US2715557A

US2715557A - Adjustable headrest for chiropractic treatment

Info

Publication number: US2715557A
Application number: US366943A
Authority: US
Inventors: George L Rock
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1953-07-09
Filing date: 1953-07-09
Publication date: 1955-08-16
Anticipated expiration: 1972-08-16

Description

G. L. ROCK Aug. 16, 1955 ADJUSTABLE HEADREST FOR CHIROPRACTIC TREATMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 9, 1953 M. M Md j 7 4:7 Am 6 f? 1 Hi. WM g I 13 F l I l mmew l fixr III I M 5 5 fil Z G. L. ROCK Aug. 16, 1955 ADJUSTABLE HEADREST FOR CHIROPRACTIC TREATMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 /24 F, 7mm" Z w% A; m 5 g a i j gy w 75 6 M w M IN V EN TOR. Ge07ye Zl%% BY United States Patent Oiifice Z,715,5 57 Patented Aug. 16, 1955 ADJUSTABLE HEADREST FUR CHIROPRACTIC TREATMENT George L. Rack, Jonesviile, Mich.

Appiication July 9, 1953, Serial N 0. 366,943

10 Claims. (Cl. 311-40) The present invention relates to a novel apparatus for chiropractic treatment, and more particularly to a novel yieldable section, such as a headrest for use with chiropractic tables, benches, and the like.

As is well known, many chiropractic treatments are carried out by applying pressure to the patient in order to obtain a desired adjustment of the vertebrae. One problem encountered by the person administering the treatment is the application or" just the right amount of pressure to obtain the desired results. This problem is particularly acute when it is necessary to apply the pressure with a sudden movement since the doctor is unable to gauge the pressure accurately. When insufiicient pressure is applied, it is obvious that the desired treatment or adjustment will not be efiected, and if too much pressure is applied, the patient may be subject to undue pain and, in addition, the desired results may not be obtained. It is, therefore, a primary object of the present invention to provide a novel apparatus for use in chiropractic treatment, whereby a predetermined pressure may be consistently applied for a given treatment.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel apparatus for chiropractic treatment, whereby a predetermined pressure may be applied with a sudden motion to obtain the desired adjustment of the patient.

A more specific object of the present invention is to provide a novel apparatus for use in chiropractic treatment which includes a movable table section or the like on which the patient may rest, which table section is retained against movement until a predetermined pressure has been applied to the patient.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novel apparatus of the above described type, wherein movement of the table section is relatively rapid upon the application of a predetermined pressure, and such movement is abruptly stopped to facilitate a desired adjustment of the patient.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a novel apparatus of the above described type which is of simple and economical construction and which is easy to operate.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. l is a fragmentary side elevational view, illustrating a chiropractic table embodying the novel features of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the chiropractic table shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical cross sectional view taken along line 3-3 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view taken along line 4-4 in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary cross sectional view taken along line 55 in Fig. 4;

Figs. 6 and 7 are fragmentary cross sectional views similar to Fig. 5, but illustrating the operation of the novel apparatus of this invention;

connected with the top Fig. 8 is a cross sectional view taken along line 8-8 in Fig. 5;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken along line 9-9 in Fig. 5; and

Fig. 10 is a perspective view illustrating a novel element of this invention.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings, wherein like parts are designated by the same numerals throughout the various figures, a chiropractic table 12 illustrating the principles of this invention is shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The table 12 includes a main body section 14 and a headrest table section 16 mounted on the main table section by the adjustable means fully shown and described in my co-pending application, Serial No. 366,949, filed July 9, 1953.

The principles of the present invention are illustrated by the novel headrest 18 mounted on the table section 16 and shown best in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. The headrest 18 includes a base plate member 20 which is adapted to be section 16 by a plurality of pins 22 extending into suitable apertures in the top section. A second plate member 24 is superimposed on the plate member 28 and is pivotally connected thereto by hinges 25 and 26 and

pivot pins

28 and 30. A suitable padding 32 of any conventional design adapted to receive the head of a patient is secured to the upper plate member 24 by any suitable means such as screws 34. With this structure, it is seen that the upper plate member 24 and the padding thereon are mounted for pivotal movement about the pins 23 and to and from upper and lower positions.

The plate member 24 is normally retained in its upper position by the structure shown best in Figs. 4, 5, and 8. This structure includes a housing 36 disposed in a slot 38 in the upper plate member 24 and having a generally vertical disposed bore 40 with an open bottom end. The housing also includes a generally horizontally extending hollow section 42 for a purpose described fully hereinbelow. A plate member 44, which is secured to the housing by any suitable means, such as welding or brazing, is provided with suitable apertures for receiving screws 46 for securely connecting the housing to the plate member 24.

