US20110006568A1 - Chair for Actively Supporting Human Spine Curve - Google Patents

Abstract

A chair for actively supporting human spine curve comprises a main body and a cushion; the main body comprises a base and a back, with a plurality of slots disposed on both top surfaces of the base and the back; a height sensor is disposed under the mobilizing device; the main body is further disposed with a control device and an inflating device therein, the inflating device and the height sensor are connected to the control device; the cushion comprises a seat cushion and a back cushion, wherein the cushion has an air cushion layer disposed near its top surface, the air cushion layer comprises a plurality of push rods to correspond with the mobilizing device, and to inflate or deflate the air cushion layer through the inflating device; wherein the control device is used for memorizing the spine curve of a person sitting on the cushion.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
• 1. Field of the Invention
• The present invention relates to a chair for actively supporting human spine curve, and more particularly, to a chair for actively supporting human spine curve, which can memorize a spine curve of a user sitting on the chair, when the user sits on a cushion of the chair again, the chair can actively support the spine curve through air cushions to achieve the most comfortable seating.
• 2. Description of the Prior Art
• There are various kinds of chairs such as a couch, an office chair, a dining chair and so on for different applications; these chairs provide seats for users to avoid standing for a long time.
• Recent improvements to chairs focus on seat cushions and back cushions to stress that they are soft and comfortable with no other features included.
• Therefore, in order to solve the above problems, the applicant of this invention has already filed PCT applications PCT/CN2008/000092 (citation 1), PCT/CN2007/000317 (citation 2), and PCT/CN2007/007367 (citation 3), which are described below:
• Citation 1 discloses a healthy chair which can adjust the human spine curve, the healthy chair comprises a seat cushion and a back cushion disposed with a plurality of lifting devices, each lifting device is driven by a motor to lift and lower the cushion so as to let the cushion form a profile corresponding to human spine curve to actively support the user. However, the motor driven means needs to use a lot of motors and the costs are high, making it difficult for massive applications.
• Citation 2 discloses another healthy chair which can adjust the human spine curve, the healthy chair comprises a seat cushion and a back cushion disposed with a plurality of lifting devices, which uses air bags or water bags to lift and lower the cushion so as to let the cushion form a profile corresponding to human spine curve to actively support the user when the user is sitting on the cushion, and the plurality of lifting devices returns to their original positions when the user stands up. However, this application needs to use a lot of air bags or water bags, which can be complicated to implement and the costs are high, making it difficult for massive applications.
• Citation 3 discloses another healthy chair which can adjust the human spine curve, the healthy chair comprises a seat cushion and a back cushion disposed with a plurality of lifting devices, each lifting device comprises a main body, at least one air cushion, at least one inflating device and a control device. However,citation 3 has all the components built in the chair, making the chair too bulky and too heavy to handle.
• Therefore, the traditional healthy chairs present several shortcomings to be overcome.
• In view of the deficiencies of the traditional healthy chairs, after years of constant researches, the inventor has consequently invented and proposed a healthy chair for actively supporting human spine curve.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
• It is an object of the present invention to provide a healthy chair for actively supporting human spine curve, which can memorize the spine curve of the user in advance, when the user sits on the cushion, the cushion can actively form a profile corresponding to the spine curve of the user by using the inflation/deflation of the air cushion layer to actively support the spine curve of the user to provide the most comfortable seating.
• It is another object of the present invention to provide a healthy chair for actively supporting human spine curve, the cushion is disposed with an air cushion layer therein and the air cushion layer is near the top surface, the air cushion layer comprises a plurality of supporting air bags, the healthy chair can actively support the spine curve when the user is lying on the healthy chair with the automatic inflation/deflation of the supporting air bags.
