WO2017222442A1

WO2017222442A1 - A device which is a hybrid of a personnel lifter and a height adjustable seat and a method for use of the device as a personnel lifter

Info

Publication number: WO2017222442A1
Application number: PCT/SE2017/050564
Authority: WO
Inventors: Carl Åke SÖDERQUIST; Victor STRANDGREN
Original assignee: Ionto Ab
Priority date: 2016-06-21
Filing date: 2017-05-24
Publication date: 2017-12-28
Also published as: SE1630157A1; SE539988C2; EP3471679A4; EP3471679A1

Abstract

A lifting device (1) which is a hybrid of a human lift and a raisable and lowerable seat (8), wherein the lifting device has stand (2) which constitutes a base plane of the lifting device, a frame (3) fixed to said stand at an angle (v) in relation to a vertical plane across the stand, a rail (4c) located in the vertical direction in the frame (3), a sled (7) which is configured to be displaceable along the rail (4c), a drive mechanism (4) which drives the sled (7) from a first position to a second position of the rail, a platform (5) which is secured to the sled (7), and wherein the lifting device (1) in a first use of the platform (5) exhibits a seat bottom (8a) for a user of a seat (8), wherein the seat, at an edge of the seat bottom (a) facing the sled (7), further exhibits (8a) a back rest (8b) extending upwards from the seat bottom (8a), wherein the seat (8) by means of the drive mechanism (4) can be displaced from a lowest sitting height to a highest sitting height, and in a second use of the platform (5) it exhibits a footboard for a user standing up, wherein the footboard can be displaced by means of the drive mechanism (4) from a lowest standing height to a highest standing height, and wherein the lifting device (1) further exhibits a hand rest (14) which constitutes an extension in the upward direction of the back rest (8b), whereby this hand rest (14) is intended as a support for the user standing on the footboard when said user is lifted or lowered by means of the drive mechanism (4).

Description

A device which is a hybrid of a human lift and a raisable and lowerable seat, and a method for using the device as a human lift

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to a lifting device in the form of a combined raisable and lowerable seat for a user sitting on the seat and a lift for a user standing up, wherein the target groups for the lifting device are primarily persons with a slight disability as regards the ability to move, or persons who experience some degree of uncertainty due to, for example, poor balance or the like without being physically disabled in the concrete sense of the word. The concept human lift in this document means a lift for a user who, within dwelling spaces, is lifted standing up and where the human lift is used as the equivalent of, for example, a stepladder to enable the user to reach areas which he/she is not able to reach standing on a floor.

PRIOR ART

[0002] Means of assistance in the form of wheelchairs of various kinds have been known for a long time in order to serve as support for persons with an impairment due to a physical handicap. Such wheelchairs may be used in nursing homes or in home

environments for persons with a physical handicap, whether the reduced ability to move is of a long-standing or a temporary nature. Also people who for age reasons are weak, without being sick per se, may from time to time find a wheelchair useful.

[0003] A traditional wheelchair comprises a frame and is equipped with a seat and wheels arranged so that the chair becomes mobile. Some wheelchairs are provided with electric drive means for the wheels so that they may be driven by the user without the assistance of someone who sets the wheels in rotation manually. Thus, such chairs generally solve the problem of mobility at the ground level for persons with reduced ability to move, but does not contribute possibilities of being able to move in the vertical direction, sitting or standing up, so that these persons are given increased possibilities of independently carrying out tasks that require mobility in the vertical direction.

[0004] Also available on the market are chairs intended for persons with a disability, in which a seat may be raised or lowered with the aid of some form of drive unit. This facilitates for the user to move between different pieces of furniture with different sitting heights, and also makes it easier to place oneself in a seated position on the seat, as well as getting out of the chair. Such chairs with a raisable and lowerable seat may also be provided with wheels or rollers to be able to be rolled to a desired location. See, for example, the document US 20150351985. Control devices which may be operated with buttons, remote control or instruments for voice recognition may be integrated with the chair to make it possible for the user to control the movement of the chair on his/her own.

[0005] Despite the help provided to a slightly disabled person when using a chair with a raisable and lowerable seat according to the prior art, there are still a number of simple tasks in the home or in some other location that such a person cannot carry out. A lifting device of the kind described in the present invention provides increased mobility and possibility to carry out more types of simple tasks.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION.

