A CHAIR-SHAPED SPINAL CORD TRACTION DEVICE

Abstract

 This invention relating to a chair-shaped device for pulling a spinal cord can reduce the amount of movement of user's head in the rearward direction. The upper arm (4) of the pantograph mechanism (5) is attached in parallel to the lying table (3) on which the backrest (2) and the seat part (1) are placed moveably. At the time of performing the pulling treatment, the backrest (2) is inclined horizontally and the user's head moves downward. In the structure of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the amount of movement of the head in the rearward direction so that anxiety about falling rearward of the user can be suppressed.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] This invention relates to a chair-shaped device for pulling spinal cord.

BACKGROUND ART

[0002] A conventional chair-shaped device for pulling spinal cord is disclosed in, for example, the prior art document 1 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H6-233791, see FIG. 15).

[0003] At the time of treatment, the backrest 52 is tilted rearward with the rotary shaft 51 below the seat as a fulcrum.

[0004] Further, for example, a structure for suppressing the user's head from falling rearward is disclosed in the prior art document 2 (JP-A-2015-217231, see FIG. 16). By extending the actuator 53, the slide rail 56 is slid with the slide rail pulley 57 as a fulcrum. At the same time, the recliner 54 is turned forward with the recliner tilting fulcrum 55 as a fulcrum.

[0005] However, in the configuration described in the above prior art document 1, when tilting the backrest 52 rearward, the head is rotated rearward and downward with the rotation shaft 51 as an axis.

[0006] Therefore, the rearward movement of the position of the user's head becomes large, and there is a possibility that the user feels uneasy of unfairly falling rearward.

[0007] Further, in the configuration described in the prior art document 2, it is less likely to give a user a fear of falling rearwards. However, since the slide rail 56 moves on the slide rail pulley 57, there is a problem that rattle and noise are generated. Also, the device described in this prior document 2 is for pulling the cervical vertebrae so that the movable range of the tilting is narrow.

[0008] Since the movable range of tilting used for lumbar traction is larger than that of cervical vertebra traction, if the structure shown in this prior document 2 is used for traction of low back pain as it is, it is necessary to make the slide rail 56 considerably long and maintain considerable weight at the slide rail pulley part. Therefore, it becomes structurally unstable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The following presents a general summary of aspects of the invention in order to provide a basic understanding of the invention. This summary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is not intended to delineate the scope of the invention. The following summary merely presents some concepts of the invention in a general form as a prelude to the more detailed description provided below.

[0010] In order to solve the above problem, in the chair-shaped device for pulling spinal cord of the present invention, an upper arm of a pantograph mechanism is attached to a lying platform on which a backrest and a seat part are arranged.

[0011] With the above configuration, it is possible to suppress the rearward movement of the user's head at the time of towing the spinal cord, thereby eliminating the fear of the user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] To allow for more full understanding of the present invention, it will now be described by way of embodiment or example, with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a chair-shaped spinal cord traction device according to the embodiment 1 of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a chair-shaped spinal cord traction device according to the embodiment 2 of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a chair-shaped spinal cord traction device according to the embodiment 3 of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a chair-shaped spinal cord traction device according to the example 1 of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a view showing the movement of the lying table with different arm length and hinge position;

FIG. 6 is a view showing other movement of the lying table with different arm length and hinge position;

FIG. 7 is a view showing other movement of the lying table with different arm length and hinge position;

FIG. 8 is a view showing other movement of the lying table with different arm length and hinge position;

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of a chair-shaped spinal cord traction device according to the example 2 of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of other driving method of the same example;

FIG. 11 is a schematic view of a chair-shaped spinal cord traction device according to the example 3 of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a schematic drawing orbit of the arm of the same example;

FIG. 13 is a view showing other driving means of the same example;

FIG. 14 is a view showing other driving means of the same example;

FIG. 15 is a view showing chair-shaped spinal cord traction device according to the prior art;

FIG. 16 is a view showing another chair-shaped spinal cord traction device according to the prior art.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiment 1

[0013] Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1. The towing device shown in this embodiment comprises a seat 1 for supporting the user's lower limb, a backrest 2 for supporting the back and head of the user, a chair-like lying stand 3 and the pantograph mechanism 5. The seat 1 and the backrest 2 are disposed so as to be movable on the chair-like lying table 3. Further, the upper arm 4 of the pantograph mechanism 5 is attached in parallel with a part of the lying table 3.

[0014] In the above configuration, when towing, the user's buttocks are placed on the seat 1. Further, the arms 17 are moved along the backrest 2 toward the user's head. As a result, the upper limb of the user can be towed in the direction of the head side, and the lumbar vertebra can be stretched. In this case, in order to eliminate the influence of gravity on the user's spinal cord as much as possible, it is necessary to tilt the backrest 2 to the vicinity of the horizontal position so that the upper body is laid down in advance.

