ES2710563B2 - ARMCHAIR FOR THE DISABLED - Google Patents

Description

ARMCHAIR FOR THE DISABLED

DESCRIPTION

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The present invention falls within the technical field of personal means of transport specially adapted for the sick or disabled, more specifically in that of those propelled by motor, and refers in particular to an armchair specially designed to accommodate people with physical disabilities or reduced mobility in a comfortable way.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The transfer of disabled people, elderly dependents or with reduced mobility in general is a complicated task to perform even for several people due to the effort involved in moving them, which can cause serious health problems for caregivers, ranging from muscle aches to low back pain. or hernias that result in work losses due to this activity.

Currently, transfer cranes are known in the state of the art that are robust and large and can only be used within the enclosure where the person lives. They also have the disadvantage that they require a lot of space to carry out the transfer, so their use may be restricted to hospitals, residences, etc. Additionally, it should be noted that such cranes can cause unpleasant sensations to the user, which can be treated as an object.

It is also known the existence of additional chairs to the wheelchairs that serve to transfer the disabled person from the wheelchair to the bed in a manual way, which have two lifting cylinders to place the person at the desired height, a removable backrest of the structure of the chair, which is removed to perform the movement and a sliding seat to place the person as close as possible to the center of the bed.

On the other hand, a plurality of lifting wheelchairs are known in the state of the art that allow the user to move from a sitting position to a standing position, as well as a vertical ascent when the user is in the sitting position. or standing For this, an ascending device is provided with which the lifting frame can be raised in the sitting position as well as in the standing position. The rise or fall of the level of sitting or standing substantially increases the freedom of action of the user of the wheelchair and allows the user to reach objects located on elevated shelves.

However, these wheelchairs have several disadvantages. They do not allow to move in the standing position, due to the risk of overturning. Another additional disadvantage of certain wheelchairs is that during the ascent a backward movement also takes place. This can prevent overturning, but it makes it difficult or impossible to access objects from high places. An additional disadvantage of prior art wheelchairs is their limited ability to move over obstacles or maneuver in a narrow space. Finally, it can be mentioned that in the lifting wheelchairs of the prior art the ascent device requires a lot of space and makes it difficult to access important elements, for example the batteries, of the lift wheelchair.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The object of the invention consists of an armchair specially designed to accommodate and move people with reduced mobility capacity in optimal comfort conditions, for which it incorporates lateral wheels that can be operated manually either by the user, or pushed by a caregiver or even automated by incorporating a small-sized electric drive motor.

The armrests of the chair, which cover the side wheels, are removable, for which they have a lower sector through which they are linked to a lower supporting frame, and an upper sector linked to the lower sector, on which the user's arms rest .

Thus, the decoupling of the upper sector from the lower of the armrest, It allows partial access to an upper end of the side wheels, so that the user can act on them to move the chair without external help. The decoupling of the lower sector from the frame completely exposes the side wheels, as well as reduces the overall width of the chair, allowing its passage through narrow places. In the preferred embodiment of the armchair, the total extraction of the armrests results in an armchair with a total width of 57 centimeters, which allows its passage through all the gaps of doors, thereby improving user autonomy.

It is also foreseen the incorporation of a plurality of auxiliary elements, such as an automatic lifting and tilting mechanism for folding the chair to reach an essentially horizontal position, as well as for raising the seat and the backrest in order to facilitate the user's lifting. .

The armchair for the disabled of the present invention helps to solve the current problem, as it offers a new way of transferring people with reduced mobility, achieving improvements compared to everything known so far and providing quality of life for both caregivers and users .

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To complement the description that is being made and in order to help a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, according to a preferred example of practical implementation thereof, a set of drawings is attached as an integral part of said description. where, for illustrative and non-limiting purposes, the following has been represented:

Figure 1.- Shows a side perspective view of the chair in an upright position.

Figure 2.- Shows a front perspective view of the armchair in a collapsed position.

Figure 3.- Shows a view of the armchair similar to that of figure 2, with its elements removed.

Figure 4.- Shows a side view of the chair disassembled in an upright position.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

Next, a detailed explanation of a preferred embodiment of the object of the present invention is provided with the aid of the aforementioned figures.

The disabled chair described, shown in Figure 1 in its resting position, is formed by a rolling frame (1) equipped with a lifting and tilting mechanism (2), frame (1) to which a upper Armchair module comprising a seat (3), a backrest (4), side armrests (5) and a footrest (6).

The frame (1), as can be seen in Figures 2 to 4, incorporates lateral wheels (7) for rolling movement as well as auxiliary wheels (8). In this preferred embodiment, the side wheels (7) are of the lenticular type, with a diameter of 45 centimeters and manually operable by the user, and the frame (1), of polygonal geometry with 4 sides, has four casters (8) located in the respective vertices.

