FR2489143A1 - SUPPORT APPARATUS AND PORTABLE SEAT FOR MARKET SUPPORT FOR DISABLED - Google Patents

Abstract

THE SEAT IS CONSISTING OF A SHEET OF FOLDABLE AND RECTANGULAR MATERIAL, HAVING SUFFICIENT STRENGTH TO SUPPORT ONE PERSON. THE SEAT CAN BE EASILY ATTACHED TO THE INVALID WALKING DEVICE SO THAT THE WALKING DEVICE CAN SIT AND REST ON IT, AND EASILY DETACHED TO BE CARRIED BY THE PERSON IN A POCKET OR BAG WHEN WALKING. THE SEAT IS ADJUSTABLE IN VARIOUS WAYS AND CAN BE MOUNTED ON THE MOST COMPLICATED USUAL STEERING DEVICES SUCH AS FOLDING AND OSCILLATING SUPPORTS, WITHOUT DRILLING HOLES OR MAKING CHANGES IN FRAME STRUCTURE. FOUR HOOKS 52 ARE REMOVABLY CONNECTED TO THE RESPECTIVE FRAME ELEMENTS BY MEANS OF ORDINARY CLAMPS 54. A METAL RING 62 IS ATTACHED TO EACH CORNER OF THE SHEET AND THE SHEET IS FIXED TO THE STEP BRACKET WITH EACH RING ON A RESPECTIVE HOOK 52.

Description

2489 143

  Support apparatus and portable seat for support

walk for the disabled.

  The present invention relates to support devices

  and portable seats for walking support for the disabled

  seats, and more particularly seats suitable for use

  supported on devices for the disabled.

  Various types of portable support frames S1e are known

  allowing people with disabilities, invalids or infirm-

  my to walk, or to help them walk. These frames or "walking supports" help a person with walking difficulties to maintain his balance and they also allow the disabled to support his weight at

using his arms.

  The most common disability support frames are basically the same in terms of their

  functioning and their construction although they present

  try secondary differences in shape and size.

  The usual step supports consist of a rigid frame of light weight and several feet supporting two

  handles arranged approximately at the waist. The inva-

  the operator activates the device by grasping the two handles, i20 by lifting it up and making it move forward, then leaning on it again to establish its balance and support itself while it takes a step between the frame. To advance, he repeats these movements. Recently developed step supports can be folded into a relatively compact form when not in use. Walking supports

  folding are particularly advantageous in several respects.

  They need less space when shipped to stores or customers, and also when stored either at home or in the store. They are also much easier to wear when traveling by borrowing

  public transport vehicles or private automobiles.

  Another recent and important development of support frames for invalids is the use of semi-flexible "oscillating step supports". These step supports include joints articulated at the corners where the two separate side frames are connected to the connecting elements of the front frame. When an invalid uses these walking supports, he can hold two legs of the walking support on the ground at the same time, which gives the user the possibility of lifting less weight if he wishes. We also know how to make a step support that

  either foldable and oscillating.

  We also know how to provide walking supports with a temporary seating device so that if the user gets tired he has a seat that is easy to

  use. It will be understood that many invalids get fati-

  very easily and it is important that these people

  people do not make exaggerated efforts.

  A seating device of this type is known from US Pat. No. 3,993,449. In the step support of this patent, the temporary seat is constituted by a strap of strong canvas or any other flexible material. Each end of this seat which is very narrow has the shape of a loop so that each end can be supported by a T-bar. The upper end of each T-bar is bent so that the bar can engage in an appropriately shaped metal block. This type of construction which is described in this patent requires the use of special metal parts which increase the price of the seat device. In addition, the fact of carrying the seat when it is not being used can be inconvenient for the person because it is not possible to bend the metal members in T. Furthermore, the seat according to this patent distributes the weight of the invalid on a relatively small area of the body, which can cause discomfort. In addition, the seating arrangement is such that a weak and disabled person may feel ill-supported in the seat and may, in fact, slide

  easily from the strap and get injured.

