AU653071B2 - Massage or relaxation table - Google Patents

Description

653071 P/:00/011 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPEC I F I CATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT Name of Applicant: MICHAEL JOSEPH BERRY Actual Inventor(s): MICHAEL JOSEPH BERRY Address for Service: Invention title: JOHN R. G. GARDNER REGISTERED PATENT ATTORNEY PO BOX 443 MUDGEERABA QLD 4213 MASSAGE OR RELAXATION TABLE Details of Associated Provisional Applications: Nos: PK 9101 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it know to me:- THIS INVENTION relates to a massage or relaxation table which is particularly suited to use by pregnant women but which may be applied to other situations.

Pregnant women are often subject to a number of ailments including cramps and other muscular pains which are often difficult to relieve, particularly as medications are not recommended during pregnancy. There is a need therefore to provide a facility whereby muscular pains can be relieved by means of massage. Whilst normal massage tables are suitable for situations where the pregnant women can lie on her back they are not suited to situations where face down lying is required due to the increased size of the woman's stomach.

The present invention aims to overcome or at least alleviate the above disadvantages by providing a table, particularly suited for use by pregnant women which allows the pregnant women to lie face down for massage or relaxation purposes. The present invention also aims to provide a table which may be adjusted to suit women of different sizes. The present invention also aims in a preferred form to provide a table which may be converted for use in normal massage or relaxation situations. Other objects and advantages of the invention will become 5 apparent with the following description.

25 With the above and other objects in view the present invention provides a massage or relaxation table, said table having a generally horizontal supporting area upon which a person may lie, a void region in said supporting area for receiving part of the body of the user, 30 and flexible supportinc; means for supporting said body part of said user projecting through said void region.

The supporting means suitably comprises a stomach I support for the stomach of a pregnant woman, the support being formed so as tc adjust to the shape of a woman's stomach. Suitably the supporting means is formed of a flexible sheet material such as a fabric material, for example a stretch fabric material such a; that known under the trade mark Lycra. Preferably the supporting means is 2 a hung in hammock or sling-like f ashion on the lower side of the void region.

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Preferably said void region is shaped to approximate the shape of a woman's stomach and preferably also said void region is defined between adjustable portions of said support area so as to enable adjustment of the size of the void region to suit different women, Preferably said void region is defined between a fixed central portion of the table and an adjustable end portion, the adjustable end portion preferably being bifurcated in a longitudinal direction to define respective supports for the legs, each of which is adjustable in a longitudinal direction.

The table also preferably includes a further void region for accepting the breasts of the woman and a breast support is provided under the void region for supporting the breasts. Suitably as with said stomach support, said breast 15 support is adjustable to conform to the shape of the woman's breasts. Preferably said breast support is formed of a sheet material such as a fabric material which is hung in hammock like fashion beneath said further void region. Suitably the fabric material is a stretch fabric material such as Lycra.

Preferably said further void region for accepting the breasts is also adjustable in size by means of an end adjustable portion of the table surface. Preferably the end adjustable portion is )ngitudinally bifurcated to form two portions for supporting Lhe shoulders, each end support being 25 adjustable longitudinally of the table.

Preferably the support area of the table is padded for %0 *tF 0" the purposes of comfort.

.i The table may also include inserts which may be placed into void regions so that the void regions may be filled and s- *nat the table may be used for normal massage purposes.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention and wherein:- Fig. 1 is a plan view of a table according to the present invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the support frame of the table of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a side view of the table of the invention; Fig. 3A is an enlarged view of the region indicated as A in Fig. 3; Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate inserts for use with the table; Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing the table of Fig. 1 provided with the inserts of Figs. 4 and Fig. 7 is a sectional view showing an alternative stomach and breast support for the table; and Fig. 8 illustrates a modification to the table of the invention.

