Dental patient chair

Abstract

The present invention relates to a dental patient chair comprising a seat portion (31) and an elongated backrest (32) having a lower end at one end of the seat portion and an upper end at the opposite end. The patient chair control system comprises a user interface configured to enable control commands to be sent to a first motorized structure (M1) designed to change the height position of the seat portion (31) relative to a support structure (35) for the seat portion (31) and a second motorized structure (M2) designed to change the tilt angle between the seat portion (31) and the backrest (32). In response to an initial input from the user interface, the control system initiates actuation of the motorized structures (M1, M2) to cause a combined movement such that, given a reference point (R) at a given short distance from the upper end of the backrest (32), the reference point (R) is at the same height position as when the initial input was received, at the end of the combined movement that changes the height position of the seat portion (31) and the tilt angle of the backrest (32).

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to dental patient chairs, and more particularly to controlling the movement of certain components of a dental patient chair. [Background technology]

[0002] Historically, dental patient chairs were designed to support seated patients, while dentists were accustomed to working in a standing position, which forced dentists to work in unergonomic positions and made them more susceptible to health problems.

[0003] Modern dental patient chairs are designed not only with patient comfort in mind, but also with ergonomics in mind, particularly with regard to the various dentist working positions. Modern dental patient chairs have several adjustable components, and in more advanced solutions, dental patient chairs can be equipped with motorized drives for adjusting the vertical and horizontal position of the seat, the tilt of the backrest relative to the seat, the position and tilt of the head support relative to the backrest, and the tilt of the leg support relative to the seat. A dental patient chair can also be a standalone device, with its own user interface, realized, for example, by buttons located on the chair itself. Alternatively, the chair can be a physical and functional part of a complete dental care unit, including a base frame structure, a control system, and various supports for various components, such as dental care equipment and dental operating lights.

[0004] When having a complex system with several motion functions, such as several motorized movements of individual parts of a patient chair, the control of those various movements also becomes complicated, especially when the various components need to be controlled separately to achieve the desired full relative movement of the various components. Summary of the Invention

[0005] A general object of the present disclosure is to provide a specific method for controlling specific movements of specific components of a dental patient chair to facilitate chair movement during treatment or individual treatment actions. This object is achieved by structures and controls as described in more detail below. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0006] In the accompanying figure: [Figure 1] FIG. 1 shows a typical modern dental care unit with an integrated patient chair. [Figure 2] 2A-2C show dental patient chairs designed differently and in different positions than those shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 3a] 1 illustrates the principle of actuating certain chair components according to the present disclosure. FIG. [Figure 3b] 1 illustrates the principle of actuating certain chair components according to the present disclosure. FIG. [Figure 4] 1A-1C illustrate examples of user interfaces applicable for use in the context of the present disclosure. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 illustrates a simplified control system applicable for use in the context of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0007] For more general background, in the field of dentistry, the term dental care unit (often simply "dental unit") refers to an apparatus or arrangement that provides power and sometimes control signals to equipment used in connection with dental care operations, and to various other devices, if any, used in connection with dental care operations.

[0008] One typical solution used in dental care units is to arrange the dental care instruments on an instrument console that is supported by support arms extending from the frame structure of the dental care unit. The dental care unit may have multiple and different support arms, for example, for dental assistant instruments and other devices used in connection with dental care operations.

[0009] One typical solution used in dental care units is to arrange one or more horizontal support arms in a support arrangement extending vertically from the frame portion of the dental care unit. Such arrangements are typically implemented to provide a specific number of support arms or to allow for a specific number of different arm assembly variations. These may be implemented during the initial assembly of the dental care unit or as a later retrofit. Such vertical support arrangements are typically connected to a cover structure on the frame portion of the dental care unit. Individual dentists, different dental clinics, educational institutions, and even dentists from different cultures have different needs and desires when it comes to equipping dental care units with instruments, accessories, and support arm solutions according to their individual needs.

