HK1171938B - Support and containment structure for persons - Google Patents

Description

Personal support and containment structure

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a personal support and containment structure for persons who are unable to maintain a sufficient functional body posture, such as a disabled person. In particular, the invention is preferably applied to a person having a movement disorder to be supported, such as a backrest, a corset or other for his/her torso, which can accompany him/her with a sufficient degree of flexibility (flexibility) for his/her daily activities.

Background

For those who are not able to maintain a sufficient functional body position, for example disabled persons, it is known that they must be supported by a sufficient support in order to be able to ensure a certain degree of stability, comfort and freedom of movement, thus allowing them to participate in daily activities. In fact, a correct posture enhances life support and enhances personal abilities.

Disabled persons have different support needs depending on the type of pathology affecting the disabled person and the defects that need to be compensated for in posture.

In addition, disabled persons often require support structures that accompany them in their daily activities, depending on the activities they are going to perform during the day, such as eating, reading, moving, the structures they need are more or less flexible in order to be able to adapt to the individual's physiological needs.

Conventional support and containment structures are known, for example, to be applied to brackets, chairs or otherwise, to contain the torso or pelvis of a (continain) disabled person. These structures use a single frame, typically made of a hard plastic material, and have a standard ergonomic shape.

Such structures are usually padded and lined with sponge or other material in order to make them more comfortable, and additional accessories are used in order to improve the function of the posture, depending on the needs and type of user.

One disadvantage of the traditional solution is that it only proposes the most "standardized" pathological conditions: in fact, said support and containment structure has a fixed rigidity and poor adjustability, irrespective of whether the user has a good control of his/her movements or suffers uncontrollable body spasms.

In the first case, the disabled person needs a structure that ensures greater mobility, and in the second case, he/she needs a more rigid structure.

A support and containment structure is known comprising a support member, mainly longitudinally extended on a single sheet, so as to be able to support the spine of the disabled during mobility.

This solution has the disadvantage that it cannot be easily personalized and adapted to the individual characteristics and the needs of the person for whom it is intended.

This is because if the intermediate element is made of a flexible material, subsequent stiffening is unlikely and vice versa, which makes the structure unable to conform to the continuous physiological adjustment to which the trunk of a disabled person may be subjected over time.

Another disadvantage of this solution is that the fixed, non-adjustable intermediate element is not suitable for all disabled persons, but only for those with more standard pathological characteristics and more general body conformation.

Another disadvantage of this solution is that there are many warehouse accessories present, which makes the management of the warehouse expensive and complex.

Other known solutions, on which the invention is based to be improved, are also described in the documents WO-A1-02/22067 and EP-A2.2.070.501.

The aim of the present invention is to achieve a support and containment structure for disabled persons that can be personalised so as to be able to adapt to the various types of needs of the user and of their actions by means of a flexible structure that allows an accurate but not fixed adjustment, is able to follow a little action of the person, assists them and provides a moderate control of the need. It is therefore the position of the different modules of the support and containment structure and the rigidity of the support and containment structure that are determined by those with disabilities.

The applicant has devised, tested and exemplified the present invention to overcome the shortcomings of the state of the art and to obtain these and other purposes and advantages.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention is characterized by what is set forth and defined in the independent claims, while the dependent claims describe other characteristics of the invention or variants to the main idea of the invention.

In accordance with the above purposes, a personal support and containment structure comprises: at least one support member extending primarily along a longitudinal axis; and at least one containing element, advantageously a group of containing elements.

The at least one containing element is loaded transversely on the at least one support member in order to contain the trunk of the disabled person in a personalized manner.

According to a particular feature of the invention, said at least one support member comprises a set of modular elements selectively adjustable in height and clampable in a stable position by relative clamping means. The modular elements, when used, all together, assume a position (position) substantially adapted to the trunk of the disabled person and coinciding with the user's spine.

Thus, when assembled, the support member and, together with the attached modular elements, the load-bearing column of the support and containment structure, however, the transverse containment elements constitute a personalized rib structure, depending on the application required by the patient and/or the particular user in each case.

