WO1989008437A1

WO1989008437A1 - Seating aid

Info

Publication number: WO1989008437A1
Application number: PCT/GB1989/000290
Authority: WO
Inventors: David Lawrence Hiscock
Original assignee: David Lawrence Hiscock
Priority date: 1988-03-19
Filing date: 1989-03-17
Publication date: 1989-09-21
Also published as: GB2260694A; EP0409866A1; GB8806576D0; AU3367889A; GB9020492D0

Abstract

A seating aid for use by infirm or handicapped persons has upper and lower supports (1, 2) with an inflatable structure (7), such as a bellows structure, between the supports. When the inflatable structure (7) is inflated, for example with compressed air, the upper support (1) moves upwards and forwards and this assists a person in lowering himself onto or raising himself up from a seating position. The aid can be used, for example, with a lavatory or an easy chair.

Description

SEATING AID

This invention relates to an aid to assist persons in moving' to and/or from a sitting position .

It is not uncommon for persons who are elderly or infirm or

5 _ handicapped or otherwise of limited mobility to encounter difficulty in lowering themselves onto and raising themselves up from seats .

For the assistance of such persons there are easy chairs which are specially constructed with a seat portion which can be moved by means of a powered mechanism between a normal seating position and

10. a raised position in which the seat portion is upwardly and forwardly inclined . The powered mechanism is built into the chair and typically comprises a hydraulic piston and cylinder actuator connected to the seat portion via a mechanical linkage .

These known easy chairs are, however, generally of an expensive 15 _ nature . Also, at least on some occasions , a person may prefer, or need , to use an existing seat, rather than a specially constructed easy chair, as for example where the person has a favourite easy chair which he does not wish to replace, or where he has to use a different kind of seat such as a lavatory seat or a dining chair or the 20. like.

An object of the present invention is to provide a seating aid of relatively inexpensive construction which can be readily, adapted for use with existing seats to assist persons in moving to and /or from a sitting position thereon . 25. According to the invention therefore there is provided a seating aid comprising an upper support device on which a person can sit, and a lifting and lowering mechanism beneath the support device operable to move such device between a normal seating position and a raised position in which it is displaced upwardly and forwardly of the normal seating position, said mechanism comprising an inflatable 5. structure and an inflation system for effecting inflation and deflation of said structure.

With this arrangement, in so far as lifting and lowering is effected by the inflatable structure, essentially without need for complicated mechanical devices, effective operation can be achieved with a relatively

10. inexpensive construction . Moreover, the inflatable structure can comprise a relatively compact self-contained construction whereby the seating aid can be readily applied to different kinds of existing seat without requiring appreciable modification thereto. Indeed, in at least some cases, it may be possible to use the seating without any modification

15. of the existing seat, simply by placing the aid on the seat.

In a preferred embodiment the inflatable structure is provided between the upper support device and a lower support device whereby, when the structure is inflated the upper support device moves upwardly

. and pivots forwardly about a pivot joint defined between forward

20. portions of the upper and lower support devices . This pivot joint may be established by a direct linkage between the two devices . Alternatively the pivot joint may be established by virtue of- the construction and mode of operation of the inflatable structure.

The said upward and forward movement of the upper support

25. device may be of a simple pivotal nature i.e . such that the rear of the upper device moves upwards and forwards while the front of the device only pivots e. g . about a horizontal axis . Alternatively , however the movement may be of a more complex nature in that the front o the upper device may also move upwards an /or forwards in additio to or instead of pivoting thereof. 5. The inflatable structure may be of any suitable construction an thus may simply comprise a bag, or a pleated bellows construction o other large receptacle formed from a fluid-tight flexible non-stretchabl material , such as reinforced rubber or plastics or the like . Preferably , however, the inflatable structure is specially shaped and /or is divided 10. into compartments so as to facilitate effective control of the lifting and lowering operations while ensuring secure support of the upper support device in the raised position . Preferably also the inflatable structure has a deflated condition which is as flat as possible so as to occupy the minimum of space . Thus , the inflatable structure may 15. comprise an assembly of tubes, or tubular sections of a bag, disposed on top of each other and shaped to adopt a curved or angular arrangement when inflated . In this way strength can be achieved due to the limitation on expansion of the structure transversely to the longitudinal axes of the tubes , and also due to the inherent 20. characteristics of the aforementioned curved or angular arrangement. The upper support device, the inflatable structure, and the lower support device where provided may all be ring-shaped, or centrally apertured to provide a large central passageway through the seating aid . This arrangement is of course necessary where the seating aid 25. is to be used on top of or in place of a lavatory seat . In other contexts the device or devices and the inflatable structure may be apertured or ring-shaped or solid as desired . For example, when used with an existing easy chair, the seating aid may be interposed beneath a cushion and may have a solid bottom support device, an apertured top support device and an apertured inflatable structure, 5. thereby to give comfortable support.

