GB2257723A

GB2257723A - Movement assisting apparatus for stairs.

Info

Publication number: GB2257723A
Application number: GB9207558A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Robert Mcgregor; Robert Kent
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1991-05-03
Filing date: 1992-04-07
Publication date: 1993-01-20
Anticipated expiration: 2012-04-07
Also published as: GB9207558D0; GB2257723B

Abstract

Movement assisting apparatus 2 comprises a track 4 in which a wheeled carriage 6 is arranged to move. The track is fixed to a wall adjacent to a flight of stairs and arranged so as to extend parallel to the elevation of the flight of stairs. In use, a person may be supported whilst walking up or down the stairs by holding support handle 8 and pushing the carriage along the track. The movement of the carriage 6 along the track is restricted by car means which co-operate with space rows of slots, and which can be released from engagement, when descending the stairs, by a lever 10. <IMAGE>

Description

MOVEMENT ASSISTING APPARATUS This invention relates to movement assisting apparatus and particularly, although not exclusively, relates to apparatus for assisting movement up and down stairs. The apparatus may, for example, be of use for elderly or disabled persons.

So-called chair lifts are well known. A chair lift comprises a chair on which a person may sit, the chair being arranged to carry the person up or down stairs when required. A chair lift is, however, very expensive due to the fact that it must be adapted to support the entire weight of the person and to carry safely that person up or down the stairs.

It is an object of the present invention to provide apparatus for assisting movement which may improve upon the aforementioned situation to some extent.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided movement assisting apparatus comprising a support member arranged to be held by a person and a guide means for guiding movement of the support member.

Preferably, the support member comprises a handle arranged to be held by a person and arranged to support the person during movement. Preferably, the support member is arranged to be moved by the person.

The support member is preferably arranged to slide or roll relative to the guide means.

The support member is preferably fixed to a carriage whose movement is arranged to be guided by the guide means. The carriage may be arranged to slide or roll along at least two surfaces of the guide means which surfaces are preferably angled relative to one another. Said two surfaces of the guide means are preferably mutually perpendicularly disposed relative to one another.

The carriage is preferably arranged to roll relative to the guide means. The carriage preferably includes a plurality of rollers. The carriage may include a first set of rollers having their axes of rotation perpendicular to the direction of travel of the carriage. The carriage may include a second set of rollers having their axes of rotation angled relative to, suitably arranged perpendicularly relative to, the axes of the rotation of the first set of rollers. The axes of rotation of the second set are also preferably arranged perpendicularly to the direction of travel of the carriage.

The carriage is preferably restricted from moving transversely relative to the guide means. The carriage is preferably arranged such that it cannot be disengaged from said guide means by transverse movement of the carriage relative to the guide means.

Preferably, restrictor means is provided for restricting movement of the support member relative to the guide means. Preferably said restrictor means is operable between a first position in which movement of the support member is restricted (preferably Inhibited at least in one direction), and a second position in which movement of the support member is substantially unrestricted. Said restrictor means is preferably arranged to restrict movement of the support member relative to the guide means at predetermined positions along the extent of the guide means. Preferably, said predetermined positions are substantially equidistantly spaced apart along the guide means.In use, each predetermined position may correspond to a respective stair of a flight of stairs, with the spacing between the predetermined positions being substantially equal to the distance between adjacent stairs of the flight of stairs. Where the apparatus includes a carriage, said restrictor means may comprise an opening, for example, a slot, in one of either the carriage or the guide means, and a cam member provided in the other one of either the carriage or the guide means and being arranged to engage releasably in the opening. In a preferred embodiment, said opening, for example, a slot is defined in said guide means and said cam member is a component of said carriage.

Preferably, the guide means includes a plurality of openings. The guide means may include at least two spacedapart rows of spaced-apart openings. Preferably, the openings in one row are staggered relative to openings in an adjacent row. Preferably, the length of the openings in each respective row is greater than the distance between adjacent openings in each respective row.

The cam member is preferably arranged to selectively engage openings in each of the spaced-apart rows. An actuator means, which is suitably arranged to be operated by a person, may be provided and arranged to cause the cam member to engage a selected one of the openings.

The cam member may include at least two cam followers each of which is arranged to engage openings in a respective row of openings. The cam member may be arranged to pivot between a first position in which a first cam follower is engagable in an opening in one row of openings and a second position in which a second cam follower is engagable in an opening in a second row of openings. The cam member may be resiliently biased into said first or second positions. Said aforementioned actuator means is, when provided, suitably arranged to effect movement of the cam followers between said first and second positions.