  More recently, US Pat. No. 4,162,101 describes the realization

  sation of a seat in the cavity formed by a step support. The seat is designed to automatically tilt up and clear the passage when there is no need to sit. The seat described in this patent requires a certain

  nomore special mechanical parts which make it relati-

  costly. This seat is also heavier and more cumbersome to transport by an invalid than is

  seat proposed by the present invention.

  According to one aspect of the present invention, the disabled person's seat for mounting on a disabled person's support apparatus used to support a disabled person wishing to walk, includes vertical frame members, and includes a sheet of foldable material to several sides, means attached to the sheet at each corner being

  designed to connect each corner to a vertical element respec-

  frame tif thanks to adjustable clamping means, and it is characterized in that each clamping means is able to support its respective connection means and to be clamped on a respective frame element at a height chosen so as to be able to modify , depending on the needs, the

  height of the seat formed by the leaf above the ground.

  According to another aspect of the invention, the portable seat, intended to be mounted on a support frame, comprises vertical frame elements and it is characterized in that it comprises a sheet of foldable material with four sides having sufficient strength to support? a person, four hook means and four corresponding eyelet means for separately connecting each corner of the sheet to a respective vertical frame element, one of the elements of the hook and eyelet means being fixed to the sheet in each of its four corners and the other of the elements of the hook and eyelet means being provided with adjustable clamping devices so as to clamp each of the four hook and eyelet means detachable from elements

  respective vertical frames at a selected height.

  The advantages of the portable seat according to the invention appear

  will be clear from the following.

  Because the sheet of material can be folded into a compact form, it can be put in a pocket or bag and transported easily. This feature is particularly advantageous for a walking support user traveling in public transport vehicles where there is no safe place where the seat can be easily placed during transport. Thus, the seat according to the invention makes it possible to eliminate any unnecessary restrictions placed on the mobility of the disabled person or the disabled person and it can allow these people to increase the distance over which they intend

  to move on their own.

  Another advantage of the portable seat according to the present

  invention resides in the fact that the seat can be

  trout from simple metal parts that can be obtained easily. As a result, the price of this

  seat is very low. Likewise, the portable seat according to the invention

  tion can be adjusted in various ways. You can change the height of the seat above the ground by loosening, moving and tightening the clamping device used to connect each corner to an adjacent frame element. In addition, the effective dimension of the foldable sheet can be modified in order to fix it so that only one single type of foldable sheet can be produced which can be adapted to market supports of dimensions and of

various constructions.

  A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described in detail and by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the attached drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a view from the rear of a support device for invalid provided with a foldable seat, figuer 2 is a top view of the support device of figure 1, figure 3 is a view of the right side of the support device of figure 1, the seat being removed, Figure 4 is a bottom side view of the foldable sheet used to provide a seat on the support apparatus, and Figure 5 is a detailed view showing how each corner of the foldable sheet is connected has a

adjacent frame element.

  An invalid support device 10, according to the present invention, is shown in Figures 1 to 3. The device consists of three rigid frames and light weight, connected to each other. Two identical side frames

  12 and 14, separated from each other, are connected to each other

  be by a third frame 13 disposed at the front. Each side frame has the shape of an inverted U and it includes a handle 40 on its upper horizontal part 24, a horizontal spacer 32 located just above the level

  knees, and a foot 15 mounted on each vertical element.

  If desired, the height of the two handles can be adjusted above the ground in order to obtain maximum comfort and safety by providing each lateral vertical element 33 and 34 of the frame with telescopic legs 36. The third frame 13 which is at the front consists of two side members

  vertical 29 whose internal diameter is slightly larger

  laughing at the external diameter of the two front vertical elements 34 of the two lateral frames and they are made integral by two horizontal elements 18 and 20. The front vertical element 34 of each lateral frame passes inside a respective vertical element 29 of the front frame. The front frame 13 is held in the desired position on the side frames by means of two sleeves 19 fixed to each element

  front 34 of each side frame by fastening rivets.