[0006] According to one aspect of the invention, this comprises a lifting device that is a hybrid of a human floor lift and a raisable and lowerable seat, wherein the lifting device has a stand that constitutes a base plane of the lifting device, a frame fixed to said stand at an angle in relation to a vertical plane across the stand, a rail located in the vertical direction in the frame, a sled that is designed to be displaceable along the rail, a drive mechanism that drives the sled from a first position to a second position of the rail, a platform that is fixed to the sled, and wherein the lifting device in a first use of the platform exhibits a seat bottom for a user of the seat, where the seat further, at an edge of the seat bottom that faces the sled, exhibits a back rest extending upwards from the seat bottom, wherein the seat may be displaced by means of the drive mechanism from a lowest sitting height to a highest sitting height, and in a second use of the platform this exhibits a footboard for a standing user, wherein the footboard may be displaced by means of the drive mechanism from a lowest standing height to a highest standing height, and wherein the lining device further exhibits a hand rest which constitutes an upward extension of the back rest, whereby this hand rest is intended as support for the user standing on the footboard when said user is lifted or lowered by means of the drive mechanism.

[0007] The stand has a front and a rear end, wherein the lowermost part of the frame is fixed to the stand at a front part of the stand and across this. The frame preferably has the shape of box-type frame with a larger extent in length than in width and, in addition, a depth that is limited to a fraction of its width, for example one-fourth of the width. This depth may, of course, be varied depending on the shape of the frame and depending on the material thereof. The frame is tilted backwards and, in relation to the stand, has an angle which may be between 60 and 85 degrees, preferably between 70 and 80 degrees. In use of a human lift of the kind shown, this is placed in front of and adjacent to the area that the user wishes to reach. The stand at the base of the lift prevents this from being placed completely up against, e.g., a wall or a cabinet that comprises the area that the user wishes to reach, whereby the user may end up too far from said area if said user is lifted along a vertically arranged frame. One reason for the frame being preferably inclined backwards, that is, away from the user, is that the user is brought closer to said area the higher the user is lifted along the inclined frame. Of course, the frame may be designed in a different way than what is described here. The frame chosen here gives the device with said angular arrangement favourable conditions for constructing a light structure. This arrangement also enables a characteristic efficiency when it comes to the hybrid functionality and lends a slender shape to the device.

[0008] In a preferred embodiment, the stand described above comprises two runners which are connected in parallel with each other by means of the rear parts of the frame. At the lower part, the stand is provided with roller members in the form of balls, rollers or wheels. As an example, the roller members may be realized in the form of balls at the front and rear ends of the runners mentioned.

[0009] The drive mechanism, which in the vertical direction may displace the platform, which is used as a seat bottom and a footboard, respectively, consists of an actuator that has a rail in which a slide may climb along the rail with the aid of a motor. Such a device belongs to the prior art, where the rail, for example, may be a cylindrical shaft with a helical slot, along which the slide climbs. Since the seat/footboard is associated with a sled that is fixed to the slide, it follows the movement of the slide in the vertical direction.

[0010] The platform that is used as a seat bottom and footboard, respectively, is covered with a cushion, in use as a seat bottom, said cushion being suitably divided into two halves. When the platform is to be used as a footboard for a standing person, the two halves of the cushion are turned up towards the sides, whereby the footboard is exposed and may serve as a base for the person standing on the footboard when he/she is moving in the vertical direction. Another alternative is, of course, to make the cushion detachable and removed from the seat bottom when using the device as a human lift. Another variant is that the cushion in its entirety is turned up completely to one side of the platform.

[0011] As mentioned, the seat also has a back rest, in addition to a seat bottom. In this back rest, or at the sides thereof, a hand rest for a standing person is arranged. The hand rest may advantageously be designed retractable in the vertical direction. Adjacent to the seat, arm rests are arranged. These may be secured to the back rest. In a more advanced embodiment, the arm rests are connected to the retractable hand rest, whereby a person who is lifted from the footboard, standing up, is also secured in the form of supports at both sides of the body.

[0012] At the lower part of the frame, driving wheels are arranged. These driving wheels consist of wheels or rollers resting against the base on which the stand is supported, usually an indoor floor. A motor that can be controlled by the user drives said driving wheels so that the lifting device in the form of the seat and the human lift, respectively, may be run to desired locations.

