FR2860710A1 - Bath tub access facilitating device for e.g. handicapped person, has seat with chassis sliding along transfer bench from one position in which seat is extended out of tub, to another position in which seat is extended above tub - Google Patents

Abstract

The device has an armchair (1) including a leg assembly (2) which supports a seat (3) having a back rest (4) and a base (5). A transfer bench (6) transversely extended above a bath tub projects outside of the tub. The bench receives the seat that has a chassis to slide along the bench from one position in which the seat is extended out of the tub, to another position in which the seat is extended above the tub.

Description

TITLE

  The present invention relates to a device for facilitating access to a bathtub for persons with reduced mobility such as disabled persons with disabilities or the like.

  In the hospital field, and more particularly in the field of geriatrics, or assistance to all disabled persons, or in the field of home care for the elderly, it is well known that it is particularly difficult to perform personal hygiene operations on people with reduced mobility in a bathtub, since they can not get into the bathtub without the assistance of a third person.

  In order to facilitate the personal hygiene operations of these persons with reduced mobility, devices have already been devised to facilitate access to a bath; this is the case, for example, of the French patent FR 2,634,648 describing a shower and bath seat. Said device consists of a vertical column fixed in the lower part to the wall or floor by a flange and in the upper part to the wall or ceiling by a second flange, said column being housed in a bracket provided with an extension of such so that it is able to pivot about its longitudinal axis. This device comprises a seat secured to a support at the free end of an arm secured to the bracket so as to rotate said seat from a first position where the seat extends next to the bath for a second position where said seat extends above the bath, device advantageously comprising a handle to ensure the rotational locking of the seat.

  Furthermore, transfer means are known for bathing an invalid person by translating on a seat said person from a first position where the person is outside the bath to a second position where said person s' extends over the bath, such as those described in US Patent AII-FR-7 - TEXTE DEPOSE - 2 - US 5,558,022 for example. These transfer means consist of a support comprising one or more elongated elements on which a platform such as a seat can be slid. These elongated elements comprise a guide rail which comprises two flanges each terminated by a curved groove, the flanges and curved grooves forming a path in which wheels integral with the seat can roll.

  US Patent 3,758,894 describes, moreover, a chair for taking a bath particularly intended for persons with reduced mobility. The chair consists of a wheelchair comprising a pivoting frame consisting of two parallel bars forming slides and comprising at their free ends, a pair of feet adapted to take up position in the bottom of a tub so that the bars forming Slide extends horizontally from the wheelchair. The device further comprises a folding seat provided with rollers adapted to cooperate with the slide bars so that said seat is able to slide along the bars from the wheelchair to the free end of the bars where said seat then extends above the tub.

  All these devices have the disadvantage, in addition to a particularly large size, of requiring a transfer of the person with reduced mobility from the seat of his wheelchair to the seat of the device for bathing, which requires most of the time the intervention of several people.

  One of the aims of the invention is therefore to overcome these disadvantages by proposing a device to facilitate access to a bath for people with reduced mobility of simple and inexpensive design, minimum space for storage and requiring the minimum of specialized personnel intervention.

  For this purpose, and in accordance with the invention, there is provided a device for facilitating access to a bathtub to persons with reduced mobility such as persons with disabilities, accidents or the like. , remarkable in that it comprises on the one hand, a chair consisting of a base that supports a seat with a backrest and a seat and secondly, a transfer bench adapted to extend transversely above the bathtub projecting from the outside of the latter and adapted to receive the seat of the chair which comprises means for sliding along the transfer bench from a first position where the seat extends outside the bath to a second position where said seat extends above the bath and vice versa. Particularly advantageously, the device comprises a vertical or inclined frame from top to bottom and back to front along which is able to slide the backrest and the seat of the seat so as to allow a vertical displacement of said seat, said frame comprising at its lower end a slideway provided with locking means and cooperating with the transfer bench.

  The transfer bench consists of a telescopic section comprising at least one secondary segment sliding in a main segment secured to the base of the chair so that they extend horizontally behind the backrest, parallel to the latter. According to an alternative embodiment, the transfer bench may consist of a folding profile.

  It is clearly understood that, unlike the devices of the prior art, the device according to the invention makes it possible to move a person with reduced mobility to the interior of a bathtub without requiring the transfer of said person from one seat to another. another.

