IE920546A1 - Elevating chair - Google Patents

Abstract

An elevating chair comprises a support structure (10) carrying a seat (2) having a seating portion (12A) and a back rest portion (12B). The seating portion (12A) is in two parts with a front part (14) hinged to the structure (10) and a back part (16) hinged to the front part (14). The back part (16) and the back rest portion (12B) form an assembly. Moving means is provided to raise and lower the assembly relative to the structure (10) with the back part (16) of the seating portion (12A) being maintained horizontal during an elevating or lowering operation.

Description

ELEVATING CHAIR This invention relates to an elevating chair and js to provide means for assisting a physically incapacitated person to rise from a seated to a standing position or vice versa.

Many elderly people and people suffering from arthritis or some other physical disability may be able to walk, perhaps with a walking aid, but have a problem and great difficulty in standing up after having been seated in an armchair or a wheelchair or a seat of any kind.

Various forms of lifting/elevating chairs are on the market which are intended to help people with this problem. Some of these are spring-loaded seats which are hinged at the front and have the disadvantage that the user tends to slide forward as he/she is being raised. Disadvantages also arise due to difficulty in adjusting spring pressure to the user's weight and in ensuring that the lifting force matches the user's needs at each stage of the lifting process. Many appliances available consist of specially made chairs equipped with elevating seats of various kinds but these have proved to be too costly for persons of limited means.

An object of the present invention is to obviate or mitigate the aforesaid disadvantages.

Accordingly, the present invention is an elevating chair comprising a support structure carrying a seat having a seating portion and a back rest portion, the seating portion being in two parts with a front part hinged to the structure and a back part hinged to the front part, the back part of the seating portion and the back rest portion forming an assembly, and moving means to raise and lower the assembly relative to the structure, Preferably, the back part of the seating portion is maintained horizontal during an elevating or lowering operation. The back part of the seating portion is preferably connected through parallel arm arrangements to the support structure on each lateral side of the seating portion. The lateral sides of the front part of the seating portion may desirably constitute one of the parallel arms of a respective said arrangement. Two sides are preferably provided, one on each lateral side of the seating portion, each side being secured to the 2o assembly. Each side desirably comprises an arm rest and at least one support. Each arm rest beneficially extends forwardly from the assembly to extend laterally of the front part of the seating portion.

Preferably also, the back part of the seating portion has an extension midway of its hinged side with tho front part and the hinged side of the front part has a complementary rebate to accommodate the extension when both parts are coplanar. The back part of the seating portion is preferably a minor part and the front part is a major part. The rake of the back rest portion relative to the back part of the seating portion may be adjustable.

Preferably further, the moving means is spring biasing anchored between the underside of the seating portion and the support structure, the spring biasing being tensioned when on a user sits down on the back part with the energy stored in the biasing being used to assist the user in rising. A mechanism may be provided to lock the seating portion to the support structure in its lower position.

Alternatively, the moving means may be one or more air bag(s) inflated from an air supply to elevate the back part with air exhausting therefrom on a user sitting down.

Further alternatively, the moving means may be a length-extensible member. The length-extensible member is desirably a telescopic ram and cylinder arrangement with power means adapted to extend and retract the arrangement, or may be a motor operated screw rotator.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagramatic drawings, in which:Fig. 1 is a front perspective view of an elevating chair in a lowered position using a first type of moving means; Fig. 2 is a front perspective view of an elevating chair shown in Fig. 1 in a raised position; Fig. 3 is a rear perspective view of the chair in the raised postion shown in Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a chair shown in a raised position using a second type of moving means and omitting a back rest portion? Fig. 5 is a rear view of the chair shown in Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a side view of the chair shown in Fig. 4 with the seating portion partially raised; Fig. 7 is a side view of the chair shown in Fig. 4 15 with the seating portion lowered; and Fig. 8 is a side elevation of a chair using a third type of moving means» the chair being shown in a raised position.

Referring to the drawings» a elevating chair 20 comprises a support structure 10 carrying a seat having a rectangular seating portion 12A and a back rest portion 12B. The seating portion 12A is in two parts 14, 16 with a front part 14 hinged to the structure 10 and a back part 16 hinged to the front part 14. The back part 16 of the seating portion 12A and the back rest portion 12B form an assembly.