• In order to achieve the above objects, the present invention discloses a healthy chair for actively supporting human spine curve, mainly comprising an cushion and a main body; the cushion having a pad for forming a seat cushion and a back cushion, the seat cushion and the back cushion having an air cushion layer placed on the top surfaces, the air cushion layer comprising a plurality of supporting air bags, each supporting air bag connecting with an air pipe, a plurality of push rods extending downward from the top surface of the air cushion layer, the air pipes and the push rods protruding out of the bottoms of the seat cushion and the back cushion; the main body is hollow and comprises a base and a back with their top surfaces disposed with a plurality of slots, each slot corresponds to a mobilizing device inside the base and the back, and each mobilizing device has a height sensor disposed under the mobilizing device, the base and the back are further disposed with a control device and an inflating device therein, the inflating device and the height sensor are connected with the control device; when the cushion is placed on the top surface of the main body, the push rod enters the slot of the main body to correspond with the mobilizing device, and the air pipe is connected with the inflating device inside the main body; wherein the control device is used for memorizing the spine curve of a person sitting on the cushion, when a user sits on the cushion, the push rod is pressed to push the mobilizing device to move downward, so the height sensor detects a moving distance of the mobilizing device and sends the detection results to the control device to determine whether the user is the one whose spine curve is memorized, if so, then the control device drives the inflating device to inflate the plurality of supporting air bags to let the surface of the cushion meet the profile of the spine curve of the user to achieve the object of actively support human spine curve and to provide the most comfortable seating.
• These features and advantages of the present invention will be fully understood and appreciated from the following detailed description of the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
• FIG. 1 illustrates a combinational view of a chair for actively supporting human spine curve in the present invention;
• FIG. 2 illustrates a 3D combinational view of the chair for actively supporting human spine curve in the present invention;
• FIG. 3 illustrates a 3D view of the chair for actively supporting human spine curve in the present invention;
• FIG. 4 illustrates a side view of the chair for actively supporting human spine curve in the present invention;
• FIG. 5 illustrates a front view of the chair for actively supporting human spine curve in the present invention;
• FIG. 6 illustrates a view of the inflating device connecting with the supporting air bag of the healthy chair for actively supporting human spine curve in the present invention; and
• FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate operational views of the healthy chair for actively supporting human spine curve in the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
• Please refer toFIG. 1 toFIG. 6 for a healthy chair for actively supporting human spine curve, which mainly comprises:
• amain body1, themain body1 is hollow and comprises abase11 and aback12, and a plurality ofslots111,121 andpits112,122 are disposed on the top surface of thebase11 and theback12, eachslot111,121 corresponds to amobilizing device2 in thebase11 and theback12, themobilizing device2 comprises twocorresponding positioning columns21 with a fixed distance between them, the twopositioning columns21 are fixed on the inner bottoms of thebase11 and theback12, eachpositioning column21 is covered with anelastic body22, oneelastic body22 supports one end of a mobilizingrod23 to let the mobilizingrod23 move up and down through the supports of theelastic bodies22;
• a plurality ofheight sensors3, the plurality ofheight sensors3 is disposed inside themain body1 and placed right under the mobilizingrod23, when the mobilizingrod23 is moving downward, it will be in contact with theheight sensor3 to let theheight sensor3 detect a position when the mobilizingrod23 of the mobilizingdevice2 reaches the lowest point;
• ancushion4, thecushion4 comprises aseat cushion41 and aback cushion42 disposed with a plurality ofholes411,421 at their bottoms, and apad43 is placed therein, thepad43 is disposed with a plurality of throughholes431, each throughhole431 corresponds to theholes411,421 on the bottoms of theseat cushion41 and aback cushion42, thepad43 has anair cushion layer44 placed on its top surface, theair cushion layer44 comprises atop layer441 and a plurality of supporting air bags422, the plurality of supportingair bags442 is placed under thetop layer441 equidistantly, each supportingair bag442 is implemented with an air hole for inflation/deflation (not shown in figure), and thetop layer441 comprises a plurality ofpush rods45 thereon, thepush rods45 go through the throughholes431 of thepad43 and theholes411,421 of theseat cushion41 and theback cushion42, and thepush rods45 protrude out of theholes411,421 of theseat cushion41 and theback cushion42; furthermore, thepush rods45 are disposed at both sides of the supportingair bags442; wherein thecushion4 is disposed on the top surface of themain body1 to let thepush rod45 in theseat cushion41 and theback cushion42 of thecushion4 enter the slot of the main body and stick to or come close to a corresponding mobilizingrod23 of the mobilizingdevice2; furthermore, thepad43 can be made of foam materials or cushioning materials;