  Other features and advantages will become more apparent from the following description of the device according to the invention, given by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: - Figure 1 is a perspective view of the device according to the invention, - Figure 2 is a schematic sectional view AII-FR-1 - TEXT REMOVAL - 4 - schematic of the device according to the invention shown in Figure 1 - Figure 3 is a sagittal sectional view schematic of the device according to the invention in the folded storage position 5, - Figure 4 is a top view of the footrest of the device according to the invention, - Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view along the section line VV ' Figure 6 is a schematic sectional view of the rolling means of the base of the device according to the invention, - Figures 7A and 7B are side views of the footrest of the device 10 according to the invention shown in Figure 4; s features of the device according to the invention in position along the bath and respectively in position in the bath.

  With reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, the device according to the invention consists on the one hand of a chair 1 consisting of a base 2 which supports a seat 3 comprising a backrest 4 and a seat 5 and on the other hand a bench transfer member 6 adapted to extend transversely over a bath 7 projecting outside the latter, said transfer bench 6 being, moreover, adapted to receive the seat 3 of the chair 1 which comprises means for sliding along the transfer bench 6 from a first position where the seat 3 extends outside the bath 7 to a second position where said seat 3 extends above the bath 7 and vice versa. The base 2 consists of a generally vertical column 8 provided at its lower end with so-called carrying arms 9 extending generally horizontally, radially, crosswise and whose free ends comprise rolling means 10.

  Each rolling means 10 consists, for example, with reference to FIG. 6, in a ball 11 positioned in an enclosure 12 of revolution integral with the free end of a carrying arm 9 and open so that AII-FR- 1 - TEXTE REMOVAL - 5 - the circular opening 13 of the enclosure 12 extends to the ground and has a diameter smaller than the diameter of the ball 11, a portion of said ball 11 projecting from the enclosure 12. To improve the rolling of the ball 11 in the chamber 12, said rolling means 10 advantageously comprise small balls 14 positioned between the ball 11 and the inner wall of the enclosure 12. Furthermore, the rolling means 10 advantageously comprise means for locking the ball, not shown in the figures.

  It goes without saying that the rolling means 10 may be substituted by any other equivalent means such as wheels well known to those skilled in the art.

  Furthermore, the transfer bench 6 is integral with the upper end of the base 2 so that it extends horizontally behind the backrest 4 of the chair 1, parallel to the latter. This transfer bench 6 is, for example, consists of a telescopic section comprising at least one secondary segment 6a sliding in a main segment 6b secured to the base 2 of the chair 1.

  It goes without saying that the transfer bench 6 may consist of a profile or the like comprising means which provide an elongation of said profile, such as a second profile articulated to the free end of the first profile, without departing from the framework of the invention.

  This transfer bench 6 is adapted to receive a slide 15 advantageously provided with locking means and positioned at the lower end of a frame 16, consisting of tubular elements for example, inclined from top to bottom and back to front. and along which is able to slide the backrest 4 and the seat 5 of the seat 3 of the chair 1 so as to allow a vertical displacement of said seat 3. In this respect, the device advantageously comprises actuating means constituted for example, a jack 17 whose body 18 is secured to the frame 16 and whose rod 19 is secured to the back of the backrest 4 to slide said file 4 AII-FR-1 - TEXT REMOVAL - 6 - frame 16, said cylinder 17 being powered by a power source 20 adapted to the type of cylinder. The backrest 4 consists, for example, in a piece obtained in a thermo-molded plastic material provided along its vertical longitudinal edges in rollers 21 able to slide in longitudinal rails 22 integral with the frame 16. At the lower end of the backrest 4 is articulated about an axis 23, the seat 5 also obtained in a thermo-molded plastic material. The axis 23 around which pivots the seat 5 advantageously comprises locking means of the seat 5 relative to the backrest 4 at a given angle.

  Moreover, with reference to FIGS. 2, 4 and 5, the device comprises a footrest 24 hinged about an axis 25 positioned at the free end of the seat 5, said axis 25 extending parallel to the axis of FIG. articulation 23 of the seat 5 relative to the backrest 4 and comprising locking means of said footrest 24 relative to the seat 5 at a determined angle. This footrest 24 consists of a tubular frame 26 of generally rectangular cross section, one end of which is articulated to the axis 25 and along which is able to slide a support 27 on which the calves of the someone with reduced mobility. This support 27, with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, consists of a piece of generally rectangular shape obtained in a thermo-molded plastic material comprising a transverse central recess 28 of generally rectangular section adapted to receive the tubular reinforcement 26 and whose wings 27a, 27b which extend on either side of said central recess 28 have a slight concavity oriented towards the calves of the person with reduced mobility.

