Kneeling aid

A kneeling aid for household or garden use in the form of a platform or board with upstanding handles by means of which work required to be done in a kneeling or near kneeling position may be accomplished. The platform has an upper padded surface (9) and handles (16) at opposite ends thereof for assuming or arising from the kneeling posture. The handles (16) have elongated slots engaging hinge pins (15) in support members (8). This slot-and-pin arrangement allows locking of the handles in the upright position consequent to downward sliding of the handles in supports (8), while raising of the handles permits them to be pivoted into cut-outs (10) so that the handles can lie folded onto the platform.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a device in the form of a kneeling aid 
particularly, but not exclusively, for household or garden use, and 
comprises a kneeling platform or board by means of which work required to 
be done in a kneeling or near kneeling position may be more comfortably 
and efficiently accomplished, while also providing means for aiding the 
person using the device in assuming the kneeling position and arising 
therefrom. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
According to the invention, there is provided a kneeling aid comprising a 
base part having a resilient or padded upper kneeling surface, said base 
part being provided with handles at opposite ends thereof which are 
adapted to be grasped by a person in assuming or arising from the kneeling 
position or for maintaining balance during the kneeling posture, said 
handles being hingedly mounted on the base part so as to be movable from 
an upright releasably lockable position to a collapsed position on the 
base part. 
The handles may be hingedly and slidably mounted in upstanding support 
members integral with or secured to and adjacent the rear corners of the 
base part, and pivot means such as pivot pins may be provided in the 
upstanding support members and engageable in elongated slots in the 
portion of the handles engageable in said support members which are 
provided on their inner facing upper ends with cut-out portions, said 
handles being slidable downwardly in said support members to lock same in 
their upright position and movable upwards through said slots to a 
position wherein they can be pivoted inwardly into said cut-out portions 
to a collapsed position above said base part. 
According to another embodiment of the invention, the support members are 
located adjacent the front corners of the base part.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring to FIGS. 1 to 6 of the drawings, the device comprises a 
rectangular base member 5 comprising a tubular U-shaped frame 6 having a 
flat bottom part 7 attached thereto and having upstanding socket members 8 
at the rear corners thereof, said socket members 8 being preferably formed 
as an integral part of tubular frame 6. Located on the bottom part 7 is a 
pad 9 of resilient plastic material. 
The upstanding socket members 8 are each provided with a cut-out portion 10 
preferably formed with a lip portion 11 (FIG. 5), said cut-out portions 10 
being formed on the inwardly facing surfaces of the socket members 8. 
Handles 12 are provided with a portion 13 having an elongated closed slot 
14 formed therein, and said socket members 8 are each provided with a 
pivot pin 15 engageable through said closed slot 14 of a handle 12. The 
handle portion 16 above said portion 13 is angled towards the front of the 
device and at its upper end extend rearwardly at 17 to form a handle 
engaging part provided with suitable resilient grip members 18. 
As shown in FIG. 1, with the handles in the upright in-use position, the 
handle portions 13 are engaged in the socket members 8 with the pivot pins 
15 engaging the top end of the slots 14. To collapse the handle 12 onto or 
above the base member 5, for carrying, stowage or packaging purposes, the 
handles 12 are lifted upwards in socket members 8 until the pivot pins 
engage against the lower end of the slots and the handles can then be 
pivoted inwardly, one above the other as illustrated in FIG. 4. 
FIGS. 7 and 8 show a modified form of the device of the invention, wherein 
one socket member 8 is longer than the other socket member 8' and handle 
12 is shorter than handle 12', so that when the handles are hinged to the 
collapsed position, a more compact folded configuration is obtained, as 
illustrated in FIG. 8. 
The embodiment shown in FIGS. 9 to 11 is of similar construction to the 
embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 6, but with the socket members 8 located at the 
front of the base member 5, and wherein the preferred hinge construction 
is as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6. The locking of the handles in the 
upright position and inward pivoting of the handles to the collapsed 
position is as described with relation to FIGS. 1 to 6. The feature of 
FIGS. 7 and 8 may also apply to this embodiment. 
Instead of slot 14 being located in handle 12 and pin 15 in socket 8, the 
slot may be formed in socket 8 and pin 15 secured in portion 13 of handle 
12. This embodiment is illustrated in FIGS. 12 and 13.