The invention extends to a guide means for a movement assisting apparatus as described in any statement herein, wherein the guide means comprises a track arranged to engage a carriage, the track including at least two longitudinally extending rows of spaced-apart openings.

The invention further extends to a carriage for a movement assisting apparatus as described in any statement herein, wherein the carriage is arranged to move relative to a guide means as described in any statement herein.

The invention extends to a method of assisting the movement of a person, the method using a guide means which is arranged along an intended path of travel of the person and a support member which is guided in its movement by the guide means, wherein the support member is arranged to be held by, and provide support for, the person during movement of the person along the path of travel.

Preferably, in the method, the support member is stopped, suitably automatically, at predetermined locations along its path of travel.

According to another aspect, there is provided an assembly of movement assisting apparatus, the assembly comprising a guide means secured to a structure, for example, a wall adjacent a flight of stairs, and a support member, which is arranged to be held by a person, being engaged with the guide means and arranged to be guided in its movement by the guide means.

Features described according to any aspect of the present invention may be combined with features described according to any other aspect of the present invention.

Specific embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of movement assisting apparatus; Figure 2 is a front elevation of a part of a track of the apparatus; Figure 3 is a cross-section of the track taken along line III-III of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a side elevation, partly in crosssection, of a carriage of the apparatus; Figure 5 is a top view, partly in cross-section, of the carriage of the apparatus; Figure 6 is a rear elevation of the carriage of the apparatus, in the direction of arrow A shown in Figures 4 and 5; and Figure 7 is a side elevation, partly in crosssection, of the carriage engaged with the track.

The movement assisting apparatus 2, shown in Figure 1, comprises a track 4 in which a carriage 6 is arranged to slide. The carriage 6 includes a support handle 8 and an actuator lever 10.

The track 4 may be fixed to a wall adjacent to a flight of stairs and arranged so as to extend parallel to the elevation of the flight of stairs. In use, a person may be supported whilst walking up or down the stairs by holding the support handle 8 and pushing the carriage along the track. The movement of the carriage 6 along the track is restricted (as is described later), so that it automatically stops at predetermined positions, opposite each stair and it may recommence movement along the track only when the actuator lever 10 is operated.

The apparatus 2 will now be described in greater detail. Referring to Figures 2 and 3, the track 4 is elongate and of channel cross-section. It is contoured so as to securely engage the carriage 6. In this respect, the track includes a channel 14 defined by means of flat plates 16 between which a central plate 18 which is disposed outwardly of the plates 16 is provided. Top and bottom plates 20, 22 respectively of the track are arranged perpendicularly to the plates 16 and inwardly turned flange members 24 are arranged perpendicularly to the top and bottom plates 20, 22 and are attached thereto.

The central plate 18 includes two transversely spaced-apart parallel rows of elongate slots 30, 32. The slots 30, 32 are staggered relative to one another. Each slot in one row is disposed opposite the space between adjacent slots in the other row and, to some extent, opposite parts of the slots on either side of the space.

Referring now to Figures 4, 5 and 6, the carriage 6 includes a body 40 which is arranged to be securely engaged with the track 4. The body 40 includes roller assemblies 42 adjacent to each opposite longitudinally extending side of the carriage 6. The assemblies 42 are arranged behind a flanged part 44 of the body 40.

Each roller assembly 42 comprises three cylindrical rollers 46 (Figure 6) which are mounted on the body 40 with their axes of rotation 48 parallel to one another.

The rollers 46a and 46c are arranged such that, when the carriage 6 is engaged with the track 4, they engage and may roll along surface 50 of the flat plate 16 of the track. The rollers 46b are arranged such that, when the carriage 6 is engaged with the track 4, the rollers engage and may roll along surface 54 of the flange members 24 of the track 4.

Each roller assembly 42 also comprises two cylindrical rollers 52 which are mounted on respective projecting parts 56 of the body 40 with their axes of rotation 58 parallel to one another. The rollers 52 are arranged such that, when the carriage 6 is engaged with the track 4, respective rollers 58 engage and may roll along respective surfaces 60 of the top and bottom plates 20, 22.

The body 40 includes a hollow region 70 in which a cam member 72 is disposed. The cam member 72 includes two spaced-apart longitudinally extending cam followers 74a and 74b. One end face 76 of each cam follower 74 has a square end; the other end face 78 is angled at about 45 to the longitudinal extent of the cam follower.

The cam member 72 is pivoted about axis 80 (Figure 6) and arranged to be rocked back and forth so that the cam followers 74 may, in turn, project from the hollow region 70.

