JP6385188B2 - Sitting posture improving device and chair body provided with the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a sitting posture improving device that is provided on a chair body such as a wheelchair, an office chair, or a vehicle seat to improve a sitting posture of a seated person, and a chair body including the same.

  Conventionally, a general wheelchair is configured to be foldable in consideration of ease of loading in an automobile or the like and a storage space when not in use. However, the seat and back are easy to fold and are composed of thin and flat seats so that they can be stored compactly. Is not at all.

  For this reason, in a conventional general wheelchair, the seated person's head and neck and ribcage tend to lean forward and crawl. Further, when the sciatic tubercle of the seat surface is shifted forward, a gap is generated between the rear part of the pelvis and the backrest, and thus the pelvis is not supported. For this reason, the seated person tends to be in a seated posture that is rounded as a whole and inclined to the left or right. Such improper sitting posture can fall from the wheelchair and, if held for a long time, adversely affects functions such as breathing, swallowing and sensorimotor, and There is also a risk of causing deformations such as wrinkles and scissors.

  On the other hand, dedicated wheelchairs and assistive devices have also been developed to bring a proper sitting posture to the seated person. For example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-99453, when a non-healthy person sits in a wheelchair, the person's pelvis is supported, the thighs on the back of the knee are supported, and the sciatic side is forward on the seat surface. There has been proposed a wheelchair assisting device that prevents slippage and slipping down from a wheelchair, and allows the user to continue sitting in the wheelchair comfortably for a certain period of time (Patent Document 1).

JP 2010-99453 A

  However, the conventional auxiliary tools that can be retrofitted, including the invention described in Patent Document 1, have a problem in that it takes time and labor to attach and set the wheelchair. Moreover, the auxiliary tool once attached becomes a hindrance to folding by a strong frame or the like. For this reason, it has to be removed every time it is folded and attached every time it is used, and there is also a problem that the attaching / detaching work is very troublesome.

  On the other hand, in a dedicated wheelchair that holds a sitting posture that has been put into practical use, it is necessary to perform a new process on the wheelchair or to adopt a special folding mechanism in order to be able to be folded. Specifically, it is necessary to shorten the installation position of the seat pipe, divide the seat, add parts, and the like. For this reason, there are problems that the manufacturing process becomes complicated and expensive, the durability is lowered, and the appearance becomes special.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and can be retrofitted or incorporated in a chair body such as a wheelchair to improve the sitting posture of a seated person practically and effectively. An object of the present invention is to provide a sitting posture improving device that can be used and a chair body including the same.

  A sitting posture improving device according to the present invention is a sitting posture improving device that is provided on a chair body and improves a sitting posture of a seated person, and a pelvis support belt for supporting the pelvis of the seated person, and the seated person A front bar that extends between the armrest of the chair body and the left and right ends of the seat surface, and is suspended from the front upper part, and the rear of the front bar. And a pair of belt attachments provided with a lower bar inclined forward and downward from a lower end portion of the front bar, the pelvis support belt having each end at the front It is fixed to either the bar, the rear bar or the lower bar and attached to the front lower part of the back of the chair body, and the chest support belt is fixed at the left and right positions of the upper part of the back. And down It is attached to the front upper portion of said back end portion is fixed to the front bar or the rear bar.

  Further, as one aspect of the present invention, when the pelvic support belt is constituted by a single belt, a substantially center position of the pelvis support belt and an intersecting position of the rib cage support belt are bundled and connected, and the pelvis In the case where the support belt is constituted by two belts so as to intersect with each other, the belt may have a connection belt that binds and connects the intersecting positions of the pelvis support belts.

  Furthermore, you may have the back cover which coat | covers only the front surface of the said pelvis support belt and the said rib cage support belt as one aspect | mode of this invention.

  As one aspect of the present invention, the pelvic support belt may be formed of a stretchable material, and the rib cage support belt may be formed of a non-stretchable material.

  Furthermore, as one aspect of the present invention, the back cover may be formed integrally with the pelvis support belt and the thoracic support belt.

  A chair body according to the present invention includes the sitting posture improving device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

  According to the present invention, it can be retrofitted to a chair body such as a wheelchair or incorporated in advance, and the sitting posture of the seated person can be improved practically and effectively.

