Abstract:
An apparatus for indicating correct or faulty back posture comprises a housing and an indicator body. The housing is supported on the user&#39;s body. When the user&#39;s back posture or head position is incorrect, the indicator body moves and signals the user of the incorrect posture or position, e.g., through an audible alarm.

Description:
[0001]    This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/909,833, filed Jul. 23, 2001 (abandoned), which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/425,465, filed Oct. 22, 1999 (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,279,243), which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/801,304, filed Feb. 18, 1997 (abandoned), which is a § 371 application or a continuation of PCT/NO95/00150, filed Sep. 9, 1995, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in a manner consistent with the invention and text of this application. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    I. Field of the Invention  
           [0003]    The present invention relates to a device for placing on a person&#39;s head to indicate correct or incorrect upright posture during the performance of various activities in a standing or sitting position, comprising a balance element connected to a headband, a hairband, an ear clip or other appropriate means for attachment to a person&#39;s head.  
           [0004]    II. Description of Related Art  
           [0005]    A device of this kind is taught in the applicant&#39;s own Norwegian Patent 171,349. This device consists of a balance body which is attached to a U-shaped band, which in turn is attached to a hairband or similar. A spring or similar is located between the legs of the U-band so that the balance body will tip forward when the head is moved too far forward and out of a correct head position. When this happens, a signal will be given to indicate that the user has assumed an incorrect sitting posture.  
           [0006]    This device functions extremely well under qualified guidance, but nevertheless is encumbered with certain weaknesses. For example, the device is rather large and lumpy and projects quite high above the user&#39;s head. This means that the device could easily be torn off the head if the user knocks into a low door frame or other obstruction.  
           [0007]    Further, the device has proven to be somewhat difficult to calibrate and is very sensitive to deviations from the correct calibration. Moreover, it is difficult for the user to perceive when the balance body of the device tips forward, and he or she is therefore dependent on either a mirror or having another person present as an observer.  
           [0008]    Moreover, the device will only indicate incorrect head position when the head is tipped too far forward. It will not indicate an incorrect head position when the head is tipped sideways.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0009]    In order to eliminate these disadvantages it is therefore proposed to design the device as described in the characterizing clause of independent claim  1  below, and also in the subsequent dependent claims. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]    The device will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 1 illustrates a device where the moveable body is a slide which can move in a channel in the fixed body;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 2 shows a device where the moveable body is a pin which, when the head position is incorrect, will move out of a recess in the fixed body;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIGS. 3 a  and  3   b  show the movement of the moveable body according to FIG. 2;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 4 illustrates a device where the moveable body is a ball which will roll along an inclined plane when the head position is incorrect;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 5 shows a section through the device in FIG. 4 along the line V-V;  
         [0016]    FIGS.  6 - 9  show a moveable body made of a disc which is designed to move in a hole in the fixed body;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 6 shows the device from above and with the moveable body in a neutral position;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 7 shows a section along the line VII-VII in FIG. 6;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 8 shows the device from above with the moveable body displaced from the neutral position;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 9 shows a section along the line IX-IX in FIG. 8.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIGS. 10 a  and  10   b  show a preferred embodiment of the device seen in section from above and from the side, respectively;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIGS. 11 a  and  11   b  show the device fastened to the attachment means with a hinged bracket seen from above and from the side, respectively; and  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 12 shows the device in FIGS. 10 a  and  10   b  attached to the user&#39;s head. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0024]    In FIG. 1, a device  1  is shown placed on a person&#39;s head  2  with the aid of an attachment means  3 , which may be a hairband, a headband or another appropriate means. The device  1  consists of a fixed body  4 , which is firmly secured to the attachment means  3 , and a moveable body  5 , which can move translationally relative to the fixed body  4 .  
         [0025]    In the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 1, the moveable body  5  consists of a slide block  5   a  which is designed to move in a channel  6  in the fixed body  4 . When the position of the head is correct, the block  5   a  will preferably be at the highest point of the head and preferably in the rear end of the channel  6 . If the head is bent too far forward, the weight of the block  5   a  will overcome the frictional forces against the channel  6  and the block  5   a  will move forward in the channel  6 . The materials and design of the block  5   a  and the fixed body can be chosen so that an audible sound is made when the block  5   a  strikes the end of the channel  6 .  
         [0026]    In FIG. 2, a second embodiment of the device is shown. Here, the moveable body  5  consists of a pin  5   b  and the fixed body consists of a holder  4   b  equipped with a through-going slot  7  which defines a plane  8  having a recess  9  at the rear end thereof. When the position of the head is correct, the pin  5   b  is in the recess  9 , but when the head is tipped too far forward, it will roll out of the recess  9  and down the plane  8  and preferably make an audible sound when it strikes against the end of the holder  4   b . FIGS. 3 a  and  3   b  show the position of the pin  5   b  when the position of the head is correct and incorrect, respectively.  
