EP1809148A1

EP1809148A1 - A device for supporting head and neck

Info

Publication number: EP1809148A1
Application number: EP04793828A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Kjell Svedman
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2004-10-21
Filing date: 2004-10-21
Publication date: 2007-07-25
Also published as: WO2006043861A1

Abstract

A device for supporting head and neck comprising a first set (4a) of expandable members arranged at the side of each other on a first side of a flexible supporting member (6), which are so designed that the fluid pressure in the respective member (2a-d) is individually adjustable independently of the fluid pressure in the other expandable members in the set. Said set comprises: - two or more first expandable members (2a) for supporting the occiput, which are arranged at the side of each other in the cross-direction of the device; - two or more second expandable members (2b) for supporting the neck, which are arranged at the side of each other in the cross-direction of the device; - at least one third expandable member (2c) arranged on a first side of said first expandable members (2a) for supporting a first side of the head; and - at least one fourth expandable member (2d) arranged on a second side of said first expandable members (2a) for supporting the other side of the head.

Description

A device for supporting head and neck

FIELD OF THE INVENTION AND PRIOR ART

The present invention relates to a support device for supporting head and neck, comprising several expandable members, which together are arranged to support the head and the neck of a person having his head and neck resting against the device and each of which being arranged to be pressurized by a fluid.

A person suffering from pain in the head or the neck caused by for instance a whiplash injury often needs a support device which keeps the head and the neck in a position where the pain is as small as possible. Such a support device may for instance have the form of a support collar attached to the head and the neck for supporting the head and the neck when the person is sitting or standing. It may also have the form of a pillow resting against an underlayer, for instance a bed, for supporting the head and the neck when the person is lying. A person suffering from pain in the head or the neck and sleeping without a spe¬ cially designed pillow that holds the head and the neck in a po¬ sition favourable with respect to the pain will often have diffi- culty in falling into deep sleep, owing to fear that the head and the neck will be placed in a pain position during the sleep and owing to the fact that the person wakes up when the head and the neck are placed in such a pain position. A support device of the type in question should be adjustable as to its shape so that one and the same support device can be used by persons with different bodily constitution. The position of the head and the neck in which the pain is as small as possible will also vary from person to person depending on the nature of the injury and will often change in course of time. Therefore, there is a need of a support device which in a simple and flexible manner can be adjusted by the user himself to his prevailing pain situation.

An adjustable pillow for supporting the head and the neck in a favourable position with respect to the pain is previously known from GB 2328866 A. This document discloses a pillow compris- ing a supporting surface divided into several expandable mem¬ bers, the shape of which may be varied by regulation of the air pressure in the respective member. The different expandable members are so arranged that the air pressure in the respective member is individually adjustable independently of the air pres- sure in the other expandable members. This pillow comprises a first expandable member for supporting the neck, a second ex¬ pandable member for supporting the occiput, a third expandable member for supporting one side of the head and a fourth expandable member for supporting the other side of the head. The pillow is connected to an air pump and an electric control device for regulation of the air pressure in each one of the expandable members.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to achieve a support de¬ vice of the type indicated by way of introduction, which has im¬ proved possibilities with respect to the adjustment of its shape and pressing load to the individual needs of the user as com- pared to known support devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention, said object is achieved by means of a support device having the features indicated in claim 1. According to the inventive solution, a first set of expandable members are arranged at the side of each other on a first side of a flexible supporting member, the expandable members in said first set being so designed that the fluid pressure in the respec- tive member is individually adjustable independently of the fluid pressure in the other expandable members in the first set. The inventive device is further characterized in:

- that the first set comprises two or more first expandable members for supporting the occiput, which are arranged at the side of each other in the cross-direction of the device;

- that the first set comprises two or more second expandable members for supporting the neck, which are arranged at the side of each other in the cross-direction of the device; and

- that the first set also comprises at least one third expandable member arranged on a first side of said first expandable members as seen in the cross-direction of the device for supporting a first side of the head, and at least one fourth expandable member arranged on a second side of said first expandable members as seen in the cross-direction of the device, opposite said first side, for supporting the other side of the head.

