Patent Application
20140150354
The present invention relates to a support assembly for assisting a person in traversing a distance generally, and more specifically to a support assembly for assisting in the ascending and descending of a staircase.
Falls, slips and trips are among the most common accidents leading to injuries for the elderly. This is particularly true around the home while traveling across structures that are more difficult to traverse, such as stairways. Stairways present particular dangers, because the elderly are forced to lift their legs more than they normally would. Because of the added height of the person climbing, the risk of damage from a fall on a staircase is greater as well. Further, the danger of falling on staircases causes many who own homes to avoid staircases, and therefore avoid using multiple stories within their own home. This lowers the potential for exercise among the elderly, and reduces opportunities for contact with people outside the home.
Many devices exist in the prior art for assisting the elderly in climbing or descending staircases. The vast majority of these devices lack meaningful adjustments for users, so that not only must a user, for example, grasp a device at a fixed level that cannot be adjusted for their personal use, but that level is the same for users ascending and descending stairs. That means that a user may reach upwards to grasp the device when ascending stairs, making it difficult to hold for an extended period of time due to difficulty in extending arms upwards. It also means that the same user may have to reach downwards to grasp the same device when descending stairs, causing the user to hunch over, damaging posture and creating additional danger due to the user traversing the staircase in an unnatural position.
In one example, the device shown in GB 2440387 provides a bar for gripping that extends horizontally across a staircase at the height of a handrail. Similar issues plague the device of U.S. Pat. No. 7,870,695. Other devices require complicated and expensive installations, or lack the stability required. Some such devices are integrated into canes, or walkers, but those devices lack the stability possibly by fixing a device relative to the space or structure being traversed.
Maintaining stability and proper posture are critical for the comfort, health, and safety of users, while maintaining proper posture can also ease strain on the back and legs, among other stressed body parts. Further advantages may be provided using add on components to, for example, maintain trays to allow users to grasp grips with both hands instead of using one hand to carry an item or to maintain a drink or food in a stable position.
What is needed is a new type of support device for assisting a user in traversing some distance or structure, such as a staircase, while maintain proper posture in both ascending and descending such a staircase, without requiring substantial adjustments between uses. Such a support device should be stable, simple, and provide comfort, safety, and other benefits for a user.
In one embodiment, there is provided a support assembly comprising an elongated rail, such as might be attached to and/or function as a handrail, a support sleeve slidable along the elongated rail, and a handle attached to the support sleeve. The handle has a central axis, a first grip and a second grip on opposite sides of the central axis, wherein each grip is preferably connected to the other by first and second connecting members that combine with the first and second grips to form a handle frame. In one embodiment, a user holds onto one or more of the grips on the handle frame while ascending or descending a flight of stairs, for example, with such movement being assisted by the sliding of the support sleeve along the elongated rail.
The description of illustrative embodiments according to principles of the present invention is intended to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings, which are to be considered part of the entire written description. In the description of embodiments of the invention disclosed herein, any reference to direction or orientation is merely intended for convenience of description and is not intended in any way to limit the scope of the present invention. Relative terms such as “lower,” “upper,” “horizontal,” “vertical,” “above,” “below,” “up,” “down,” “top” and “bottom” as well as derivative thereof (e.g., “horizontally,” “downwardly,” “upwardly,” etc.) should be construed to refer to the orientation as then described or as shown in the drawing under discussion. These relative terms are for convenience of description only and do not require that the apparatus be constructed or operated in a particular orientation unless explicitly indicated as such. Terms such as “attached,” “affixed,” “connected,” “coupled,” “interconnected,” and similar refer to a relationship wherein structures are secured or attached to one another either directly or indirectly through intervening structures, as well as both movable or rigid attachments or relationships, unless expressly described otherwise. Moreover, the features and benefits of the invention are illustrated by reference to the exemplified embodiments. Accordingly, the invention expressly should not be limited to such exemplary embodiments illustrating some possible non-limiting combination of features that may exist alone or in other combinations of features; the scope of the invention being defined by the claims appended hereto.
This disclosure describes the best mode or modes of practicing the invention as presently contemplated. This description is not intended to be understood in a limiting sense, but provides an example of the invention presented solely for illustrative purposes by reference to the accompanying drawings to advise one of ordinary skill in the art of the advantages and construction of the invention. In the various views of the drawings, like reference characters designate like or similar parts.
Handle 120 extends outwardly relative to the support sleeve 110 at least partially across stairs 130 and has a first grip 150 to be grasped by a person 170 ascending stairs 130 and a second grip 160 to be gripped by a person 180 descending stairs 130. In various embodiments, a user may grasp the grips 150, 160, to prevent falling when traversing any area along rail 140, with first grip 150 supporting a user while traversing the area in one direction and the second grip 160 supporting a user while traversing the area in a second direction. While the first grip 150 and the second grip 160 are described relative to the position of a user situated on stairs or the like, it will be appreciated that a user may, if desired, use the grip 150 while descending stairs and similarly a user may use the grip 160 while ascending stairs. In addition, a user may, if desired, grasp both grips 150 and 160 during various stages of movement if additional stability is desired. Further, while each grip 150, 160 may be structurally and/or functionally similar or identical, grip 150 may, for example, be specifically adapted and ergonomically configured to accommodate a user's grip during ascent and may be provided with, for example, additional gripping support where the user's fingers contact the grip. Similarly, grip 160 may, for example, be specifically adapted and configured to accommodate a user's grip during descent and may be provided with, for example, additional gripping support where the user's palm impacts the grip 160. The grips may incorporate other structural and/or ergonomic features as desired for particular environments.
