1. Field
The present disclosure pertains to the field of headrests for seats of various types, including furniture, vehicle seats, and the like as well as for beds or other reclining further or patient care systems.
2. Description of Related Art
Head positioning and support can be crucial to proper ergonomics and to safety. Yet, many current mass-market head support technologies are woefully lacking in either or both of these areas. Therefore, neck pain and stress are commonplace for those who spend extended periods of time sitting, and neck injuries remain a major cause of pain and suffering in vehicle crashes.
Traditional vehicle seats include simple static headrests or headrests that move upwardly and downwardly on stems. Such seats depend partially on users to properly position the headrest for both support and to limit the effect of a crash. Such an approach has limited effectiveness because users often do not properly adjust headrests. Even when properly adjusted, such a traditional headrest may not prevent injury because a passenger's head may gain substantial momentum in a crash before its motion is arrested by the headrest. As a result, whiplash and other head, neck, or back injuries are commonplace. Some newer headrests are larger and/or form an integral portion of the seat. Such headrests may better arrest head acceleration in the event of a crash, but also tend to limit visibility.
Some prior art headrests attempt to improve safety by moving in response to an impact being detected (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,019,424; 6,082,817; 6,270,161). These various headrests may move upwardly and/or forwardly in response to a crash impact; however, the headrest trajectory or path is limited to a fairly simple and potentially inappropriate path as defined by the particular pivoting and movement mechanism. For example, the headrest typically pivots about a point on the seat back or the seat structure rather than moving in relation to human anatomy.
Some traditional furniture items include headrests that move as well. For example, a reclining lounge (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,451,081) or a chaise lounge (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,213,555) may include a headrest mechanism that is adjustable to provide additional support. However, once again, the positioning and therefore neck comfort is limited by the particular mechanism that moves the headrest, and these mechanisms typically move relative to the seat structure itself rather than the human anatomy. Since the back, neck, and spine are both complex and sensitive, improved headrest articulation techniques may advantageously lead to improved ergonomics and safety.