1 is an overall view showing a state in which a single pelvic support belt is attached in an embodiment of a sitting posture improving device and a chair body including the same according to the present invention. In this embodiment, it is a general view which shows the state which attached the two pelvic support belts to the cross shape. In this embodiment, it is explanatory drawing which shows the attachment state of a pair of belt attachment tool. It is the (a) front view and (b) back view which show the chair body which attached the back cover of this embodiment. In this embodiment, (a) It is a figure which shows the wheelchair which raised the back cover back, and (b) the wheelchair folded with the back cover attached. In this embodiment, it is a table | surface which shows the setting of the pelvis support belt which should be set with respect to each seating-position posture condition of a seated person, a rib cage support belt, and a connection belt. In this embodiment, it is (a) front view and (b) top view which show the setting of a normal posture. In this embodiment, it is (a) front view and (b) top view which show the setting of normal posture side support reinforcement. It is an image figure which shows sacral sitting among the posture conditions of the seated person in this embodiment. In this embodiment, it is (a) front view and (b) top view which show the setting of sacral sitting. It is an image figure which shows a scissor among the seating person's posture conditions in this embodiment. In this embodiment, it is the (a) front view and the (b) top view which show the setting of a scissor + normal posture. In this embodiment, it is the (a) front view and (b) top view which show the setting of scissors + sacral sitting. In Example 1, it is an image which shows the sitting posture of the test subject A and the test subject B in each specification. 5 shows the measurement results of subject A in Example 2. It is the measurement result of the test subject B in Example 2. In Example 2, it is a table | surface which shows the measurement result of (a) seat surface and (b) back surface. It is the (a) image which shows the test subject's C sitting position in Example 3, and (b) it is a measurement result. It is the (a) image which shows the test subject D in Example 3, and (b) it is a measurement result.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a sitting posture improving apparatus 1 according to the present invention and a chair body 10 including the same will be described with reference to the drawings.

  In addition, in the following this embodiment, although the wheelchair is illustrated as the chair body 10, it is not limited to this. That is, in the present invention, the chair body 10 is a wheelchair, armchair, office chair, chair of a fixed vehicle such as an airplane, and the like, which can be retrofitted or incorporated in advance. It is a concept that includes all chairs.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the sitting posture improving device 1 of the present embodiment is provided on a chair body 10 for improving the sitting posture of a seated person and supports the pelvis of the seated person. A pelvic support belt 2 for supporting the chest of the seated person, a pair of belt attachments 4 and 4 for attaching the pelvis support belt 2 and the thoracic support belt 3 to the chair body 10; The connecting belt 5 for connecting the pelvis support belt 2 and the rib cage support belt 3 and the back cover 6 provided on the backrest portion of the chair body 10 are configured. Each configuration will be described below.

  The pelvis support belt 2 is attached to the lower front part of the backrest 11 of the chair body 10, and supports a seated person's pelvis from back. In the present embodiment, the pelvic support belt 2 is constituted by one or two intersected in accordance with the posture condition of the seated person. Specifically, as will be described later, when the seated person's pelvis is normal or when the pelvic rearward tilt is small, a single pelvic support belt 2 is attached in a substantially horizontal direction as shown in FIG. . On the other hand, when the pelvic tilt is large as in the so-called sacral sitting, the two pelvic support belts 2 and 2 are attached in a crossed state as shown in FIG. The above-described example is suitable for the configuration of the pelvic support belt 2, but is not limited to this. For example, a belt integrally formed in a cross shape may be adopted as long as a desired effect is obtained. Alternatively, it may be configured by two or more belts, or a configuration in which a plurality of belts are attached in parallel and the portions that contact the pelvis are bundled by the connecting belt 5 or the like may be employed.

  In the present embodiment, the pelvic support belt 2 is formed of an elastic belt made of elastic webbing or the like. This elastic webbing is also referred to as a rubber woven fabric or a rubber-filled narrow woven fabric, and is a material (stretch material) having a predetermined strength and excellent stretchability. For this reason, the pelvis support belt 2 is adapted to follow the seated person's body and firmly supports the pelvis. In addition, the strength to support most of the weight of the trunk and the escape when the wheelchair is folded are secured. However, the material of the pelvic support belt 2 is not limited to elastic webbing, and may be any material that is strong and has elasticity.

  As will be described later, the attachment position of the pelvis support belt 2 with respect to the belt attachment 4 is appropriately changed according to the posture condition of the seated person. For this reason, hook and loop fasteners are provided at both ends of the pelvic support belt 2. Thereby, it is possible to carry out the operation of tensioning or removing the pelvic support belt 2 with a desired tension very easily. The means for attaching and detaching the pelvic support belt 2 is not limited to the hook-and-loop fastener, and other means such as a button may be adopted.

  The thorax support belt 3 is attached to the upper front portion of the backrest 11 of the chair body 10 and supports the thorax of the seated person. In the present embodiment, the thoracic support belt 3 is attached in a state where the two thoracic support belts 3 and 3 are crossed as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. For this reason, the thoracic lower support portion 31 that forms a substantially inverted V-shape below the intersecting portion is disposed along the lower portion of the rib cage and supports the lower portion of the rib cage. On the other hand, the thoracic upper support portion 32, which is substantially V-shaped above the intersection, is disposed around the upper portion of the rib cage and supports the upper portion of the rib cage. The thorax support belt 3 is practically configured as described above, but is not limited thereto. For example, two or more belts may be configured in a cross shape as long as the desired effect is achieved. Alternatively, conversely, a configuration in which the belt end portions are integrally formed in advance in a cross shape and the belt end portions extend in the radial direction may be employed.

