CA2089057A1

CA2089057A1 - Standing assist chair

Info

Publication number: CA2089057A1
Application number: CA 2089057
Authority: CA
Inventors: Brian D. Prystupa
Original assignee: CANADIAN AGING & REHABILITATION PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
Current assignee: Canadian Aging & Rehabilitation Product Development Corp
Priority date: 1993-02-08
Filing date: 1993-02-08
Publication date: 1994-08-09

Abstract

ABSTRACT
A lift chair for raising an occupant from a seated position towards a standing position includes a frame and a fixed geometry seating assembly that is pivotally mounted on the frame at the front edge of the seat. An actuator pivots the seat between the lift position with the seat sloping upwardly to the rear and a reclining position with the seat sloping downwardly to the rear. Seating is made of high density foam and with surface sculpting to provide postural support specifically for seniors. Complex and expensive linkages are eliminated.

Description

20~9~7 STANDING ASSIST CHAIR
The present invention relates to chairs and more particular~y to a lift chair that provides assistance to an occupant rising from the chair.
Prior lift chairs have been constructed with quite complex operating mechanisms. These generally involve a four bar linkage for raising the seat before the back is raised towards a vertical seat orientation. Often there is a second linkage that raises a foot rest as the seat and back are lowered to a reclining position.
With the seat lifting and displacement mechanisms of the prior art, the occupant is raised as the seat moves towards the lift position. This often lifts the occupant's feet off the floor and may slide the occupant off the front of the seat. This is undesirable since most persons requiring lift chairs of this type have some problem with stability when standing.
The known lift chairs are, as noted above, complex.
This means that they are bulky and costly, two factors that render them unsuitable for many persons who would find thsm useful.
The present invention is concerned with a lift chair with a simpler, more ergonometrically sound operating system, and a novel method of assisting a chair occupant to stand.

2~8~57 According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a lift chair for raising an occupant of the chair towards a standing position, said chair comprising:
a frame;
a seating assembly including a seat with front and back sides and a back extending upwardly from the back side of the seat;
pivot ~eans mounting the seat on the frame for pivotal movement about a substantially horizontal axis adjacent the front side of the seat; and actuator means for controllably pivoting the seating assembly about the pivot means.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of assisting an occupant to stand from a seated po~ition in a chair with a seat, said method comprising pivoting the seat upwardly about a transverse axis adjacent the front edge of the seat until the seat slopes upwardly to the back of the chair.
The use of a single, horizontal pivot at the front of the seat allows the seat to pivot upwardly, generally parallel to the upper legs. This provides good support for the occupant throughout the standing motion. At the same time, the front of the seat is not lifted above its normal seating position, so that the occupant's feet may remain _ 3 _ 2~0~7 firmly on the floor during the whole standing motion.
Preferably, the seating assembly will pivot downwardly from the normal seating position to a reclining position.
This arrangement can be effected in a simple chair structure, for example a chair with an open frame and a unitary, fixed geometry seating assembly. Consequently, the chair may be relatively small in size, suitable for a small apartment where space is limited. The chair may also be made considerably less expensively ~han the prior art chairs.
Embodiments of the present invention may use modern high-density foam with surface sculpting which provides trunk and lumbar support as frequently required by seniors and many disabled persons.
In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate an exemplary embodiment of the present invention:
Figure 1 is ~an isometric view of a chair constructed according to the present inventioni Figure 2 is a side view of the chair of Figure 1 in a normal seating positioni Figure 3 is a view like Figure 2 with the chair in the lift positioni and Figure 4 i y a view like Figures 2 and 3 with the chair in the reclined position.

