US 4,542,936 AGranted

Chiropractor's examination stool

OwnerDavid M. Gafkeninventor

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

A doctor-patient seating arrangement as might for example be used by a chiropractor during examination of a patient's back is disclosed in a form having a single base or pedestal from which a pair of upright seat support members extend with each upright member providing a degree of vertical adjustability to its respective supported seat. The seats themselves are of the backless variety, i.e., stools with the patient's stool being swivelable centrally about its upright support member while the doctor's stool is supported on an obliquely extending arm so as to be movable in an arc around the other upright support member. The other upright support member is located near the patient's back so that the doctor may move in an arc about the patient examining the sides as well as the central portion of the patient's back. The adjustment range of the patient's stool is elevated somewhat above the adjustment range of the doctor's stool so that the doctor is properly positioned to examine the patient regardless of the particular physical traits of doctor or patient.

Claims8

Dependent claims

A doctor-patient seating arrangement comprising:

a unitary base, formed as a generally H-shaped frame of tubular portions having five floor engaging feet, one each at the free ends of each arm of the H-shaped frame and one near the center of the cross-member of the H-shaped frame;
a first upright seat support member fixed to the base proximate to the intersection of one arm of the H-shaped frame and the cross-member of the H-shaped frame and extending upwardly therefrom;
a second upright seat support member fixed to the cross-member of the H-shaped frame and extending upwardly therefrom in a parallel spaced apart relationship with the first upright seat member;
a first post supported backless swivel seat upon which a patient may sit, the first seat vertically aligned with the first upright seat support member and including means for vertically adjusting and selecting a preferred seat height;
a second post supported backless movable seat upon which a doctor may sit while examining a seated patient, the second seat being laterally spaced apart from the second upright seat support member;
and
an oblique seat support arm immovably fixed, at one end thereof, to the second seat and including means, near an end opposite the seat, for vertically adjusting and pivotally attaching the support arm and second seat to the second upright seat support member at a second selected preferred elevation, the preferred height of the first seat and preferred elevation of the second seat being selectable for any particular doctor and any particular patient so that the doctor may be seated on the second seat with his head at a lower elevation than the head of the patient seated on the first seat;
wherein the second upright seat support member defines a vertical axis about which the second seat may be pivoted in a substantially horizontal plane, the separation between the first and the second upright seat support members being substantially the same as the lateral extent of the first seat in relation to the first upright seat support member so that the so defined vertical axis extends closely adjacent an edge of the first seat.

5 more elements

A dual stool doctor-patient examining arrangement wherein a doctor may sit on one stool in a position facing the back of a patient seated on the other stool and wherein the seated doctor may move freely around a limited arc to inspect the sides, as well as the center, of the patient's back, while both remain seated, the examining arrangement comprising:

a generally H-shaped horizontally extending frame supported by at least five floor engaging feet, one each located substantially at the free ends of each arm of the H-shaped frame and at least one centrally disposed therebetween on the cross-member of the H-shaped frame;
a pair of upright support members extending upwardly of the H-shaped frame and affixed thereto so as to define a first vertical pivot axis and a second vertical pivot axis, respectively, each support member being formed of two telescopically extensible members and including means to retain the members in a verticaly adjusted position;
a first adjustable elevation stool supported on the upright support member defining the first pivot axis, for receiving a patient, the first stool being swivelable about a central axis vertically aligned with the first pivot axis;
and
a second adjustable elevation stool, upon which a doctor may sit, supported obliquely from the upright support member defining the second pivot axis so as to be pivotable through an arc centered about the second upright support member when the first and second stools are disposed such that the second vertical axis is intermediate the doctor and patient seating positions;
the first and second stools being independently adjustable in elevation such that the highest position within the range of adjustability of the first stool is above the highest elevation within the range of adjustability of the second stool.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.