JP7378969B2 - cushion - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a cushion that elastically supports a user.

Conventionally, cushions that elastically support a user have been used in various applications such as chairs, sofas, and wheelchairs. Regarding such cushions, various improvement plans have been proposed to improve various performances. For example, according to Patent Document 1, a body pressure dispersion type cushion material that further promotes body pressure dispersion is proposed.

Patent No. 4221280

The feeling of using a cushion as described above is greatly influenced by the repulsive force of the cushion material used for the cushion. In general, if the repulsion of the cushion material is low, it will give a soft feeling of being wrapped around the buttocks, and if the repulsion of the cushion material is high, it will give the feeling of firmly supporting the buttocks. .

However, if the repulsive force of the cushion material is simply low, there is a risk that the buttocks and the like will not be firmly supported, resulting in a feeling of hitting the bottom. In addition, if the repulsive force of the cushion material is simply high, the user will not be able to feel as if his or her buttocks are wrapped in the cushion, which may cause problems in terms of sitting comfort.

In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention aims to provide a cushion that provides a better feeling of use.

The cushion according to the present invention is a cushion that elastically supports a user from below, and includes a low-resilience cushion material and a high-resilience cushion material provided on the lower side of the low-resilience cushion material. The high repulsion cushion material is formed to have a higher repulsion force than the low repulsion cushion material.

According to this configuration, it is possible to obtain a better feeling of use. Note that the concept of "supporting" the user in this application is not limited to directly supporting the user, but also includes supporting the user with some kind of member or the like interposed therebetween.

More specifically, the above structure may be such that both the low-resilience cushion material and the high-resilience cushion material are three-dimensional filament combinations. According to this configuration, it is possible to provide a cushion that takes advantage of the characteristics of the three-dimensional composite of filaments, such as excellent breathability.

More specifically, the above structure may be such that the three-dimensional composite of filaments that is the low-resilience cushion material is made of thinner filaments than the three-dimensional composite of filaments that is the high-resilience cushion material. . More specifically, the above structure may be a wheelchair cushion provided on the seat of the wheelchair.

According to the cushion according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a better feeling of use.

1 is a schematic external view of a wheelchair cushion according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram regarding the arrangement of the wheelchair cushion according to the present embodiment. FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a wheelchair cushion according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram regarding a sample of the wheelchair cushion according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram regarding the sliding of the low-resilience cushion material.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings, taking a wheelchair cushion (a type of cushion that elastically supports a user from below) as an example.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic appearance of a wheelchair cushion 1 according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 schematically shows an arrangement of the wheelchair cushion 1. Note that in the following explanation, the up-down, left-right, and front-back directions (directions perpendicular to each other) are as shown in each figure.

As shown in FIG. 1, the wheelchair cushion 1 is formed into a substantially rectangular parallelepiped whose thickness direction is the vertical direction, and has a form in which various cushion materials described below are housed inside the cover 10. The cover 10 is provided with a fastener (not shown), and by opening the fastener, the inside of the cover 10 is opened, and each cushion material can be put in and taken out as appropriate.

As shown in FIG. 2, the wheelchair cushion 1 is provided on the seat surface 2 of the wheelchair X. The seat surface 2 is made of metal or the like, and is much harder than the wheelchair cushion 1. The wheelchair X has a pair of left and right rear wheels 3 and a pair of left and right front wheels 4, and the seat surface 2 is generally arranged between the left and right rear wheels 3. A user of wheelchair X (hereinafter simply referred to as "user") will sit on wheelchair cushion 1 facing forward. A user seated in the wheelchair X can move by rotating the hand rims 5 by hand or by having a caregiver or the like push the handles 6.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the wheelchair cushion 1 (a cross-sectional view taken along a plane perpendicular to the front-rear direction). For reference, the broken line α shown in FIG. 3 indicates the approximate position of the user's buttocks immediately before sitting on the wheelchair cushion 1. Further, FIG. 4 shows a side view (photograph) of the cushion portion CS in the sample of the wheelchair cushion 1. Note that the broken line β shown in FIG. 4 indicates the boundary between the low-repulsion cushion material 11 and the high-repulsion cushion material 12.

As shown in FIG. 3, the wheelchair cushion 1 includes a cushion portion CS provided inside the cover 10. As shown in FIG. The cushion part CS is composed of a rectangular parallelepiped-shaped low-resilience cushion material 11 and high-repulsion cushion material 12, respectively, and plays a role of elastically supporting the user's buttock region from below. The internal structure of the cover 10 is basically uniform in the front-rear direction, and a cross-sectional view at any position in the front-rear direction is as shown in FIG. The size of the wheelchair cushion 1 is set to match the wheelchair X, and the size in the front-rear direction and left-right direction is set to match the size of the seat surface 2 (for example, about 30 to 50 cm).

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the high resilience cushioning material 12 is provided below the low resilience cushioning material 11, and these cushioning materials 11 and 12 are stacked in the vertical direction. Further, the sizes of the cushion materials 11 and 12 in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction are the same, and the lower surface of the low-resilience cushion material 11 is in contact with the upper surface of the high-resilience cushion material 12. As an example, the thickness (vertical size) of the low-resilience cushion material 11 is set to about 16 mm, and the thickness of the high-resilience cushion material 12 is set to about 25 to 35 mm.

Both the low-repulsion cushion material 11 and the high-repulsion cushion material 12 are formed of a three-dimensional filament assembly in which filaments of thermoplastic resin are three-dimensionally fused and bonded to each other. Note that the method for manufacturing the three-dimensional filament assembly is well known, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2017-160553, and detailed description thereof will be omitted here. Each of the cushion materials 11 and 12 formed of a three-dimensional filament combination has excellent breathability.

