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EP 2 375 939 B1 |
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EUROPEAN PATENT SPECIFICATION |
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Mention of the grant of the patent: |
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15.04.2015 Bulletin 2015/16 |
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Date of filing: 28.12.2009 |
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International Patent Classification (IPC):
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International application number: |
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PCT/NL2009/050807 |
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International publication number: |
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WO 2010/080025 (15.07.2010 Gazette 2010/28) |
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SUPPORTING DEVICE
TRAGVORRICHTUNG
DISPOSITIF DE SUPPORT
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Designated Contracting States: |
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AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB GR HR HU IE IS IT LI LT LU LV MC MK MT NL NO
PL PT RO SE SI SK SM TR |
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Priority: |
09.01.2009 NL 1036398
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Date of publication of application: |
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19.10.2011 Bulletin 2011/42 |
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Proprietor: Hans Luijkx Riooltechniek |
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4708 AN Roosendaal (NL) |
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Inventor: |
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- LUIJKX, Johannes Cornelis Christoffel
NL-4708 AN Roosendaal (NL)
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Representative: Grootscholten, Johannes A.M. et al |
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Arnold & Siedsma
Bezuidenhoutseweg 57 2594 AC The Hague 2594 AC The Hague (NL) |
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References cited: :
WO-A-2007/139365 DE-C1- 19 747 080 US-A- 3 253 858
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DE-B- 1 264 703 US-A- 866 753 US-A- 5 332 287
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Note: Within nine months from the publication of the mention of the grant of the European
patent, any person may give notice to the European Patent Office of opposition to
the European patent
granted. Notice of opposition shall be filed in a written reasoned statement. It shall
not be deemed to
have been filed until the opposition fee has been paid. (Art. 99(1) European Patent
Convention).
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[0001] The present invention relates to a supporting device. Such a supporting device serves
for instance to enable the head of a user to be placed thereon, wherein such a supporting
device can serve as head support. A supporting device according to the present invention
can also serve as a seat-defining device or a carrier for allowing a body part (such
as a leg or arm) of a patient to rest thereon, for instance as support in an operating
room.
[0002] Supporting devices for the head or the seat of a user are per se known. These known
devices are usually formed by a cushion-like element.
[0003] Such known supporting devices have a number of drawbacks, however, relating particularly
to the application options thereof, for instance in saunas, in a garden or on the
beach and so on.
[0004] It is thus usual for use to be made in a sauna of a stack of planks, for instance
for resting the head. Benches are also arranged in saunas, usually of wood or highly
durable plastic, although wood is usually recommended because of its breathing properties.
Metal is also an option, although it is used less frequently. On the beach users will
usually roll up a towel and/or an item of clothing so as to enable placing thereof
under their head by way of forming a supporting device. It is however also the case
on the beach or in the garden that cushion-like elements are exposed, as in saunas,
to a very high humidity and fungal growth can occur here in the material of a cushion-like
element. On the other hand, a stack of planks of wood, plastic or metal as embodiment
of a known supporting device is hard and uncomfortable, mainly as a result of the
point load which is caused thereby, or at least felt by a user, particularly when
he/she wishes to rest the head thereon.
[0006] The present invention has been developed with a view to obviating or at least reducing
the above stated and other problems and drawbacks of known embodiments of human body
part supporting devices, for which purpose a human body part supporting devices is
provided according to the present invention as claimed in claim 1.
[0007] Preferred embodiments are set out in the appended dependent claims.
[0008] Below, a number of preferred embodiments will be described in detail with reference
to the accompanying drawing, in which the same or similar parts, components and aspects
are designated with the same reference numerals, and in which:
Fig. 1 shows an embodiment of a human body part supporting device according to the
invention; and
Fig. 2 shows another further embodiment of a human body part supporting device according
to the invention.
[0009] Fig. 1 shows an embodiment of a human body part supporting device with (in frontal
view) circular, plate-like support bodies 9 which are each arranged on a tilting and
rotation mechanism 30. Each support body 9 is placed in the direction of arrow G on
an upright 31 with a ball head 32 on the free outer end thereof. Provided in the underside
of support bodies 9 is a receiving cavity 33 for receiving the ball head therein.
Each support body 9 can thus rotate and pivot so as to adjust its position to a load
of a weight pressing thereon for an optimum pressure distribution and increased comfort.
[0010] Figure 2 shows an embodiment with support bodies 9 having different peripheral forms.
[0011] The human body part supporting device can be designed such that at least one of the
support bodies is bowl-shaped for the purpose of accommodating particularly a curvature
along the back of a head of a user. This is shown with broken lines in figure 1. All
of the at least three support bodies are preferably bowl-shaped in order to thus realize
the most optimal possible convenience of use.