In order to urge the plate member 24 to its upper position, a pin 48 (see Fig. 10) is slidably mounted in the vertical bore 40 of the housing 36, as shown best in Figs. 5 and 8. The pin 43 is provided with a bore 50 for receiving a compression spring 52, which compression spring acts between the bottom of the bore 50 and the top of the housing 36 to urge the pin downwardly. The lower end of the pin 48 enters a suitable recess 54 formed in the lower plate member 20 and engages a plate 56 closing the bottom of the recess and secured to the plate member 20 by suitable bolt assemblies 58. It is believed to be obvious that downward movement of the pin 48 is limited by the plate 56, and, thus, the spring 52 resiliently biases the plate member 24 toward its open position. In order to prevent the pin 48 from rotating in the bore 40, a screw 60 is threaded into the housing 36 and is provided with a pin 62 entering an elongated vertical slot 64 in the side of the pin 48. After the apparatus has been assembled, upward movement of the plate 24 is limited by means of a pair of screws or the like 66 and 68 threaded into the lower plate member 20 and extending upwardly through aligned apertures in the housing plate 44 and the upper plate member 24. The upper ends of the

screws

66 and 68 are provided with enlarged heads 70 and 72, respectively, which are slidable in

bores

74 and 76 in the upper plate member and limit upward movement of the plate member 24 by engagement with the bottoms of these bores. While the upper plate member 24 is preferably made of wood, it is protected flexing andadjustment fore, the action of the spring 52 tending to raise the plate against undue wear from sliding contact with the

screws

66 and 68 since the housing plate member 44 is preferably made of metal and provides bearings slidably receiving the screws;

When a patient the head of the patient rests on the padding 32, and the doctor applies a downward pressure so that the padding and the upper plate member 24 move'downwardly until the upper end ofv the pin 48 engages-the top of the housing 36, whereupon such downward movement is abruptly arrested. In accordance with a'featur'e of the present invention, means is provided for preventing such downward movement of the plate member 24 until the desired pressure has been applied to the patient. In addition,-as will appear "from the description hereinbelow, this means indicates the exact moment when the doctor should relieve the pressure. This means is shown best in Figs. 5, 6, 7, and 9 and includes aplunger 78 slidably mounted in the hollow horizontally extending housing section 42. The 1.

plunger 78 is normally urged toward the left when viewed in Fig. '5 by means of a compression spring 80 acting between the plunger and a plug 82 threaded into the end of the housing section 42. The plunger 78 includes a finger 84 which extends into the housing :bore 40 for engagement with the pin 48. As shown in Fig. 5, the free'end of the plunger is cut away to provide an inclined cam surface '86 cooperable with a similarly inclined cam surface a 88 on the pin 48 for restraining :upward movement of and thus restraining the pin relative to the housing 36, downward movement of the plate 24. These cam surfaces are constructed so that when downward pressure is applied to the plate member .24, the plunger 78 islforced toward the right against the action of the compression spring 80. The spring 80 is constructed so as tofresist such movement until a predetermined pressure has been applied by the doctor. In addition, the prede'termined is to be treated, it is understood that While the operation of the above described apparatus is believed to be clear to those skilled in the art, a brief description of the operation is as follows. The patient is first positioned on the table 12 with his head resting on g the padding 32. The doctor then applied downward pressure with his hands to the correct location on the patient.

The doctor applies increasing pressure untila desired predetermined amount has been reached, whereupon the plunger 78 is camrned toward the right until the

cam surfaces

86 and 88 disengage from each' other.

24 move rapidly downwardly until the top of the pin 48 engages the top of the housing. If desired, one or more sponge rubber blocks 100 may be secured to the upper plate member in the manner shown in Figs. 3 and 4 to is sufficiently rapid and abrupt so that it is impossible for the doctor to remove the pressure before the lower limit pressure may be'adjusted by controlling the initial compression'of the spring 80 with thethreaded plug 82.

When the predetermined downward pressure has been applied to the plate member 24, the plunger 78 moves toward the right so that the cam surfaces 86 and .88 disengage from each other as shown'in Fig. 6 to provide a quick release, When :the parts are inFig 6 position, it will be understood that the holding or retaining affect of the spring 80 is substantially neutralized by reason of the relative shifting of the

cam surfaces

86, 88 to inoperative holding position andthe plate member 24 moves rapidly downwardly until the top of the pin 48 en'gages the top of the housing 36, as shown best in Fig. 7.

After the downward movement of the upper plate member 24 has been abruptly stopped, it is desirable to prevent rebound of the plate member in order to' allow proper .of the patients muscles. Theremember 24'is neutralized by engagement of an upwardly facingabutment surface 98 onthe plunger finger with .a downwardly facing abutment or stop surface 92provided by a recess 93 in the side of the pin '48. The locking engagement of these

surfaces

90 and 92 when the plate member 24 is in its'lowermost positionlis illustrated in Fig. 7. v

In order to release the locking surfaces 90 and 92 and permit the spring 52 to raise the plate member 24, an

actuating rod 94 is secured to the plunger and extends outwardly through aligned bores in the threaded plug 82, theplate member 24, and'the padding 32, as shown best in Figs. 3 and 4. A knob 96 is secured "to the outer end of the rod '94, whereby the rod may be pulled outwardly, thereby tordisengage the locking surfaces '90 and 92. In order to prevent the plunger from turning during actuaof movement has been reached and the patient has been correctly treated.

