WO1996012529A1

WO1996012529A1 - Method and device for facilitating the climbing of stairs

Info

Publication number: WO1996012529A1
Application number: PCT/SE1995/001225
Authority: WO
Inventors: Dag Efvergren
Original assignee: Dag Efvergren
Priority date: 1994-10-20
Filing date: 1995-10-19
Publication date: 1996-05-02
Also published as: SE9403593L; SE503329C2; SE9403593D0; AU3819595A

Abstract

A method and a device are intended to help people who, as a result of old age, illness or for some other reason, find it difficult to climb stairs. Thus, the climbing of stairs is facilitated by providing the user's one leg with an extension having a length corresponding to approximately half the normal step height. To this end, use is made of an elevation sole (10), the thickness of which corresponds to approximately half the normal step height and which either can be temporarily fixed to the user's one foot or item of footwear (13) or is permanently fixed to the user's one item of footwear.

Description

METHOD AND DEVICE FOR FACILITATING THE CLIMBING OF

STAIRS

This invention aims at helping people who are capa¬ ble of walking on a flat floor but, through old age, ill¬ ness or for some other reason, find it difficult to climb stairs owing to the normal step height of about 18 cm. This is highly inconvenient, since stairs usually are fairly narrow and sometimes curved as well, thus not leaving enough room for an assistant. Also, the disabled person does often not wish to be helped.

In an effort to remedy this inconvenience, stairs have, in many cases, been rebuilt so as to obtain a lower step height or been equipped with special elevators. Such measures are, however, expensive as well as space-con¬ suming. US-A-4,844, 199 teaches another solution to this problem, according to which the disabled person has recourse to an extra, detachable flight of stairs divid¬ ing each normal step into two or three intermediate part steps. The user then climbs the stairs in zigzag, having to carry the extra flight of stairs with him all the way up. In DE-A-20 13 317, it is furthermore suggested that the disabled person use a sort of movable elevator device, enabling him to lift himself step by step with an individually adapted spring force.

However, all prior-art devices suffer from various drawbacks. Thus, some known devices are expensive, some require extra installations, and some require individual adaptation of a spring force. One object of this inven¬ tion is, therefore, to wholly or partly remedy these in¬ conveniences by providing a method for facilitating the climbing of stairs, as well as a simple, easy-to-manufac- ture and handy device for implementing the inventive method.

The method and the device according to the invention are defined in appended claims 1 and 5, respectively. The appended subclaims recite especially preferred embodi¬ ments of the invention.

The invention is based on the insight that the effort required to climb stairs, just like the effort required to climb a steep slope in nature, increases with the angle of inclination. To take a step is to make a composite movement either forwards and upwards or for¬ wards and downwards. The forward movement is to be re¬ garded as a movement in the plane, whereas the upward or downward movement is to be regarded as a deviation from the plane. Thus, the effort required when walking on a flat floor increases with the size (height) of the devia¬ tion from the horizontal plane. When a person is climbing stairs, this deviation is determined by the height of the steps, and when a person is climbing a slope in nature, this deviation is determined by the length of the steps he is taking. If the height of the steps of a flight of stairs is reduced or if the length of the steps of a per¬ son climbing a slope is reduced, this therefore has the same effect on the effort required as would a reduction of the angle of inclination of the stairs or the slope. Naturally, a corresponding line of argument applies to the descent of the stairs.

According to the present invention, the climbing of stairs is facilitated by providing the user's one leg with an extension having a length corresponding to appro¬ ximately half the normal step height. For this purpose, use is, according to the invention, made of an elevation sole, the thickness of which corresponds to approximately half the normal height of the steps and which can be tem¬ porarily fixed to the user's one foot or item of footwear or is permanently fixed to the user's one item of foot¬ wear.

