WO2003051159A1

WO2003051159A1 - Chair for spinal therapy

Info

Publication number: WO2003051159A1
Application number: PCT/KR2002/002362
Authority: WO
Inventors: Soo-Ho Bae
Original assignee: Soo-Ho Bae
Priority date: 2001-12-17
Filing date: 2002-12-16
Publication date: 2003-06-26
Also published as: AU2002366297A1

Abstract

The object of this invention is to provide a chair for spinal therapy. The chair has a height adjusting unit (12), including two parallel vertical slots (10a) formed on a backrest (10). An air cylinder (13) is vertically set in the backrest to be mounted to a seat (11) at its lower end. A horizontal support (14), having one connector (14a) at each of both ends of the support (14), is mounted to an upper end of the air cylinder (13). Two support frames (17) are connected to the two connectors (14a), respectively, and hold a spine support (15), with one armpit support (16) provided at each of both ends of the lower part of the spine support (15). The chair pulls the waist and the back of a patient upward while maintaining the curvature of the patient's spine, thus relaxing the spine to treat and prevent spinal disorders.

Description

CHAIR FOR SPINAL THERAPY

Technical Field

The present invention relates, in general, to a chair for spinal therapy and the prevention of spinal diseases such as herniated disc diseases (hernia of intervertebral discs) and, more particularly, to a chair for spinal therapy wherein armpit supports for supporting a sitter's armpits are mounted on the backrest, a spine support, having a width-adjusting unit mounted inside the backrest, is coupled to the backrest. The spine support in front of the backrest moves vertically in response to operation of a pneumatic cylinder actuator mounted inside the backrest, thereby allowing the width of the backrest to be adaptively adjusted to the sitter's physical conditions; with this configuration, the chair according to the present invention can be used adaptively for a variety of physical conditions of a sitter or physical conditions of a variety of sitters. In addition, when a sitter is sitting in the chair according to the present invention, the sitter's back and waist will be comfortably relaxed, thereby preventing possible spine diseases. At the same time, the chair according to the present invention leads the sitter to sit in the chair in an orthopedically correct posture.

Background Art

As well known to those skilled in the art, these days many people including students and white-collar workers have spent lots of time sitting on chairs in their daily lives. Where a person is working while sitting in a chair for a long time, the weight applied to his/her spine (or spinal column) is about 1.5 times greater than he/she is standing up. The spine is a supple column in the body (called spinal column). In the center of the spine is positioned the spinal cord extending from the brain lengthwise along the back in the vertebral canal, whereby all the functions of the body are controlled and coordinated. The spine functions to support a person's weight and protect the spinal cord, an extension pipe transmitting commands from the brain to respective parts of the body.

When a human body's 24 vertebrae protecting the spinal cord, the pelvis and the skull are maintained in good order, the person can be said to be healthy.

The spine, formed by connecting the 24 vertebrae, also functions as a loop connecting the pelvis and the skull in the middle. When each of the vertebrae is in good order, the person can work and move without troubles in the spinal cord or the spinal nerves. However, when the vertebrae are not in good order, the spinal nerves passing between the vertebra joints start to become compressed, whereby a variety of troubles in the nervous system are caused. These troubles in the nervous system possibly cause relevant organs of the body to become deteriorated in function and the abilities of the immune system is also declined, thereby possibly bringing about serious diseases to the person.

Such diseases may result from a variety of causes such as bad posture, bad eating habits, bad lifestyle choices, lack of exercise, stress, accidents, etc. Among these, displacement of the spine due to a serious accident or heredity has been regarded as a disease. Even a very slight displacement of the spine can cause a variety of diseases.

In profile, a human's spine is viewed as being a large "S," functioning as a huge flat spring so that the human's weight is very well dispersed. Viewed from the front, the human spine is straightly extended without curve, well balancing the left and right side of the body.

If the straight line and the curved line of the spine are deformed, the weight of the body would result in pressing the body with great stress, thereby causing small changes in the spine. To endure the dislocated vertebrae and the weight, the muscles around them are tensed up and solidified. This solidified muscles press the spinal nerves or neighboring nerves and cause great pain, and this pain in turn brings about more pressure, thereby causing a vicious circle of pain.