  In the present embodiment, the rib cage support belt 3 is formed of polypropylene PP tape or the like. This PP tape is excellent in tensile strength and hardly stretchable. For this reason, the rib cage support belt 3 receives a load from the seated person and firmly supports the rib cage at a predetermined position. However, the material of the rib cage support belt 3 is not limited to polypropylene, and may be a material that is strong and has low stretchability.

  As with the pelvis support belt 2, the attachment position of the rib cage support belt 3 with respect to the belt attachment 4 is appropriately changed according to the posture condition of the seated person. For this reason, hook-and-loop fasteners are also provided at both ends of the rib cage support belt 3. As a result, it is possible to perform the operation of tensioning or removing the rib cage support belt 3 with a desired tension very easily. The means for attaching and detaching the rib cage support belt 3 is not limited to the hook-and-loop fastener, and other means such as a button may be adopted.

  The belt attachment 4 attaches the pelvis support belt 2 and the thorax support belt 3 to the chair body 10. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the belt attachment 4 is composed of a pair of left and right, and is bridged and fixed between the armrest 12 of the chair body 10 and the left and right end portions of the seat surface 13. ing. Each belt fixture 4 includes a front bar 41 suspended from the front upper part, a rear bar 42 suspended from the front bar 41, and a lower part inclined downward from the lower end of the front bar 41. Bar 43.

  The belt fixture 4 is configured by connecting a plurality of pipe members. The diameter of each pipe member is smaller than that of the wheelchair frame. For this reason, the belt attaching tool 4 does not protrude between the armrest 12 and the left and right end portions of the seat surface 13 and does not interfere with the folding. Further, the material of the belt fixture 4 can be appropriately selected according to strength, manufacturing cost, etc., such as carbon resin, aluminum, stainless steel, and the like.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the belt attachment 4 having the above structure allows the pelvic support belt 2 to be fixed to each of the front bar 41, the rear bar 42, or the lower bar 43. It is attached to the lower front part of the backrest 11 of the body 10. On the other hand, the chest support belt 3 is fixed at the upper left and right positions of the upper portion of the backrest 11 and the lower ends of the chest support belt 3 are fixed to the front bar 41 or the rear bar 42 so as to be positioned at the front upper portion of the backrest 11. It can be attached.

  In addition, in this embodiment, although the belt attachment tool 4 is fixed by retrofitting with respect to the chair body 10, it is not limited to this structure. That is, the belt attachment 4 may be incorporated in advance as a part of the chair body 10.

  The connection belt 5 is used for bundling and connecting the pelvic support belt 2 and the rib cage support belt 3 to prevent positional displacement and entanglement of each belt. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, when the pelvis support belt 2 is composed of a single belt, the substantially central position of the pelvis support belt 2 and the intersecting position of the rib cage support belt 3 are bundled and connected. To do. On the other hand, when the pelvis support belt 2 is configured in a cross shape by two belts, the cross positions of the pelvis support belt 2 are bundled and connected as shown in FIG.

  In the present embodiment, the connecting belt 5 is formed of a highly flexible neoprene material, but is not limited to this material, and other materials may be appropriately selected. Moreover, the hook-and-loop fastener tape is provided in the both ends of the connection belt 5, and it can attach or detach now easily. However, the attaching / detaching means is not limited to the hook-and-loop fastener, and other means such as a button may be adopted.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, the back cover 6 is provided on the backrest 11 portion of the chair body 10 and covers the front surfaces of the pelvis support belt 2 and the rib cage support belt 3. In this embodiment, the wheelchair assumed as the chair body 10 is provided with a sling seat. For this reason, the back cover 6 does not need to cover the back surface of the sling sheet, and employs a configuration that covers only the front surfaces of the pelvic support belt 2 and the rib cage support belt 3. Further, since the thickness of the back cover 6 having only the front surface is only half that of the cover having both sides, as shown in FIG. 5 (a), when the back cover 6 is lifted rearward, it is shown in FIG. 5 (b). Thus, there is no obstacle to the folding of the wheelchair. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4B, the upper end portion of the back cover 6 is slightly folded back to the back side and hooked on the backrest 11.

  The back cover 6 provides complementary support for the pelvic support belt 2 and the rib cage support belt 3. That is, the back cover 6 relieves the pressure exerted by the pelvis support belt 2 and the rib cage support belt 3 on the back surface of the seated person and softly supports the entire pelvis and rib cage. In the present embodiment, the back cover 6 has a two-stage configuration by stitching along the rib cage lower support portion 31 of the rib cage support belt 3 as shown in FIG. For this reason, the back cover 6 is prevented from being displaced in the vertical direction. Furthermore, by using different colored fabrics at the stitches as a boundary, the lower part of the back cover 6 reminds the support function of the pelvis and the lower rib cage, while the upper part imagines the support function of the rib cage and the supporter. It is designed to exert visual educational effects on the elderly.

  In the present embodiment, the back cover 6 is formed of a highly breathable and flexible fabric such as a W Russell mesh, but is not limited to this configuration. For example, in the case of a seated person who has a very bad sitting posture, it may be formed by a 3D net sheet (Delta Tooling) or the like that has high flexibility and generates little shearing force on the contact surface.

