US3924894A

US3924894A - Dental chair backrest with integral elbow supports

Info

Publication number: US3924894A
Application number: US512486A
Authority: US
Inventors: Azriel J Rabinowitz; David B Wilson
Original assignee: Sybron Corp
Current assignee: Nalge Nunc International Corp
Priority date: 1974-10-07
Filing date: 1974-10-07
Publication date: 1975-12-09
Anticipated expiration: 1992-12-09
Also published as: CA1020447A

Abstract

An upholstered backrest with integral, flexible elbow supports for dental chairs and the like in which the elbow supports are formed by dished wings of upholstery material extending from the sides of the backrest. The upholstery material forming the elbow supports are stitched along a flexure line which permits the supports to yield under pressure as may occur for example when the dentist presses close to the side of the dental chair.

Description

United States Patent [191 Rabinowitz et al.

[ Dec. 9, 1975 DENTAL CHAIR BACKREST WITH INTEGRAL ELBOW SUPPORTS [75] Inventors: Azriel J. Rabinowitz, Rochester;

David B. Wilson, Holcomb, both of NY.

[73] Assignee: Sybron Corporation, Rochester,

[22] Filed: Oct. 7, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 512,486

[52] US. Cl. 297/460; 297/411 [51] Int. Cl. A47C 7/02 [58] Field of Search 297/219, 230, 231, 352, 297/394, 397, 411, 412, 414, 460, 250, 254

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,858,937 l/1975 Norris 297/284 X Primary ExaminerJames C. Mitchell Attorney, Agent, or FirmTheodore B. Roessel; Roger Aceto ABSTRACT 3 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures US. Patent Dec. 9, 1975 FIG. 1

FIG. 2

FIG. 3

DENTAL CHAIRBACKREST WITH INTEGRAL ELBOW SUPPORTS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the dental chair upholstery and more particuarly to backrest upholstery having integral elbow supports.

In conventional dental chairs the armrests usually do not follow the movement of backrest and therefore do little to support the elbow and upper arms of a patient when the backrest is in a reclined position. Also conventional armrests tend to interfere with the free movement of the patient into and out of the dental chair.

In other chair designs, as shown for example, in US. Pat. No. 3,729,227 a backrest and elbow support is made in one piece, wherein the elbow support is formed by extending and curving the sides of the backrest. However, making the back and elbow supports from a single body, has the disadvantage that such a configuration is difficult to upholster and further that the side will not yield as the dentist moves close into the chair.

In the present invention, the elbow supports are integral with and hinged to the backrest upholstery material, which in turn is fastened to the backrest casting or frame of the dental chair. In this way, the elbow supports not only provide support for the patients elbows and upper arms when the patient is in a reclined position, but also yield under pressure so that the dentist may work close to the chair. Further as the backrest frame rotates about a hinge point which simulates the hip joint of a patient, the entire backrest cushion and the integral-elbow and arm supports rotate as a unit with the backrest frame. Consequently, there is no relative motion between the elbow and arm supports and the arms of the patient during the motion of the backrest frame. The present invention also permits ease of manufacture and quick assembly of the upholstered structure to the backrest of the dental chair.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention may be characterized in one aspect thereof by the provision of an upholstered struc-' ture for attachment to the backrest of a dental chair, the upholstered structure comprising a back plate having upholstered wing-like extensions connected to the longitudinal edges of the plate by a web of material, the web forming a hinge which permits the extension to pivot with respect to the back plate; each of the extensions define a pocket containing a dished plate completely surrounded by upholstery cushion material, the dished plate providing the form for nesting the patients elbows; and an upholstered cushion attached to the back plate, the upholstered cushion and back plate being attached to the back rest of a dental chair by bolts which pass through the backrest and plate and which are threaded to the cushion so that turning the bolts draws the cushion, back plate and backrest together.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION One object of the present invention is to provide a upholstered structure for the backrest of a dental chair, the structure having integral elbow supports.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an upholstered structure which can be quickly and eas- 2 ily fixed'to the backrest of the dental chair, the structure having integral upholsterd elbow supports.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an upholstered backrest for dental chairs and the like having integral elbow supports which retain their form DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of the backrest of the dental chair with the upholsteredstructure in place;

FIG. 2 is'a top view of the backrest shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion of the backrest taken along the lines 3--3 of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED I EMBODIMENTS Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows the backrest frame 10, of the dental chair, the seat of which is indicated at 12. The backrest frame includes a dished arm portion 'l4-which is pivoted to the seatrest at 16. The dished shape of arm 14 is best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3. The upper portion of the backrest is provided with a slot (not shown) for slidably receiving a headrest, a portion of which is shown at 18. Thus, shown in FIG. 1 is that portion of the backrest frame which supports the upper body portion including the patients upper arm and elbows.

The upholstered structure for backrest frame 10 is shown generally indicated at 20. The structure includes a padded back 22 having a lumbar support cushion 24 and a pair of upward extending wings 26 at each side which rest against arm portions 14. As best seen in FIG. 1, the major portion. of wings .26 between the dished arm portion and the top of the backrest is unobstructed. This permits the dentist to stand in close to the side of the dental chair and in fact bump or engage against wings 26. While the primary function of wings 26 is to provide support for the elbows and upper arms of the patient when in the reclined position, the wings should be able to yield should the dentist or his assistant press against them as he stands in close to the dental chair.

