GB2338642A

GB2338642A - Hands free drinking aid

Info

Publication number: GB2338642A
Application number: GB9900127A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Christopher Adams
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1998-06-20
Filing date: 1999-01-06
Publication date: 1999-12-29
Anticipated expiration: 2018-06-20
Also published as: GB9900127D0; GB2338401A; GB9813288D0; GB2338642B; GB2338401B

Abstract

A hands-free drinking aid comprises a weighted or weighty table-top-standable stand 1 for a drinks vessel, having retaining means 10 thereon to retain the vessel and a substantially rigid arm 15 extending therefrom, in use, which arm 15 bears a conduit 4 to deliver drink from the vessel to the user. The arm (15) is articulated at one or more points 16a-16d along its length.

Description

2338642 HANDS-FREE DRINKING AID

Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a hands-free drinking aid. Background to the Invention

Disabled, injured or elderly persons who are unable or only able with difficulty to use their hands or arms for drinking without the constant help of an assistant or nurse suffer not only discomfort, anxiety and frustration but also risk dehydration. Their particular problem is, therefore, an extremely profound and serious one for which there has been lamentably little effective provision made by the manufacturers of aids for the elderly and infirm. Prior proposals to solve this problem do exist in the form of the disclosures, for example, US patent 4, 848, 622 (James Kroetsch) and Australian patent application AU 9, 538, 843A. The first of these comprises a stand for a drinks vessel that is rigidly secured to the hand rail of a hospital bed. A closed topped vessel is held within the stand and the top of the vessel carries a tube extending therefrom over the bed to convey drink from within the vessel to the bed patient.

The second prior patent application, AU 9, 538, 843-A, comprises a medical drip type of stand having a receptacle part way up the vertical post to receive a drinks vessel and with an opening in the underside of the receptacle from which drink may be ddp fed through a hoze. The delivery end of the hoze is supported from the stand by a suspension cord hanging from a cross bar of the stand.

Neither of the aforementioned earlier drinking aid designs is cost effective, adaptable and versatile. Both are very limited in their possible applications and are wholly unsuitable for use in a domestic environment and where space is at a premium.

It is a general objective of the present invention to mitigate or overcome one or more of the many drawbacks of the prior art.

1 Summary of the Invention

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a handsfree drinking aid which comprises:

a weighted or weighty table-top-standable stand for a drinks vessel having retaining means thereon to retain a said drinks vessel and having a substantially rigid arm extending therefrom, in use, which arm is supported by the stand to extend therefrom bearing a conduit to the user to deliver drink from the vessel to the user wherein the arm is articulated at one or more points along its length.

Preferably, the arm is adjustable in both reach and orientationPreferably the arm is formed of a plurality of sections intedinked in series by pivotal joints for relative articulation. The pivotal joints are most preferably spline joints enabling the joints to be locked at different selected angles.

The arm is preferably detachably mounted, in use, to the stand. It suitably has a first portion that extends as an upright from the stand and preferably the upright is 15 rigid and at least as tall as the drinks vessel to be used therewith.

Suitably the stand has a tubular socket upstanding therefrom into which the upright of the arm is inserted in use. Preferably, the stand is formed as a weighted plate or block with a recess in its upper, in use, face, the walls of the recess serving as the retaining means or the stand having upstanding iugs on its upper, in use, face to serve 20 as the retaining means.

Suitably, the conduit is flexible at least in part and is at its end proximate the stand movable relative to the arm to be extended into the drinks vessel for use. The conduit may be formed of flexible tubing along its length and held by the arm and moveable therewith.

2 Brief Description of the Drawings

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a drinking aid embodying the invention; Figure 2 is a side elevation view of the embodiment of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a plan view of the base of the drinking aid; Figures 4A and 4B are, respectively a detailed side elevation view and plan view of a variant of a portion of the arm of the drinking aid; and Figures 5A to 5C are close up views of an articulated joint in plan, side elevation 10 and perspective, respectively, with the perspective view showing the joint in disassembled state.

Description of the preferred embodiment

Referring firstly to Figures 1 and 2, the first embodiment of the invention comprises a table-top standable stand 1 having the form of a generally cylindrical block of relatively dense, heavy material or with the block incorporating a heavy weight. The block has a deep circular recess 10 in its upper face within which a drinks glass is mounted as shown. The glass is retained against slipping or failing over by the walls of the recess 10.

Protruding laterally from one side of the otherwise smooth circumferential outer surface of the stand 1 is a shoulder 11 from which a short rigid tube projects upwardly.

This tube is a sleeve mounting 12 for an articulated arm 15 that extends away from the stand 1 and has a reach that, for example, will span between a bedside hospital table and a bed-ridden patient.

The articulated arm 15 comprises five adjustably jointed sections 15a-e of which the first section has a short pole-shaped portion 3 that is dimensioned to slidably seat into the sleeve mounting 12 of the stand 1. The pole shaped portion 3 is locked in place by a locking nut 2 and may, if desired, be vertically adjusted within the sleeve mounting 3 12 and locked at a selected height relative to the stand 1 (see Figure 2). This facility is particularly useful most notably to accommodate for a wide range of depths of drinks vessel to be positioned on the stand 1.

In addition to allowing for vertical adjustment, the sleeve mounting 12 allows the pole shaped portion 3 to rotate about its longitudinal axis which is substantially vertical in use, thereby enabling the arm 15 to swing in a substantially horizontal plane.

As illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, the arm 15 is suitably locked at a height relative to the stand 1 with the first section of the arm 15a extending above the top rim of the drinks vessel.

Each of the five sections 15a-e of the arm 15 is suitably formed of a lightweight substantially rigid bar-shaped plastics extrusion. The arm sections 15a-e are arranged in series and linked together by respective articulated joints 16a-d, one of which joints 16a is illustrated in detail in Figures 5A-C in plan view, side elevation and disassembled perspective view.