  In the present embodiment, the back cover 6 is configured separately from the pelvic support belt 2 and the rib cage support belt 3 in order to easily adjust the attachment positions and tensions of the pelvis support belt 2 and the rib cage support belt 3 as appropriate. ing. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. When the seated person is a healthy person, the back cover 6 is fixed to the pelvis support belt by sewing bonding or welding bonding in consideration of ease of handling and durability. 2 and the rib cage support belt 3 may be formed integrally. With this configuration, even if the seated person has a wide variety of body shapes and postures, a function of automatically fitting to the seated person is provided. For this reason, it can be used as a chair body 10 for a healthy person having a normal posture, and a universal design in a true sense.

  Below, the effect | action by the sitting posture improvement apparatus 1 of this embodiment and the chair body 10 provided with the same is demonstrated.

  First, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, appropriate settings of the pelvis support belt 2, the thoracic support belt 3, and the connection belt 5 to be set for various sitting posture conditions for the seated person are determined.

Specifically, the sitting postures of the seated person are various, and in this embodiment, the sitting posture is mainly classified into the following five types (1) to (5). Hereinafter, the setting for each sitting posture condition will be described in detail.
(1) Normal posture (2) Normal posture lateral support reinforcement (3) Sacral sitting (PT: Pelvic Tilt)
(4) Scoliosis (SC) + normal posture (5) scoliosis + sacral sitting (SC + PT)

  First, the “normal posture” condition (1) will be described. The “normal posture” condition is a sitting posture in which no abnormality is recognized on all surfaces. As a setting for the seated person in the normal posture, both ends of one pelvic support belt 2 are fixed to the left and right rear bars 42 as shown in FIGS. Thereby, the pelvis support belt 2 is attached in a substantially horizontal direction at the front lower part of the backrest 11, and supports the pelvis in a normal posture from the rear. Moreover, since the pelvis support belt 2 is excellent in elasticity, the pelvis support belt 2 fits following the body of the seated person and firmly supports the pelvis. For this reason, the pelvic support belt 2 supports the upper end of the iliac crest and stabilizes the starting portions of the spinal column standing muscle and rectus abdominis muscle. In addition, while ensuring effective support, it also supports physique differences and slight upper body movements.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, for the two cross-shaped rib cage support belts 3, the upper end portions are fixed to the left and right positions above the backrest 11, and the lower end portions are fixed to the left and right rear bars 42. To do. Thereby, it is attached to the front upper part of the backrest 11 in the state which the rib cage support belt 3 cross | intersected. For this reason, the lower rib cage support part 31 constituted by the lower part than the intersecting part effectively supports the starting part of the spine standing muscle group along the shape of the lumbar dorsal aponeurosis, and the functionalization of the spine standing muscle group Effectively support the mass of the rib cage while helping. On the other hand, the thoracic upper support portion 32 configured above the intersecting portion is disposed around the upper portion of the rib cage and supports the head and neck and the upper rib cage, so that the head and neck are properly aligned.

  In the present embodiment, the rib cage support belt 3 has almost no elasticity, so it receives a load from a seated person and firmly supports the rib cage at a predetermined position. Moreover, in this embodiment, since the wheelchair is assumed as the chair body 10, the left and right upper end parts of the rib cage support belt 3 are wound around the handle part at the left and right positions on the backrest 11 upper part. However, it is not limited to this configuration, and depending on the chair body 10, a member for fixing the upper end portion of the rib cage support belt 3 at the left and right positions above the backrest 11 may be separately provided.

  As described above, the pair of belt attachments 4 and 4 can easily attach the pelvis support belt 2 and the rib cage support belt 3 to desired positions in accordance with the sitting posture conditions of the seated person. Moreover, since each belt attachment tool 4 has a smaller diameter than the wheelchair frame, it does not protrude between the armrest 12 and the left and right ends of the seating surface 13, and does not interfere with the folding of the wheelchair.

  Next, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the connection belt 5 connects the substantially central position of the pelvis support belt 2 and the intersecting position of the rib cage support belt 3 together. Thereby, the connection belt 5 regulates the free movement of the pelvic support belt 2 and the rib cage support belt 3 and holds it in an effective position. For this reason, in the pelvis support belt 2 and the rib cage support belt 3, the position shift of the point which supports a seated person is prevented, and the sitting posture maintaining function is exhibited reliably. In addition, the linking belt 5 can prevent the pelvic support belt 2 and the rib cage support belt 3 from being entangled when the wheelchair is folded by being bundled in advance. Furthermore, since the connection belt 5 is formed of a highly flexible material, the back of the seated person is less likely to give a sense of incongruity or irritation.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, as shown to Fig.4 (a), the back cover 6 eases the pressure given to a seated person's back surface by coat | covering the front surface of the pelvis support belt 2 or the rib cage support belt 3, and a pelvis. And support the entire rib cage softly. That is, while the pelvis support belt 2 and the rib cage support belt 3 function as a main support for leading the pelvis and rib cage of the seated person, the back cover 6 has physical properties that are not invasive to the seated person. It is supported by the material it has and functions as an auxiliary support that assists the main support.