As shown in FIG. 3, the upholstered structure 20 actually consists of two portions, the padded back 22 and a plate member 28 to which wings 26 are attached. The two portions are drawn together and fixed to backrest frame 10 by a bolt or other suitable connector 30 as further set out hereinbelow.

Back 22 includes a rigid pan 32 having a tee nut 34 for receiving connector 30. Pan 32 is then simply covered with an upholstery cushion material 36, such as foam rubber and any suitable upholstery fabric material 38.

The second portion of upholstered structure 20, that is plate member 28, is unupholstered accept for a sheet of upholstery material 40 which extends across its front surface. Sheet 40 extends outwardly from the edge 41 of the plate to form the front surface of each wing 36 only one of which is shown in FIG. 3. A second sheet 42 of upholstery material defines the rear surface of wing 36. Sheet 42 preferably does not extend over the entire back of plate 28 but is merely fixed to the plate adjacent edge 41 so that two sheets 42 are provided, one for each wing.

As shown in FIG. 3,

sheets

40 and 42 are brought into contact and switched together at 44 by two sew lines which extend generally parallel to plate edge 41. This defines a web of material at 44 which connect wings 26 to plate 28 and allows the wings to flex relative to the plate, the web defining a hinge for this purpose. FIGS. 1 and 3 show that the portion of

sheets

40, 42, which define the front and rear surfaces of wings 26 have there outer going edges connected along a sew lines which extend about the periphery of the wing, the periphery including of course, the double sew line which defines web 44. While the sheets can be directly sewn together, it is preferred that an intermediate side panel 46 to be used between

sheets

40 and 42 in order to increase the thickness of the wing at the outer edge. In any event, FIG. 3 shows that wing 26 encloses a pocket 48. Floating within the pocket and not connected directly to either of the sheets, are a pair of stiffening

members

50 and 52.

Members

50 and 52 are relatively stiff so as to rigidify wing 26. In addition, member 52 is slightly dish-shaped in order to more comfortably accommodate the elbow of the patient which rests against the wing. Disposed about and between each

member

50 and 52 are three layers of any suitable upholstery cushion material 54.

As thus described, the upholstered portions are quickly and easily fitted to backrest frame simply by tightening bolt 30 which draws the two portions and the backrest frame together. Further the construction of wings 26, not only permits support for the patients elbow and upper arm, but also permits a flexure or bending of the wing about web 44 should the dentist press in at the'side of the dental chair. Thus,'it should be appreciated that the present invention accomplishes its intended objects in providing an upholstered back for dental chairs which is quickly and easily manufactured and assembled and which has integral elbow supports that yield or flex with respect to the backrest frame when pushed against by the dentist.

Having thus described the invention in detail, what is claimed as new is:

1. An upholstered back with integral elbow supports for the backrest frame of dental chairs and the like comprising:

a. an elongated plate adapted for connection to the backrest frame;

b. first and second sheets of upholstery material fixed respectively to the front and rear surfaces of said elongated plate, portions of said sheets extending outwardly from opposite longitudinal edges of said plate to form wing portions, said first sheet being disposed over the front surface of said plate and defining the front surfac'e of each wing portion, said second sheet comprising a pair of separate sheets defining the rear surface of each wing portion, said second sheets being connected along one edge to said plate;

0. said outward extending wing portions being stitched together along a peripherial line' to form a sealed pocket, said peripherial line including a segment running generally along a major length of each of said longitudinal edges wherein said first and second sheets are placed one against the other and stitched to form hinges about which said wing portions can deflect;

. stiffening means in each of said pockets to rigidity the same and permit said wings to support the elbows of a patient in said dental chair, each means including a pair of stiffening members, one disposed over the other, the top one of said members being formed with a curved portion to cup the elbow of a patient in said dental chair; and

e. upholstery cushion material in each of said wingv pockets and about said means to cushion said wings, a portion of said upholstery cushion material being interposed between said members.

2. An upholstered back with integral elbow supports as in claim 1 including an upholstered backrest cushion removably fixed to the front surface of said plate over said first sheet of upholstery material.

3. An upholstered back with integral elbow supports as in claim 2, wherein said upholstered backrest cushion includes a rigid pan, said elongated plate and upholstered cushion being connected to the backrest frame by bolts passing through said backrest frame and plate and threaded to said pan, whereby turning said bolts draws said pan, plate and backrest frame together.

Claims

1. An upholstered back with integral elbow supports for the backrest frame of dental chairs and the like comprising: a. an elongated plate adapted for connection to the backrest frame; b. first and second sheets of upholstery material fixed respectively to the front and rear surfaces of said elongated plate, portions of said sheets extending outwardly from opposite longitudinal edges of said plate to form wing portions, said first sheet being disposed over the front surface of said plate and defining the front surface of each wing portion, said second sheet comprising a pair of separate sheets defining the rear surface of each wing portion, said second sheets being connected along one edge to said plate; c. said outward extending wing portions being stitched together along a peripherial line to form a sealed pocket, said peripherial line including a segment running generally along a major length of each of said longitudinal edges wherein said first and second sheets are placed one against the other and stitched to form hinges about which said wing portions can deflect; d. stiffening means in each of said pockets to rigidity the same and permit said wings to support the elbows of a patient in said dental chair, each means including a pair of stiffening members, one disposed over the other, the top one of said members being formed with a curved portion to cup the elbow of a patient in said dental chair; and e. upholstery cushion material in each of said wing pockets and about said means to cushion said wings, a portion of said upholstery cushion material being interposed between said members.