[0015] In the conventional technique, in order to incline the backrest 2 to the horizontal position, the backrest 2 was tilted rearward with the rotation axis near the waist as a fulcrum. On the contrary, in the chair-shaped spinal cord traction device according to the present embodiment, the backrest 2 is attached to the upper arm 4 of the pantograph mechanism 5. The upper arm 4 and the lower arm 6 are connected by the hinge 7 and the upper end portion 8 of the backrest 2 is vertically moved up and down by changing the angle of the arms 4 and 6 with respect to the horizontal plane. With this structure, it is possible to reduce the rearward movement of the backrest 2 when the upper end 8 of the backrest 2 moves downward.

[0016] Specifically, the first lower arm 6 and the second lower arm 10 are attached to the base part 9. And the first upper arm 4 is connected to the first lower arm 6 via a first hinge 7. Also, the second upper arm 11 is connected via the second hinge 12. An extendable arm (driving means) 13 is connected from the second hinge 12 to the first lower arm 6.

[0017] In this configuration, by extending the extendable arm 13 (drive means), the pantograph mechanism 5 expands in the lateral direction and contracts in the longitudinal direction as shown in FIG. 1b.

[0018] As a result, the lying table 3 approaches the horizontal direction gradually. At this time, due to the action of the pantograph mechanism 5, the upper end portion 8 of the backrest 2 moves downward in a substantially vertical direction without much moving rearward.

[0019] On the other hand, by contracting the extension arm 13 (driving means), the pantograph mechanism 5 gradually extends in the vertical direction, and the lying table 3 rises again in the vertical direction. As a result, it is possible for the user to board the device easily.

[0020] In the above explanation, the first upper arm 4 is mounted parallel to the lying table 3, but since the lying table 3 is generally made of metal and has a strong structure, it itself can be used as the first upper arm instead.

Embodiment 2

[0021] A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.2. The basic structure is the same as that of the first embodiment. In the present embodiment, the pantograph mechanism 5 is realized by using the rail 15 and one side arm.

[0022] Specifically, the upper end of the upper arm 4 is moved in the vertical direction along a rail 15 vertically disposed at the center of the pantograph mechanism. In this case, since there is no second hinge, one end of the driving means is attached to the rail 15. According to the present embodiment, even when the backrest 2 is in a substantially horizontal state, the second hinge and the like do not move rearward as compared with the first embodiment. As a result, an extra rear space is unnecessary.

Embodiment 3

[0023] A third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 3. The basic structure is the same as that of the first embodiment. The base part 9 also works as one of the lower arms. One end of the upper arm 11 is connected to the base 9. Then, by connecting the hinge 7 and the hinge 29 to the first upper arm 4, the upper end part 8 of the backrest 2 is vertically moved up and down.

Example 1

[0024] Hereinafter, a first example of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 4. The chair-shaped spinal cord traction device shown in this example has a chair-type lying table 3 on which a seat 1 and a backrest 2 are movably mounted. The lying table 3 is attached to a pantograph mechanism 5. The pantograph mechanism 5 includes a first lower arm 6, a first upper arm 4, a first hinge 7, a second lower arm 10, a second upper arm 11, and a second hinge 12. By the operation of the driving means 13, the position of the connecting portion of both the upper arms 4, 11 can be moved up and down.

[0025] There is a case that it is difficult to control the movement of each arm with only one driving means. Therefore, by attaching the gears 20, 21 to the lower portion of the lower arms 6, 10, the movement of the lower arms 6, 10 is interlocked by engaging the gear 20 with the gear 21.

[0026] In the above configuration, prior to treatment, the positions of the foot holding portion 14 and the seat 1 are set down so that the user can easily get on the device. Therefore, the apex portion of the pantograph mechanism 5 is moved to a high position so that the first upper arm 4 is nearly vertical. Specifically, by extending the extendable arm 13, the distance between the second hinge 12 and the first lower arm 6 is shortened. In this example, the lengths of all the arms are made equal, but it is possible to appropriately determine the arm length and the hinge position according to the orbit of the tilting operation (Figures 5 to 8).

Example 2

[0027] Hereinafter, a second example of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 9. The basic structure is the same as in example 1. The rail 15 is arranged at the center of the pantograph mechanism 5. The pantograph mechanism 5 is realized using only one side arm. Specifically, the upper end of the upper arm 4 is moved in the vertical direction along a rail 15 vertically placed at the center of the pantograph mechanism.