By arranging expandable and individually adjustable members in the configuration specified above, very good possibilities of a simple and accurate adjustment of the shape of the support de¬ vice to the personal support need of the user are achieved. Likewise, very good possibilities of a simple and accurate ad¬ justment of the distribution of the pressure exerted by the sup¬ port device against the head and the neck of the user are achieved, which has a great influence on the user's comfort owing to the fact that a person suffering from pain in the head or the neck often has a great sensibility in certain areas of these parts of the body with respect to point load and pressure.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the de¬ vice comprises a second set of expandable members arranged at the side of each other on a second side of the flexible sup¬ porting member opposite said first side, the expandable mem¬ bers in said first and second sets being so designed that the fluid pressure in the respective member is individually adjust- able independently of the fluid pressure in the other expandable members in the same set and independently of the fluid pres¬ sure in the expandable members in the other set. The introduc¬ tion of a set of expandable and individually adjustable members arranged in a layer under a first set of such members creates improved possibilities of said adjustment of shape and pressure distribution as compared to support devices only having ex¬ pandable and individually adjustable members arranged in one single layer. By means of the intermediate flexible supporting member, the expandable members in the two sets are kept in predetermined positions in relation to each other so that the support device is able to maintain its set shape under the load from the head and neck of the user.

According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the flexible supporting member comprises a first part, to which the first set of expandable members is attached, and a second part, which is separate in relation to the first part and to which the second set of expandable member is attached, the support¬ ing member comprising means for detachable joining of the two parts to each other. Hereby, only one of the sets of expandable members has to be replaced in case of an occurring defect in an expandable member in one of the sets. Furthermore, this em¬ bodiment makes it possible, when need arises, to replace a set of expandable members arranged in a certain configuration with a set of expandable members arranged in another configuration better suited for the individual user without having to replace the entire support device. By supplying the respective set of ex¬ pandable members arranged in a couple of different configura¬ tions, i.e. an "upper layer" with a couple of different designs and a "lower layer" with a couple of different designs, a support de- vice that can be given several different configurations is offered by this embodiment.

Further preferred embodiments of the inventive support device will appear from the dependent claims and the subsequent de¬ scription.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

With reference to the enclosed drawings, a more specific de¬ scription of embodiment examples of the invention will follow hereinbelow. It is shown in:

Fig 1 a schematic illustration of a support device according to the present invention used as a pillow,

Fig 2 a schematic perspective view from the upper side of a support device according to a first embodiment of the invention,

Fig 3 a schematic perspective view from the underside of the support device according to Fig 2,

Fig 4 a schematic perspective view from the upper side of a support device according to a second embodiment of the invention,

Fig 5 a schematic perspective view from the underside of the support device according to Fig 4,

Fig 6 a schematic illustration of a support device according to the present invention used as a support collar. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A device 1 for supporting head and neck according to the pre¬ sent invention is illustrated in Fig 1. The device 1 comprises several expandable members, which together are arranged to support the head and the neck of a person 3 having his head and neck resting against the device and each of which being ar¬ ranged to be pressurized by a fluid. The device 1 comprises a first set 4a of expandable members 2 arranged at the side of each other on a first side 5a of a flexible supporting member 6 and a second set'4b of a expandable members 2 arranged at the side of each other on a second side 5b of the flexible supporting member opposite said first side 5a, the expandable members 2 in said first and second sets 4a, 4b being so designed that the fluid pressure in the respective member 2 is individually adjust¬ able independently of the fluid pressure in the other expandable members in the same set and independently of the fluid pres¬ sure in the expandable members in the other set.

The side 5a of the flexible supporting member 6 intended to face the head and the neck of the user during the use of the device is in the following denominated "upper side", and the side 5b intended to face away from the head and the neck of the user is in the following denominated "underside". In the corresponding manner, the set of expandable members intended to face the head and the neck of the user during the use of the device, i.e. the above-mentioned first set 4a, is in the following denominated "the upper set", whereas the set of expandable members intended to face away from the head and the neck of the user during the use of the device, i.e. the above-mentioned second set 4b, in the following is denominated "the lower set".

