GB2400350A

GB2400350A - Device for raising the feet of a vehicle occupant

Info

Publication number: GB2400350A
Application number: GB0308068A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Richard Fletcher
Original assignee: Mangar International Ltd
Current assignee: Mangar International Ltd
Priority date: 2003-04-08
Filing date: 2003-04-08
Publication date: 2004-10-13
Also published as: GB0308068D0

Abstract

Disclosed is a device for assisting a person to exit or enter a vehicle such as a motorcar which has a raised part, ie. a sill, between the part of the car floor on which the person's feet normally rest when seated in the vehicle and the exterior of the vehicle. The device comprises a rigid platform 1 adapted to be positioned above said part of the car floor A to provide support to the person's feet, and means for raising and lowering the platform (see figure 4) to and from a position at substantially the same height above the floor as the sill. The means for raising the platform may comprise an electrically operated parallelogram linkage (not illustrated), or a pneumatically inflatable bag 13. The rigid platform may have several flaps 6, 7, 9 attached to it by means of hinges 10, 11, 12.

Description

DEVICE FOR ASSISTING DISABLED AND ELDERLY PERSONS

The invention relates to devices for assisting persons, particularly disabled and elderly persons, to get out of motorcars.

The invention is concerned, in particular, with overcoming or reducing the difficulty experienced by disabled and elderly persons in getting out of motorcars which is caused by a raised part of the vehicle body disposed between the floor on which a person's feet rest when seated in the vehicle, and the exterior of the vehicle making it necessary when the person wishes to get out of the vehicle to lift the feet above the level of the raised part in order to move them out of the car. Such a raised part is commonly formed by a door sill.

There are several different ways of getting out of a motorcar from a seated position inside it. One way involves swinging the legs out of the vehicle on to the ground beside it whilst remaining seated, and then standing up. This movement is more difficult particularly for a disabled or elderly person, if it is necessary to lift the feet first so that they will pass over a door sill as they are swung out of the car. Likewise, getting into a car may be difficult for such persons if it is necessary to lift the feet higher than the floor of the car in order to clear a raised part between the exterior of the car and the car floor.

Various arrangements have previously been proposed for assisting persons to get into and out of motorcars, including swivel seats and sliding seats installed in the cars themselves and pelvic lifting bars and other lifting devices, but none of these is capable of raising the feet in order to clear a raised part such as a door sill between the car floor and the exterior.

According to the invention there is provided a device for assisting a person to get out of a motorcar which has a raised part disposed between the part of the car floor on which the person's feet normally rest when seated in the vehicle, and the exterior of the vehicle, the device comprising a rigid platform adapted to be positioned above the said part of the car floor so as to support the said person's feet, and means arranged to act between the floor and the platform for raising and lowering the platform to and from a position at the same or substantially the same height above the floor as the said raised part.

The idea is that when the person is seated in the car, his or her feet rest on the platform of the device. It is intended that the platform will normally be kept in its lowered position. When the person wishes to get out of the car, the platform is raised ot the level of the said raised part by the means referred to and this enables the person to move his or her feet over the raised part without the physical exertion of lifting them.

The device may also be used to assist a person to get into a motorcar.

In this case, the platform is raised to the level of the said raised part of the car (or it might have been left in this position after being used to help a person to get out of the car), and the person then merely needs to lift the feet to the said level and swing them over the raised part on to the platform. The platform is then lowered to bring the feet into the normal position, for example for driving the car if the device is used by the driver.

The means for raising and lowering the platform may be mechanically operable, for example a parallelogram linkage operated by a lever or an electric actuator or motor which may be run from a cigarette-lighter socket in a car, one of the links resting on the vehicle floor and the opposite link supporting the platform. Preferably, however, the said means are pneumatically operable, for example a bag attached to the undersurface of the platform and arranged to rest on the vehicle floor. A manually operable control valve may be provided for controlling inflation and deflation of the bag.

The platform may be provided with hinged side flaps and/or a hinged front flap.

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIGURE 1 is a perspective view from above of a preferred form of device embodying the invention for assisting a person to get out of a motorcar, FIGURE 2 is a side view of the device showing it in an out-of-use position in a motorcar, FIGURE 3 is a view corresponding to FIGURE 2 showing the device in its in-use position, and FIGURE 4 is a view taken on the line IV-IV in FIGURE 2.

The device illustrated in the drawings comprises a rigid platform 1 having a rectangular portion la and a tapered portion lb. This platform is formed by a rigid panel 2 of a suitable material covered on both surfaces by plastics sheeting 3 which extends outwardly beyond the side edges of the rectangular portion la to cover two further rigid panels 4,5 and thereby form side flaps 6 and 7, and also beyond the outer end of the tapered portion lb to cover another rigid panel 8 and thereby form an end flap 9. The plastics sheeting is sealed around the outer edges of the panels so as to enclose the panels 4,5 and 8 completely and is arranged to form hinges 10,11,12 between the respective side and end flaps 6,7 and 9 and the platform 1.

