IL272607B2 - Lifting device to assist people with disabilities - Google Patents

Description

- 1 -39607/IL/19 A LIFTING DEVICE FOR ASSISTING PHYSICALLY CHALLENGED PERSONS Field of the invention The present invention is in the field of mobility aids for physically challenged persons. More specifically, the invention relates to a lifting device for assisting physically challenged persons with the transition between a sitting posture and an upright standing posture.

Background of the invention People experiencing various medical and physical conditions suffer many times from varying mobility challenges and in some cases from deteriorating biomechanical capabilities leading to one's disability to move from a laying, seating and standing postures, wherein people experiencing such a condition tend to be assisted by mechanical lifting devices.

The abovementioned device typically utilize a piston operated lifting frame being rotated upwards, where an aided person holds said frame (i.e., by hands) while being further strapped at his lower back to the lifting frame, whereas the piston extends, rotating the lifting frame, the strap pulls the lower back of the aided person and the person pulls himself towards the lifting frame, thus balancing the strap loading on the lower back.

Unfortunately, the existing lifting devices are not adapted for people experiencing muscle strength deterioration (such as in Muscular Dystrophy disease), where a person in such condition cannot pull himself with own hands, thus cannot balance and support the lower back loading by a lifting device's strap. While the vertical component of said loading exerts a sufferable axial loading of the backbone, the horizontal component may exert a painful bending of the backbone.

It is therefore an object of the present invention, to provide a lifting device having an adjustable initial lifting angle in accordance to an aided person's physical condition. - 2 -39607/IL/19 It is another object of the present invention, to provide a lifting device which can be folded into a compact trolley shape, thereby to enable its effortless carrying during a travel.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.

Summary of the Invention The present invention relates to a lifting device for assisting physically challenged persons with the transition between a sitting posture and an upright standing posture, comprising: a) a wheeled base comprising foldable front supports; and b) a lifting mechanism detachably connected to said wheeled base, characterized in that said lifting mechanism is configured to provide an adjustable lifting angle suitable to control the respective horizontal and vertical loading applied during the lifting on the body of an aided person, thereby preventing excess loading on said aided person's lower back.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the lifting mechanism and the wheeled base are configured to transform into a transportable trolley form, having an adjustable trolley handle.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the lifting mechanism comprises lifting means selected from the group consisting of: manual means (e.g., hydraulic means, pneumatic means, chain and pulley), powered means (e.g., hydraulic pumps, air compressors, electric motors), or any combination thereof.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the lifting mechanism comprises a double beam having an adjustable height, and hinged to the wheeled base through a tilting hinge, a piston which is hinged to said double beam and to a lifting shaft of a lifting frame, while said lifting frame is hinged to said double beam through a lifting hinge, thereby the extension of said piston forces said lifting frame to rotate upwards around said lifting hinge. - 3 -39607/IL/19 According to an embodiment of the invention, the height of the double beam is being adjusted and secured by means selected from the group consisting of: a spring loaded pins and corresponding holes arrangement, hydraulic means, pneumatic means, electric means, or any combination thereof.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the lifting device further comprising a standing platform which may be shifted forward/rearward, and calves supports with ergonomic pads, configured to support the person's feet and calves.

Brief Description of the Drawings - Fig. 1A is a perspective view of a lifting device, according to an embodiment of the present invention; - Figs. 1B-1E illustrate the lifting process of the lifting device of Fig. 1A; and - Figs. 2A-2B are perspective views of a lifting device with a removed standing platform, showing an enlarged view of tilting adjustment means of double beam 110, according to an embodiment of the present invention; - Fig. 3A schematically illustrates a person being aided by a lifting device with double beam 121 in an orthogonal position with respect to the floor, according to an embodiment of the present invention; - Fig. 3B schematically illustrates a person being aided by a lifting device with double beam 121 in a forward-wise tilted position with respect to the floor, according to an embodiment of the present invention; and Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a lifting device in a transportable trolley configuration, according to an embodiment of the present invention. - 4 -39607/IL/19 Detailed description of the drawings The present invention relates to a lifting device for assisting physically challenged persons with the transition between a sitting posture and an upright standing posture. The proposed device comprises a lifting mechanism, which can be adjusted to provide a desirable lifting angle in accordance with the aided person's physical condition, thereby preventing excess loading on said aided person's lower back.

