Claims
- 1. A device for transferring stress, starting from a seated position, from a lumbar spine to a rib cage of a person, the device comprising:
- (a) a support member for engaging and supporting the person below the rib cage;
- (b) means for supporting the support member, said support means including means for progressively moving the support member inward toward the person from a disengaged position to an engaged position, said supporting means being capable of maintaining the support member in the engaged position without use of a person encircling cinch strap connected to the support member;
- (c) a seat member positioned below the support member, on which the person assumes a sitting position with the person being temporarily supported thereby;
- (d) means for varying the amount of support provided to the person by the seat member and the amount of support provided by the person by the support member, said varying means including means to vary a distance between the seat member and the support member; and
- (e) a safety strap operatively connected to said support member.
- 2. The device of claim 1, wherein the support member comprises first and second support members for engaging the person on opposite sides.
- 3. The device of claim 2, wherein said support members have a rotation for being positioned under the rib cage.
- 4. The device of claim 2, wherein the supporting means comprises a first support bar cooperatively connected to the first support member and a second support bar cooperatively connected to the second support member.
- 5. The device of claim 1, further comprising means for moving the support member between disengaged and engaged positions.
- 6. The device of claim 1, wherein said supporting means being positioned substantially below the support member.
- 7. The device of claim 4, further comprising means for permitting controlled rotational movement of said support bars, wherein the person may exercise while also transferring stress.
- 8. The device of claim 1, further comprising means for allowing controlled vertical movement of the person while being supported, wherein the person may exercise while also transferring stress.
- 9. A support member for engaging and supporting the patient below the rib cage comprising:
- (a) first and second support members for engaging and supporting the person on opposite sides, below the rib cage, the support members having a protrusion being positioned under the rib cage;
- (b) a first support bar cooperatively connected to the first support member and a second support bar cooperatively connected to the second support members, said bars for supporting the support member, said support bars being positioned substantially below the support members;
- (c) means for moving the support member, said support means including means for progressively moving the support member inward toward the person from a disengaged positioned to an engaged position, said support means being capable of maintaining the support member in the engaged position without use of a person encircling cinch strap connected to the support member;
- (d) a seat member positioned below the support members, on which the patient assumes a sitting position with the patient being temporarily supported thereby;
- (e) means for varying the amount of support provided to the patient by the seat member and the amount of support provided to the person by the support members said means for varying operatively connected to the seat member, wherein the seat members is gradually lowered, by the means for varying, to transfer the stress from the lumbar area to the support members; and
- (f) a safety strap having a first end operatively connected to said first support member and a second end operatively connected to said second support member.
- 10. The device of claim 9, wherein said strap comprises a first and second strap having first and second ends, said first end of said first strap operatively connected to said first support member and said first end of said second strap operatively connected to said second support member and further comprising means for operatively connecting said second end of said first strap to said second end of said second strap.
- 11. The device of claim 9, wherein said first and second support members each have a front and a back and said safety strap comprises a first strap operatively connected between said fronts of said first and second support members and a second strap operatively connected between said backs of said support members.
- 12. A device for transferring stress from a lumbar spine to a rib cage of a person, and also allowing exercising, the device comprising:
- (a) a support means for engaging and supporting the person below the lower rim of the person's rib cage, the support means including generally upright members operatively connected to a support member;
- (b) means for progressively moving the support member inward toward the person to an engaged positioned and maintaining the support member in the engaged position without use of a person encircling means connected to the support member, wherein there is a transfer of stress from the person's lumbar spine to the support member;
- (c) means for allowing movement of the device, and thereby the person also, wherein the person may exercise the lumbar spine as well as transfer stress simultaneously said movement means permits generally vertical movement by cyclically shortening said upright members; and
- (d) a safety strap operatively connected to said support means.
- 13. The device of claim 12, wherein the movement means permits rotational movement of the person.
- 14. The device of claim 12, wherein the movement means permits generally vertical movement of the person.
- 15. The device of claim 12, wherein the movement means permits both rotational and vertical movement of the person.
- 16. A method of transferring stress, starting from a seated position, from a lumbar spine to a rib cage of a patient comprising:
- (a) providing a device for seating a person on a seat member of said device comprising:
- (i) a support member;
- (ii) means for suspending the support member, the suspending means being positioned substantially below the person, said suspending means including means for progressively moving the support member inward toward the person from a disengaged position to an engaged position, said support means being capable of maintaining the support member in the engaged position without use of a person encircling cinch strap connected to the support member;
- (iii) the seat member positioned below the support member;
- (iv) means for varying the amount of support provided to the person by the seat member and the support member, said varying means including means to vary a distance between the seat member and the support member; and
- (v) a safety strap operatively connected to said support member;
- (b) moving progressively the support member to an engaging position, whereby the support member is positioned below the rib cage and at a first distance from the seat member said supporting member maintained in an engaged position without the use of a person encircling cinch connected to the support member; and
- (c) increasing to a second distance the seat member from the support member, whereby support of the person is shifted, in a controlled manner, from the seat member to the support member.
- 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the seat is lowered to shift support from the seat member to the support member.
- 18. The method of claim 16, further comprising moving the person in a generally vertical plane by cylindrically shortening upright members which are a portion of the suspending means.
- 19. The method of claim 16, further comprising moving the person rotationally.
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 07/609,065, filed Oct. 29, 1990 and issued July 23, 1991, as U.S. Pat. No. 5,033,459 pending, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 07/488,534, filed Feb. 28, 1990, now abandoned, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 07/301,172, filed Jan. 24, 1989, now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (17)
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Date |
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2363390 |
Jun 1975 |
DEX |
1371332 |
Jul 1964 |
FRX |
Continuations (2)
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Date |
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488534 |
Feb 1990 |
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Parent |
301172 |
Jan 1989 |
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Continuation in Parts (1)
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609065 |
Oct 1990 |
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