Abstract:
A manual uplift apparatus comprising a structural frame unit, a mechanical uplift assembly unit, and a power translating mechanism connecting the two units to allow the user to more easily obtain a standing position from a previously seated position. A second use for the apparatus may be as an exercise product for exercising upper body muscle groups. The structural frame unit is used to support and guide the mechanical uplift assembly unit. The mechanical uplift assembly unit has two sections that can independently move vertically with respect to the structural frame unit. One section has a seat, the other has rails or hand engagement handles. When downward force is applied to the hand engagement handles, the section having the handles move vertically downward and produces an upward force in the section having the seat through the power translating mechanism. This interface allows the user to more easily uplift themselves from a seated position and is especially useful for older and/or medically disabled persons. Having the downward movement of the seat produce upward movement of the hand engagement handles allows the device to be utilized as an exercise product.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/941,557, filed Sep. 30, 1997 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,876,095. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/941,557 is itself a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/659,509, filed Jun. 6, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,833,315 and a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/739,184, filed Oct. 30, 1996, now abandoned. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/739,184 is itself a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/659,509, filed Jun. 6, 1996, and a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/456,176, filed May 31, 1995, now abandoned. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/659,509 is itself a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/456,176, filed May 31, 1995. 
     U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/456,176 is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/226,353, filed Apr. 12, 1994, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,468,049, and a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/144,034, filed Nov. 1, 1993, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,445,431, which are Continuations-In-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/759,233, filed Sep. 13, 1991, now U.S Pat. No. 5,303,982. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a manual uplift apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to a sitting device from which the user may manually uplift themselves from a seated position to a point where a standing position may be more easily obtained. The device may also be used as an exercise device for upper body workouts. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     Sitting devices designed to assist the user in obtaining a standing position from a previous seated position are known in the art. Conventionally, these sitting devices are relatively expensive, bulky, and weighty, making them difficult to move from place to place. Further, many of these devices use electrical power to uplift the user, therefore requiring proximity to electrical outlets, or the extra weight of batteries. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 459,282 to Gollon discloses an exercise apparatus which has a frame unit, uplift assembly, vertical support members, structural pulleys, guide elements, a seat member, rail members, a cable member, and a back support. The arrangement and interaction of these elements and the resultant device is unrelated to the present invention. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 2,788,527 to Steven discloses a bathtub which can be electrically raised and lowered between two walls using rollers and attached mercerized canvas. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 2,850,075 to Wilson discloses an invalid chair including a vertically adjustable carriage assembly. This carriage assembly is raised and lowered between supports through the use of a sling, which can be lengthened or shortened using power means and a crank. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,034,426 to Hardwick et al. discloses a mechanical bathtub lift chair apparatus wherein the user rocks the chair to elevate the seat through a ratchet system. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,888,833 to Garcia et al. discloses a cart for positioning a body on a toilet, having hydraulic means for lifting and lowering a seating means. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,907,303 to Baird discloses an orthopedic chair with a spring-loaded pivoting seat. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,929,022 to Geraci discloses a chair, with a spring-loaded pivoting seat, having a lifting means comprised of handle bars and a foot operated lever member. U.K. Patent GB 1,435,559 discloses a chair including a motorized seat, which can be raised and lowered without tilting relative to the base. 
     Published U.K. Patent Application GB 2,183,150A discloses a chair including a seat which tilts forward when actuated by the user through pivotally attached tilting means. 
     None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention comprises a manualal uplift apparatus which includes a sitting device from which the user is uplifted from a seated position by pushing downward upon a set of rails or hand engagement handles, producing downward motion of said rails or hand engagement handles. This downward motion creates upward motion in a seat support member, to achieve a raised position. This raised seat position allows the user to more easily achieve an upright standing position. Also, the design of the apparatus may be such that the downward movement of the seat produces upward movement in the hand engagement handles. 