Fig. 1A is a perspective view of a lifting device, according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which device 100 is comprised of a base 110 provided with two rear corner wheels 111a (one of which is shown in Fig. 1) which may include a wheel stopper (not shown), two adjacent center wheels 111b, foldable front supports 1(i.e., suitable to be folded in to allow its insertion between the wheels of a wheelchair) having front wheels 112a suitable for rotating 360 degrees (i.e., thus enable the maneuvering of device 100 sideways), a standing platform 113 adapted to be shifted forward/rearward, and an adjustable trolley handle 114. Device 1further comprises a lifting mechanism 120, which is comprised of a double beam 1having an adjustable height (e.g., by means of spring loaded pins and corresponding holes arrangement 121a, or a powered hydraulic/pneumatic/electric arrangement), and being hinged to base 110 through a tilting hinge 121b, an hydraulic piston 122, one end of which is hinged to double beam 121 (i.e., by piston hinge 122a) and a second end of which is hinged to a lifting shaft 123a, of a lifting frame 123, wherein lifting frame 123 is hinged to double beam 121 through lifting hinge 123b, thereby the extension of piston 122 by a manual hydraulic handle 122b lifts up shaft 123a thus forces lifting frame 123 to rotate upwards around lifting hinge 123b (shown in Figs. 1B-1E).

Accordingly, the extension of piston 122 by operating manual hydraulic handle 122b (i.e., the upwards rotation of lifting frame 123), while a seated person is strapped by a suitable lifting strap (shown in Fig. 3) onto strap anchors 123c, while holding hand grasps 123d, and while the person's feet are positioned on standing platform 1and the person's calves are supported by calves supports 124 having suitable - 5 -39607/IL/19 ergonomic pads 124a, results with the pulling of a person by the lifting strap (i.e., being pulled by lifting frame 123) to a desirable height set by the extent to which manual hydraulic handle 122b is being operated, up to the full transition of the person from a sitting posture to an upright standing posture.

According to some embodiments of the present invention, alternate manual lifting means (e.g., pneumatic, hydraulic, chain and pully arrangements etc.) and/or powered lifting means (e.g., electric motor, a hydraulic pump, an air compressor, etc.) having suitable controls (e.g., a handle, a pulley, operation buttons etc.) are being employed for the lifting operation, having suitable control means installed in lieu or in conjunction (e.g., as a redundancy means) with manual hydraulic handle 122b.

A skilled person in the art will readily recognize the detachable and foldable components of lifting mechanism 120 (shown in Fig. 1A) and the foldable front supports 112 which may be folded out to overlap with base 110 (also shown in Fig. 1A), forming a relatively flat and compact transportable device 400 (shown in Fig. 4), where adjustable trolley handle 114 may be extended to a desirable height while center wheels 111b are being used as a trolley wheels, thereby enabling an assistant of a physically challenged person to carry device 400, for example, onto an aircraft and to store device 400 in a common overhead storage bin.

While Figs. 1A-1E shows double beam 121 which is perpendicular to the floor, device 100 further comprises adjustment means for configuring device 100 with different tilting angles of double beam 121 with respect to the floor, thereby enabling a selection of an initial lifting angle in which a sitting person will be pulled by lifting frame 123, considering the person's physical condition (i.e., a person's grasping and pulling of lifting frame 123 with his hands), as will be described in the following Figures.

Fig. 2A is a top perspective view of a lifting device with a removed standing platform 113 showing an enlarged view of tilting adjustment means of double beam 121, according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which the lower end of - 6 -39607/IL/19 double beam 121 is hinged to a support rib 201 thru tilting hinge 121b, while a tilting angle selection pin 202 (i.e., being accessible thru access hole 203) is threaded into a tilting selection hole 201b, thereby securing double beam 121 in an orthogonal position with respect to base 110.

Fig. 2B is a bottom perspective view of the lifting device of Fig. 2A showing an enlarged view of the tilting adjustment means from below, further showing multiple tilting selection holes 201a, wherein by releasing selection pin 202 from selection hole 201b, tilting of double beam 121 forward/rearward to a desirable direction and reinsertion of selection pin 202 into one of the tilting selection holes 201a (i.e., other than tilting selection hole 201b), double beam 121 may be secured in an inclined position with respect to base 110, resulting with a corresponding tilting of piston 1and corresponding forward/rearward shifting of lifting frame 123.

