Lumbar traction apparatus

Claim 2

Lumbar traction apparatus comprising a pair of upper and lower U-shaped supports adapted to be attached to the upper and lower waist portions respectively of a patient undergoing treatment; a belt assembly associated with each of the supports for tightening them to the patient; a pair of laterally spaced apart traction control assemblies extending between the supports, each assembly having a vertically extending tube connected to one of the supports and a toothed rod telescopically mounted for reciprocation in the tube and connected to the other support, and a rotatable shaft carrying a pinion engaged with the teeth on the rod; and a ratchet drive mechanism associated with each traction control assembly for rotating the shaft carrying the pinion in one direction to move the rod relative to the tube thereby moving the supports apart and applying traction to the lower lumbar region of the patient (1), wherein the belt assembly associated with each of the supports comprises a belt, one end of which is adapted to be releasably attached to one leg of the support and the other end of which is wrapped around a rotatable shaft mounted on the other leg of the support, and a ratchet drive mechanism associated with each belt for rotating the shaft in one direction to wind the belt thereon and thereby tighten the support to the patient.

Claim 3

Lumbar traction apparatus according to claim 1 wherein one or more of the ratchet drive mechanisms of the traction control assembly or the belt assembly comprises a ratchet wheel selectively coupleable to the shaft, a ratchet wheel operator for rotating the ratchet wheel in response to actuation of the operator in a direction that rotates the shaft in the one direction when the shaft is coupled to the wheel.

Claim 4

Lumbar traction apparatus according to claim 2 wherein the ratchet wheel is rotatably mounted on the shaft and each of the ratchet wheel and shaft have adjacent notched faces that are alignable when the shaft and wheel have a predetermined relative angular position, and including a rod coaxially mounted in the shaft for axial movement therein, a coupler mounted on one end of the rod selectively engageable in the aligned notched faces for effecting the coupling of the wheel to the shaft, and a spring for resiliently urging the rod in an axial direction that urges the coupler toward the aligned notched faces.

Claim 5

Lumbar traction apparatus according to claim 2 wherein the ratchet wheel operator comprises a pair of plates having circular holes rotatably receiving the hub of the ratchet wheel on each side of its toothed periphery, and a connector portion rigidly connecting the plates and forming an operating handle, oscillatory movement of the handle imparting unidirectional rotation to the ratchet wheel.

Claim 6

Lumbar traction apparatus according to claim 4 wherein the free end of a spring loaded pawl operatively engages the toothed periphery of the wheel for limitating rotation thereof in the direction opposite to the direction in which the handle can rotate the wheel.

Claim 7

Lumbar traction apparatus comprising a pair of upper and lower U-shaped supports adapted to be attached to the upper and lower waist portions respectively of a patient undergoing treatment; a belt assembly associated with each of the supports for tightening them to the patient; a pair of laterally spaced apart traction control assemblies extending between the supports, each assembly having a vertically extending tube connected to one of the supports and a toothed rod telescopically mounted for reciprocation in the tube and connected to the other support, and a rotatable shaft carrying a pinion engaged with the teeth on the rod; and a ratchet drive mechanism associated with each traction control assembly for rotating the shaft carrying the pinion in one direction to move the rod relative to the tube thereby moving the supports apart and applying traction to the lower lumbar region of the patient, and wherein the rods are connected to the upper supports and the tubes are connected to the lower support, each connection of the rod to the upper support being by way of a pin extending into an axially elongated slot in a rod, and a spring interposed between the free end of the rod and the upper support to provide for limited relative movement between the upper support and the rods to cushion the upper support against the patient''s body.

Claim 8

Lumbar traction apparatus comprising a pair of upper and lower U-shaped supports adapted to be attached to the upper and lower waist portions respectively of a patient undergoing treatment; a belt assembly associated with each of the supports for tightening them to the patient; a pair of laterally spaced apart traction control assemblies extending between the supports, each assembly having a vertically extending tube connected to one of the supports and a toothed rod telescopically mounted for reciprocation in the tube and connected to the other support, and a rotatable shaft carrying a pinion engaged with the teeth on the rod; and a ratchet drive mechanism associated with each traction control assembly for rotating the shaft carrying the pinion in one direction to move the rod relative to the tube thereby moving the supports apart and applying traction to the lower lumbar region of the patient, and wherein the rods are connected to the upper supports and the tubes are connected to the lower support, each connection of the rod to the upper support being by way of a pin extending into an axially elongated slot in a rod, and a spring interposed between the free end of the rod and the upper support to provide for limited relative movement between the upper support and the rods to cushion the upper support against the patient''s body.

Claim 9

Lumbar traction apparatus comprising a pair of upper and lower U-shaped supports adapted to be attached to the upper and lower waist portions respectively of a patient undergoing treatment; a belt assembly associated with each of the supports for tightening them to the patient, a pair of laterally spaced apart traction control assemblies extending between the supports, each assembly having a vertically extending tube connected to one of the supports and a toothed rod telescopically mounted for reciprocation in the tube and connected to the other support, and a rotatable shaft carrying a pinion engaged with the teeth on the rod; and a ratchet drive mechanism associated with each traction control assembly for rotating the shaft carrying the pinion in one direction to move the rod relative to the tube thereby moving the supports apart and applying traction to the lower lumbar region of the patient, and including a lordosis enlarging pad assembly adjustably positionable in a generally vertical slot connected to the lower support and adapted to engage the desired level of the intermediate portion of the back of a patient for controlling the forward convexity of his spine.

