Adjustable seating apparatus with full torso support

Claim 1

An adjustable seating apparatus for supporting a person in a seated position with full torso support, the apparatus comprising: a base structure adapted to rest on a substantially planar support surface, the base structure including a plurality of first elongated substantially horizontally arranged support members spaced apart from one another; a backrest structure for adjustably and encirclingly supporting a torso of a seated person; a frame for supporting the backrest structure, said frame being rigidly connected to both of the horizontally arranged support members of the base structure and to the backrest structure; and a removable tray structure for providing a play surface for a seated person whose torso is supported by the apparatus said tray structure having at least one relatively large substantially planar surface, and at least one pair of spaced apart substantially vertical support members located beneath the tray and supporting the forward portion of the tray structure against downward movement, each of said vertical members being removably connected to the horizontal support members of the base structure; the plurality of first support members of the base structure being spaced apart from one another, and extending forwardly and rearwardly of the frame, thereby preventing the apparatus from tipping in either a forward or rearward direction; the backrest structure including first and second broad flexible support members and fastening means for releasably fastening the support members together about a torso of a person to be supported, each of the flexible support members having a length and a height at least ten times and at least four times respectively its average thickness, the first flexible member being of a fixed size and sufficiently long to encircle at least about one-half of a maximum inner girth of the backrest structure and having first and second side portions that are moderately resistant to flexion in a vertical direction and sufficiently flexible in a horizontal direction to allow easy adjustment of the effective inner girth of the backrest structure, and the second support member being for releasably and encirclingly the remaining portion of the inner girth of the backrest structure not encircled by the first support member, said second member being generally more flexible than the first member, the first and second flexible members cooperating with the fastening means to allow the inner girth of the backrest structure to be easily changed up to about fifty percent, whereby torsos of persons in a seated position which vary widely in girth can be snugly encircled by the backrest structure, thereby providing full torso support for such seated persons.

Claim 5

An apparatus for seating and supporting a seated person's body, said apparatus comprising: horizontally disposed base adapted to rest on a stationary planar surface; a backrest assembly for supporting a seated person's body at the torso, including first and second broad flexible support members, fastening means for adjustably and releasably securing the first and second broad flexible support members together to form an inner circumference having an annular shape so as to encircle a seated person to be supported about the torso, each of the flexible support members having a length and a height at least ten times and at least four times respectively its average thickness, the first flexible member being of a fixed size and sufficiently long to encompass at least one-half of said inner circumference, whereby it will encircle and support at least about one-half of the girth of the torso and the first flexible member also having first and second side portions that are moderately resistant to flexion in a vertical direction and sufficiently flexible in a horizontal direction to allow easy adjustment of the inner circumference of the backrest structure, and the second support member being arranged to form the remainder of said inner circumference whereby said second support member will releasably and encircling support the remainder of the girth of the torso not encircled by the first support member, said second member being generally more flexible than the first member, the first and second flexible members cooperating with the fastening means to allow the inner circumference of the backrest structure to be easily changed by hand over a range of up to about fifty percent, thereby enabling the backrest structure to be manually adjusted so as to snugly encircle the torso of the seated person to be supported, and thereby provide full torso support; means for adjusting the height of said backrest assembly, attached to said backrest assembly and to said base, including at least one pair of vertical support members removably attached to said backrest assembly, and also removably attached to said base, wherein said vertical support members can be replaced by vertical support members of different lengths to raise or lower the height of the backrest; and means for adjusting the width of said apparatus.