The armrests (5) that, as seen in the attached figures, cover the side wheels (7), are removable, for which they have a lower sector (9) through which they are linked to the frame (1) and a sector upper (10) linked to the lower sector (9) by coupling corresponding guides not shown in the attached figures.

In this way, the decoupling of the upper sector (10) with respect to the lower sector (9) of the armrest (5), upper sector (10) on which a user directly supports their arms, partially allows access to an upper end of the wheels lateral (7), so that the user can act on them to move the chair without external help. The decoupling of the lower sector (9) of the armrest (5) with respect to the frame (1) completely exposes the side wheels (7), as well as reduces the overall width of the chair, allowing its passage through narrow places.

In this preferred embodiment, the total extraction of the armrests results in an armchair with a total width of 57 centimeters, which allows its passage through all the gaps of doors, thereby improving user autonomy.

In this preferred embodiment, the lower sector (9) is linked to the frame by coupling guides (101) that start vertically from said frame (1), as seen in Figures 3 and 4, inside transverse grooves defined in said lower sector (9).

The lifting and tilting mechanism (2), driven by an electric motor (11), is coupled to the rolling frame (1). Thus, this lifting and tilting mechanism (2) allows firstly the folding of the backrest (4) and the footrest (6) to obtain an essentially horizontal user position similar to that illustrated in Figures 2 and 3 and, secondly instead, raise and push the seat (3) forward to facilitate the incorporation of the user, as shown in figure 4.

To this end, said lifting and tilting mechanism (2) has an actuator that firstly simultaneously activates front articulated arms (12), linked to the footrest (6) for extension and retraction, and rear oscillating arms (13), linkable to the backup (4) for its dejection and neglect. The simultaneous and synchronized action of both arms (12,13) results in obtaining an essentially horizontal position of the user.

Secondly, with the chair in the rest position of Figure 1, the actuator of the lifting and tilting mechanism (2) drives a hydraulic piston (14) linked to the backrest (4) which, in combination with the swinging arms ( 13), pushes superiorly to raise the backrest (4) and the seat (3) as illustrated in Figure 4, in order to facilitate the incorporation of the user.

In the preferred embodiment described herein and illustrated in the attached figures, the seat (3) is of the conventional type, with a foam and upholstered padding, and linkable to the frame (1) by corresponding fixing means. Figure 3 shows plates (15) having a plurality of through holes (16) for coupling said seat (3) through a corresponding plurality of screws Fixing.

In an alternative embodiment, not shown in Figures 1-4, the seat (3), also removable from the frame (1), incorporates a through hole to a removable reservoir intended to temporarily house the user's stool.

The incorporation of earmuffs (17) laterally linked to an upper end of the backrest (4) is also contemplated. In the preferred embodiment, the earmuffs (17) are displaced with respect to said backrest (4) by means of ratchet hinges. Also, in the alternative embodiment indicated above, the backrest (4) incorporates a hinged cover (18), for access to the removable tank.

The activation of the armchair for the disabled can therefore be carried out by the user himself, who can have access to the side wheels (7) by removing an upper sector (10) of the armrests, or by a third party, who can push said armchair to be displaced by rolling.

Claims (6)

1. Armchair for the disabled that includes: - a lower frame (1), - a lifting and tilting mechanism (2) linked to the frame (1), which in turn has: - front articulated arms (12), - swinging arms (13) rear, - a hydraulic piston (14), and - an electric motor (11) for driving, - side wheels (7) linked inferiorly to the frame (1), for rolling movement, and - an armchair structure linked superiorly to the frame (1), which in turn comprises at least: - a seat (3) linked to the piston (14) for ascending and descending longitudinal displacement, - a backrest (4) linked to the swing arms (13) for folding, - a footrest (6) linked to the articulated arms (12) for expansion and retraction, and - side armrests (5), superimposed on the side wheels (7), for resting the arms of a user, the chair being characterized in that each of the armrests (5) in turn comprises: - a lower sector (9) that can be connected to the frame (1) superiorly and temporarily for the partial covering of a lower sector of the side wheels (7), and, - an upper sector (10) linked to the lower sector (9), for partial coating of an upper sector of the side wheels (7). 2. Armchair for the disabled according to claim 1 characterized in that: - the frame (1) incorporates upper guides (101), and - the lower section (9) of the armrests (5) has transverse grooves designed to house the guides (101) for temporary connection with the frame (1). 3. Armchair for the disabled according to any of the preceding claims characterized in that the frame (1) incorporates horizontal plates (15) for coupling the seat (3). 4. Armchair for the disabled according to any of the preceding claims characterized in that the frame (1) incorporates wheels (8). 5. Armchair for the disabled according to any of the preceding claims characterized in that the armchair structure incorporates earmuffs (17) laterally linked to an upper end of the backrest (4). 6. Armchair for the disabled according to claim 5 characterized in that the earmuffs (17) are foldable.