Each of the articulated joints 16a-d has inter engageable locking splines 20a, b that mesh together to lock the joint at any of a range of pitches and a headed locking screw 21 to allow for simple adjustment.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, a flexible plastics tube 4 to serve as the drinks fluid conduit is carried by the arm 15 along its length and held in place by clips 22 projecting from the arm 15 at intervals. The tube 4 may be of one-piece construction or formed of sections. The tube 4 may be detached from the arm 15, if necessary, for readjustment, or removal for cleaning or replacement.

The tube 4 is positioned on the arm 15 with its end nearest the stand 1 hanging free and extending into the drinks vessel to the required depth for consumption of the drink. The opposing end of the tube 4 extends beyond the remote end of the last arm section 15e and is supported by a finely adjustable tip extension 7 and terminates in a 4 mouth piece 8 of rubber or other suitable material. The mouthpiece 8 has a diameter substantially larger than that of the tube 4 for comfort of the user.

Referring to Figures 4A and B, these are side and plan views of a variant of arm section 15' that is adapted for articulation in two different planes - suitably allowing for substantially horizontal adjustment as well as the substantially vertical adjustment of the articulated sections 15a-e described above.

The simple interconnection of the articulated joints between each section 15a-e enables any number of such sections 15a-e to be linked together to form the arm and enables any of them to be interchanged with the variant arm section 15' illustrated in Figures 4A and B. In assembling the articulated arm 15 a suitable combination of arm sections 15a-e or 16 is selected to meet the needs of the user in terms of reach of the arm 15 while seeking to ensure that the free end of the arm 15 carrying the mouthpiece 8 remains elevated relative to the other end of the tube 4 immersed within the drinks vessel to avoid a siphon effect occurring. The degree of freedom for articulation of the respective joints may be arranged to prevent the mouthpiece carrying end of the arm 15 being lowered below the fluid level in the drinks vessel.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing that the apparatus of the present invention is extremely compact while being versatile and adjustable to suit a wide range of different circumstances. It is relatively cheap and simple to set up for use not only in hospital situations but also in domestic situations.

Although the present invention has been illustrated above with reference to one particular embodiment, a range of different alternative embodiments are conceivable within the scope of the invention which is defined in the claims hereinafter.

Claims

1. A hands-free drinking aid which comprises: a weighted or weighty tabletop-standable stand for a drinks vessel having retaining means thereon to retain a said drinks vessel and having a substantially rigid arm extending therefrom, in use, which arm is supported by the stand to extend therefrom bearing a conduit to the user to deliver drink from the vessel to the user wherein the arm is articulated at one or more points along its length.

2. A hands-free drinking aid as claimed in claim 1 wherein the stand is formed as a weighted plate with a recess in its upper, in use, face, the walls of the recess serving as the retaining means or the plate having upstanding Jugs on its upper, in use, face to serve as the retaining means.

3. A hands-free drinking aid as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the conduit is flexible at least in part and is at its end proximate the stand movable relative to the arm to be extended into a said drinks vessel for use.

4. A hands free drinking aid as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the arm is 20 adjustable in reach and orientation.

5. A hands free drinking aid as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the arm is formed of a plurality of sections interlinked in series by pivotal joints for relative articulation.

6. A hands free drinking aid as claimed in claim 5, wherein the pivotal joints are splined to enable the joints to be locked at different selected angles.

6

7. A hands free drinking aid as claimed in claim 4, 5 or 6 wherein the conduit is formed of flexible tubing along its length and is held by the arm and moveable therewith.

8. A hands free drinking aid as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the conduit is detachable from the arm.

9. A hands free drinking aid as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the arm has a first portion that extends as an upright from the stand.

10. A hands free drinking aid as claimed in claim 9, wherein the upright is rigid and at least as tall as the drinks vessel to be used therewith.

11. A hands free drinking aid as claimed in claims 9 and claim 10, wherein the stand has a tubular socket upstanding therefrom into which the upright of the arm is inserted in use.

9

11. A hands free drinking aid as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the arm is 15 detachably mounted, in use, to the stand.

12. A hands free drinking aid as claimed in claims 10 and claim 11, wherein the stand has a tubular socket upstanding therefrom into which the upright of the arm is inserted in use.

7 Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows CLAIMS 1. A hands-free drinking aid which comprises: a weighted or weighty tabletop-sta nd able stand for a drinks vessel having retaining means thereon to retain a said drinks vessel and having a substantially rigid arm extending therefrom, in use, which arm is supported by the stand to extend therefrom bearing a conduit to the user to deliver drink from the vessel to the user wherein the arm is articulated at one or more points along its length.

2. A hands-free drinking aid as claimed in claim 1, wherein the conduit is flexible at least in part and is at its end proximate the stand movable relative to the arm to be extended into a said drinks vessel for use.

3. A hands free drinking aid as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the arm is adjustable in reach and orientation.

4. A hands free drinking aid as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the arm is formed of a plurality of sections interlinked in series by pivotal joints for relative articulation.

5. A hands free drinking aid as claimed in claim 4, wherein the pivotal joints are splined to enable the joints to be locked at different selected angles.

6. A hands free drinking aid as claimed in claim 3, 4 or 5 wherein the conduit formed of flexible tubing along its length and is held by the arm and moveable therewith is 7. A hands free drinking aid as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the conduit is detachable from the arm.

8. A hands free drinking aid as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the arm 5 has a first portion that extends as an upright from the stand.

9. A hands free drinking aid as claimed in claim 8, wherein the upright is at least as tall as the drinks vessel to be used therewith.

10. A hands free drinking aid as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the arm is detachably mounted, in use, to the stand.