According to another variant of the invention, each modular element provides a concave (male) portion and/or a convex (male) portion. Said recessed portion of a modular element cooperates at least partially with said protruding element of an adjacent modular element and vice versa, thus constituting said support member.

According to another variant of the invention, each modular element has a positioning seat shaped laterally for positioning and relatively fixing at least one portion of the relative transverse containing element.

According to another variant of the invention, the transverse housing elements have a set of holes and/or eyelets for positioning the housing assembly and then attaching it in a variable position with respect to the longitudinal support members.

According to another variant of the invention, the clamping means comprise: at least one clamping bar or plate, and at least one locknut to selectively clamp the modular elements in adjustable positions; and at least one accessory element for preventing the locknut from being loosened accidentally due to vibration or other reasons.

According to another variant of the invention, there are two accessory elements, each arranged between the containing element and the support member to which the containing element is attached, and between the support member and the clamping bar or plate, thus stably attaching the modular elements to each other.

According to another variant of the invention, the two accessory elements, each of which can be made of a single piece or possibly of a single piece constituted by a set of fixed elements, have a set of shaped holes and/or eyelets, one for each modular element.

Each modular element of the support member can be arranged in a clamping position which can vary along the hole or eyelet with which it is associated. A close-up position of the modular elements makes the support member stiff, whereas a remote position makes the support member more flexible.

According to another variant of the invention, each containing structure is loaded laterally on the support member by means of a connection (uniting).

According to another variant of the invention, each containing structure is fixed to the support member by means of a hinge element.

According to another variant of the invention, the support and containment structure comprises a stiffening ring, laterally attached to at least two adjacent modular elements, able to provide greater rigidity to the support and containment structure.

According to another variant of the invention, the support and containment structure comprises a hook for assembling it on a seat or a mobile tool for the disabled.

According to another variant of the invention, the support and containment structure comprises at least one additional lateral support applicable to one end of at least one containment element to expand the containment element and make it further enclose the body of the disabled person.

Drawings

These and other features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments, given by way of non-limiting example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a support and containment structure showing the surface for positioning the torso of a disabled person;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the support and containment structure of FIG. 1 for a disabled person;

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the support and containment structure of FIG. 1 for the handicapped, showing the support and containment structure with its surface supported on a cradle, wheelchair or the like;

FIG. 4 is an expanded view of the support and containment structure of FIG. 1 for the handicapped;

FIG. 5 is a front view of another embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 6 and 7 show section A-A and section B-B of FIG. 5, respectively;

fig. 8 is an expanded view of the embodiment of fig. 5.

Detailed Description

With reference to fig. 1, a support and containment structure 10 for disabled persons comprises: a support member 23 extending mainly along a longitudinal axis (Y); and a set of receiving elements 11, arranged transversely and mounted on said supporting member 23, each capable of receiving at least partially a specific part of the trunk of the disabled person.

The support and containment structure 10 has: a front surface, as shown in fig. 1, for receiving the trunk of a disabled person in use, and a rear surface, as shown in fig. 3, for resting or attaching the support and containment structure on or to a mobility means, a transportation means or other means, such as a cradle, a wheelchair, a Zimmer frame, and the like, in use.

In this case, the housing element 11 has different shapes and sizes, according to the position occupied along the support member 23 and according to the part of the disabled person to be supported or housed.

It is clear that they may vary in number according to the shape and size of the containing structure and the part of the torso they are intended to support, according to the disabled or the specific user.

The receiving member 11 is also at least partially bent forward (in the direction indicated by the arrow F in fig. 2) in correspondence with the supporting member 23, thus ergonomically receiving the corresponding part of the trunk of the disabled person.

In this case, as shown in figures 1 and 2, an additional lateral support 20 is loaded at a curved end of a containing element 11 to give the disabled person a better support of the trunk.

