Abstract:
A traction chair is disclosed which functions as a normal chair when not in use, but which can be deployed to provide a user with traction for decompressing the spine. The traction chair employs a stationary framework that is supported on the ground. A number of articulating components are mounted on the stationary framework; the articulating components being actuated by a motive force. The articulating components when actuated together cause the seat portion of the chair to separate from the backrest portion and open up a widening gap between the seat portion and backrest portion of the chair.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Related Applications 
     Not Applicable 
     2. Technical Field 
     This invention relates to devices which provide a traction force to the human body and more particularly to a reclining traction chair. 
     Some of the main causes of compression to the human spine include everyday gravitational forces upon the human body, poor posture and poor muscle-skeletal alignment. Spinal compression can manifest itself as minor back pain, but can also progress to nerve damage in more serious cases. Therefore, it has been found to be beneficial to decompress the spine. Decompression allows the spine to relax and realign properly and also to relax and rehydrate the spinal discs located between vertebrae. 
     A number of methods of decompression involve devices which provide traction to the spine. Traction is the deliberate and prolonged pulling of a muscle or body part to correct dislocation, cause realignment and relieve pressure. Classic traction appliances include the various inversion-type devices which involve inverting the body so that the feet are held fast and the remainder of the body is decompressed through gravity. These devices included inversion boots or inversion tables. A major problem with inversion is that it causes blood to rush toward the head and pool in the upper extremities. People who have heart disease, high blood pressure, eye diseases (such as glaucoma), or are pregnant are at higher risk for complications from inversion therapy and should consult their doctors first to be informed of the risks or else avoid inversion therapy altogether. 
     Other traction devices for relieving pressure on the spine have come in the form of appliances which immobilize the neck and then apply traction force to the body. U.S. Pat. No. 6,626,494 (Yoo) discloses a traction chair which has a fixture for holding the neck and head immovable while the rest of the body is gradually lowered when the chair is lowered, and a type of gravity traction is applied. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,144,880 (Daniels) discloses a traction table.  FIG. 3  of this patent shows a patient with his head and feet immobilized in a harness while the patient&#39;s lumbar area is suspended in a gap located between upper and lower table platforms. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,330,254 (Larson) discloses a workplace chair which has a separation gap between the chair back and chair seat upon which a seated worker can suspend the lumbar area of the spine through gravity (See FIG. 7). However, this chair has no method of preventing the upper body from dropping further into the gap from gravity; thus presumably the user would have to constantly readjust as the lumber region becomes uncomfortably jammed into the gap. This patent also suggests further impractical seating positions for a worker (See FIG. 8). 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,203,107 (Jonsson) discloses a chair having a separated chair back and chair seat which creates a gap (See FIGS. 8 and 9). This chair has a weight bearing platform on the back portion of the seat, which flexes downward when a person sits in this chair, thus allowing the lumbar area to suspend and decompress, while at the same time providing some support to the seated person&#39;s lower body. 
     The previously mentioned art for relaxing the human spine ranges from medical traction tables to exercise apparatus to office furniture that is of questionable utility. A need exists for a practical and comfortable home traction chair which is attractive in appearance and which provides traction to the spine while a person is relaxing during normal home activities such as watching TV or reading. 
     The foregoing reflects the state of the art of which the inventor is aware, and is tendered with a view toward discharging the inventor&#39;s acknowledged duty of candor, which may be pertinent to the patentability of the present invention. It is respectfully stipulated, however, that the foregoing discussion does not teach or render obvious, singly or when considered in combination, the inventor&#39;s claimed invention. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention is a traction chair that is easily integrated as a piece of household furniture, and that provides traction relief to a person seated therein. The traction chair is comprised of a seat back and a seat portion, wherein the seat back and seat portion can be articulated so as to open up a gap between them. The user seats himself in the chair and then articulates the chair so that the gap opens beneath the vertical line of the user&#39;s spine, causing the weight of the lower body to suspend slightly into the gap, thus creating traction by gravity. In the preferred embodiment, the traction chair has a frictional material located on the top surface of the seat and on the front surface of the back rest. The frictional material grips the clothing or skin of the seated user and allows for mechanical traction to be applied to the user&#39;s body; essentially allowing the lower body to be pulled away from the upper body, thus increasing the tractive force upon the spine beyond that applied by gravitational traction alone. 