         [0027]    An embodiment is shown in FIG. 4 where the moveable body consists of a ball  5   c  and the fixed body of a box  4   c . The box  4   c  is equipped with an inclined plane  10  which is preferably curved in such a way that it inclines from the edges of the box and down towards a bottom point  11  at the back edge  12  of the box. In the neutral position, the ball  5   c  will be at the lowest point  11  of the inclined plane. When the head is tipped too far forward or perhaps to the side, the inclined plane will move past the horizontal position and the lowest point  11  will thereby come to be higher than the inclined plane at the opposite end thereof. The ball will thus roll down the inclined plane and strike against the box wall, preferably making an audible sound in doing so. The box  4   c  is preferably closed so that the ball  5   c  is prevented from falling out. The box  4   c  is attached in an appropriate manner to a headband or the like.  
         [0028]    FIGS.  6 - 9  show a fourth embodiment where the moveable body consists of a disc  5   d  and the fixed body consists similarly of a disc  4   d  of greater diameter. As can best be seen in FIG. 7, the disc  4   d  is double and in one wall has a hole  13  of a smaller diameter than the diameter of the disc  5   d . Said disc  5   d  is also double, but the walls in this case are only connected in the center of the disc. The disc  5   d  is placed in the hole  13  so that one of the walls  14  of the disc  5   d  is on the inside of the edge of the hole, whilst the other wall  15  is on the outside. When the position of the head is correct, the disc  5   d  is centered in the hole  13 . On deviation from the correct head position, the disc  5   d  will shift relative to the hole  13  and clearly indicate that the head position is incorrect. Also in this case, an audible sound will preferably be made when the disc  5   d  reaches its outermost position. Both the disc  5   d  and the disc  4   d  are preferably double curved, so that the device is less sensitive to movement. The curve can be varied according to the desired degree of sensitivity.  
         [0029]    In FIGS. 10 a  and  10   b  is shown a preferred embodiment in which the box  4   e  is fully circular in cross section. The bottom  20  of the box  4   e  is wedge shaped (or conically shaped) with a lowest point approximately in the center of the box and a circular rim  22  forming the highest point. The lowest point may be situated at an indentation  20   a  in the bottom  20 . The rim  22  joins a circular side wall  21  of the box. The top of the box is closed by a top wall  23 , which may have any desired shape, e.g. flat, as shown.  
         [0030]    The box  4   e  may be filled with a fluid with a higher viscosity than air. The fluid may be a liquid. The liquid may be water, alcohol, oil or any other suitable liquid. The purpose of this high viscosity fluid is to slow down the movement of the ball  5   e  and preventing it from swirling around. Due to the high viscosity of the fluid, the box  4   e  will have to be tilted somewhat more before the ball  5   e  starts to roll from the lowest point at the bottom and along the bottom, than what would be the case if the box  4   e  was filled with air. Consequently, this embodiment allows a little bit more flexibility in defining the correct head position.  
         [0031]    The viscosity of the fluid is decisive for the amount of flexibility that is given to the apparatus in defining the correct head position. If, e.g., oil is used, the area defining the correct head position will be larger than if, e.g., water is used.  
         [0032]    In FIGS. 11 a  and  11   b  is shown how the box may be fixed to the head bracket. The box is shown attached to an arm  24 , which is shaped as a flat piece. The attachment between the box and the arm  24  may be fixed or detachable, e.g., by a threaded connection.  
         [0033]    The arm  24  is preferably hingedly connected to a bracket  3   a  of the attachment means. The hinge may be a so-called film hinge formed by a thin flexible piece of material. The arm  24  is conveniently situated on the underside of the bracket  3   a . When the bracket  3   a  is placed on the person&#39;s head, the arm  24  will be pressed against the bracket  3   a . The arm  24  may also be placed on the upper side of the bracket  3   a  and lie against the bracket  3   a  by gravity. A snap connection between the arm  24  and the bracket  3   a  to hold the parts together is also conceivable. It is also conceivable that the connection between the arm  24  and the bracket  3   a  consist of a hook and loop fastener mechanism (such as Velcro®).  
         [0034]    The hinge connection facilitates the packaging and transportation of the apparatus, since this can be laid flat inside a box or the like.  
         [0035]    In an embodiment that is not illustrated, the moveable body may consist of a mercury ball or similar which on deviation from the correct head position moves in such a way that it closes an electronic circuit. The electronic circuit may be formed so that it emits an audible sound, e.g., a piping sound, actuates a vibration device, gives a light signal or in another manner indicates that an incorrect head position has been assumed.  
         [0036]    The device may also be equipped with a proximity sensor which detects the position of the moveable body and gives a continuous or stepwise signal dependent on the position.