     Accordingly it is a principal object of the invention to provide a mechanical user-powered seat uplift apparatus that may be easily operated by persons who normally have difficulty in standing from seated position. It is another object of the invention to provide an upper body workout routine, such that the device may be used as an exercise product. 
     These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1A is a side view of the manual uplift apparatus. 
     FIG. 1B is a front view of the manual uplift apparatus. 
     FIG. 1C is a top view of the manual uplift apparatus. 
     FIG. 2A is a side view of the hand engagement handle of the mechanical uplift assembly unit. 
     FIG. 2B is a front view of the hand engagement handle of the mechanical uplift assembly unit. 
     FIG. 2C is a top view of the hand engagement handle of the mechanical uplift assembly unit. 
     FIG. 3A is a side view of the seat member of the mechanical uplift assembly unit. 
     FIG. 3B is a front view of the seat member of the mechanical uplift assembly unit. 
     FIG. 3C is a top view of the seat member of the mechanical uplift assembly unit. 
     FIG. 4A is a side view of the structural frame unit of the manual uplift apparatus. 
     FIG. 4B is a front view of the structural frame unit of the manual uplift apparatus. 
     FIG. 4C is a top view of the structural frame unit of the mechanical uplift apparatus. 
     FIG. 5A is a side view of the mechanical uplift apparatus, before being engaged by the user. 
     FIG. 5B is a side view of the mechanical uplift apparatus, after being engaged by the user. 
     FIG. 6A is a side view of the the attachment structure of the weight assembly which may be used when the apparatus is used as an exercise device. 
     FIG. 6B is a front view of the the attachment structure of the weight assembly which is used when the apparatus is used as an exercise device. 
     FIG. 6C is a top view of the the attachment structure of the weight assembly which is used when the apparatus is used as an exercise device. 
     FIG. 7A is a side view of the the assembly structure of the weight assembly which is used when the apparatus is used as an exercise device. 
     FIG. 7B is a front view of the the assembly structure of the weight assembly which is used when the apparatus is used as an exercise device. 
     FIG. 7C is a top view of the the assembly structure of the weight assembly which is used when the apparatus is used as an exercise device. 
     FIGS. 8A-8C are top, side, and front views respectively of a weight member which may be utilzed when the device is used as an exercise product. 
     FIG. 9 is a front view of the interface between the assembly structure, the attachment structure, and the seat or handle mechanism engagement means. 
     FIG. 10A is a side view of the seat member of the mechanical uplift assembly unit having a cross support means. 
     FIG. 10B is a front view of the seat member of the mechanical uplift assembly unit having a cross support means. 
     FIG. 10C is a top view of the seat member of the mechanical uplift assembly unit, having a cross support means. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     As can be seen by reference to the drawings, and in particular FIGS. 1A-4C, the manual uplift apparatus that forms the basis of the present invention is designated generally by the reference numeral  10 , and comprises a structural frame unit, a mechanical uplift assembly unit, and a power translating mechanism. 
     The structural frame unit includes a frame  11 , composed of vertical support members  13  and horizontal support members  14 ; mechanism engagement means  15  for engaging the power translating mechanism, and optionally guide elements  16 . 
     The mechanical uplift assembly unit comprises a seat member  18  mounted to a first member  22 , which supports the user while the user is trying to move from a substantially horizontal seated position to a raised position, and rails or hand engagement handles  19  disposed on each side of the seat mounted to a second member  23 , wherein each member has a mechanism engagement means  24  and  25 , respectively, for engaging the power translating mechanism  20 , and is moveable in the substantially vertical direction independent of the other member, with respect to the structural frame unit. The mechanical uplift apparatus may optionally further comprise guide elements  16 . Since each hand engagement handle  19  operates independent of each other, the user could utilize only one hand engagement handle to uplift themselves, but it will probably prove best to utilize two. 
     The power translating mechanism  20  operatively connects said first member, said second member, and said frame through their respective mechanism engagement means such that the downward force on said rails or hand engagement handles translates to upward force on said seat member. 
