US3477425A - Support collar - Google Patents

Description

5 2 A 4, 7 7 A. 3 L S S A R G s 9 6 9 l L 1 V. o N

SUPPORT COLLAR Filed April 2l, 1966 FIGZ.

INVENTOR4 SIMON GRASSLJ FIGB.

ATTORNEY United States VPatent O 3,477,425 SUPPORT COLLAR Simmou Grassi, Mount Peter Estate, Warwick, N.Y. 10990 Filed Apr. 21, 1966, Ser. No. 544,288 Int. Cl. A61h 1/02; A61f 5/37 U.S. Cl. 12S-75 6 Claims ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE The disclosure relates to a support collar for wearing by a user around the neck of the user and comprises an individual longitudinally flexible transversely rigid collar, said collar being opened at its front, a padding provided at the upper and lower edges of said collar, support pads releasably attached to the inner surfacel of the collar for cradling the jawbone of the user between the upper edge of the support collar and the support pads, a strap for closing the collar from the front thereof, and a locking means disposed on said strap for locking said collar in a closed position,

The present invention relates to a neck support and more particularly to collar for rendering an individuals neck and/or head immobile.

Heretofore, persons with neck or spine injuries were forced to wear a special collar to maintain their head rigid and neck immobile. These prior art Supports or collars were generally made of a flexible plastic material which were provided with padding about its edges and were fitted around the front of the neck. The collar was closed and locked at the back and generally was diihcult to open and close because of the proximity of the closing or locking means.

Further these prior art collars, when tted around the neck, where placed under the jaw bone so that the head could be held rigid. Ideally this was the case, invariably however, the persons jaw bone would not be so supported and the upper edge of the collar would slip over the jaw bone thus negating the beneficial support desired. Also, because the collar closed at the rear, the collar was narrowest at this point so that no rigid means could be provided which could support the individuals head from the rear. With this construction therefore the person could move his head forward and back which further negated the purposes of the collar.

It may be seen therefore that the prior art rear closing collars could not provide the proper support because of the slipping of the persons jaw bone beneath the upper edge of the collar and further no rear supporting action was provided for the individuals head.

It is the general object of the present invention to avoid and overcome the diiliculties experienced in these prior art devices by the provision of an inexpensive and easily adjustable support collar.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a collar which may be opened and closed from the front thereby allowing great ease of applying the support.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a support collar with a means for preventing the upper edge of the support collar from slipping over the jaw bone.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a support collar which will more readily support and hold immobile an individuals head.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a support collar which may utilize a rear support element at the cervex for aiding in the immobilization of the wearers neck and head.

The objects hereinabove set forth have been achieved by providing a support collar for wearing around the neck ice of an individual comprising a longitudinally flexible transversely rigid collar, said collar being open at its front, a padding provided on the upper and lower edges of said collar, support pads releasably attached to said collar to prevent slipping of said collar, said support pads being adjustably located on the inner surface of said collar, a strap for closing the collar from the front thereof, and a locking means disposed on said strap for locking said collar in a closed position.

For a better understanding of the present invention reference should be had to accompanying drawings wherein like numerals of reference indicate similar parts throughout the several views and wherein:

FIGURE l is a perspective view of the present invention,

FIGURE 2 is a view of the inside of the collar with the collar open,

FIGURE 3 is a cross sectional view' of the collar taken along lines 3--3 of FIGURE 2,

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view `of head supporting element, and

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of a support pad.

Referring now to FIGURE 1, a support collar is indicated generally by the reference numeral 10. The support collar 10 may be provided with a longitudinally flexible collar 12 which may be readily applied around the neck of an individual. The collar 12 may longitudinally be composed of a plastic or other material Well known to those skilled in the art.

In order not to cut or chafe the neck or body of the wearer, the upper edge 14 and lower edge 16 of the collar may be provided with a padding 18. structurally the collar 12 is longitudinally flexible so that it may lit around the neck of the wearer, however in order to support the head of the wearer and further to render the neck and head of the wearer immobile and rigid, the collar 12 may be transversely rigid. Therefore, the collar 12 is longitudinally flexible and transversely rigid.

The collar 12 may be so constructed that it is iitted around the neck and closed from the front 20, that is, it may be closed under the chin of the wearer. To this end a locking means 22 is provided on the outside surface 24 of the 'collar 12 between the open ends 26 of the collar 12. As shown in FIGURE 1 the locking means 22 may be in the form of a strap 28 having on end 30 iixedly attached to one side of the outside 24 of the collar 12 and having its free end 32 adapted to be connected to the outside surface 24 of the collar 12 thereby closing the collar 12 around the neck of the wearer. The means for closing the collar 12 and locking the strap 28 in position may take the form of a Velcro arrangement or any other convenient and readily accessible well known locking arrangement such as snaps or slide buckles (not shown).