Generally, a chair is comprised of a seat to sit on, supporting a sitter's posterior and holding a lower part of the body while the sitter is sitting in the chair, the backrest supporting around the back of the body, and legs supporting the seat and the backrest, as separated from the ground to a desired height. Optionally, armrests may be formed over both sides of the seat, allowing the user to lay his/her arms thereon comfortably. In somatology, while a person is sitting in a chair, the weight of the upper part of the body is directly conveyed to the spine and the backside. In this regard, if the sitter is sitting in the chair for a long time, stress is weighed on the spine, the backside and muscles around them, thereby likely causing fatigue or pain in the sitter's waist and back. Where the sitter cannot maintain a correct posture because he/she is sitting in the chair with a bad posture or the chair has any design errors, spinal diseases such as herniated discs (hernia of intervertebral discs) or scoliosis may be caused.

As described above, when any abnormalities are caused in the spine (back of the body) due to any errors in designing the chair or the sitter's bad posture, such spinal diseases have been remedied by means of oriental acupuncture or physical therapy, etc. or otherwise treated manually by chiropractic therapy, which is a therapy for balancing the vertebra and body.

In the case of those who are unable to receive professional treatment for spinal diseases, devices have been used for spinal therapy lo prevent or treat the spinal diseases. Among the spine-correcting devices generally used, there is a device for making a user stand upside-down to stretch the spine. However, this device has served only to extend the tissues around the spine, but hardly affects extension of the spine itself. Especially, since a user cannot retain the physiological curvature of the spine column (that is, S-shaped curve), such a device has not brought much permanent relief to the user. Further, it has been dangerous for hypertensive people to use this device. In addition, a bed for spinal correction (that is, a traction bed) having a horizontally flat top board has been commercially available, wherein the neck bone and the spine are drawn in a lengthwise direction while a user is laying on the bed, or the upper body and the lower body of the user arc respectively swung in a reverse direction while the user's neck bone and the spine are in a drawn state, thereby widening the intervals between the vertebrae constituting the spine, to thereby allow the core of a prolapsed spine to recover its original position, finally to correct the spinal cord.

However, in this bed for spinal correction, since the top board is flat, it is not adaptive to maintain the human spine's physiological curvature. In addition, since the tissues around the spine are forcibly drawn, the muscles become strained and the strained muscles cause some side effects in the body. Most of all, this bed has not brought the satisfactory effect of extending the spine joints.

Especially, since the treatment by fixing the jaw and pulling the body may cause a dislocation of jaw joints, causing further problems, this method of treatment must be chosen only after careful consideration. Further, since the bed for spinal correction is expensive, ordinary patients can use such a bed only in clinics specialized in treating spinal diseases.

Disclosure of the Invention

Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a chair for spinal therapy, wherein armpit supports for supporting sitter's armpits are mounted on both sides of a backrest, a spine support is equipped with a width-adjusting unit inside the backrest, vertical slots are formed in parallel on both sides of the backrest, through which the spine support moves up and down on the backrest, and support frames of the spine support are mounted to the top end of the height-adjusting unit, formed with a pneumatic cylinder actuator and a horizontal support, in the inner central part of the backrest, through the vertical slots, thereby preventing spinal disease and remedying pain in the back of sitter, by easily adjusting the height of the spine support with the use of the height-adjusting unit, adaptive to a variety of physical conditions of the sitter, extending the sitter's waist and back by the armpit supports, thus relaxing the spine.

In order to accomplish the above objects, the present invention provides a chair for spinal therapy with a seat supporting a sitter's posterior, a backrest closely contacting the sitter's back, and legs supporting the seat and the backrest as separated by predetermined heights from a support surface, comprising a spine support equipped with armpit supports on both sides of the backrest, wherein a pneumatic cylinder actuator operating by air pressure is mounted inside the backrest and support frames of the spine support are mounted to a horizontal support coupled to the top end of the pneumatic cylinder actuator.

The spine support is externally coupled to the front of the backrest, coupled to the height-adjusting unit mounted inside the backrest so as to allow it to move up and down along the backrest, and the "U"-shaped armpit supports are formed below both ends of the spine support.

The spine support has a width-adjusting unit inside thereof, so as to adjust the width of the armpit supports adaptive to the sitter's physical dimensions, and is enclosed with a cover which is made of vinyl leather or natural leather and packed with a cushion material while covering the width-adjusting unit. The chair for spinal therapy according to the present invention is so configured such that the sitter retains the natural physiological curvature ("S"- shaped curve) of the body owing to the spine support mounted in front of the backrest if the sitter leans his/her upper body on the backrest after he/she has sat in the chair, spinal joints in addition to the back and the waist of the body are extended if the sitter puts his/her armpits on the armpit supports of the spine support after he/she has sat in the chair and moves the spine support upward by means of a control lever, thereby relieving pain of the sitter having spinal diseases and simultaneously preventing spinal diseases.

