Power lifting toilet chair
The power lifting toilet chair is a toilet chair which provides 100% lifting capability for up to a 500-pound obese or elderly or disabled person or recovering hospital patient to sit down on a toilet unaided and to rise unaided after using the toilet. The power lifting toilet chair, which stands over and around an existing toilet bowl, can be used without removal of the existing toilet seat. However, for semi-permanent applications, the existing toilet seat would best be removed. The power lifting toilet chair was designed to be powered either by two electrically-powered actuators (12) or by two manually-operated non-electric actuators (46). The non-electric embodiment of the power lifting toilet chair will allow production and use of this invention by elderly, obese or disabled persons or patients in remote or underdeveloped regions without access to electrical power.
This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application Serial Numbers U.S. 60/606,712, and U.S. 60/606,713, filed Sep. 2, 2004 by Dan Cary Johnson.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY-SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENTThis invention was conceived, designed and constructed without any federally sponsored research and development funds of any kind.
REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE OR A COMPUTER PROGRAMNot applicable.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to toilet chairs, specifically to power lifting toilet chairs for elderly, disabled or obese persons and recovering hospital patients who lack the strength to sit down or to rise unaided from a toilet seat.
2. Prior Art
Currently, the above mentioned persons, whether at home, in a rest home or in a hospital, require considerable daily man-hours by caregivers, nurses, or attendants, assisting them with toilet visits. The search of prior art has revealed only assisted-lift toilet chairs, using spring-loaded devices, which can only offer partial assistance to a person attempting to rise from a toilet seat. None of the prior art devices offers 100% lifting capability.
3. Objects and Advantages
The objects of the power lifting toilet chair are:
-
- (a) to provide 100% load capability to gently lower an elderly, disabled or obese person weighing up to 500 pounds into position over a toilet,
- (b) to provide 100% lifting capability for an elderly, disabled or obese person, weighing up to 500 pounds to arise unaided from the toilet,
- (c) to provide a reliable, easy to use, low maintenance power lifting toilet device,
- (d) to free elderly, disabled or obese persons and hospital patients from having to depend on others for toilet visits,
- (e) to restore self reliance and dignity to persons accustomed to dependence on others for toilet visits,
- (f) to free nurses and caregivers from possible back injuries due to lifting heavy patients or elderly persons,
- (g) to free nurses and caregivers from having to be continually on call to assist heavy patients or elderly persons and to clean toilet receptacles,
- (h) to reduce liability risks in hospitals, rest homes and retirement homes due to back injuries of caregivers, nurses and attendants, incurred lifting heavy patients onto and off of toilets,
- (i) to reduce hospital and rest home employee absences and lost worker hours due to back injuries from lifting heavy patients onto and off of toilets,
- (j) with wheels attached to the chair legs, the patient or disabled person can be rolled from the bed to the toilet and back,
- (k) by installing wheels and adding seat cushions, the power lifting toilet chair can be rolled into a bedroom, living room or dining room and used as an occasional chair.
The advantages of the power lifting toilet chair include:
-
- (a) Ease of production-all required parts and materials are readily available. Design is simple and straightforward.
- (b) Low cost-all required parts and materials are relatively low cost. Electric actuators can be procured for under $100 U.S. Hydraulic jacks can be procured for under $10 U.S.
- (c) Manufacturing flexibility—the power lifting toilet chair design permits a manufacturer to either add power lifting hardware to an existing toilet chair or to manufacture the complete power lifting toilet chair.
- (d) No sophisticated manufacturing processes are required to produce the power lifting toilet chair. The prototype power lifting toilet chairs included two welded steel frame models and one all-wood model, all constructed and tested in a home workshop.
- (e) The power lifting toilet chair will have tremendous market appeal worldwide because it provides a first-time capability for completely lifting elderly, disabled or obese persons and recovering hospital patients off toilets. Market potential for the invention will exist in every hospital, rehabilitation center, nursing home, retirement home, and elderly person's home world-wide.
- (f) Further growth of markets for the power lifting toilet chair will result from the fact that the elderly population of the world is steadily growing in numbers.
- (g) This invention solves a long-felt, long-existing, but unsolved need.
- (h) The non-electric embodiment of the power lifting toilet chair will allow production and use of this invention by elderly, disabled, or obese persons, or recovering hospital patients in remote or under-developed regions without access to electrical power.
Still further objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing description and drawings.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThis invention, designed for elderly, disabled or obese persons and recovering hospital patients, is placed over and around a standard toilet bowl. It can lower a person onto a toilet then gently lift ALL of a person's weight to a position 30 inches above the floor and translated 6 inches forward to place the occupant's center of body mass at or near his or her center of balance as he or she stands up after using a toilet.
This invention, which has been demonstrated in three prototype power lifting toilet chairs, can lift 100% of a 500-pound occupant's weight and place him or her in a near-standing position. This invention restores self-reliance and dignity to a person who lacks strength in his or her legs to rise unaided from a toilet seat or toilet chair. And, this invention reduces or eliminates caregiver, hospital assistant or rest home nurse man-hours spent assisting patients with their toilet visits or emptying and cleaning toilet chair receptacles.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING
The search of prior art revealed only spring-assisted toilet chairs, which provide only partial lifting assistance when a person attempts to arise from the seated position on a toilet. We found no toilet chair in existence which could lift 100% of a 500-pound person's weight to a near-standing position. This invention, which is powered by two electrically-powered actuators, permits an elderly, disabled or obese person to sit down and arise from a toilet seat by simply moving the electric switch to the UP or DOWN positions. The toilet seat of the power lifting toilet chair is mounted on top of a power lifting seat frame, which is lifted upward and tilted forward by two actuators attached to each side. The actuators and lifting linkages are positioned such that the power lifting toilet chair can be placed over and around a toilet bowl and operated without touching the toilet bowl. The actuators are suspended by brackets from the main chair cross members so that the chair legs can be extended or shortened without affecting actuator operation.
The load limit of the electrically-powered actuators used for the power lifting toilet chair prototype exceeds 400 pounds each.
The photograph,
This invention was designed to permit either 100% manufacturing of chair and lifting mechanisms or simply adding bolt-on brackets, actuators and lifting member linkages to a pre-welded toilet chair.
Although the description above contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of three of the embodiments of this invention. For example, the chair frame, legs, and lifting mechanisms can be made from numerous materials, including plywood, as documented in the reference provisional patent applications. Thus, the scope of this invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given.
Claims
1. A power lifting toilet chair which stands over and surrounds a toilet bowl, comprising:
- a. a chair frame made of metal, wood, plastic, fiberglass, vinyl or or composite materials, having removable rotatable wheels mounted thereunder for enabling said chair frame to roll about a surface,
- b. one or more force-generating devices mounted to said chair frame for producing lifting means, and
- c. a plurality of lifting members connecting the force-generating devices to a lifting seat frame, which has a toilet seat mounted on top
- whereby said lifting seat frame and said toilet seat with a 500-pound occupant will be lowered gently over said toilet bowl, then lifted gently upward and simultaneously tilted forward from a resting position over said toilet bowl until said occupant arrives at a near-standing position.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 24, 2005
Publication Date: Mar 2, 2006
Inventors: Dan Johnson (West Jefferson, NC), Vada Johnson (West Jefferson, NC)
Application Number: 11/041,112
International Classification: A47K 13/10 (20060101);