The structure 10 is rectangular in plan as shown in Figs. 1 to 3 and has four legs 34 connected by ties 36 across the front and two lateral sides at their upper ends, and by tie 38 across the rear near to their lower ends. Side ledges 40 are provided extending inwardly from the lateral sides to support the seating portion 12A of the seat 12 in its lowered position. The bottom of the legs 34 are provided with wheel arrangements 35, such as castors.

The back part 16 of the seating portion 12A is maintained horizontal during an elevating or lowering operation. The back part 16 is connected through parallel arm arrangements 18 to the support structure 10 on each lateral side of the seating portion 12A as shown in Figs. 1 to 3. The arm arrangements 18 each comprise two parallel arms 19, and the arms 19 of both arrangements 18 are mounted on common spindles 21, 23 secured for rotatable movement between the two lateral side ties 36 (Fig. 3) and two lateral side brackets 25 depending from the back part 16 respectively. However, the lateral sides of the front part 14 of the seating portion 12A can constitute one of the parallel arms 19 of respective said arrangements 18 as shown in Figs. 4 to 8. The back part 16 has a semi-circular extension 20 midway of its hinged side with the front part 14, and the hinged side of the front part 14 has a complementary rebate to accommodate the extension when both parts 14, are coplanar. The back part 16 is a minor part of the seating portion 12A and the front part 14 is a major part.

Two sides 22 are provided, one on each lateral side of the seating portion 12Λ. Each side 22 is secured to the assembly ie. either to the back part 16 {as shown in tho drawings) or to the back rest portion 1 2B. Each side 22 comprises an arm rest 24 and two supports 26. Each arm rest 24 extends forwardly from tho assembly to extend laterally of the front part 14 as shown.

The back rest portion 1 2B is mounted on a hinging mechanism 42 to enable the rake or angular disposition of the back rest portion 1 2B relative to the back part 1C of the seating portion 12k to bo adjustable by use of a knob and clamping mechanism 44 provided at one lateral side of the seat.

The seating portion 12A and back rest portion 12B and the arm rests 24 are upholstered in padded materials. In Figs. 1 to 3, the front part 14 and back part 16 are upholstered separately however, the parts 14, 16 can be upholstered together as shown in Figs. 4 to 8. The back rest portion 12B can be of any required shape and can be provided with wing portions if required, Moving means to raise and lower the assembly relative to the structure 10 are provided. The moving means can be of three types. In a first type, the means is a length extensible member in the form of a telescopic ram and cylinder arrangement 46 with power means 30 in the form of an electrically-operable motorised pump mounted at its lower end, the pump being adapted to extend and retract the arrangement 46 as shown in Figs. 1 to 3, Tho upper end of tho arrangement 46 is pivotally anchored to a bar 47 extending between opposed rear arms 19 and tie 38. ON/OFF controls 45 to operate the pump are provided and positioned under an arm rest 24, the controls 45 being connected to the pump through lead 31.

In a second type, as shown in Figs. 4 to 7, the means is spring biasing 32 between the underside of the seating portion 1 2A and the support structure 10. The spring biasing 32 comprises a screw-threaded strut 50 pivotally connected to the bar 47 and extending through a slot in a crossbar 49 between the lateral side ties 36, the strut 50 extending a distance below the crossbar 49 to be in screw-threaded engagement with a nut 51 at the top of a casing 52 whose bottom end carries a pin 54 to extend diametrically outwardly. Two springs 48 are anchored between the undersurface of the crossbar 49 and the pin 54. The springs 48 are tensioned on a user sitting down on the back part 16 with the energy stored being used to assist the user in rising. The length of the strut 50 can be adjusted by rotating the nut 51 up β or down the strut, this also serving to adjust the balance of tho tension in the springs 48 to achieve an equilibrium state when the seating portion is lowered. A mechanism is provided to lock the front part 14 of the seating portion 12Λ to the support structure 10 in its lower position. A series of struts and springs may be provided along the length of the crossbar 49.

