"A SUPPORT"

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a support, in particular, the invention relates to a support that is used to support either the back or front of a person when sitting or lying down. The support can be used for leisure actives or may be used for medical purposes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Holidays for most people are time for relaxation. Many people relax by spending time outdoors. One very popular place to spend time outdoors is the beach. The beach is often a great place to read a book, watch the ocean, sun bake, watch children play and even sleep or a combination of some or all of the above.

When people attend the beach, it is common place to use a towel to either sit on or lie on. Unfortunately, it is often uncomfortable to perform some common place activities whilst solely using a towel. For example, it is uncomfortable to read a book for a long period of time when facing upwardly as a person needs to extend both arms upwardly whilst holding the book. A person's arms can tire easily requiring a position change. It is also uncomfortable to read a book for a long period of ti me on a person's side as person's weight is often held through one arm. Again, a person's arms can tire easily requiring a position change. Similarly, it is uncomfortable to read a book for a long period of time on a person's chest as most people support their weight through their arms. Not only can a person's arms tire but pressure is placed through the lower back of a person. Accordingly, when reading a book on a towel on the beach what often occurs is a constant changing of position between a person's front, back and sides.

An alternative to using a towel on a beach, is to carry a chair down to the beach. Typically, many beaches are located a considerable distance from an associated beach car park making this task troublesome. In the event that a chair is carried to the beach, the chair must be set up correctly. That is the chair must be placed into the sand to ensure a firm base for the legs of the chair. Further, a person must be careful to sit straight in the chair and not lean to one side of the chair, it is not unusual for a person to over balance on a chair located on the beach causing the person to fall off the chair.

The reference to any prior art in this specificatio is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that the prior art forms part of the common general knowledge.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to overcome and/or alleviate one or more of the above disadvantages or provide the consumer with a useful or commercial choice.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one form, although not necessarily the only or broadest form, the invention resides in a support comprising:

a support member for supporting a person;

a base member for engaging with a ground surface, the support member being pivotally connected to the base member; and

an adjustment mechanism to adjust the inclination between the support member and the base member.

The support member may be used to either support the back or the chest of a person.

The support member may include a support frame. The support frame is typically U-shaped. It should be appreciated that the support frame may be of other suitable shapes such as rectangular or square.

The support frame typicall includes two side support arms. The side support arms may be joined by a top support arm that extends between the side support arms. The side support arms and the top support arm may be integrally farmed.

One or more cross members may form part of the support member.

The cross members typically contact the back or chest of a person in use. The one or more cross members form part of the support frame. One or more of the cross members may form part of the support frame, Typically one or more of the cross members may extend between the side support arms of the support frame. One or more of the cross members may be formed from a rigid material such as wood, plastic or metal. Alternatively, one or more of the cross members may be formed from flexible material such as a cloth or plastic. Normally there is a single cross member that is made from a cloth material.

The support member may include a headrest to also support the head and/or neck of a person. The headrest may be attached to the support frame. Typically, the headrest is attached to the top support arm. The headrest may be made from a resilient materia! such as foam.

Side support arm covers may extend over one or more of the side support arms. The side support arm covers may be made from a resilient material such as foam. The side support arm covers may be underneath one or more cross members.

The base member may include abase frame. The base frame may be substantially U-shaped. It should be appreciated that the base frame may b of other suitable shapes such as rectangular or square.

The base f ame typi cal ly i ncl udes two side base arms. The side base arms may be joined by a bottom base arm that extends between the side base arms. Th side base arms may be bent downwardly adjacent their sides so that the bottom base arm is located below the side base arms. The angle of the bend is typically between 35 and 55 degrees. Preferably the angle of the bend is typically between 40 and 50 degrees. More preferably the angle of the bend is typically between 42.5 and 47.5 degrees. Most preferably, the angle of the bend is approximately 45 degrees The side base arms and the bottom base arm may be integrally formed.

One or more stiff ener members may form part of the support member. The one or more stiifener members may form part of the frame and may extend between the side base arms. The base member may include one or more feet that engage with the ground surface. One or more feet are typically located on each side base arm. Preferabl the feet are located adjacent respective ends of the side base arms. Preferably, the one or more feet are located adjacent the pivot connection between the support member and base member.

The support frame is typically pivotaliy connected to the base frame. The side base arms may be pivotaliy connected to the side support arms. A pivot device typically is used for this purpose. The pivot device typically includes a pivot pin to allow rotation. Additionally, the pivot device may include two elbows that are attached to either one or both of the side support arms or the side base arms. The connecting arms may be elbow shaped.

The base member and side member typically terminate adjacent to where they are pivotaliy attached to each other. That is, the support is not used to support the legs or buttocks of a user. Preferably, the side base arms and the side supports arms terminate adjacent the pivot device.

The adjustment mechanism may extend between the base member and the support member. The adjustment member may be formed from at least one catch and at least one brace. The at least one catch and the at least one brace engage to hold the support member and the base member in a predetermined position. The at least one brace may be located on either base member or the support member with the at least one catch located on the other of the base member and the support member.

Normally there are two catches and one brace. The single brace typically engages both catches during use. The two catches are normally mounted to the base member whilst the brace is normally mounted to the support member.

A catch may include a number engagement portions located at discrete locations along the catch to capture the brace. The engagement portions may be in the form of slots or projections.