Claim 6

An apparatus for seating and supporting a seated person's body, said apparatus comprising: horizontally disposed base adapted to rest on a stationary planar surface; a backrest assembly for supporting a seated person's body at the torso, including first and second broad flexible support members, fastening means for adjustably and releasably securing the first and second broad flexible support members together to form an inner circumference having an annular shape so as to encircle a seated person to be supported about the torso, each of the flexible support members having a length and a height at least ten times and at least four times respectively its average thickness, the first flexible member being of a fixed size and sufficiently long to encompass at least one-half of said inner circumference, whereby it will encircle and support at least about one-half of the girth of the torso and the first flexible member also having first and second side portions that are moderately resistant to flexion in a vertical direction and sufficiently flexible in a horizontal direction to allow easy adjustment of the inner circumference of the backrest structure, and the second support member being arranged to form the remainder of said inner circumference whereby said second support member will releasably and encircling support the remainder of the girth of the torso not encircled by the first support member, said second member being generally more flexible than the first member, the first and second flexible members cooperating with the fastening means to allow the inner circumference of the backrest structure to be easily changed by hand over a range of up to about fifty percent, thereby enabling the backrest structure to be manually adjusted so as to snugly encircle the torso of the seated person to be supported, and thereby provide full torso support; means for adjusting the height of said backrest assembly, attached to said backrest assembly and to said base, including at least one pair of vertical support members removably attached to said backrest assembly, and also removably attached to said base, wherein said vertical support members can be replaced by vertical support members of different lengths to raise or lower the height of the backrest; and means for adjusting the width of said apparatus.

Claim 11

An apparatus for supporting a seated person by the torso so as to maintain such person in an upright position, said apparatus comprising: a horizontally disposed base; a backrest assembly for providing full torso support, including at least first flexible member and means for adjusting the inner girth of the backrest assembly, the first flexible member being of a fixed size and sufficiently long to encircle at least about one-half of a maximum inner girth of the backrest assembly, and having first and second side portions that are moderately resist to flexion in a vertical direction and sufficiently flexible in a horizontal direction to allow easy manual adjustment of the inner girth of the backrest assembly over a range of at least about thirty percent, the first flexible member cooperating with the fastening means to allow the inner girth of the backrest assembly to be easily changed by hand to snugly encircle a torso of a person to be supported in a seated position, thereby providing full torso support; means, attached to said base, for adjusting the height of said backrest assembly, whereby a person may be supported by said backrest assembly at different heights; and tray means having brackets removably engaged with said backrest assembly and also removably attached to said base, said tray means including a substantially horizontally disposed planar member.

Claim 12

An apparatus for supporting a seated person by the torso so as to maintain such person in an upright position, said apparatus comprising: a horizontally disposed base; a backrest assembly for providing full torso support, including at least first flexible member and means for adjusting the inner girth of the backrest assembly, the first flexible member being of a fixed size and sufficiently long to encircle at least about one-half of a maximum inner girth of the backrest assembly, and having first and second side portions that are moderately resist to flexion in a vertical direction and sufficiently flexible in a horizontal direction to allow easy manual adjustment of the inner girth of the backrest assembly over a range of at least about thirty percent, the first flexible member cooperating with the fastening means to allow the inner girth of the backrest assembly to be easily changed by hand to snugly encircle a torso of a person to be supported in a seated position, thereby providing full torso support; means, attached to said base, for adjusting the height of said backrest assembly, whereby a person may be supported by said backrest assembly at different heights; and tray means having brackets removably engaged with said backrest assembly and also removably attached to said base, said tray means including a substantially horizontally disposed planar member.

Claim 14

An apparatus for supporting a seated person by the torso so as to maintain such person in an upright position, said apparatus comprising: a horizontally disposed base; a backrest assembly for providing full torso support, including at least first flexible member and means for adjusting the inner girth of the backrest assembly, the first flexible member being of a fixed size and sufficiently long to encircle at least about one-half of a maximum inner girth of the backrest assembly and having first and second side portions that are moderately resistant to flexion in a vertical direction and sufficiently flexible in a horizontal direction to allow easy manual adjustment of the inner girth of the backrest assembly over a range of at least about thirty percent, the first flexible member cooperating with the fastening means to allow the inner girth of the backrest assembly to be easily changed by hand to snugly encircle a torso of a person to be supported in a seated position, thereby providing full torso support; means, attached to said base, for adjusting the height of said backrest assembly, whereby a person may be supported by said backrest assembly at different heights; tray means having brackets removably engaged with said backrest assembly and also removably attached to said base, said tray means including a substantially horizontally disposed planar member; and means for adjusting the height of said tray means including at least one pair of vertical support members removably attached to said tray means and also to said base, wherein said pair of vertical support members can be substituted with vertical support members of different lengths to raise or lower the height of the tray means.

