KR20130140995A - Variable geometry pillow for cervical disorders using shape memory alloy - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a pillow having a function of preventing and treating cervical disc herniation with physical stimuli to a cervical spine region and, more specifically, to a physical therapy device capable of providing movement helping a rehabilitation treatment by changing the position of the head and neck of a user with shape modification. The present invention can imitate the movement of cervical extension necessary for the physical treatment of cervical disc herniation with the user lying by inducing automatic, periodic and consistent shape modification without an additional operation of the user. The present invention comprises a cushion in the shape of a wedge for supporting the back and waist of the user; a head support portion for supporting the weight of the head and neck and connected to the cushion in the shape of a wedge; a driving portion for changing the height of the head support in the head support portion; a shape memory alloy wire being an actuator in the driving portion and being operated without noise and vibration; and a variation amplifying device. The present invention can maximize the convenience of the user without noise and vibration being generated when using a general driving device such as an electrical motor by using the modification of the shape memory alloy according to temperatures as a driving principle.

Description

Variable geometry pillow for cervical disorders using shape memory alloy}

The present invention relates to a pillow device having the effect of preventing and treating cervical intervertebral disc herniation through physical stimulation of the cervical spine. More specifically, it is helpful to rehabilitation of neck disc disease by changing the position of the head and neck of the user through shape deformation. It relates to a physical therapy device that provides movement. The device of the present invention is automatically driven without user intervention and induces periodic and continuous shape changes to mimic cervical extension movements necessary for the physical treatment of cervical disc herniation even when the user is lying down. .

The present invention is a wedge shaped cushion for supporting the user's back and waist, a head support portion that supports the load of the head and neck and connected to the wedge-shaped cushion, and a drive portion for changing the height of the head restraint in the head support portion; And a shape memory alloy wire and a displacement amplification device operating as an actuator in the driving portion without noise and vibration.

The present invention is characterized by maximizing the user's convenience by using the deformation of the shape memory alloy according to the temperature as a driving principle, there is no noise and vibration generated when using a general driving device such as an electric motor.

The present invention relates to a pillow device for physical therapy that can give appropriate stimulation to the cervical spine for the rehabilitation and prevention of cervical disc herniation.

In general, pillows for the prevention of neck disc disease are made in a batch regardless of the user, which does not satisfy the needs of the user's various physical requirements, but also maintains a constant stimulus on the fixed cervical spine in a static position. The effect is minimal. There are various inventions that can change the shape to compensate for these disadvantages, but this is simply to adjust the height according to the user's convenience. As such, there are devices equipped with functions for physiotherapy and rehabilitation, in addition to the general pillow beam that only has an appearance to maintain the cervical spine or lordosis. However, they are still inconvenient in that even if a continuous shape change is possible, the user needs to operate by hand. On the other hand, devices that are automatically driven are usually not expensive because they are expensive and bulky and generate a lot of noise.

The present invention is operated by using a deformation according to the temperature of the shape memory alloy without noise and vibration without using a general driving device such as an electric motor that generates a noise during operation of the driving portion for the shape deformation is heavy or bulky Its purpose is to maximize user convenience.

The present invention is to form a wedge shaped cushion for supporting the user's back and waist to connect the head restraint to the drive portion capable of changing the height in the state of the initial head position of the user to mimic the rehabilitation exercise of tilting the head back even when the user is lying down. To help. The head restraint supporting the head and neck load of the user is connected to a vertical rack in the drive section, and the vertical rack is engaged with a compound gear having a constant gear ratio, which in turn meshes with the spur gear and finally the spur gear is a horizontal rack. To interlock. In the horizontal rack, the shape memory alloy wire is connected to it through two holes penetrating in the longitudinal direction. Both ends are fastened. The current flows through both ends of the shape memory alloy, and when the temperature rises due to heat generation due to electrical resistance, shrinkage occurs in the longitudinal direction, so the horizontal rack connected to the wire is pulled in one direction, and the displacement is amplified by the gears engaged with it. It is then delivered to the vertical rack that supports the head restraint. This allows the user to lower the head restraint without noise and vibration, thereby providing the user with a wedge shaped cushion.

With the upper body and cervical spine supported, the neck can be pulled back to the body.

The present invention as described above can control the movement of the drive only by controlling the flow of current, so that it can be continuously used without special manipulation of the user, and the patient suffering from neck disc disease through repeated deformation of the drive. Physical stimulation can be applied to the cervical spine continuously and periodically to aid in rehabilitation. In addition, because of the driving method using the shape memory alloy wire, it operates smoothly without noise and vibration compared to the driving method using a general motor, so that the user can feel more comfortable when driving the device than the existing automatic physical therapy device. .

