Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61G—TRANSPORT, PERSONAL CONVEYANCES, OR ACCOMMODATION SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PATIENTS OR DISABLED PERSONS; OPERATING TABLES OR CHAIRS; CHAIRS FOR DENTISTRY; FUNERAL DEVICES
  • A61G5/00—Chairs or personal conveyances specially adapted for patients or disabled persons, e.g. wheelchairs
  • A61G5/10—Parts, details or accessories
  • A61G5/1056—Arrangements for adjusting the seat
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61G—TRANSPORT, PERSONAL CONVEYANCES, OR ACCOMMODATION SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PATIENTS OR DISABLED PERSONS; OPERATING TABLES OR CHAIRS; CHAIRS FOR DENTISTRY; FUNERAL DEVICES
  • A61G5/00—Chairs or personal conveyances specially adapted for patients or disabled persons, e.g. wheelchairs
  • A61G5/10—Parts, details or accessories
  • A61G5/12—Rests specially adapted therefor, e.g. for the head or the feet
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61G—TRANSPORT, PERSONAL CONVEYANCES, OR ACCOMMODATION SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PATIENTS OR DISABLED PERSONS; OPERATING TABLES OR CHAIRS; CHAIRS FOR DENTISTRY; FUNERAL DEVICES
  • A61G5/00—Chairs or personal conveyances specially adapted for patients or disabled persons, e.g. wheelchairs
  • A61G5/10—Parts, details or accessories
  • A61G5/12—Rests specially adapted therefor, e.g. for the head or the feet
  • A61G5/121—Rests specially adapted therefor, e.g. for the head or the feet for head or neck
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61G—TRANSPORT, PERSONAL CONVEYANCES, OR ACCOMMODATION SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PATIENTS OR DISABLED PERSONS; OPERATING TABLES OR CHAIRS; CHAIRS FOR DENTISTRY; FUNERAL DEVICES
  • A61G5/00—Chairs or personal conveyances specially adapted for patients or disabled persons, e.g. wheelchairs
  • A61G5/10—Parts, details or accessories
  • A61G5/12—Rests specially adapted therefor, e.g. for the head or the feet
  • A61G5/122—Rests specially adapted therefor, e.g. for the head or the feet for the back
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61G—TRANSPORT, PERSONAL CONVEYANCES, OR ACCOMMODATION SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PATIENTS OR DISABLED PERSONS; OPERATING TABLES OR CHAIRS; CHAIRS FOR DENTISTRY; FUNERAL DEVICES
  • A61G5/00—Chairs or personal conveyances specially adapted for patients or disabled persons, e.g. wheelchairs
  • A61G5/10—Parts, details or accessories
  • A61G5/12—Rests specially adapted therefor, e.g. for the head or the feet
  • A61G5/125—Rests specially adapted therefor, e.g. for the head or the feet for arms
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61G—TRANSPORT, PERSONAL CONVEYANCES, OR ACCOMMODATION SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PATIENTS OR DISABLED PERSONS; OPERATING TABLES OR CHAIRS; CHAIRS FOR DENTISTRY; FUNERAL DEVICES
  • A61G5/00—Chairs or personal conveyances specially adapted for patients or disabled persons, e.g. wheelchairs
  • A61G5/10—Parts, details or accessories
  • A61G5/12—Rests specially adapted therefor, e.g. for the head or the feet
  • A61G5/127—Rests specially adapted therefor, e.g. for the head or the feet for lower legs
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61G—TRANSPORT, PERSONAL CONVEYANCES, OR ACCOMMODATION SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PATIENTS OR DISABLED PERSONS; OPERATING TABLES OR CHAIRS; CHAIRS FOR DENTISTRY; FUNERAL DEVICES
  • A61G5/00—Chairs or personal conveyances specially adapted for patients or disabled persons, e.g. wheelchairs
  • A61G5/10—Parts, details or accessories
  • A61G5/12—Rests specially adapted therefor, e.g. for the head or the feet
  • A61G5/128—Rests specially adapted therefor, e.g. for the head or the feet for feet
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61G—TRANSPORT, PERSONAL CONVEYANCES, OR ACCOMMODATION SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PATIENTS OR DISABLED PERSONS; OPERATING TABLES OR CHAIRS; CHAIRS FOR DENTISTRY; FUNERAL DEVICES
  • A61G5/00—Chairs or personal conveyances specially adapted for patients or disabled persons, e.g. wheelchairs
  • A61G5/04—Chairs or personal conveyances specially adapted for patients or disabled persons, e.g. wheelchairs motor-driven