  Further, the back cover 6 as an auxiliary support is a material that has a higher elastic effect than the pelvic support belt 2 and the thoracic support belt 3 as the main support, so that the relative relationship between the main support and the auxiliary support is high. The difference provides a feeling of fit and support. This automatically absorbs the physique difference of the seated person, gives a flexible support characteristic to the movement in the sitting position, and assists in returning to the original position.

  Furthermore, since the back cover 6 is a thin cover that does not have a cover on the back side of the backrest 11 as shown in FIG. 4B, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG.5 (b), it does not become a hindrance at the time of folding a wheelchair, and storage operation can be performed easily.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4A, the back cover 6 is composed of two stages of fabrics of different colors with a stitch as a boundary. For this reason, the back cover 6 is restrained from being displaced in the vertical direction, and the lower part is reminiscent of the support function of the pelvis and the lower rib cage, while the upper part is imaged of the support function of the rib cage, so It has a visual educational effect on the elderly.

  Next, the “normal posture side support strengthening” condition (2) will be described. The “normal posture side support strengthening” condition is a posture condition in which support on the side of the body is strengthened in addition to the above-described normal posture setting. In general, it has been pointed out that when the physical condition is lowered, it is difficult to maintain a correct posture with only one's own muscle strength, and in particular, the muscle strength on the abdominal side (abdominal muscle side) tends to decrease. In addition, since the posture is maintained by the balance of the functions of the flexion side and the extension side in the body, the decrease in the balance may lead to various posture abnormalities. Therefore, in this condition, not only the back support that compensates for the weakness on the ventral side, but also the left and right side support is strengthened to maintain a good posture.

  Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, the number of pelvis support belts 2 used and their attachment positions, the attachment positions of the upper ends of the thoracic support belt 3, and the attachment positions of the connecting belt 5 are in a normal posture. Same as when. On the other hand, it differs from the normal posture setting only in that the lower ends of the rib cage support belt 3 are fixed to the left and right front bars 41.

  With this setting, each belt fixture 4 is fixed in a state where the left and right lower end portions of each rib cage support belt 3 protrude forward. Therefore, each thoracic support belt 3 is sufficiently along the left and right sides of the pelvis and thorax and firmly supports the sides.

  Therefore, according to the “normal posture side support reinforcement” condition, in addition to the above-described support function based on the normal posture, the seated person's body is also supported from the side, so that a good posture is maintained. In addition, in this condition, the setting common to the setting of the normal posture described above has the same effect, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

  Next, the “sacral sitting” condition (3) will be described. As shown in FIG. 9, the “sacral sitting” condition is a posture condition suitable for improving so-called sacral sitting in which the pelvis tilts backward and the buttocks shift forward to maintain the sitting position with the sacrum. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 10, the attachment position of the rib cage support belt 3 is the same as that in the “normal posture side support reinforcement”. On the other hand, the number of used pelvis support belts 2 and the attachment position of the pelvis support belt 2 and the attachment position of the connecting belt 5 are different from the setting of “normal posture side support reinforcement”.

  That is, under this condition, the two pelvic support belts 2 are crossed, and both upper ends thereof are fixed to the left and right rear bars 42, and both lower ends thereof are fixed to the left and right lower bars 43. Thereby, the lower bar 43 inclined forward and downward projects the lower end side of each pelvis support belt 2 forward, and is attached in a state inclined forward and downward. For this reason, it fits without gaps from the back of the seated person to the buttocks together with the rib cage support belt 3, and supports the pelvis tilted backward from behind. Further, by eliminating the gap, the center of pressure against the seat back 11 of the seated person is lowered downward, so that a reaction force acts in the direction of extending the back. Further, the larger the pelvic tilt, the larger the load, but the two crossed pelvic support belts 2 firmly support the load.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 10, the connecting belt 5 connects the two pelvic support belts 2 by being bundled at the crossing position. As a result, the connecting belt 5 is held at an effective position for supporting the seated person by restricting the free movement of the pelvic support belt 2. For this reason, the position shift of the point which the pelvis support belt 2 supports a pelvis is prevented, and the sitting posture maintenance function is exhibited reliably.

  Therefore, according to the “sacral sitting” condition, by crossing the two pelvic support belts 2, the pelvis tilted backward is firmly supported and the back of the seated person is extended. Sitting posture is improved. It should be noted that, in this condition, settings common to the above-described various posture condition settings have the same operational effects, and thus the description thereof will be omitted.

  Next, the “side-side + normal posture” condition (4) will be described. As shown in FIG. 11, the “lateral scissor + normal posture” condition is a posture in which the pelvis is in a normal posture, but the balance of the right and left muscles is deteriorated due to hemiplegia and the trunk tilts toward the paralyzed side. . In general, scoliosis is a general twisting phenomenon of the pelvis, lumbar vertebrae, thoracic vertebrae, and cervical vertebrae, and shows a three-dimensional deformation pattern of the front (frontal plane) and side (sagittal plane) while twisting. Is. However, in this embodiment, in the front view that is important in terms of the sheeting, the curved side (left side in FIG. 11) is the concave side, and the opposite side (right side in FIG. 11) is the convex side. ,explain.

