AU2019100915A4 - Mobile Height Adjustable Workstation - Google Patents

Abstract

There is provided a mobile height adjustable workstation for use by a wheelchair bound user, the workstation comprising: a lower support providing a storage platform and having wheels and a drive system coupled thereto, the lower support being rebated to accommodate a wheel chair between the wheels; an upper support for supporting work equipment; and means disposed between the upper and lower supports for varying the height of the upper support to accommodate different sized wheel chairs, whereby lifting the upper support provides a user access to the work equipment to perform a work task.

Description

The present invention relates to a mobile height adjustable workstation, particularly for use by a wheelchair bound user, though also for use by able bodied persons.

Background

Despite many wheelchair bound workers wanting to work, there are very limited employment opportunities for wheelchair bound workers, mainly as a result of inadequate workplaces and workplace equipment.

There are also limited self-employment opportunities for wheelchair bound workers looking for self-employment opportunities.

The economic benefits of increased workplace participation are well known, as are the person benefits that individuals derive from making a meaningful contribution to the workforce. In view of this, there is a need to provide workplace equipment that allow wheelchair bound workers greater participation in the workforce.

There is a need to address the above, and/or at least provide a useful alternative.

Summary

There is provided a mobile height adjustable workstation for use by a wheelchair bound user, the workstation comprising:

a lower support providing a storage platform and having wheels and a drive system coupled thereto, the lower support being rebated to accommodate a wheel chair between the wheels;

an upper support for supporting work equipment; and

P10205.AU Specification - 16 Aug 2019

-2means disposed between the upper and lower supports for varying the height of the upper support to accommodate different sized wheel chairs, whereby lifting the upper support provides a user access to the work equipment to perform a work task.

Preferably, said means is a pair of actuators, which are preferably a pair of electrically powered linear actuators.

The actuators can be independently operable for lifting either end of the upper support relative to the other and configured to tilt the upper support toward or away from a user.

The drive system is preferably remote controlled, whereby a user can drive and steer the workstation from a seated or standing position. Preferably, the drive system includes a rechargeable power source.

According to preferred embodiments, the work equipment is a coffee machine and the upper support is adapted to support the coffee machine.

The workstation can further include a sink and a jug/glass rinsing station mounted within the upper support, each being disposed within arm's reach of the user. The rinsing station is in liquid communication with a fresh water tank mounted on the lower support and the sink is in liquid communication with a waste water tank mounted on the lower support.

The workstation can further include a refrigerator mounted to an underside of the upper support at an end thereof, the refrigerator being within arm's reach of the user. An upper surface of the upper support can slope toward a drain.

P10205.AU Specification - 16 Aug 2019

3Brief description of the drawings

In order that the invention may be more easily understood, an embodiment will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1:	is a front perspective view of a mobile height adjustable workstation for use by a wheelchair bound person according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;
Figure 2:	is a rear perspective view of the workstation of Figure 1;
Figure 3:	is a front elevation of the workstation in a raised configuration;
Figure 4:	is a front elevation of the workstation in a lowered configuration;
Figure 5 Figure 6:	is an upper perspective view of the workstation; is a lower perspective view of the workstation;
Figure 7:	is another lower perspective view of the workstation;
Figure 8:	is a close view of a drive unit of the workstation;
Figure 9:	is a close view of a cooling unit of the workstation;
Figure 10:	is a close perspective view of an upper portion of an actuator used to raise and lower the workstation; and
Figure 11:	is a close side view of the actuator of Figure 10.

Detailed description

Figure 1 illustrates a workstation 10 according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. The workstation 10 is a mobile height adjustable workstation for use by a wheelchair bound user.

The workstation 10 includes a lower support 12, an upper support 14 and means for varying the height of the upper support 14, said means being in the form of a pair of actuators 16a, 16b operable to lower and raise the upper support 14 to enable the position of work equipment mounted thereon to be adjustable as required and also for a wheelchair to be received under the upper support 14.