Definitions

• the present device is intended to ameliorate the strains caused by spasms and dystonias (especially those related to extension) in diseased subjects in particular when they are seated onto dynamic seating systems, such as push or motorized wheelchairs.
• the present invention relates to a device designed as a dynamic seating system for disabled people or subjects suffering from dystonias, primarily those related to extension. Spasms and contractions from which these patients suffer tend to be particularly fatiguing for the subjects and seriously put the durability of their wheelchairs to the test.
• the present device is a wheelchair, the supports of which are completely articulated by means of springs and dampeners, so that all the strains do not rest on the patient nor on the wheelchair .
• a dynamic seating system is that allowing for and supporting a controlled, balanced movement while providing stability to the individual who uses the device.
• a dynamic seating system is a seating system reacting to the forces exerted by the user and somehow allows the extension of the hip joint and/or the adjustment of the backrest.
• Dynamic seating systems are explicitly designed to resist to and follow the sudden, vigorous and strong movements of the user.
• the object of the present invention is an adjustable modular wheelchair, with points of contact with the patient being all dampened.
• this wheelchair as compared to a fixed wheelchair, is provided with the following degrees of freedom:
• a suitably sized wheelchair based on the anthropometric sizes of the patient (as are generally commercially available) brings the rotation joints of the wheelchair close to those of the patient, significantly improving the efficacy of the system.
• a further adjustment used by the device object of the present invention is that related to the positioning of the containment belts so that no pressure is exerted on the abdomen, but only on the iliac crests (district where no pain is caused to the patient) .
• leaf springs are used for the flexion and extension of the footrest (i.e., the flexion and extension of the ankle) hinged upon the support tube of the footrest itself; also, the footrest may be pushed in the direction of the tibia (longitudinal axis of the leg) : gas springs are used (compression spring and gas dampener integrated in a single cylinder) which are calibrated to control and support the extension along the tibial axis; it is worth noting how it is necessary to use a small mechanism to convert the extension of the mechanical structure to a spring compression, since compression springs may have a greater resistance and it is very difficult to find extension springs capable of bearing loads which are typical of dystonic spasms.
• the leg may extend freely by rotating around an articulation positioned at the knee level; the return is slightly dampened by the extension tube included.
• the seat pan is hinged on the front horizontal tube which connects the two half frames of the wheelchair. In turn the seat pan is made integral with the patient by means of belts adjustable in position along the sides of the seat pan itself. Rubber elements dampen the contact between half frames and seat pan.
• the backrest may rotate about an axis coinciding with the transverse axis of the pelvis. It is capable of tilting while remaining supported by a gas (compression) spring. Finally, the headrest, which is secured to the backrest, may be pushed backwards. In this movement, it is always supported by a gas (compression) spring.
• a walking assistance device which transforms from a chair to a rollator is described in US Patent No. 6,619,681 (Charlie Gutierrez, Delano Association for the developmentally disabled, Delano, 2003) ; it provides for the assisting device being articulated.
• a device for personal mobility having a partially dynamic seat pan is described in US Patent 2005/00229866 (Wayne Hanson et al . , Bozeman, MT, 2005).
• InterCo GmbH manufactures wheelchairs with a dynamic seating system called Aktivline.
• Pro Medicare has developed a wheelchair with a dynamic seating system called Adacta Klim.
• the seating systems built so far provide, in order to function, the simultaneous involvement of seat pan and backrest (in some cases also the footrests), which are tightly bound to each other and thus limit the movement of a district to a movement which is induced by another district; thereby, the extension schemes are not followed, involving the single districts in a non- constrained manner.
• the present patent as compared to existing solutions, addresses the problem in its entirety, without limiting to a few musculoskeletal districts.
• This type of approach is completely innovative, in fact it allows any type of strains to be discharged and not delocalized to other districts.
• the advantages of this dynamic seating systems are apparent:
• the present patent seeks to address the problem by summarizing the various solutions, introducing new ones (e.g. the rotation of the footrest corresponding to the rotation of the ankle) , and using all the components synergistically (all the articulations of the seating system work together simultaneously, each supporting the strain of the musculoskeletal district of interest) , and optimizing all the components based on the requirements of the user (for the correct functioning of the device it is worth attempting to have the anatomic rotation axes coinciding with those of the articulated seat pan) .