In order to prevent the slippage of the upper padded edge 14 of the collar 12 over the jaw bone of the wearer a plurality of support pads 34 may be removably attached to the inner surface 36 of the collar 12 near the open ends 26. With this structure and positioning of the support pads 34 these pads will act as an abutment preventing the jaw bone from slipping below the padded upper edge 14 and thereby holding the wearers neck in an irnmobile position -by preventing the downward movement of the wearers head. It may be noted that the support pads 34 are removably attached in position and further the `support pads may be adjusted to a higher or lower position on the inside of the collar 12 so that the most comfortable and support rendering position may -be obtained for each wearer of the support collar 10.

As shown in FIGURE 5, each support pad 34 is comprised of a rigid plastic member 38 and a thick padding 40 provided on the upper edge 42 of the rigid plastic member 38. It may be seen therefore that the jaw bone of the wearer may be cradled between the padded upper edges 14 of the collar 12 and the support pads 34. The support pads 34 may be releasably held in position by a Velcro type of securing arrangement however it may be seen that these support pads 34 may be permanently affixed to the collar 12 as by rivets (not shown) if it is so desired. However, the releasably attached arrangement is preferable since it lends an adjustable feature to the support collar which may be varied to the comfort and convenience of the wearer.

In order to add to the holding of the head in a rigid position a cervical pad 44 may be attached to the rear inner surface 46 of the collar 12. As shown in FIGURE 1, and in phantom in FIGURE 2 the cervical pad 44 protrudes above and below the upper (14) and lower (16) edges of the collar 12 thereby forming a rigid brace at the back of the wearers neck holding his head in one virtually fixed position. The cervical pad 44 may be releasably connected in position so that if its use is not required it may be dispensed with, however when used it adds immeasurably to the immobilization of the wearers head. The cervical pad 44 may be releasably attached by the utilization of a Velcro securing arrangement or a snap-on arrangement or any other convenient method of releasable attachment. It may be recognized that by positioning the cervical pad 44 in a higher or lower position will aid in positioning the wearers head in either a forwardly tilted position or an upwardly tilted position. In either case the wearers head will be iided in the desired position because of the placement of the cervical pad `44.

lIn some instances, for the sake of maintaining a low cost support collar 10, the separate cervical pad 44 may be dispensed with and in its stead the rear portion of the collar 12 may be made higher or lower depending upon the desired position of the head. For example if it is desired to have the wearers head maintained in a forwardly tilted direction the upper edge 14 at the rear portion of the collar would be made higher or wider. The change in the width at the rear portion of the collar 12. therefore would be the equivalent of placing the cervical pad 44 on the Velcro fastener to protrude above the upper edge 14 of the collar 12. Similarly the narrowing of the rear portion of the collar 12 -would tend to maintain the wearers head in a slightly upwardly tilted position.

In operation, the support collar 10, with the support pads 34 and the cervical pad 44 is positioned around the wearers neck and comfortably yet tightly closed beneath fthe chin of the wearer by means of the strap 28 closing off the open ends 26 of the collar 12. If it is found that the collar 12 is sliding over the wearers jaw bone, the collar 12 may -be opened and the position of the support pads 34 changed to provide the desired comfort and Support- It will be recognized b y those skilled. in the art that 4 the objects of the present invention have been achieved by providing a support collar having support pads for preventing the sliding of the collar as well as the cornplete immobilization of the wearers neck and head through the use of the support pads and cervical pad.

It is understood that although a preferred embodiment is herewith shown and described in detail in accordance with the patent statutes the invention is not to be considered to be limited thereto or thereby.

I claim:

1. A support collar for wearing around the neck of an individual comprising a longitudinally flexible transversely rigid collar, said collar being open at its front, a padding provided on the upper and lower edges of said collar, support pads releasably attached to said collar to prevent slipping of said collar, said support pads :being short in length and adapted to support selected areas of the jawbone of the user and being adjustably located on the inner surface of said collar, a strap for closing the collar from the front thereof, and a locking means disposed on said strap for locking said collar in a closed position from the front of said support collar.

2. A support collar according to claim 1 wherein said short support pads are positioned to cradle the jaw bone of the individual between the upper edge of said collar and said support pads, said support pads being provided with an adjustable securing means thereby being adapted to change positions on the inner surface of said collar.

3. A support collar according to claim 2 wherein a rectangular cervical pad is releasably connected to the rear portion of said collar for holding the individuals head in a fixed position, said cervical pad being adjustable to a higher or lower position, said cervical pad being transversely wider than said support collar.

4. A support collar according to claim 3 wherein said cervical pad is provided with a releasable locking means.

5. A support collar according to claim 2 wherein said collar is provided with a rear portion, said rear portion being transversely wider than said support collar to hold the individuals head in a forwardly tilted fixed position.

6. A support collar according to claim 2 wherein said collar is provided with a rear portion, said rear portion being transversely narrower than said support collar to hold the individuals head in an upwardly tilted fixed position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,135,256 l6/1964 Gruber 128--75 3,220,406 11/ 1965 Connelly 128-75 3,320,950 5/ 1967 McElvenny 128-75 RICHARD A. GAUDET, Primary Examiner JOHN D. YASKO, Assistant Examiner

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