Claim 15

An apparatus for supporting a seated person by the torso so as to maintain such person in an upright position, said apparatus comprising: a horizontally disposed base; a backrest assembly for providing full torso support, including at least first flexible member and means for adjusting the inner girth of the backrest assembly, the first flexible member being of a fixed size and sufficiently long to encircle at least about one-half of a maximum inner girth of the backrest assembly and having first and second side portions that are moderately resistant to flexion in a vertical direction and sufficiently flexible in a horizontal direction to allow easy manual adjustment of the inner girth of the backrest assembly over a range of at least about thirty percent, the first flexible member cooperating with the fastening means to allow the inner girth of the backrest assembly to be easily changed by hand to snugly encircle a torso of a person to be supported in a seated position, thereby providing full torso support; means, attached to said base, for adjusting the height of said backrest assembly, whereby a person may be supported by said backrest assembly at different heights; tray means having brackets removably engaged with said backrest assembly and also removably attached to said base, said tray means including a substantially horizontally disposed planar member; and means for adjusting the height of said tray means including at least one pair of vertical support members removably attached to said tray means and also to said base, wherein said pair of vertical support members can be substituted with vertical support members of different lengths to raise or lower the height of the tray means.

Claim 16

An apparatus for supporting a small person, such as a handicapped child or an infant, by his or her torso in a seated position so that such a person may sit upright, said apparatus comprising: a base for use on a substantially flat support surface, the base having a central support structure and a plurality of support members extending substantially horizontally outwardly from the central support structure in a manner which tends to prevent the base from tipping over; a backrest assembly for providing full torso support, including at least a first flexible member and manually releasable fastening means for adjusting the effective inner girth of the backrest assembly, the first flexible member being sufficiently long in a horizontal direction to encircle at least about one-half of a maximum inner girth of the backrest assembly, the first flexible member having first and second side portions that are moderately resistant to flexion in a vertical direction and sufficiently flexible in preselected horizontal directions to allow easy manual adjustment of the effective inner girth of the backrest structure, the first flexible member cooperating with the releasable fastening means to allow the inner girth of the backrest structure to be easily and manually changed to snugly encircle a torso of such a person to be supported in a seated position, thereby providing full torso support to such seated person; wherein the backrest assembly further includes, a second broad flexible elongated support member having first and second end portions each attached to different portions of the first flexible member, the first and second flexible support members each having a length and a height at least ten times and at least four times respectively of its average thickness, the first member being of a fixed size and sufficiently long to encircle and support at least about one-half of the maximum inner girth of the backrest assembly, and wherein the second support member is arranged to releasable and encirclingly support the remaining the girth of the torso not encircled by the first support member, and the second flexible member is generally more flexible than the first member.

Claim 17

An apparatus for supporting a small person, such as a handicapped child or an infant, by his or her torso in a seated position so that such a person may sit upright, said apparatus comprising: a base for use on a substantially flat support surface, the base having a central support structure and a plurality of support members extending substantially horizontally outwardly from the central support structure in a manner which tends to prevent the base from tipping over; a backrest assembly for providing full torso support, including at least a first flexible member and manually releasable fastening means for adjusting the effective inner girth of the backrest assembly, the first flexible member being sufficiently long in a horizontal direction to encircle at least about one-half of a maximum inner girth of the backrest assembly, the first flexible member having first and second side portions that are moderately resistant to flexion in a vertical direction and sufficiently flexible in preselected horizontal directions to allow easy manual adjustment of the effective inner girth of the backrest structure, the first flexible member cooperating with the releasable fastening means to allow the inner girth of the backrest structure to be easily and manually changed to snugly encircle a torso of such a person to be supported in a seated position, thereby providing full torso support to such seated person; wherein the backrest assembly further includes, a second broad flexible elongated support member having first and second end portions each attached to different portions of the first flexible member, the first and second flexible support members each having a length and a height at least ten times and at least four times respectively of its average thickness, the first member being of a fixed size and sufficiently long to encircle and support at least about one-half of the maximum inner girth of the backrest assembly, and wherein the second support member is arranged to releasable and encirclingly support the remaining the girth of the torso not encircled by the first support member, and the second flexible member is generally more flexible than the first member.