US4649905A — Cervically adjustable chiropractic treatment table

Claim 1

Independent Claim 185 words

In a chiropractic treatment table of the type having a support pedestal, an upper body support section resting on the support pedestal, an anterior portion extending from the support section for supporting a lower portion of a patient's body, and a headpiece extending from the support section in a direction generally opposite the anterior portion and upon which a patient's head may rest with the patient in a prone position spanning the headpiece, support section and anterior portion, the improvement comprising means articulately coupling the headpiece to the support section and selectively providing relative thereto at least two degrees of freedom of headpiece movement, said headpiece having a longitudinal dimension sufficient to support only the patient's head, said upper body support section having a longitudinal dimension sufficient to support only the upper body portion of the patient and said anterior portion having a longitudinal dimension sufficient to support only the lower body portion of the patient, said coupling means including means for selectively abruptly translating the headpiece obliquely downward and away from the support section a limited distance, and detent means precluding inadvertent abrupt translation.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 185 words

In a chiropractic treatment table of the type having a support pedestal, an upper body support section resting on the support pedestal, an anterior portion extending from the support section for supporting a lower portion of a patient's body, and a headpiece extending from the support section in a direction generally opposite the anterior portion and upon which a patient's head may rest with the patient in a prone position spanning the headpiece, support section and anterior portion, the improvement comprising means articulately coupling the headpiece to the support section and selectively providing relative thereto at least two degrees of freedom of headpiece movement, said headpiece having a longitudinal dimension sufficient to support only the patient's head, said upper body support section having a longitudinal dimension sufficient to support only the upper body portion of the patient and said anterior portion having a longitudinal dimension sufficient to support only the lower body portion of the patient, said coupling means including means for selectively abruptly translating the headpiece obliquely downward and away from the support section a limited distance, and detent means precluding inadvertent abrupt translation.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 27 words

The improvement of claim 1 wherein the articulate coupling provides pivotal motion of the headpiece selectively about a generally horizontal axis and about a generally vertical axis.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 42 words

The improvement of claim 1 further comprising an elongated headpiece support bar, the articulate coupling means pivotally interconnecting the bar and support section, and means for selectively moving the headpiece linearly along the support bar providing a traction mode of patient treatment.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 52 words

The improvement of claim 1 further comprising an elongated headpiece support bar, the articulate coupling means pivotally interconnecting the bar and support section, and means joining the headpiece to the support bar and allowing therebetween selective limited arcuate movement generally about an axis displaced from and generally parallel to the elongated bar.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 26 words

The improvement of claim 4 wherein the arcuate movement axis generally coincides with the cervical portion of a patient's spine when resting prone on the table.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 36 words

The improvement of claim 4 wherein the joining means comprises a pair of arcuate rails fixed to the headpiece and a pair of rail receiving fixtures on the support bar along which the rails may move.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 30 words

The improvement of claim 6 wherein the arcuate rails are formed in the general configuration of portions of circles the centers of which coincide with the axis of arcuate movement.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 15 words

The improvement of claim 7 wherein each fixture comprises a plurality of rail engaging rollers.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 22 words

The improvement of claim 1 wherein the coupling means provides five degrees of freedom of headpiece movement relative to the support section.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 37 words

The improvement of claim 9 wherein the headpiece movements include an arcuate motion about a generally horizontal axis generally coinciding with the cervical portion of the spine of a patient in a prone position on the table.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 35 words

The improvement of claim 9 wherein the headpiece movements consist of pivotal motions about transverse horizontal and vertical axes, rotation about a longitudinal generally horizontal axis and, linear motion along the longitudinal generally horizontal axis.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 50 words

The improvement of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of individually actuable locking devices one each associated with each of the respective headpiece movements and each when actuated to a locking condition precluding the associated headpiece movement and reducing by one the number of degrees of freedom of headpiece movement.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 111 words

In a chiropractic treatment table of the type having a patient supporting generally horizontal upper surface including at least head support and body support sections for supporting a patient facedown in a generally horizontal attitude, said head support section having a longitudinal dimension sufficient to support only the patient's head, an improved mechanical coupling between the head and body support sections selectively allowing therebetween limited rotational motion about a longitudinal axis located above the support sections and in a general alignment with the patient's spine, said coupling means further including means for selectively abruptly translating the head support section obliquely downward and away from the body support section a limited distance.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 111 words

In a chiropractic treatment table of the type having a patient supporting generally horizontal upper surface including at least head support and body support sections for supporting a patient facedown in a generally horizontal attitude, said head support section having a longitudinal dimension sufficient to support only the patient's head, an improved mechanical coupling between the head and body support sections selectively allowing therebetween limited rotational motion about a longitudinal axis located above the support sections and in a general alignment with the patient's spine, said coupling means further including means for selectively abruptly translating the head support section obliquely downward and away from the body support section a limited distance.

Claim 16

Dependent Claim 54 words

The improvement of claim 13 wherein the mechanical coupling includes an elongated longitudinal support bar articulately coupled near one end thereof to the body support section, a pair of arcuate rails fixed to the head support section, and a pair of rail receiving fixtures on the support bar along which the rails may move.

Claim 17

Dependent Claim 28 words

The improvement of claim 14 wherein the arcuate rails are formed in the general configuration of portions of circles the centers of which coincide with the longitudinal axis.

Claim 18

Dependent Claim 46 words

The improvement of claim 16 wherein each fixture comprises a plurality of rail engaging rollers and one of the fixtures includes a manually actuable clamp for selectively securing a rail section to the fixture and therefore also fixing the rotational orientation of the head support section.

Claim 19

Dependent Claim 23 words

The improvement of claim 16 further comprising means for selectively moving the head support, arcuate rails, and fixtures longitudinally along the support bar.

Claim 20

Independent Claim 141 words

A method of treating a patient having a disorder of the cervical curve portion of the spinal column comprising the steps of: supporting the patient in a generally horizontal facedown attitude on a chriopractic treatment table with the patient's body resting on a first table portion and the patient's head resting on a second table portion which is selectively movable relative to the first table portion; and simultaneously moving the patient's head and the second table portion relative to the patient's body and the first table portion, with the head and body continuously remaining supported by the second and first table portions respectively, through the relative motion of an abrupt oblique linear translation of the patient's head downward and away from the patient's upper body, to impart a stretching and forward snapping action to a cervical portion of the patient's spine.

Claim 21

Independent Claim 141 words

A method of treating a patient having a disorder of the cervical curve portion of the spinal column comprising the steps of: supporting the patient in a generally horizontal facedown attitude on a chriopractic treatment table with the patient's body resting on a first table portion and the patient's head resting on a second table portion which is selectively movable relative to the first table portion; and simultaneously moving the patient's head and the second table portion relative to the patient's body and the first table portion, with the head and body continuously remaining supported by the second and first table portions respectively, through the relative motion of an abrupt oblique linear translation of the patient's head downward and away from the patient's upper body, to impart a stretching and forward snapping action to a cervical portion of the patient's spine.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1990-03-16	1990-09-15	1991-03-17	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1994-03-16	1994-09-15	1995-03-17	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	1998-03-16	1998-09-15	1999-03-17	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Cervically adjustable chiropractic treatment table

Abstract

Inventors

Bibliographic Details

Claims Analysis

References Cited (Backward Citations)

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Assigned Categories & Tags

Assign Category Tag