Thus, the invention enables the user to reduce the actual height of the steps and, hence, the deviation from the flat floor in existing stairs, the effort required to climb the stairs being correspondingly reduced without the need of any rebuilding. The surprising thing about the invention is that it enables the actual height of all the steps of the stairs, and hence the effort required to climb the stairs, to be reduced by means of a single mea- sure consisting of a temporary extension of the user's one leg, as exemplified in the accompanying drawings, in which

Figs 1A-1E schematically illustrate the different phases involved when climbing a flight of stairs with the aid of the method and the device according to the invention, Fig. 2 is a perspective view obliquely from behind of an elevation sole according to the invention, and Fig. 3 is a side view of the elevation sole.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figs 2 and 3, the elevation sole 10 consists of a slab having a thickness of approximately 8 cm and being made of cellular plastic, such as polyethylene or polyurethane. To enable it to be attached to the foot, the sole 10 has a leather band 11 provided with a hook-and-loop fastener (Velcro fastener). The leather band 11 is easily adapted to the item of footwear 13, for instance a slipper or an ordinary shoe, or to the stockinged foot. Preferably, the sole is so designed that it can be used on either foot, such that the user may fit the sole on the foot suiting him best.

Alternatively, the sole need not comprise any leather band, in which case it can be fixed to the item of footwear e.g. by gluing. Since the sole is fixed to the shoe or the foot when being used, both the hands of the user are free.

Moreover, the sole should be made of a light and preferably also inexpensive material, so that it will not be felt as an inconvenience and so that it can be manu- factured and sold at a reasonably low price, enabling everyone who needs it to buy one. Figs 1A-1E illustrate a movement pattern showing how the inventive method is implemented and the inventive device is utilised. In these Figures, the elevation sole is fitted on the left foot. If the sole is instead put on the right foot, the movement pattern will be reversed. In the initial position (Fig. 1A), the user has placed the elevation sole 10 below the first step and lifted his left leg so high (approximately half the height of the step) that he has been able to introduce his left foot below the band 11. When the user then is to ascend to the next step, he straightens his left leg and thus lifts his body a distance corresponding to approxi¬ mately half the height of the step (Fig. IB).

In the next phase, the user lifts his right leg approximately half the height of the step and then advances his right foot, such that it can be placed on the next step (Fig. IC) .

Thereafter, the user straightens his right leg (Fig. ID) and lifts his body a distance corresponding to approximately half the height of the step, the left leg being then been raised to such an extent ( = approximately half the height of the step) that the left foot with the sole 10 can be placed on the same step as the right foot (Fig. IE, which corresponds to Fig. 1A). Then, the different movements illustrated in

Figs IB, IC, ID and IE are repeated for the next step, and so forth.

When having recourse to the method and the device according to the invention, the user thus steps twice on each step of the stairs, and accordingly has an effective step height of approximately half the normal step height. When climbing the stairs in normal manner, a person first has to lift the one foot the entire normal step height (approximately 18 cm) and then lift his body the same height, thereby to enable him to reach the first step ( see the broken-line indication of the left foot in Fig. 1A). With the elevation sole on the one foot, the user merely has to lift his body half this height.

A corresponding favourable effect is achieved when descending the stairs with the elevation sole on one foot.

Claims

1. A method for facilitating the climbing of stairs, where the normal step height has not been halved by the provision of an additional set of steps, c h a r a c ¬ t e r i s e d in that the need of additional steps is obviated by providing the user's one leg with an exten¬ sion having a length corresponding to approximately half the normal step height.

2. A method as set forth in claim 1, c h a r a c ¬ t e r i s e d in that the extension of the user's one leg is achieved by fitting an elevation sole (10) on the user's one foot or item of footwear (13).

3. A method as set forth in claim 2, c h a r a c ¬ t e r i s e d in that the elevation sole (10) is designed as a separate sole equipped with an adjustable fastening element (11).

4. A method as set forth in any one of claims 1-3, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the user's one leg is extended by approximately half of 18 cm.

5. A device for facilitating the climbing of stairs where the steps are of normal height, c h a r a c t e r ¬ i s e d in that it comprises an elevation sole ( 10) , the thickness of which corresponds to approximately half the normal step height and which either can be temporarily fixed to the user's one foot or item of footwear (13) or is permanently fixed to the user's one item of footwear (13).

6. A device as set forth in claim 5, c h a r a c ¬ t e r i s e d in that the elevation sole ( 10) has an adjustable fastening element (11).

7. A device as set forth in claim 5 or 6, c h a r ¬ a c t e r i s e d in that the elevation sole ( 10) is made of cellular plastic, especially cellular polyurethane or polyethylene plastic.

8. A device as set forth in claim 5, 6 or 7, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the thickness of the elevation sole (10) is approximately half of 18 cm.