US3226160A

US3226160A - Operating chair head rest

Info

Publication number: US3226160A
Application number: US302039A
Authority: US
Inventors: Richard W Page
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1963-08-14
Filing date: 1963-08-14
Publication date: 1965-12-28
Anticipated expiration: 1982-12-28

Description

Dec. 28, 1965 w, PAGE 3,226,160

OPERATING CHAIR HEAD REST Filed Aug. 14, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 if INVENTOR f/rx fieo 14 P466 Dec. 28, 1965 R. w. PAGE OPERATING CHAIR HEAD REST 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 14, 1963 G IM.

INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,226,160 OPERATING CHAIR HEAD REST Richard W. Page, 307 Quaker Road, Chappaqua, NY. Filed Aug. 14, 1963, Ser. No. 302,039 4 Claims. (Cl. 297410) This invention relates to operating chairs, such as dental chairs, and more particularly to head constructions for such chairs.

Typical head rests, as now used, generally take the form of a pair of pads for the patients head, with vertical and otherwise adjustable supports. The patients head is not fixed in position by the head rest and cannot be supported satisfactorily when the head is turned to one side. There may also be considerable interference with the dentist in taking suitable working positions in back of the patients head.

The general object of the present invention is to provide an improved head rest eliminating these defects. The head rest typically takes the form of a concave oval cushioned member receiving the patients head and limiting both vertical and sidewise movement thereof, together with a support providing a full range of linear and angular adjustment.

With this general object, as well as others which will appear, in mind, a head rest embodying the invention in a preferred form will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing, and the features forming the invention will then be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a dental chair equipped with a preferred embodiment of the head rest of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the head rest, on an enlarged scale;

FIG. 3 is a rear elevation of the head rest structure of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are further enlarged sections on the respective lines 44 and 55 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a further enlarged section on the line 66 of FIG. 3;

FIGS. 7 and 8 are sections on the respective lines 7-7 and 88 of FIG. 6; and

FIG. 9 is a much enlarged fragmentary section on the line 9-9 of FIG. 2.

The chair shown in FIG. 1 is of generally conven tional construction comprising a seat 1 supported on a vertically adjustable pedestal 2. Arms rests 3 are also supported for sidewise pivotal movement by member 4 secured to the bottom of the seat structure or post 2 and moving vertically with the seat. The back 5 is carried on a post 6 which is, in turn, slidably carried by column 7 which is secured to a yoke structure 9 pivoted for fore and aft movement to the bracket 10 secured to the bottom of the seat 1 and top of the pedestal 2. The lower end of column 7 is pivotally connected at 11 to a member for adjusting its inclination with respect to the seat 1. This mechanism provides, in the usual way, for tiltably adjusting the support 7 and back 5 with reference to the seat 1, so that the patient may be in any desired position from a supine position to an upright sitting position. Further details of the chair arrangement are not shown therein, as they form no part of the present invention.

A cross piece 20 secured to the back of the chair back 5 carries a downwardly extending bar 21 and the lower member 22 of the head rest supporting column is pivotally secured to the bar 22, as by pin 23. Upper member 24 of the column slides within the lower member 22 to provide vertical head rest adjustment and its upper end comprises a bent section 25 and horizontal terminal section 26 which supports the head rest 30.

Generally parallel to the telescoped column 22-24 and "ice

upper sections

25, 26 is a control rod 31 which is pivotally and slidably carried in a tube 32, which is pivotally supported to one side of member 22 by ring 33 and a block 34 mounted on the member 22 by means of bracket 35.

Rod 31 engages by means of collar 36 one end of a latch member 37, pivoted to the member 24 at 38. The other end of the latch member is urged upwardly by a spring 39. Grasping the horizontal end 40 of the rod 31 together with the end 36 of member 24 and squeezing them together lifts rod 31, depressing the other end of latch 38 and depressing release rod 41 secured thereto. The release rod extends into member 22 and connects to a pawl 42 pivoted to member 24 (FIGS. 6-8). Pawl 42 cooperate-s with ratchet teeth 43 formed on a strip 44 secured to the member 22. With the parts in the position of FIG. 8, pawl 42 engages ratchet teeth 43, holding up the column member 24 in its adjusted position, and spring 39 holds the pawl in engaged position. Lifting rod 31 depresses rod 41, disengaging the pawl 42 and permitting member 24 and the parts supported thereby to be adjusted upwardly and downwardly with reference to member 22 for positioning the head rest 30.

The fore and aft pivotal movement about the pin 23 of the head rest supporting assembly as a whole is also provided, and this is controlled by the mechanism shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. As there shown, the offset end 45 of support element 20 carries a bar 46 which is vertically slidable in slot 47 of the offset 45 and held in position by nuts or collars 48 which have suflicient clearance from member 45 to permit a vertical sliding movement in the slot 47. The bar 46 passes through a channel in the block 34, which is secured (by plate 49) to member 22 as above mentioned. This channel communicates with an opening 50 in block 34 which accommodates tubes 32 and rod 31 therein as well as a cam projection 51 secured to the tube 32 and locking block 34 to bar 46 when turned into the position of FIGS. 6 and 7. Turning tube 32 and cam projection 51 (counter clockwise in FIG. 6) will clear the cam projection 51 from the bar 46 and permit pivoting movement of column 22 and elements carried thereby about the axis of pin 23, so that the head rest may be adjusted in the fore and aft direction as desired and then locked in position by turning the rod 31 back to the position of FIGS. 6 and 7.

