Adjustable head support for a chair

Abstract

The head support unit may be attached by attachment means ( 13 ) to a chair, e.g. a wheel chair. A set screw ( 15 ) permits vertical adjustment. The head rest ( 19 ) may be horizontally moved by the user into the desired position. This movement takes place without a recognizable movement in vertical direction. The head rest ( 19 ) is carried by a slender lever parallelogram ( 18 ) which is operatively connected by a flexible Bowden-cable ( 21 ) to the motor ( 23 ) located at a distance on the chair. This flexible connection ( 21 ) permits not only to put the motor ( 23 ) at a suitable location away from the head of the user, but does also not hinder a vertical adjustment of the head rest ( 19 ) by means of the vertical support bar ( 11 ) and the set screw ( 15 ).

1 . An adjustable head support for attachment to chairs, in particular wheelchairs or raising wheelchairs, comprising 
 a head rest,    a vertical support bar for the head rest,    means for attaching the vertical support to the chair    a mechanism for adjusting the horizontal position of the head rest, said adjusting mechanism comprising at least one lever pivotally connected to upper portion of said vertical support bar and extending substantially vertically from to top of the vertical support bar to the head rest    an actuator for the adjusting mechanism,    a linkage between the actuator and the adjusting mechanism.    
   
   
       2 . The adjustable head support according to  claim 1 , wherein the adjusting mechanism is a lever parallelogram.  
   
   
       3 . The adjustable head support according to  claim 2 , wherein the lever parallelogram comprises a first and a second lever spaced from each other and pivotally connected at substantially the same height to the vertical support bar.  
   
   
       4 . The adjustable head support according to  claim 3 , wherein the distance between the pivotal connections of the first and second lever is variable.  
   
   
       5 . The adjustable head support according to  claim 3 , wherein the first and second lever are curved.  
   
   
       6 . The adjustable head support according to  claim 3 , wherein the first and the second lever are overlapping.  
   
   
       7 . The adjustable head support according to  claim 3 , wherein the adjusting mechanism is enclosed by a flexible cover.  
   
   
       8 . The adjustable head support according to  claim 1 , wherein the vertical support bar is adjustable in height.  
   
   
       9 . The adjustable head support according to  claim 1 , wherein the linkage between the actuator and the adjusting mechanism is a Bowden cable.