Land vehicles – Wheeled – Occupant propelled type
Patent
1994-03-07
1996-02-13
Hill, Mitchell J.
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Occupant propelled type
5 811, 2803041, 297DIG10, A61G 500, A61G 514
Patent
active
054906873
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention relates a wheelchair, in particular for paraplegics, and has a frame with a seating area, a backrest and a number of wheels, with a lifting device with two spars almost vertically arranged during use, linked to the wheelchair, and provided with means for converting a manual force that lifts the user into a lifting force that acts upon the body of the user by means of holding means and at least one lifting cable linked thereto, whereas the device may be secured in the standing up position of the user.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
From the DE-OS 22 59 383 it is known, that to make the standing up easier for a wheelchair user slanted mounted guide sleeves are used to locate practically horizontally guided bent spars. At the ends of the spars are mounted tension levers which tension the rubber bands. These rubber bands grip onto the seating band on the user's backside so that when the tension lever is operated the user can stand up. The prevent the knees from moving a knee belt is used. The user is thereby precisely held in the hip-joint area from behind, he must however support himself at the front by holding onto one of the spar with one hand. The user can not thereby be fully supported in the standing up position, so instead he only has one hand free to carry-out any extra work.
From the U.S. Pat. No. 4,530,122 it is known, that to relieve the pressure on the user's backside it must be raised from its seating position. To achieve this, the wheelchair is mounted with a spar to which, on its upper rear side, an eccentric disc is secured. On one side of the disc is mounted a lever and on the other side a cable, and attached to the user by means of a vest. On pulling the lever towards him the user raises his body. In this position the lever can be secured to the wheelchair.
Wheelchair users sometimes do not have enough strength to lift themselves up. A limited standing up period is both, for medical reasons eg. to improve blood circulation, and also for practical reasons eg. to be able to reach high shelves or presses, necessary and is the reason why different stand-up wheelchairs are suggested. These stand-up chairs have a special mechanism whereby the seat area and the backrest can be turned up into a vertical position so as to support the user in the upright position (EP 0159 562 B1, prospectus from LEVO AG, Bleicheweg 5, CH-5605 Dottikon, "Die Stehhilfe im Rollstuhl" ("The standing up aid in a wheelchair")). These wheelchairs are however relatively heavy and unprepossessing. There is here no comparison to the modern light sport wheelchairs and in particular to their ease of handling eg. when loading into a vehicle. A similar mechanism can be seen on the stationary chair referred to in GB-PS 531,184.
Furthermore it is also known, that the standard "standing up equipment" or "free-standing bars" have no provision for securing a wheelchair to them. These types of equipment are heavy and unwieldy and are practically impossible to move without help plus they are generally cumbersome and are usually not located where they are most needed at the time (DE-DM 81 35 539).
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to design a standing up device which can be used in conjunction with any desired wheelchair and by using simple means, thereby allowing an almost normal standing up movement to be achieved.
This task can be achieved by using the standing up device as a lifting means of the user into a vertical position, and which uses as converting means on each spar at least two deflection rollers, which convert the standing up force, through a seating band acting as a holding means, into a forwardly and upwardly directed force.
With such a system the user can stand up, providing he has enough use and strength in his arms, when and where he wants to without the help of any other person. Standing up is thereby made easier by the fact that the natural standing up movement is obtained through the force exerted on the seat-pad so that the user does not have to adopt a new sta
REFERENCES:
patent: 3023048 (1962-02-01), Barton
patent: 4948156 (1990-08-01), Fortner
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