Referring to the drawings and firstly to Figs. 1 to 3 there is illustrated a massage or relaxation table 10 according 15 to the present invention including a, support frame 11 and a top support area 12 defined by a plurality of padded sections comprising a fixed central section 13, a pair of longitudinally extending leg supporting sections 14 at one end and a pair of longitudinally extending shoulder supporting sections 15 at its opposite end. The support frame 11 as shown more clearly in Figs. 2 and 3 comprises a generally rectangular frame formed of aluminium tubing or the like and including upper side frame members 16 and spaced transversely extending frame members 17 which extend between the side frame members 16 and are spaced 25 apart so as to support respective sections of the support area of the table 10. The side frame members 16 and transverse frame members 17 are preferably spaced above a base frame 18 which is provided with castors 19 or other wheels which provide for mobility of the table Each section 13, 14 and 15 of the support area is preferably formed with a planar base 20 on which is located a padding material such as a foamed plastics material 21 (see Fig. 3A) and which is covered by covering 22 which may for example comprise vinyl.

The central section 13 as shown in Fig. 1 is fixed to one of the frame members 17 and to the side frame members 16 and includes on one side an arcuate recess 23 and on its opposite side a further recess 24. The leg supporting sections 14 are provided on their inner edges adjacent the recess 23 with arcuate cut-away portions 25 of substantially the same diameter as the recess 23 so as to form a generally circular shaped void region 26. Each leg supporting section 14, however, is adjustable longitudinally of the frame 11 so as to either increase the size of the void 26 region or decrease its size by moving away from or towards the central section 13.

For this purpose the bases 20 of the leg sections 14 are provided with longitudinal extending slots 27 for receipt of a headed fastener 28. Each fastener 28 passes through the adjacent frame member 16 or 17 for engagement with a nut 29 and a spring 30 is interposed between the nut 29 and frame member 16 or 17. The springs 30 will thus serve to maintain the leg 15 supporting sections 14 in a particular set location on the frame 11, however, the slots 27 permit longitudinally sliding adjustment of the leg supporting sections 14.

At the opposite end of the table 10, the sections are spaced from the central section 13 to define a void region 31 with the recess 24 for receipt of the breasts. A similar adjustment arrangement to that for the leg supporting sections 14 is provided for the shoulder supporting sections 15 so as to permit longitudinal adjusting movement thereof towards and away from the central section 13.

25 Supported on the frame 11 beneath the void region 26 and void region 31 are lengths of fabric material 32 and 33 which may be hung from adjacent transverse frame members 17 in hammock like fashion in the manner shown in Fig. 3. As shown the fabric material 32 has a greater span than the material 33 and hangs below the material 33 for support of the stomach of the pregnant woman whilst the fabric material 32 is provided for support of the breasts.

In use and for relaxation or massage purposes the pregnant woman may lie face down on the table 10 so that the stomach is received within the void; region 26 and the breasts within the void region 31. For maximum comfort the leg supporting sections 14 and shoulder supporting sections 15 may be moved longitudinally of the frame to the desired position.

The stomach and breasts will be supported by the fabric material hammocks 32 and 33 which adjust to the shape of the breasts and stomach so as to provide for full support and enable massage to take place or alternatively the woman to simply relax.

If the table 10 is to be used for conventional massage or relaxation by other persons the inserts 34 and 35 shown in Figs. 4 and 5 may be used. These inserts correspond in shape to the shape of the void regions 26 and 31 and when placed therein, and the end sections 13 and 14 abutted against same form as shown in Fig. 6, a table 10 having a substantial flat supporting surface.

:Fig. 7 illustrates an alternative arrangement for 15 stomach ano breast support. In this case, the supports 36 and 37 which are of sling or hammock form similar to that shown in Fig. 3 are supported in a fixed position by a transverse strut 38 or the like and being spring loaded at their opposite ends, so that the supports 36 and 37 automatically adjust to the shape of woman's stomach and breasts. Each support 36 and 37 is provided at its end, opposite the fixed strut 38 with transverse rails 39 and 40 respectively which are supported and guided for longitudinal movement in opposite channels 41 and 42 respectively. Springs 43 and 44 extend from the opposite S 25 rails 39 and 40 to the opposite ends of the frame 11 to which they are fixed. In a normal unused position the springs 43 and 44 retract the supports 36 and 37 to the positions shown in dotted outline where they are arranged substantially planar.

