1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a piston actuated lumbar stimulation device that is located inside the back of a chair that rocks back and forth between upright and reclined positions as a user shifts his weight in the chair. The lumbar stimulation device is attached to a gas cylinder bracket that extends vertically within the back of the chair. A push-button controlled gas cylinder is attached to the gas cylinder bracket, and a retractable piston is forced outwardly from the gas cylinder to generate a pushing force for causing the lumbar stimulation device to move towards a user's back to apply a focused massage pressure thereto.
2. Background Art
An individual who is seated in a chair may wish to have a focused pressure applied from the back of the chair to a lower (i.e., lumbar) region of his back to enhance his comfort while seated. In addition to enhancing his comfort, applying a focused pressure to the lower back may stimulate or increase the circulation of blood flow. A conventional chair has no moving parts in the back and, therefore, is incapable of generating a focused pressure to be applied to the lower back of the seated individual. That is, because of the static nature of a typical chair back, especially those common to chairs having a back which reclines when the individual shifts his weight backwards, the individual may experience discomfort in his lower back when he remains seated for a long time. Although electrically powered external attachments are known to be used in combination with a chair back to massage an individual's back, such attachments are frequently expensive, require a source of electrical power to operate, and can become separated from the chair back and misplaced.
Therefore, what would be desirable is a chair having a back that tilts back when a user shifts his weight backwards and within which a lumbar stimulation device is located to apply a focused pressure to the user's lower back without first having to be attached to the chair back or operated from an electrical power source. What would also be desirable is to enable the user to selectively actuate the lumbar stimulation device by depressing a manually accessible push-button.
Reference may be made to my patent application Ser. No. 14/959,994 filed Dec. 4, 2015 for an example of a lumbar stimulation device that is located within the back of a chair and is capable of applying a focused massage pressure against the back of one seated in the chair.
In general terms, a piston actuated lumbar stimulation device is disclosed to be located inside the back of a chair that rocks back and forth between upright and reclined positions as a user shifts his weight back and forth in the chair. The lumbar stimulation device is capable of applying a focused pressure and improving the circulation of blood flowing through the lower back of the user seated in the chair and leaning backwards. The chair with which the lumbar stimulation device is associated includes a seat that is held above the ground by a base. A gas cylinder that extends between a gas cylinder receiver of the base and a seat plate at the bottom of the seat is operable to adjust the elevation of the seat above the base. The chair also includes a rigid (e.g., plywood) backing that runs through the rear of the chair back and a soft cover that lies opposite the rigid backing at the front of the chair back.
The piston actuated lumbar stimulation device that is located inside the back of the chair includes upper and lower roller carriages that are held one above the other by means of a pair of oppositely aligned carriage coupling plates. Each of the upper and lower miler carriages has a first pair of rollers at the top thereof and a second pair of rollers at the bottom. The upper and lower roller carriages are rotatable relative to one another to conform to the shape of the user's back. The lumbar stimulation device is also rotatable as a unit at an intermediate coupling rod that extends between the opposing carriage coupling plates. Upper ends of a pair of wheel positioning arms are pivotally coupled to the intermediate coupling rod, and the opposite lower ends of the wheel positioning arms are attached to wheels that lie against and roll on the rigid backing at the rear of the chair back.
A Y-shaped gas cylinder bracket extends vertically through the chair back so as to lie between the rigid backing at the rear of the chair back and the soft cover at the front. The bottom of the Y-shaped gas cylinder bracket is connected through the bottom of the chair back by an attachment strap to the gas cylinder below the seat of the chair. The top of the gas cylinder bracket is affixed to the intermediate coupling rod that extends between the carriage coupling plates of the lumbar stimulation device. Therefore, the position of the gas cylinder bracket and the lumbar stimulation device affixed thereto will remain substantially stationary in a vertical direction within the back of the chair. The top of a push-button controlled gas cylinder is connected to the pair of wheel positioning arms by means of a pin that runs through the gas cylinder and between the arms. A threaded retractable piston extends outwardly from the bottom of the push-button controlled gas cylinder to be connected to a gas cylinder support at the gas cylinder bracket. A push-button that is accessible to the user at one of the arms of the chair communicates with the gas cylinder by way of a cable.
