GB2167292A - Adjustable seat supports for the disabled - Google Patents

Abstract

Adjustable lateral supports for the patient which can be easily fitted on a wheelchair and adjusted without the need for special workshop facilities, comprising supports 16 fitted to upright shafts 6 and 7 located on each side of the back of the seat by means enabling both the attitude and position of the support to be fixed by the tightening of a single nut, wherein the support is mounted on a rod 18 contained within a sleeve 23, the rod and sleeve engaging at one end with either side of a spherical surface 17 included on the support, and the other end of the rod passing through a clamp 26 surrounding the shaft, the rod terminating with a thread 21 for a bolt 22 such that on tightening the bolt, the clamp is tightened on the shaft at the desired location and the spherical surface is gripped between the ends of the rod and sleeve. A head rest may be secured in a similar manner. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Adjustable seat support for the disabled This invention relates to aids for the disabled, and provides an adjustable support for patients to enable them to sit comfortably in a chair whilst their posture can at the same time be improved.

In principle, spastic and other physically handicapped patients need whilst they are seated a considerable amount of lateral support at the pelvis and higher up the trunk, and frequently also need a head support, but the position and angle of the support needed varies with every patient and it is an object of this invention to provide a support system which may be readily fitted and adjusted in hospitals and special schools, for example, without the need for workshop facilities.

It has further been found that, particularly in children who are still growing and developing, the posture of the patient can be improved by the judicious placement of one or more support members to encourage the patient to support himself to a controlled extent and hence increase his control or strength in the desired manner. The present invention is intended to enable therapists to assess a patient's requirement and prescribe a certain configuration to be adhered to until a subsequent examination; at that time, the patient's requirements may well have changed as he has developed and his condition has progressed.

This invention accordingly consists of a seating system incorporating at least one pair of supports, each support consisting of a plate and an arm comprising a rod and a sleeve therefor separately engageable at one end with the plate, the rod incorporating at its end remote from the plate means to accommodate a bolt whereby on tightening the said bolt the arm is at the same time rigidly fixed to the plate and clamped to a further member located between the bolt and the end of the sleeve remote from the plate.

The means for engaging the arm with the plate conveniently comprises a spherical surface formed on the plate either as a separate curved plate bolted to the rear surface of the plate or as a depressed area of the plate itself; an aperture formed in said spherical surface which is sufficiently large to accommodate a substantial variation in the attitude of said plate relative to the axis of the rod; and curved surfaces formed on the ends of the rod and the sleeve engageable separately with the inner and outer surfaces of the spherical surface respectively.

The lateral supports are conveniently attached to upright shafts which are fitted to the frame of the seat one on each side of the patient. The rods may pass through transverse holes in the shaft but preferably, to permit positional adjustment about and along the shaft and to avoid weakening it, each rod passes through a clamp which is itself tightened onto the shaft at the desired location by tightening of the bolt.

The means for accommodating the bolt may be an external or internal thread and is preferably an internal thread to minimise damage during assembly and adjustment.

The chair may also incorporate a head support adjustably mounted on the chair by means of a support constructed in accordance with this invention, the support being engageable with a clamp mounted around a short horizontal shaft attachable at an adjustable height to the back rest of the chair.

By way of example, the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: Figure 1 is a side elevation of a seating system, suitable for mounting within a wheelchair, incorporating two pairs of lateral supports and head support constructed in accordance With the invention.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the rear portion of the wheelchair shown in Fig. 1, Figure 3 shows in greater detail a preferred form of support member, and Figure 4 shows an alternative form of support member lacking a facility for vertical adjustment.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, a seating system includes a frame 1 which supports a seat (not shown), a foot rest 2, arm rests 3 (only the left hand one being shown), a back rest 4 and front support 5. Two upright shafts 6 and 7 are mounted one on each side of the back rest 4, and these each carry a lower pelvic support 8a, 8b placed just above the seat and a trunk support 9a, 9b to be located just under the patient's arms or any desired intermediate position. A head rest 10 is mounted on a rod 11 which is clamped via a clamp 12 onto a short horizontal shaft 13 welded to a vertical tongue 14 which slots into a bracket 15. The bracket can be bolted into the back rest of the seat at different positions to provide a height adjustment.

The supports may be of any convenient shape; they may be planar, as indicated at 9a of Fig. 2, or curved, as at 9b (these are illustrated as such for demonstration only: in practice the type giving the greatest benefit to the patient will be chosen). In practice, they will have a cushion on their front surface, although this has in all cases been omitted from the drawings for clarity.