  Furthermore, with reference to FIG. 3, the frame 16 of the seat 3 is advantageously able to pivot about a horizontal axis 29 extending parallel to the backrest 4, at the upper end of the column 8 of the base 2 so that, after having folded successively the footrest 24 under the seat 5 and the seat 5 on the backrest 4, the assembly is folded against the column 8 of the base 2 ce which significantly reduces the size of the device to facilitate its storage when not in use.

  With reference to FIG. 3, and in a particularly advantageous manner, the so-called carrying horizontal arms 9 are telescopic in order to improve the stability of the chair 1. Furthermore, the column 8 of the base 2 is also advantageously constituted by telescopic segments comprising a column base 8a at the lower end of which extend the support arms 9 and in which is vertically slidable at least one secondary column 8b at the upper end of which are secured the transfer bench 6 and the frame 16 of the seat 3, the secondary column 8b being moved vertically by appropriate actuating means, such as pneumatic means for example, positioned in the base column 8a. Furthermore, the support arms 9 are integral with a vertical shaft 30 hinged to the lower end of the column 8 of the base 2 about a horizontal axis 31 extending parallel to the transfer bench 6. In addition, we will observe that, conventionally, the column 8 of the base 2 is able to pivot about a vertical axis 32.

  Incidentally, with reference to FIG. 1, the secondary segment 6a of the transfer bench 6 comprises at its free end a support arm 33 represented in dotted lines, extending horizontally in the direction of the front of the chair 1 perpendicular to the segments 6a, 6b of the transfer bench 6, said support arm 33 being able to bear on the upper longitudinal edge of the bath 7 to ensure greater stability of the device.

  Furthermore, the device may advantageously comprise at the base of the seat 5, that is to say in the vicinity of the hinge axis 23 of the seat 5 relative to AII-FR-1 -TEXTE REMOVAL - 8 - to the file 4, in its middle part, a recess, not shown in the figures, to facilitate the cleaning of the person with reduced mobility taking place in the chair 1. In addition, the device may advantageously comprise a water pipe positioned under the seat 5, along the edge of the central recess of the seat 5 connected to a water supply source and provided on its inner inner wall with holes to provide jets of water directed towards the central recess of the seat 5 of such so that, when a person with reduced mobility is positioned in the chair 1, said jets strike the rear part of the pelvis of said person with reduced mobility.

  In addition, the backrest 4 and the seat 5 can advantageously be removably mounted on the frame 16 to allow changes of said backrest 4 and said seat 5 according to the anatomy of the user.

  Incidentally, the chair 1 of the device according to the invention may advantageously comprise removable or retractable armrests, not shown in the figures, for greater comfort of the user.

  We will now explain, with reference to Figures 1,7A and 7B the operation of the device according to the invention.

  The person with reduced mobility sitting in the chair 1 of the device, said person is brought into his chair 1 along a bath 7 by a caregiver for example, then the transfer bench 6 is placed so that it is supported on one of the lateral edges and on the longitudinal edges of the bath 7. The caregiver then actuates the jack 17 of the frame 16 of the seat 3 so that the backrest 4 and the seat 5 move globally. vertically upwards along the frame 16 until the seat 5 and the footrest 24 extend above the bath 7. The frame 16 of the seat 3 is then moved along the transfer bench 6 until said seat 3 extends above the bath 7. The frame 16 is then locked the AII-FR-1 - TEXTE REMOVAL - 9 - along the transfer bench 6 by the integral blocking means of the slide positioned at the lower end of the frame 16 of the seat 3 then, with reference to FIG. 7B, the nursing assistant actuates the jack 17 to move the seat 3 of the chair 1 downwards along the frame 16 until the person with reduced mobility is immersed in the bath 7 .

  It is obvious that in order to remove the person with reduced mobility from the bath, the same operations must be carried out in reverse order.

  Finally, it is obvious that the device according to the invention can also be used as a stretcher by appropriately tilting the backrest and seat of the chair and that the examples that have just been given are only particular illustrations in any limiting cases as to the fields of application of the invention.