In a third type (as shown in Fig.8), the means is two rectangular air bags 56 interleafed and folded at 58 intermediate their ends as shown. A bar 61 is provided across tho fold to retain the bags in their folded state. The air bags intercommunicate with each other through holes 59 as shown. The air bags 56 are inflated from an low pressure air supply produced by a motorised pump 60 to elevate the back part 16 with air exhausting therefrom on a user sitting down after the pump is switched off, a valve mechanism being provided to prevent sudden deflation of the air bags 56. Between the top of the rear legs 34, a spring biased rotatable roller 62 is provided with a blind 64 therearound with its outer end secured to the back edge of the back part 16, the blind 64 extending on inflation of the air bags 56 and assisting the deflation of the airbags on the seating portion being lowered, In use, a chair as described above can be used by a physically handicapped person to easily move from a w J /' U 7 j X 7 7 “ U J j ' □ -) * O standing position into a sitting position or vice versa. With the back part 16 on which the user's ischal tuberosities rests always remaining horizontal during raising and lowering movements the user feels more secure. Also with the arm rests being secured Lo the assembly rather than the front part 14, this assists in the feeling of being secure.

In a modification, the length extensible member is a motor operated screw rotator.

Variations and other modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention described above.

Having now particularly described end ascertained the nature of our invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed,

Claims (20)

1. We declare that what we claim is:1. An elevating chair comprising a support structure carrying a seat having a seating portion and a back rest portion, the seating portion being in two parts with a front part hinged to the structure and a back part 05 hinged to tho front part, the back part of tho seating portion and the.back rest portion forming an assembly, and moving means to raise and lower the assembly relative to the structure.

2. Λ chair as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the back part of tho seating portion is maintained horizontal during an elevating or lowering operation.

3. A chair as claimed in claim 2, wherein the back part of the seating portion is connected through parallel arm arrangements to the support structure on each lateral side of the seating portion.

4. Λ chair as claimed in Claim 3, wherein the lateral sides of the front part of the seating portion constitutes one of the parallel arms of a respective said arrangement. II

5. A chair as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 4, wherein two sides are provided, one on each lateral side of the seating portion, each side being secured to the assembly.

6. A chair as claimed in Claim 5, wherein each side comprises an arm rest and at least one support.

7. A chair as claimed in Claim 6, wherein each arm rest extends forwardly from the assembly to extend laterally of the front part of the seating portion. Θ. A chair as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, wherein the back part of the seating portion has an extension midway of its hinged side with the front part and the hinged side of the front part, has a 05 complementary rebate to accommodate the extension when both parts are coplanar.

8. 9. A chair as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, wherein the back part of the seating portion is a minor part and the front part is a major part.

9. 10. A chair as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, wherein the rake of the back rest, portion relative to the back part of the seating portion is adj ustablo,

10. 11. Λ chair as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, wherein the moving moans is spring biasing anchored between the underside of the seating portion and the support structure, the spring biasing being 05 tensioned when on a user sits down on the back part with the energy stored in the biasing being used to assist the user in rising,

11. 12. A chair ae claimed in Claim 11, wherein a mechanism is provided to lock the seating portion to the support structure in its lower position.

12. 13. A chair ae claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 10, wherein the moving means is one or more air bag(s) inflated from an air supply to elevate the back part with air exhausting therefrom on a user sitting down.

13. 14. A chair as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 10, wherein the moving means is a length-extensible member.

14. 15. A chair as claimed in Claim 14, wherein the length-extensible member is a telescopic ram and cylinder arrangement with power means adapted to extend and retract the arrangement.

15. 16. Λ chair as claimed in Claim 14, wherein the length-extensible member is a motor operated screw rotator.

16. 17. A chair as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, wherein the structure is rectangular in plan and has four legs connected by ties across the front and two lateral sides at their upper ends, and by tie across the 05 rear near to their lower ends.

17. 18. Λ chair as claimed in Claim 17, wherein side ledges are provided extending inwardly from the lateral side ties to support the seating portion in its lowered pos i 1.1 on.

18. 19. A chair as claimed in Claim 17 or 18, wherein the bottom of the legs are provided with wheel arrangements.

19.

20. An elevating chair substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.