The cam member 72 is resiliently biased by a spring (not shown), to the position indicated in Figure 4, wherein cam follower 74a projects from the hollow region.

Actuator lever 10 (Figure 5) is pivotally mounted on the body 40 at pivot point 90. The lever 10 is substantially L-shaped. At the apex of the arms of the Lshaped lever 10, the lever includes a projecting foot 92.

The foot 92 is arranged to contact a plunger 94 which, in turn, is arranged to cause the cam member 72 to pivot from the position shown in Figure 4 to a position wherein the cam follower 74b projects from the hollow region 70. Thus, when the lever 10 is moved towards the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 5, the plunger 94 is urged leftwardly as seen in that Figure and the cam follower 74b is caused to project from the hollow region 70. When the lever 10 is in the position shown in full lines in Figure 5, the aforementioned spring (not shown) urges the cam member 72 into the position shown in Figure 4.

The support handle 8 is fixed to the body 40 and is pivotally mounted so that it may be moved from a position in which it extends in the same direction as that of the lever 10, to a position (shown in dotted lines in Figure 4) in which it extends in a direction which is perpendicular to the direction of extent of lever 10. A locking member 78 (Figure 1) is provided for locking the support handle 8 in a selected position.

The apparatus 2 may be assembled as follows. The track 4 is fixed to a wall adjacent a flight of stairs by any suitable means, so that the track extends parallel to the elevation of the stairs and is disposed at a suitable height. The carriage 6 is then engaged with the track so as to be arranged as shown in Figure 7. Thus, rollers 46a and 46c engage surfaces 50; rollers 46b engage surfaces 54 of the flange members 24; rollers 52 engage surfaces 60; and flange members 24 of the track are positioned between rollers 52 and flange members 44 of the body 40. End stops (not shown) are provided at each end of the track 4 when the carriage 6 has been engaged therewith, in order to stop the carriage from becoming disengaged from the track.

The apparatus 2 may be used as follows by a person ascending a flight of stairs. In this case, the carriage 6 will be at the bottom of the stairs. A person wishing to ascend the stairs grasps support handle 8 and pushes the carriage upwards along the track 4. Initially, the cam follower 74a is engaged with a first slot 32a in the track 4. As the carriage moves, the cam follower 74a travels along the slot 32a and when it reaches the end thereof, the angled face 78 of the cam follower strikes the end of the slot and rides up thereover, thereby causing the cam member 72 to pivot about its axis 80 and, in turn, the cam follower 74b becomes engaged with slot 30b. Similarly, as cam member 74b travels along slot 30b, the angled face 78 thereof will eventually strike the end of the slot 30b.

The cam member 74b thus rides up over the end of slot 30b and cam member 72 pivots about its axis 80. Thus, the person may hold on to the support handle 80 and be supported thereby as they slowly move up the stairs.

A person may descend a flight of stairs as follows.

With the carriage 6 above one stair and with cam follower 74a engaged with slot 32d, a person standing on one stair may push the carriage 8 downwardly, along the track 4, using support handle 8. The carriage 6 will automatically stop when it is above the following stair, since, at this position, cam follower 74a is at the end of slot 32d and the square end 74 of the cam follower is unable to ride up over the slot. At this stage, the person may ease himself down onto the following step. Movement of the carriage can only be continued if the cam follower 74a of the cam member 72 is disengaged from slot 32d. Accordingly, actuator lever 10 is pulled by the person towards support handle 8 thereby causing plunger 94 to be urged leftwardly. The cam member 72 pivots about its pivot point and cam follower 74b engages track 30d at the same time as cam follower 74a is released from track 32d.The person may then push the carriage 6 downwardly until it is above the next stair in which position cam follower 74b is at the end of slot 30d and, accordingly, the carriage comes to a stop. The person may again ease himself down one stair. After this, the person may release handle 10. In this case, the spring (not shown) causes the cam member 72 to pivot about its axis so that cam follower 74b is disengaged from slot 30d and cam follower 74a becomes engaged in slot 32c.

It will be appreciated that during downward travel of the carriage along the track, the carriage comes to a stop above each stair, whereupon the person may ease themselves downwards using the support handle 80 to support himself.

It should be noted that, since the projecting parts 56 of the body 40 of the carriage are, as shown in Figure 7, disposed within the channel 14 of the track 4, even if the rollers 52, 56 become worn, the carriage cannot be disengaged from the track. The only way of disengaging the carriage from the track is by removing one of the end stops and sliding the carriage from the track via one end thereof.