Brief Description of the Drawings The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a chair according to the present invention; Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the chair according to the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a side view of a backrest of the chair according to the present invention;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing a combination of a spine support included in the chair according to the present invention; and

Fig. 5 is a side view showing a user sitting in the chair according to the present invention.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

Reference should now be made to the drawings, in which the same reference numerals are used throughout the different drawings to designate the same or similar components.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a chair according to the present invention,

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the chair according to the present invention,

Fig. 3 is a side view of a backrest of the chair according to the present invention, and Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing a combination of a spine support included in the chair according to the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, the chair for spinal therapy according to the present invention is comprised of a pair of parallel vertical slots 10a, formed on both front sides of a backrest 10 which supports a sitter's back, a height-adjusting unit 12 mounted inside the backrest 10, formed with a pneumatic cylinder actuator

13 and a horizontal support 14, a pair of armpit supports 16 in a U-shaped configuration, mounted to a pair of connectors 14a formed on both ends of the horizontal support 14, and a pair of support frames 17 of a spine support 15 equipped with a width-adjusting unit 20 inside thereof. The spine support 15 vertically coupled to the height-adjusting unit 12 by the support frames 17 relative to the front of the backrest 10 is shaped in a rectangle, wherein two frames 21a and 21b equipped with the width-adjusting unit

20 in the inside of the spine support 15 are enclosed with covers 26 which are made of vinyl leather or natural leather and packed with cushion materials. The support frames 17 extending downward from both sides of the spine support 15 are coupled to the connectors 14a of the horizontal support 14 inside the backrest 10.

The armpit supports 16 mounted below both sides of the spine support 15 are "U"-shaped so as to allow the sitter's armpits to be supported thereon. The armpit supports 16 are rotatably mounted so that they are opened outward to both sides when they are not in use. Preferably, the armpit supports 16 are constructed of a cushion material enclosing an outer circumference thereof, so that the armpits of people with sensitive skin are not hurt due to pressure, applied to the armpits when the armpits are laid over the armpit supports, and tensioning force applied thereto from the height-adjusting unit 12.

The width-adjusting unit 20 mounted inside the spine support 15 is comprised of the left and right frames 21a and 21b in the U-shaped configuration symmetrical on both sides, and sliding bars 22 horizontally extended inward from ends of the left and right frames 21a and 21b, one side of which is formed with a toothed part 22a to form a rack. The ends of the sliding bars 22 are coupled to an upper circumferential face and a lower circumferential face of a pinion gear 25, respectively, so as to allow the sliding bars 22 to be horizontally moved inside a rectangular gear box 23, the center of which is hollow.

At this time, the left and the right frames 21a and 21b horizontally move through brackets 24 supporting the upper and lower parts of the frames 21a and

21b, formed with the support frames 17 vertically extending downward below the brackets 24.

A supporting bar 27 connected to the center of the gear box 23 is constructed to be coupled to each bracket 24 so as to allow the left and right frames 21 and 21b to penetrate therethrough, whereby the weight applied thereto through the armpit supports 16 of the spine support is dispersed. The height-adjusting unit 12 to which the spine support is coupled is mounted vertically inside the backrest 10, includes the pneumatic cylinder actuator

13 comprising a piston rod 13b vertically coupled on a supporting stand 12a and a cylinder 13a whose inside is filled with pressurized air, enclosing the piston rod 13b to move up and down relative to the piston rod 13b.

To the top of the cylinder 13 a is mounted the horizontal support 14 equipped with the connectors 14a on both ends thereof, through which the support frames 17 of the spine support 15 are inserted. The spine support 15 is firmly mounted to the connectors 14a of the horizontal support 14 through the vertical slots 10a formed in front of the backrest 10, and moves up and down in front of the backrest 10 in response to upward and downward movement of the cylinder 13a inside the backrest 10.

The pneumatic cylinder actuator 13 is vertically mounted on the supporting stand 12a attached to the bottom surface of a seat 11 at a position under the backrest 10. The cylinder 13a of the pneumatic cylinder actuator 13 moves up with the air pressure by manipulation of a control lever extending laterally from the supporting stand 12a while being coupled to the supporting stand 12a. To move the cylinder 13a down, the air pressure is removed by pressing the control lever 18 down and then the cylinder 13a moves down due to pressure through the top end of the cylinder 13a.

