GB2352391A

GB2352391A - Wall-mounted invalid standing frame

Info

Publication number: GB2352391A
Application number: GB9917739A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Paul Hilary Pinter
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1999-07-28
Filing date: 1999-07-28
Publication date: 2001-01-31
Also published as: GB9917739D0

Abstract

The frame has a flat base 1 mounted on a wall. A spring-up seat 2 is hinged to the base and can be held horizontal by stays 9 and locknuts 12. A fold-flat gripping bar 4 is also hinged to the base and has stays 8 engaging sockets 11 which have channels receiving a knee belt 7 with a clasp 6. In use an invalid sits on the seat and grasps the bar which has been deployed. Upon the invalid being stood up the seat springs up and the knee belt is tightened.

Description

1 2352391 WALL-MOUNTED INVALID STANDING FRAME This invention relates to a

standing device for temporarily or permanently handicapped people who are unable to stand unaided.

People with ailments affecting their lower limbs and/or torso need to be forcibly held in a standing position occasionally in order to prevent or retard atrophy of their lower muscular and skeletal structure. This problem is normally addressed by use of a device known as a standing frame, usually designed to be free-standing, with several sets of straps holding the patient upright at the ankle, knees and buttocks. In order to safely hold a standing adult without any external support, these devices are necessarily large, bulky and expensive. Most invalids can afford neither the cost nor the space at home to permanently accommodate such a device.

The proposed invention provides a much simpler solution making use of a wall not only to firmly secure the standing aid but also to provide support for the back and buttocks of a person standing back to the wall, by means of a braced holding bar hinged on a plate bolted to the wall, a sprung folding seat providing for the initial and final position of the patient, with a belt and cam buckle used to restrain the knees when in the upright position, the entire device being folded flat against the wall when not in use.

A specific embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing showing in isometric projection the device with the seat and holding bar set "down" ready for a patient to be seated, arrows showing the folded.'up" direction of the above when not needed.

Referring to the drawing, the device comprises a plate I fixed to a wall by means of bolts 13. Fixed to the plate by a sprung hinge 3 is a seat 2, held down by tightening nuts 12 and supported by sliding stays 9 hinged on pairs of angle brackets 10 so that as the nuts are loosened the seat can rotate up flat against the plate, when the patient either stands up or leaves the device.

Also attached to the frame by means of hinges are a pair of braces 5 across the extremities of which is fixed a holding bar 4 which the patient grips in order to pull him/herself up to a standing position. Maintaining the braces and bar at the correct angle are two hinged brackets 8 each firmly lodged into a socket assembly 11 when the patient is ready to stand. These two sockets are firmly fixed to the plate and also function as channels for passage of a restraining belt 7 with a cam buckle 6 or similar, restraining the patient's knees when standing.

2 The sequence of operations, executed with the help of an attendant, is as follows:

1. The seat 2 is held in the "down" position and secured by tightening one of the nuts 12.

2. The patient is transferred from a wheelchair onto the seat 2 and the holding bar 4 is lowered with the hinged brackets 8 lodged into the sockets 11.

3. The tightening nut is released and the patient is helped to a standing position, whereupon the seat springs up flat against the plate 1 4. The restraining belt 7 is rapidly secured across the patient's knees and pulled tight, held by the cam buckle 6.

5. After the prescribed period of standing, the restraining belt is gradually released with one hand while simultaneously the seat is pulled down with the other, so that as the knees bend the seat is lowered to a horizontal position under the patient's buttocks.

6. The holding bar is then folded up against the wall and the patient transferred back to the wheelchair, whereupon the seat springs back to the "up" position.

3

Claims

1. A wall-mounted invalid standing frame comprising a flat plate onto which are attached a sprung-hinged seat, a hinged holding bar on braces with hinged brackets, and a restraining belt for the knees.

2. A wall-mounted invalid standing frame as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the holding bar and braces may be extended to accommodate patients of differing heights.

3. A wall-mounted invalid standing frame as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein the patient's knees are restrained by clamps adapted to cooperate with the seat such that the clamps are activated when the seat reaches the vertical position.