AU678772B2

AU678772B2 - Nursing chair

Info

Publication number: AU678772B2
Application number: AU48802/93A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Peter Alan Smith
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1992-10-06
Filing date: 1993-10-01
Publication date: 1997-06-12
Anticipated expiration: 2013-10-01
Also published as: AU4880293A

Description

P/00/011 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Invention Title: NURSING CHAIR ooooo* The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: GH&CO REF: P16117T/RW:SD 2 This invention relates to a nursing chair which is suitable for use by aged or incapacitated persons with limited mobility or, more particularly, limited agility.

The invention has been developed primarily for use by persons who are confined to nursing homes or to convalescent hospitals, but it will be understand that the nursing chair does have broader application, for example in domestic situations where home care is provided for aged and incapacitated persons.

Nursing chairs have been developed to a sophisticated extent and reference may be made to Australian Patent Application No. 18291/92, dated June 16 1992 which discloses a mobile nursing chair which is arranged to provide for variable positioning of the various parts of the chair, which provides for side entry to the chair and which optionally includes water-filled cushions for enhancing the comfort of a person who is confined to the chair for long periods of time. However, all of the chairs that have been developed to date have requ.'_red that persons with limited agility be assisted *and, sometimes, be lifted into and from the chairs. This requirement has imposed heavy burdens on nursing staff and other carers, both in terms of the physical effort and time required to provide the necessary assistance.

The present invention is directed to a nursing chair which has a body support portion which may be positioned to facilitate convenient entry and exit by an occupant and which may be repositioned to provide a comfortable attitud or the occupant.

S 30 Thus, the invention may be defined broadly as providing a nursing chair comprising a support base, a body support portion pivotably mounted to the support base, and means permitting adjustment of the pivotal position of the body support portion and arranged for locking the body support portion in selected pivotal positions. The chair is characterised in that the body support portion comprises a unitary structure having a ,f ,eat portion and a backrest portion, and in that the body 3 support portion is mounted directly to the support base and is arranged as a unit to pivot both forwardly beyond a normal sea,:ing attitude, to facilitate entry to and exit from the chair, and rearwardly beyond the normal seating attitude to place a seated person in a rearwardly inclined position.

The body portion preferably includes a leg support portion pivotably mounted with respect to the seat portion.

The means that permit adjustment of the pivotal position of the body support portion may be opera'ed mechanically, hydraulically or pneumatically. Such r.eans might also be arranged to provide for powered adjustment or power assisted adjustment of the pivotal position of the body support portion. However, the nursing chair is preferably constructed to provide for manual adjustment of the pivotal position, with the adjustment means providing a manual locking mechanism which is arranged to be released when the body support portion is to be pivoted from one position to another. The locking mechanism may provide for location of the body support portion at incremental fixed positions or at infinitely 0 0o variable positions.

The pivot axis or fulcrum for the body support portion preferably is located below what will be the centre of gravity of the body portion of the chair when a person is seated in the chair with a normal seating posture. With the pivot axis so located the chair may be pivoted in the for.Lward and rearward directions with relative ease and without there being a need to exert a strong lifting force. This is an important aspect of the invention in at least some of the applications of the chair, when one relatively frail person may be required to assist another in use of the chair.

The body support portion of the nursing chair may comprise an upholstered timber or metal framed structure.

IM

4 Also, the seat and/or backrest portions may be sprung, be formed from foamed plastics material cushions or be formed at least in part from water-filled cushions.

A tray preferably is mounted to the seat or armrest portions of the nursing chair, the tray being pivotable or otherwise removable from a position in front of a chair occupant so as to permit entry to and exiting from the chair.

Also, the support base for the chair is preferably wheel mounted, so that the entire chair may conveniently be moved from one place to another. However it is not intended that the chair be in the form of a conventional wheel chair of a type that is used for moving incapacitated persons over large distances. The wheels are intended simply so that the chair may conveniently be moved about a room or from one room to another in a domestic or institutional situation.

In normal usage, the nursing chair would be positioned behind an intending occupier and the body support portion would then be pivoted or, expressed alternatively, tilted forwardly so that the seat portion is located behind the person's thighs. The body support portion is then locked in that position and the person to be seated in the chair is pushed backward gently so as to S 25 move into the chair. The chair is then pivoted rearwardly to or beyond the normal seating position, so that the occupier assumes the most comfortable seated attitude. The reverse procedure is adopted to assist a person from the chair.

The invention will be more fully understood from the following description of a preferred embodiment of a nursing chair. The description is provided with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows a perspective view of the chair with a body support portion shown in a forward pivotal position for receiving an intending occupant, Figure 2 illustrates a view which is similar to that in Figure 1 but with the occupant located tentatively S:16117T sI within the chair and with the chair still in a forward pivotal position, Figure 3 illustrates a perspective view of the same chair but with the body support portion shown in a pivotal position which is inclined rearwardly to a slight degree beyond the normal seating position, and Figure 4 shows a partial rear perspective view of the chair.

