WO2004082555A1

WO2004082555A1 - Dental treatment chair provided with a burl padding

Info

Publication number: WO2004082555A1
Application number: PCT/EP2004/002845
Authority: WO
Inventors: Reinhold Von Bank; Karlheinz Rapp; Andreas Speh; Franx Xaver Boeckh
Original assignee: Kaltenbach & Voigt Gmbh & Co. Kg
Priority date: 2003-03-20
Filing date: 2004-03-18
Publication date: 2004-09-30

Abstract

The invention relates to a medical chair, in particular to a dental treatment chair (1) or a working chair for a doctor or auxiliary staff comprising a padded seating surface (3) and/or a padded back (5). According to said invention, a padded surface (13, 15) is provided with a patchy structure allowing air to circulate and enabling humid air produced by transpiration to be removed.

Description

Dental treatment chair with nub upholstery

The present invention relates to a chair for use at a medical treatment station, in particular a dental treatment chair or a work chair for a doctor or for an assistant, the chair having a padded seat and / or backrest. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a cushion for one of the above-mentioned chairs or a film or a layer of fabric for covering a cushion.

Chairs in medical workplaces usually have a completely smooth, water-repellent surface for reasons of hygiene. The reason for this is that a chair with a smooth surface is much easier to clean than chairs that are covered with a rough fabric or have a rough surface. For a chair that e.g. is intended for a lying position of a person, for example in a dental treatment chair, this has the consequence, however, that this person comes to rest on the chair over a relatively large area. Since air circulation is not possible on the smooth surface, this can increase the patient's tendency to perspiration, which greatly impairs comfort when lying down.

Fabrics and materials that allow air to circulate have been known for a long time, but these fabrics generally have the disadvantage that they do not have a smooth surface and are therefore difficult to clean. However, simple cleaning of a treatment chair is essential due to the hygiene regulations for medical workplaces.

The above-mentioned problems also occur in the case of chairs which are intended for the doctor or for an auxiliary person. For hygienic reasons, these chairs should also be easy to clean, i.e. they should have a surface that is as smooth as possible. However, this is in turn associated with the disadvantage that an insufficient air circulation can result in an increase in temperature which causes the person to perspire.

The present invention is therefore based on the object of specifying a possibility of improving the sitting or lying comfort of people in a medical workplace with a view to a balanced temperature balance when sitting or lying on the chairs. At the same time, appropriate cushioning should give people a comfortable feeling of sitting or lying down. The object is achieved by a medical chair according to claim 1 and by a cushion for a medical chair according to claim 14 or a film or fabric layer for covering a cushion according to claim 15.

The solution according to the invention consists in forming the surface of the upholstery in such a way that it has an uneven structure. For this purpose, the upholstery preferably has a plurality of protruding islands or strips - in particular knobs, grooves or the like - which are surrounded by regions of lower height.

The surface shape of the upholstery according to the invention achieves a reduced contact area between the chair and the patient or the doctor or the auxiliary person. The sitting or lying comfort is improved, since the punctiform support can cause greater deflection, making the chair appear softer for the person overall. At the same time, the lower-lying areas between the protruding islands or strips enable air circulation in which the moist air which arises due to perspiration is removed. The air circulation thus cools the surface of the seated or lying person, so that the tendency to perspiration is basically reduced.

The protruding islands or strips preferably have a diameter or a width of approximately 1-30 mm and a height between approximately 1 mm and 10 mm. For example, they can have a drop-like or a flame-like shape and are oriented uniformly in particular over a larger area of the upholstery. This uniform orientation means that the upholstery can still be cleaned well, despite the fact that it is no longer completely flat.

According to an advantageous development, the protruding areas are filled with a special material, for example with a gel-like or a quasi-viscous material, which enables an additional pressure distribution and thus further increases the sitting or lying comfort. This material has the additional advantage that it is also a good conductor of heat and can therefore dissipate the heat of the patient or the doctor or the auxiliary person well via the remaining contact zones. As a result, the reduction in body temperatures on the surface of the person is improved and a further reduction in perspiration is achieved. According to another advantageous development, the lying comfort on a dental treatment chair can also be increased further in that the padding has, in addition to the protruding islands or strips, additional channels which roughly follow the anatomical shape of the human body. These channels have a smooth base and represent another depression compared to the other areas of the upholstery - in particular also compared to the conventional areas of lower height. For example, the backrest of a dental treatment chair can have a central channel which runs in the longitudinal direction and is arranged in a recessed manner and which opposes one another divides the head area in a V-shape. This defines a preferred lying position for the patient, so that the patient can be comfortably accommodated in this predetermined position. However, since the patient in turn does not rest on the base areas of these channels, air circulation is also made possible here, which enables the desired lowering of the temperatures of the surface of the patient. The effectiveness of these channels is even so high that a significant increase in lying comfort can be achieved with these channels alone, ie without using the knobs described above.

The invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Show it:

Figure 1 shows a dental treatment chair according to the present invention in an overall view.

2 shows an enlarged illustration of the backrest provided with an upholstery according to the invention;

3 shows an enlarged illustration of the seat surface which is likewise designed according to the invention; and

4 and 5 the mode of operation of the uneven surface of the upholstery according to the invention when a patient is lying on the treatment chair.

The treatment chair shown in FIG. 1 initially has a base 2 lying on the floor, which forms the holder for a pivotable seat 3. On the back of the seat 3, a backrest 5 is also pivotally attached via a joint, which is connected on its upper side to a head cushion 7 via a further joint device 6. The seat surface 3 and the backrest 5 are provided with a cushion 13 or 15 according to the invention, the design of which can be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3. The special embodiment consists in that the smooth surface material of the upholstery 13 or 14 has several protruding knobs or islands 14 and 16 which protrude slightly from the surface of the upholstery 13, 15. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the islands 14, 16 have a drop-like or flame-like shape and are separated from one another by regions of lower height. The knobs 14, 16 can have any structure or shape per se, as long as they do not themselves form an excessively large contact surface for the patient. They preferably have a length of approximately 30 mm and a height of approximately 5 mm.

It should be mentioned that the knobs 14 and 16 are oriented approximately uniformly, as can be seen from the illustration. This is advantageous because it makes cleaning of the uneven surface of the patient chair easier and thus the hygienic requirements can be met without additional effort.

The entire padding 13 or 15 consists of a material, for example a cured foam, which is at least slightly flexible. It is possible to completely form the cushion, that is to say also the protruding islands 14, 16 from the same material. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the islands 14, 16 are again filled separately with another material. A gel-like material is preferably used for this purpose, which is formed from two liquid components which come into contact with one another and thereby give an almost solid or quasi-viscous material. Such a material is sold, for example, under the name "Technogel" and is used in shoe or sports articles, for example in bicycle saddles or running shoes, as well as in wheelchair seat cushions or in the motor vehicle industry. It is based on a polyurethane and is due to its low degree of networking particularly flexible and highly elastic.

The use of the gel as a filling for the knobs 14, 16 further increases the patient's lying comfort, since the pressure distribution through the gel knobs is additionally increased. At the same time, the gel also has a high thermal conductivity, so that good heat dissipation of the patient and thus a reduction in the body temperature on the surface takes place via the remaining contact zones. Instead of the gel described above, however, other materials, for example viscous liquids or the like, can also be used. In the exemplary embodiment described above, the protruding knobs or islands 14 or 16 were formed by the cushion itself. In addition, however, there is also the possibility of using a cushion with a flat core and enveloping it with a cover, for example a film or a layer of fabric, which has the knobs and brings about the uneven structure according to the invention.

The patient's lying comfort is further increased by a further measure, which will be explained below with reference to FIG. 2. As can be seen from this illustration and FIG. 1, the back padding 15 additionally has a longitudinal channel 17 which runs approximately in the center of the backrest 5 and which divides in a V-shape toward the head region of the patient. This channel 17, which, as shown in FIG. 2, represents a further depression in the backrest 5 in comparison to the surrounding areas of the upholstery, in particular also in comparison to the conventional areas of lower height in the area of the knobs, has a smooth base and is about 9 cm wide. It roughly follows the anatomical shape of a person, so that a defined contact surface is formed in which the patient is comfortably seated. In this case, however, this channel is at least so deep that the patient does not at least lie completely on the bottom side of the channel 17, but also a certain air circulation is made possible within the channel 17.

The operation of the channel 17 and the protruding knobs 14 and 16 can be seen in FIGS. 4 and 5. These figures clearly show that the patient 10 resting on the chair only rests on the knobs 16, so that the entire contact surface between chair 1 and patient 10 is significantly reduced. As can be seen in particular from the sectional illustration in FIG. 5, air circulation is made possible in the areas of lower height, so that the tendency of the patient to perspire is significantly reduced. FIG. 5 also clearly shows that air circulation is also made possible within the channel 17 and thus also contributes to lowering the temperature. The defined positioning of the patient 10 with the help of the channel 17 of the backrest 5 can also be seen in FIG. 4.

The design of the upholstery according to the invention thus contributes significantly to improving the patient's well-being. On the one hand, the upholstery conveys a comfortable lying feeling, on the other hand it helps to reduce the surface temperature of the body and at least reduces its tendency to perspire. The upholstery according to the invention can not only be used in the patient chair shown. The chairs for the attending doctor or for an auxiliary person can also be designed with an appropriately designed seat or back cushion. Furthermore, in the treatment chair shown, the lying surface could also have corresponding channels, which form a defined bearing for the two legs of the patient.

