Elevating Chair For Handicapped People

Abstract

This chair consists of a base frame having a vertical support or guide extending up from one side of the base frame and a fluid operator extending upwardly from the other side of the base frame. A chair frame is fastened to the hydraulic pump jack portion of the fluid operator on one side and is provided with roller means on the other side engageable with the vertical support or guide for up and down motion. A chair seat-arm and back unit is secured to the chair frame and this together with the chair frame can be elevated and lowered by the person seated in the chair unit by hand operating the pump handle connected to the hydraulic jack portion thus permitting a handicapped person to sit at a normal height and enabling the person to elevate the chair so that he can more readily position himself for walking or moving away from the chair.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in chairs suitable for use by handicapped people.

Normally such persons prefer to sit on a chair at the standard height but in many circumstances, this presents difficulty when the person wishes to get up from the chair and move away from same due to the fact that it is often extremely difficult to lift himself up to a height sufficient to enable him to support himself with crutches, cane or the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention overcomes these disadvantages by providing a simple chair assembly which enables the person to sit at a normal height yet which permits him to elevate the chair seat upwardly which facilitates his moving away from the chair once sufficient elevation has been reached.

The principal object and essence of the invention is therefore to provide a device of the character herewithin described which includes a chair unit which can be elevated manually by the person seated therein from a normal seating height to a height thereabove thus facilitating the action of getting up from the chair and moving away from same.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the character herewithin described which is easily disassembled for transportation by car or the like.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a device of the character herewithin described which can, if desired, be fitted with castor wheels for movement by the person seated therein or by another person.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a device of the character herewithin described which is simple in construction, economical in manufacture and otherwise well suited to the purpose for which it is designed.

With the foregoing objects in view, and other such objects and advantages as will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention relates as this specification proceeds, my invention consists essentially in the arrangement and construction of parts all as hereinafter more particularly described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the chair assembly with the chair unit shown partially in phantom.

FIG. 2 is a front elevation of the complete device shown in the uppermost position.

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but showing the device in the lowermost or normal seating position.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Proceeding therefore to describe the invention in detail, reference character 10 illustrates a base frame assembly which consists of a pair of spaced and parallel fore and aft members 11 and a cross brace member 12 extending therebetween intermediate the ends of the members 11. Support blocks 13 may be secured to the underside of the ends of the members 11 or, alternatively, castor wheel assemblies 14 may be installed under which circumstances castor wheel assemblies with conventional brake clips (not illustrated) should be used for safety.

A guide member 15 extends upwardly from the base frame 10 upon one side thereof and substantially adjacent one end of the cross member 12. This may be permanently secured or, alternatively, can be socketed within a clamp 16 secured to the end of cross member 12 with nut and bolt assemblies 17 clamping the guide member 15 securely in position. This guide member extends upwardly in a vertical direction and is preferably of a rectangular cross section as clearly illustrated.

A fluid operator collectively designated 18 extends upwardly from the other end of the cross member 12 in spaced and parallel relationship to the guide member 15. This fluid operator takes the form of an hydraulic hand operated jack component 19 having a piston rod 20 extending downwardly therefrom.

The lower end of this piston rod is socketed in a similar clamp 16A secured to the other end of the cross member 12 and is clamped in position by means of nut and bolt assemblies 17A. The principal difference between clamp 16A and clamp 16 is that clamp 16 is adapted to receive the rectangular cross section of the guide member 15 whereas the clamp 16A is adapted to receive the cylindrical configuration of the piston rod 20.

A chair frame collectively designated 21 is supported for vertical movement up and down the guide member 15 and is secured to the hydraulic jack 19 as will hereinafter be described.

The chair frame includes a cross bar or rod 22 having a block 23 on one end thereof with a clamp 24 extending from the block and engaging around a reduced portion 25 of the jack unit 19. This clamp 24 is secured to the portion 25 by means of nut and bolt assemblies 26 as clearly shown.

A cylindrical sleeve 27 engages around the bar or rod 22 and has extension portions extending forwardly therefrom comprising a pair of spaced and parallel members 28 and a cross member 29 thus making a substantially rectangular support in conjunction with the portion of the sleeve 27 between the members 28. This sleeve 27 is rotatable around the rod 22 and is clamped in position by means of clamp bolt 30 extending through the sleeve and engage the rod 22.

A chair seat-arm and back unit collectively designated 31 is provided and includes a chair seat 32, a chair back 33 and chair arms 34. The chair seat engages the sleeve 27 and the extended portions 28 and 29 and may be detachably clamped thereto by means of U-clips 34 or other similar means and the angle of inclination or the attitude of the chair unit 31 may be controlled by rotation of sleeve around member 22 and clamping same in the desired position by means of clamp bolts 30.

The chair frame 21 together with the chair unit 31 is supported upon the guide member 15 by means of a bracket assembly collectively designated 35, said bracket assembly including a pair of spaced and parallel members 36 being situated one upon each side of the guide member 15.

A plate 37 is welded to the member 36 intermediate the ends thereof, said plate having a horizontal portion 38 and two diagonal brace portions 39. The plate 37 is pivoted to the sleeve 27 by means of pivot pin 40 and rollers 41 are journalled for rotation between the pairs of ends 42 of the members 36.

The uppermost roller 41 engages the inner surface 43 of the guide member 15 whereas the lower roller 41 engages the outer surface 44.