When in use, in one non-limiting embodiment, support sleeve 110 slides in the direction of the user's motion along rail 140, and supports the handle 200 that extends outwardly from the sleeve 110 and generally perpendicular to the direction of motion of the user. The user may thereby grasp grips 150, 160 extending directly in front of him or her in order to prevent falling while in motion.
First grip 150 and second grip 160 are preferably linked by a first connecting member 190 having a first end 200 connecting to first grip 150, a second end 210 connecting to second grip 160, and a central connection point 220 for connecting to the support sleeve 110. In some embodiments, a second connecting member 230 also connects to the first grip 150 and the second grip 160 and the two connecting members 190, 230 and the two grips 150, 160 combine to form a handle frame 240. In some embodiments, the handle frame 240 is rotatable about central axis 250 (
Handle frame 240, as shown in certain embodiments, takes the form of a substantially rectangular configuration bisected by bisector 260, although other shapes are contemplated. In some embodiments, for example, the handle frame may be circular or oval and contain a pair of grips on opposite sides of a central axis. Further, grips may be shaped for easier grasping, and may therefore wrap around a user, or provide grips at more comfortable locations of a user to grasp. Several non-limiting alternative embodiments incorporating several of these features are discussed below.
In the illustrated embodiment, handle frame 240 rotates about central axis 250 in order to adjust the orientations of grips 150, 160 for the user. Because the grips are offset from central axis 250, they may be adjusted by the user in each direction, and in most cases, the grips do not require substantial adjustment between uses in the different directions. Because only one of grips 150, 160 are preferably in use at any given time, the unused grip may be used for hanging an item, such as cane 265 (
In some embodiments, support sleeve 110 is configured to limit the rate of movement of handle 120 along rail 140. Support sleeve may be configured with frictional surfaces so that support sleeve 110 buckles relative to rail 140 when force is applied in a direction other than the direction of travel. Similarly, support sleeve 110 may contain a friction wheel that allows the user to select a direction of travel, or limit the rate at which support sleeve 110 can move along rail 140 under force applied during normal use.
The independent adjustment of the grips 410 allows a taller user or shorter user to adjust each grip 410 to a different point as needed, while a rotation adjustment 490, such as the mechanism described in
In the illustrated embodiment, the grips 410 are covered in a rubberized material 480 allowing for easy and comfortable gripping of handle frame 450. It will be understood that the grips may be made out of or coated with many materials for the purposes of comfort and ease of gripping, as well as increased gripability, including rubber, neoprene, appropriately molded plastic, or a high friction tape among others. In some embodiments, additional grips may be provided to allow for additional gripping surfaces. The additional grips may be permanently implemented, or they may be removable (not shown) when not in use. In one embodiment, addition grip overlays or covers may be attached to or over the grips 410 to provide a user with a varied tactile experience.
Additionally, support assembly 500 further comprises a bisector 540 along central axis 520 that connects a first connecting member 550 to a second connecting member 560. In the illustrated embodiment, bisector 540 extends beyond second connecting member 560 and is provided with a notch that forms a hook 570 that may be used to hold an additional item, such as a hand bag 580 or a cane or the like.
Additional add-on devices may be included as well, and may provide added functionality. While the add-on features in the embodiment of
While the support assembly in the various embodiments described herein is shown with certain configurations and constructions, it will be understood that many features of the support sleeve, handle and handle frame, as well as the rail, may be varied without altering the nature of the elements, and as such the elements discussed may be implemented in a variety of ways. Features that may be varied include, but are not limited to, the shape of the handle frame, the contact points between the support sleeve and the rail, the grips on the handle, the systems for locking the handle frame in specified positions relative to the central axis, as well as the systems for expanding and contracting the distance between the grips and the central axis.
The support assembly may be constructed in different ways and out of different materials and may be configured to achieve additional benefits. In some embodiments, the support assembly is specifically configured for a user to ascend and descend stairs, and the support assembly is designed so that user does not contact the grip when raising or lowering his or her legs. In some embodiments, the grips rotate about the central axis so that a user that maintains a different posture at different times of day may be able to use the support assembly over the course of the day with minimal adjustments. Similarly, the expansion and contraction of the distance between the grips and the central axis allow users of different heights to easily adapt the support assembly for use. Further, when the support assembly is used for ascending and descending stairs, the assembly is generally angled so that the grips point upwards towards the top of the stairs and downwards towards the bottom of the stairs. So that the grip is an appropriate height for a user ascending or descending the stairs. In one embodiment, the support sleeve slides only under a force substantially along the elongated rail, and in one embodiment the support sleeve slides in only one direction at a time along the elongated rail based on a user selection. In such an embodiment, the support assembly further comprises a friction wheel for controlling the direction of travel of the support sleeve.
While the present invention has been described at some length and with some particularity with respect to the several described embodiments, it is not intended that it should be limited to any such particulars or embodiments or any particular embodiment, but it is to be construed with references to the appended claims so as to provide the broadest possible interpretation of such claims in view of the prior art and, therefore, to effectively encompass the intended scope of the invention. Furthermore, the foregoing describes the invention in terms of embodiments foreseen by the inventor for which an enabling description was available, notwithstanding that insubstantial modifications of the invention, not presently foreseen, may nonetheless represent equivalents thereto.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/733,387, filed Dec. 4, 2012, the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61733387 | Dec 2012 | US |