[0013] According to one aspect of the invention, a device is presented which has the characteristic features specified in claim 1.

[0014] According to a further aspect of the invention, a method according to claim 13 is presented, in which the device is utilized as a human lift.

[0015] Additional embodiments of the invention will be presented in the dependent claims.

[0016] The lifting device generally described above entails significantly increased mobility in the home or at some other location such as, for example, in nursing institutions or retirement homes for a person with an impairment regarding the ability to move. The lifting device serves both as seating furniture and as a motorized tool that can be utilized by the user to enable him/her to carry out minor tasks at heights which are normally not considered accessible to elderly persons and persons with a physical handicap. It may be a question of reaching up to the ceiling, higher cabinets, high shelves, etc, with the aid of the function as a human lift. A person utilizing the human lift may carry out tasks such as changing lights, painting or wallpapering. With this type of tasks in the home, the function as a human lift is an attractive instrument also for any other person since such a person does not have to climb onto a ladder and where, furthermore, the lifting height may be controlled from controls on the hand rest. The lifting device in its entirety may also be driven to different positions by the user, which entails the additional advantage that the user may reach different working positions without having to step down to floor level for these movements. The invention can be used in individual households or institutions where persons acquire the product for reasons such as increased comfort, reduced risk of falling and increased safety for a user. One purpose of the invention is that it shall contribute to a reduced number of fall accidents in the above-mentioned areas of use, and that in particular elderly persons shall be able to manage around the home on their own for as long as possible.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 schematically shows the lifting device according to one aspect of the invention in a perspective view.

Figure 2 is an exploded view of the lifting device according to Figure 1.

Figure 3a shows the lifting device in a plan view from the side.

Figure 3b shows the lifting device in a plan view from the front.

Figure 4 shows the lifting device used as a human lift with the platform in the lowermost position.

Figure 5 shows the lifting device used as a human lift with the platform hoisted to its uppermost position.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODI MENTS

[0017] In the following, a number of embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The drawings show the principle of the device only schematically and do not claim to show any proportions between different elements thereof according to scale.

[0018] Figure 1 shows an embodiment of the invention according to one aspect thereof. As mentioned, the invention is a hybrid of a seat and a human lift and is here referred to as a lifting device. For simplicity, the invention will sometimes be referred to below by the abbreviated designation lift, which is given the reference numeral 1. The lift 1 is provided at its bottom part with a stand 2, which rests against the base, which is assumed to be a floor. In the version of the invention shown here, the stand 2 is designed in the form of two runners 2a, 2b. The runners 2a, 2b extend parallel to each other from a front part of the lift 1 to a rear part of the lift and along the sides of the lift 1. By the front part of the lift 1 is meant that part thereof which opens up towards a person who intends to sit up onto or stand up onto the lift.

[0019] At a front part of the stand 2, somewhat in front of its centre, a frame 3 is attached to the stand 2. The frame 3 is configured as a box frame, that is, it has essentially a shape resembling a rectangle. In relation to the stand 2, the frame is arranged transversely of the stand, that is, perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the stand. Further, the frame 3 is designed to lean somewhat backwards on the lift. The tilting of the frame 3 backwards is preferably within the interval of 70 to 80 degrees in relation to the plane of the stand 2. The sides of the box frame are formed of plane beams, which are of metal, a metal composite or a composite plastic. The width of the plane beams form the depth of the box frame, which means that the box frame within its volumetric extent may accommodate drive mechanisms and other components for operation of the seat and the human lift. In a special embodiment, the uppermost height of the frame 3 above the stand 2 is about 77 cm and the inclination of the frame backwards is about 73 degrees.

[0020] Inside the frame, a linear actuator 4 is arranged in the vertical direction and in the plane of the frame 3. The task of the linear actuator is to be the driving mechanism which, in the lifting device, can raise and lower the platform 5 that serves as a seating base for a seat bottom 8a in the raisable and lowerable seat 8 and as a footboard in its function as a human lift. The linear actuator 4 is, for example, of the type ballscrew-driven or belt- driven unit and its function is not described here since these units belong to the prior art. The lower part of the actuator 4 is provided with a drive motor 4a for driving a slide 4b, which with the aid of the drive motor 4a may be displaced in the vertical direction along a rail 4c in the extension of the linear actuator.