• the present patent in order to obtain the maximum efficacy of the dynamic wheelchair, not only does it use a wheelchair which can be adjusted based on the anthropomorphic sizes of the user, but also shifts the axes of the knee and hip joints (main districts where spasms are located) so that better results are obtained.
• a further advantage is the modular nature of the assisting device: the wheelchair object of the present invention does not establish that all the segments are dynamic, but it is possible to implement only those that are strictly necessary to obviate the discomforts related to a specific disease. For example, those who suffer from head trauma are likely to require the dynamic footrest only and not the other segments or, if they show rigidity of the trunk, the dampened backrest will be required, but not the dynamic seat pan (but rather the positioning device of the pelvic belt) .
• Figure 1 shows the device in its complete configuration, in the two configurations of rest and extension .
• Figure 2 shows the detail of the headrest dampening .
• Figure 3 shows the dampening movement of the backrest.
• Figure 4 shows the adjustment of the tilting plane of the seat pan.
• Figure 5 shows the possibility to rotate the seat pan plane in order to follow a situation of spasticity.
• Figure 6 reports the possibility to extend the legs around the knee joint.
• Figure 7 shows the possibility to drive the footrest away from the knee and the dampening system thereof .
• Figure 8 shows the rotation of the footrest and the return spring thereof.
• Figure 1 shows the proposed device in its complete possibility to articulate. There are to be found the dampening system 1 of the headrest, the rotation 2 of the backrest, the rotation 3 of the seating plane, the rotation 4 of the cushion with respect to the seating plane, the rotation 5 of extension of the knee, the extension 6 of the footrest, and the rotation 7 of the footrest itself.
• Figure 2 shows the detail of the dampening system 1 of the headrest, in its configuration at rest (top) and in its compressed configuration (bottom) .
• rod 9 also slides into the guide 10 integrally fixed to rod 11 and, through the latter, to the frame.
• Gas springs 12 follow the pushing movement and then restore the rest position. They are secured to the supports 13 integral with the guide 10 (and thus with the frame) and with the sliding rod 9.
• FIG 3 shows the rotation mechanism 2 of backrest 14.
• the backrest 14 by being subjected to the pushing movements of the back, rotates about the hinge integral with the frame.
• Backrest 14 is integral with the lever 16 which, by rotating, then compresses the gas spring 17, the other end of which is secured to the frame. Thereby, the spring 17 still follows the movement and, once the pushing movement from the back is ended, returns the backrest 14 to its rest position.
• Figure 4 shows the rotation mechanism 3 of the seating plane 18.
• the seating plane 18 may rotate about the hinge 19 integral with the frame, once the relevant unlock lever 20 is actuated. Such a rotation is dampened by the gas spring 21.
• Figure 5 shows the rotation 5 of the cushion plane 22 about the tube of the seating plane 23.
• the cushion plane 22 is caused to rotate by the user' s pelvis which is secured by means of containment belts which engage the sliding supports 24 which are movable along guides 25.
• the rotation occurs by virtue of hinges 26 and the return is dampened by rubber dampeners 27.
• Figure 6 shows the rotation 5 of the leg rest system 28 about hinge 29 by means of an articulated parallelogram-shaped system.
• Figure 7 shows the extension 6 of the footrest 30.
• tube 31 slides into tube 32, which acts as a frame.
• Tube 31 when sliding, also brings down tube 33 which is connected to the gas spring 3 .
• the other end of the gas spring 34 is connected to the tube 31.
• the gas spring 34 returns the footrest 30 to its rest position.
• Figure 8 shows the rotation 7 of the footrest 30 under the pushing movement of the feet and ankle of the user.
• the footrest 30 rotates about the tube 35 by virtue of the hinge 36 and, once the pushing movement of the user ends, the laminated ( or leaf) spring 37 returns it to its rest position.
• the system may be equally implemented with two half footrests, even entirely independent when the tube 35 is divided into two independent halves: this would allow for asymmetrical pushing movements of the two lower limbs (different extensions around the knee axis, different pushing movements with a tendency to push the footrest away, different rotations of the ankle and foot) .

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• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Public Health (AREA)
• Veterinary Medicine (AREA)
• Otolaryngology (AREA)
• Orthopedics, Nursing, And Contraception (AREA)
• Percussion Or Vibration Massage (AREA)

Priority Applications (2)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

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Family Applications (1)

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Cited By (1)

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Citations (11)

Family Cites Families (2)

• 2012
  • 2012-04-12 IT IT000042A patent/ITPI20120042A1/it unknown
• 2013
  • 2013-04-11 DK DK13775228.3T patent/DK2836184T3/en active
  • 2013-04-11 WO PCT/IB2013/000784 patent/WO2013153446A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2013-04-11 EP EP13775228.3A patent/EP2836184B1/en active Active

Patent Citations (11)

Non-Patent Citations (5)

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