• aninflating device5, wherein the inflatingdevice5 is fixed in themain body1, the inflatingdevice4 connects to each supportingair bag442 through a plurality ofpipes6, the plurality ofpipes6 connects with the supportingair bags442 and the inflatingdevice5 through the throughholes431 of thepad43 of thecushion4 and thepits122 of themain body1;
• a plurality ofcontrol switches7, as shown inFIG. 6, eachcontrol switch7 is disposed on eachair pipe6 for controlling the inflation and deflation of each supportingair bag442; and
• acontrol device8, wherein thecontrol device8 is fixed in themain body1 and connected with theheight sensor3, the plurality ofcontrol switches7 and theinflating device5, so thecontrol device8 can receive a detection signal from theheight sensor3 to activate some or all of thecontrol switches7 according to the detection signal to inflate or deflate each one of the plurality of supportingair bags442 through the inflatingdevice5 respectively.
• Please refer toFIGS. 7A and 7B for operational views of the healthy chair for actively supporting human spine curve in the present invention. When auser9 sits on thecushion4 for the first time, the supportingair bags442 in theseat cushion41 and theback cushion42 correspond to the neck vertebrae, thoracic vertebrae, lumbar vertebrae, sacral vertebrae, hip and the legs of theuser9. At this time, the supportingair bags442 are not inflated, and thepush rods45 of theseat cushion41 and theback cushion42 will be pressed by the weight of theuser9. Since eachpush rod45 bears different weight, the moving distance of eachpush rod45 is different from one another, thepush rod45 bearing the heaviest weight will push the mobilizingrod23 of the mobilizingdevice2 downward, so the mobilizingrod23 will be in contact with theheight sensor3 to let theheight sensor3 detect a moving distance of each mobilizingrod23 when it reached the lowest position. Therefore, the spine curve regarding to the neck vertebrae, thoracic vertebrae, lumbar vertebrae, and sacral vertebrae of theuser9 is obtained and the detection result is sent to thecontrol device8 for storage, then thecontrol device8 identifies the suitable air volume of the supportingair bags442 corresponding to the neck vertebrae, thoracic vertebrae, lumbar vertebrae, and sacral vertebrae of theuser9.
• Besides, thecontrol device8 can memorize spine curves of theuser9 for various sitting postures in advance and actively supports the spine curves of theuser9 when he/she is changing his/her postures.
• When theuser9 once again sits on thecushion4 which has memorized his/her spine curve, thecontrol device8 detects the moving distance of the mobilizingrod23 to determine if the person is theuser9. If so, then thecontrol device8 activates thecontrol switches7 to inflate the supportingair bags442 respectively through the inflatingdevice5. If necessary, when a supportingair bag442 is inflated to a predetermined volume, thecontrol device8 will deactivate thecorresponding control switch7, since eachcontrol switch7 has different activating and deactivating times, theseat cushion41 and theback cushion42 of thecushion4 will form a profile corresponding to the spine curve regarding to the neck vertebrae, thoracic vertebrae, lumbar vertebrae, and sacral vertebrae of theuser9 through the supportingair bags442, and the supportingair bags442 will fill the space between the neck vertebrae, thoracic vertebrae, lumbar vertebrae, and sacral vertebrae of theuser9 so the chair actively supports the human spine curve, and when theuser9 is sitting, he/she can get the best support and the best seating quality.
• When theuser9 leaves thecushion4, thepush rod45 moves upward, the mobilizingrod23 returns to its original position due to the elastic force of theelastic body22, then theheight sensor3 detects the returning movement of the mobilizingrod23 and sends the detection signal to thecontrol device8, thecontrol device8 drives the inflatingdevice5 to deflate the supportingair bag442 to let the top surface of thecushion4 become flat again.
• The present invention discloses a healthy chair for actively supporting human spine curve, while compared with other prior art techniques, is advantageous in:
• 1. The present invention provides a healthy chair for actively supporting human spine curve, which can memorize the spine curve of the user, when the user sits on the cushion, the cushion can actively form a profile corresponding to the spine curve of the user by using the inflation/deflation of the air cushion layer to actively support the spine curve of the user to improve seating quality.
• 2. The present invention provides a healthy chair for actively supporting human spine curve, the cushion is disposed with an air cushion layer therein and the air cushion layer is near the bottom surface, the air cushion layer comprises a plurality of supporting air bags, the healthy chair can actively support the spine curve when the user is sitting on the healthy chair with the automatic inflation/deflation of the supporting air bags.
• Many changes and modifications in the above described embodiment of the invention can, of course, be carried out without departing from the scope thereof. Accordingly, to promote the progress in science and the useful arts, the invention is disclosed and is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (8)

