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Seat shell

Seat shell description/claims

Priority is claimed to German Patent Application No. DE 20 2007 007 001.2. filed on May 15, 2007, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.

The present invention relates to a seat shell with adjustable cushioning elements.

Such seat shells have support functions and allow disabled persons to maintain an upright sitting position and also offer the support that disabled persons need in order to sit with a physiologically correct posture. To this end, the seat shells have a modular design or are directly custom-made.

This type of seat shell can be augmented by mobility aids or wheelchairs for purposes of enhancing mobility. A wide array of fixtures and holding systems augment the function of the shells and provide support for sitting.

Various seat shell sizes are available to accommodate different body sizes so as to provide an equal measure of comfortable sitting over a wide range, from small children to tall and heavy persons.

For this purpose, a solid outer shell, especially one made of fiberglass-reinforced material, is fitted with several inner parts which, as a function of the patient's size, are cushioned or padded with soft foam to specifically fit the patient.

In addition, molded shells having a seat and a backrest molded part are known which are cushioned to size with polyether foam. Here, several Velcro closures serve to join the pads to the seat and to the backrest.

Another known approach in this context is a design in which the shoulder joints can move freely. Very good lateral support is provided in the transition area between the chest and the lumbar spine by means of specially configured cushioning elements.

In order to produce such molded shells, volume models such as body forms (also made directly to fit the patient's body), gypsum casts, vacuum casting or other three-dimensional parts, are acquired digitally and spatially in real dimensions and stored as a computer-based model. The stored 3D data is processed by various software programs and subsequently transferred to a CNC (Computer Numerical Control) milling machine that generates a precisely dimensioned foam cushion module for the patient. The milled cushion parts are incorporated into the molded shell and finished with a covering and accessories.

A drawback found in actual practice, however, is that considerable work is involved in the production of such custom-made molded shells. Moreover, these molded shells can only be adapted to a very limited extent to changing physical requirements of the person, for example, in the case of growing children, so that it is often necessary to manufacture a new item.

European patent application EP 1256 333 A2 also discloses a seat for disabled persons, comprising a seat surface, several back cushion modules which are arranged in pairs and are pivotable by means of a ball-and-socket joint and whose distance can be varied relative to horizontally adjacent cushion modules, and comprising a head cushion module. Moreover, by means of a screwed connection, adjacent cushion modules can be affixed in pairs at different vertical positions defined by the individual recesses.

A disadvantage encountered here is the relatively great effort required to adjust the back cushion modules. Moreover, it has been found that the support and holding functions of the back cushion modules that can be achieved in this manner are not optimal.

Furthermore, European patent application EP 1 584 315 A1 discloses an orthopedic spinal column support for disabled persons that is configured as a seating device. The spinal column support has support elements that can be affixed at different spatial positions. A drawback in this context is the rather limited possibility of adjustment to the individual requirements of the user.

DE 691 22 268 T2 relates to a chair for disabled persons having at least a seat that is adjustably connected to a supporting frame by means of a hinge at the rear of the seat. The axes of the hinge are arranged parallel to each other. A front section intended to support the thigh as well as a back section intended to support the pelvis that can be adjusted independently of each other are arranged at the rear of the seat.

Moreover, German utility model DE 298 03 725 U1 describes a wheelchair having a frame with a seat surface and a frame with two back tubes, each of which supports a backrest element. The backrest elements can be mounted at a variable distance on a crossbar.

An object of the present invention is to provide a seat shell with adjustable cushioning elements with which an optimal sitting and holding function can be achieved with simple means.

The present invention provides a seat shell with adjustable cushioning elements, these cushioning elements each have two pads and can be non-positively attached to an essentially vertical frame section of a frame by means of an affixing means, whereby the pads each have at least two holes configured as longitudinal slots for each affixing means.

This has made it possible for the first time to easily create an adaptable arrangement of the cushioning elements that can be adjusted by simple means to the individual requirements of the user, said cushioning elements being configured here as pads so as to allow the medically required support and holding functions or, if applicable, a compression of certain body regions or tissues. Towards this end, the outer area of each pad has an angled support zone that laterally encompasses the body of the user. Owing to its user-friendliness, loosening the affixing means makes it possible to move the pads in all spatial axes and to also set them in any desired orientation, so that the adjustment can also be undertaken individually as desired every time the seat shell is used, for example, in order to make a quick adjustment to accommodate changing requirements in terms of comfort.

In particular, it is advantageous here that the cushioning elements can be adjusted in terms of their relative height, width as well as inclination and that they can be attached by means of the affixing means, so that, after the affixing means has been loosened, the desired spatial arrangement can be set with a single manual adjustment.

In this context, it is particularly advantageous for the depth of the cushioning elements to be adjustable, especially in order to thus achieve a largely uniform distribution of the pressure associated with the desired support effect.

For this purpose, it has been proven to be especially practical if, for the depth adjustment, at least one spacer can be placed between the cushioning element and the frame section, whereby the spacer can be adjusted in terms of its dimensions—which determine the distance—or else it can be interchanged, thus allowing a quick adaptation that sets the desired distance independently of the free adjustability in the direction of the other spatial axes.

• Provisional Patent
• Utility Patent

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