GB2207037A

GB2207037A - Assistance cincture

Info

Publication number: GB2207037A
Application number: GB08717554A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Stuart Charles Phillips; Roma Kathryne Glover
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1987-07-24
Filing date: 1987-07-24
Publication date: 1989-01-25
Also published as: GB8717554D0; AU7737787A

Abstract

The cincture consists of a length of webbing (10) or other suitable material which has a fastener (14, 16) (preferably of quick-release type) and grips (18) which are spaced from one another. The cincture is placed around a person's waist or torso, is tightened up by pulling on the free end (17) of a portion which is free to be pulled through one of the two parts of the fastener, and that person is then helped, for example, to rise from sitting position by a helper pulling on the grips. When the person is nearly fully out of the chair or settee but is perhaps feeling unsteady, the cincture with its grips are used by the helper to provide reassurance. <IMAGE>

Description

ASSISTANCE CINCTURE This invention relates to an assistance cincture.

The present invention consists in an assistance cincture which comprises a length of webbing or similar material having two ends, one of said two ends being so formed as to provide an element which can be gripped or otherwise engaged, the other of said two ends being securely attached to a first part of a fastener of which a second part is so mounted on said length between said first part and said element that a portion of said length can be pulled freely through said second part, said length being provided with grip means located between said first and second parts of the fastener.

In a generally preferred embodiment of said assistance cincture, the grip means consists of at least one loop; preferably, there will be loops spaced from one another along said length.

In another embodiment of the assistance cincture described in the second preceding paragraph, the grip means may consist of at least one member created by parallel cuts extending along said length; preferably, there will be a number of said members spaced from one another along said length.

In the assistance cincture described in any one of the three preceding paragraphs, it will be preferred for the fastener to be a quick-release fastener.

The present invention also consists in an assistance cincture constructed, arranged and adapted to operate substantially as hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a front view of a length of webbing, or of similar material, after the application thereto of grip means but before the connection thereto of first and second parts of a fastener; Figure 2 is a plan of said length after all of the necessary stitching has been effected in order, inter alia, to mount said first and second fastener parts on said length, thereby creating the assistance cincture; Figure 3 is a scrap view of the ends of the assistance cincture secured together by means of said first and second fastener parts; and Figure 4 is a scrap view showing the manner in which the grip means are made.

Referring to the drawings, one starts with a length 10 of webbing or other similar material which, ideally, should not stretch or elongate to any noticeable extent because of the job (as described below) which it is to be expected to do. Another shorter length of the same webbing or similar material is folded lengthways to provide a strip 11 which is then stitched along the line 12 to prevent the folded strip from opening out again. The strip 11 is thereafter sewn onto the length 10 at (in the illustrated embodiment) four spaced locations 13.

A first part 14 of a two-part fastener 15, which is of the quick-release type, is attached to the left-hand end (as viewed in the drawings) of the length 10; the manner in which the attachment is carried out will be obvious from the drawings.

The right-hand end of said length 10 is threaded through the second part 16 of the fastener 15 and is thereafter appropriately stitched in order to form a loop 17. One function of the loop 17 is to prevent that end of the length 10 from being pulled out of engagement with the second part 16, and the other function of said loop is to facilitate the tightening of the assistance cincture around a person's torso or waist in the well-known manner.

The sewing of the strip 11 at the positions 13 creates three grip means 18 (see Figure 2) which are spaced from one another along the length 10.

The primary use which is intended for the assistance cincture which has been described above with reference to the drawings is to aid any elderly or infirm or injured or disabled person into a standing position from a sitting position, or vice versa. Such a person may not be able to push himself/herself into a standing position using arms which have perhaps become enfeebled with age or trying to use arms of which one may, for example, have been injured. Furthermore, such a person may be so unsteady on his/her feet (once in a standing position) that reassuring support will need to be given if the person is to be expected to take some forward steps.Any person who has had an operation, for example on a leg, may find it difficult to get out of a chair or off the edge of a bed without some help and will without doubt find the subsequent support of a nurse or physiotherapist very reassuring if not essential. The assistance cincture, which is the subject of the present invention is therefore fastened about the seated person's waist or perhaps around the torso at the level of the sternum in such a manner that at least two of the grip means 18 are disposed at the front of the person's body and facan-g outwards. The helper then grips the means 18 and supplements any efforts which the person is able to make; the supplementary power which will be given ty the helper will be mainly pulling power, the pull being towards the helper and slightly upwardly.

This pull were serve to transfer the weight of the body from the thighs/buttocks onto the person's feet by a sort of pivotal movement with the person's feet acting as the "pivot", and the person's own pushing power (exerted on the arms of the chair or on the bed edge) will not only tend to assist that transfer but will also steady the person. When the person has achieved an upright position, or a nearly or mainly upright position, that person may have lost contact with the chair/bed and any tendency to fall sideways, or even backwards onto the chair/bed again, will be firmly counteracted by the helper who is holding the grip means 18. Thus, the person is reassured. Thereafter, forward steps can be taken by the person under the control of, and with the support given by, the helper who will obviously move backwards.

It is believed that the grip means 18 described above with reference to the drawings will prove to be satisfactory but it is to be understood that the precise form of such means is not an essential feature of the assistance cincture. Thus, for example, it is believed that the loop-like grip means 18 could be replaced by simply slitting the webbing or similar material in an appropriate fashion; there could be three sets of parallel slits, the sets being spaced from one another along the length 10, thereby providing the equivalent of the spaced loop-like means 18 which were created by sewing the strip 11 onto the length 10.

One satisfactory quick-release fastener is made by Makefast Limited of Swanwick, Southampton, England.

The assistance cincture may be useful to other people such, for example, as firement who are sometimes required to manoevre an unconscious person into a position from which that person may then be given a fireman's lift.

Claims

1. An assistance cincture which comprises a length of webbing or similar material having two ends, one of said two ends being so formed as to provide an element which can be gripped or otherwise engaged, the other of said two ends being securely attached to a first part of a fastener of which a second part is so mounted on said length between said first part and said element that a portion of said length can be pulled freely through said second part, said length being provided with grip means located between said first and second parts of the fastener.

2. An assistance cincture as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the grip means concists of at least one loop.

3. An assistance cincture as claimed in Claim 2, wherein there are at least two loops which are spaced from one another along said length.

4. An assistance cincture as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the grip means consists of at least one member created by parallel cuts extending along said length.

5. An assistance cincture as claimed in Claim 4, wherein there are at least two of said members spaced from one another along said length.

6. An assistance cincture as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, wherein the fastener is of the quick-release type.

7. An assistance cincture constructed, arranged and adapted to operate substantially as hereinbefore described-with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying diagrammatic drawings.

8. Any features of novelty, taken singly or in combination, of the embodiments of the invention hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings.