Patent Application
20160151221
Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to physical therapy and comfort, and more particularly to a head support device that can interface with a bed.
Treatment by a massage therapist can provide significant relief to a patient with back and neck pain. Massage and other physical therapists typically have specialty cushioned tables upon which the patient can lie during treatment, and from the end of which extends a cantilevered head support device for carefully supporting the patient's head during treatment in a desired way. When the patient returns home and lies down on his or her bed, however, the patient does not typically have the benefit of such a head support device, and instead must simply lay his or her head down on a pillow. After a sleep session, through head and neck interaction with the pillow where the neck and spine are not well-aligned, some of the relief gained from the visit to the therapist can be undone.
Various head support devices have been proposed for interfacing with a patient's bed in ways that are intended to provide the benefits of a specialty massage table using a normal “sleeping” bed, for resting or for use during kinds of treatment at home. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 6,928,679 to Gross, U.S. Pat. No. 7,036,168 to Knickerbocker, U.S. Pat. No. 6,151,734 to Lawrie, U.S. Pat. No. 6,148,460 to Fried et al., U.S. Pat. No. 8,176,587 to Matt et al. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2012/0278993 to Gard et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,081,947 to Disher, U.S. Pat. No. 7,306,612 to Landa, U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,429 to Tucker, U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,363 to Evans et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,584,731 to Carter, U.S. Pat. No. 3,608,103 to Seid, Canadian Patent No. 1,209,455 to Younger et al., and Canadian Patent No. 2,390,038 to Smith et al.
Various head support devices have disadvantages, such as lack of adjustability, a difficulty keeping to a particular position alongside a bed and a difficulty keeping proximate to the bed while a patient turns within or gets out of the bed.
It is an object of an aspect of the following to address these and other disadvantages.
In accordance with an aspect, there is provided a head support device for use with a bed, the device comprising a head-receiving component; a base component adapted to rest on a stable surface; a vertically-oriented spine component extending upwards from the base component to the head-receiving component; and at least one bed-connection structure extending horizontally from an intermediate position along the spine component.
Other aspects and advantages will become apparent from the following.
Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the appended drawings in which:
Turning to
In this embodiment, the base component 10 is a planar plate adapted to sit flat on a stable surface that is not the bed itself, such as a floor. Commonly, the stable surface will be on the same plane (such as on the same floor or carpet) as the surface on which the bed itself is supported. The configuration enabling the head support device 5 to sit on a stable surface that is not the bed itself helps stability of the head support device 5 to be maintained despite the mattress and/or bedspring being jostled or the user turning in bed during a typical sleep or treatment session.
In this embodiment, the spine component 20 includes a lower spine component 22 and an upper spine component 24. Lower spine component 22 forms a hollow shaft that is square in cross-section and into which upper spine component 24, which is itself a hollow shaft that is square in cross-section, is received. When received within lower spine component 22, upper spine component 24 can selectively be slid upwards or downwards thereby to enable a user to adjust the overall height of spine component 20.
In this embodiment, an internal locking mechanism (not shown) that is primarily disposed within the hollow shafts of spine component 20 may be shifted between a locked and unlocked position. The internal locking mechanism includes a button 29 that extends from the top of the upper spine component 24 and that is spring-biased to an un-depressed position corresponding to the locked position. The internal locking mechanism is biased to the locked position whereby its components bind against the interior walls of the spine component 20 to prevent undesired sliding upwards or downwards of upper spine component 24 with respect to lower spine component 22. When a user depresses button 29 against its spring bias, the internal locking mechanism is in turn shifted to its unlocked position to reduce the binding pressure on the internal walls of the spine component 20 thereby to enable upper spine component 24 to slide within lower spine component 22. In this way, height of the spine component 20 can be easily set and maintained through selective depression and subsequent release of button 29.
Affixed at the upper end of upper spine component 20 is a horizontal plate 26. The horizontal plate 26 extends outwards on two sides of the upper spine component 20 and incorporates cylindrical tubes 28a and 28b dimensioned to receive corresponding structures of the head-receiving component 30, as will be described.
In this embodiment, the bed-connection structure 40 extends from the lower spine component 22 of spine component 20. In particular, a square opening 46 through the bed-connection structure 40 corresponds in size to the external dimensions of the square cross-section of the lower spine component 22, and slidingly receives the lower spine component 22. A tension knob 44 affixed to a threaded rod can be used to thread the rod through a sidewall of the square opening 46 to bind against the lower spine component 22, thereby to allow the bed-connection structure 40, which would otherwise be free to slide upwards or downwards with respect to lower spine component 22, to remain in a particular selected position.