     The inventive traction chair is also functional as a piece of household furniture that provides a level of comfort and practicality for every-day use. The traction chair can be used during relaxation activities such as TV watching and reading, thus allowing a user to obtain the benefits of traction without having to use inversion techniques or traction tables. The traction chair can be used as a recliner, for example, but if traction is desired, then the user can engage the articulation of the seat and backrest so as to apply tractive force to the seated user. 
     Accordingly, the following objects and advantages of the invention apply: 
     It is an object of this invention to provide a traction chair that is a comfortable and practical every day option when compared to other traction appliances. 
     It is another object of this invention to provide a traction chair which can also be used as an attractive piece of household furniture. 
     Further objects and advantages of the invention will be brought out in the following portions of the specification, wherein the detailed description is for the purpose of fully disclosing the preferred embodiments of the invention, without placing limitations thereon. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention will be more fully understood by reference to the following drawings which are for illustrative purposes only: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the inventive traction chair. 
         FIG. 2  is a front view of the inventive traction chair. 
         FIG. 3A  is a plan view of the inventive traction chair in its non-deployed state. 
         FIG. 3B  is a plan view of the inventive traction chair in its deployed state, showing the gap located between the seat and backrest. 
         FIG. 4  is a side view of the inventive chair with an armrest shown in phantom so that the user&#39;s body position can be viewed; this view shows the user&#39;s body position with the chair at rest prior to actuating its tractive capabilities. 
         FIG. 5  is a side view of the inventive chair with an armrest shown in phantom so that the user&#39;s body position can be viewed; this view shows the user&#39;s body position cradled within the backrest and seat upon actuating the chair&#39;s tractive capabilities. 
         FIG. 6  is a side view of the inventive chair as shown in  FIG. 5 , with the backrest and seat separated at their maximum deployment. 
         FIG. 7  is a front perspective view of the framework and articulating components of the inventive chair with the padded backrest and seat removed. 
         FIG. 8A  is a side perspective view of the framework and articulating components of the inventive traction chair shown in a non-deployed state. 
         FIG. 8B  is a side perspective view of the framework and articulating components of the inventive traction chair shown in a partially-deployed state. 
         FIG. 8C  is a side perspective view of the framework and articulating components of the inventive traction chair shown in a fully-deployed state. 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view of the seat carriage of the inventive traction chair. 
         FIG. 10  is a close up elevated perspective view of the seat carriage attached to the carriage rails. 
         FIG. 11  is a perspective view of a manual embodiment of the inventive traction chair. 
         FIG. 12  is a side view of the manual embodiment of  FIG. 11 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The inventive reclining traction chair  10  is shown in  FIGS. 1-3A, 3B  which has the appearance of a typical “recliner” and could be used as such. The chair  10  has a padded seat  12 , a padded backrest  14 , padded armrests  16  located on either side  18 ,  20  of the padded seat and a padded footrest  98 . The padded seat  12  has a front side  22 , left and right sides  24 ,  26  and a rear side  28 . The padded backrest  14  includes a top  30 , bottom  32  and left and right sides  34 ,  36 , a head pad  38  and a back pad  40 ; near the sides  34 ,  36  of the backrest  14 . Between the head pad  38  and back pad  40  are gaps  42  to allow the shoulders space to fall into during traction. By relieving pressure on the shoulders, the chest of a user opens up and relaxes during traction. 
       FIG. 4  shows a side view of the chair  10  with a user  44  seated therein and using the chair  10  in normal fashion. In  FIG. 5 , the user  44  has decided to actuate the traction capabilities of the chair  10  and as shown, the backrest  14  and seat  12  begin to separate to form a gap  46 , while at the same time the backrest  14  tilts backward and the seat  12  travels forward and tilts upward as shown. In  FIG. 6 , the backrest  14  and seat  12  have reached their maximum range of travel and the user&#39;s buttocks  41  are located in the gap  46 . In  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the user  44  is cradled in a tilted orientation in the chair, so that the user&#39;s weight is born in the chair cradle. When the gap  46  is widened, the user&#39;s sacral region and hips sink partially into the gap. This creates a gravitational traction on the spine which helps the spine&#39;s initial relaxation to occur. Also, relaxation of the shoulders  45  is aided by gaps  42  in backrest  14  which allow the shoulders  45  to fall by gravity, especially in the orientation shown in  FIG. 6 . When shoulders  45  fall into gaps  42 , the chest opens up and causes further relaxation. 