20~9~7 Referring to the accompanying drawings, there is illustrated a chair 10 with a frame 12 supporting a seating assembly 14. The frame is an open frame with two rectangular frame sides 16 and 18 of tubular metal construction. The upper sides of these components serve as arm rests. These frames are joined by a rear cross member 20 adjacent the bottom oi the frame at the back of the chair and a front cross member 22 at the front of the chair. The front cross member 22 is positioned immediately below the the front of the seat 24 of the seating assembly 14. The seat is pivotally connected to the front cross member so that it can pivot about the horizontal, lateral axis of this member.
The seating assembly 14 includes the seat 24 and a back 26 that extends upwardly from the back of the seat.
The seat 14 and back 26 are composed of high density foam and have sculpted surfaces that provide postural support as frequently required by seniors. The included angle between the seat and the back is approximately 105 and remains constant.

.... . ..
At the back of the chair is an actuator 28 including a motor 30 mounted on the rear cross member 20 and driving a nut (not shown) engaged on a lead screw 32 accommodated in a tubular housing 34. The upper end of the lead screw is connected to the seat back 26 by a bracket 35.

2 ~ 7 The motor is actuated by a push button switch 36 connected to the motor by a wire 38. The motor is driven by mains power from a conventionial outlet.
The normal seating position of the chair is illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. In this position, the seat 24 slopes down to the rear at an angle of about 7 to the horizontal. With the chair in this position, it is used as a conventional arm chair, with the occupant's feet normally resting on the floor in front of the chair and the occupant's back supported on the seat back 26. When the occupant wishes to stand, the switch 36 is actuated and the motor drives the lead screw upwardly to raise the seating assembly about the front cross member 22 to the position illustrated in Figure 3.
As can be seen from the line drawing of the occupant in Pigure 3, the lower legs remain virtually stationary, with the feet flat on the floor during the lifting movement. The occupant's body is brought forward to the point where standing is simply a matter of leaning forward to bring the torso over the lower legs and pressing down on the arms of the chair with the hands. The lift position is achieved without lifting the occupant's feet from the floor or sliding the occupant off the front edge of the seat.
When it is desired to adopt the reclining position 20~57 illustrated in Figure 4, the switch 36 is operated to retract the lead screw 32. This pivots the seating assembly down to the rear. Again, the front of the seat 24 is neither raised nor lowered, so that the occupant's feet may remain on the floor with adequate support for the upper legs and no uncomfortable engagement of the seat front edge under the backs of the knees. As shown in the line drawing of Figure 4, the feet may, if desired, be supported by a foot stool or a hassock 40.
The simple frame and seating unit concept of this chair and the simple operating mechanism make the chair quite inexpensive to manufacture. The chair may be made in a size that may reasonably be accommodated in a small apartment or other limited space.
While one embodiment of the present invention has been described in the foregoing, it is to be understood that other embodiments are possible within ths scope of the invention. For example, different frame constructions, including wood frames, are readily adapted to the purposes of the invention.
The invention is to be considered limited solely by the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A lift chair for raising an occupant of the chair towards a standing position, said chair comprising:
a frame;
a seating assembly including a seat with front and back sides and a back extending upwardly from the backside of the seat;
pivot means mounting the seat on the frame for pivotal movement about a substantially horizontal axis adjacent the front side of the seat; and actuator means for controllably pivotting the seating assembly about the pivot means.

2. A chair according to Claim 1 wherein the actuator means comprise means for pivoting the seating assembly between a lift position with the seat sloping upwardly to the rear and a normal seating position with the seat sloping slightly downwardly towards the rear.

3. A chair according to Claim 2 wherein the actuator means comprise means for pivoting the seat assembly to a reclined position with the seat sloping downwardly to the rear at a slope greater than in the normal seating position.

4. A chair according to Claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein the seat and back are arranged at a fixed angle with respect to one another.

5. A chair according to Claim 4 wherein said fixed angle is approximately 105°.

6. A chair according to Claim 1, 2, 3 or 5 wherein the frame comprises arm rests on opposite sides of the seating assembly.

7. A method of assisting an occupant to stand from a seated position in a chair with a seat, said method comprising pivoting the seat upwardly about a transverse axis adjacent the front edge of the seat until the seat slopes upwardly to the back of the chair.