The support handle 8 may be pivoted from its position shown in full lines in Figure 4 to that shown in dotted lines in Figure 4 in order to allow full access to the stairs (without the restriction of the projecting support handle 8) as may be required in some situations.

The reader's attention is directed to all papers and documents which are filed concurrently with or previous to this specification in connection with this application and which are open to public inspection with this specification, and the contents of all such papers and documents are incorporated herein by reference.

All of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and/or all of the steps of any method or process so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at least some of such features and/or steps are mutually exclusive.

Each feature disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.

The invention is not restricted to the details of the foregoing embodiment(s). The invention extends to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), or to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the steps of any method or process so disclosed.

Claims

1. Movement assisting apparatus comprising a support member arranged to be held by a person and a guide means for guiding movement of the support member.

2. Apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein the support member is fixed to a carriage whose movement is arranged to be guided by the guide means.

3. Apparatus according to Claim 2, wherein the carriage is arranged to roll relative to the guide means.

4. Apparatus according to Claim 2 or Claim 3, wherein the carriage includes a first set of rollers having their axes of rotation perpendicular to the direction of travel of the carriage.

5. Apparatus according to any of Claims 2 to 4, wherein the carriage includes a second set of rollers having their axes of rotation angled relative to the axis of rotation of the first set of rollers.

6. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein restrictor means is provided for restricting movement of the support member relative to the guide means.

7. Apparatus according to Claim 6, wherein said restrictor means is operable between a first position in which movement of the support member is restricted and a second position in which movement of the support member is substantially unrestricted.

8. Apparatus according to Claim 6 or Claim 7, wherein said restrictor means is arranged to restrict movement of the support member relative to the guide means at predetermined positions along the extent of the guide means.

9. Apparatus according to Claim 8, wherein said predetermined positions are substantially equidistantly spaced apart along the guide means.

10. Apparatus according to Claim 8 or Claim 9, wherein, in use, each predetermined position corresponds to a respective stair of a flight of stairs, with the spaces between the predetermined positions being substantially equal to the distance between adjacent stairs of the flight of stairs.

11. Apparatus according to any of Claims 6 to 10 when dependent on Claim 2, wherein said restrictor means includes an opening in one of either the carriage or the guide means, and a cam member provided in the other one of either the carriage or the guide means, the cam member being arranged to engage releasably in the opening.

12. Apparatus according to Claim 11, wherein said opening is defined in said guide means and said cam member is a component of said carriage.

13. Apparatus according to any of the preceding Claims, wherein the guide means includes at least two spaced apart rows of spaced apart openings.

14. Apparatus according to Claim 13, wherein the openings in one row are staggered relative to the openings in an adjacent row.

15. Apparatus according to Claim 13 or Claim 14 when dependent on Claim 11, wherein said cam member is arranged to selectively engage openings in each of the spaced apart rows.

16. Apparatus according to Claim 15, wherein an actuator means is provided and arranged to cause the cam member to engage a selected one of the openings.

17. Apparatus according to Claim 15 or Claim 16, wherein the cam member includes at least two cam followers each of which is arranged to engage openings in a respective row of openings.

18. Apparatus according to Claim 17, wherein the cam member is arranged to pivot between a first position in which a first cam follower is engageable in an opening in one row of openings and a second position in which a second cam follower is engageable in an opening in a second row of openings.

19. Apparatus according to Claim 18, wherein the cam member is resiliently biased into said first or second position.

20. A guide means for a movement assisting apparatus as described in any of Claims 1 to 19, wherein the guide means comprises a track arranged to engage a carriage, the track including at least two longitudinally extending rows of spaced apart openings.

21. A carriage for a movement assisting apparatus as described in any of Claims 1 to 19, wherein the carriage is arranged to be guided in its movement by a guide means as described in Claim 20.

22. A method of assisting the movement of a person, the method using a guide means which is arranged along an intended path of travel of the person and a support member which is guided in its movement by the guide means, wherein the support member is arranged to be held by, and provide support for, the person during movement of the person along the path of travel.

23. A method according to Claim 22, wherein the support member is stopped at predetermined locations along its path of travel.

24. An assembly of movement assisting apparatus as described in any of Claims 1 to 19, the assembly comprising a guide means as described in Claim 20 secured to a structure and a support member which is arranged to be held by a person being engaged with the guide means and arranged to be guided in its movement by the guide means.

25. Movement assisting apparatus, a guide means for a movement assisting apparatus, a carriage for a movement assisting apparatus, a method of assisting the movement of a person and an assembly, each being substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.