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Back support for a chair

Back support for a chair description/claims

The present application claims priority from Australian Provisional Patent Application No 2005905152 filed on 16 Sep. 2005, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.

The present invention relates to a chair and in particular to a back support for a chair which provides adjustable support to the vertebral column of a seated individual.

In modern society, people spend an increasing amount of time in a seated position. In most office environments and workplaces, more and more people are being employed in positions where their daily duties are desk orientated and they spend the majority of their day seated at their own workstation. Further, with the popularity of television and video games and the like, many individuals are also spending a great deal of their leisure time in a seated position.

Given such a large amount of time spent by individuals in a seated position, it is important that they are provided with chairs that are comfortable and provide sufficient support to ensure correct posture as well as to reduce stress on the individual's back and prevent any back related problems from developing. In this regard, one of the most important features of any chair is in the manner in which the chair supports the user's back. Should a chair provide inadequate support, or support the back in an improper position, the user may become uncomfortable after sitting for a prolonged period of time. This can in turn contribute to chronic back problems, which can easily be avoided through correct back support.

The human back differs in size, shape and strength from individual to individual, and as a result the ideal type of back support will also differ from individual to individual. Unfortunately, most available chairs are typically designed with the back support sized and shaped to accommodate an average person having an average build, and hence do not suit all individuals. In this regard, most office type chairs are provided with various adjustment mechanisms to adjust the height and position of a variety of features of the chair, such as back support angle and height, however whilst this allows a variety of different configurations of the chair, they are typically limited in range and not always adjusted according to the correct postural needs of the individual.

In this regard, there is a need to provide a chair which employs a back support that is readily conformable to the back of a variety of individuals to support the individual's spine in a manner which optimises weight distribution and/or which cradles the back to reduce pressures being transferred to the user's spine.

Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or the like which has been included in the present specification is solely for the purpose of providing a context for the present invention. It is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the present invention as it existed before the priority date of each claim of this application.

Throughout this specification the word “comprise”, or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising”, will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps.

In a first aspect, the present invention is a back support for a chair, comprising:

a body for receiving a back of a user when said user is in a seated position on said chair; and

one or more shape adaptive members attachable to said body wherein the shape of the or each shape adaptive member is variable in response to pressure applied thereto by the back of said user when said user is in said seated position; wherein, the one or more shape adaptive members are arranged proximal said user's vertebral column when the user is in said seated position.

In one embodiment of this aspect, the body is a substantially vertical body having a support surface against which at least a portion of the user's back is received. A portion of the body proximal said support surface may be provided with a soft and flexible material, such as foam, to provide comfort to the user. In one form, the support surface may be a substantially flat surface. In another form, the support surface may be contoured to conform to the user's back.

The one or more shape adaptive members may be in the form of a pouch containing a quantity of gel material. The gel material may be a hydrogel or a polymer gel. In one form, the gel material may be a viscoelastic polyurethane gel. The pouch containing the gel material may be a polyurethane film material which assumes the shape of the gel material contained therein. In this regard, the shape of the pouch may readily change in response to pressure applied thereto by the back of the user. Such pressure causes a change in the distribution of the gel within the pouch. The pouch may be in the form of an elongate strip of gel material.

In one embodiment, one shape adaptive member may be positioned on the support surface of the body. In this regard, the shape adaptive member may extend along the support surface for substantially the height of the body. The shape adaptive member may be positioned such that it extends centrally along the support surface of the body to be positioned adjacent the vertebral column of the user when in said seated position. In this regard, the body may be formed with a recess provided therein for receiving the shape adaptive member. The shape adaptive member may be attached within the recess by way of an adhesive or the like.

In this embodiment, the shape adaptive member may be positioned to receive the vertebral column of the user and to adapt to the shape of the region of the user's back, adjacent the vertebral column. Such an arrangement may optimise the weight and pressure distribution between adjacent vertebrae of the vertebral column.

In another embodiment, two shape adaptive members may be positioned on the support surface of the body. In this regard, the shape adaptive members may extend along the support surface for substantially the height of the body. The shape adaptive members may be positioned such that they extend centrally along the support surface of the body to be positioned adjacent the vertebral column of the user when in said seated position. In this regard, shape adaptive members may be separated by a gap having a distance of between 25-75 mm. The gap may be recessed from the surface of the shape adaptive members defining an open space between the shape adaptive members. Each shape adaptive member may have a width of between 25-75 mm. The body may be formed with a pair of recesses provided therein for receiving the shape adaptive members. The shape adaptive members may be attached within the recesses by way of an adhesive or the like.

In this embodiment, the shape adaptive members may be positioned to receive the region of the user's back proximal the transverse processes of the vertical column, such that the spinous process may extend into the gap provided between the shape adaptive members. The shape adaptive members may adapt to the shape of the region of the user's back, adjacent the transverse processes of the vertebral column, to optimises the weight and pressure distribution between adjacent vertebrae of the vertebral column.

In another embodiment, the one or more shape adaptive members may be attached to the body such that they are substantially flush with the support surface of the body. In yet another embodiment, the shape adaptive members may be attached to the body such that they at least partially project beyond the support surface of the body.

In a second aspect, the present invention is a chair comprising:

• Provisional Patent
• Utility Patent

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