To accomplish this, an accessory element 21 is attached to the additional lateral support 20 and cooperates with an accessory element 22, the accessory element 21 being located at the bent end of the housing element 11, here the application position of the additional lateral support 20.

With reference to fig. 1, each containing element 11, at the front part of the support and containing structure 10, has a set of Velcro surfaces 12 to allow covering of the support and containing structure 10 in the manner of a pad (indicated only by reference numeral 30 in the form of embodiment of fig. 8), making it more comfortable.

The support member 23, on which the containing element 11 is loaded, can support the vertebrae of the disabled person, adapting to the curvature of the vertebrae.

The support member 23 comprises a set of modular elements 19, arranged adjacent to each other, substantially aligned in the direction of the Y axis and, in use, adapted to fit all positions of the trunk of a disabled person and to conform to his/her spine.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 1 to 4, each modular element 19 is provided with a recess and/or a projection.

The recessed portion of each modular element 19 cooperates at least partially with the protruding portion of an adjacent modular element 19 and vice versa to form the support member 23.

The mutual positioning of the modular elements 19 can be adjusted according to the desired stiffness/flexibility of the support members 23, since the stiffness of the support members 23 increases the closer the modular elements 19 are placed and overlapped with each other.

In this case, said support and containment structure 10 for disabled persons also comprises: two accessory elements, respectively a front accessory element 13 and a rear accessory element 27, extending in a mainly longitudinal direction; and a set of locknuts 25 and clamping bars 14 as shown in fig. 2 and 4.

Said accessory elements 13 and 27 provide respective eyelets 26 and 28, arranged one after the other in the longitudinal direction.

The attachment element 13 is located between the support member 23 and the receiving element 11, whereas the attachment element 27 is arranged behind the attachment element 13 and between the support member 23 and the clamping bar 14.

More precisely, a containing element 11 is loaded on each modular element 19 of the support member 23, and the accessory element 13 is inserted between them through a corresponding hole 26.

The accessory elements 27 are positioned behind the supports 23, each eyelet 28 being positioned in a corresponding position on the modular element 19.

The stability of the relative position of the modular elements 19 in the direction of the Y axis is ensured by the clamping bars 14 and the locknuts 25.

Each clamping bar 14 has a threaded element 29 which passes through the holes 28 and 26 and through suitable and associated holes made in the modular elements 19 and in the containing elements 11.

Said threaded element 29 cooperates with said locknut 25 associated therewith, thus clamping the corresponding modular element 19 in the desired position.

The attachment elements 13 and 27 are clamped between the locknut 25 and the clamping bar 14 to prevent the locknut 25 from accidentally loosening due to a jarring action.

The intentional loosening of the locknuts 25 allows the modular elements 19 to slide into the eyelets 26 and 28 of the corresponding accessory elements 13 and 27 to change the position of the modular elements 19 with respect to each other according to the specific needs of the disabled person.

In addition, each anti-loose element 25 can be temporarily clamped in correspondence with the eyelets 26 and 28 to determine the mutually stable position of the modular elements 19 with respect to each other.

In this way it is possible to vary the rigidity of the support and containment structure, since the closer the modular elements 19 are together, the greater the rigidity of the support and containment structure, and the greater the flexibility of the support and containment structure, since the modular elements 19 are separated from each other.

By using a pair of reinforcement rings 16 on at least one pair of modular elements 19, as shown in fig. 3, it is possible to impart greater rigidity to the support and containment structure 10.

In addition, in this case, two hooks 15 are laterally attached to a pair of modular elements 19, so as to allow the assembly of the support and containment structure 10 on seating and mobility tools for disabled persons, such as cradles, wheelchairs, zimmer walkers.

The hook 15 is attached to the pair of modular elements 19 by two arms 17, each arm 17 being pierced longitudinally by at least one eyelet 18, the arms 17 also acting to stiffen the support and containment structure 10.