  It will be understood that, thanks to this construction, an articulated arrangement is obtained which makes it possible to fold the two lateral frames 12 and 14 in the direction indicated by the arrows A in FIG. 2 in a region whose limits

  are defined by the front frame, this facilitates storage

  age and shipping. When used in step position, the two lateral frames 12 and 14 are connected to each other by their upper elements 24 by means of a horizontal and curved telescopic element 22 which can be locked in the state open in the operating position by means of a locking button 21. The curved telescopic horizontal element 22 is connected by means of a bolt and a nut 26 to the upper element of each lateral frame so as to

  allow limited oscillation action of a side frame

  ral relative to the other side frame. This bone action

  cillation gives the walking invalid the possibility of maintaining two lateral feet on the ground at all times and, when he swivels the two oscillating feet vertically around the two support feet, does not lift

  only a small part of the total weight of the walking stand.

  Naturally, it will be understood that it is also possible to manufacture the walking supports according to configurations and

  of various dimensions. A more detailed description of

  the support apparatus is useless in itself because these

  devices are known. Each includes two side handles

  spaced whales that you can grab to have a

  stable support which helps the disabled person when walking.

  The present invention improves the support device described above thanks to an easily transportable, compact and light weight provisional seat, intended to be used on the support device. The seat 42 comprises a sheet of foldable and rectangular material which can be made either of a fabric or of a sheet of flexible and resistant plastic material. The preferred material is a heavy canvas and in particular a No. 14 ticking hemmed on all sides. The hems are formed by folding each edge and stitching the folded material as shown in

  44 in FIG. 5. Naturally, each hem 46 is cons-

  stuck on the back of the foldable material.

  If desired, the foldable sheet can be reinforced

  created to give it greater strength by means of two strips of material 48, each strip extending between opposite corners of the rectangular sheet. The bands or straps are sewn on the lower surface of the sheet and preferably made of a resistant fabric such as

strong canvas.

  A hook-and-eye means or mechanism 50 is provided for detachably and separately attaching each corner of the sheet to one of the respective frame members. In the preferred embodiment, each corner is connected to a tubular and vertical element forming part of a side frame. When the seat is mounted using the hook eyelet means, this seat is arranged as a whole between the two lateral frames 12 and 14 as shown in Figures 1 and 2. Thanks to the use of these preferred fastening devices and reinforcement strips 48 mentioned above, most of the weight of the invalid is supported by, and transferred directly to, the four vertical support elements by applying a uniform tension thereto. Referring now to the preferred construction of the hook and eyelet means used to fix the sheet of material, these means comprise hooks 52 which are made integral with the respective frame elements by means of clamps 54 constituted by strips of metal. Hooks 52 and flanges 54 add only one

  relatively insignificant weight and size

  support reil. The flanges can be in the form of known tube flanges using a threaded member or a screw 56 which can be rotated by means of a screwdriver or a key and to tighten or loosen the flange. Each hook 52 comprises a straight lower part 58 and a curved upper part 60. The lower part 58 is forcibly pressed against the side of the adjacent frame element

by means of the clamp 54.

  Another part of the hook and eye means is constituted by a ring 62 fixed to a support and reinforcement strap 48 of the sheet 42 in an area adjacent to each corner of the sheet. Each of the four rings can

  be made up of a known and often used "split ring"

  dry to hold lock keys. Each ring 62 is preferably fixed to the support and reinforcement strap 58 by means of a connecting loop 64 formed at the end of each strap. The position of each ring 62 can be made adjustable at the corners of the sheet so as to be able to adapt the sheet to walking supports of different dimensions. This characteristic is obtained by making the dimension of each loop 64 adjustable by means of a loop or clip 66 fixed near each end of the reinforcement straps. The clip enters holes made in the material forming the loop 64 in a well known manner. Naturally, each ring is designed to engage on a respective hook 52 in the manner

- 2489143

  shown in Figure 5. Preferably, the corner 68 of the sheet extends over the upper part 60 of the hook to prevent to some extent that the clothes are

  hung by hooks and torn or damaged.