Inside the vertical slots 10a formed on both sides of the backrest 10 and vertically relative to the backrest 10 are adhered a pair of rails 19 in parallel with the vertical slots 10a, thereby allowing the horizontal support 14 moving along with the cylinder 13a to be guided upward and downward. The operating processes of the chair for spinal therapy with the above- described configuration according to the present invention when a sitter is sitting in it will be described with reference to FIG. 5, which is a side view showing a sitter sitting in the chair according to the present invention. As illustrated therein, if a sitter leans his/her upper body on the backrest 10 after he/she has sat down by placing his/her posterior on the seat 11, the spine support 15 exteriorly coupled in front of the backrest 10 comes into close contact with the backrest 10, thereby allowing the upper body of the sitter to retain its physiological curvature in nature.

If the sitter's armpits are laid over the armpit supports 16 of the spine support 15 and the control lever 18 extending laterally from the seat 11 is manipulated, air pressure is applied to the pneumatic cylinder actuator 13 having the cylinder 13a and the piston rod 13b inside the backrest 10, thus allowing the spine support 15 to move upward.

At this time, the sitter's upper body retains its physiological curvature owing to upward movement of the spine support 15, the intervals between the spinal joints are coordinated as the upper body is extended by the length that the spine support 15 has moved, and the spine in a bad posture is smoothly relaxed, thereby relieving the pain on the sitter's waist.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the height of the frames moving up and down inside the backrest may be adjusted, in connection with the height-adjusting unit, by means of a control lever mounted on the bottom of the seat, and the length of the coupled left and right frames may by adjusted by means of the width-adjusting unit operated by a rotating handle on the rear of the backrest, thereby adjusting the width of arm support stands projected outside the backrest. With this configuration, the frames inside the backrest move downward during normal operation, thereby allowing the arm support stands to be used as arm rests, but the frames move up by the control lever to allow the arm support stands to come into close contact with the sitter's armpits when the pain is present in the back or waist or the sitter is simply taking a rest.

Industrial Applicability

As described above, the present invention provides a chair for spinal therapy, wherein a spine support, mounted on both sides of a backrest with armpit supports supporting user's armpits, is coupled to a horizontal support of a height- adjusting unit mounted inside the backrest through a pair of support frames extending downward from the spine support. A pneumatic cylinder actuator moves up and down owing to air pressure by manipulation of a control lever, thereby relieving pain in the user's back and/or waist caused by pressure to the nerves around them, and, at the same time, preventing possible spine diseases, by supporting the sitter's armpit area on the armpit supports of the spine support and adjusting the height of the spine support by means of the control lever, thereby relaxing the spine by allowing the sitter's back and waist to be drawn upward while retaining the body's physiological curvature.

The chair for spinal therapy according to the present invention is advantageous in that the height adjustment and width adjustment of the spine support can be easily made with the use of the height-adjusting unit and the width- adjusting unit, with appropriately manipulating the control lever adaptively to a variety of physical conditions while a sitter is sitting in the chair. In addition, the spine support can be constructed so as to be detached from the backrest as desired, and therefore, the chair according to the present invention can optionally be used in correcting a sitting posture or remedying a spine disease of the sitter as occasion demands.

Claims

1. A chair for spinal therapy, with a seat for supporting a sitter's posterior, a backrest for supporting a sitter's back, and legs for supporting the seat and the backrest as separated by predetermined heights from a support surface, comprising: a pair of vertical slots formed in parallel with each other inside the backrest; a height-adjusting unit mounted inside the backrest, formed with a pneumatic cylinder actuator, a lower end of which is vertically supported in the seat, and a horizontal support mounted to a top end of the pneumatic cylinder actuator, with connectors provided at both ends of the horizontal support; and support frames respectively mounted to the connectors so as to hold a spine support having armpit supports on both side lower parts thereof.

2. The chair for spinal therapy according to claim 1, wherein said height- adjusting unit comprises: a supporting stand mounted to a bottom surface of the seat; the pneumatic cylinder actuator formed with a piston rod vertically standing on the supporting stand and mounted inside the backrest, and a cylinder filled with pressurized air therein and enclosing the piston rod to move up and down owing to air pressure; and the horizontal support mounted to a top end of said cylinder of the pneumatic cylinder actuator, with the connectors mounted to both ends of the horizontal support.

3. The chair for spinal therapy according to claim 1, wherein said spine support comprises a width-adjusting unit inside thereof, formed with U-shaped frames symmetrical on both sides, sliding bars inwardly extending from ends of the U-shaped frames and each having a toothed part on one side thereof, the support frames extending directly below brackets through which the U-shaped frames penetrate to be inserted, so that ends of the sliding bars are cross coupled to an outer circumferential face of a gear inside a central gear box and, at the same time, the sliding bars are moved horizontally, and supporting bars respectively extending from the brackets to support four sides of the central gear box.