Claims

Expectations

1. Medical chair, in particular a dental treatment chair (1) or work chair for a doctor or an assistant, with a padded seat (3) and / or backrest (5), characterized in that the surface of the upholstery (13, 15) is a has uneven structure.

2. Medical chair according to claim 1, characterized in that the uneven structure of the upholstery (13, 15) is realized by protruding islands (14, 16) or strips which are surrounded by areas of lower height.

3. Medical chair according to claim 2, characterized in that the diameter of the islands (14, 16) or strips and / or the intermediate areas of lower height is between approximately 1 mm and approximately 30 mm.

4. Medical chair according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the islands (14, 16) or strips have a height between about 1mm and about 10mm.

5. Medical chair according to claim 4, characterized in that the islands (14, 16) or strips have a height of about 5mm.

6. Medical chair according to one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that the islands (14, 16) or strips are uniformly oriented over a larger area of the upholstery (13, 15).

7. Medical chair according to one of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that the islands (14, 16) are drop or flame-shaped.

8. Medical chair according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the projecting structural areas (14, 16) of the upholstery (13, 15) contain a viscous liquid.

9. Medical chair according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the projecting structural areas (14, 16) of the upholstery (13, 15) contain a gel-like or quasi-viscous material.

10. Medical chair according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the viscous liquid or the gel-like or quasi-viscous material is a good heat conductor.

11. Medical chair according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the padding (13, 15) has channels (17) which are recessed relative to the surrounding areas of the padding (13, 15), approximately the anatomical shape of a human body Follow (10) and have a smooth bottom.

12. Medical chair according to claim 11, characterized in that it is a dental treatment chair (1) and the upholstery (15) for the backrest (5) has a longitudinal central channel (17) which extends towards the head area V-shaped divides.

13. Medical chair according to claim 12, characterized in that the central channel (17) has a width of approximately 9 cm.

14. upholstery (13, 15) for the seat surface (3) or backrest (5) of a medical chair, in particular a dental treatment chair (1) or a work chair for a doctor or an assistant, characterized in that the surface of the upholstery ( 13, 15) has an uneven structure.

15. film or fabric layer for covering a seat and / or back cushion (13, 15) for a medical chair, in particular a dental treatment chair (1) or a work chair for a doctor or an assistant, characterized in that the surface of the film or fabric layer has an uneven structure.

16. cushion or foil or fabric layer according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that the uneven structure is realized by protruding islands (14, 16) or strips which are surrounded by areas of lower height.

17. cushion or film or fabric layer according to claim 16, characterized in that the diameter of the islands (14, 16) or strips and / or the intermediate areas of lower height is between about 1mm and about 30mm.

18. cushion or film or fabric layer according to claim 16 or 17, characterized in that the islands (14, 16) or strips have a height between about 1mm and about 10mm.

19. cushion or film or fabric layer according to claim 18, characterized in that the islands (14, 16) or strips have a height of about 5mm.

20. cushion or film or fabric layer according to one of claims 16 to 19, characterized in that the islands (14, 16) or strips are uniformly oriented over a larger area of the cushion (13, 15).

21. cushion or film or fabric layer according to one of claims 16 to 20, characterized in that the islands (14, 16) are drop or flame-shaped.

22. cushion or film or fabric layer according to one of claims 14 to 21, characterized in that the above structural areas (14, 16) of the cushion (13, 15) or the film or fabric layer contain a viscous liquid.

23. Upholstery or film or fabric layer according to one of claims 14 to 21, characterized in that that the projecting structural areas (14, 16) of the upholstery (13, 15) or the film or the fabric layer contain a gel-like or quasi-viscous material.

24. cushion or film or fabric layer according to claim 22 or 23, characterized in that the viscous liquid or the gel-like or quasi-viscous material is a good heat conductor.

25. cushion or film or fabric layer according to one of claims 14 to 24, characterized in that this or these channels (17), which are recessed relative to the surrounding areas of the cushion or film or fabric layer, approximately the anatomical Follow the shape of a human body (10) and have a smooth base.

26. upholstery or film or fabric layer according to claim 25, characterized in that it is a cushion (15) or a film or a fabric layer for covering a cushion (15) for the backrest (5) a dental treatment chair (1 ) and that the cushion (15) or the film or fabric layer has a longitudinal central channel (17), which divides in a V-shape towards the head area.

27. cushion or film or fabric layer according to claim 26, characterized in that the central channel (17) has a width of about 9cm.