WO1999011205A1

WO1999011205A1 - Upper body support apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO1999011205A1
Application number: PCT/AU1998/000714
Authority: WO
Inventors: John Dumergue Charters
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1997-09-02
Filing date: 1998-09-02
Publication date: 1999-03-11
Anticipated expiration: 2000-03-02
Also published as: GB2342585A; GB0003046D0; DE19882628T1

Abstract

An upper body support apparatus (10) comprising a frame structure (13) having an upper end portion (17) and a lower end portion (19). The frame structure (13) comprises two laterally spaced longitudinal members (21, 22) and a cross-member (23) rigidly interconnecting the longitudinal members (21, 22) at the upper end portion of the frame structure. A chest-engaging means (25) comprises two resiliently flexible chest straps (31) extending between the cross-member (23) and a respective one of the longitudinal members (21, 22) at the lower end thereof. A back engaging means (29) comprises a resiliently flexible structure (41) extending between the two longitudinal members (21, 22). A pelvic-engaging structure (27) comprises a resiliently flexible strap (37) extending between the two longitudinal members (21, 22) at the lower end thereof. The arrangement is such that in use the frame structure (13) is positioned on a user (11) with the cross-member (23) received behind the neck and/or head region of the user, and the longitudinal members (21, 22) extending downwardly in front of the upper trunk region of the user, thereby positioning the chest straps (31) in engagement with the front of the upper trunk region of the user and positioning the pelvic-engaging means (27) in engagement with the lower trunk region of the user, with a back engaging means (29) providing a forwardly directed pressure to the user in the region of the lower thoracic to the upper lumbar spine of the user.

Description

Title

Upper Body Support Apparatus

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an upper body support apparatus.

Background of the Invention

Upper body support apparatus commonly in use for the correction of posture, back complaints and/or alleviation of lower back pain are rather rigid and inflexible, and consequently are rather uncomfortable to use. With a view to overcoming such disadvantages of commonly used upper body support apparatus, the applicant devised an upper body support apparatus as disclosed in international application PCT/AU97/00251. While that upper body support apparatus is effective in use, it can be a little awkward to fit into position and can be cumbersome in use owing to the presence of the frame structure which is located on the back of, and extends somewhat around the sides of, the user.

Summary of the Invention

The present invention seeks to provide an upper body support apparatus which is of less complicated construction than many of the arrangements currently in use and which is easier for a user to fit and use, or alternatively which at least provides a useful choice to the arrangements currently available.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided an upper body support apparatus comprising a frame structure having an upper end portion and a lower end portion, the frame structure comprising two laterally spaced longitudinal members extending between the upper and lower end portions and a cross-member rigidly interconnecting the longitudinal members at the upper end portion of the frame structure, a chest-engaging means comprising two resiliently flexible chest strap means extending between said upper end portion and a respective one of the longitudinal members at said lower portion, back-engaging means comprising a resiliently flexible structure extending between the two longitudinal members, and a pelvic-engaging structure comprising a resiliently flexible strap means extending between the two longitudinal members at said lower portion, wherein in use the frame structure is positioned on a user with the cross-member received behind the neck and/or head region of the user and the longitudinal members extending downwardly in front of the upper trunk region of the user, thereby positioning the chest strap means in engagement with the front of the upper trunk region of the user and positioning the pelvic-engaging means in engagement with the lower trunk region of the user, with the back-engaging means providing a forwardly directed pressure to the user in the region of the lower thoracic to the upper lumbar spine of the user.

The resilient support provided to the back of the user allows full movement of the back while providing sufficient force to relieve the extensor muscles of the back from the work of having to maintain a constant posture of standing or sitting. The extensor muscles behind the spine are particularly important in the back as they are used for lifting and for preventing the spine from flexing forwards under the influence of the weight of the bulk of the body in front of the spine. When a person stands or sits for any length of time, the extensor muscles can experience fatigue owing to the continual contractions to which they are subjected. With the apparatus according to the invention, the resilient support provided to the back of the user, counteracted by the resilient pressure provided on the chest and pelvic regions, provides the user with effective upper body support while allowing relatively unrestricted movement.

Preferably, the back-engaging means is adapted to be located in position following positioning of the frame structure on the user. This may be achieved by having the back-engaging means detachably connected to at least one of the longitudinal members. Each chest strap means may comprise a band of flexibly resilient material such as elasticised webbing Similarity, the pelvic-engaging means may comprise a band of flexibly resilient material such as elasticised webbing extending between the two longitudinal members Furthermore, the back-engaging means may comprise at least one band of flexibly resilient material such as elasticised webbing Conveniently, the back-engaging means comprises two such bands arranged in an overlapping formation At one end, the or each band forming the back-engaging means may be detachably connected to the respective longitudinal member The detachable connection can be provided in any suitable fashion such as by way of an engaging ring secured to the band and adapted to releasably engage a hook formation on the respective longitudinal member The engaging ring is preferably of resiliently flexible material such as rubber

Each longitudinal member is preferably configured along the length thereof to generally follow the contour of the upper trunk region of the user from the shoulder region adjacent the neck to the pelvic region

Preferably, the two longitudinal members extend downwardly and outwardly from the cross-member at the upper end portion of the frame structure This arrangement ensures that the longitudinal members pass over the shoulder of the user at the upper end portion of the frame structure and that the free ends of the longitudinal frames at the lower end portion of the frame structure lie outwardly of and adjacent the hips of the user for correct positioning of the pelvic-engaging means More particularly, each longitudinal member may have an upper section, an intermediate section and a lower section, wherein in use the upper section locates over the shoulder region of the user, the intermediate section locates in from of the chest region and the lower section extends downwardly and outwardly to the sides of the trunk terminating in the region adjacent the hips of the user

The body support apparatus according to the invention has the benefit of also offering relief to the extensor muscles of the neck of a user The body support apparatus ensures that the user assumes correct posture, a benefit of which is that the centre of gravity of the head of the user is maintained above the base of the neck Consequently the extensor muscles of the neck are relieved of the work of maintaining the head in an upright condition In the absence of correct posture, it is common for a person to assume a condition in which the centre of gravity of the head is in front of the neck, thereby placing the extensor muscles of the neck under tension

Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention will be better understood by reference to the following description of one specific embodiment thereof as shown in the accompanying drawings in which,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an upper body support apparatus according to the embodiment viewed from the front thereof,

Figure 2 is a front perspective view showing the upper body support apparatus of figure 1 in position on a user who is in a standing position,

Figure 3 is a schematic side view of the upper body support apparatus in position on the user, and

Figure 4 is a schematic view showing the upper body support apparatus on the user who is shown bending forwardly

Referring to the drawings, there is shown an upper body support apparatus 10 intended to support the back of a user 11 The apparatus 10 comprises a frame structure 13 somewhat in the shape of a yoke having an upper end portion 17 and a lower end portion 19 The frame structure 13 comprises two longitudinal members 21 , 22 and a cross-member 23 extending between, and rigidly interconnecting, the longitudinal members 21 , 22 at the upper end portion 17 The frame structure 13 may be made of any suitable material, a particularly appropriate material being aluminium owing to its strength and light weight A chest-engaging means 25, a pelvic-engaging means 27 and a back-engaging means 29 are each connected to the frame structure 11

The chest-engaging means 25 comprises two resiliently flexible chest straps 31 formed of a band of elasticised webbing Each chest strap 31 extends between the upper and lower end portions 17 and 19 respectively of the frame structure More particularly, the upper end of each chest strap 31 is connected at 33 to the cross-member 23 of the frame structure and the lower end of the chest strap is connected to a protrusion 35 on a respective one of the longitudinal members 21 , 22 adjacent the lower end thereof The protrusions 35 extend rearwardly from the longitudinal members, as shown in the drawings

The pelvic-engaging means 27 comprises a band of resiliently flexible material 37 such as elasticised webbing The band 37 extends between, and is connected to, the lower ends of the longitudinal members 21 , 22, the lower end of each longitudinal member incorporating an attachment portion 39 to which the respective end of the band is connected

The back-engaging means 29 comprises a resiliently flexible structure 41 extending between the two longitudinal members 21 , 22 The resiliently flexible structure 41 comprises two bands 43 of flexibly resilient material such as elasticised webbing The two bands 43 are arranged in an overlapping formation so that one crosses the other, as shown in the drawings

The end of each band 43 is adapted to be detachably connected to a respective one of the two longitudinal members 21 , 22 by way of an engaging ring 47 which is secured to a bracket 49 connected to the end of the band Each engaging ring 47 is of flexibly resilient material such as rubber The engaging rings 47 connecting the bands 43 to the longitudinal member 21 are received and retained in recesses 51 formed in the longitudinal member With this arrangement, the rings 47 cannot be readily detached from the longitudinal member 21 The retaining rings 47 at the other ends of the bands 43 are adapted to releasably engage hooks 53 in the form of lugs formed integrally with the longitudinal member 22. The rings 47 can be located on the lugs 53 so as to connect the ends of the bands to the longitudinal member 22. It will be noted that the rings 47 are hooked onto the lugs 53 after the bands 43 have passed around the outer side of the longitudinal member 22 from the rear thereof.

Each longitudinal member 21 , 22 has an uppermost section 61 which locates over the shoulder region of the user, and intermediate section 63 which locates in front of the chest region of the user, and a lower section 65 which extends downwardly and somewhat outwardly to the sides of the trunk of the user terminating in the region adjacent the hips of the user.