1. A chair for actively supporting human spine curve comprising:

a main body, wherein the main body is hollow and comprises a base and a back both disposed with a plurality of mobilizing devices therein, the base and the back have their its top surfaces disposed with a plurality of slots, each slot corresponds to a mobilizing device, and each mobilizing device has a height sensor disposed under the mobilizing device;

an cushion having a seat cushion and a back cushion, the seat cushion and back cushion both comprising a pad having an air cushion layer placed on its top surface, the air cushion layer comprising a top layer and a plurality of supporting air bags attached under the top layer thereof, the top layer comprising a push rod thereon, the push rod protruding out of the bottom of the cushion; wherein the cushion is disposed on the top surface of the main body to let the push rod in the cushion enter the slot of the main body and stick to or come close to a corresponding mobilizing device;

an inflating device, wherein the inflating device is fixed in the main body, the inflating device connects to each supporting air bag of the air cushion layer through a plurality of pipes, so the inflating device can inflate or deflate supporting air bags through the plurality of air pipes;

a plurality of control switches, each control switch being disposed on each air pipe for controlling the inflation and deflation of each supporting air bag;

a control device, wherein the control device is fixed in the main body and connected with the height sensor, the plurality of control switches and the inflating device, so the control device can receive a detection signal from the height sensor to activate some or all of the control switches according to the detection signal to inflate or deflate each one of the plurality of supporting air bags through the inflating device respectively, and the top surface of the cushion can form a profile corresponding to the spine curve of the user to actively support the user's spine.

2. The healthy chair for actively supporting human spine curve as claimed inclaim 1, wherein pits are disposed on the top surfaces of base and the back of the main body for allowing a plurality of air pipes to enter the main body and to connect with the inflating device.

3. The healthy chair for actively supporting human spine curve as claimed inclaim 1, wherein the mobilizing device comprises two corresponding positioning columns with a fixed distance between them, the two positioning columns are fixed on the inner bottoms of the base and the back, each positioning column is covered with an elastic body, each elastic body supports one end of a mobilizing rod to let the mobilizing rod move up and down through the supports of the elastic bodies.

4. The healthy chair for actively supporting human spine curve as claimed inclaim 1, wherein the bottoms of the seat cushion and the back cushion of the cushion are disposed with a plurality of holes, and the pad is disposed with a plurality of through holes, the through holes correspond to the plurality of holes on the bottom of the seat cushion and the back cushion to let the push rod come through and to let the air pipe enter the cushion to connect with the plurality of supporting air bags.

5. The healthy chair for actively supporting human spine curve as claimed inclaim 1, wherein the pad in the cushion is made of foam material.

6. The healthy chair for actively supporting human spine curve as claimed inclaim 1, wherein the pad in the cushion comprises independent tubes.

7. The healthy chair for actively supporting human spine curve as claimed inclaim 1, wherein the pad in the cushion is made of cushioning material.

8. The healthy chair for actively supporting human spine curve as claimed inclaim 1, wherein the control device memorizes a spine curve of the user when he/she is sitting in advance.

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