[0010] Figure 1 shows the basic structure of a typical kind of dental care unit 1 intended to be used in connection with dental care operations. The dental care unit 1 of Figure 1 comprises a frame part 2 and a patient chair 3 connected to the frame part 2. A support arrangement 4 extends vertically from the frame part 2. The support arrangement 4 comprises a vertically extending support part 41, a first support structure 42 for supporting diagnostic equipment related to dental care or equipment 6 used in connection with dental care operations, or both diagnostic equipment and equipment 6, a second support structure 43 for e.g. an operating light 8 or an X-ray means used in connection with dental care operations, and a third support structure 44 for e.g. a display 10.

[0011] 1 further shows an equipment holder 11, which may be configured to support equipment typically used by a dental assistant, and foot controls 12, which allow control of functions of the dental care unit 1 and / or devices or structures connected or coupled to the dental care unit 1. The dental care unit 1 is also arranged to be operatively connected to a data network or a separate computer 13.

[0012] It should be noted that the dental care unit of FIG. 1 is merely an example. The dental care unit may include, for example, more or fewer support structures for different devices than those included in the structure of FIG. 1 . Also, for example, the patient chair does not necessarily need to be integrated with the dental care unit but may be realized as a completely separate structure. Alternatively, the frame structure described above may be arranged as an integral part of the floor-standing chair structure. Furthermore, instead of a structure having significant horizontal and vertical dimensions as shown in FIG. 1 , the dental care unit frame structure may be primarily a small structure with one or more support arms extending therefrom. In addition to or together with the foot control, this arrangement may also include a graphical user interface or other user interface. However, the structure of the dental care unit is typically realized such that power, fluids, and / or control signals necessary for operating the instruments and devices used in dental care operations are or can be transmitted through the dental care unit. Physically, this therefore means transmitting, for example, at least one of water, compressed air, electricity, and control signals.

[0013] Thus, in the context of this disclosure, reference to a dental care unit essentially refers to a structure including an arrangement that allows at least one of the variables described above or corresponding variables to be supplied to dental care equipment arranged in association with the dental care unit and / or to devices used in association with the performance of dental care tasks.

[0014] Thus, the dental care unit of Figure 1 is an example of a typical dental care unit, as discussed above. The dental care unit's frame structure may include a support structure for a patient chair (which may be a sturdy support arm, although this mechanism is not visible in Figure 1 because the patient chair itself obscures such structure), but the patient chair may be a freestanding device. The remainder of this disclosure will be primarily directed to a freestanding patient chair.

[0015] Figure 2 shows a dental patient chair designed differently and in a different position than that illustrated in Figure 1. The dental patient chair of Figure 2 comprises a seat portion 31, an elongated backrest 32 having a lower end at one end of the seat portion and an upper end at the opposite end, a head support portion 33, and a leg support portion 34. Unlike the configuration of Figure 1, the seat portion 31 is supported by a base structure 35 designed to rest on the floor, rather than by a structure extending from the frame of the dental care unit.

[0016] 3a and 3b schematically illustrate the basic components and specific operations of a dental patient chair according to the present disclosure. Compared to FIG. 3a, in FIG. 3b, the seat 31 has been driven to a higher horizontal level so that a reference point R, located at a distance from the elongated backrest 32 on a virtual extension of the elongated backrest 32, remains at the same height, while the tilt angle between the backrest 32 and the seat 31 has been reduced. This is achieved by the specifically combined movement of the motorized actuators M1 and M2, which change the height position of the seat 31 and the tilt angle between the seat 31 and the backrest 32. That is, by knowing the length to the top end of the elongated backrest 32 measured from a physical or virtual rotation axis as defined by the articulation structure A and the distance from the top end of the backrest to the reference point R, it is possible to calculate how any change in the tilt angle will change the height position of the reference point R. (Note that when initiating the above combined movements, the position of the reference point R relative to the top of the backrest need not be the same in any given situation; one may give a position for R that is closer to the axis of rotation, but not further from the axis of rotation than where the top of the backrest is located.)

[0017] If the patient chair is supported as shown in and described in connection with Figure 1, the motorized drive for adjusting the height position of the seat part 31 can also be implemented in the context of such a structure, where the frame 2 can correspond to a base structure as in Figure 2, and the same mutual positions of the components of the patient chair shown in and described in connection with Figures 3a and 3b can also be realized in such a context.