[0021] Further, in the plane of the frame 3, parallel guides 6 are mounted in the vertical extension of the frame 3. In addition, these guides 6 are arranged in parallel with the longitudinal axis of the linear actuator 4, along which the slide 4b may run. A sled 7 is configured to run along the guides 6 and to be controlled by these. The sled 7 is connected to the above-mentioned slide 4b and will thus be displaced along the frame 3 according to positional adjustments for the slide along the linear actuator 4, the positional adjustments being made by controlling the motor 4a.

[0022] The seat 8 in the lifting device comprises the seat bottom 8a, which has the platform 5 as its base, and in addition a back rest 8b. In the embodiment the platform 5 is in the form of a frame structure 5a with an associated cover plate 5b. The back rest 8b comprises a supporting frame structure 5c which is connected to the frame structure 5a associated with the seat bottom 8a. A cover 9 for the back rest 8b is affixed to the supporting frame structure 5 c, for example by being fitted over the supporting frame structure 5c. The seat bottom 8a has a cushion 10 which, in this embodiment, is divided into two halves in the longitudinal direction of the lifting device. The seat 8 is connected to the sled 7 by the supporting frame structure 5c of the back rest being fixed to the sled, for example by means of fixing elements such as screws, bolts, rivets, or by welding.

[0023] A stand 1 1 in the form of two rods is configured to be displaceable in the vertical direction inside the back rest 8b and therein controlled by guide means 12 arranged in the cover 9 of the back rest 8b. The guide means 12 may be provided by means of tubes or rails. The guide means 12 may be arranged inside the back rest or be applied along any of the sides of the back rest (including the rear side of the back rest). Arm rests 13 are connected to the stand 1 1. These arm rests 13 are arranged at a height such that, at a lower position of the stand 1 1 , they are located essentially at elbow height for a person sitting on the seat bottom 8a.

[0024] The lifting device 1 is intended, in an alternative use, to lift a person standing on the platform 5. In this use, the two halves of the cushion 10 are turned to the sides, that is, up against the respective arm rest 13. In this way, the platform 5 is exposed, which is used as a footboard for a person who from a standing position steps up onto the platform at the front end of the lifting device. To provide safety against falling when lifting the platform 5 with a user standing on the footboard, the user may pull up a hand rest 14, shown at the upper end of the stand 1 1 , from the guide means 12 of the back rest. The hand rest 14 is lifted up to a height which approximately corresponds to the waist height of the user. When the user steps on the footboard, the platform 5 is preferably lowered to a low height above the base of the lifting device, for example the lowest standing height. Thereafter, the user of the human lift operates the actuator 4 by means of the control device 15, preferably applied on the hand rest 14, at the seat bottom 8a or at some of the arm rests 13 (as shown in Figure 3b), so that the actuator drives the platform 5 to a chosen positional setting in the vertical direction. This means that the user may freely choose a position for the platform 5 between the lowest and the highest position setting. The highest position for the platform is, for example, 60 cm above the base of the lifting device. A standing user of the human lift may in this highest position reach up to the ceiling in most dwelling spaces, thus being able to carry out tasks at this height. It is worth noting that in the embodiment shown the arm rests 14 accompany the hand rest 14 to the higher positional settings, which also provides protection for the user at the sides, thus increasing the feeling of safety without the risk of a lateral fall. It is, of course, possible to control the height positions of the actuator by wireless remote control or by voice control.

[0025] The driving wheels 16 previously mentioned are mounted in a drive housing 17. The drive housing 17 is mounted behind the frame 3 between the runners 2a, 2b and makes contact with the base of the lifting device. If, instead of runners, the stand 2 should have a covering plate, the drive housing is arranged in an opening in the plate. The driving wheels 16 are, for example, wheels of rubber or rollers of rubber. To be able to swing the lifting device 1 when it is propelled by the driving wheels 16, one driving wheel is placed at each end of the drive housing 17. The driving wheels are rotated by means of a motor (not shown) at the respective driving wheel. By driving the driving wheels 16, by means of the motors, with different speeds of rotation via control means integrated in the control device 15, the lifting device may be run in different directions. The driving wheels can also be rotated in different directions of rotation so that the lifting device may be run both forwards and backwards.