In this embodiment, bed-connection structure is a thin but rigid, horizontally-disposed planar plate with five holes 42 formed therethrough. The holes 42 interact with the mattress of the bed to enhance the lateral binding and thus, resistance to sliding back and forth, when received between a mattress and a box spring, as will be described in further detail.
When in the lock position, the cam-lock 33 is generally pulling hubs 31a, 31b towards each other by pulling horizontal shaft 34a through sleeve 34b thereby to pull hub 31b to which horizontal shaft 34a is connected towards hub 31a. Under this pulling force, flanges at opposite ends of the sleeve 34b bear against and frictionally bind to levelling structures 35a, 35b which, in turn, bear against and frictionally bind to respective hubs 32a, 32b. Under this condition, the levelling structures 35a, 35b are frictionally prevented from rotating about the horizontal shaft 34a and are thereby held in place with respect to the hubs 32a, 32b and rods 31a and 31b Similarly, due to the pressure hubs 32a, 32b are frictionally prevented from rotating with respect to the horizontal shaft 34a itself. Rotation of the cam-lock 33 to its unlocked position relieves the pulling force and thereby releases the frictional binding sufficiently to enable the various components to rotate about shaft 34a and with respect to each other.
In this embodiment, a slight “play” or looseness in the distance between rods 31a and 31b along the shaft 34a that permit the locking and unlocking provides a further function. More particularly, due to this play, the cylindrical rods 31a, 31b may be received within, and bear against the inside of, corresponding cylindrical tubes 28a and 28b. In this way, when cam-lock 33 is in its unlocked position, the cylindrical rods 31a, 31b can be positioned to slide somewhat freely within corresponding cylindrical tubes 28a and 28b. However, when cam-lock 33 is in the locked position, the pressure on hubs 32a, 32b impart lateral pressure through cylindrical rods 31a, 31b to the interior of the cylindrical tubes 28a, 28b in which they are received thereby to frictionally bind against the interior of the cylindrical tubes 28a, and 28b. This frictional binding is sufficient to inhibit upward or downward sliding of cylindrical rods 31a, 31b with respect to cylindrical tubes 32a, 32b thereby to maintain a given vertical position.
The levelling structures 35a, 35b enable a user to adjust whether the support plate 36, and therefore the support cushion 38, is horizontally level, or off-level, as desired, and to allow a user to move the support cushion 38 closer to, or farther from, the bed given a particular position of base component 10 with respect to the bed. This enables a user to establish the more comfortable and supportive positioning.
In
Like bed-connection structure 40, bed-connection structure 60 extends from the lower spine component 22 of spine component 20. In particular, a square opening 66 through the bed-connection structure 60 corresponds in size to the external dimensions of the square cross-section of the lower spine component 22, and slidingly receives the lower spine component 22. A tension knob 64 affixed to a threaded rod can be used to thread the rod through a sidewall of the square opening 66 to bind against the lower spine component 22, thereby to allow the bed-connection structure 60, which would otherwise be free to slide upwards or downwards with respect to lower spine component 22, to remain in a particular selected position.
Bed-connection structure 60 is stepped so as to first extend outwards over top of a footboard 94, downwards along the inward-facing surface of the footboard 92, and then outwards again along a plane corresponding to the height at which the mattress or box spring 100/200 meets the bed frame. It will be understood that bed-connection structure 60 can be disposed alternatively between a mattress 200 and a box spring 100.
Although embodiments have been described with reference to the drawings, those of skill in the art will appreciate that variations and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit, scope and purpose of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
For example, while the bed-connection structures described herein have single horizontal plates that interface with a mattress and/or box spring, alternative structures extending from the spine component 20, such as multiple horizontal plates, bars or the like may be employed.
Furthermore, while in embodiments the head-receiving structure 38 is removable from support plate 36, in alternative embodiments the head-receiving structure 38 is integrated with or permanently affixed to the support plate 36.
Furthermore, while a push-button structure is employed for height adjustment of the spine component 20, other height adjustment mechanisms may be employed.
Furthermore, while a tension knob has been described for enabling components to remain affixed in position with respect to one another, other mechanisms for doing this may be employed.
Furthermore, while the base component is described as a generally horizontal plate, other structures such as tripods or other suitable base components that are adapted to sit on generally stable surface such as that which supports the bed (or on a surface that is supported by the surface supported by the bed etc.) may alternatively be employed.