Both of the cushion materials 11 and 12 are formed from a three-dimensional combination of filaments, and the high repulsion cushion material 12 is formed to have a higher repulsion force than the low repulsion cushion material 11. To explain in more detail, the repulsive force of the three-dimensional filament assembly changes depending on the thickness of the filaments (thermoplastic resin fibers) constituting it, filament density (degree of density of filaments), and the like.

Utilizing this fact, the high-repulsion cushion material 12 can be formed to have a higher repulsion force than the low-repulsion cushion material 11. In the case of this embodiment, as is clear from FIG. 4, the three-dimensional composite of filaments that is the low-resilience cushion material 11 is formed of thinner filaments than the three-dimensional composite of filaments that is the high-resilience cushion material 12. ing.

As a result, the high-repulsion cushion material 12 is a material with higher repulsion than the low-repulsion cushion material 11, and the low-repulsion cushion material 11 is a softer material with a lower repulsion than the high-repulsion cushion material 12. It has become. It is desirable that the specific repulsive force of each cushion material 11, 12 be appropriately set in consideration of the user's sitting comfort. As a method for changing the thickness of the filaments constituting the three-dimensional filament assembly, for example, when manufacturing a three-dimensional filament assembly using the manufacturing apparatus disclosed in JP-A-2017-160553, each Examples include changing the inner diameter of the opening.

As mentioned above, in the cushion part CS, since the low-resilience cushion material 11 with low repulsion force and soft texture is used in the upper layer on the side closer to the user, the user can feel a comfortable feeling of use as if the buttocks are softly wrapped around them. I can do it. Furthermore, since the high repulsion cushioning material 12 with high repulsion force is used as the lower layer, this layer plays a role of firmly supporting the buttocks, and the user can feel as if his or her weight is being supported firmly. can. In addition, the high resilience cushion member 12 firmly supports the buttocks, disperses body pressure, reduces pressure on the sacrum, and plays the role of suppressing numbness in the buttocks.

In addition, it is sometimes desirable for wheelchair cushions for wheelchair competitions to be designed so that the buttocks hit the bottom so that the athlete can stand on their feet, but for wheelchairs for general purposes such as nursing care, it is desirable to have a cushion that allows the buttocks to hit the bottom. If emphasis is placed on this, the sacrum is likely to be compressed when sitting, leading to numbness due to poor blood flow, and the device cannot withstand long-term use. In this regard, according to the wheelchair cushion 1 according to the present embodiment, body pressure dispersion is improved as described above, and it is possible to reduce pressure on the sacrum and suppress numbness in the buttocks.

Further, the cushions 11 and 12 are stacked in a non-adhered state (separated state), and are housed in a cover 10 formed to match the size of the cushion part CS, so that their positional relationship (just The state in which they are stacked and arranged in an overlapping manner is maintained. Therefore, by forming the cover 10 from a stretchable material, the low-resilience cushion material 11 can be slid laterally with respect to the high-repulsion cushion material 12, as illustrated in FIG.

In this way, for example, when a user tries to move his buttocks in the direction shown by the colored arrow in FIG. , it is possible to obtain the effect of increasing the degree of freedom of movement of the user. Particularly in the case of this embodiment, each of the cushion materials 11 and 12 is a three-dimensional combination of filaments, and the boundary between the cushion materials 11 and 12 (the smooth surfaces of the three-dimensional combination of filaments) is relatively slippery. Since it is easier to use, it is possible to obtain the effect more fully. However, the form of each cushion material according to the present invention is not limited to this, and the positional relationship between the cushion materials may be fixed by adhesion or the like.

In this embodiment, a three-dimensional composite of filaments is used as each of the cushion materials 11 and 12, but other materials may be used without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, as the low resilience cushion material 11, it is possible to use rubber (latex), urethane, or the like. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the cushion for a wheelchair has been described as an example of the embodiment of the present invention, but the cushion according to the present invention is not limited to this form, and can also be used for cushions for chairs, sofas, bedding, etc. It is.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the configuration of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various changes can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. That is, the above embodiments are illustrative in all respects, and should not be considered restrictive. It is understood that the technical scope of the present invention is indicated by the claims rather than the description of the above embodiments, and includes all changes that fall within the meaning and range equivalent to the claims. Should.

The present invention can be used for various cushions.

1 Wheelchair cushion 2 Seat surface 3 Rear wheel 4 Front wheel 5 Hand rim 6 Handle 10 Cover 11 Low resilience cushion material 12 High resilience cushion material CS Cushion part X Wheelchair

Claims (2)

A cushion for a wheelchair that has a cushion material housed in a cover and is provided on a seat surface of a wheelchair to elastically support a user from below,
The cushion material is composed of a low-resilience cushion material and a high-resilience cushion material provided on the lower side of the low-resilience cushion material , and each of the cushion materials has the same size in the front-rear direction and left-right direction, and has a thickness. They form different substantially rectangular parallelepiped shapes,
The high-resilience cushion material, which is thicker than the low-resilience cushion material, is stacked on the low-resilience cushion material so as to overlap without being bonded to each other,
Each of the cushion materials is a three-dimensional composite of filaments in which the filaments are three-dimensionally fused and bonded to each other, and the upper and lower surfaces in the thickness direction are smooth surfaces, and the low-resilience cushion material and the high-resilience cushion material The boundary between the two is the smooth surface,
The cover accommodates the low- resilience cushion material and the high- resilience cushion material in a layered manner so as to overlap vertically in a positional relationship, and circumscribes the outer peripheral surface of the layered cushion material. , maintain that state,
The wheelchair cushion is made of a stretchable material that allows the low-resilience cushion material to slide laterally relative to the high-resilience cushion material when the user is seated. The wheelchair cushion according to claim 1, wherein the filaments of the low-resilience cushion material are thinner filaments than the filaments of the high-resilience cushion material.