Fig. 3A schematically illustrates a person being aided by a lifting device 300 with double beam 121 in an orthogonal position with respect to floor 300a and to base 110 (not shown in Figs. 3A-3B for the sake of brevity and clarity), according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which person 301 is seated on bed 302, with his lower back 301a strapped by a suitable lifting strap 303 to strap anchors 123c, while holding hand grasps 123d (also shown in Fig. 1A). The horizontal distance (marked with the letter "D") between strap anchors 123c and the section of lower back 301a at which strap 303 holds person 301 determines the initial lifting angle in which strap 303 pulls the lower back 301a at a pulling force (marked with the letter "F"), horizontal and vertical components of which (marked with dashed arrows near lower back 301a showing a relatively high horizontal component with respect to the vertical component) are derived by the initial lifting angle, whereas the extension of piston 122 forces lifting frame 123 to rotate upwards (solid arrows illustrating the extension and the rotation for the sake of clarity), results in strap 303 being pulled by strap anchors 123c, where pulling force "F" is being transferred by strap 303 to lower back 301a. - 7 -39607/IL/19 While the vertical component of force "F" aids the lifting of person 301, the horizontal component may result with a painful bending of lower back 301a, particularly when person 301 is not capable of firmly holding hand grasps 123d and pulling himself with his hands.

Fig. 3B schematically illustrates a person being aided by a lifting device 300 with double beam 121 in a forward-wise tilted position with respect to floor 300a and to base 110 (not shown in Figs. 3A-3B for the sake of brevity and clarity), according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which the forward-wise tilting of double beam 121 results with a smaller horizontal distance (marked with the letter "d") between strap anchors 123c and lower back 301a, resulting with a smaller horizontal component and a higher vertical component (i.e., of force "F"), hence providing an adapted initial lifting, suitable for person 301 who is not capable of applying a meaningful pulling by his hands. component) are derived by the initial lifting angle, whereas the extension of piston 122 forces lifting frame 123 to rotate upwards (solid arrows illustrating the extension and the rotation for the sake of clarity), results in strap 303 being pulled by strap anchors 123c, where pulling force "F" is being transferred by strap 303 to lower back 301a.

Although embodiments of the invention have been described by way of illustration,it will be understood that the invention may be carried out with many variations, modifications, and adaptations, without exceeding the scope of the claims.

Claims (11)

1. 39607/IL/19 272607/- 8 - Claims1. A lifting device for assisting physically challenged persons with the transition between a sitting posture and an upright standing posture, comprising: a) a wheeled base comprising foldable front supports; b) a lifting mechanism detachably connected to said wheeled base; and c) a lifting strap coupled to said lifting mechanism by strap anchors, characterized in that said lifting mechanism is configured to provide an adjustable lifting angle suitable to control the respective horizontal and vertical loading applied during the lifting on the body of an aided person, thus when said lifting mechanism is operated it causes said lifting strap to be pulled by said strap anchors, such that a pulling force is transferred by said lifting strap to the lower back of said aided person, thereby preventing excess loading on said aided person's lower back, wherein the lifting mechanism and the wheeled base are configured to transform into a transportable trolley form.

2. The device of claim 1, in which the wheeled base further comprising an adjustable trolley handle.

3. The device of claim 1, in which the foldable front supports adapted to be inserted between the wheels of a wheelchair.

4. The device of claim 1, in which the lifting mechanism comprises lifting means selected from the group consisting of: manual means, powered means, or any combination thereof.

5. The device of claim 4, in which the manual lifting means are selected from the group consisting of: hydraulic means, pneumatic means, chain and pulley, or any combination thereof. 39607/IL/19 272607/- 9 -

6. The device of claim 4, in which the powered lifting means are selected from the group consisting of: hydraulic pumps, air compressors, electric motors, or any combination thereof.

7. The device of claim 1, in which the lifting mechanism comprises a double beam having an adjustable height, and hinged to the wheeled base through a tilting hinge, a piston which is hinged to said double beam and to a lifting shaft of a lifting frame, while said lifting frame is hinged to said double beam through a lifting hinge, thereby the extension of said piston forces said lifting frame to rotate upwards around said lifting hinge.

8. The device of claim 7, in which the height of the double beam is being adjusted and secured by means selected from the group consisting of: a spring loaded pins and corresponding holes arrangement, hydraulic means, pneumatic means, electric means, or any combination thereof.

9. The device of claim 1, further comprising a standing platform and calves supports configured to support the person's feet and calves.

10. The device of claim 9, in which the calves supports comprising ergonomic pads.

11. The device of claim 9, in which the standing platform adapted to be shifted forward/rearward.