SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is provided an apparatus for assisting meditation characterised by comprising a turntable mounted on a central drive shaft and having a seat mounted thereon, a drive means connected to the central drive shaft in order to rotate the central drive shaft and the turntable and a speed control means connected to the drive means to control the rotational speed of the central drive shaft wherein the speed control means is located in a position in which the speed control means may be adjusted by a user sitting on the seat.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is side view of an apparatus for assisting meditation in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 is a top view of the apparatus for assisting meditation of Figure 1; Figure 3a is a side view of the seat of the apparatus for assisting meditation of Figure 1 ; Figure 3b is a top view of the seat of Figure 3 a ; Figure 3c is a side view of the seat of Figure 3a showing a typical seating position;

Figure 4 is a top cross sectional view of the apparatus for assisting meditation of Figure 1 showing the drive means; Figure 5 is side view showing the mounting of the turntable of the apparatus for assisting meditation to the base; Figure 6a is side view of the overhead support structure of the apparatus for assisting meditation of Figure 1 ; Figure 6b is a side view of the connection of upper ends of elongate members of the overhead support structure of Figure 6a; Figure 6c is a perspective of a connection of an elongate member and cable means of the overhead support structure of Figure 6a; Figure 7 is side view of the focus rod of the apparatus for assisting meditation; Figure 8 is an exploded view of the base and turntable of the apparatus for assisting meditation; and Figure 9 is a side view showing the safety shut-off mechanism of the apparatus for assisting meditation.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to the Figures, there is shown an apparatus for assisting meditation 10 comprising a turntable 12 having a seat 14 mounted thereon. The turntable 16 is mounted on a central drive shaft 16. The central drive shaft 16 is rotatably mounted on a base 18. As shown in Figure 5, the base 18 is provided with a bearing housing 20 secured to the base 18 by suitable securing means, such as bolts 22. The bearing housing 20 is arranged to receive a lower end of the central drive shaft 16. An upper end of the central drive shaft 16 is secured to the turntable 12 by bolts 23.

The seat 14 comprises a lower mounting portion 15 secured to the turntable 12 as shown in Figure 3. An upwardly extending tube member 17 is secured to the lower mounting portion 15 and a seat base 19 is mounted to the upper end of the tube member 17. The seat base 19 is mounted to the tube member 17 such that it is angled to the horizontal to provide a comfortable position for meditation. Preferably the seat base 19 is angled at around 30 degrees to the horizontal. To further assist in the provision of a comfortable seating arrangement, the seat base 19 and turntable 12 may be provided with cushion 13. Further, the tube member 17 is preferably provided with a height adjustment means 21 to allow adjustment of the height of the seat base 19 above the turntable 12, to suit different users. The height adjustment means 21 may be in the form of known arrangement such as that used on bicycle seats.

The apparatus for assisting meditation 10 is provided with a drive means 24 to provide rotation of the drive shaft 16 and turntable 12. As seen in Figure 4, the drive means 24 comprises an electric motor 26 and gearbox 28. The electric motor 26 and gearbox 28 are connected to the central drive shaft 16 by a belt 30. The belt 30 is secured around drive pulley 32 provided on the central drive shaft 16.

The apparatus for assisting meditation 10 is provided also with a speed control means 34 connected to the electric motor 26 to control the speed at which the electric motor 26 operates. The electric motor 26, gearbox 28 and speed control means 34 are mounted to the base 18 adjacent the central drive shaft 16.

The speed control means 34 is further provided with a control panel 36 by which a user can control the speed control means 34 and therefore the speed of the electric motor 26. The control panel 36 is mounted on a flexible elongate member 38, extending upwardly from the base 18. The position of the control panel 36 can thereby be adjusted so that it is accessible by a user sitting on the seat 14 on the

turntable 12 in use. The control panel 34 may also include a display means 35 to provide information to the user, such as the rotational speed of the turntable 12. In an alternative embodiment, the control panel 34 may be mounted on the seat 14. In this case, the display means 35 may still be provided on the flexible elongate member 38 to display the speed of rotation to the user.

As shown in Figure 8, the base 18 preferably comprises a first base member 40 and a second base member 42. The first base member 40 comprises a first disc secured to a stable surface. The second base member 42 comprises a second disc arranged on top of the first base member 40. A plurality of packing means 44 are provided between the first and second base members 40 and 42. The packing members 44 are arranged to ensure that the second base member 42-is horizontal. Further, the second base member 42 is provided with a cylindrical member 46 arranged to be secured to the second base member 42 such that the cylindrical member 46 extends upwardly from the periphery of the second base member 42. The cylindrical member 46 provides a housing for the drive means 24, the speed control means 34 and the central drive shaft 16.

The apparatus for assisting meditation 10 is provided with an overhead support structure 50. The overhead support structure 50 is preferably provided as a pyramid shaped structure, as shown in Figure 1. The overhead support structure 50 comprises three elongate members 52. Lower ends of each of the elongate members 52 are secured on the periphery of the turntable 12. Upper ends of the elongate members 52 are secured together directly above the seat 14. A support member 54 is provided extending downwardly from the upper ends of the elongate members 52. At a lower end of the support member 54 is secured a magnet 56 to enhance the meditation of a user sitting on the seat 14 in use. The magnet 54 may optionally be pulled

downwards towards the user sitting on the seat 14 on the turntable 12 in use to even further enhance meditation. Preferably, the magnet 56 is provided as a rare earth magnet.

Lower ends of each of the elongate members 52 are further secured to each other by a cable means 57, as is shown in Figure 6c. In this way, the overhead support structure 50 is a free standing structure which may be optionally removed from the turntable 12 and used as an independent aid for the user to achieve a meditative state.

Also provided is a focus rod 58, as shown in Figure 7. The focus rod 58 comprises a rod extending upwardly from the turntable 12 in a position in which the upper end of the focus rod 58 is positioned directly in front of the user sitting on the seat 14. On the upper end of the focus rod 58 is mounted a light 60 on which the user focuses their attention during meditation. The focus rod 58 is preferably constructed of copper and may include also a magnet mounted adjacent the light 60. Preferably, said magnet is provided as a rare earth magnet.

The apparatus for assisting meditation 10 is also provided with a safety shut-off means 62. The safety shut-off means 62 comprises a tube 64 arranged to extend through an aperture provided in the turntable 12. An upper end of the tube 64 is connected by a flexible connecting member 65 to the user. A shut-off-switch 66 is arranged on the base 18 such that if the user faints or falls, the tube 64 falls downwardly through the aperture in the turntable 12 to a position in which it engages the shut-off switch 66 and stops the drive means 24.

Modifications and variations as would be apparent to a skilled addressee are deemed to be within the scope of the present invention.