Tiltable lift seat devices
First Claim
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1. A device for enabling a person to be raised and lowered by a seat member comprising:
- a planar base member disposed substantially parallel to and below the seat member when it is in a lowered position;
a multi-arm linkage mechanism coupling the upper surface of the base member to the undersurface of the seat member, the arms of the linkage mechanism including pivotal coupling means at each end;
force storage means comprising gas spring means including an extensible member, the gas spring means and extensible member being laterally disposed adjacent and substantially parallel to the underside of the base member, arcuate lever means pivotally coupled to the base member on the underside thereof, the pivotal coupling being in a region intermediate the length of the arcuate lever means, and the lever means including a number of engagement means spaced therealong;
adjustable coupling means coupling the extensible member of the force storage means to the lever means at one of the selected engagement means thereon; and
linkage means partially disposed in a plane substantially normal to the base member plane and coupling an end of the arcuate lever means to the linkage mechanism for transferring forces from the force storage means to the seat member as the seat member position changes.
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Abstract
A seating device for aged, infirm and handicapped persons includes a passive, pivotably mounted, energy storage device laterally disposed below a seat base, and a parallelogram linkage between the seat base and a chair seat for controlling elevation and tilting motion of the seat. A lever which can be coupled at selectable points along an arc about the pivot point of the energy storage device exerts torque on the parallelogram linkage to oppose downward movement and aid upward movement. By varying the position of engagement of the energy storage device to the lever, the force exerted can be adjusted to the weight of the user.
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Citations
26 Claims
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1. A device for enabling a person to be raised and lowered by a seat member comprising:
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a planar base member disposed substantially parallel to and below the seat member when it is in a lowered position; a multi-arm linkage mechanism coupling the upper surface of the base member to the undersurface of the seat member, the arms of the linkage mechanism including pivotal coupling means at each end; force storage means comprising gas spring means including an extensible member, the gas spring means and extensible member being laterally disposed adjacent and substantially parallel to the underside of the base member, arcuate lever means pivotally coupled to the base member on the underside thereof, the pivotal coupling being in a region intermediate the length of the arcuate lever means, and the lever means including a number of engagement means spaced therealong; adjustable coupling means coupling the extensible member of the force storage means to the lever means at one of the selected engagement means thereon; and linkage means partially disposed in a plane substantially normal to the base member plane and coupling an end of the arcuate lever means to the linkage mechanism for transferring forces from the force storage means to the seat member as the seat member position changes. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. In a lift seat structure employing a planar base and an intermediate linkage for raising and lowering a seat relative to the base, the combination comprising:
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an elongated spring member disposed adjacent and along one side of the base, the spring member being pivotally coupled to the base and having an extensible element extending therefrom; lever means comprising first and second arms extending from an intermediate pivot region to free ends, the first arm being disposed substantially transversely to the extensible element and including a number of engagement regions at different distances from the intermediate pivot region, the second arm extending from the pivot region in a different direction than the first arm, and both the first and second arms lying in a plane adjacent and parallel to the base; pivot means coupling the lever means to the base in the pivot region; means detachably coupled a free end of the extensible element to one of the engagement regions of the first arm; and linkage means pivotally coupled to the free end of the second arm and to the intermediate linkage mechanism. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A low profile seating device including a lifting seat and means for aiding a person to sit upon and rise from the seat, comprising:
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planar base means disposed in a normally horizontal position; energy storage means disposed below the base means and including lever means coupled to the energy storage means and movable to compress and storage energy in the energy storage means when the seat is to be lowered and to provide energy to lift the seat when it is to be raised, the lever means moving in a substantially horizontal plane; seat means including mechanical linkage means for providing a controlled seat elevating motion; linkage means coupled through the base from the lever means to the seat means, such that lowering the seat compresses the spring means to provide energy for raising the seat means thereafter, and the linkage means is confined between the base means and seat means. - View Dependent Claims (22)
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23. A mechanism for passively providing force to aid an aged, infirm or handicapped person in sitting down on and rising from a seat, in a sitting device of the type having a parallelogram linkage coupling a seat base to the seat, comprising:
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a parallelogram linkage including crossbar means, disposed in a plane spanning the seat width, for controlling seat motion and altitude relative to the base; compression spring means having a first end pivotally coupled in a parallel plane to the base and an extendable second end; lever means, pivotally coupled in a parallel plane to the base having a first arm and a second arm extending in substantially perpendicular directions and the first arm providing a number of engagement points for coupling to the second end of the spring means; linkage means comprising a number of pivotally coupled links for coupling the second arm of the lever means to the crossbar means so that forces exerted by said spring means are transferred to the parallelogram linkage, said linkage means including means for disengaging from the crossbar means. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26)
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Specification