With reference to fig. 5 to 8, another embodiment of the support and containment structure of the present invention is illustrated. The same reference numerals are used for the same or equivalent components as those already described with reference to fig. 1 to 4, and therefore will not be described further below.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 5 to 8, the front attachment element 13 and the rear attachment element 27 are not made of a single piece as in the previous embodiment, but are constituted by a set of flat block elements 31, attached to each other. In this way, the support member 23 can be individually adapted to the particular case and patient or user, depending on the mutual positioning of the plate elements 31, and the number of plate elements.

The flat elements therefore have holes 32, positioned one above the other when assembled, aligned with corresponding holes 33 present on the modular elements 19 and with corresponding holes 34 present on the transverse housing elements 11. The front nut 25 and the rear bolt 125 are inserted respectively in the holes 32, 33 and 34, so that the mutual attachment of all the elements constitutes the support and containment structure 10.

Each modular element 19 has, at a lateral end, a shaped positioning seat 38 for positioning and relatively fixing at least a portion of the corresponding lateral end of the relative transverse containing element 11.

As shown in fig. 8, a plate 35, provided with attachment teeth 36, is associated with each modular element 19 and cooperates with a respective groove 37 to hide visually the accessory elements of the support and containing structure 10.

It is clear that the support and containment structure 10 for individuals as described above can be modified and/or supplemented without departing from the field and scope of the present invention.

Claims (11)

1. A personal support and containment structure comprising: at least one support member (23) which is mainly expanded along a longitudinal axis (Y); and at least one containing element (11), said at least one containing element (11) being assembled transversely on said at least one support member (23) for supporting the trunk of the disabled person, said at least one support member (23) comprising a set of modular elements (19) adjacent to each other, said modular elements being clamped in an adjusted position by means of relative clamping means (13, 14, 35, 25, 125), said modular elements (19) assuming, in use, a position substantially adapted to the trunk of the disabled person and corresponding to his spine, characterized in that: the clamping tool includes: at least a locknut or bolt (25, 125) to clamp the modular element (19) in the adjusted position; and two accessory elements (13, 27) which expand in the longitudinal direction and cooperate with the expansion of the support member (23) and are each arranged between the transverse housing element (11) and the support member (23) and between the support member (23) and a locknut or bolt (25, 125).

2. Support and containment structure for persons as in claim 1, characterized in that each modular element (19) provides a recess (19a) and/or a projection (19b), the recess of each modular element (19) cooperating at least partially with the projection of the adjacent modular element (19) and vice versa, thus constituting the support member (23).

3. Support and containment structure for persons as in claim 1, characterized in that each accessory element (13, 27) is made as a set of flat components (31) attached to each other when assembling the support and containment structure (10).

4. Support and containment structure for persons as in claim 1, characterized in that each accessory element (13, 27) is made in a single piece.

5. Support and containment structure for persons as in claim 1, characterized in that said accessory elements (13, 27) have a set of eyelets (26, 28) or holes (32), at least one for each modular element (19), each modular element (19) being thus able to be set in a clamping position variable in correspondence along said eyelets (26, 28) or holes (32).

6. Support and containment structure for persons as in claim 1, characterized in that each containment element (11) is assembled laterally on the support member (23) by means of a connection.

7. Support and containment structure for persons as in claim 1, characterized in that each containment element is assembled on the support member (23) by means of a hinge element.

8. Support and containment structure for persons as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that it further comprises a stiffening ring (16) laterally attached to at least two modular elements (19) for providing said support and containment structure (10) with greater rigidity.

9. Support and containment structure for persons as in claim 1, further comprising a hook (15) for assembling the support and containment structure (10) on a seat or a mobile tool for disabled persons.

10. Support and containment structure for persons as in claim 1, further comprising at least one lateral support (20) able to be used at one end of said at least one containment element (11) to expand said containment element.

11. Support and containment structure for persons as in claim 1, characterized in that each modular element has, at the lateral ends, shaped positioning seats (38) for positioning and relative fixing at least a portion of the corresponding lateral end in relation to said transverse containment element (11).