     As the gap  46  is opened wider, the mechanical tractive force of the chair  10  further causes the lower body  48  (located in the seat) to be pulled in a direction opposite from the upper body  50  (located against the backrest). Separation is aided by a frictional material  52  covering the body-facing surfaces of both the seat  12  and the backrest  14 . This frictional material  52  grips a user&#39;s clothing as the gap  46  is widened, thus maintaining the user&#39;s lower body  48  in the seat as immobile as possible and further maintaining the user&#39;s upper body  50  as immobile as possible against the backrest  14 . The frictional material  52  operates on a similar principal as neck harnesses, cables, or head retaining appliances often seen used with traction tables; that is, to maintain body parts as immobile as possible so that as traction is applied, the lower body  48  and upper body  50  are pulled in opposite directions, thus opening up the spine and relieving pressure thereon. The inventor has found that material used on motorcycle seats provides an exemplary frictional material which suffices for the purposes of the invention. 
       FIG. 7  shows the framework and articulating components of the inventive traction chair  10  which underlies the padded seat  12 , backrest  14  and footrest  98 . As shown, a central stationary framework  51  provides a foundation upon which are hung the articulating components of the chair  10 . The articulating components are comprised of all the components which move upon actuating the chair  10 . These include the backrest framework  60 , the seat carriage  62 , front seat carriage support  64 , footrest assembly  66 , connecting rods  68  and electronic telescoping actuator  70 . 
     Framework  51  is comprised of a base which includes left and right side foot members  58  which are connected by cross beam  72  and four vertical members, two in front  74  and two in the rear  76 . Cross beam  72  includes a mounting plate (not shown) for the electronic telescoping actuator  70  which will be discussed in more detail later herein. Referring also to  FIG. 8A , left and right armrests  16  are connected to the central stationary framework by vertical members. Left and right guide rails  78  connect front and rear vertical members  74 ,  76  and guide rails  78  are mounted parallel with left and right armrests  16 . At the uppermost points of left and right front vertical members  74  are mounted rollers  80  which face each other on the inside of vertical members  74 . 
       FIGS. 8A-8C  illustrate the graduated movement of the articulating components as the chair is articulated from a resting position ( FIG. 8A ), to a middle position ( FIG. 8B ), to a fully deployed position ( FIG. 8C ). The articulation is achieved by the movement of actuator  70  coupled with the connection of the articulating components which transfer the force from the actuator  70  throughout the various components. By illustration, the connecting rods  68  connect the backrest framework  60  to the seat carriage support  64  and in turn backrest framework is pivotally connected  79  to rear vertical members  76 . Connecting rods  68  have a first end  82  which pivotally connects to the top of the seat carriage support  64  and a corresponding second end  84  which pivotally connects to a bottom end of the backrest framework  60 . Connecting rods  68  provide a linkage connecting backrest framework  60 , seat carriage support  64  and seat carriage  62 , thus allowing them to articulate in a simultaneously coordinated fashion. 
     Seat carriage  62  travels horizontally forward and back on left and right guide rails  78 ; when traveling in its forward horizontal direction, the seat carriage  62  separates seat  12  from the backrest  14 , thus opening up the gap  46  between the seat and backrest as discussed above. As further shown in  FIG. 9 , seat carriage  62  is essentially a framework, laid horizontally, which supports the seat. A pair of rollers  86  is attached to seat carriage  62  in an outboard fashion, which allows them to engage with left and right guide rails  78 , the rollers  86  being spaced to fit over guide rails  78  and travel evenly upon them. A seat carriage support mounting bracket  88  is located in the center of seat carriage  62 . Mounting bracket  88  attaches to cross tube  92  of front seat carriage support  64 . Left and right side rails  90  of seat carriage  62  extend substantially forward of mounting bracket  88 . 
       FIG. 10  shows the seat carriage  62  mated with the guide rails  78 . When rollers  86  are mated to guide rails  78 , they provide a weight-bearing support for the rear of the seat carriage  62 . The seat carriage support  64  is pivotally connected  63  to foot members  58  which provides a more forward-positioned weight bearing support for the seat carriage  62  (See  FIGS. 8A-8C ). 