The arrangement for mounting the supports on the shafts is better illustrated in Fig. 3, The supports comprise a plate 16 (a flat one being shown), having a spherical depression 17 near its centre. A rod 18 extends through an aperture 19 in the depression and at its end has welded to it a rim 20 formed to mate with the inner surface of the depression and to prevent the rod being withdrawn. The other end of the rod 18 has å threaded recess 21 into which a bolt 22 can engage. A sleeve 23 is mounted around; the rod 18 and also incorporates a rim 24 at one end, this being engageable with the outer surface of the depression 17. The rod has a flange 25 at its other end. The plate, rod and sleeve are assembled and a clamp 26 is mounted via 2 holes on its lugs onto that part of the rod 18 protruding from the sleeve 23.The bolt is then screwed into the threaded recess 21. The clamp 26 is mounted around one of the shafts 6 or 7, and after setting the position of the plate 16, the bolt is tightened to make the entire assembly rigid.

In the alternative embodiment illustrated in Fig. 4, the rod 18 passes through a transverse slot in the shaft 6 or 7, the assembly also incorporating shaped washers 27 and 28 to prevent damage. The assembly may be set up as before by tightening the bolt 22 but rotational or longitudinal adjustment of the rod along the shaft is not possible.

As is evident from Fig. 1, the supports may be clamped either on the inside or the outside of the shafts 6, 7. The upper supports are shown mounted on the outside of the shaft and the lower, pelvic supports on the inside, but this need not always be the most convenient arrangement.

The clamping arrangement for the head rest 10, shown in Figs. 1 and 2, operates in a similar manner. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 2, the spherical surface is formed as a separate plate bolted to the rear of the head rest after the rod has been inserted into the aperture in the curved surface.

As has been mentioned, any one or combination of the particular embodiments of the invention described above may be used in practice according to the materials used (steel, aluminium alloy or other), and the type of patient being catered for. Other obvious modifications within the scope of this invention will also be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

For example, the invention is not restricted to use with a wheelchair. For assessments of patients' needs, use could be made of a chair or.frame which will accommodate the various components of the system in different positions, allowing evaluation of their effect on the patient's posture before final prescription of the seat. Further applications could be with a frame adpated for static use in a classroom or the home.

Claims (1)

1. A seating system incorporating at least one pair of supports, each support consisting of a plate and an arm comprising a rod and a sleeve therefor separately engageable at one end with the plate, the rod incorporating at its end remote from the plate means to accommodate a bolt whereby on tightening the said bolt the arm is at the same time rigidly fixed to the plate and clamped to a further member located between the bolt and the end of the sleeve remote from the plate.

2. A seating system according to Claim 1 in which the means for engaging the arm with the plate comprises a spherical surface formed on the plate either as a separate curved plate bolted to the rear surface of the plate or as a depressed area of the plate itself; an aperture formed in the said spherical surface which is sufficiently large to accommodate a substantial variation in the attitude of said plate relative to the axis of the rod; and curved surfaces formed on the ends of the rod and the sleeve engageable separately with the inner and outer surfaces of the spherical surface respectively.

3. A seating system according to either preceding claim in which the supports are adapted to give lateral support to the patient and the said further member is one of two upright shafts which are fixed to the frame of the seat one on each side of the patient.

4. A seating system according to Claim 3 in which each rod passes through a transverse hole in the corresponding shaft.

5. A seating system according to Claim 3 in which each rod passes through a clamp which is itself tightened onto the corresponding shaft at the desired location by tightening the bolt.

6. A seating system according to any preceding claim including an additionai support for supporting the head and in respect of which the further member is a short horizontal shaft attachable behind the patient at an adjustable height.

7. A seating system substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the drawings.

CLAIMS Amendments to the claims have been filed, and have the following effect: Claims 1 and 2 above have been deleted or textually amended.

New or textually amended claims have been filed as follows:- Claims 3 to 7 above have been re-numbered as 2 to 6 and their appendancies corrected.

1. A seating system incorporating at least one pair of supports, each support consisting of a plate and an arm comprising a rod and a sleeve therefor separately engageable at one end with the plate, the rod incorporating at its end remote from the plate means to accommodate a bolt whereby on tightening the said bolt the arm is at the same time rigidly fixed to the plate and clamped to a further member located between the bolt and the end of the sleeve remote from the plate; the means for engaging the arm with the plate comprising a spherical surface formed on the plate either as a separate curved plate bolted to the rear sur face of the plate or as b depressed area of the plate itself; such plate having an aperture therein which is sufficiently large to accommodate a substantial variation in the attitude of said plate relative to the axis of the rod; and having curved surfaces on the ends of the rod and the sleeve engageable separately with the inner and outer surface of the spherical surface respectively.