[0026] When the lifting device 1 is used for a user standing up, a larger supporting surface for the stand 2 may be required in order to prevent the lifting device used as a human lift from tipping over. This is solved by the runners 2a, 2b being extendable in the longitudinal direction thereof. For this reason, the respective runner 2a, 2b is designed with an external, elongated case 20 enclosing a front rod 21 and a rear rod 22. These two rods 21, 22 are normally completely inserted when the lifting device 1 is used as a seat. By pulling out the rods 2, 22 from their case 20, the supporting surface of the stand 2 is extended. The rods are locked in fixed positions with the aid of a ball which is arranged in the rod and which is resiliently pressed against any of a number of holes 23 provided in a row in the case 20, whereby the length of the runners 2a, 2b may be varied in a desired manner. Thus, the runners can be extended both in a backward and a forward direction.

[0027] In a more advanced variant of the lifting device, secondary actuators may be installed inside the runners 2a, 2b, where the secondary actuators may be controlled to push out the rods 21 , 21 displaceable in the case 20. To this end, the secondary actuators are suitably synchronized with the control of the vertical adjustment of the platform 5 by means of the actuator 4, so that the rods 21, 22 on the respective runner 2a, 2b are pushed out in relation to the height that the platform 5 assumes on each occasion. In this way, the supporting surface of the lifting device is adapted to the height assumed by the platform 5 of the human lift on each occasion.

[0028] The drive motor 4a in the actuator 4 is supplied with power by a rechargeable battery pack which in the embodiment is arranged inside the frame 3. The charging contact for charging the battery pack may be mounted on the frame 3. Also the motors driving the driving wheels 16 are supplied with power by means of a rechargeable battery pack, which may be same battery pack as that which drives the drive motor of the actuator 4, or constitute a separate second battery pack.

[0029] The backward inclination of the frame 3 and hence a corresponding inclination of the actuator 4 causes the platform 5 to be moved towards the rear part of the lift 1. By this arrangement, a user may get close to a wall, a curtain or another object that the user wishes to reach without the stand 2 with its supporting surface preventing him/her from getting close to said object, which would be the case in many contexts if the platform was lifted, for example, vertically upwards.

[0030] To ensure that the lifting device 1, used both as a movable seat 8 and as a human lift, shall be easy to move across a base, such as a floor, roller members are arranged at the lower side of the stand 2. The roller members are suitably arranged in the external corners of the stand. In the embodiment shown, the roller means consist of balls 18 which are journalled in ball cages provided below the stand 2. [0031] In a simpler variant of the lift 1 , there are no driving wheels 16 for moving the lift 1. In this case, the roller means 18 are locked automatically when the lift 1 is loaded, thus preventing this from rolling away in an unwanted manner. In the variant of the lift that comprises driving wheels 16, the driving wheels themselves have the braking function, whereby the function with automatic locking of the roller means 18 is not required in this variant.

[0032] When the lifting device 1 is used as a human lift, it is advantageous for the hand rest 14 to be equipped with a tray 25, where the user may temporarily keep tools or other objects in connection with the user carrying out some task standing on the human lift, or quite simply keeps an object which is to be lifted up or down from a shelf, a cabinet, a curtain rod, or the like. Such a tray 25 may be fixedly mounted to the hand rest 14 (see Fig. 3a) or be configured to be rapidly hung onto the hand rest.

[0033] With the platform 5 lowered to its lowermost position, its height above the base is 10 cm according to the embodiment shown. Raised to its uppermost position according to the same embodiment, the height of the platform 5 above the base, in a standard

embodiment, is 60 cm. In certain countries, or for dwelling spaces where the ceiling height is more than 240 cm, the device may be designed to achieve a maximum lifting height which is, for example, 75 cm.