Secured to the undersurface of the platform 1 is an air bag 13. This bag is rectangular in shape so that it is substantially of the same outline shape and size as the rectangular portion la of the platform. The bag is in the form of a bellows comprising flat upper and lower panels 14,15 joined around their edges by a flexible concertina-shaped sidewall 16.

The air bag is connectible by a pipe 17 through a control unit (not shown) to a source of compressed air which may be a compressed air cylinder or an electrically operated compressor which can be conveniently connected to the electrical supply of a motorcar. The control unit incorporates valves openable to control the supply of compressed air to the bag in order to inflate it and venting of air from the bag in order to deflate it.

In use, with the bag 10 deflated the device is placed in the footwell of a motorcar at the position where a person requiring assistance to get out of the car is to be seated, for example the driving position as shown in FIGURES 2 and 3 where the driver operates an accelerator pedal P and a brake pedal (not shown) and a clutch pedal if provided. With the device in this position the platform 1 lies generally flat on the floor A of the footwell with the bag 13 squashed between them as shown in FIGURE 2. The end flap 9 is tilted upwardly relative to the platform 1 about its hinge 12 so that it rests against the upwardly inclined forward part B of the footwell as shown in FIGURES 2 and 3. If the car is a left-hand drive vehicle as shown in FIGURES 2, 3 and 4 the side flap 6 is tilted upwardly about its hinge 10 and rests against the raised part C of the vehicle body formed by the door sill at the right-hand side of the vehicle. If there is a raised part at the lefthand side of the footwell A, for example a propeller shaft tunnel or a vertical wall D as shown in FIGURE 4, the side flap 7 may also be tilted about its hinge 11 so that it rests against this part.

The device can also be used for the driver of a right-hand vehicle, the flap 7 in this case resting against the raised part formed by the door sill at the left-hand side of the vehicle. The device can also be used for any passenger assuming that the passenger's footwell is large enough to accommodate the device.

As shown in FIGURE 2 the driver can operate the foot pedals of the motorcar in the normal way with the feet resting on the platform 1. When the driver wishes to get out of the car he or she operates the control unit to cause the bag 10 to be inflated. This raises the rear portion la of the platform 1 to a position slightly above the top of the raised part C of the door sill as shown in dotted lines in FIGURE 4 and as a result the flap 6 pivots about its hinge 10 to a position in which its outer part rests on the top of the raised part C. The driver's feet are raised by the platform 1 and can then easily be slid sideways over the flap 6 to a position outside the car where they can then be lowered to the ground.

The bag is provided with internal webs arranged to keep the inflated bag flat so that it holds the platform 1 at the required height. The front edge of the platform 1 is spaced from the bag 13 so that, as shown in Figures 2 and 3, it acts as a fulcrum for the platform whereby the platform provides a slope to move the feet along as needed, and then a stable surface for the feet during transfer into and out of the vehicle.

The device can also be used in this position with the bag 13 inflated to assist the driver to get into the car. In this case the driver sits on the driver's seat and then swings his or her feed off the ground on to the flap 6. The feet are then slid sideways on to the platform 1 and then the bag 13 is deflated to lower the platform and with it the driver's feet into position for operating the pedals. v

When not required the device can be lifted out of the footwell and stowed in the car.

The front end flap 9 helps the device to conform to the shape of the footwell of the car. It prevents the user's heels getting caught on the edge of the platform and it also prevents the front edge of the platform becoming entangled in the pedals during inflation and deflation of the bag. The flap 9 also allows the weight of the user's feet to prevent the device moving about.

Claims

1. A device for assisting a person to exit or enter a vehicle such as a motorcar which has a raised part disposed between the part of the car floor on which the person's feet normally rest when seated in the vehicle, and the exterior of the vehicle, the device comprising a rigid platform adapted to be positioned above the said part of the car floor so as to support the said person's feet, and means arranged to act between the floor and the platform for raising and lowering the platform to and from a position at the same or substantially the same height above the floor as the said raised part.

2. A device according to claim 1 wherein the means for raising and lowering the platform is mechanically operable.

3. A device according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein said means for raising and lowering the platform comprises a parallelogram linkage operated by a lever or an electric actuator or motor, one of the links resting on the vehicle floor and an opposite link supporting the platform.

4. A device according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein said means for raising and lowering the platform comprises an inflatable bag attached to the under surface of the platform and arranged to rest on the vehicle floor.

5. A device according to claim 4 wherein said inflatable bag is pneumatically operable.

6. A device according to claim 5 wherein said inflatable bag comprises control means for controlling inflation and deflation of the bag.

7. A device according to claim 6 wherein said control means is a control valve.

8. A device according to any preceding claim wherein the platform is provided with one or more flaps movable relative to the platform.

9. A device according to claim 8 wherein said one or more flaps are attached to the platform by hinge means.

10. A device according to claim 8 or claim 9 wherein the platform is provided with a front end flap and two side end flaps.

11. A device according to any preceding claim for use in a driver's footwell of a vehicle.

12. A device as herein described with reference to the drawings of Figures 1 to 4.