A rectilinear lateral adjustment for head rest 30 is also provided, the head rest being supported in the horizontal section 26 by means of a shaft 55 which may he slid in and out of the section 26. Shaft 55 is provided with a series of circumferential grooves 56 cooperating with a ball detent 57 to urgingly lock the shaft in adjusted position, while permitting its free rotation about its own axis within the member 26.

A further lateral pivotal adjustment of the head rest is provided, by means of the pivotal joint 58 connecting the head rest supporting bar 59 to shaft 55. The center pin of this hinge is threaded on its upper end and fitted with a wing nut 60 for locking the hinge in adjusted position. The hinge elements may be knurled or ridged as indicated to maintain them in their adjusted position.

The head rest itself comprises a support member or backing plate which may be formed integral with element 59 previously referred to. This element is of an oval configuration, as viewed in FIG. 3, and is concave or dished as appears in FIGS. 4 and 5. The padding 66 is of a similar oval, concave form and may be bonded to the backing plate 65 in molding or secured adhesively thereto thereafter. While various padding materials may be used, molded foam such as polyurethane foam is found suitable. The concavity is such as to receive the head with more or less uniform supporting pressure over the entire pad and in particular with definite supporting pressure around the a periphery of the pad, the supported area as viewed in FIG. 3 being about five or six inches in width and seven or eight inches in length. It is apparent any turning movement of the headreleases the pressure of the pad on one side and increases that on'the other, tending to restore the head to centered position. In practice, it is found that accidental movement of the patients head in the head rest is effectively prevented, so that the head is definitely located and supported in a firm but comfortable manner.

To facilitate the adjustment of member 24 within member 22, it is preferably provided with a roll 61 riding against the wall of member 23 to one side of the ratchet strip 44 and a, similar roll 62 carried by the element 22 maintains the element 23 in position adjacent the top of member 22.

What is claimed is:

1. A head rest for dental and other operating chairs comprising a concave, oval head rest element having a rigid backing member and resilient facing adapted to engage and support the patients head over an area extending substantially the entire width and height of the backing member, the said head rest element being at least about five inches wide and seven inches long, and means for supporting the said backing member in head supporting relation to the chair, the last said means comprising a support member and means for positioning the support member adjustably in a fore and aft direction and a direction upwardly and downwardly of the chair back, and means mounting the backing member to the said support member for pivoting about an axis substantially at right angles to the twosaid directions.

2. A head rest according to claim 1, in which the said mounting means comprises a hinge connection having an axis substantially parallel to the vertical axis of the backing member, whereby tilting the heat rest element about the said hinge axis positions it for supporting the head in a position turned to one side, and means for locking the said hinge connection in adjusted position.

3. A head rest for dental and other operating chairs comprising a concave, oval head rest element having a rigid backing member and resilient facing adapted to engage and support the patients head over an area extending substantially the entire width and height of the backing ,member, the said head rest element being at least about five inches wide and seven inches long, and means for supporting the said backing member in head supporting relation to the chair, the last said means comprising a generally horizontal shaft element secured to the backing member midway between its upper and lower ends and means supporting the shaft member for rotation about its axis and in which the said shaft supporting means comprises a hinged joint adjacent an edge of the head rest element for pivoting the same about an axis parallel to its vertical axis and means for locking the said hinged joint in adjusted position.

4. A head rest for dental and other operating chairs comprising a concave, oval head rest element having a rigid backing member and resilient facing adapted to engage and support the patients head over an area extending substantially the entire width and height of the backing member, and means for supporting the said backing member in head supporting relation to the chair, the last said means comprising a support member, means mounting the backing member tothe said support member for pivoting about a transverse axis, and means for positioning the support member adjustably in a fore and aft direction and a direction upwardly and downwardly of the chair back, the last said means comprising a support bracket member secured to the chair back and extending downwardly therefrom, a tubular column and means pivoting the same at its lower end to the support bracket member, a slidable support for the last mentioned support member comprising a lower section slidably received in the tubular column and upper sections disposed at an angle for positioning the head rest element above the chair back and centrally thereof, locking means for securing the said tubular column in adjusted angular position about its pivot and for securing the slidable support member in adjusted position axially of the tubular column and an operating member for the said locking means, comprising a rod slidably supported on the tubular column and extending upwardly and in general parallelism to the slidable member, the said rod terminating in a section adjacent the head rest element, whereby this section may be squeezed together with the slidable support for releasing the said locking means to permit desired adjustment of the head rest, and spring means normally urging the said rod toward locking position.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 435,056 8/1890 Dow 297407 2,638,152 5/1953 Pulsifer 297-410 2,740,467 4/ 1956 Page 297-410 2,828,811 4/1958 McDonald 297409 FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner.

Claims

1. A HEAD REST FOR DENTAL AND OTHER OPERATING CHAIRS COMPRISING A CONCAVE, OVAL HEAD REST ELEMENT HAVING A RIGID BACKING MEMBER AND RESILIENT FACING ADAPTED TO ENGAGE AND SUPPORT THE PATIENT''S HEAD OVER AN AREA EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY THE ENTIRE WIDTH AND HEIGHT OF THE BACKING MEMBER, THE SAID HEAD REST ELEMENT BEING AT LEAST ABOUT FIVE INCHES WIDE AND SEVEN INCHES LONG, AND MEANS FOR SUPPORTING THE SAID BACKING MEMBER IN HEAD SUPPORTING RELATION TO THE CHAIR, THE LAST SAID MEANS COMPRISING A SUPPORT