When used on top of or in place of a lavatory seat, the seating aid may be adapted to be fixed in position in any suitable manner. For other applications , e. g. for use with easy chairs , the seating aid may be adapted to be fixed in position or may be arranged to be

10. simply placed removably in position .

With regard to the inflation system this may comprise a source of pressurised fluid which may be a gas, such as air, or a fluid such as oil or water, connected to the inflatable structure by a conduit and a control valve. The source of pressurised fluid may comprise a

15. compressor or pump which is power-operated or hand- or foot-operated , or a pre-filled pressurised reservoir, or an existing pressurised supply such as mains water supply. The control valve and conduit may define a closed system , or, where the fluid is air, the valve may be arranged to vent to the atmosphere when the inflatable structure is

20. deflated. Whichever arrangement is adopted , preferably the inflation and also deflation operations are capable of careful control so that the upper support device can be raised and lowered at a slow, substantially even rate.

The invention will now be described further by way of example

25. only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which :- Figure 1 is a plan view of one form of a seating aid according to the invention used as a lavatory seat; Figure 2 is a side view of the arrangement of Figure 1 ; and Figure 3 is a sectional view on the line III— III of Figure 1.

The seating aid shown in the drawings is for use as a replacement 5. for a conventional lavatory seat.

The aid comprises upper and lower rigid flat bodies 1 , 2 formed from wood or plastics or other suitable material or combination of materials .

The lower body 2 has a rear rectangular strip-shaped part 3 10. which can be fitted to the rear of a conventional lavatory bowl 4 with fixing bolts . The lower body 2 also has a main part 5 which is generally ring-shaped and rests on the rim of the lavatory bowl 4. A rear edge of this part 5 is straight and is hinged to the front edge of the rear part 3. The front edge and sides of the main part 5 are 15. curved to follow the curvature of the rim of the bowl 4 , and the central aperture of the ring-shaped main part 5 is generally oval. The upper body 1 is also generally ring-shaped and is the same size and shape as the main part 5 of the lower body 2. The upper body 1 overlies the main part 5 of the lower body 2 and is pivoted 20. thereto at its front edge by means of a hinge joint 6.

Between the two bodies 1 , 2 there is fixed a generally ring-shaped inflatable structure 7. The structure comprises an arrangement of tubes 8 formed from a fluid-tight flexible non-stretchable material such as fabric reinforced rubber or plastics or the like . The tubes 8 are 25. fixed one on top of the other and extend concentrically around the central apertures of the upper body and the lower main part . The tubes 8 are connected to a common conduit 9. The tubes 8 may define separate ring-shaped compartments whereby multiple connections to the conduit 9 are required. Alternatively, the tubes 8 may define interconnected compartments so that only a single connection to the 5. conduit 9 is required. The tubes 8 may be separate structures or may be defined by peripheral interconnection of opposite walls of a large receptacle. As shown in Figure 3 the tubes 8 may be of circular cross-section when inflated. Alternatively the tubes 8 may be arranged to adopt non-circular e.g. polygonal cross-sections .

10. The conduit 9 is connected via a control valve 10 to a source of pressurised fluid. The source may comprise a compressor or a pressurised reservoir or mains water supply or other source.