  It will be understood that one can raise or lower the height of the seat above the ground as required using the adjustable flanges 54. As these flanges 54 do not need to cooperate with holes made in the frame elements and n 'cause no structural changes to these elements, it will be understood that it is possible to adjust the height of each hook without weakening or damaging the frame elements. It will also be understood that these flanges can be adapted to a variety of tube diameters. The hooks 52 can be of the type

  usually used to support partitions

  tion of premises and it is therefore unnecessary to have recourse to

  special manufacturing processes for obtaining these hooks.

  If desired, you can wrap a ribbon around each frame element before attaching each flange.

  54. These tapes 70 can be electrical insulating tapes.

  than ordinary as shown in Figure 3 and they have

  to increase the friction between the metal flange

  that and the metal of the frame elements. They also delay

  corrosion of the metal parts when the environment

is wet.

  According to one aspect of the invention, the hooks 52 and the flanges 54 which are associated with them make it possible to obtain adjustable connection devices making it possible to removably engage the connection means determined by the

rings 62.

  The foldable sheet can be presented in various dimensions adapted to the various market supports sold to the public. A typical dimension for a well known walking device has a width at least equal to 60% of the length of the seat. Thus, the portable seat offered is very deep and provides a stable and firm seat on which the user feels safe. The sheet is easily mounted on known and more complex walking devices e489143

  such as folding and swinging walking devices.

  In some step supports, the flexible seat may have a trapezoidal shape. For example, the length of the front edge may be only about 35.5 cm and that of the rear edge of about 51 cm. In this embodiment, the width of the seat can be 33 cm. The flexible seat and fittings must be strong enough to support the weight of most people. It is preferable that the flexible sheet and the linings do not

  are not damaged by a weight of approximately 125 kg.

  To support heavier people on a step support of sufficient strength, each hook 52 can be consolidated by inserting another identical support hook behind it. In addition, it is possible to wind around the frame element, before fixing the flange, a metal strip having a width greater than that of the flange 54. The fact of winding a metal strip of this nature makes it possible to distribute the charge from the hook on

  a larger area of the frame element.

  Although the drawings represent a step support constituted by tubular elements which are usually used to make the frame elements, it will be understood that the present invention is not limited to

  the use of walking supports of this construction.

  The object of the invention can be adapted to step supports whose frame elements have a different section and dimensions, or are made of materials

  other than aluminum usually used.

  Of course, one could use hook and eye means in different forms from those which have been specifically illustrated. For example, loops 62 could be used instead of rings

  in chain or rope of sufficient strength.

  It will be understood that the preferred seat construction described here has a number of specific advantages,

  some of which have already been mentioned. The seat can be easily

  slightly adjusted and repaired, if necessary using usual tools with normal dexterity. The foldable seat according to the invention resists deterioration, wear and tear. Because of its complexity, its weight and its volume which are reduced to a minimum, it can be manufactured and distributed for a very low price. The necessary parts and materials are readily available at a minimum price for both manufacturers and consumers who may wish to purchase parts for spare parts or to carry out repairs.

Claims (20)