Means are provided to control the pressure of engagement of the rollers with the guide member 15 taking the form of a screw threaded bolt assembly 45 engaging through the horizontal portion 38 of the plate 37 and engaging the sleeve 27 so that the assembly 35 can be rocked around the pivot 40 thus controlling the degree of engagement of the rollers 41 with the member 44.

In operation, and assuming that the chair is in the lowermost position shown in FIG. 3, the person seated thereon operates the jack 19 by means of the pump handle 46 thus causing the jack unit 19 to extend relative to the piston rod 20 which of course moves the chair frame 21 and the chair unit 31 upwardly upon the guide member 44.

When the desired height is reached, the occupant may move forwardly from the chair and move away from same without having to elevate himself upwardly from the chair seat 32.

When sitting on the chair, the occupant may engage the seat 32 whereupon the hydraulic fluid pressure within the jack 19 may be released slowly by means of the release valve 47 so that the weight of the occupant moves the chair downwardly to the lowermost position shown in FIG. 3.

Since various modifications can be made in my invention as hereinabove described, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same made within the spirit and scope of the claims without departing from such spirit and scope, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.

Claims

What I claim as my invention is:

1. An elevating chair for handicapped people comprising in combination a base frame, a guide member extending upwardly from one side of said base frame, a fluid operator extending upwardly from the other side of said base frame substantially parallel to said guide member, said fluid operator including a piston rod and an hydraulic jack unit on said rod for extending and retracting one relative to the other, a chair assembly supported between said fluid operator and said guide member, means operatively connected between said chair assembly and said guide member for supporting said chair assembly for vertical movement up and down said guide member and means operatively connected between the other side of said chair assembly and said fluid operator for up and down movement of said chair assembly upon operation of said fluid operator.

2. The chair according to claim 1 in which said chair assembly includes a chair frame and a chair seat-arm and back unit secured to said chair frame, said chair frame including a transverse rod, a sleeve surrounding said rod and being adjustably secured to said rod and extension means extending forwardly from said sleeve, chair seat-arm and back unit being detachably secured to said sleeve and said extension means, said sleeve being adjustable rotatably on said rod thereby varying the attitude of said chair unit.

3. The chair according to claim 1 in which said piston rod is detachably secured to said base frame, said hydraulic pump unit being secured to one side of said chair assembly whereby said unit and said chair assembly goes up and down relative to said rod when said fluid operator is actuated.

4. The chair according to claim 2 in which said piston rod is detachably secured to said base frame, said hydraulic pump unit being secured to one side of said chair assembly whereby said unit and said chair assembly goes up and down relative to said rod when said fluid operator is actuated.

5. The chair according to claim 2 in which said means operatively connected between said chair assembly and said guide member includes a bracket assembly pivotally secured intermediate the ends thereof to one end of said sleeve, said bracket assembly including a pair of members one extending upon each side of said guide member at an angle to the vertical, roller means journalled between each pair of ends of said pair of members, one of said rollers engaging said guide member on one side thereof, the other of said rollers engaging said guide member on the other side thereof and means to control the engagement of said rollers upon said guide member.

6. The chair according to claim 3 in which said means operatively connected between said chair assembly and said guide member includes a bracket assembly pivotally secured intermediate the ends thereof to one end of said sleeve, said bracket assembly including a pair of members one extending upon each side of said guide member at an angle to the vertical, roller means journalled between each pair of ends of said pair of members, one of said rollers engaging said guide member on one side thereof, the other of said rollers engaging said guide member on the other side thereof and means to control the engagement of said rollers upon said guide member.

7. The chair according to claim 4 in which said means operatively connected between said chair assembly and said guide member includes a bracket assembly pivotally secured intermediate the ends thereof to one end of said sleeve, said bracket assembly including a pair of members one extending upon each side of said guide member at an angle to the vertical, roller means journalled between each pair of ends of said pair of members, one of said rollers engaging said guide member on one side thereof, the other of said rollers engaging said guide member on the other side thereof and means to control the engagement of said rollers upon said guide member.

8. The chair according to claim 5 in which said last mentioned means includes a plate extending from said pair of members and overlying said sleeve, said plate being secured to said pair of members intermediate the ends thereof, means pivotally securing said plate to said sleeve and an adjustable screw threaded bolt assembly extending through said plate inboard of said pivot means and engaging said sleeve, adjustment of said bolt assembly pivoting said pair of members relative to said guide member to increase and decrease the degree of engagement between said rollers and said guide member.

9. The chair according to claim 6 in which said last mentioned means includes a plate extending from said pair of members and overlying said sleeve, said plate being secured to said pair of members intermediate the ends thereof, means pivotally securing said plate to said sleeve and an adjustable screw threaded bolt assembly extending through said plate inboard of said pivot means and engaging said sleeve, adjustment of said bolt assembly pivoting said pair of members relative to said guide member to increase and decrease the degree of engagement between said rollers and said guide member.

10. The chair according to claim 7 in which said last mentioned means includes a plate extending from said pair of members and overlying said sleeve, said plate being secured to said pair of members intermediate the ends thereof, means pivotally securing said plate to said sleeve and an adjustable screw threaded bolt assembly extending through said plate inboard of said pivot means and engaging said sleeve, adjustment of said bolt assembly pivoting said pair of members relative to said guide member to increase and decrease the degree of engagement between said rollers and said guide member.