  First, in the conventional case, as a countermeasure against scoliosis, a means for pressing the body so as not to fall is provided based on a symptomatic approach of “pressing because it falls”. However, according to the research results of the inventors of the present application, such a traditional method is ineffective and has long suffered from patients with scoliosis. The reason why this traditional method is not effective is as follows.

  Usually, a person falls on a chair on the side that has lost the function, and in the case of hemiplegia, the person falls down by twisting to the affected side where hemiplegia occurs. For this reason, the healthy side, which is the normal side, cannot support the weight of its own body, and in most cases, the normal posture cannot be maintained only by the ability of the healthy side. In this way, by falling to the affected side, a scoliosis in which the healthy side becomes the convex side occurs. At this time, if the person has high muscle strength, as a defensive posture when there is no support, leave the body in the corner of the convex wheelchair and deliberately tilt the body to the healthy side to the mass on the affected side Try to counter. However, in the conventional wheelchair, since the support point of the wheelchair with respect to the patient is too high, the patient is gradually pressed and falls to the affected side.

  On the other hand, the ABS (Active Balanced Seating) theory proposed by the present inventors is a method for achieving a good posture by balancing the mass of each part of the body. For this reason, it is important to set the fulcrum of the body to an appropriate position, and in this embodiment, the vicinity of the convex iliac crest (belt position) is set as the fulcrum of “lever”.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 12, for the two rib cage support belts 3, the upper end portions are fixed to the left and right positions of the upper portion of the backrest 11, while the lower end portion on the convex side is the front bar. The lower end of the concave side is fixed to the rear bar 42. The setting of the rib cage support belt 3 itself may be a large fat person around the waist, that is, a person who is relatively nutritious and close to normal pelvis, or the pelvis may be normalized with the gravity factor and time factor by proper setting. This setting is suitable for those who have trouble.

  However, in the case of a person who is in a poor health condition and who is thin or difficult to recover from scoliosis, in addition to setting the ribcage support belt 3 as described above, the pelvic posterior tilt should not be advanced. Need to support. Therefore, in this condition, among both ends of one pelvic support belt 2, the convex end is fixed to the front bar 41 and the concave end is fixed to the rear bar 42. Thereby, as shown in FIG.12 (b), the pelvis support belt 2 and the rib cage support belt 3 are attached in the state which protruded ahead in the convex side of the seated person.

  Thus, the thoracic lower support portion 31 of the pelvic support belt 2 and the thoracic support belt 3 acts on the fulcrum around the convex iliac crest, and is mainly located above the body such as the head and neck, the rib cage, and the upper limb. Balance the weight with the lower weight located below the body, such as the buttocks and lower limbs. For this reason, when the seated person intentionally takes the posture of tilting the body to the healthy side, the trunk extends naturally without raising the affected side.

  Therefore, according to the condition of “acupuncture + normal posture”, the trunk is naturally extended by the mass balance of each part of the body, so that the posture of the scoliosis is improved. In other words, it can be said that it has a function of posture support for a person whose pelvis is tilted backwards, has a slight scoliosis and has a decreased trunk function. It should be noted that, in this condition, settings common to the above-described various posture condition settings have the same operational effects, and thus the description thereof will be omitted.

  In this condition, as described above, the convex side end of the pelvis support belt 2 is fixed to the front bar 41 and the concave side end is fixed to the rear bar 42. However, the present invention is not limited to this setting, and depending on the situation of the scissors, the end portion on the convex side may be attached to the rear bar 42 similarly to the end portion on the concave side.

  Next, the condition of “side scissors + sacral sitting” in the above (5) will be described. The “side scissor + sacral sitting” condition is a posture condition suitable for a seated person having a “sacral sitting” in addition to the above “side scissors”. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, the attachment position of the rib cage support belt 3 is the same as that in the case of “a lateral posture + a normal posture”. On the other hand, the number of used pelvis support belts 2 and the attachment position of the connection belt 5 and the attachment position of the connection belt 5 are substantially the same as the “sacral sitting” setting, but only the attachment position of the upper end of the pelvis support belt 2 is different. .

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 13, among the left and right upper ends of the two pelvic support belts 2, the convex upper end is fixed to the front bar 41, and the concave upper end is Secure to the rear bar 42. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 13B, the rib cage support belt 3 is attached in a state of projecting forward on the convex side of the seated person, similarly to the above-mentioned “side pad + normal posture” condition. Further, the two crossed pelvis support belts 2 are attached in a state of protruding forward on the convex side of the seated person.

  As a result, in addition to the action of the above-mentioned condition of “side heel + normal posture”, the pelvic support belt 2 fits together with the rib cage support belt 3 from the back of the seated person to the buttocks, and supports the pelvis tilted backward from behind. To do. Further, by eliminating the gap, the center of pressure against the seat back 11 of the seated person is lowered downward, so that a reaction force acts in the direction of extending the back.