[0018] Numerous structures for changing the height position of a seat portion are well known in the art, even in the context of Figure 1 or Figure 2, and therefore details of such structures will not be presented herein, as will structures for changing the angle of inclination between the seat portion and the backrest.

[0019] It is a feature of the present disclosure that the reciprocal movement of the seat portion 31 and backrest 32 of the type shown in Figures 3a and 3b is effected in response to specific commands provided by a user interface. That is, considering the position shown in Figure 3a as "Position A" and the position shown in Figure 3b as "Position B," the user interface according to the present disclosure is designed to provide a single input to actuate the seat portion 31 and backrest 32 from common position A to common position B, as compared to separately actuating the seat portion 31 and backrest 32 from common position A to common position B, and vice versa.

[0020] In particular, such a single input only drives motor M1, which adjusts the height position of the seat 31, and motor M2, which drives articulation structure A, which allows the tilt angle between the seat 31 and the backrest 32 to be adjusted. In other words, the single input does not trigger any other drives that the patient chair may be configured to provide. Such a basically simple combined drive may be achieved, for example, by arranging a user interface configured to control virtual or physical control buttons SMU, SMD of the chair, as shown in FIG. 4. A first of these buttons may be configured to generate a control signal (for the seat) "synchronized move up" as long as a control command is given, for example, as long as the respective control button is pressed, and a second button may be configured to generate a control signal "synchronized move down" as long as a control command is input. Of course, similar control may alternatively or additionally be achieved via other types of user interface, such as levers on a foot control device.

[0021] The above type of control is distinct from control where the control system contains stored positions of chair components and can give control commands to drive the chair components to specific positions pre-stored in the control system.

[0022] 5 illustrates a simplified control system applicable for use in the context of the present disclosure. The control system may be part of a separate chair or part of a dental care unit that includes a patient chair. The control system controls the motorized actuation of the seat and back, as described above, in response to trigger inputs from a user interface.

[0023] 3a and 3b show a position in which the angle of inclination between the seat portion 31 and the backrest 32 is closer to 45 degrees than 90 degrees, for example, which may correspond to a patient sitting position. However, the same reciprocal actuation principle as described above can be applied up to such an angle of inclination, and also in other directions, for example up to, or even "down to," the so-called Trendelenburg position in which the patient lies approximately horizontally with their head lower than their pelvis. (In such cases, the chair may also be capable of adjusting the angle of inclination between the seat portion 31 and the leg support portion 34, independently of the above-described movement.)

[0024] According to one particular embodiment, the control system is adapted to cause the relative movement of the seat portion 31 and the backrest 32 such that, given a reference point R a given short distance from the upper end of the backrest 32, the reference point R is at the same height position at the end of the movement of the seat portion 31 and the backrest 32 as it was when the control command for the relative drive of the components was first given.

[0025] It should be noted that the drive of the movement of the chair components described above may, but need not, be synchronized to maintain the reference point R at the same height position. For example, either the seat or the back may be moved faster, and the desired mutual end position may be reached only after either the seat height position or the back tilt angle is deemed to have reached the desired end position. As an example, the seat height may be changed faster, and when the desired height is reached, the back "follows" and completes its full movement so that the reference point R is ultimately at the same height position as it was at the start of the combined movement.

[0026] According to one embodiment, the control system of the chair may be configured to calculate the height position of the reference point R from the height position of the seat portion 31 and the tilt angle of the backrest 32 at a given time in response to receiving an input to initiate the above-mentioned mutual movement.

[0027] According to one embodiment, the dental patient chair comprises a first position sensor indicating the height position of the seat portion 31 and a second position sensor indicating the tilt position of the backrest 32, the first and second position sensors being optionally arranged to be part of the first and second motorized drive structures (M1, M2). In this case, the control system may be configured to receive position signals from the first and second position sensors in response to receiving an input to initiate the above-mentioned mutual drive of the seat portion 31 and the backrest 32.

[0028] According to one embodiment, the electric drive that adjusts the height position of the seat portion 31 and the tilt angle of the backrest 32 is equipped with a stepping motor that can continuously provide information on the horizontal position of the seat portion 31 and the tilt position of the backrest 32, so that the calculation of the vertical position of the reference point R can also be performed continuously or does not need to be calculated based on a specific position sensor signal at the start of the above-mentioned synchronous movement.