Usually the brace is pivotaliy mounted to the support member. A brace is normally mounted to each of the side base arms of the support member,

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiment of the invention, by way of example only, will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a support according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view of a brace according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3A to 3D is a side view of the support of FIG. 1 in different positions; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a cover according to an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG 1 shows a support 10 for supporting the back or chest of a person. The support 10 is typically used on a beach but can be used on other ground surfaces whether natural or man-made. The support includes a support member 20, a base member 30 and an adjustment mechanism 40.

The support member 20 is formed from a U shaped aluminium support frame 21. The support frame 21 has two side support arms 22 that are inter- linked by a top support arm 23. tubular resilient foam is located over the top support arm 23 to form a headrest 24. Two tubular foam pieces are located over the side support arms 22 to form side support arm covers 25, A cloth cross-member 26 extends over the side support arm covers 25 and extends between the side support arms.

The base member 30 is placed on the ground surface. The base member 30 includes a base frame 31 and two feet 32, The base frame 31 is substantially U shaped. The base frame 31 includes two sid base arms 33 that are inter-connected by a bottom base arm 34. The side base arms 33 are bent adjacent the bottom base arm 34 at an angle of 45 degrees, Accordingly the bottom base arm 34 is located at a position lower than the side base arms 33. The side base arms 33 and bottom base arm 34 are integrally formed. A stiffening member 35 extends between the two side base arms 33 to strengthen the base frame 31. The two feet 32 are located adjacent the ends of the two side base arms 33 opposite the end to which the side base arms 33 are connected to the bottom base arm 34. The feet 32 are made from a resilient material such as rubber or plastic. The feet 32 may have a series of gripping teeth 36 that assist in gripping a hard ground surface such as concrete.

The adjustment mechanism 40 is used to position the support member 20 with respect to the base member 30, The adjustment mechanism includes two catches 41 and a single brace 50. Each catch 41 extends along a respective side base arm 33. The catch 41 includes a series of spaced apart slots 42 that extend the length of the catch 41. The brace 50, shown in more detail in FIG 2, includes two pivot pins 51 , a curved top strut 52, two angled side struts 53, a bottom strut 54 and two catch pins 55. The brace is integrally formed. The pivot pins 51 are mounted within two respective brackets 56 that are attached to the side support arms 22 of the support frame 20. The brackets 56 are U shaped and accordingly the pivot pins 51 enable the brace 50 to rotate with respect to the support member 20. The top strut 52 is arcuate in shape and extends between the two pivot pins 51. The angled side struts 53 inter-connect the top strut to the bottom strut. The two catch pins 55 extend outwardly from the bottom strut and are for location within the slots 42 of the catch 41.

A pivot device 60 is used to pivotaliy mount the support member 20 to the base member 30. The pivot device 60 includes two elbows 61 of which one end is rigidly attached to a respective side support arm 22 and the other end of the elbow is pivotaliy attached to a respective side base arm 33 such that the side suppo t arms 22 are spaced apart from an adjacent side base arm 33. The spacing enables the support member 20 to be rotated with respect to the base member 30 without the side base arms 33 of the base member 30 clashing with the side base arms 22 of the support member 20.

In use the support 10 is located so that the base member 20 is positioned on a ground surface 1 , The support member 20 is then rotated wit respect to the base member 30 to a person's desired position, The catch pins 55 of the brace are located within the slots 41 of the catch 40 to hold the support member 20 in the desired position.

FIG 2A shows a position in which a person's back is supported by the support member 20 as they sit relatively upright. It should be noted that when a person applies their weight to the cloth cross-member this causes the side support arms 22 to bend slightly to increase the holding strength between the brackets 56 and the pivot pins 51 of the brace. It should also be appreciated that the bent top strut of the brace 50 does not touch a person when they are leaning on the cloth cross-member 26.

FIG 2B shows the support 20 in a position in which a user is able to lie back a little f urther.

FIG 2C shows the support 20 in a position in which the chest of a user is able to be supported whilst they read a book located behind the support.

Finally, FIG 2D shows the support 20 when the brace 50 and the catch 41 not being engaged. In this position the support member 20 can be used as a type of pillow when a person wishes to sleep.

FIG 4 shows further embodiment of the support 10. Like reference numerals have been used to mark the components. In this embodiment, the catch 41 and the brace 50 have been swapped so that the catch 41 is mounted to the side support members 32 and the brace 50 is mounted to the side base members 33 via the brackets 56.

The support 10 provides a number of advantages. The first is that it is light and compact. It can fit within a beach bag due to the fact that the support does not extend substantially past where the base member 30 and the support member 20 are pivotaliy connected. Secondiy, the support 10 is versatile and enables a number of positions to be selected on the basis of a person's preference. Lastly, the support 10 can be used on a variety of different surfaces whether they are natural or man-made.

It should also be appreciate that the support ma also be used for medical purposes. A person who is bed ridden may use the support 10 to provide support whist in bed in various positions as discussed above.

In this specification, the terms "comprise", "comprises", "comprising" or similar terms are intended to mean a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a system, method or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include those elements solely, but may well include other elements not listed.

It should be appreciated that various other changes and modifications may be made to the embodiments described without departing from the spirit or scope of the i nvention.