Back support

Abstract

A back support is described which will be effective in militating any relative upward movement of the support and an associated vertically extending seat back of an associated vehicle.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. provisional application 60/569,680, filed May 10, 2004.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to back supports and more particularly to a support for the operator of a motor vehicle to provide support to the lower back region of the operator to maintain the operator's back in a correct aligned position to thereby militate against curvature of the lower lumbar region.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Modern car and truck designs have developed substantially over the recent past resulting in improved styling, fuel economy, and comfort amongst other features. However, it is the considered opinion of many that the design of the modern vehicle seats might well play a major role in the causation of some of the major back injuries that plague the drivers of American vehicles. While a vehicle is in motion, the body is subjected to different forces caused by various factors such as acceleration and deceleration, lateral swaying from side to side, and vibrations causing up and down motion of the whole body of the operator. During driving, the operator's feet are necessarily active, operating brakes, clutch, and accelerator. And the active feet of the operator are not able to be used to support or stabilize the lower body as normally occurs when the feet are placed on the floor during normal sitting.

Studies have shown that the vibrations caused by a moving vehicle on the driver of the vehicle can lead to high spinal loadings in the lower back and can result in greater postural discomfort and increased risk of lower back pain and injury.

Also, it has been found that the sitting position greatly increases pressure on the lower back and enormously increases the loading of the lower spine. Scientific data shows that 40% more weight is imposed on the spine when a person is in a sitting position as opposed to standing. This is due to the fact that sitting increases the load on the lower spine and causes the upper body portion to shift forwardly. Such movement tends to exert additional tension on the muscles thus increasing the amount of tension on the postural muscles increasing the amount of overall tension.

The prior art has developed seat cushions and seat designs to overcome the above problems. The developments have met with varying success in decreasing fatigue of the operator and increase comfort during driving.

It is a major objective of the present invention to produce a back support device which may be worn by the operator of a motor vehicle to maintain the spinal column in the region of the lower lumbar and militate against a curvature of the upper body of the user.

Another object of the invention is to produce a back support device which will stabilize the spinal column of the user and simultaneously minimize the downward vertical movement of the user relative to an associated support platform.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The above as well as other objects and advantages of the invention may typically be achieved by a back support comprising: a body support member firmly encircling the body covering a zone including the lumbar region; and means for selectively affixing the support member to a vertically extending surface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from reading the following detailed description of an embodiment of the invention when considered in the light of the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of one side of a back support for providing vertical support for the operator of a motor vehicle incorporating the features of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the opposite side of the back support illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic illustration of the invention disclosed in FIGS. 1 and 2 showing the positioning of the support on the body of a user; and

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic illustration of the invention similar to FIG. 3 showing the support in operative sitting position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a body support, generally indicated by reference numeral 10, incorporating the features of the invention. The back support 10 includes a main body portion 12 which is formed of a flexible fabric material in the shape of an elongate strip of sufficient length to slightly more than surround the girth of a user. It is believed to be important that the rear portion of the body portion 12 is positioned to substantially cover the lumbar region of the user during periods of use.

The opposing ends of the body portion 12 contain cooperating fastening means to enable the support to be snuggly fitted to the body of the particular user. In the preferred embodiment, one end of the body portion 12 is provided with a series of three spaced apart hook strips 14, while the opposing end and the opposite surface is provided with a pair of loop strips 16 (illustrated in dotted lines in FIG. 1) containing a matrix of loops adapted to couple with the cooperating hooks of the strips 14.

A pair of spaced apart elongate straps 18 and 18′ of a suitable flexible fabric material, for example, have one of the respective ends thereof stitched or otherwise suitably secured to the central portion of the main body portion 12 (as illustrated in dotted lines in FIG. 1). The surfaces of the straps 18 and 18′ facing away from the surface of the main body portion 12 are provided with loop material 20 and 20′, respectively, which typically extend from proximal ends of the straps 18 and 18′ and terminate a spaced distance from the distal ends. At the far distal ends of the straps 18 and 18′, there are disposed short sections of hooks 22 and 22′, respectively, for receiving grasping rings or the like.

As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the hook and loop sections of the straps 18 and 18′ cooperate to hold rings 24 and 24′, respectively, to facilitate the installation of the straps 18 and 18′.

It will be understood that the reference to hook and loop material is commercially a variable and sold under the trademark VELCRO.

In use, the back support 10 is assembled on the user as illustrated in FIG. 3. The straps 18 and 18′ are then placed over the back of a driver's seat 26 of a motor vehicle, causing the main body 12 of the back support 10 to be positioned at a predetermined elevation above the seat of the driver's seat 26. The adjustment is accomplished by the cooperation between the loop material 20 and 20′ of the straps 18 and 18′, respectively, and the fabric covering of the seat 26. The rings 24 and 24′ may be used to facilitate the placement of the straps 18 and 18′.

When the straps 18 and 18′ are properly positioned and the user is seated, the upper body of the user will move in unison with the upward movement of the seat 26. It will be understood that the seat 26 is the driver's seat for a vehicle such as a truck, bus, police car, passenger car, or the like. However, when the vehicle is caused to rapidly descend, as caused by a pothole, for example, the body support 10 resists the movement of the user in a downward direction. This will greatly assist in providing comfort to the user and resist the creation of injury and resultant discomfort which might otherwise be causing compressed vertebrae, for example.

It will be understood that other fastening means may be used in lieu of the hook and loop fasteners. Such alternatives include: snaps, adhesives, stitching, and means for selectively holding two surfaces together. Also, ring structures such as D-rings may be utilized to satisfactorily secure the associated strap means.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, the present invention has been described in what is considered to represent its preferred embodiment. However, it should be understood that the invention can be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described without departing from its spirit or scope.

Claims

1. A back support comprising:

a member adapted to firmly encircle the body of a user covering the zone including the lumbar region; and

means for selectively affixing said member to a vertically extending surface.

2. The invention defined in claim 1 wherein said means for selectively affixing includes means for militating against any relative upward movement of said member and the vertically extending surface.

3. The invention defined in claim 2 wherein said means for militating against any relative upward movement includes a strap extending from said support member.

4. A back support comprising:

a support member adapted to encircle the body of a user covering at least the zone of the body of the user including the lumbar region; and

elongate strap means extending from said support member; said strap means including means for selective attachment to the back support of a vehicle to militate against any relative vertical upward movement of said support member and the back support of the vehicle.