[0029] According to one embodiment, a dental patient chair includes a seat portion 31 and an elongated backrest 32 having a lower end at one end of the seat portion and an upper end at an opposite end. A control system for the patient chair includes a user interface configured to enable control commands to be sent to a first motorized drive structure M1 designed to change the height position of the seat portion 31 relative to a support structure 35 for the seat portion 31 and a second motorized drive structure M2 designed to change the tilt angle between the seat portion 31 and the backrest 32. In response to an initial input from the user interface, the control system initiates actuation of the motorized structures M1, M2 to cause a combined movement such that, given a reference point R a given short distance from the upper end of the backrest 32, the reference point R is at the same height position as when the initial input was received, at the end of the combined movement that changes the height position and tilt angle of the seat portion 31.

[0030] According to one aspect, a dental patient chair comprises: The seat includes a seat portion 31, an elongated backrest 32 having a lower end at one end of the seat portion and an upper end at the opposite end, a support structure 35 for the seat portion, a first electric structure M1 designed to change the height position of the seat portion 31 relative to the support structure 35 for the seat portion, an articulation structure A connecting the seat portion 31 and the backrest 32, a second electric structure M2 designed to operate the articulation structure A to change the tilt angle between the seat portion 31 and the backrest 32, and a control system having a user interface configured to enable sending control commands to the first electric structure M1 and the second electric structure M2. The user interface is configured to enable sending a first input and a second input to the control system, the first input is designed to trigger a combination of actions including driving the first motorized structure (M1) to raise the seat portion (31) and driving the second motorized structure (M2) to reduce the tilt angle; the second input is designed to trigger a combination of actions including driving the first motorized structure (M1) to lower the seat portion (31) and driving the second motorized structure (M2) to increase the tilt angle; Both the first input and the second input are configured to not move any other components included in the patient chair structure, and both combinations of actions cause the combined movement of the seat portion (31) and the backrest (32) such that, given a reference point (R) at a given short distance from the top end of the backrest (32), the reference point (R) is at the same height position at the end of the combined movement of the seat portion (31) and the backrest (32) as it was when the first input or the second input was sent.

Claims

1. A seat portion (31); an elongated backrest (32) having a lower end at the seat end and an upper end at the opposite end; A support structure (35) for the seat portion; a first electrically operated structure (M1) designed to allow the height position of the seat portion (31) to be changed relative to the support structure (35) of the seat portion; an articulation structure (A) connecting the seat portion (31) and the backrest (32); a second motorized structure (M2) designed to operate the articulated structure (A) so as to change the tilt angle between the seat portion (31) and the backrest (32); a control system comprising a user interface configured to enable sending control commands to said first electrically driven structure (M1) and said second electrically driven structure (M2), the user interface is configured to enable transmission of a first input and a second input to the control system; the first input is designed to trigger a combination of actions including driving the first motorized structure (M1) to raise the seat portion (31) and driving the second motorized structure (M2) to reduce the tilt angle; the second input is designed to trigger a combination of actions including driving the first motorized structure (M1) to lower the seat portion (31) and driving the second motorized structure (M2) to increase the tilt angle; Both the first input and the second input are configured so as not to move any other components included in the patient chair structure, and both of the combinations of actions cause a combined movement of the seat portion (31) and the backrest (32) such that, given a reference point (R) at a given short distance from the top end of the backrest (32), the reference point (R) is at the same height position at the end of the combined movement of the seat portion (31) and the backrest (32) as when the first input or the second input was transmitted. Dental patient chair.

2. The control system is configured to, when receiving the first input or the second input, calculate a height position of the reference point (R) from the height position of the seat portion (31) and the tilt angle of the backrest (32) at that time.

10. The dental patient chair of claim 1.

3. the dental patient chair comprises a first position sensor indicating a height position of the seat portion (31) and a second position sensor indicating a tilt position of the backrest (32), the first position sensor and the second position sensor being optionally arranged to be part of the first motorized structure (M1) and the second motorized structure (M2), and the control system is configured to receive position signals from the first position sensor and the second position sensor in response to receiving the first input or the second input.

3. The dental patient chair of claim 2.

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