To fill a definite need for apparatus which may be aperated by the patient to provide proper exercise for a paralyzed or partially paralyzed hand and arm, I have provided a hand supinator wherein a parallel or cross bar is disposed over a patients head with a pair of handles suspended from the ,bar. The handles themselves are connected by cable means extending over pulleys or the like so that when one handle is pulled down, the other is raised. Thus, a patient, by grasping respective handles, may raise one handle carrying the hand of the affected arm by pulling on the other handle with the unaffected hand. Now, an important part of my invention is that at least one handle be provided with a means of pivoting the same as that handle is lifted. In this way, the hand of a patient may be pivoted from the pronated to the supinated position as that handle is raised.

2,929,375 Patented Mar. 22, 1960 Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a hand supinator adapted to simultaneously raise the arm of a patient while rotating the hand of that arm. Another object of my invention is to provide a hand supinator wherein the operation and direction of movement of the supinator is entirely controlled by the patient.

Another object of my invention is to provide a hand supinator wherein a progressively stronger twist is imparted to a patients hand.

Another object of my invention is to provide a hand supinator which is inexpensive to manufacture, durable in structure and efficient in operation.

Other and further objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like characters of reference designate corresponding parts through the several views, and wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a hand supinator constructed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view on a reduced scale of the hand supinator illustrated in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view on a reduced scale of the hand supinator illustrated in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of the hand supinator illustrated in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view of a detail showing the exercise handle of the hand supinator illustrated in Fig. 1, said exercise handle being extended and receiving a persons hand in the pronated position.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view of the exercise handle illustrated in Fig. 5, said exercise handle being in an intermediate position with a persons hand.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view of the exercise handle illustrated in Fig. 5, said exercise handle being in the retracted position with the persons hand in the supinated position.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged broken fragmentary view of the cross bar assembly of the hand supinator illustrated in Fig. 1.

Fig. 9 is a side elevational view of the cross bar assembly illustrated in Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary perspective view of the cross bar assembly attached to a house door.

Fig. 11 is a side elevational view of the cross bar assembly illustrated in Fig. 10.

Referring nowin detail to the embodiment chosen for purpose of illustration, numeral 12 denotes a U-shaped frame structure forming the base of my hand supinator. This frame 12 is supported horizontally on a flat surface by casters 13 so that the apparatus may be moved from place to place.

Extending vertically up from the central portion of one arm of frame 12 is a standard 14, the purpose of which will be described later. Projecting horizontally from standard 143 at a position approximately 18" above the supporting surface is seat supporting beam 15, the end of which is connected to the other arm of frame 12 by a brace 16. Centrally of beam 15 is a reinforcing strap 17 which extends horizontally rearwardly, then downwardly, to connect to the central portion of frame 12.

As is best seen in Fig. 1, the frame 12, standard 14, beam 15 and brace 16 are all preferably formed of aluminum material having a rectangular cross-section, while strap 17 is a fiat piece of sheet metal material. Of course, the above described elements may be formed of many other types and shapes of material without departing from the scope of my invention.

As best seen in Fig. l, a conventional chair seat 18 is fixed on beam 15 and to strap 17, and a conventional chair back 19 is supported in its usual position by a flat brace 20 fixed to strap 17.

It is now seen that a seat for a person and a standard 3 1:4 are supported by frame 12, the seat being so positioned that a hand of a person seated in the seat will lie in approximately the same transverse plane with standard l4 if the forearm of the person is approximately horizontal and the upper arm of the person is approximately vertical.

The upper end of standard 14 is provided with. a plurality of pinreceiving holes ,21' while a sleeve 22' is slideablyreceived by standard 14; Sleeve 22' is provided with aligned apertures 23' which themselves align with holes 21 as the, sleeve 22 is moved up and down standard 14. To fixsleeve 22 with respect to standard 14- at any one of several predetermined. positions above seat 18, a pin 24 is-attached to sleeve 22 by a chain 25 so that it may be inserted through apertures 2-3 and one of holes 21. Pin 24, of course, may be removed when desired and apertures 23 aligned with other of holes 21 to vary the height of sleeve 22 above seat 18;

Projecting horizontally out from sleevei22 above and across seat 18 is a cross bar 26. This cross bar 26 is positioned substantially parallel and in a vertical plane with beam 15, and: is removed when sleeve 22 is moved. As shown in Fig. 8, pulleys 27, 27' are respectively located adjacent'the ends of cross bar 26 within the same, being journaled for rotation in substantially the median vertical plane of cross bar 26 by pins 28, 28'. Spaced inwardly and slightly below pulleys 27, 27 are pulleys 29, 29' which are respectively journaled for rotation in the same median plane by other pins (not shown).

From an inspection of Fig. 8, it will be seen that pulleys 27, 27 are aligned on av horizontal plane, and.

pulleys 29, 29 are aligncdon a horizontal plane slightly belowthat plane. Handle supporting cables 30 and 31 respectively extend between pulleys 2'7, 27 and between pulleys 29, 29 so that the ends of these cables hang 4 utilized to lift the paralyzed hand by pulling on the other handle.

As the paralyzed hand is lifted, the length of cables 30 and 31 between handle 32 becomes shorter and shorter thus exerting more and more rotating force to urge the paralyzed hand from the pronated to the supinated position, as shown in Fig. 6. As the handle 32 reaches the top of its stroke, the hand is substantially in the supinated position, thus stretching. to a maximum the strong muscles of the arm.

When handle 32 islowered, the. natural tendency of the affected hand rotates the handle back to the position illustrated in Fig. 5.