[0012] Support bodies of a human body part supporting device according to the present invention
(or at least one thereof) can be covered with a cushion-like element, for instance
a gel element or silicone-filled elements.
[0013] The choice of a material of the human body part supporting device or parts thereof
can be based on an intended application. An application under a sunbed or sun lamp
or in a sauna will thus preclude the support bodies being manufactured from a strongly
heat-conducting material (such as a metal), because these support bodies might then
become too hot for a user to touch such support bodies or even lie on or against them.
In an operating room use can be made of metal, in particular surgical steel. As a
cushion element for massage applications the support bodies can be covered with a
compressible body such as a gel or silicone element.
[0014] Ball joints are commercially available and consist of a metal threaded end with a
ball at the end. This ball is pressed into a plastic cavity. This plastic part has
a flat side with which it can be fixed to a wooden support surface. The threaded end
is screwed into the wood, whereby there is no danger of burning if it is applied for
the sauna cushion. Tilting surfaces or planks of wood, plastic or metal forming or
defining the support bodies can in front view additionally or alternatively also be
round, triangular, square, rectangular and so on. Combinations of support bodies with
different peripheral forms in a single device are likewise possible, as shown in figure
2. The peripheral forms can also be defined jointly by a number of such support bodies
or plates, and the forms of the support bodies are preferably chosen and arranged
such that minimal gaps generally remain therebetween and maximum support is thus provided
without (great) risk of hair or fingers of a user becoming trapped or jammed in these
gaps. In addition, use can further be made of a frame which can be arranged on the
base plate and round the support bodies. A package can thus be formed which is easily
stored, particularly when such a frame fits so closely round the support bodies that
they are held in a position parallel to the base plate.
[0015] It is noted that a device according to the invention is shown and described with
a base plate, and that it is possible to integrate a device according to the invention
in a chair, bed, sauna bench or other similar configuration.
1. Human body part supporting device, comprising at least three substantially plate-like
support bodies (9), each carried by a tilting mechanism (30), wherein each tilting
mechanism (30) bears the support body (9) for load by a user on a side of the support
body (9) opposite the tilting mechanism (30), wherein the support body (9) is tiltable
about a tilt axis defined by the tilting mechanism (30) and in a loaded state is oriented
in accordance with the load, whereby each support body (9) is placed on an upright
(31) with a ball head (32) on the free outer end thereof, wherein in the underside
of support bodies (9) is a receiving cavity (33) for receiving the ball head (32)
therein,
characterized by
a base plate (2) for placing the human body part supporting device flat on a ground
surface, wherein the uprights (31) are arranged on said base plate (2).
2. Human body part supporting device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least three
support bodies (9) each define a substantially flat bearing surface.
3. Human body part supporting device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the bearing surfaces
are opposite the tilting mechanism (30) and oriented towards the load by the user.
4. Human body part supporting device as claimed in at least one of the foregoing claims,
wherein the human body part supporting device is at least partially formed from a
single moisture-resistant material from the group at least comprising wood and plastic.
5. Human body part supporting device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the human body part
supporting device is formed substantially wholly from the material.
6. Human body part supporting device as claimed in at least one of the foregoing claims,
further comprising spring elements which are connected to the tilting mechanisms (30)
and which exert adjusting forces on the tilting mechanisms in order to bring the support
bodies (9) into rest positions in the unloaded situation.
7. Human body part supporting device as claimed in at least one of the foregoing claims,
wherein at least one of the support bodies (9) is bowl-shaped for the purpose of accommodating
particularly a curvature along a body part, such as the back of the head, of a user.
1. Menschliches-Körperteil-Stützvorrichtung, aufweisend mindestens drei im Wesentlichen
plattenartige Stützkörper (9), die jeweils von einem Kippmechanismus (30) getragen
werden, wobei jeder Kippmechanismus (30) den Stützkörper (9) für eine Belastung durch
einen Benutzer auf einer Seite des Stützkörpers (9) entgegengesetzt zu dem Kippmechanismus
(30) trägt, wobei der Stützkörper um eine Kippachse kippbar ist, die durch den Kippmechanismus
(30) definiert ist und in einem Belastungszustand gemäß der Belastung ausgerichtet
ist, wobei jeder Stützkörper (9) an einem Stiel (31) mit einem Kugelkopf (32) an dem
freien äußeren Ende davon angeordnet ist, wobei sich in der Unterseite der Stützkörper
(9) eine Aufnahmekavität (33) zum darin Aufnehmen des Kugelkopfes (32) befindet,
gekennzeichnet durch
eine Basisplatte (2) zum Platzieren der menschliches-Körperteil-Stützvorrichtung flach
auf einer Bodenfläche, wobei die Stiele (31) auf der Basisplatte (2) angeordnet sind.