  Therefore, according to the condition of “side scissor + sacral sitting”, the trunk is naturally extended by the mass balance of each part of the body, so that the posture of the scalp is improved. In addition, the sacral sitting posture is improved because the back tilted pelvis is firmly supported and the back of the seated person is extended. It should be noted that, in this condition, settings common to the above-described various posture condition settings have the same operational effects, and thus the description thereof will be omitted.

  In this condition, as described above, the convex upper end of the pelvic support belt 2 is fixed to the front bar 41 and the concave upper end is fixed to the rear bar 42. However, the present invention is not limited to this setting, and the convex upper end may be attached to the rear bar 42 in the same manner as the concave upper end, depending on the situation of the scissors.

According to the present embodiment as described above, the following effects can be obtained.
1. It can be retrofitted or incorporated in a chair body 10 such as a wheelchair to improve the sitting posture of the seated person.
2. It is possible to add a sitting posture improvement function after inheriting all of the folding mechanism, durability, compatibility with the social environment, etc. of a general wheelchair.
3. The pelvic support belt 2, the rib cage support belt 3 and the connecting belt 5 can be easily attached / detached and set.
4). When the chair body 10 is a wheelchair, the wheelchair can be folded without removing the sitting posture improving device 1 from the wheelchair.
5. In the long term, various functions of the body (breathing, swallowing, sensory movement, etc.) can be improved, and deformation of the spinal column (lateral scoliosis and kyphosis) can be prevented.
6). The attachment positions of the pelvic support belt 2 and the thorax support belt 3 can be appropriately adjusted according to the degree of body deformation of the seated person, and it is possible to cope with improvement of asymmetric postures such as scoliosis.
7). The positional displacement of the pelvis support belt 2 and the rib cage support belt 3 and the entanglement when the wheelchair is folded can be prevented.
8). The pressure applied to the seated person's back from the pelvic support belt 2 and the rib cage support belt 3 can be relaxed, and the entire body can be softly supported.
9. The pelvic support belt 2 is excellent in followability to physical movement due to its stretchability, and does not require pasting adjustments and the like that are conventionally required, and can be used by an unspecified number of seated persons.
10. The setting for various sitting posture conditions can be easily made manual, and anyone who has no special knowledge about the sitting posture can easily set the setting suitable for the seated person.

  Below, the specific Example of the sitting posture improvement apparatus 1 which concerns on this invention, and the chair body 10 provided with the same is described.

  In the first embodiment, a standard wheelchair (manufactured by Nisshin Medical Instrument Co., Ltd.) is used as the chair body 10, and the pelvis support belt is set for the wheelchair according to the setting related to the pelvis support belt 2 under the “normal posture” condition. 2 is attached (hereinafter referred to as “one specification”), and two pelvic support belts 2 are attached according to the setting of the sacral sitting belt 2 under the “sacral sitting” condition (hereinafter referred to as “two specifications”). The subject's sitting posture was observed. Further, as a comparative example, the same observation was performed when no pelvic support belt 2 was attached (hereinafter referred to as “standard specification”).

  Specifically, six healthy adolescents (height: 155.1 ± 5.38 cm, weight: 50.8 ± 3.43 kg) were subjects, and they were seated in a wheelchair set for each of the three specifications described above. I took a video from the side. FIG. 14 is an image showing a sitting posture in a state where two of the subjects (subjects A and B) are seated on a wheelchair set for each specification.

  As shown in FIG. 14, in both subjects A and B, in the standard specification, the head and neck is tilted forward, the neck is bent backward, and the rib cage is narrowed, whereas in the single specification, they are improved. ing. Further, the degree of improvement is improved in the two specifications than in the one specification.

  According to the above Example 1, it has been shown that the pelvis support belt 2 of the present embodiment is attached to the wheelchair, thereby firmly supporting the occupant's pelvis from behind and improving the posture of the occupant.

  In the second embodiment, under the same experimental conditions as in the first embodiment, a pressure distribution measuring device (FSA / BodiTrak: FSA / BodiTrak) with a piezoresistive sensor array in a state where each subject is seated on a wheelchair set to each specification. The pressure distribution on the seating surface and the back surface was measured using Takano Co., Ltd., and the minimum value, maximum value, average value, variation, standard deviation and deviation coefficient of the seating pressure were calculated. 15 and 16 show individual measurement results of the subjects A and B. FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, in the standard specification, a pressure response appears only in the upper rib cage, whereas in the single specification, there is a pressure response in the lower rib cage and the pelvis, and the lower part is properly supported. It was shown that In addition, in the two specifications, it was shown that there was a pressure response in the lower pelvic lower part and the lower thorax, and the lower part was firmly supported.

