FR2826559A1 - Two part W.C. seat is articulated on base with hydraulic actuator, inserted between them, pressurized by valve to tip seat forwards and assist standing - Google Patents

Abstract

The seat (2) is articulated (4) on a base (1) and a hydraulic actuator (3) is inserted between them. The actuator can be pressurized by a valve. When the user controls the actuator pressure by means of the valve it tips the seat part forwards assisting the person to stand up.

Description

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Seat or auxiliary seat in 2 articulated parts with assisted lifting
The invention relates to a seat or a seat riser, more particularly intended for WCs, but however not limited to this single application allowing a seated user to be physically assisted when he gets up.

 Many older people, physically disabled, overweight or otherwise physically weak, are often so weak that it is very difficult for them to recover when they are seated.

 To help with this operation, armchairs with armrests, mobile or not, have been proposed which are rigid enough and high enough for the person to be able to lean on them to help them get up, but this requires effort which is often painful and not easy.

 In other cases, when the configuration of the place allows it, a wall handle fixed laterally in front of the seat allows the person to grab onto it to help them get up by pulling, but very often this operation still requires a Too much pulling effort for some people, especially since they often have difficulty holding the handle firmly.

 In other cases, and mainly for WCs, some manufacturers or installers offer rigid, so-called raised, spacer systems, often 8 to 10cm thick, which are placed on the initial seat cushion on which the person wants to sit, allowing the user to sit less low and thus reduce sagging and running, so the effort to be made to straighten.

But this action still requires intense muscular effort in many people at the start of the action.

 The invention aims to remedy these drawbacks.

It offers a seat cushion or a hinged raising riser, driven by a flexible hydraulic cylinder, which physically assists the person in his effort to straighten up.

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The device consists of a rigid base and a mobile seat of the same shape articulated on the front of this base. A specific flat wedge-shaped hydraulic cylinder is slid between the base and the seat, a cylinder supplied with pressurized fluid via a valve. So when the user who is seated on the system manipulates the valve, he puts pressure on the jack which causes the mobile seat to tilt forward and thus helps him to straighten up.

According to particular embodiments:. The base and the seat may preferably be manufactured (but not exclusive) in the form of a hollow body made of injected or heat-blown polypropylene with optionally internal foaming 'A rigid vertical tongue protruding below the front of the movable seat and sliding in a corresponding lumen of the rigid base can replace the hinge of articulation between the base and the seat 'The nose of the base can be provided tilted forward to increase the inclination of the seat * The flexible cylinder may be made up of 2 rigid plastic faces of a shape adapted to the type of extension and of 2 flexible membranes (one exterior and one interior) of reinforced EPDM or similar, in the form of a bellows, welded to the edges of the rigid faces.
Internal elastic links can be provided to cause the sides of the flexible cylinder to fold inwards when the cylinder is emptied. The attached drawings illustrate the invention in the case of an application on a toilet.

Figure 1 shows a general perspective of the system.

Figure 2 shows in section the device at rest.

 Figure 3 shows in section the device in operation.

 FIG. 4 represents a perspective of the flexible hydraulic cylinder under pressure.

 With reference to these drawings, the device comprises a rigid base (1) whose shape adapts to that of a toilet bowl. The front part of this base has a slot (4).

 A mobile seat (2) of coherent shape is placed on this base.

 This seat has in its front part a rigid vertical tongue (5) of the same width as the slot (4) of the base. The tongue joint (5)

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 in the slot (4) is such that their relative movement constitutes a free mode of articulation of the seat (2) on the base (1) and allows easy disassembly of these two elements.

A flexible hydraulic cylinder (3) is interposed between the base (1) and the seat (2).

In the embodiment according to Figure 3, the cylinder (3) has two rigid faces (lower and upper) (6) for fully distributing the pressure transmitted by the pressurized liquid. The flexible sides (7) are interconnected by elastic elements (8) tending to bring them closer when emptying.

The shape and the constitution of the jack (3) are such that the pressure of the liquid entering through the valve (9) is fully transmitted to the entire surface of the rigid faces (6) allowing a substantial lifting force to be obtained.

 In the case of a toilet riser, in the initial principle, the pressurizing fluid would be water from the urban network (normal normal pressure 1.8 to 3 bar).

The device would therefore be directly connected to the network supplying the toilet flush through a flexible pipe that can adapt to different configurations.

 According to particular embodiments, and mainly in the event of low pressure in the network, a pressure tank or pressure recovery tank can be placed in the annex before supplying the jack to obtain higher pressure and cause faster lifting. .

The cylinder is emptied by a flexible hose connected to the valve, directly in the toilet bowl, when the person sits on the seat, which has the advantage of cleaning the toilet.

 In the case of an extension for any other type of current seat, there is no water supply in the immediate vicinity but the lifting principle remains the same. Simply put, the cylinder pressurization system would operate in a closed circuit via an auxiliary tank, supplying an electric pump for pressurizing the cylinder, with recovery of the fluid in said tank at the time of emptying.

The set could either be connected to the electrical circuit of the room where it would be used, or powered by a battery

Claims (8)

1) Raising or seat seat in two parts articulated on the front, allowing the tilting of the upper seat (2) forwards, characterized by the fact that a flexible hydraulic cylinder (3) is incorporated between the two parts favoring tilting.  2) Device according to claim 1 characterized in that the flexible hydraulic cylinder (3) is supplied with pressurized water from the urban network.  3) Device according to claim 1 or claim 2 characterized in that the hydraulic cylinder (3) has high support faces (6a) and low (6b) rigid, so as to transmit the entire pressure on the the entire surface to be lifted.  4) Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the flexible hydraulic cylinder (3) has flexible sides (7) (interior and exterior walls) which are connected together by elastic connections (8) ensuring folding back of these sides towards the inside of the jack at the time of emptying.  5) articulated seat riser according to one of claims 1 to 4 characterized in that the movable seat (2) is articulated on the front of the base (1) by a tongue (5) fitted into a slot (4) of the same width, the assembly acting as a hinge.  6) articulated seat riser according to one of claims 1 to 5 characterized in that the tongue system of the joint allows a simple disassembly of the system in 3 independent elements cleanable by soaking or under a jet.  7) Articulated seat riser according to one of claims 1 to 6 characterized in that a 2-way 3-way valve (9) with manual control <Desc / Clms Page number 5>  allows either the filling or the emptying of the jack (which simultaneously rinses the bowl).  8) articulated seat riser according to one of claims 1 to 7 characterized in that a pressure tank (or pressure recovery) can be placed in the annex before the water supply to obtain a higher pressure and cause a faster lifting of the user.