It will thus be seen that the patient or person himself can determine when and Where to pause in the exercise of the hand and determine how much exercise and to what extent the paralyzed hand should be exercised.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many variations may be made in the embodiments chosen for purpose of illustration without departing from the scope or" my invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1.. Apparatus, of the class described comprising horizontally disposed support means, handles disposed below said support means, pulley means connected to said support means, at least two of said pulley means being spaced apart substantially the distance of one of said handles, and cablev means extending from the extremities of one of said handlesrespectively over the spaced pulley means and being connected to the other of said handles.

2. Apparatus of the class described comprising a cross 7 bar, a plurality of pulleysscarried' by said cross bar, a

pendent through an opening in the bottom of cross bar 26 to support exercise handles 32 and 33. As will be seen in Figs. 1, 2 and 11, exercise handle 32 is fixed at one end of cables 30 and 31 and exercise handle 33 is fixed at the other end of cables 30 and 31 so that as one of handles 32 and 33 is pulled the other handle will travel up towards cross bar 26. The distances between pul eys 27 and 29, and pulleys 27 and 29,, are approximately the Width of handles 32 and 33, while the lengths of cables 30 and 31 are such that handles 32. and 33 will normally remain parallel to cross bar 26.

In Figs. 10 and 11, it is seenthat I have provided a substitute for standard 14 in event that the apparatus illustrated in Fig. l is too bulky or expensive for home use. In Figs. 10 and 11, I have provided a U-shaped clamp 34 which fits over the top of a conventional door 35. One arm of clamp 34. is provided with supporting standard 36 whichprojects downrfrom clamp 34.to servethe same purpose asstandard 14 in that it iseprovided,

withspaced holes 37 so thatthe cross bar, assembly may b'esupported by the same. Eor supporting. thetcross bar assembly, sleeve22 is fitted over the lower end of standard 36 and moved until the proper height hole 37 is aligned with apertures 23; then pin 24. isinserted therethrough to fix sleeve 22 with respect. to standard 36. Of course, when theexercise is completed, the cross bar assembly may be removed and clamp 34 removed from,

the top of door 35. v

In Figs. 5, 6 and 7, the type of exercise which my-hand supinator is designed to perform is illustrated. By sitting in seat 18, a person may withdraw one of the exercise handles to the position shown in Fig. 5 and loop the fingers of his paralyzed or partially paarlyzed hand aroundone of handles. 32 or 33, whichever is adjacent that hand. Prior to looping the fingers of the hand around the handle 32, the handle must be extended and rotated 180 in counter-clockwise direction, clockwise for lyzed. hand. The: unatiected or: unparalyzedrhand is pair of cables looped over said pulleys with its ends hanging pendent below said cross bar, and handles connected between complementary ends of said cables, said cables being suiiiciently wide apart to impart an untwisting movement to said handles in response to the application of tension on such cables by the other handle after the cables are twisted by said handle.

3. Apparatus of the class described comprising a clamp means constructed and arranged to removably extend over a conventional door, a standard fixed by one end to said clamp means and extending adjacent said door, a crossbar. extending substantially horizontally from said standard, means for adjusting the position of said cross bar with respect to saidclamp, multiple handle means disposed below said cross bar, pulley means connected to saidcrossbar, at leastv two of said pulley means being spacedapart substantially, the width ofoneof said handle means, and cable; means extending; from the extremities of one of said handle means respectively over said pulley means and being connectedto the, other of said handle means wherein said handle, means includes apair of handles. and said, cable meansv includes-a pair of cables. joining the extremities: of, said pair of. handles, and said,

cablesareloopedoversaid pulley means.

4. Apparatus of the class described comprising a'standcrossbar, a cable connecting the outer extremities of said handles together through said cross bar, a second cable connecting the inner extremities of said handles together, through said cross bar and means for guiding said cables in said cross bar.

5; Apparatus, defined in claim 4 wherein said means for guiding said cables in said cross bar include pulleys over which said :cablesare; looped, saidpulleys spacing said cables between said. handles and said cross bar normally in substantially parallel spaced relationship.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 4 wherein said sleeveis; slideable. with respect to said standard, said standard is provided witlitaapluralityofispacedholes;and.a pinis:v

connected to said sleeve to project into said holes in said standard.

7. Apparatus of the class described comprising a pair of moveable handles disposed in predetermined planes for parallel movement with respect to each other, a pair of cables connected between the extremities of each of said handles for moving one handle in one vertical direction while the other handle is moved in the opposite vertical direction, and a pair of pulleys spacing said cables apart at a point intermediate said handles, said cables being connected at the opposite ends of said handles for twisting at least one of said handles toward its predetermined plane in the event of its departure therefrom as it is moved by the other of said handles.

8. Apparatus of the class described comprising a pair of movable handles disposed for parallel movement with respect to each other in predetermined planes and a pair of cables connected between the extremities of each handle for moving one handle in one direction when the other handle is moved in the opposite direction, said cables being operable to twist said handles toward said predetermined planes in the event of prior movement therefrom as such handles are moved by movement of the other of said handles.

9. Apparatus of the class described comprising a pair of movable handles disposed for parallel movement with respect to each other in predetermined planes, a pair of cables connected between the extremities of each handle for moving one handle in one direction when the other handle is moved in the opposite direction, and a pair of pulleys spacing said cables apart at a point intermediate said handles along said cables, said cables being operable to twist said handles toward said predetermined planes in the event of prior movement therefrom as such handles are moved by the movement of the other of said handles.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 321,388 Ruebsam June 30, 1885 478,833 Wright July 12, 1892 1,222,924 Boyd Apr. 17, 1917 2,079,617 Johnson May 11, 1937 2,305,548 Nichols Dec. 15, 1942 2,328,156 London Aug. 31, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS 920,448 France Ian. 4, 1947

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