The "longitudinal direction" of the device is in Figs 1-6 indicated by the arrow 8 and is defined as follows: when the user 3 has his head and neck resting against the device 1 , the longitudinal direction 8 of the device is intended to be essentially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the user's head. The "cross-direction" of the device is perpendicular to said longitudinal direction 8 and is in Figs 1-6 indicated by the arrow 9.

The expandable members 2 in the upper set 4a are six or more in number and comprise at least two first expandable members designed to support the occiput, at least two second expandable members designed to support the neck, at least one third ex¬ pandable member arranged on a first side of said first expand- able members as seen in the cross-direction of the device and designed to support a first side of the head, and at least one fourth expandable member arranged on a second side of said first expandable members as seen in the cross-direction of the device, opposite said first side, and designed to support the other side of the head. The expandable members 2 in the lower set 4b are two or more in number and are arranged under the expandable members in the upper set so that the expandable members in the two set overlap each other. Consequently, the support device comprises expandable members 2 which can be considered as arranged in two different and mutually superposed layers.

The supporting member 6 is suitably relatively thin and sheet- shaped so that it won't obstruct the reshapings of the device to any appreciable extent in connection with the regulation of the fluid pressure in the different expandable members 2.

A pressurizing of the expandable members 2 is achieved by means of a means arranged to feed a fluid under pressure into the respective member. This means comprises one or several pumps. In order to facilitate the pressurizing of the expandable members, one or several electrically operated pumps are suita¬ bly used, but also manual pumps may be used. The expandable members 2 are associated with a respective control valve, not shown, by means of which the fluid pressure in the member is adjusted. Each control valve may be controlled to supply fluid into the associated expandable member so as to increase the fluid pressure therein, to discharge fluid from the respective member so as to decrease the fluid pressure therein, or to pre¬ vent inflow of fluid into and outflow of fluid from the member in order maintain a set fluid pressure therein. Each control valve is either arranged directly adjacent the associated expandable member or at a distance therefrom, for instance in a control ar¬ rangement common to the expandable members. In the latter case, which is illustrated in Fig 4, each control valve is con- nected to the associated expandable member via a conduit 7, such as a flexible hose or the similar. Said fluid is suitably air but may also be another suitable gas, liquid or gel.

A support 1 according to a first embodiment of the invention is illustrated in Figs 2 and 3. The supporting member 6 is here constituted by a flexible sheet, for instance in the form of a piece of cloth or the similar. The expandable members in the upper set 4a are here twelve in number and comprise four ex- pandabie members 2a-ι designed to support the occiput, which are arranged at the side of each other in the cross-direction 9 of the device in a first row, and four additional expandable mem¬ bers 2a₂ designed to support the occiput, which are arranged at the side of each other in the cross-direction 9 of the device in a second row, said second row being arranged behind the first row as seen in the longitudinal direction 8 of the device. The ex¬ pandable members in the upper set 4a further comprise two ex¬ pandable members 2b designed to support the neck, which are arranged at the side of each other in the cross-direction 9 of the device, one expandable member 2c designed to support a first side of the head and arranged on a first side of the members 2ai and 2a₂, and one expandable member 2d designed to support the other side of the head and arranged on the second side of said members 2ai, 2a₂. If so considered suitable, the upper set 4a may comprise two or more expandable members 2c, 2d de- signed to support the respective side of the head and arranged after each other in the longitudinal direction 8 of the device. The user is intended to place his neck straight above the two expandable members 2b, with the centre line of the neck located right between these.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figs 2 and 3, the expandable members in the lower set 4b are four in number. The lower set 4b here comprises two expandable members 2e extending es¬ sentially in the longitudinal direction 8 of the device and ar¬ ranged at the side of each other in the cross-direction 9 of the device under the expandable members 2a_{1 ;} 2a₂₎ 2b in the upper set which are intended to support the occiput and the neck. The lower set 4b here also comprises one expandable member 2f extending essentially in the longitudinal direction 8 of the device and arranged under the expandable member 2c in the upper set which is intended to support one side of the head, and one expandable member 2g extending essentially in the longitudinal direction 8 of the device and arranged under the expandable member 2d in the upper set which is intended to support the other side of the head.