  In addition, the average pressure, sensing area (pressure detection area), maximum value, vertical center (vertical pressure center position), horizontal center for the seating surface and back of each subject seated in a wheelchair set to each specification The average value and standard deviation of the (pressure center position in the horizontal direction) were calculated. The result is shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 17, the average pressure and the maximum pressure of the seating surface are lower in the single specification and the double specification than in the standard specification. On the other hand, the average pressure on the back surface is higher in the single specification and the double specification than in the standard specification. That is, the decrease in pressure on the seating surface is evidence that the back surface has acted on the seated person. Moreover, the pressure center position shown in the vertical center well reflects the characteristics of each support, and indicates that the upper part of the seated person is supported by the lower part of the backrest 11.

  According to the above Example 2, by attaching the pelvic support belt 2 of the present embodiment to the wheelchair, the pressure center against the seat back 11 of the seated person falls downward, and the reaction force acts in the direction of extending the back. It has been shown.

  In the third embodiment, the subject C (143 cm, 47 kg) having a slight sitting posture disorder is seated on the wheelchair to which the sitting posture improving apparatus 1 is attached according to the above-mentioned “normal posture” setting, and the above-mentioned “sacral sitting” Subject D (140 cm, 45 kg) having a severe sitting posture disorder was seated on the wheelchair to which the sitting posture improving apparatus 1 was attached according to the setting, and the sitting posture of each subject was observed. Further, as a comparative example, the same observation was performed when the sitting posture improving device 1 was not attached.

  For each of the subjects C and D, the pressure distribution on the seating surface and the back surface was measured as in Example 2, and the minimum value, maximum value, average value, variation, standard deviation, and deviation coefficient of the seating pressure were calculated. FIG. 18 and FIG. 19 show the measurement results of subjects C and D, respectively, and show an image showing the sitting posture in a state of sitting on a wheelchair and individual measurement results.

  As shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, in any of the subjects C and D, in the wheelchair to which the sitting posture improving device 1 is not attached, the center of pressure against the seat back 11 is high, and the upper body is forward The posture was pushed. On the other hand, in the wheelchair to which the sitting posture improving device 1 is attached, the forward pressing posture is improved, the head and neck are properly aligned, and the posture of the rib cage and pelvis is improved. Moreover, the pressure response according to the pelvis support belt 2 and the thorax support belt 3 was seen, and it was shown that a test subject's body is supported well.

  According to the third example described above, it was shown that the posture of a seated person who has a disorder in the sitting posture can actually be improved by simply attaching the sitting posture improving device 1 of the present embodiment to a standard wheelchair.

  In addition, this embodiment and Example mentioned above are for making an understanding of this invention easy, and do not limit the sitting posture improvement apparatus 1 which concerns on this invention, and the chair body 10 provided with the same. The present invention can be modified and improved as appropriate without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims, and equivalents thereof are included in the present invention.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the posture conditions are classified into the above five (1) to (5). However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and the sitting position is adjusted according to various sitting postures. Settings for improving the posture may be set as appropriate.

  Moreover, in this embodiment mentioned above, the pelvis support belt 2 and the rib cage support belt 3 are formed with a wider belt width than a belt in a conventional dedicated machine or the like, thereby enabling stable support. Yes. However, it is not limited to this configuration, and the belt width may be changed as appropriate.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Seat posture improvement apparatus 2 Pelvic support belt 3 Thorax support belt 4 Belt attachment 5 Connection belt 6 Back cover 10 Chair body 11 Backrest 12 Armrest 13 Seat surface 31 Thorax lower support part 32 Thoracic upper support part 41 Front bar 42 Rear bar 43 Lower bar

Claims (6)

A sitting posture improving device provided on a chair body for improving a sitting posture of a seated person,
A pelvic support belt for supporting the pelvis of the seated person,
A cross-shaped ribcage support belt for supporting the occupant's ribcage;
A front bar that is spanned between the armrest of the chair body and the left and right ends of the seat, and is suspended from the front upper part, a rear bar that is suspended from the front bar, and a lower end of the front bar A pair of belt fixtures with a lower bar inclined forward and downward from
The pelvis support belt is attached to the lower front part of the back of the chair body with each end fixed to either the front bar, the rear bar or the lower bar,
The ribcage support belt is fixed to the left and right positions of the upper part of the backrest, and the lower ends are fixed to the front bar or the rear bar and attached to the front upper part of the backrest. , Sitting posture improvement device. When the pelvic support belt is constituted by a single belt, the substantially central position of the pelvis support belt and the intersection position of the rib cage support belt are bundled and connected,
2. The sitting posture improving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the pelvic support belt is configured in an intersecting manner with two belts, the sitting posture improving apparatus has a connecting belt that binds and connects the intersecting positions of the pelvis supporting belt.   The sitting posture improving device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a back cover that covers only the front surfaces of the pelvic support belt and the thoracic support belt. The sitting posture improving apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the pelvis support belt is formed of a stretchable material, and the thorax support belt is formed of a non- stretchable material.   The sitting posture improving device according to claim 3, wherein the back cover is formed integrally with the pelvic support belt and the thorax support belt.   The chair body provided with the sitting posture improvement apparatus in any one of Claims 1-5.