In use, the user 11 is able to fit the upper body support apparatus is in position without the assistance of another person. With one end of the back-engaging means 29 detached from the longitudinal member 22, the user 11 simply places the frame structure 11 over his or her head, with the head passing firstly between the chest straps 31 and then the longitudinal members 21 , 22 such that (a) the cross-member 23 is located behind the neck of the user, (b) the chest straps 31 are in contact with the chest region of the user, and (c) the pelvic band 37 is in front of the abdomen, as best seen in figure 3 of the drawings. In this position, the upper section 61 of each longitudinal member 21 extends over the shoulder region of the user, the intermediate section 63 extends downwardly in front of the chest region of the user and the lower section 65 extends downwardly and to the sides of the abdomen of the user terminating adjacent the hips, again as best seen in figure 3 of the drawings. The user then positions the back-engaging means 29 around his or her back and connects the free end thereof to the longitudinal member 22 by hooking the rings 47 onto the lugs 53.

The back support apparatus 10 may be removed by the user by applying similar steps in a reverse manner.

The upper body support apparatus 10 of the embodiment is arranged so as to allow full movement of the back of the user while applying resilient pressure to the user in the chest, pelvic and lower thoracic to upper lumbar spine regions of the user, so as to provide support which ensures relaxation of appropriate back muscles and maintenance of correct posture and alignment The pressure applied to the body at the pelvic, chest and lower thoracic to upper lumbar spine regions of the user by way of the resiliently flexible structures provides the necessary support while allowing the free movement as described A particular advantage of the body support apparatus according to the embodiment is that it allows almost full movement of the back of the user In this regard, it can be seen in figure 4 of the drawings that the user is able to bend forwardly without being restricted by the apparatus

From the foregoing, it is evident that the present invention provides a simple yet highly effective upper body support apparatus which is relatively convenient to use

It should be appreciated that the scope of the invention is not limited to the scope of the embodiment described

Throughout the specification, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise" or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or group of integers but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers

Claims

The Claims defining the invention are as follows

1 An upper body support apparatus comprising a frame structure having an upper end portion and a lower end portion, the frame structure comprising two laterally spaced longitudinal members extending between the upper and lower end portions and a cross-member rigidly interconnecting the longitudinal members at the upper end portion of the frame structure, a chest-engaging means comprising two resiliently flexible chest strap means extending between said upper end portion and a respective one of the longitudinal members at said lower portion, back-engaging means comprising a resiliently flexible structure extending between the two longitudinal members, and a pelvic- engaging structure comprising a resiliently flexible strap means extending between the two longitudinal members at said lower portion, wherein in use the frame structure is positioned on a user with the cross-member received behind the neck and/or head region of the user and the longitudinal members extending downwardly in front of the upper trunk region of the user, thereby positioning the chest strap means in engagement with the front of the upper trunk region of the user and positioning the pelvic-engaging means in engagement with the lower trunk region of the user, with the back-engaging means providing a forwardly directed pressure to the user in the region of the lower thoracic to the upper lumbar spine of the user

2 Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the back-engaging means is adapted to be located in position following positioning of the frame structure on the user

3 Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein the back-engaging means is detachably connected to at least one of the longitudinal members

4 Apparatus according to claim 1 , 2 or 3 wherein each chest strap means comprises a band of flexibly resilient material such as elasticised webbing

5. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the pelvic- engaging means comprises a band of flexibly resilient material such as elasticised webbing extending between the two longitudinal members.

6. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the back- engaging means comprises at least one band of flexibly resilient material such as elasticised webbing.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6 wherein the back-engaging means comprises two of said bands arranged in an overlapping formation.

8. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims wherein each band forming the back-engaging means is detachably connected to a respective one of the two longitudinal members.

9. Apparatus according to claim 8 wherein detachable connection is provided by an engaging ring secured to the band and adapted to releasably engage a hook formation on the respective longitudinal member.

10. Apparatus according to claim 9 wherein the engaging ring is of resiliently flexible material such as rubber.

11. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims wherein each longitudinal member is configured along the length thereof to generally follow the contour of the upper trunk region of the user from the shoulder region adjacent the neck to the pelvic region.

12. Apparatus according to claim 10 wherein the two longitudinal members extend downwardly and outwardly from the cross-member at the upper end portion of the frame structure.

13. Apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9 wherein each longitudinal member has an upper section, an intermediate section and a lower section, wherein in use the upper section locates over the shoulder region of the user, the intermediate section locates in from of the chest region and the lower section extends downwardly and outwardly to the sides of the trunk terminating in the region adjacent the hips of the user.

14. Apparatus substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.