Any load applied to the supprts 36 or 37 will cause the supports 36 and 37 to be urged downwardly against the force of the springs 43 and 44 whilst maintaining the support of the stomach and breasts.

It will be apparent that the same effect can also be achieved by forming the supports 36 and 37 as an elasticized, stretch or similar material, for example, lycra. In such arrangements the springs 43 and 44 may be eliminated with the fabric supports 36 and 37 being simply fixed to the members 38, 39 and 40. It will also be apparent that other arrangements 'nay be provided for ret-action of the supports 36 and 37. For example the supports 36 and 37 may be wound upon a spring loaded rollers which will unwind upon a force being applied to the supports 36 and 37.

In the modification of Fig. 8 the central section 13' of the table is for the purposes of comfort resiliently mounted so as to be movable in opposite vertical directions. For this purpose the section 13' is mounted via springs 45 (only one of which is shown) to a dropped frame member 17'. Thus if upon lying on the table a downward pressure is applied to the section 13', it will mova downwardly against the spring force to provide increased comfort. When alighting from the table 10 the section 13' w'ill move back to the position of Fi 8.

15 The frame 11 of the table 10 as stated above is preferably formed of a lightweight material such as aluminium or plastics so as to allow the table to be readily manipulated and tmoved and stored if desired in an upright attitude. It will be apparent however, that the principles of the invention may be applied to a frame of any suitable configuration and construction such as of a timber construction which will allow for adjustment in the manner described above.

Whilst the above has been given by way of illustratlve embodiment of the invention, all such modifications and 25 variations thereto as would be apparent to persons skilled in the art are deemed to fall within the broad scope and ambit of the invention as herein set forth.

Claims (14)

1. A massage or relaxation table, said table having a generally horizontal supporting area upon which a person may lie and a void region in said supporting area for receiving part of the body of a user, and flexible supporting means for supporting said body part of said user projecting through said void region.

2. A table according to Claim 1 wherein said supporting means comprises a stomach support for the stomach of a pregnant woman.

3. A table according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein said supporting means is formed of a flexible sheet material.

4. A table according to Claim 3 wherein said supporting means is hung in hammock or sling-like manner adjacent said void region. e

5. A table according to Claim 3 or Claim 4 wherein .said material comprises an elasticised or stretch material. e e

6. A table according to Claim 3 and including 25 biasing means associated with said sheet material for resiliently resisting downward movement of said material upon a load being applied thereto.

7. A table according to any one of the preceding 30 claims wherein said void region is defined between !adjustable portions of said supporting area so as to enable adjustment of the size Df said void region. S

8. A table according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said void region is defined between a fixed central portion of said table and an adjustable end portion, said adjustable end portion being bifurcated in a longitudinal direction to define respective supports for the leas of the user.

9. A table according to any one of the preceding claims and including a further void region for accepting the breasts of a woman, and a breast support adjacent said further void region for supporting the breasts.

A table according to Claim 9 wherein said breast support is hung in harunock or sling-like manner adjacent said further void region.

11. A table according to Claim 9 and Claim 10 wherein said supporting area includes a portion between said void regions, said portion being biased to an attitude normally horizontally aligned with the remainder of said supporting area but being movable downwardly against its bias when a load is applied thereto.

12. A table according to any one of the preceding claims and including an insert or inserts for placement into the said void region or regions whereby said table may define a substantially flat uninterrupted surface.

13. A table according to any one of the preceding 25 claims wherein said supporting area is padded.

14. A relaxation or massage table substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 30 DATED this twelfth day of July 1994 MICHAEL JOSEPH BERRY By My Patent Attorney JOHN R. G. GARDNER C' n9 I 1 0 ABSTRACT A massage or relaxation table (10) primarily for pregnant women having a central section a leg support section (14) and a shoulder support section (15) being spaced apart to define void areas (26) and (31) for receipt of the stomach and breasts of the woman. A fabric (32) and (33) is provided beneath the void sections (26) and (31) and arranged in hammock like fashion to provide additional support. A r