A support device 1 according to a second embodiment of the in¬ vention is illustrated in Figs 4 and 5. The supporting member 6 is here in two pieces and comprises a first part 6a, to which the upper set 4a of expandable members is attached, and a second part, which is separate in relation to the first part 6a and to which the lower set 4b of expandable members is attached. Each part 6a, 6b of the supporting member is constituted by a flexible sheet, for instance in the form of a piece of cloth or the similar. The supporting member 6 further comprises means for detachable joining of the two parts 6a, 6b to each other for the formation of a two-layered flexible sheet. Said joining means is arranged to prevent the two parts 6a, 6b of the supporting mem¬ ber from being displaced in relation to each other in the longitu¬ dinal direction 8 or the cross-direction 9 of the device when they are joined. The joining means suitably consists of Velcro tapes attached to the surfaces facing each other of the two parts 6a, 6b of the supporting member.

The expandable members in the upper set 4a are in the em- bodiment illustrated in Figs 4 and 5 six in number and comprise two expandable members 2a designed to support the upper part of the occiput, which are arranged at the side of each other in the cross-direction 9 of the device, and two expandable mem¬ bers 2b designed to support the neck and the lower part of the occiput, which are arranged at the side of each other in the cross-direction 9, of the device. The expandable members in the upper set 4a further comprise one expandable member 2c de¬ signed to support a first side of the head and arranged on one side of the members 2a and 2b, and one expandable member 2d designed to support the other side of the head and arranged on the other side of said members 2a, 2b. If so considered suitable, the upper set 4a may comprise two or more expandable mem¬ bers 2c, 2d arranged to support the respective side of the head, which are arranged after each other in the longitudinal direction 8 of the device. The user is intended to place his neck above the two expandable members 2b, with the centre line of the neck lo¬ cated right between these.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figs 4 and 5, the expandable members in the lower set 4b are four in number. These four ex¬ pandable members 2e are arranged at the side of each other in two rows, which rows are arranged after each other in the lon¬ gitudinal direction 8 of the device. Each one of the expandable members 2e is arranged under one of the expandable members 2c, 2d in the upper set which are intended to support either side of the head and under one of the expandable members 2a, 2b in the upper set which are intended to support the occiput or the neck.

Figs 4 and 5 schematically illustrate how each one of the expandable members is connected to an electric pressurizing and pressure control arrangement 10 via a respective fluid conduit 7 in the form of a flexible hose or the similar. The different fluid conduits 7 are suitably gathered in and kept together by a common tube-shaped casing 11 of flexible material, as illustrated in Fig 4. The arrangement 10 comprises a pump device, preferably in the form of an air pump, for feeding fluid to the expandable members 2a-e and control valves for each one of the expandable members 2a-e so as to make possible an individual adjustment of the fluid pressure in the respective member 2a-e. The arrangement 10 is further provided with manoeuvring members 12, for instance in the form of push buttons, for manoeuvring the pump device and the control valves. By means of these manoeuvring members 12, the user sets the fluid pressure in the expandable members 2a-e so that the support device 1 will get a shape suitable for the pain situation of the user and so that the pressing load from the support device against the head and the neck will be comfortable.

The inventive support device can be designed as a pillow for supporting the head and the neck with the device resting against an underlayer, for instance a bed, as illustrated in Fig 1 , i.e. for supporting the head and the neck when the user is lying. The support device can also be designed as a support collar in- tended to be secured to the head and the neck for supporting thereof when the user is sitting or standing, as illustrated in Fig 6. In the last-mentioned case, the support device is provided with means, for instance in the form of fastening straps, for se¬ curing the device to the head and the neck. In the embodiment illustrated in Fig 6, the device is provided with a first fastening strap 13a intended to be secured to the forehead of the user and two fastening straps 13b intended to be secured to the armpits of the user. The last-mentioned fastening straps 13b are each intended to extend around one of the shoulders of the user via the underlying armpit. In the embodiment illustrated in Fig 6, the device is further provided with a fastening strap 13c extending between the two fastening straps 13b and intended to keep these fastening straps 13b in position. The inventive support de¬ vice may for instance be used for supporting the head and the neck of a person sitting or lying in a permobile or other type of wheel chair.