Claims

1. A lifting device (1) which is a hybrid of a human lift and a raisable and lowerable seat (8), wherein the lifting device comprises:

- a stand (2) which constitutes the base plane of the lifting device (1),

- a frame (3) fixed to said stand (2) at an angle in relation to a vertical plane across the stand (2),

- a rail (4a), located in the vertical direction of the frame (3), with a slide (4b) displaceable along the rail (4c),

- a sled (7) connected to the slide (4b),

- a drive motor (4a) driving the sled (7) from a first position to a second position of the rail (4c),

- a platform (5) which is secured to the sled (7),

characterized in that:

- in a first use of the platform (5) this constitutes a base for a seat bottom (8a) in a front part of the lifting device for a user of the seat (8) , wherein the seat further, at an edge of the seat bottom (8a) which faces the sled (7), exhibits a back rest (8b) extending upwards from the seat bottom (8a) in a rear part of the lifting device, and wherein the seat may be displaced by means of the drive motor (4a) from a lowest sitting height to a highest sitting height,

- in a second use of the platform (5) this constitutes a footboard for a standing user, wherein the footboard may be displaced by means of the drive motor ((4a) from a lowest standing height to a highest standing height, and

- a hand rest (14), which constitutes an extension in the upward direction of the back rest (8b), is configured to function as support for the user standing on the footboard when said user is lifted or lowered by means of the drive motor (4a).

2. The lifting device according to claim 1, wherein said drive motor (4a), rail (4c) and slide (4b) constitute components which are comprised in a linear actuator (4).

3. The lifting device according to claim 2, wherein the linear actuator is operated from

control devices (15) which are installed both on the hand rest (14) and close to the seat bottom (8).

4. The lifting device according to claim 2, wherein the stand (2) is configured by means two runners (2a, 2b) wherein the respective runner (2a, 2b) extends along each side of the lifting device in the longitudinal direction of the stand (2).

5. The lifting device according to claim 4, wherein the stand (2) is provided with rods (21, 22) which can be pulled out in the forward and backward directions, respectively, at the sides of the stand (2), whereby the area of the supporting surface of the stand (2) may be made larger by pulling out said rods (21, 22).

6. The lifting device according to claim 5, wherein the stand (2) is capable of rolling across a base by arranging roller members at the underside of the stand (2), preferably by journaling balls (18) in ball cages at the underside of the stand (2).

7. The lifting device according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the frame (3) is inclined backwards in relation to the stand (2), so that an angle (v) between the frame (3) and the stand (2) is between 60 and 90 degrees and preferably between 70 and 80 degrees.

8. The lifting device according to claim 7, wherein the seat bottom (8a) on the platform (5) is provided with a seat cushion (10) which is divided into two halves which are capable of being turned up against arm rests (13) provided at each side of the seat (8), whereby the platform (5) is exposed an serves as a footboard when using the lifting device as a human lift.

9. The lifting device according to claim 8, wherein this is equipped with driving wheels (16) fixed to the stand (2) and configured to make contact with the base on which the lifting device rests and wherein said driving wheels are operated from the control device (15), whereby the lifting device (1) by may be run by the user by controlling the driving of the driving wheels by means of electric motors above the base.

10. The lifting device according to claim 9, wherein at least one driving wheel (16) is

arranged at a respective side thereof, whereby the lifting device may be controlled in the desired direction by bringing the respective driving wheel (16) to rotate with different speeds of rotation or in different directions of rotation.

1 1. The lifting device according to claim 10, wherein the hand rest (14) is displaceable in the vertical direction by providing the hand rest with a stand (11) formed from pipes or rods, wherein said stand (1 1) may be displaced upwards or downwards via guide means (12) located inside or close to the back rest (8b) and wherein said guide means (12) are in the form of pipes or rails.

12. The lifting device according to claim 11, wherein the arm rests (13) are connected to the hand rest (14), whereby the arm rests accompany the hand rest (14) when this is displaced upwards, whereby the arm rests (13) exhibit side guards for a user which is standing on the platform (5).

13. A method for use of the lifting device according to claim 12, when said device is utilized as a human lift, wherein the method is characterized by the following steps:

- folding the halves of the seat cushion (10) to the side to make the platform (5) accessible as a footboard,

- pulling the hand rest (14) out of their guide means (12),

- controlling the linear actuator (4) with the aid of the control device (15) to drive the platform (5) to a height position which is an entry position chosen by the user, which corresponds to a level for the platform (5) between 10 cm and 25 cm above the base of the lifting device.

- the platform (5) being entered by a user who steps up on it,

- controlling the linear actuator (4) by means of the control device (15) to drive the platform (5) upwards to a height position chosen by the user.

14. The method according to claim 13, further characterized by the following step:

- pulling out the rods (21, 22) in the stand (2) prior to the user entering the platform (5).