AII-EN-7 - TEXT REMOVAL - 10 -

Claims (15)

  1 - Device for facilitating access to a bath (7) to persons with reduced mobility such as disabled, injured or similar characterized in that it comprises on the one hand, a chair (1) consisting of a base (2) which supports a seat (3) comprising a back (4) and a seat (5) and secondly, a transfer bench (6) able to extend transversely above the bath (7) protruding outside the latter and able to receive the seat (3) of the chair (1) which comprises means for sliding along the transfer bench (6) from a first position where the seat (3) ) extends outside the bath (7) to a second position where said seat (3) extends above the bath (7) and vice versa.   2 - Device according to the preceding claim characterized in that it comprises a vertical frame (16) or inclined up and down and back in front along which is able to slide the backrest (4) and the seat (5) the seat (3) so as to allow a vertical displacement of said seat (3), said frame (16) comprising at its lower end a slide (13) provided with locking means and cooperating with the transfer bench (16). ).   3 - Device according to any one of the preceding claims characterized in that the transfer bench (6) consists of a telescopic section comprising at least one secondary segment (6a) sliding in a main segment (6b) secured to the base ( 2) the chair (1) so that they extend horizontally behind the backrest (4), parallel to the latter.   4 - Device according to any one of the preceding claims characterized in that the base (2) consists of a generally vertical column (8) provided at its lower end of so-called carrier arms (9) extending generally horizontally, AII -FR-1 - TEXT REMOVAL - 11 - radially, crosswise and whose free ends comprise rolling means (10).   Device according to Claim 4, characterized in that the support arms (9) are telescopic in order to improve the stability of the chair (1).   6 - Device according to any one of claims 4 or 5 characterized in that the column (8) consists of telescopic segments (8a, 8b).   7 - Device according to claim 6 characterized in that the column (8) consists of a base column (8a) at the lower end of which extend the support arms (9) and in which is slidable vertically at least one secondary column (8b) at the upper end to which are secured the transfer bench (6) and the frame (16) of the seat (3), the secondary column (8b) being moved vertically by actuating means positioned in the base column (8a).   8 - Device according to any one of claims 4 to 7 characterized in that the support arms (9) are integral with a vertical shaft (30) hinged to the lower end of the column (8) of the base (2) around a horizontal axis (31) extending parallel to the transfer bench (6).   9 - Device according to any one of claims 4 to 8 characterized in that the frame (16) of the seat (3) is pivotable about a horizontal axis (29) extending parallel to the backrest (4). ), at the upper end of the column (8) of the base (2).   10 - Device according to any one of claims 4 to 9 characterized in that each rolling means (10) consists of a ball (11) positioned in a chamber (12) of revolution integral with the free end of an arm carrier (9) and open so that the circular opening (13) of the enclosure (12) extends to the ground and has a diameter smaller than the diameter of the ball (11), a part of the ball (11) protruding from the enclosure (12).   AII-FR-7 -TEXTE REMOVAL - 12 - 11 - Device according to claim 10 characterized in that the rolling means (10) comprise small balls (14) positioned between the ball (11) and the inner wall of the enclosure (12).   12 - Device according to any one of claims 10 or 11 characterized in that it comprises means for locking the ball (11) of the rolling means (10) of at least one support arm (9).   13 - Device according to any one of claims 1 to 12 characterized in that the seat (5) of the seat (3) is articulated to the lower end of the backrest (4) about an axis (23) provided with seat locking means (5) relative to the backrest (4) at a certain angle.   14 - Device according to any one of claims 1 to 13 characterized in that it comprises a footrest (24) articulated about an axis (25) at the free end of the seat (5), said axis (25). ) comprising locking means of said footrest (24) relative to the seat (5) at a determined angle.   - Device according to claim 14 characterized in that the footrest (24) is constituted firstly of a tubular frame (26) whose one end is articulated to the axis, and secondly of a support (27) obtained in a thermomolded synthetic material capable of sliding along the frame (26) and on which rests the calves of the person with reduced mobility.   16 - Device according to any one of claims 1 to 15 characterized in that the backrest (4) of the seat (3) comprises actuating means for sliding said folder (4) along the frame (16) .   17 - Device according to claim 16 characterized in that the actuating means consist of a jack (17).   18 - Device according to any one of the preceding claims characterized in that the secondary segment (6a) of the transfer bench comprises a AII-FR-1 - TEXTE DEPOSE - 13 - free end a support arm (33) s extending horizontally towards the front of the chair (1), perpendicular to the segments (6a, 6b) of the transfer bench (6), said support arm (33) being able to bear on the longitudinal edge of the bathtub (7). AII-FR-1 -TEXT REMOVAL