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-4The lower support 12 provides a storage platform for work equipment and associated ancillary and accessory items. The lower support 12 has wheels 18 (front 18a and rear 18b) and an electric drive system 20 coupled thereto. The lower support 12 is formed with a rebate 22 to accommodate a wheel chair between the wheels 18 so as to provide access under and close to the upper support 14.

The upper support 14 is configured for supporting work equipment which is to be operated by the user. In the illustrated embodiment, the upper support 14 is configured for supporting a coffee machine, though it will be appreciated that it may be configured to support equipment of many other forms, particularly industrial equipment such as assembly tools or fixtures, sorting tables or sewing machines for example. The workstation 10 may also be used as a convenient work desk for using a computer or writing. Although illustrated as being generally rectangular, the upper support 14 may take other forms.

Actuators 16a, 16b are disposed between the upper and lower supports 14, 12 for varying the height of the upper support 14 to accommodate different sized wheel chairs, whereby lifting the upper support 14 provides a user access to the work equipment to perform a work task.

Actuators 16a, 16b can be a pair of electrically powered linear actuators, though other forms of actuator or similar mechanical device or mechanism may also be used. In some embodiments, the actuators 16a, 16b can be independently operable for lifting either end of the upper support 14 relative to the other, i.e. tilting it lengthways. Actuators 16a, 16b may also be configured to tilt the upper support 14 toward or away from a user, thereby providing flexibility in the configuration of the workstation 10 and allowing easy adaption to different users and different tasks.

Actuators 16a, 16b are remotely operable via a remote control 17 which may be a part of controller 24 or a separate part. Preferably, the remote control 17 is wired to the workstation 10 to provide a direct link, though if desirable a wireless remote control system

P10205.AU Specification - 16 Aug 2019

-5may also be used. A limit switch may also be provided to limit the amount of raising or lowering of the upper support 14.

As can be seen in Figures 10 and 11, an upper portion of the actuators 16 is pivoted to the upper support 14. This is achieved by a pair of pillow blocks 42 mounted to both an underside of the upper support 14 and an upper portion of the actuator 16, each pair having a shaft 44 running therethrough with each shaft being coupled together.

Controller 24 is also used to control the drive system 20. Controller 24 includes a lever 25 operable for forward and rearward propulsion and a key TJ for controlling power supply to the controller 24. A dead man switch may also be provided to prevent unintentional operation of the workstation 10. Controller 24 may act as a remote control or alternatively as a control unit incorporated into the workstation 10. In this regard, the controls for the drive system 20 may be integrated into the upper support 14.

In the illustrated example, front wheels 18a are fixed castor wheels and rear wheels 18b are swivel castor wheels, though it will be appreciated that other similar wheels may also be used. In use, drive system 20 powers front wheels 18a for forward and rearward propulsion and handle 26 is used to turn the rear wheels 18b to effect steering of the workstation 10 during positioning. In other examples, the workstation 10 may be configured to provide completely motorised movement so that no manual manipulation is required by a user.

Advantageously, the workstation 10 can be completely mobile, thereby allowing it to be used as a mobile coffee cart or food vending cart for use at parks, train stations or outside sporting venues for example. It may also be used within restaurants, with the mobility of the workstation 10 allowing it to be positioned within the restaurant at a required time, such as in the morning when coffee is popular, and then moved away when no longer required, such as in the evening when coffee is less popular.

P10205.AU Specification - 16 Aug 2019

-6In preferred forms, the workstation 10 is configured so that a user can drive and steer the workstation 10 from a seated or standing position, so that both wheelchair bound and non-wheelchair bound people can operate the workstation 10. To enable this, handle 26 may be lifted and lowered as required.

So as to be completely independently operable, the drive system includes a rechargeable power source for driving the drive system, operating the actuators 16a, 16b and also operating the work equipment. A charge level indicator may be provided for monitoring charge levels. An alarm could also be provided to indicate a predetermined low charge level, to ensure that a user has sufficient time to return to a charger before the battery completely discharges.

