JPH0423549Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an assisting device that assists physically disabled people and so-called bedridden elderly people, for example, in bathing them.

[Conventional technology]

People with physical disabilities and bedridden elderly (persons receiving assistance)
It was hard work for the caregiver to bathe the child and place him in a wheelchair.

Therefore, various types of assistance devices have been developed to assist such caregivers, and one of them is a lifter that supports and lifts a person being assisted on a sling seat or the like.

Examples of the lifter include a suspended lifter, a mobile suspended lifter, and a ceiling-running suspended lifter.

Among these, the suspension lifter has a short support provided on the floor next to the bathtub for suspending the person being assisted, or a bracket-like clamp provided on the wall of the bathtub.

In addition, a mobile suspension lifter has an arm with a hook at the end rotatably attached to the upper end of a mast that is erected on a base with casters attached, and this arm is connected to a manually operated lifting mechanism (hydraulic It is of a structure that is tilted by a cylinder).

Furthermore, a ceiling suspended lifter is driven by an electric motor or air pressure along a rail fixed to the ceiling, and has a structure that vertically lifts up or lowers a seat or sling carrying a person being cared for. It is something.

[The problem that the idea attempts to solve]

However, the hanging lifter has a problem in that it has a limited range of movement in raising and lowering in the Japanese bathing method, in which the lifter is immersed in hot water up to the shoulders, and that it rusts and corrodes during use, making it difficult to move up and down smoothly.

In addition, the mobile suspension lifter wraps the person being cared for in a cloth seat, etc., and transports the person from the bed to the wheelchair, toilet, etc.
Although it is suitable for moving to a bathroom, etc., it takes considerable effort to tilt the arm and lift the person being cared for, and the pivot point of the arm is subject to a considerable load, which tends to damage that part. There is a problem that it cannot be used in a bathtub or the like where there is not enough space for the base of the lifter.

Furthermore, ceiling-running suspended lifters require rail installation work and are expensive, so there is a problem that they cannot be introduced unless the building is being expanded or renovated.

An object of the present invention is to provide an assisting device that can easily lift a person being assisted without relying on the effort of an assistant, and that does not cause failures in the lifting and lowering portions.

[Means to solve the problem]

The structure of the present invention to solve the above problems consists of a rod-shaped support that is erected using the floor or wall, a piston-shaped flange that is fixed at an appropriate height position of the support, and a lifter consisting of a cylindrical tube that is tightly loosely fitted into the support column and slidably fitted tightly to the support; and an arm that is attached to the side of the lifter and has a suspension means such as a hook on the tip side. and a hose for supplying and discharging water, etc., which is connected to the hose connected to the upper part of the lifter via an operating valve having a switching valve,
The present invention is characterized in that fluid such as water is supplied to, discharged from, or stopped by operating the operation valve.

[Effect]

The combination of a rod-shaped support, a piston-like flange, and a cylinder-shaped tube as a lifter forms an upper and lower stroke operating mechanism in which the cylindrical tube side as a lifter can slide up and down with respect to the support. Fluid pressure, such as normal tap water, having a constant pressure is used as the driving source.

By adjusting the flow rate of this fluid such as tap water, the person to be assisted can be moved up and down gently.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing the structure of an example of the assisting device of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the state of use when the assistive device of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 is applied to a bathtub.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a rod-shaped support that stands perpendicularly to the floor F. This support 1 has a pad 1a at its lower end fixed to the floor F, and an upper end attached to the wall H. It is supported by a transverse member 2 fixed to.

3 is a piston-shaped flange fixedly attached at an appropriate height position in the middle of the support column 1; 4 is a flange 3;
from the outside, and at the same time, from above on the pillar 1.
This is a lifter that is fitted so that it can slide downward.

The lifter 4 is a cylindrical body with a hollow interior, and is formed by a cylindrical vertical tube, and the center of the upper wall 4a is in watertight contact with the outer peripheral surface of the column 1 via a sealing material such as an O-ring 4f. An aperture having an inner diameter is drilled. 4b is a lower wall of the lifter 4.

4c is the inner peripheral surface of the lifter 4, and the flange 3
It is slidably in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the piston ring via a piston ring-shaped sealing material 3a.

4d is a fluid inlet/outlet hole drilled in the upper part of the side wall of the lifter 4, and 4e is a vent hole drilled in the lower wall 4b.

Note that the fluid inlet/outlet hole 4d is located in the upper wall 4a of the lifter 4.
Alternatively, the ventilation hole 4e may be provided at the lower part of the side wall of the lifter 4.

5 is a horizontal arm attached to the side of the lifter 4, 6 is a hook member attached to the tip of the arm 5,
7 is a chain suspended from the hook member 6; 8 is a sling sheet;
The sling sheet 8 forms an example of suspension means.

9 is an operating valve, 9a is an operating handle, 10 is a hose connecting the operating valve 9 and the water faucet Q,
11 is a hose that connects the operating valve 9 and the drain port R, and 12 is a hose that connects the operating valve 9 and the fluid inlet/outlet hole 4d of the lifter 4.

The operation valve 9 has a built-in switching valve that reversibly switches the tap water supplied from the hose 10 to the hose 11 or hose 12 side.

