Patent Application
20210059882
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The disclosure relates to movable leg lifting device and more particularly pertains to a new movable leg lifting device for assisting a caregiver in lifting the legs of a person who is non-ambulatory. Such a device is useful for taken care of a person who is otherwise bedridden.
The prior art relates to movable leg lifting devices used for patients or person's otherwise bedridden.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a base having a top side, a bottom side and a perimeter edge. The perimeter edge includes a front edge, a rear edge, a first lateral edge and a second lateral edges. A plurality of wheels is rotatably attached to and extends downwardly from the bottom side. A post is attached to and extends upwardly from the base. The post has an upper end. A support arm has a first end, a second end and an outer surface extending between the first and second ends. The support arm is pivotally attached to the upper end of the post. The support arm extends forward from the post. The post pivots in a vertical plane extending through the first and second ends. A lift mechanism is coupled to the post and the support arm is actuated to lift the second end up or down relative to the base. A beam is attached to the support arm adjacent to the second end. The beam is elongated and has a pair of outer ends. Each of a pair of cables is attached to the beam. The cables each have attached end and a free end. A pair of saddles is provided, wherein each saddle receives a leg. Each of the free ends has one of the saddles removably attached thereto.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
A post 32 is attached to and extends upwardly from the base 12. The post 32 has an upper end 34 and has a height typically between 4.0 feet and 7.0 feet. The post 32 is positioned between the first 24 and second 26 lateral edges and adjacent to the rear edge 22. A support arm 36 has a first end 38, a second end 40 and an outer surface 42 extending between the first 38 and second 40 ends. The support arm 36 is pivotally attached to the upper end 34 of the post 32. The first end 38 is positioned adjacent to the post 32 so that the second end 40 of the support arm 36 extends forward and away from the post 32. The post 32 pivots in a vertical plane extending through the first 38 and second 40 ends such that the second end 40 moves nearer and further away from front edge 20 of the base 12. The support arm 36 extends at least 3.0 feet forwardly away from the post 32 but will typically extend at least 4.0 feet forwardly from the post 32. On a rear surface of the post is mounted a handle 44 for facilitating the movement of the assembly 10 over a ground surface. A catch 46 may be attached to the second end 40 for engaging hooks, ropes, tethers and the like as needed.
A lift mechanism 48 is coupled to the post 32 and the support arm 36. The lift mechanism 48 is electrically powered and is actuated to lift the second end 40 up or down relative to the base 12. While any number of lift mechanisms may be used including an electric motor coupled to one or more gears or belt and pulley systems coupled to an electric motor. However, in an embodiment shown in the Figures, a piston 50 is mounted to the post 32 and is extended from or withdrawn into a cylinder 52. This may be accomplished by an electric motor 54 coupled to the piston 50 by a rack and pinion combination or the usage of hydraulic or pneumatic forces. The piston 50 is attached to the support arm 36 at or near the first end 38 thereof. As the first end 38 is forced upwardly, the second end 40 will fall and the second end 40 is lifted when the first end 38 is pulled downwardly. A control 56 is electrically coupled to the electric motor 54 and includes a switch 58 used to turn on the electric motor 54 in a first direction lifting the piston 50 or in a second direction lowering the piston 50. The control 56 is electrically to a power supply which will typically include a power cord 60 that may be plugged into a standard electrical outlet though rechargeable batteries may instead be employed.
A beam 62 is attached to the support arm 36 adjacent to the second end 40. The beam 62 is elongated and has a pair of outer ends 64. The second end 40 is positioned between the outer ends 64 and the beam 62 is orientated perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the support arm 36 extending through the first 38 and second 40 ends. As can be seen in the Figures, the support arm 36 may have a tube 66 attached thereto through which a pin 68 is extended. The pin 68 is also extended through a mount 70 on the beam 62 to removably couple the two together though the beam 62 may be permanently affixed to the support arm 36.
A pair of cables 72 is proved. Each of the cables 72 has an attached end 74 and a free end 76. As shown in the Figures, the cables 72 may comprise chains, however, the cables 72 may also include woven metallic cables, canvas strap material or other similar materials used to hang an object at fixed height and therefore are not limited by the specific construction thereof. A chain may be preferred as adjusting its length relative to the support arm 36 may be achieved by attaching the chain to the support arm 36 with a selected one of the links of the chain. Each of the attached ends 74 is attached removably to the beam 62 wherein one of the cables 72 is positioned adjacent to one of the outer ends 64 and one of the cables 72 is positioned adjacent to another one of the outer ends 64. Each of the attached 74 and free ends 76 may be comprised of a hook such as a carabiner type coupler.
A pair of saddles 78 is provided and each is configured to engage a leg of a person. The free ends 76 of the cables 72 each have one of the saddles 78 removably attached thereto. The saddles 78 each include a semi-cylindrical sleeve 80 having an open upper side 82 and a pair of open ends 84. The semi-cylindrical sleeve 80 is elongated and has upper surface 86 having an arcuate shape extending from a first side edge 88 to a second side edge 90. The size of the saddles 78 may be configured such that they can easily accommodate a particular's person's upper leg or calf. However, the semi-cylindrical sleeve 80 may be comprised of a resiliently flexible material such as plastics or elastomers which conform to the shape of the user's leg. A plurality of straps 92 extend over the upper side 82 and each strap 92 is configured to releasably retain a leg in the semi-cylindrical sleeve 80. The straps 92 each include a break 94 therein forming a pair of strap ends. A plurality of couplers 96 is provided and each of the straps 92, or strap ends, has one of the couplers 96 attached thereto to close the break 94 in a respective one of the straps 92. The couplers 96 may include slip connectors to allow a length of the straps 92 to be selectively altered. A connector 98 is attached to the semi-cylindrical sleeve 80 and is removably coupled to the free end 76 of one of the cables 72. The connector 98 may comprise a pair of tethers 100 extending upwardly from opposite sides of the semi-cylindrical sleeve 80. Each of the tethers 100 terminates with a ring 102 that is releasably engaged with one of the free ends of the cables 72.
In use, the assembly 10 is moved as needed so that a person's legs may be positioned in the saddles 78. This may be required for any number of reasons wherein a person's legs must be lifted off of a bed. The assembly 10 allows for easy for lifting of the person's legs and the control 56 may include wireless connections to allow the user, whose legs are in the assembly 10, to control the lowering and lifting of the legs. The saddles 78 are removable to allow a user to use one or two of the saddles 78.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