The workstation 10 also includes a sink 30 with a fresh water supply for washing hands and a jug/glass rinsing station 32 also with a fresh water supply for rinsing milk jugs and glass/cups/mugs, both being mounted within the upper support 14. The sink 30 and rinsing station are mounted within arm's reach of the user so that movement of their wheelchair is not required during normal use.

The sink 30 can include a tap (not shown) which is connected to a fresh water tank 34 mounted on the lower support 12. A drain from the sink 30 is connected to a waste water tank 36. The rinsing station 32 is also connected to the fresh water tank 34 and has a drain connected to the waste water tank 36. By mounting both tanks 32, 34 on the lower support, a workstation with a lower centre of gravity and improved stability is provided.

A pump (not shown) is also provided for pumping the fresh water from the fresh water tank 34 to the tap mounted at the sink 30 and to the rinsing station 32. Waste water from the sink 30 and rinsing station 32 is delivered to the waste water tank 34 under the action of gravity.

The workstation 10 is also provided with a refrigerator or cooled draw 38 which is mounted to an underside of the upper support 14. The refrigerator 38 is mounted at an

P10205.AU Specification -16 Aug 2019

-7end of the upper support 14 or to one side so as to still be within or close to within arm's reach of the user as it will often be required. The refrigerator 38 is sized so as to store a plurality of milk containers or one or more milk bladders for use with making coffee. When used, milk bladders may be connected so as one bladder empties, supply is taken from another bladder. A dispenser with tap may also be provided for dispensing the milk from the bladder without having to open and close the refrigerator 38.

Although illustrated as being formed from a sheet material, in other forms the upper support 14 is moulded from a polymer or composite material and formed with recesses for the sink 30, rinsing station 32 and cup lid dispenser 40 so that each may be recessed for flush mounting with an upper surface of the upper support 14. An upper surface of the upper support 14 may slope toward a drain (not shown).

Throughout this specification and the claims which follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the word comprise, and variations such as comprises and comprising, will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or step or group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integer or step or group of integers or steps.

The reference in this specification to any prior publication (or information derived from it), or to any matter which is known, is not, and should not be taken as an acknowledgment or admission or any form of suggestion that that prior publication (or information derived from it) or known matter forms part of the common general knowledge in the field of endeavour to which this specification relates.

Claims (10)

1. A mobile height adjustable workstation for use by a wheelchair bound user, the workstation comprising:

a lower support providing a storage platform and having wheels and a drive system coupled thereto, the lower support being rebated to accommodate a wheel chair between the wheels;

an upper support for supporting work equipment; and means disposed between the upper and lower supports for varying the height of the upper support to accommodate different sized wheel chairs, whereby lifting the upper support provides a user access to the work equipment to perform a work task.

2. A workstation according to claim 1, wherein said means is a pair of actuators.

3. A workstation according to claim 2, wherein the actuators are a pair of electrically powered linear actuators.

4. A workstation according to claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the actuators are independently operable for lifting either end of the upper support relative to the other and configured to tilt the upper support toward or away from a user.

5. A workstation according to any preceding claim, wherein the drive system is remote controlled, whereby a user can drive and steer the workstation from a seated or standing position.

6. A workstation according to any preceding claim, wherein the drive system includes a rechargeable power source.

7. A workstation according to any preceding claim, wherein the work equipment is a coffee machine and the upper support is adapted to support the coffee machine.

8. A workstation according to claim 7, further including a sink and a jug/glass rinsing station mounted within the upper support, each being disposed within arm's reach of the user, the rinsing station being in liquid communication with a fresh water tank mounted on the lower support and the sink being in liquid communication with a waste water tank mounted on the lower support.

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-92019100915 16 Aug 2019

9. A workstation according to claim 7 or claim 8, further including a refrigerator mounted to an underside of the upper support at an end thereof, the refrigerator being within arm's reach of the user.

10. A workstation according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein an upper surface of 5 the upper support slopes toward a drain.