     The frame of the structural frame unit comprises vertical support members  13  and horizontal support members  14 . Said vertical support members and said horizontal support members together form a rigid structure. This may be accomplished by any appropriate arrangement such as a unitary construction, jointed construction between said horizontal support members and said vertical support members, or braced construction between said horizontal support members and said vertical support members. 
     The mechanism engagement means  15  of the structural frame unit may be grooves, sleeves, brackets, pins, or hooks therein. Alternatively, the mechanism engagement means is attached to the frame and may further incorporate separately moveable parts, such as pulleys, wheels, gears, glides, grips, and rollers. Preferred mechanism engagement means of the structural frame unit include pins, sleeves, pulleys, or holes. For example, in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the structural frame unit comprises vertical support members  13  attached to two horizontal support members  14  of the frame  11 . Therein the mechanism engagement means  15  are rollers mounted to vertical support members  13 . 
     The optional guide elements  16  of the structural frame unit may also be a structural feature of said frame  11  or, alternatively, are attached to said frame and may optionally further comprise rollers or a low friction coating. These guide elements receive vertical support elements of the mechanical uplift unit. Preferred guide elements are grooved rollers. For example, in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the vertical support elements are round tubing which move within the circular grooves of the rollers. The rollers guide the vertical support elements in the substantially horizontal direction, most of the time rolling simultaneously with the movement of the vertical support elements. 
     Said seat member  18  is mounted to a first member  22 , which comprises at least one substantially vertical support element of substantially constant horizontal dimension, and means for supporting said seat member. Said means for supporting said seat member are any appropriate means which fixedly attach seat member  18  to said first member  22 , including adhesive, brackets and screws, or the like. Preferably said first member comprises two or more vertical support elements. The vertical support elements and the means for supporting said seat support member are arranged by any appropriate manner, such as unitary construction, jointed construction, or the like, such that the first member is substantially rigid. The first member comprises a mechanism engagement means  24 , which may be of the same type used in the structural frame unit, may be a structural feature of said first member, or may be separately attached. 
     Rails or hand engagement handles  19  are disclosed on each side of said seat which are mounted to a second member  23 , wherein said second member comprises at least one substantially vertical support element of substantially constant horizontal dimension. The second member comprises a mechanism engagement means  25 , which may be of the same type used in the structural frame unit, may be a structural feature of said second member, or may be separately attached. 
     The power translating mechanism  20  operatively connects said first member, said second member, and said frame through their respective mechanism engagement means such that the downward force on said rails or hand engagement handles  19  translates to upward force on said seat member  18 . This may be accomplished through various power transfer schemes. Preferably, the power transfer mechanism comprises a linkage system utilizing a belt or tether. As shown in FIGS. 5A-5B, said belt or tether  20  operatively connects: the first member  22  through mechanism engagement means  24 , the second member  23  through mechanism engagement means  25 , and the frame  11  through rollers or pulleys  15 . Different configurations may be used to produce different ratios of first member travel and second member travel, in the vertical direction. The invention has the advantage of utilizing other embodiments of power transfer mechanisms and mechanism engagement means that are available in the art, so long as the transfer of downward motion in the second member is translated to the upward motion of the first member. 
     It is desirable that the seat member  18 , which is attached to said first member  22 , maintains a substantially horizontal position throughout said upward motion of said first member. This may be accomplished by having the frame and first member sized so that movement of said first member is restricted to the vertical direction, being confined by the frame. 
     With reference to the drawings, FIGS. 5A and 5B demonstrate the operation of the apparatus. As seen, the first member  22  and the second member  23  are guided in a substantially vertical direction by guide elements  16 . Guide elements  16  are grooved rollers, which roll when in contact with any part of the first and second member, although some sliding will also occurr. These not only guide the first and second member, but also make movement much smoother. 
     The user will push downward upon hand engagement handle  19 , causing the hand engagement handle  19 , along with the second member  23 , to move downward. A power translating mechanism  20 , which is simply a belt or tether, operatively connects the mechanism engagement means of the frame, first member, and second member. Gravity will also play a part in moving the seat upward. As the user pushes down upon the handles, and the body of the user is moved upward, the body weight of the user will also exert a downward force upon the handles. 