2. Menschliches-Körperteil-Stützvorrichtung gemäß Anspruch 1, wobei die mindestens drei
Stützkörper (9) jeweils eine im Wesentlichen flache Lagerfläche definieren.
3. Menschliches-Körperteil-Stützvorrichtung gemäß Anspruch 2, wobei die Lagerflächen
dem Kippmechanismus (30) entgegengesetzt sind und in Richtung zu der Belastung durch
den Benutzer ausgerichtet sind.
4. Menschliches-Körperteil-Stützvorrichtung gemäß mindestens einem der vorhergehenden
Ansprüche, wobei die menschliches-Körperteil-Stützvorrichtung zumindest teilweise
aus einem einzigen feuchtigkeitsbeständigen Material aus der mindestens Holz und Kunststoff
aufweisenden Gruppe ausgebildet ist.
5. Menschliches-Körperteil-Stützvorrichtung gemäß Anspruch 4, wobei die menschliches-Körperteil-Stützvorrichtung
im Wesentlichen vollständig aus dem Material ausgebildet ist.
6. Menschliches-Körperteil-Stützvorrichtung gemäß mindestens einem der vorhergehenden
Ansprüche, ferner aufweisend Federelemente, die mit den Kippmechanismen (30) verbunden
sind und die Verstellkräfte auf die Kippmechanismen ausüben, um die Stützkörper (9)
in der Nicht-Belastungs-Situation in Ruhepositionen zu bringen.
7. Menschliches-Körperteil-Stützvorrichtung gemäß mindestens einem der vorhergehenden
Ansprüche, wobei mindestens einer der Stützkörper (9) schalenförmig ist, zum Zweck
des Aufnehmens insbesondere einer Krümmung entlang einem Körperteil, beispielsweise
des Hinterkopfes eines Benutzers.
1. Dispositif de support de partie corporelle humaine comprenant au moins trois corps
de support (9) sensiblement en forme de plaque, chacun étant supporté par un mécanisme
pouvant basculer (30), dans lequel chaque mécanisme pouvant basculer (30) maintient
la charge appliquée sur le corps de support (9) par un utilisateur sur un côté du
corps de support (9) opposé au mécanisme pouvant basculer (30), dans lequel le corps
de support (9) peut basculer par rapport à un axe de basculement défini par le mécanisme
pouvant basculer (30) et, dans un état chargé, est orienté en fonction de la charge,
de telle sorte que chaque corps de support (9) est placé sur un montant (31) ayant
une tête sphérique (32) sur son extrémité externe libre, dans lequel, sur la face
inférieure des corps de support (9), se trouve une cavité de réception (33) destinée
à recevoir la tête sphérique (32) à l'intérieur,
caractérisé par :
une plaque de base (2) destinée à placer le dispositif de support de partie de corps
humain à plat sur une surface du sol, dans lequel les montants (31) sont agencés sur
ladite plaque de base (2).
2. Dispositif de support de partie corporelle humaine selon la revendication 1, dans
lequel les au moins trois corps de support (9) définissent chacun une surface d'appui
sensiblement plate.
3. Dispositif de support de partie corporelle humaine selon la revendication 2, dans
lequel les surfaces d'appui sont opposées au mécanisme pouvant basculer (30) et orientées
vers la charge par l'utilisateur.
4. Dispositif de support de partie corporelle humaine selon au moins l'une des revendications
précédentes, dans lequel le dispositif de support de partie corporelle humaine est
au moins partiellement formé à partir d'un simple matériau résistant à l'humidité
issu du groupe comprenant au moins le bois et la matière plastique.
5. Dispositif de support de partie corporelle humaine selon la revendication 4, dans
lequel le dispositif de support de partie corporelle humaine, est formé sensiblement
entièrement à partir du matériau.
6. Dispositif de support de partie corporelle humaine selon au moins l'une des revendications
précédentes, comprenant en outre des éléments formant ressort qui sont reliés aux
mécanismes pouvant basculer (30) et qui exercent des efforts de réglage sur les mécanismes
pouvant basculer dans le but d'amener les corps de support (9) dans des positions
de repos dans la situation non chargée.
7. Dispositif de support de partie corporelle humaine selon au moins l'une des revendications
précédentes, dans lequel au moins l'un des corps de support (9) est en forme de bol
dans le but de s'adapter plus particulièrement à une courbure le long d'une partie
corporelle, telle que l'arrière de la tête, d'un utilisateur.

REFERENCES CITED IN THE DESCRIPTION
This list of references cited by the applicant is for the reader's convenience only.
It does not form part of the European patent document. Even though great care has
been taken in compiling the references, errors or omissions cannot be excluded and
the EPO disclaims all liability in this regard.
Patent documents cited in the description