Support assembly

Baths – closets – sinks – and spittoons – Closet head – foot – and body rests

Patent

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Details

E03D 1100

Patent

active

058325425

DESCRIPTION:

BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to a support assembly.
The invention has particular but not exclusive application to a support assembly for supporting an invalid of physically disadvantaged person during movement to and from a seated position or in a standing position and for illustrative purposes reference will be made to such an application. However it will be realised that the invention has wide-ranging application and can be used by other than invalids and physically disadvantaged persons.


BACKGROUND ART

As the average age of the population increases, the number of carers of frail aged persons who are themselves aged also increases. This is because public health authorities in attempting to lower the increasing public health cost of geriatric care, are encouraging and assisting a healthy partner of a frail or invalid aged person to care for the person at home rather than admitting the person to an institution.
Toilet, shower and bath supports for invalids and physically disadvantaged persons are well known. However known support assemblies indicated above can cause distress, undue hardship and even injury to the healthy carer when themselves using a toilet or shower with known supports in place or when attempting to move such support assemblies. This can mean that two aged and infirm persons may require institutionalised care rather than only one, and overall this will significantly increase the cost of public health.


SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The present invention aims to provide an alternative support system which will be reliable and efficient in use. This invention in one aspect resides broadly in a support assembly for supporting a user when using a seating facility, the support assembly including: base support means being supported by the facility in stable equilibrium; operative position in which the user support means is engageable by a user of the facility to support the user and an inoperative position, and position limiting means for limiting the movement of the user support means relative to the base support means to locate the user support means in the operative position.
It is to be understood that references herein to the use of or using a facility, are to be construed in a wide sense and include gaining access to and from the facility as well as actual use thereof. Thus for example a toilet support assembly is operative to provide support for a person not only when the toilet is being used by the person but also and particularly when the person is lowering or raising him- or herself onto and off the toilet. It is preferred that the user support means is pivotally mounted to the base support means and the position limiting means are abutments located on the user support means and adapted to abut the base support means.
The base support means may be permanently fixed to the facility but it is preferred that the base support means is releasably affixable to the facility. The support surface may be attached to or supported on the facility at a single location such that a load applied to the support assembly during use by a user of the facility is transmitted to the facility at only that location. However to provide a distributed loading it is preferred that the support assembly includes a plurality of spaced bearing surfaces adapted to juxtapose spaced surfaces on the facility.
The support assembly is suitable for use with many facilities. By way of example only, the facility can be a shower cubicle, a bath or a bus or car seat. In a preferred embodiment the facility is a toilet bowl having a seat, lid and releasable fastening means fixing the lid and seat thereto, one of the bearing surfaces is a central plate member releasably affixable to the toilet bowl by the fastening means, and the other bearing surfaces are rigidly affixed to the central plate member and adapted to bear on opposite sides of the rim of the toilet bowl.
Suitably the other bearing surfaces are supported on arms extending from the central plate around the upper portion of the toilet bowl. A slight gap may be fo

REFERENCES:
patent: 2774975 (1956-12-01), Frank
patent: 3474471 (1969-10-01), Matibag
patent: 3574242 (1971-04-01), Trowbridge
patent: 3969778 (1976-07-01), Richards
patent: 4196480 (1980-04-01), Guenther et al.
patent: 4343052 (1982-08-01), Guenther
patent: 4715069 (1987-12-01), James

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