As illustrated, the nursing chair comprises an upholstered body support portion 10 which includes a seat i :portion 11, a backrest 12 and armrests 13. The body support portion may be constructed in the manner of a conventional lounge chair, uJing a timber skeletal frame which is padded and upholstered to suit particular requirements. However, it might alternatively be formed from a metal frame and be upholstered, either partly or fully, to meet cost, aesthetic and functional requirements.

An upholstered leg support 14 is pivotably mounted to the forward edge of the body support portion 10 and is arranged to be pivoted to any desired position between the vertical, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, and near horizontal, as shown in Figure 3. The leg support as illustrated is intended to be positioned manually and to be locked S 25 mechanically in any selected position, but it might alternatively be operated either hydraulically or pneumatically using a piston-cylinder drive arrangement.

The body support portion 10 is carried by a support base 15 which is formed as a tubular metal structure having side frames 16 and cross members 17. The support base is carried by swivel-mounted wheels 18 and, thus, is completely mobile. A brake mechanism (not shown) may be mounted to one or other of the wheels and be operable to restrain unintended movement of the chair.

A handle bar 19 having handgrips 20 is attached to the rear side of the backrest 12, adjacent the top of the chair, to facilitate moving, steering and pivoting the chair, S:16117T 6 The body support portion 10 is pivotably mounted to the support base 15 by way of a shaft 21 which is carried by side lugs 22 and which extends through the width of the body support portion 10 below the seat region 11. The lugs 22 are mounted to and form an integral part of the side frame 16 of the support base 15. The shaft 21 is located below what will be the centre of gravity of the body support portion 10 of the chair when a person is seated with a normal seating posture.

A mechanism which is employed for adjusting the *:*:pivotal position of the body support portion 10 is illustrated in Figure 4 and it comprises a strut 23 which is pivotably connected to the rear of the backrest 12 below a cover flap 24. The strut projects diametrically and to a 15 variable extent through a cylindrical lock casing 25 which is mounted to the cross member 17, and the strut 23 is provided with a series spaced detents 26. The lock casing 25 contains a spring-loaded plunger (not shown) which is biased to engage in one or other of the detents 26, and the plunger may be moved away from engagement with the detents by actuation of a hand lever 27.

The hand lever 27 is mounted to the handle bar 19 and it connects with the spring-loaded plunger in the lock casing 25 by way of a Bowden-type cable 28.

S 25 As an alternative to the above described eeoc arrangement, the strut 23 may be constituted by a piston rod which extends into a gas cylinder and which provides for variable positioning of the body support portion of the chair.

In use of the chair and as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the body support portion 10 is pivoted or tilted forwardly and the chair is located immediately behind a person who is to occupy the chair, with the forward edge of the seat portion 11 located behind the thighs of the person. The person is then pushed backwards in a gentle way and is caused to rest with support against the seat portion rather than fall into the chair as might otherwise be the case. Thereafter, the body support S:16117T

I

7 portion is pivoted rearwardly and is locked in a position, such as that shown in Figure 3, to provide the most comfortable attitude for the occupier.

The wheels 18 would normally be locked so as to prevent the chair from moving backwards whilst the occupier is being eased into position, and, having located the occupier tentatively in the position shown in Figure 2 of the drawings, a person who is providing assistance may then move behind the chair to tilt it backwardly into the position indicated in Figure 3.

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Claims

2. The nursing chair as claimed in claim 1 wherein the body portion includes a leg support portion pivotably mounted with respect to the seat portion.
3. The nursing chair as claimed in claim 1 or *.claim 2 wherein the axis of the pivotable connection between the body support portion and the support base is located below and in approximate alignment with the centre of gravity of the chair when it is occupied by a person seated in the chair with a normal seating posture.
4. The nursing chair as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the body support portion comprises an upholstered timber framed structure.
5. The nursing chair as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein a mechanical interconnection is made between the body support portion and the support base to permit selected pivotable positioning of the body support portion of the chair.
6. The nursing chair as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the support base has floor engaging wheels. S:16117T I I JI III, I_ 9
7. The nursing chair substantially as shown in the accompanying drawings and substantially as hereinbefore described with reference thereto. DATED this 1st day of April 1997 PETER ALAN SMITH By his Patent Attorneys GRIFFITH HACK e S:16117T 11 3~I 'I ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A nursing chair which is suitable for use by aged or incapacitated persons with limited mobility and which comprises a wheel mounted support base 15, a body support portion 10 having a seat portion 11 and a backrest portion 12 pivotably mounted to the support base, and a mechanically actuated cable release mechanism 27 which permits selective adjustment of the pivotal position of the body support portion relative to the base. The nursing chair is characterised in that provision is made for the body support portion 10 to be pivotted forwardly beyond a normal seating attitude to facilitate entry to and exit from the chair. For this purpose a fulcrum 2! *is provided and is located below what would be the centre of gravity of the chair when a person is seated with a S. normal seating posture within the chair. o* *o* U o* *go* S:16117T