     The belt is secured at one end to the second member by mechanism engagement means  25 . The belt then extends upward and over one of the rollers or pulleys, which are part of the mechanism engagement means  15  for the frame. The belt then extends downward and is secured to mechanism engagement means  24  for the first member  22 . Preferably, there are two belts or tethers, and rollers and pulleys, per each side of the apparatus, so that the apparatus would not be disabled if one of the belts or tethers were to break. Therefore, the configuration of the belt is such that downward motion in the hand engagement handle  19  will produce upward motion in seat member  18 , and vice versa. 
     As previously stated, the apparatus may also take on the form of an exercise product. A user lifting themselves upward and downward by pushing upon a set of handles simulates an upper body workout routine commonly known as “dips”. This exercise routine is very beneficial for any active person, but should also prove extremely beneficial for elderly and/or disabled persons. The exercise routine is performed while in a seated position, and those muscle groups exercises are those which a person uses to exit a chair. 
     An optional item which allows better use of the apparatus as an exercise product is a weight assembly. The weight assembly may selectively be attached to either the seat or the hand engagement handle, so that the net weight of the seat, as felt by the user, may be increased or decreased. Attaching the weight assembly to the seat increases the net weight of the seat, while attaching the weight assembly to the hand engagement handle decreases the net weight of the seat. 
     The weight assembly  30  may be seen in FIGS. 6A-7C and FIG.  9 . It is composed of an assembly structure  31  having upwardly extending post members  32 , and attachment structure  33  having an upwardly extending post member  34 . Multiple attachment members  33  are secured to the seat mechanism engagement means  24  and the handle mechanism engagement means  25 , through some common means such as a bolt or weld. Assembly structure  31  has openings at each side, through which attachment post member  34  of attachment structure  33  may fit. This secures the assembly structure  31  to the attachment structure  33 . The assembly structure  31  and attachment structure  33  may also be secured together through aanother type of securing means, such as a nut and bolt. The assembly structure may thus be attached to either the seat or the hand engagement handle. 
     FIGS. 8 and 9 demonstrate how a commonly known type of weight member  36  may be mounted on the assembly structure  31  to add weight to either the seat or the hand engagement handle. Weight member  36  has a center opening  37 , through which assembly post member  32  of assembly structure  31  may fit. Assembly post member  32  thus secures weight member  36  to assembly structure  31 . 
     FIGS. 10A,  10 B, and  10 C demonstrate the seat member  18  having at least one first member  22  mounted to the left of the seat member, and at least one first member  22  mounted to its right, and a cross connection means  44  connecting the right and left first members. As shown in the figures, it is preferable to have two first members  22  on each side of the seat, with a seat mechanism engagement means  24  connecting the same side first members  22 . It is also preferable to have the cross connection means  44  connect the mechanism engagement means  24  on the right side to the mechanism engagement means  24  on the left side. This provides for a more sturdy structure, which makes movement of the seat member  18  in the upward and downward directions much easier. 
     Similarly, it is preferable that the device have a right and left hand engagement handle, each with two associated second members, with the right second members being connected by a right handle mechanism engagement means, and the left second members being connected by a left handle mechanism engagement means. This is shown in FIGS. 1A,  1 B,  1 C. Also, it is possible to have a cross connection means connect the right and left handle mechanism engagement means. This makes the hand engagement handles a more sturdy, single structure, instead of two individual components. This would provide for a more evenly distribution of forces by the handles upon the right and left sides of the seat. However, the device will also perform its intended function very well with two separate hand engagment handles. 
     In the cases of both the seat member  18  and hand engagement handles  19 , the respective cross connection means  44  may be connected to the respective mechanism engagement means in many different ways. These include bolts, screws, clamps, and welds. 
     It is understood that the present invention is not limited to the sole embodiment described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.