1 is an external perspective view of the present invention automatically variable cervical spine pillow
Figure 2 is an internal schematic view of the present invention variable variable cervical spine pillow head support portion,
Figure 3 is a detailed view of the internal variable cervical vertebral support pillow drive region of the present invention.

The present invention consists of a head support portion 23 including an upper body cushion 18 capable of supporting a user's back and back and a driving portion 1 capable of changing a shape. In the head support portion 23, the head restraint 15 and the main body of the driving portion 1 which transmits driving force and displacement thereto are firmly fastened by the frame bottom 19 and the frame 20. An actuator made of shape memory alloy wire 17 is connected to a horizontal rack 12 that moves along a guide formed inside the body of the drive section 1, and both ends of the wire come out of the body and have a large pulley 16a and a small pulley. A route is formed along 16b and then is fastened to the wire fixing portion 21. When current is connected by connecting electrodes at both ends of the shape memory alloy wire 17, the temperature rises due to heat generation by electrical resistance, and when it exceeds a certain temperature, it becomes a specific ratio (3-4%) of the total wire length. Contraction. At this time, since both ends of the shape memory alloy wire 17 is fastened to the wire fixing part 21, when the shrinkage occurs in the longitudinal direction, the horizontal rack 12 connected to the wire moves in that direction. This movement is transmitted to the spur gear 4 in engagement with the horizontal rack 12 and to the vertical rack 13 through the compound gear 5 in engagement therewith. In this process, the amount of amplification of displacement is determined by the gear ratio of two large and small gears fixed to one shaft in the compound gear 5. When no current flows through the shape memory alloy wire 17, the compression coil spring 14 exists between the main body of the driving part 1 and the horizontal rack 12. The user's load transmitted along the rack 13, compound gear 5, spur gear 4, horizontal rack 12 can be supported by the initial elastic force of the compression coil spring 14. When driving is generated by flowing a current through the shape memory alloy wire 17, the horizontal rack 12 moves as the wire contracts and simultaneously compresses the compression coil spring 14. When restoring the current to restore the shape memory alloy 17 to its original length, the head restraint 15 is lifted back to its original position by using the restoring force of the compression coil spring 14. The shape memory alloy wire 17 can exert only the pulling force in the shrinking direction as the temperature increases and cannot exert the force in the process of restoring the original length to the original length. Therefore, by using the elastic force and the restoring force of the compression coil spring 14, it is possible to support the head and neck load of the user and at the same time return the lowered head restraint.

The present invention supports the function of lowering the height of the head restraint and lifting it back to its original position while supporting the head load of the user only by controlling the flow of current through the above components and a series of operating principles. Can be implemented. This allows the user to perform cervical extension exercises that lean back the neck even when the user is lying down, and uses his power to change the height of the head rest and the load on the head without having to lean back the neck. This allows for this movement manually. The maximum shrinkage of a shape memory alloy wire is a fixed value as a percentage of the total length, but the rate at which deformation occurs depends on how quickly the wire reaches the temperature at which deformation occurs. Therefore, by controlling the amount of current flowing through the wire, it is possible to control the speed of contraction of the wire, and thus the user can also control the speed of tilting his head back in the lying position of the user.

1: Drive part body
4: spur gear
5: compound gear
12: horizontal rack
13: vertical rack
14: compression coil spring
15: Headrest
16a: large pulley
16b: small pulley
17: shape memory alloy wire
18: upper body cushion
19: frame bottom
20: frame
21: wire fixing part
23 head support

Claims (5)

Device comprising an upper body cushion (18) capable of supporting the user's back and waist and an actuator consisting of a shape memory alloy to deform the shape of the head support (23).
The upper body cushion 18 which can support the user's back and waist has a height from the waist of the user to the neck.
A device consisting of a wedge in which teeth gradually rise.
In claim 1, the head support portion 23 is a driving portion that can automatically adjust the height of the shape memory alloy wire 17 according to the change of temperature due to the action of the current based on the driving force without the user's separate operation automatically Device inherent in (1).
The upper body cushion 18 that can support the user's back and waist is formed in the shape of a wedge in which the height gradually rises from the user's waist to the neck, and the head support portion 23 is caused by a thermal action of electric current. Apparatus incorporating a drive portion (1) capable of automatically adjusting the height of the shape memory alloy wire (17) according to the temperature change based on the driving force without the user's separate operation.
In claim 3, the head support portion 23 is determined by the degree of shrinkage of the shape memory alloy wire 17 according to the temperature increase due to the thermal action of the current using a combination of the rack (12, 13) and the gear (4, 5) Apparatus comprising a drive portion (1) capable of amplifying and transferring linear displacement to the head restraint (15).

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