  1. Support apparatus for the disabled including; two vertical and spaced side frames (12, 14) each constituted by rigid frame elements and comprising a front edge: a third front frame (13) made from other frame elements and extending between the front edges of said frames side frames and connecting them, said side frames and the front frame together forming support means for a disabled person walking; a sheet of material   foldable and multi-sided to determine a portable seat   tif (42) on said support means; and connecting means (50) fixed to said sheet at each corner to connect the corner to one of the respective frame members by means of adjustable clamping means (54); characterized in that each clamping means is clamped on a respective frame element to a chosen height so that the height of the portable seat can be modified if desired above ground.   2. Support device for the disabled according to the claim   tion 1, characterized in that said sheet of material (42) is made from a resistant fabric and comprises four sides.   3. Support device for the disabled according to the claim   tion 1, characterized in that said connecting means (50) comprise hooks (52) fixedly connected to respective frame elements by said clamping means   (54) which are formed by metal strips.   4. Support device for the disabled according to any one   as claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said   sheet of material is reinforced by two strips of material   riau (48), each extending between opposite corners of said sheet, part of the connecting means being   connected at each end of each strip.   5. Support device for the disabled according to the claim   tion 2, characterized in that said connecting means (50) comprise a ring (62) fixed to each corner of said sheet and a hook (52) connected to each of said front and rear edges of each lateral frame, and in that   each ring is capable of being slid over a respective hook.   6. Support device for the disabled according to the claim   tion 5, characterized in that the position of each ring at the corner of the sheet is adjustable so that said sheet can be adapted to support means of size various things.   7. Support device for the disabled according to the claim   tion 5, characterized in that each hook (52) is connected to a respective foot of a lateral frame by means of said clamping means, each clamping means being   in the form of a tube flange (54).   8. Invalid seat intended to be mounted on an invalid support device used to support a   invalid walking, including vertical frame elements   cals; a sheet of pliable material on several sides; and means fixed to said sheet at each corner for connecting the corner to a respective vertical frame member by means of adjustable clamping means; characterized in that each clamping means (54) is able to support its respective connecting means (50) and to be clamped on the respective frame element to a height chosen so that the height can be modified at will above the ground of the   invalid's seat formed by said sheet (42).   9. Invalid seat according to claim 8, character-   laughed in that said sheet of material consists of   a foldable and resilient fabric with four sides.   10. Seat for invalids according to claim 9, charac-   terized in that said sheet is reinforced by two strips of material (48) comprising at each end a loop (64) and in that said connecting means (50) comprise a metal ring (62) fixed to said sheet by a respective loop (64).   11. Invalid seat according to claim 10, characterized in that each loop (64) is adjustable by means of a clip (66) so that one can modify the position of each ring.   12. Seat for invalids according to any of   Claims 8 to 10, characterized in that each means of   clamping includes a tube flange (54> which can be clamped   or loosen with a screwdriver.   13. Seat for invalids according to any of   Claims 8 to 10, characterized in that each means of   connection comprises a hook member and in that each clamping means comprises a tube flange capable of clamping a part of said hook member against the frame element respective vertical.   14. Invalid seat according to claim 10, characterized in that said sheet (42) is made of   strong canvas and in that each strip (48) extends diagonally between two opposite corners.   15. Portable seat intended to be mounted on a support frame consisting of vertical frame elements, characterized in that it comprises a sheet (42) of foldable material and four sides having sufficient strength to support a person, four hook means (52) and four corresponding eyelet means (50) for separately connecting each corner of said sheet to a respective vertical frame member, one of the elements of said hook and eyelet means being attached to said sheet at its four corners and the other element of said hook and eyelet means being provided with adjustable clamping devices (54) intended to releasably clamp each of the four hook or eyelet means to a height chosen on   respective vertical frame elements.   16. Invalid seat intended to be mounted on an invalid support device and used to support a walking invalid, and comprising: vertical frame members; a sheet of pliable and multi-sided material, a connecting loop (64) being provided at each corner of said sheet and connected to said sheet, the size of said loops being adjustable; and connecting means   (50) to connect each loop to a vertical frame element   respective cal, said connecting means comprising adjustable supports (54) intended to come into engagement with the vertical frame elements, characterized in that the height of said supports can be modified at will   above the ground to adjust the height of the seat.   17. Invalid seat according to claim 16,   characterized in that said connecting means (50) comprises   hooks (52) which are each adapted to be fixedly connected to a respective frame element by one of said adjustable supports.   18. Invalid seat according to claim 17, characterized in that said sheet is reinforced by two strips of material (48), each extending between opposite corners of said sheet and comprising at each end   an extension forming one of the connecting loops.   19. Invalid seat according to claim 17 or 18,   characterized in that said connecting means (50) comprises   There is a ring (62) connected to each loop, which loop passes through its respective ring, and in that each ring is able to slide on a respective hook (52). 20. Seat for the disabled according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that each adjustable support is a flange capable of being clamped on a frame element to various heights.