. From the above description, is seen that-the present invention has provided a novel and simple apparatus,

whereby the application of a predetermined pressure for a given treatment is assured. In addition, it is seen that the novel apparatus of the present invention not only indicates to thedoctor thatthe correct pressure has been applied, but also indicates substantially the exact moment when he should start vto relieve the pressure. Further.

more, it is seen that while the present invention has pro-- vided resilient means for retaining the padding against downward movement until the predetermined pressure has been applied, means has also-been provided to ,pre-

vent rebound of the padding, thus allowing proper adustment of'the patients muscles. It will be understood that while the principles of the present invention have been described with particular reference to a headrestfor V achiropractic table, the same. principles may beapplied tion by the rod and to assure proper initial assembly, a

b'lock'9 8 is secured within the housing, as shown in Figs. 5., 6, 7., and '9, for engagement with the upper surface 90 of-theplunger finger.

to other sections of a chiropractic table.

While the preferred embodiment of the presentinvent1on has been shown and described herein, it is obvious that many structural details maybe changed without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims].

I claim: V

1. In an apparatus foruse in chiropractic treatment,

a member for supporting a portion of the .body of .a

patient, means mounting said member for movement to and from upper and lower positions, :means for normally retaining said member in said upper position and operable to permit said member to be'moved to ,said lower position,

and resilient means for locking said last namedmeans .to prevent downward movement of said member until a predetermined downward pressureis applied to said member and for releasing said member for downward movement when said predeterminedpressure is applied thereto.

2. I-nan apparatus for use'in chiropractic treatment, a

member for supporting a portion of the body of apatient, means mounting said member for movement to. andfrom upper and lower positions, resilient means for. normally supporting said member in said upper position,

means for retaining said member substantially at said upper position during the application of downward pressure thereto until said pressure is built up to a;pre,determined amount and for releasing said member whensai'd predetermined amount of pressure has been applied for movement against the action of said resilient means-and to said lower position, and means operable when .said member is adjacent said lower :position to render said resilientmeans inefiec'tive, whereby to eliminate substantially rebound of said member.

When this I occurs, the padding section and the upper plate member 3. In an apparatus for use in chiropractic treatment, a base member, a support member movably mounted above said base member for movement to and from upper and lower positions, which support member is for supporting a portion of the body of a patient, pin means mounted on one of said members for movement to and from extended and retracted positions, said pin means when in its extended position being operatively engageable with the other of said members for retaining said support member in its upper position, and spring means for retaining said pin means in its extended position during the application of downward pressure to said support member until said pressure is built up to a predetermined amount and for releasing said pin means when said predetermined amount of pressure has been applied and permitting downward movement of the support member.

4. An apparatus, as defined in claim 3, which includes means for abruptly limiting the downward movement of said support member.

5. An apparatus, as defined in claim 3, which includes spring means for resiliently biasing said pin means toward its extended position, locking means for locking said pin means in its retracted position when the support member is adjacent its lower position to prevent substantial rebound of said support member, and means for operating said locking means to release the pin means, there by permitting the pin means to return to its extended position.

6. An apparatus, as defined in claim 3, wherein said pin means and said spring means include cooperating cam surfaces extending at an angle to the direction of movement of the pin means so that upon the application of said predetermined amount of downward pressure, said cam surfaces cause movement of the spring means so as to release the pin means.

7. In an apparatus for use in chiropractic treatment, a base member, a support member movably mounted above said base member for movement to and from upper and lower positions, which support member is adapted to support a portion of the body of a patient, one of said members having an element movably mounted thereon so that a portion of said element is movable toward and away from the other of said members, said element when in one position retaining said support member in its upper position, and resiliently biased cam means engageable with said support element to retain said support element in said one position until a predetermined amount of downward pressure is applied to said support member, whereupon said cam means is operable to release said support element and permit downward movement of the support member.

8. An apparatus, as defined in claim 7, which includes spring means for resiliently biasing said support element towards said one position, and releasable means for locking said support element against movement toward said one position when the support member is adjacent its lower position, whereby to eliminate substantially rebound of said support member.

9. An apparatus, as defined in claim 7, wherein said cam means is mounted for reciprocable movement and includes a cam surface and a locking surface, and said support element includes a cam surface cooperable with said first mentioned cam surface to retain the support element in said one position until the application of said predetermined amount of downward pressure, and said support element includes a locking surface engageable with said first mentioned locking surface to restrain the support element against movement towards said one position after the support member has been moved downwardly to its lower position.

10. In an apparatus for use in chiropractic treatment, a member for supporting a portion of the body of a patient, means mounting said member for movement to and from upper and lower positions, and means retaining said member substantially at the upper position thereof and resistant to downward movement of the number upon application thereto of a downward pressure up to a predetermined amount and including quick release means shiftable upon attainment of the predetermined amount of downward pressure to an inoperative position permitting sudden downward movement of the supporting member to its lower position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,079,795 Naysmith Nov. 25, 1913 1,194,939 Bishop Aug. 15, 1916 1,269,354 Williams June 11, 1918 2,381,922 Norris Aug. 14, 1945 2,571,829 Buckley Oct. 16, 1951