Standing aid for helping a person stand up

Abstract

A standing aid for helping a person stand up is proposed, having a frame, at least one support arm arranged movably on the frame and with handles, and a drive device coupled to the frame and to the at least one support arm in order to move the at least one support arm to a lowered and to a raised position, and having at least one padded rest configured to support the shins of the person during the movement of the at least one support arm. The padded rest is formed from a viscoelastic foam with a thickness of at least 6 cm and is dimensioned in such a way that the person's kneecaps at all times bear on the padded rest during the movement of the support arm.

Claims

1. Standing aid for helping a person stand up, having: a frame having a base from which a vertical portion of the frame extends vertically upward, at least one support arm movably disposed on the vertical portion of the frame, wherein the at least one support arm has a support handle, a drive device coupled to the frame and to the at least one support arm, wherein the drive device is configured to move the at least one support arm to a lowered position and to a raised position, and at least one padded rest configured to support the entire shins and knees of the person during a movement of the at least one support arm, wherein the at least one padded rest is formed from a viscoelastic foam with a thickness of at least 6 cm and is dimensioned such that the person's entire shins and kneecaps at all times bear on the at least one padded rest during the movement of the at least one support arm, wherein a rear side of the at least one padded rest has a fixed shell on which the viscoelastic foam is arranged, wherein the rear side of the at least one padded rest has a pivotable bearing connected to the frame, wherein the pivotable bearing has at least one horizontal hinge axis, wherein the pivotable bearing is configured to tilt the at least one padded rest about the horizontal hinge axis of the pivotable bearing due to a movement of the person during the movement of the at least one support arm, wherein the at least one padded rest extends over a foot rest of the frame, wherein a base layer made of a cold-cure foam is arranged between the viscoelastic foam and the fixed shell, and wherein the base layer has a thickness corresponding at most to one quarter of the thickness of the viscoelastic foam.

2. Standing aid according to claim 1, wherein the viscoelastic foam has a thickness of 7 to 13 cm.

3. Standing aid according to claim 2, wherein the thickness of the viscoelastic foam is in a range of 9 to 11 cm.

4. Standing aid according to claim 3, wherein the thickness of the viscoelastic foam is 10 cm.

5. Standing aid according to claim 1, wherein the pivotable bearing is arranged substantially centrally on the at least one padded rest.

6. Standing aid according to claim 1, wherein the at least one padded rest has a flexible, water-tight protective layer.

7. Standing aid according to claim 1, wherein the at least one padded rest is configured to extend to a height of at least 65 cm relative to the foot rest.

8. Standing aid according to claim 7, wherein the height is at least 70 cm relative to the foot rest.

9. Standing aid according to claim 1, wherein the at least one padded rest has a width of at least 60 cm.

10. Standing aid according to claim 9, wherein the at least one padded rest has a width of at least 70 cm.

11. Standing aid according to claim 1, wherein the at least one padded rest is in one piece.

12. Standing aid according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the base layer is at most one eighth of the thickness of the viscoelastic foam.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Further features, details and advantages of the invention will become clear from the wording of the claims and also from the following description of illustrative embodiments with reference to the drawings, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the standing aid according to the disclosure, obliquely from the side;

(3) FIG. 1a shows a sectional view of a padded rest of the standing aid;

(4) FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the standing aid, from above; and

(5) FIG. 3 shows an isolated perspective view of the bottom portion of the disclosed standing aid, directed to the rear side of the padded rest.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(6) FIG. 1 shows an example of a standing aid 2 according to the present disclosure.

(7) The standing aid 2 has a frame 4, the latter having a base 6 with four castors 8 which stand on a floor. The castors 8 can be at least partially blocked. A vertical portion 10 of the frame 4 extends substantially vertically upward from the base 6, i.e. in a direction away from the floor. There, a pivot bearing 12 is provided on which a support arm 14 is pivotably mounted. The pivot bearing 12 is designed in such a way that the support arm 14 is movable about a substantially horizontal pivot axis between a lowered and a raised position. The support arm 14 has several handles 16 and 18 allowing a person to hold on. In addition, belts, straps or slings could be applied here.

(8) The standing aid 2 moreover has a drive device 20 which is equipped, for example, with a linear drive 22 coupled to the support arm 14. The drive device 20 is arranged pivotably on the vertical portion 10 of the frame 4, such that its orientation can adapt to the respective position of the support arm 14 during the pivoting of the support arm 14.

(9) Moreover, a foot rest 24 on which a person can place their feet is arranged on the base 6, such that the standing aid 2 cannot accidentally roll away as the person stands up, and instead the person and the standing aid 2 are fixed relative to each other. A padded rest 26, which is configured in one piece for example, is located vertically above the foot rest 24.

(10) The padded rest 26 has a substantially flat structure and extends for example by a width of approximately 70 cm. Moreover, its extent in the vertical direction is chosen such that, for practically all sizes of persons, it is possible to ensure that the shins and knees can be placed on a bearing surface 28 of the padded rest 26.