Claim 10

Lumbar traction apparatus comprising a pair of upper and lower U-shaped supports adapted to be attached to the upper and lower waist portions respectively of a patient undergoing treatment; a belt assembly associated with each of the supports for tightening them to the patient, a pair of laterally spaced apart traction control assemblies extending between the supports, each assembly having a vertically extending tube connected to one of the supports and a toothed rod telescopically mounted for reciprocation in the tube and connected to the other support, and a rotatable shaft carrying a pinion engaged with the teeth on the rod; and a ratchet drive mechanism associated with each traction control assembly for rotating the shaft carrying the pinion in one direction to move the rod relative to the tube thereby moving the supports apart and applying traction to the lower lumbar region of the patient, and including a lordosis enlarging pad assembly adjustably positionable in a generally vertical slot connected to the lower support and adapted to engage the desired level of the intermediate portion of the back of a patient for controlling the forward convexity of his spine.

Claim 11

Lumbar traction apparatus according to claim 7 wherein the lordosis enlarging pad assembly includes a vertically slotted plate extending upwardly from the bottom support, and a nut closely fitting but slidably carried within the slotted plate and having a threaded hole for receiving a threaded shaft to one end of which is attached the padded disc for contacting the patient''s back and to the other end of which is attached a handwheel for effecting rotation of the threaded shaft.

Claim 12

Lumbar traction apparatus according to claim 8 wherein the disc is connected to the threaded shaft by a ball-joint.

Claim 13

Lumbar traction apparatus according to claim 5 wherein the spring loaded pawl has an operating handle by which the pawl can be selectively disengaged from the toothed periphery of the wheel to facilitate release.

Claim 14

A ratchet drive mechanism for lumbar traction apparatus comprising a pair of upper and lower U-shaped supports adapted to be attached to the upper and lower waist portions respectively of a patient undergoing treatment; a belt assembly associated with each of the supports for tightening them to the patient; a pair of laterally spaced apart traction control assemblies extending between the supports, each assembly having a vertically extending tube connected to one of the supports and a toothed rod telescopically mounted for reciprocation in the tube and connected to the other support, and a rotatable shaft carrying a pinion engaged with the teeth on the rod; and a ratchet drive mechanism associated with each traction control assembly for rotating the shaft carrying the pinion in one direction to move the rod relative to the tube thereby moving the supports apart and applying traction to the loWer lumbar region of the patient, and comprising a housing having a first bore for reciprocably mounting a toothed shaft and a second bore transverse to the first bore for rotatably mounting a shaft to which a pinion is attached so as to be operatively engaged with the teeth of the rod, a ratchet wheel rotatably mounted on the shaft and having a notched end face adjacent a correspondingly notched end face on the shaft, a rod coaxially mounted on the shaft for axial sliding movement and carrying a coupler on one end seatable within the notches in the end faces of the shaft and the ratchet wheel when the latter are aligned, and a spring acting on the rod carrying the coupler for urging the same into the aligned notches.

Claim 15

A ratchet drive mechanism for lumbar traction apparatus comprising a pair of upper and lower U-shaped supports adapted to be attached to the upper and lower waist portions respectively of a patient undergoing treatment; a belt assembly associated with each of the supports for tightening them to the patient; a pair of laterally spaced apart traction control assemblies extending between the supports, each assembly having a vertically extending tube connected to one of the supports and a toothed rod telescopically mounted for reciprocation in the tube and connected to the other support, and a rotatable shaft carrying a pinion engaged with the teeth on the rod; and a ratchet drive mechanism associated with each traction control assembly for rotating the shaft carrying the pinion in one direction to move the rod relative to the tube thereby moving the supports apart and applying traction to the loWer lumbar region of the patient, and comprising a housing having a first bore for reciprocably mounting a toothed shaft and a second bore transverse to the first bore for rotatably mounting a shaft to which a pinion is attached so as to be operatively engaged with the teeth of the rod, a ratchet wheel rotatably mounted on the shaft and having a notched end face adjacent a correspondingly notched end face on the shaft, a rod coaxially mounted on the shaft for axial sliding movement and carrying a coupler on one end seatable within the notches in the end faces of the shaft and the ratchet wheel when the latter are aligned, and a spring acting on the rod carrying the coupler for urging the same into the aligned notches.

Claim 16

A ratchet drive mechanism according to claim 11 including a ratchet wheel operator comprising a pair of plates having circular holes rotatably receiving the hub of the ratchet wheel on each side of its toothed periphery, and a connector portion rigidly connecting the plates for forming a handle by which unidirectional rotation can be imparted to the ratchet wheel in response to oscillatory movement of the handle.