[0028] In this case, the driving means uses the telescopic arm (driving means 13), but a motor driving having a ball screw, a trapezoidal screw, a belt, a chain or the like may be used instead. As an example, FIG. 10 shows a case where the ball screw 22 and the motor 23 are used.

Example 3

[0029] Hereinafter, a third example of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 11. The basic operation is the same as in example 1. The base part 9 is also used as the function of the second lower arm. The second upper arm 11 is connected to the base part 9. The hinge 7 and the hinge 29 are connected to the first upper arm. By changing the mounting angle of the lower arm 6 and the upper arm 11 in the hinges 7 and 29, the upper end portion 8 of the backrest 2 is vertically moved in a substantially vertical direction.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 12, the positions of the hinges at the time before treatment are denoted by 7a1 and 29b1, and those at the time of treatment are denoted by 7a2 and 29b2. The lower end of the first lower arm 6 is located on the perpendicular bisector of the line connecting the points 7a1 and 7a2. Likewise, the lower end of the second upper arm 11 is located on the perpendicular bisector of the line connecting the point 29b1 and the point 29b2. The arm length can be determined in consideration of the orbit of the tilting motion.

[0031] FIG. 13 shows the different drive means 13. The lower end portion of the second lower arm 10 of the pantograph mechanism 5 can be moved. One end of the driving means 13 is attached to the lower end portion of the second lower arm 10 in a state in which the angles of the second upper arm 11 and the second lower arm 10 are fixed. In this state, by extending and contracting the driving means 13, it is possible to move the pantograph 5 in the vertical direction. Therefore, when user's head moves downward, it rarely moves to the rear side.

[0032] FIG. 14 shows one example of the arrangement of the driving means 13. The driving arm 24 is connected to the second upper arm 11 using a hinge 25. A roller 26 is provided at the lower end of the driving arm 24. The roller 26 is movable on the rail 27 in the front-rear direction.

[0033] The driving means 13 connects the base part 9 and the lower ends of the driving arm 24. Due to expansion and contraction of the driving means 13, the driving arm 24 moves and the lying table 3 performs the tilting operation.

[0034] A telescoping arm is used as an example of the driving means 13 in FIG. 14. However, since the roller 26 is linearly moved on the rail 27, a linear motion mechanism having, for example, a ball screw, a trapezoidal screw, a belt, a chain, etc. can be incorporated instead.

Claims

1. A chair-shaped spinal cord traction device comprising:

a chair (1);

a backrest (2);

a lying table (3) on which the chair (1) and the backrest (2) are placed; and

a pantograph mechanism (5),

wherein an upper arm (4) of the pantograph mechanism (5) is attached to the lying table (3).

2. The chair-shaped spinal cord traction device according to claim 1,
wherein a part of the lying table (3) is also used as an upper arm (4) of the pantograph mechanism (5).

3. The chair-shaped spinal cord traction device according to claim 1,
wherein the upper arm (4) of the pantograph mechanism (5) is mounted parallel to the lying table (3).

4. The chair-shaped spinal cord traction device according to any one of claims 1 to 3; further comprising:

a base part (9) of the pantograph mechanism (5);

two lower arms (6,10) arranged in the base part (9); and

two upper arms (4,11) connecting with the lower arms (6,10) via hinges (7,12),

wherein one of the two upper arms (4,11) is attached to the lying table (3) or is used as a part of the lying table (3).

5. The chair-shaped spinal cord traction device according to claim 4,
wherein the first lower arm (6) is longer than the first upper arm (4), and the second lower arm (10) is shorter than the second upper arm (11).

6. The chair-shaped spinal cord traction device according to claim 5,
wherein the ratio of the length of the first upper arm (4) to the first lower arm (6) is the same as the ratio of the length of the second lower arm (10) to the second upper arm (11).

7. The chair-shaped spinal cord traction device according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein an angle of the lower arm (6) with respect to the base part (9) is fixed, or the base part (9) also works as the lower arms (6).

8. The chair-shaped spinal cord traction device according to any one of claims 1 to 3; further comprising:

a base part (9) of the pantograph mechanism (5); and

a rail (15) vertically arranged from the base part (9),

wherein the upper end of the upper arm (4) or the landing table (3) being used as the upper arm (4) is moved in a vertical direction along the rail (15).

9. The chair-shaped spinal cord traction device according to any one of claims 1 to 8; further comprising:

a driving means (13) for expanding and contracting the pantograph mechanism (5) vertically,

wherein one end of the driving means (13) is connected to a part of the lower arm (6).

10. The chair-shaped spinal cord traction device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the lying table (3) is vertically driven with a moving width in the horizontal direction of an upper end of the backrest (2) being set to be one-third or less of a moving width in the vertical direction.

Drawing