When the push-button is depressed, the cable causes the piston to be forced outwardly and downwardly from the bottom of the push-button controlled gas cylinder against the gas cylinder support of the stationary gas cylinder bracket. The gas cylinder moves upwardly to cause a corresponding upward pushing force to be applied to the pair of wheel positioning arms. The wheel positioning arms are thusly rotated upwardly within the chair back and around the intermediate coupling rod to cause the pairs of rollers of the upper and roller carriages to be pushed in a substantially horizontal direction towards the soft cover at the front of the chair back so as to move into contact with the lower back of the user and apply a massage pressure thereto. When the user reclines in the chair and the seat and back tilt back with one another, the chair back will move downwardly relative to the lumbar stimulation device towards the chair base below the seat. Accordingly, the wheels carried by the pair of wheel positioning arms will roll on the downwardly moving rigid backing at the rear of the chair back so that the pairs of rollers of the upper and lower roller carriages of the lumbar stimulation device will appear to the user to be moving upwardly along his back.
Referring initially to
The chair 3 with which the lumbar stimulation device 1 is associated is preferably one that tilts as the user shifts his weight in the chair. The chair 3 is of the kind that would commonly be found in a home or office. As in many chairs, the chair 3 includes a seat 5 that is held above the ground by a base 7 having a set of legs 9 to which rollers 10 are attached to permit the chair 3 to be rolled over a flat surface. A gas cylinder 12 extends between a gas cylinder receiver 14 that stands upwardly from the base 7 and a seat plate 16 that lies below the seat 5 of the chair 3. A lever arm (designated 17 and shown in
The chair 3 also has a back 20 which stands upwardly from the seat 5. The chair back 20 includes a rigid (e.g., plywood) backing 22 at the rear of the back 20, intermediate filler material (not shown), and a soft (e.g., mesh-like) cover 24 at the front of the back 20 that lies opposite the rigid backing 22. The back 20 is connected to the seat by a pair of arms (designated 26 and best shown in
The piston actuated lumbar stimulation device 1 of this invention is located inside the chair back 20 between the rigid backing 22 at the rear of the chair back 20 and the soft cover 24 at the front. Referring concurrently to
Like the upper roller carriage 30, the lower roller carriage 32 of the lumbar stimulation device 1 includes a first pair of (e.g., plastic) rollers 44 and 45 located at the top thereof and a second pair of rollers 46 and 47 located at the bottom. The first pair of rollers 46 and 47 are connected in spaced axial alignment to one another by a shaft 48. The second pair of rollers 46 and 47 are also connected in spaced axial alignment to one another by a shaft 50 which extends therebetween. A set of (e.g., hard plastic) nubs 52 projects outwardly from each roller 44-47 of the first and second pairs of rollers.
As is best shown in
The first pair of rollers 44 and 45 at the top of the lower roller carriage 32 are held above the second pair of rollers 46 and 47 by a pair of opposing side plates 58 and 59 that extend therebetween. That is, first ends of the shafts 48 and 50 of the rollers 44 and 46 are rotatably coupled to respective opposite ends of one side plate 58, and the opposite ends of the shafts 48 and 50 of the rollers 45 and 47 are rotatably coupled to respective opposite ends of the other side plate 59. In this manner, the first and second pairs of rollers 44, 45 and 46, 47 of the lower roller carriage 32 are adapted to rotate with one another relative to the opposite side plates 58 and 59 in response to a rotational force applied to the rollers 44-47.
The upper and lower roller carriages 30 and 32 of the lumbar stimulation device 1 are interconnected and held one above the other by a pair of oppositely aligned carriage coupling plates 62 and 63 that are located at opposite sides of the device 1. That is, one end of an upper coupling rod 66 runs through one of the side plates 54 of the upper roller carriage 30 (so as to lie between the first and second pairs of rollers 34, 35 and 36, 37 thereof) and the top of a first of the pair of carriage coupling plates 62. The opposite end of the upper coupling rod 66 runs through the other side plate 55 of the upper roller carriage 30 and the top of the opposite one of the pair of carriage coupling plates 63. One end of a lower 68 coupling rod 68 runs through one of the side plates 58 of the lower roller carriage 32 (so as to lie between the first and second pairs of rollers 44, 45 and 46, 47 thereof) and the bottom of the first carriage coupling plate 62. The opposite end of the lower coupling rod 68 runs through the other side plate 59 of the lower carriage assembly 30 and the bottom of the opposite carriage coupling plate 63.