The inventive support device may with advantage have a longer extension than shown in Figs 1-6, and for instance have expandable members extending down over the shoulders of the user and possibly also down over the back in order to relieve the pressure on certain parts of the shoulder section and the back section, respectively.

The invention is of course not in any way limited to the preferred embodiments described above. On the contrary, several possi¬ bilities to modifications thereof should be apparent to a person skilled in the art without thereby deviating from the basic idea of the invention as defined in the appended claims. The support device may for instance be provided with expandable members arranged in other configurations than shown in the enclosed fig¬ ures and have more as well as fewer expandable members than shown in these figures. The expandable members may of course also have other shapes than shown in the enclosed figures.

Claims

1. A device for supporting head and neck, comprising several expandable members, which together are arranged to sup- port the head and the neck of a person having his head and neck resting against the device and each of which being ar¬ ranged to be pressurized by a fluid, the device comprising a first set (4a) of expandable members (2a-d) arranged at the side of each other on a first side (5a) of a flexible supporting member (6), the expandable members (2a-d) in said first set

(4a) being so. designed that the fluid pressure in the respec¬ tive member (2a-d) is individually adjustable independently of the fluid pressure in the other expandable members in the first set, characterized in: - that the first set (4a) comprises two or more first expand¬ able members (2a; 2a_t) for supporting the occiput, which are arranged at the side of each other in the cross-direction of the device;

- that the first set (4a) comprises two or more second expandable members (2b) for supporting the neck, which are arranged at the side of each other in the cross-direction of the device; and

- that the first set (4a) also comprises at least one third ex¬ pandable member (2c) arranged on a first side of said first expandable members (2a; 2a-i) as seen in the cross-direction of the device for supporting a first side of the head, and at least one fourth expandable member (2d) arranged on a sec¬ ond side of said first expandable members (2a; 2a^ as seen in the cross-direction of the device, opposite said first side, for supporting the other side of the head.

2. A device according to claim 1 , characterized in that the de¬ vice comprises a second set (4b) of expandable members (2e-g) arranged at the side of each other on a second side (5b) of the flexible supporting member (6) opposite said first side, the expandable members (2a-g) in said first and second sets (4a, 4b) being so designed that the fluid pressure in the respective member (2a-g) is individually adjustable inde¬ pendently of the fluid pressure in the other expandable mem¬ bers in the same set and independently of the fluid pressure in the expandable members in the other set.

3. A device according to claim 2, characterized in that the flexible supporting member (6) comprises a first part (6a), to which the first set (4a) of expandable members is attached, and a second part (6b), which is separate in relation to the first part (6a) and to which the second set (4b) of expandable members is attached, and that the supporting member (6) comprises means for detachable joining of the two parts (6a, 6b) to each other.

4. A device according to claim 3, characterized in that the two parts (6a, 6b) of the supporting member are provided with Velcro tapes so as to make possible detachable joining of the parts to each other.

5. A device according to any of claims 2-4, characterized in that the second set (4b) comprises two or more fifth expand¬ able members (2e), which are arranged at the side of each other under said first expandable members (2a; 28^ 2a₂).

6. A device according to any of claims 2-5, characterized in that the second set (4b) comprises at least one sixth ex¬ pandable member (2f), which is arranged under said third expandable member (2c) and at least one seventh expand- able member (2g), which is arranged under said fourth ex¬ pandable member (2d).

7. A device according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said two or more first expandable members (2a; 2a-ι) are arranged at the side of each other in the cross-direction of the device in a first row, the first set (4a) also comprising two or more first expandable members (2a₂) for supporting the occiput, which are arranged at the side of each other in the cross-direction of the device in a second row, said second row being arranged behind the first row as seen in the longitudinal direction of the device.

8. A device according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the device is designed as a pillow for supporting the head and the neck with the device resting against an underlayer.

9. A device according to any of claims 1-7, characterized in that the device is designed as a support collar and comprises means (13a, 13b, 13c) for securing the device to the head and the neck.