In use, when the inflatable structure 7 is wholly deflated it lies generally flat between the upper and lower body parts 1, 2 and the

15. upper body part 1 extends generally horizontal. In this position the upper body part 1 together with the inflatable structure 7 and the lower main part 5 can be lifted and pivoted rearwardly about the pivot joint between the rear part 3 and the main part 5.

With the upper body part 1 in the generally horizontal position ,

20. seating assistance can be obtained by operating the valve 10 to cause compressed fluid to be supplied to the inflatable structure 7. The valve 10 may have a foot control, or may be mounted at hand height to facilitate operation . As compressed fluid is fed to the structure 7 this inflates and the upper body 1 is lifted and pivoted forwardly to

25. aq uppermost position as shown in Figure 2 , e. g. at a small angle to the vertical. The valve 10 may act automatically to cut off supply of fluid pressure when the body 1 has reached its uppermost position . Alternatively the arrangement may be such that the upper body 1 is held by the supplied pressure against a stop in the uppermost position . With the upper body 1 in its uppermost position a person can 5. easily lean back against , or lower himself onto the upper body 1 so as to be supported thereby. The control valve 10 can then be operated to allow slow release of pressure whereby the upper body 1 and hence the person is lowered slowly to the normal generally horizontal seating position . Subsequently the procedure can be repeated to 10. assist the person in raising himself back to a standing position . The tubes 8 of the inflated structure 7 are arranged in generally oval rings . This gives considerable support strength when the tubes 8 are inflated . That is, the tubes 8 define compartments capable of limited transverse expansion and , as a consequence of this , and also 15. due to the inherent characteristics of the ring-shaped inflated tubes 8 considerable vertical rigidity is achieved with little tendency for transverse instability to occur.

The tubes when fully deflated are generally flat and therefore do not take up much seating space . Also, the inflatable structure 7

20. is essentially incorporated within the seating aid whereby such aid can be applied to an existing lavatory seat in a simple , convenient and inexpensive manner.

It is of course to be understood that the invention is not intended to be restricted to the above details which are described by way of

25. example only . In particular, it is to be understood that the invention is not restricted to lavatory seats but may also be used with any other suitable kinds of seats.

Claims

1. A seating aid comprising an upper support device on which a person can sit, and a lifting and lowering mechanism beneath the support device operable to move such device between a normal seating position and a raised position in which it is displaced upwardly and forwardly of the normal seating position, said mechanism comprising an inflatable structure and an inflation system for effecting inflation and deflation of said structure.

2. A seating aid according to claim 1 wherein the inflatable structure is provided between the upper support device and the lower support device whereby, when the structure is inflated the upper support device moves upwardly and pivots forwardly about a pivot joint defined between forward portions of the upper and lower support devices .

3. A seating aid according to claim 2 wherein the pivot joint is established by a direct linkage between the upper and lower support devices .

4. A seating aid according to claim 2 wherein the pivot joint is established by the inflatable structure.

5. A seating aid according to any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the upward and forward movement of the upper support is such that the rear of the upper device moves upwards and forwards while the front of the device only pivots about an axis .

6. A seating device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein the inflatable structure comprises a receptacle formed from a fluid-tight flexible non-stretchable material.

7. A seating device according to claim 6 wherein the receptacle comprises a pleated bellows construction .

8. A seating device according to claim 6 or 7 wherein the receptacle is divided into compartments.

9. A seating device according to claim 8 wherein the compartments comprise tubular sections disposed on top of each other and shaped to adopt a curved or angular arrangement when inflated.

10. A seating device according to claim 9 wherein the tubular sections are adapted to adopt a ring-shaped arrangement when inflated.

11. A seating device according to claim 10 wherein the upper and lower support devices are ring-shaped or centrally apertured whereby a central passageway is defined through the seating aid .

12. A seating device according to any one of claims 1 to 11 wherein the inflation system comprises a source of pressurised fluid connected to the inflated structure by a conduit and a control valve.

13. A seating device according to claim 11 or claim 12 when dependent on claim 11 when used on top of or in place of a lavatory seat.

14. A seating device according to any one of claims 1 to 12 when used with an easy chair beneath a cushion of the chair.