     As shown in  FIGS. 8A-8C , as seat carriage  62  travels upon the left and right guide rails  78  the orientation of seat carriage shifts as the seat carriage travels along the contours imparted into left and right guide rails. Guide rails are contoured with an upward angle as they extend to the front of the chair  10 . As the seat carriage travels forward, the upward slope of the guide rails  78  causes the seat  12  to angle upward. This action tends to lift the user&#39;s feet off of the ground causing the user  44  to be cradled by the seat  12  and backrest  14  as shown in  FIG. 6 . This suspension of the user&#39;s body off the ground causes the user&#39;s weight to sink into the gap  46 . Toward the rear  94  of the chair  10 , guide rails  78  adopt a severe concave bend  96  which, when the seat  12  travels backward, causes rollers  86  to dip into the bend  96 , which causes the seat  12  to angle downward, to a level orientation (See  FIG. 4 ). At this point the user is again sitting upright and his feet are flat on the ground as shown in  FIG. 4  and the gap  46  between seat and backrest is nonexistent. The traction chair  10  can then be used as any normal chair in this orientation. 
     The inventive traction chair  10  has a footrest assembly  66  that is deployed when the chair is in its maximum traction orientation as shown in  FIG. 6 . The footrest assembly  66  is designed to actuate into a deployed position as the seat carriage moves to its forward positioning. Footrest assembly  66  is comprised of a frame  99  attached to a footrest cushion  98 . Frame  99  has two rearward-extending side rails  100  joined by cross-member  104 . Side rails  100  are pivotally attached to the front of seat carriage  62  at pivotal attachment points  102 . A length of side rails  106  extend rearward of the attachment points  102 . The rearward extension of side rails engages rollers  80  attached near the top of front vertical member  74 . As seat carriage  62  travels forward it forces the rearward extensions  106  against rollers  80 , causing the footrest assembly  66  to rise to a deployed position (See  FIGS. 4-6 ); when the seat carriage  62  travels in reverse, the footrest assembly  66  falls until it reaches a stowed position. 
     The actuator  70  is preferably comprised of an electric motor  108  attached to a telescoping shaft  110 . In  FIGS. 4-6 , the chair is shown with the telescoping shaft  110  traveling from minimal to maximum deployment. The electric motor  108  attaches to motor mount (not shown) on cross beam  72 . The telescoping shaft  110  has a first end which connects at pivotal attachment point  112  to the front seat carriage support  64 . The second end of the shaft  110  connects to the electric motor  108 . The electric motor  108  can be selectively actuated in a forward and reverse direction. The forward direction places force on the front seat carriage support  64  and causes the seat  12  to travel forward in the manner previously described. The remaining articulating components also operate as described herein. When the forward-most extension of telescoping shaft  110  is reached (See  FIG. 6 ), the widest gap  46  between seat  12  and backrest  14  is also achieved; however a user may actuate the motor to whatever point feels most comfortable and which decompresses the spine. 
     Manual methods of actuation are also contemplated in the invention. For example, although not shown in the drawings, a manual actuating handle could be used as a means for supplying motive force (in place of actuator  70 ) to the articulating components of the traction chair. The handle would be operated by the user&#39;s muscle force, and force could be applied by the user against the front seat carriage support  64  through a linkage attached to the handle. The handle could be engineered to have several “stops” so that the user could selectively actuate the chair to achieve different sizings of gap  46  which most comfortably fit the user and decompress the spine. 
       FIGS. 11 and 12  propose a second manual means for actuating the chair. In this embodiment, a pair of springs  114  are attached to foot members  58  at their first ends and further attached to seat carriage support  64  at their second ends. The user  44  would seat herself in the chair  10  and push down and forward on arm rests  16 , and lean back against backrest  14 , thus manually causing seat  12  to move forward on guide rails  78  and cause gap  46  to open up. At maximum extension of springs  114 , the maximum gap  46  would be opened. A stop or lockout position could be engineered by means well known in the art when the maximum extension is reached, thereby allowing the user to relax from applying manual force upon armrests  16 . When it is desired to retract the chair, the user  44  would grasp armrests  16  and apply downward force on footrest assembly, thereby overcoming the lockout position and forcing the seat  12  to travel rearward, thereby causing the chair  10  to return to its retracted position as shown in  FIG. 1 . Stop  116  would prevent any further rearward travel of backrest  14  once the chair  10  returns to its retracted position. 
     Finally, although the description above contains much specificity, this should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention, but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention. This invention may be altered and rearranged in numerous ways by one skilled in the art without departing from the coverage of any patent claims, which are supported by this specification.