Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
~i737~ :
S P E C I F I C A T I 0 N
This invention relates generally to neck supports "~
used in the therapeutic treatment where such supports are :
prescribed. :.
Conventional neck supports used at the present time ~` -
are notorious for the discomfort they cause to the persons who
are wearing them Primaril~ the discomfort is caused b~ ~uch
~upports being heavy~ unven~ilated, subject to soiling, and -.
generally being poorly fitted.
It is therefore one of the primary ob~ect~ of this
10 invention to provide a neck support which considerably reduces :
: discom~ort by be1ng light in weight~ by being almost fully
ventila-ted~ easily washable1 and which allows itself to be
; easily fitted to the indiv~dual who is going to wear it. ~ :
Another important object of thi~ invention is to
~ 15 provide the ~ollowlng advantages from a medical standpoint,-
i 1. More protection of upper and lower neck joint.
q 2. Preventsiback movement of all neck joints. `: :
.~ 3. Avoids pressure on circulation of nerve to arms
.. . .
(thoracic outlet), through curving of design over the shoulder,
l 20 4 Avoids mu~cle weakne~s. 30~o o~ neck movament6 are
.~ allowed and, therefore, muscle atrength ls rstained. :.
5 Avoids dependency or habituation. Becau~e the chin
free, the ussr learns to avoid bending th~ neck or moving
t~ it into the painful range o~ ~ide or back ~ovements. This
encourages maintaining good neck po~ure and makes it easy to
r3
di~card the collar.
In describing tha invention reference will be made ~ .
to the attached drawings in which, ~`
~3 Figure 1 is a ~ront view of the invention, :
~ 3~ Figurs 2 is an end view o~ the lnvention with ~ome : :
.~ o~ the component~ omltted for clarity, :~.
.~ .
37~
Figure 3 shows a detail o~ the invention,
~igure 4 shows a rear view o~ the ;nvention, as
it is being worn,
Figura 5 shows a side view of Figure 4, and
Figure 6 shows a ~ariation in the invention.
In the drawings, the neck support is shown consisting
of an upper band 1 and a lower band 2, which are mor~ or less
identical~ but opposite. The band 1 has an upward, centrally
located hump 3, while the band 2 has a corresponding downward
hump 4. ~he two bands are spaced but joined together at the
narrowed-down ends 5, and 6, by means of a plastic foam rec-
tangular pad 7 and 8, respectively. The bands 1 and 2, are
`~ pre~erably made o~ a folded strip o~ foam material~ such as,
~!1 for example, polyurethane foam material. The pads 7 and 8 are
also made of that material, but somewhat thicker.
The bands 1 and 2 are also joined together by a pair
~ o~ spaced, centrally located stays 9,9, which are made o~ a
?~! ~solid but flexible plastic material, and which are connected
to the said bands by having their ends inserted and cemented
into~ the fold of said bands, as shown in Figure 3. A pair o~
similar but sho~e~intermediate stays 10,10, join the bands
1 and 2, in the manner described abo~e, and are located at the
ends of the hump 3 and 4. Still another pair o~ end stays
1: :
11, made o~ the same plastic material as the stays 9 and 10,
join the bands 1 and 2, and are l~cated immediately behind the
pads 7 and 8.
Attached to one of the end stays 11 are a pair of
tapes 12,12, of the "Velcro" Trade Mark type which adhere to ' ~-
;,~ their companion"~01¢rol'T~M.padl3,1Ocated on the ~ace o~ the
3 other end stay 11.
- In Figures 4 and 5, is shown the manner in which the
neck support is worn, The support i8 wrapped around the neck,
with the ~a~d humps in the rear of the head. The support i~
.~ :
-2-
''' 'B :.
held in position by the -tapes 12 which are hooked onto the
pad 13.
The extended upper and lower hump design o~ the
invention provides additional support to the lower part o~
the back o~ the head D and to the back o~ the body9 a short
distance below the shoulders. This provides protection to the
upper and lower neck jointæ, and limits the bending of neck
and head to a greater degree than the ~reedom of movement al-
lowed by ~oonv~ntional supports or braces, as can be seen in
Figure 4 and 5. This also provides a greater degree o~ relief
and at ~he same -time is more effective therapeutically. Further-
more, the band and stay design o~ the sup~ort prQYides greater
com~ort to the wearer because of its open construction which
reduces the total weight of the support to a minimum, and al-
lows ventilation, coolness, and dryness to the neck.
Thiæ support, is designed primarily ~or wear duringdaytime, because~ of the greater amount of activlty during that
period of the day. H~wever, because o~ the added head and necX
movement restri~tion, some persons may find it uncomfortable
~or wear during the sleeping hours. Thi~ situation is remedied
by providing a aompanion support, for the above inven~ion, as
shown in Figure 6.
~i In this case, the main body 14 of the support consist
of a plastic foam materialJ the same as but thicker than that
25 used ln band6 1 and 2~ The upper and lower humps have bean ~;
~ eliminated to make thi~ ~upport narrower than the one in
'3~: Figure 1, in order to make it more com~ortabla during the
sleeping period. This, o~ ~ourse~ reduces the restriction to
the movement of the head and neok~ however, the therapeutic
value of the support i8 thereb~ not reduced to the fact that
such movement is practically nil ~uring the greater part o~
sl~ep.
To provide a degree o~ 8ti~fnes8 to -thi~ suppo~t~
3,'
. :' ,', , ' ' ', : ': ' i , , : , , .,, , .. , ., :
two spaced, central stays 15,1~; two intermediate stays 16,16;
and two end stays 17,17, are cemented to the outside of the
main body 14. All these stays are of the same type as the
stays 9,9; they cover the greater part o~ the width of the
body 14, but Pall short of reaching the top and bottom edges
of said ma;n bodyg so that the said stays do not come in direct
contact with the head or neck. Holes 18 are provided in the
bodyl4, between the various stays for ventillation purposes.
To one end stay are attached a pair of "Velcro" Trade Mark
tapes 19,19, which engage and adhere to a "Velcro" Trade Mark
pad 20 attached to the face of the other end stay, for holding
the support when wrapped around the neck.
; It can also be seen from the above description of
the two supports that they can be manufactured at a very low
cost, thereby making them available to a greater number of users.
It is important to note that the invention was de-
signed to discourage as much as possible backward movement of
the neck and head, by causing theneck to bend as a whole
rather than in the middle. However, the rigidity of the support
has been greatly reduced by the absence of chin control, which
is considered insignificant in the treatment of most cases~
Furthermore, this in~ention is greatly superlor to the
permanent rigidity type of support used at the present time~ in
that it provides controlled rigidity which can be increased when
so required, and which can be reduced as the wearer progresses
towards recovery, simply by changing the number or thickness of
the stays. This gradual reduction of rigidity is extremely be-
neficial to the wearer, because it eliminates the reaction to
the sudden change from wearing the support to discarding it,
3 and it provides greater comfort to the wearer as he is recovering
_4_