(11) The padded rest 26 additionally has a fixed shell 30 which is arranged opposite the bearing surface 28. The shell 30 serves to secure the padded rest 26 on the frame 4 and to hold a viscoelastic foam 32 which is located in the padded rest 26 and which extends as far as the bearing surface 28. For example, a base layer 34, which has a cold-cure foam, can additionally be arranged between the foam 32 and the fixed shell 30. This prevents a person from hitting directly against the fixed shell 30 if the depth of the foam 32 is fully penetrated (see FIG. 1a).

(12) The foam 32 is a viscoelastic foam which has a thickness of at least 6 cm, alternatively of at least 7-13 cm, or alternatively of approximately 10 cm. On account of its viscoelastic properties, it is particularly suitable for the standing aid 2 according to the disclosure. When a person places their feet on the foot rest 24, the shins and the kneecaps are intended to nestle onto the padded rest 26. With gentle contact, and within a short space of time, the viscoelastic foam 32 is able to gradually follow the contour of the shins and of the knees and thus conform ideally to the person in question. However, on account of the viscoelastic properties, the foam 32 is able to apply a sufficient counter-force in the event of more rapid movements or of sudden changes of the mechanical pressure. When the foam 32 therefore adapts to the person in question, there is a very uniform surface contact over the shins and the knees. When the person stands up, the mechanical pressure on the foam 32 changes quite rapidly, such that it is exposed to a temporary, attenuated counter-force. The foam 32 therefore functions as a support bearing and is distinguished by the very uniform pressure across the whole surface contact on the bearing surface 28. Consequently, the load on the person's knees is also barely noticeable.

(13) Therefore, the padded rest 26 does not have to be mechanically adapted to a particular person, and instead, as is shown in FIG. 1, can be provided in a relatively large format and, on account of the viscoelastic properties, can generate sufficient mechanical support with at the same time a low surface load. By virtue of a sufficient width, it is also possible to take account of persons whose upper legs are somewhat more voluminous and in whom the distance between the knees is slightly greater than in other persons. The padded rest 26 could even be designed slightly larger than shown here in FIG. 1, since there would be sufficient space available for this in the vertical direction.

(14) For easier cleaning or disinfecting of the padded rest 26, a protective layer 35 can be provided which completely surrounds the foam 32 and the shell 30. The protective layer 35 can be water-tight and resistant to chemicals, in particular disinfecting agents.

(15) FIG. 2 shows the standing aid 2 in a view obliquely from the front and from above. It reveals in particular the forms of the different handles 16 and 18 and also the shape of the support arm 14. The support arm 14 has a U-shape, for example, and extends at an uppermost end of the vertical portion 10 over the base 6. A similar U-shape is taken up by the base 6, wherein the foot rest 24 is located in the U-shape of the base 6. It can be seen that the padded rest 26 has a width which corresponds approximately to the width of the support arm 14 and to the spacing of the handles 16. Its width slightly exceeds the width of the foot rest 24 and could be dimensioned more or less at shoulder width.

(16) A further essential detail is illustrated in FIG. 3, in which the base 6 is shown in a view obliquely from behind. A pivotable bearing 36 is arranged here which allows the padded rest 26 to perform a tilting movement about a horizontal hinge axis 38. The hinge axis 38 runs at approximately half the height of the padded rest 26. As the person stands up, the padded rest 26 is thus allowed to perform a tilting movement about the hinge axis 38. Since, during a standing-up movement from a seated position to a standing position, the orientation of the person's shins and knees changes, the padded rest 26 can follow this movement very easily and in an entirely flexible manner, without losing its temporary shape adaptation to the person.

(17) The bearing 36 can be freely movable. However, it is also conceivable to provide a spring arrangement in the bearing 36, which spring arrangement predefines at least one idle position of the padded rest 26. The spring device could be dimensioned in such a way that nothing opposes a free movement of the padded rest 26, and only a torque about the bearing 36, caused by the inherent weight of the padded rest 26, is compensated.

(18) The invention is not limited to one of the above-described embodiments and instead can be modified in many ways. It will be noted however that a standing aid 2 for helping a person stand up has a frame 4, at least one support arm 14 mounted movably on the frame 4 with a handle 16, 18, and a drive device 20 coupled to the frame 4 and to the at least one support arm 14 in order to move the at least one support arm 14 to a lowered and to a raised position. The standing aid 2 moreover has at least one padded rest 26 for supporting the person during the movement of the at least one support arm 14. According to the invention, the padded rest 26 is made from a viscoelastic foam 32 with a thickness of at least 6 cm and is dimensioned in such a way that the kneecaps of the person standing up at all time bear on the padded rest 26 during the movement of the support arm 14.

(19) All of the features and advantages emerging from the claims, the description and the drawing, including design details, spatial arrangements and method steps, may be essential to the invention both on their own and in a wide variety of combinations.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

(20) 2 standing aid 4 frame 6 base 8 castor 10 vertical portion 12 pivot bearing 14 support arm 16 handle 18 handle 20 drive device 22 linear drive 24 foot rest 26 padded rest 28 bearing surface 30 shell 32 foam 34 base layer 35 protective layer 36 bearing 38 hinge axis