An intermediate coupling rod 70 extends between the pair of oppositely aligned carriage coupling plates 62 and 63 so as to lie between the upper and lower roller carriage 30 and 32. By virtue of the opposing carriage coupling plates 62 and 63 and the upper, lower and intermediate coupling rods 66, 68 and 70 that extend therebetween, the upper and lower roller carriages 30 and 32 of the lumbar stimulation device 1 are adapted to rotate relative to one another at the upper and lower coupling rods 66 and 68. Likewise, and to provide one seated in the chair 3 with maximum lumbar stimulation, the upper and lower roller carriages 30 and 32 are also adapted to rotate together as a unit at the intermediate coupling rod 70 depending upon the forces that are applied to the lumbar stimulation device 1. In this manner, the roller carriages 30 and 32 can be positioned within the chair back 20 to conform to the shape of the back of the user seated in the chair.
As is also best shown in
To this end, and continuing to refer to
As is best shown in
Located adjacent the point where the bracket arms 82 at the top of the gas cylinder bracket 78 join the bottom of the bracket is an outwardly (i.e., forwardly) extending gas cylinder support 84. A push-button controlled gas cylinder 86 is connected to the gas cylinder bracket 78 at the gas cylinder support 84 thereof. The gas cylinder 86 is also connected to the pair of wheel positioning arms 72 to impart an upward pushing force thereto for causing the lumbar stimulation device 1 to be moved in a generally horizontal direction through the back 20 of the chair 3 and towards the back of one seated in the chair so that the rollers 34-37 and 44-47 of the upper and lower roller carriages 30 and 34 of device 1 will press against and roll on the user's back to apply a focused massage pressure thereto.
The push-button controlled gas cylinder 86 is conventional, and the operation thereof is similar to the operation of the gas cylinder 12 that is located below the seat plate 16 to elevate the seat 5 of the chair 3. Referring now to
As is best shown in
More particularly, and as was previously described, the piston 90 is fixedly connected to the Y-shaped gas cylinder bracket 78 at the gas cylinder support 84 thereof. The gas cylinder bracket 78, which stands upwardly and is held in place within the chair back 20 by its attachment to the gas cylinder 12 at the chair base 7 below the chair seat 5 by way of the attachment strap 80 (of
Accordingly, the wheels 74 that are carried at the bottoms of the wheel positioning arms 72 are pushed against the rigid backing 22 at the rear of the chair back 20. At the same time, the upper and lower roller carriages 30 and 32 of the lumbar stimulation device 1 that are coupled to the top of the wheel positioning arms 72 at the intermediate coupling rod 70 are pushed in a substantially horizontal direction towards and against the soft cover 24 at the front of the chair back 20 at which to engage the user's back and apply a focused pressure thereto.
When the user shifts his weight and leans back against the back 20 of the chair 3 (best shown in
In this case, the wheels 74 that are carried at the bottoms of the wheel positioning arms 72 will roll on the rigid backing 22 which moves downwardly with the chair back 20 when the user leans back in the chair 3. Although the rollers 35-37 and 45-47 of the upper and lower roller carriages 30 and 32 of the lumbar stimulation device 1 are held within the chair back 20 by the stationary gas cylinder bracket 78 and do not actually move in the vertical direction, it will appear to the user as if the rollers 35-37 and 45-47 are otherwise moving upwardly along his back to enhance his comfort.
As was explained above, when the chair back 20 stands erect and the user depresses the push-button 94 so that the pressurized air within the body 88 of the gas cylinder 86 is released to cause the retractable piston 90 to move outwardly and downwardly from the cylinder body 88, the lumbar stimulation device 1 is moved horizontally towards and against the back of the user. When the chair back 20 tilts back, the user can once again depress the push-button 94 as his back moves rearwardly and pushes against the upper and lower roller carriages 30 and 31 of the lumbar stimulation device 1 by which the gas cylinder 86 will be recharged (i.e., repressurized) with air and the retractable piston 90 thereof will be retracted inwardly of the piston body 88.
It may be appreciated that the position of the rollers 35-37 and 45-47 of the upper and lower roller carriages 30 and 32 within the chair back 20 as well as the pressure being applied by the lumbar stimulation device 1 against the back of the user can be selectively controlled depending upon the time during which the push-button 94 is depressed and the upward travel of the body 88 of the push-button controlled gas cylinder 86. That is to say, as long as the push-button 94 is depressed, the piston 90 will continue to be pushed outwardly and downwardly from the cylinder body 88, and the pair of wheel positioning arms 72 will continue to be rotated upwardly for causing the lumbar stimulation device 1 to be advanced towards and into contact with the back of the user.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20180161232 A1 | Jun 2018 | US |