Further, the hoses 10, 11, and 12 are made of flexible synthetic resin, rubber, or the like and are pressure-resistant hoses.

Further, the operation valve 9 is desirably installed at the tip of the arm 5 as shown in FIG. 2, but it may also be installed at a location such as a wall H where it can be easily operated by a caregiver.

The assistive device of the present invention having the above structure has a rod-shaped support 1
This is an upper and lower stroke operating mechanism consisting of a combination of a piston-shaped flange 3 and a cylindrical lifter 4, and is therefore a device that can position the lifter 4 at an arbitrary height on the support column 1.

Here, U is an internal upper chamber of the lifter 4 partitioned by the flange 3, and V is an internal lower chamber of the lifter 4.

Next, the manner of use of the assistive device of the present invention will be explained.

First, the lifter 4 can be raised by tilting the operating handle 9a of the operating valve 9 upward and introducing water W from the faucet Q through the hose 10 and the hose 12 into the internal upper chamber U of the lifter 4. 5 comes to the appropriate height position, turn the operating handle 9a horizontally, that is, each hose 1
0, 11, and 12, respectively, and the lifting of the lifter 4 is stopped at that position. To lower the lifter 4, tilt the operating handle 9a downward and
This is done by communicating water with the upper chamber U of the lifter 4 through the hoses 12 and 11.

Therefore, the lifter 4 is lowered and the person being assisted P is placed on the sling seat 8, the lifter 4 is raised and stopped at an appropriate height, the arm 5 is rotated around the support 1, and the person being assisted is placed on the sling seat 8. P is located above the bathtub Y.

After that, the operating handle 9a is tilted downward, and the water W in the internal upper chamber U of the lifter 4 is guided to the drain port R through the hose 12 and the hose 11, and the lifter 4 is lowered so that the person being assisted P can fully enter the bathtub Y. The arm 5 is lowered to a certain point, and at that position, the operation handle 9a is made horizontal to stop the descent of the lifter 4.

Note that the air in the internal lower chamber V of the lifter 4 enters and exits through the ventilation hole 4e as the lifter 4 moves up and down.

In addition, in the above embodiment of the assistive device of the present invention,
Although tap water is used as the fluid, this is because tap water has a certain pressure, so the flange 3
This is because if the area is set to a predetermined area, the person being assisted P can be sufficiently lifted by the supply pressure of the tap water. This has also been confirmed through experiments.

Fluids other than tap water, for example, gases such as compressed air or liquids such as pressurized oil, may be used as the driving source for raising and lowering the lifter in the assistive device of the present invention.

Furthermore, in the above embodiments, the struts 1 and lifters 4 are circular in cross section, but struts or lifters with polygonal cross sections may also be used.

If a polygonal cross-section is used for the strut or lifter, the upper and lower ends of the strut should be rotatably supported so that the arm can pivot.

[Effect of idea]

The assistive device of the present invention is a rod-shaped support that is erected on the floor or wall of a bathroom, etc., and has a stroke actuation mechanism that slides up and down at an appropriate height position. The piston-like flange side is fixedly provided on this column, and the cylinder side that becomes the lifter is fitted into the column with the flange side inside, and the upper part of the cylinder side is fitted with the flange side. Since the operation valve is connected via the hose to the supply/discharge hose, the structure is simple, and therefore, it can be manufactured relatively easily.

In addition, the assistive device of the present invention can use fluid such as water flowing out of the water supply as a driving source for lifting and lowering the lifter, so it can use the floor or wall where there is existing water supply equipment. The device of this invention can be easily installed by erecting a support post, and by simply connecting a supply/discharge hose to a faucet and drain port, fluids such as water can be supplied, discharged, etc. using an operating valve.
Alternatively, it is possible to stop the lifter, move it up and down, and stop it at an appropriate height position, making it easy to start and operate the lifter.

Furthermore, the flow rate of fluids such as water can be adjusted as appropriate using the operation valve to press in and discharge.
The person being assisted can be moved up and down gently.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing the structure of an example of the assisting device of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the state of use when the assistive device of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 is applied to a bathtub. 1...rod-shaped support, 1a...pad, 2...
...Horizontal member, 3... Piston-shaped flange, 4...
Lifter, 5... Arm, 6... Hook member, 7
...Chain, 8...Sling seat, 9...Operation valve, 10, 11, 12...Hose, F...
Floor surface, H...Wall surface, Q...Faucet, R...Drain port,
W...Water, U...Inner upper chamber, V...Inner lower chamber, P
...Care recipient, Y...bathtub.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A rod-shaped support that is erected using the floor or wall surface, a piston-shaped flange that is fixed and fixed at an appropriate height position of the support, and a piston-shaped flange that is tightly and loosely fitted to the flange and can freely slide on the support. A lifter consisting of a cylindrical tube that is tightly fitted with a cylindrical tube, an arm that is attached to the side of the lifter and has a suspension means such as a hook on the tip end, and a switching valve connected to a hose connected to the upper part of the lifter. It consists of a hose for supplying and discharging water, etc. connected via an operating valve with
An assisting device characterized in that a fluid such as water is supplied to, discharged from, or stopped from the internal upper chamber of the lifter by operating the operation valve.