Patent Publication Number: US-7722119-B1

Title: Chair with a tiltable seat

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The invention herein pertains to a chair for elderly or infirm users and particularly pertains to a chair with a tiltable seat for easy ingress and egress. 
   DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART AND OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION 
   With the aging population increasing throughout the world, medical procedures to assist the elderly are likewise increasing. Hip, knee and other replacement surgeries are now commonplace with rehabilitation and care becoming more frequent than before. Care facilities pay particular attention to patients having such surgeries in addition to the usual assistance offered for elderly and infirm. Improvements in furniture and other equipment for such users is in great demand as accidents and injuries in hospitals, rest and care facilities must be minimized as possible. 
   A problem has long existed in assisting patients having mobility difficulties to transition to chairs or to other furniture from a standing position. Oftentimes two (2) care providers are needed to help a standing patient using a cane or walker into a conventional chair. Once seated the patient may lapse into an unconscious or semiconscious state and inadvertently lean forward, sometimes to the extent of toppling from the chair and causing injuries. Also, the very act of sitting can be a challenge as the torso and hips must be manipulated from a higher to a lower position. Such body manipulation is often difficult for certain patients, especially those having undergone hip or knee surgery. 
   Therefore, in order to provide assistance and safety for elderly, infirm or injured users the present invention was conceived and one of its objectives is to supply a chair which can be easily mounted and departed through the use of a tiltable seat. 
   It is another objective of the present invention to offer a chair for assisting users whereupon the height of the seat is approximately fifteen (15) centimeters greater than conventional chair seats. 
   It is still another objective of the present invention to provide a chair with arms having cantilevered ends for easy and secure manual gripping. 
   It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a chair having a convenient footrest for use while entering and exiting the chair. 
   It is still a further objective of the present invention to provide a chair having a frame with an axle and pillow blocks affixed to allow the seat to freely rotate as required during user ingress and egress. 
   Various other objectives and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art as a more detailed description is set forth below. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The aforesaid and other objectives are realized by providing a chair having a rigid frame for attachment to a tiltable seat. The rigid frame is constructed of metal and includes a cylindrical axle welded thereto. Pillow blocks are affixed to the axle for rotation thereon. A seat having a rigid bottom surface is affixed to the pillow blocks above the frame and allows the seat to move similar to a see-saw. A pair of front and rear legs both having an inverted L-shape to provide for the arms of the chair are affixed to the frame on opposing ends. The arms of the rear legs extend from the chair back forwardly overtop the arms of the front legs with cantilevered ends. The rear legs are formed slightly taller than the front legs and when joined together form an inverted U-shape and provide a space therebetween for containing a small rectangular inset. The cantilevered ends and the insets allow for easy gripping of the arms by the user. The rear legs support a chair back attached thereto such as by conventional screws. A rectangularly shaped footrest is affixed to the four (4) legs, below the chair frame to further assist the user upon entering and exiting the chair and for added stability. As the chair seat is positioned approximately fifteen centimeters higher than a standard chair seat, ingress and egress can easily be accomplished by infirm or injured users from a standing position. 
   In use, the seat is tilted downwardly along its front where it contacts the front lateral frame member. The user can then easily sit on the front edge of the tilted seat and once seated, can utilize the footrest and the cantilevered arms to slide backwardly to the rear of the seat whereupon the user&#39;s shifting weight will tilt the seat so the rear of the seat will then descend while the front of the seat ascends. The user is then sitting in a safe, comfortable position and will not topple forwardly. When the user decides to depart the chair he can easily grip the cantilevered ends of the arms with his hands and again utilizing the footrest can pull himself forward while his shifting body weight along the seat tilts the front edge of the seat downwardly allowing easy egress. Once at the front edge of the seat the user can then stand upright and depart the chair. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  shows a front, top, right side perspective view of the invention with the seat skirt partially cutaway to expose the frame therebeneath; 
       FIG. 2  is a front elevational view of the chair as shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  shows a rear elevational view of the chair as shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 4  depicts a left side elevational view of the chair with the frame and axle depicted in ghost fashion behind the side seat skirt; 
       FIG. 5  illustrates a left side elevational view of the chair as shown in  FIG. 4  but with the chair depicted with the seat tilted rearwardly with a user thereon as seen in dotted lines; 
       FIG. 6  depicts a left side elevational view of the chair as seen in  FIG. 5  but with the chair depicted with the seat tilted forwardly with the user in an initial departing position as seen in dotted lines; 
       FIG. 7  illustrates a top plan view of the chair as shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 8  shows a bottom plan view of the chair as shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 9  demonstrates a top plan view of the chair as shown in  FIG. 1  with the seat and chair back removed to expose the frame, axle and pillow blocks; and 
       FIG. 10  illustrates an enlarged view of the pillow block affixed to the axle as removed from the frame as seen in  FIG. 9 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT AND OPERATION OF THE INVENTION 
   For a better understanding of the invention and its operation, turning now to the drawings,  FIG. 1  demonstrates a perspective view of preferred chair  10  positioned on floor  11  as may occur in a home, hospital, care facility or the like. Chair  10  includes a rigid metal frame  12  seen through cutaway front skirt section  22  and is affixed to front legs  30 ,  30 ′ and rear legs  28 ,  28 ′. Frame  12  is shown in greater detail in a top view in  FIG. 9 . Frame  12  is preferably formed from steel and is chrome plated by conventional means. Frame  12  includes rear lateral member  13 , front lateral member  14  and longitudinal members  15 ,  15 ′ shown in  FIG. 9 . Rear lateral member  13  is affixed between rear legs  28 ,  28 ′ and front lateral member  14  is affixed between front legs  30 ,  30 ′ such as by conventional screws or bolts (not shown). Frame  12  is generally rectangular in shape with frame members  13 ,  14 ,  15 ,  15 ′ preferably welded together for strength and rigidity purposes. As further shown in  FIGS. 8 and 9  cylindrically shaped axle  16  is rigidly affixed to longitudinal frame members  15 ,  15 ′ such as by welding for strength and durability purposes. At each end of axle  16  are pillow blocks  17 ,  17 ′ which freely rotate on axle  16 . In  FIG. 10  an enlarged view of pillow block  17  is shown with conventional screws  19  exploded therefrom. As would be understood, screws  19  are affixed through apertures (not shown) in pillow blocks  17 ,  17 ′ to the rigid bottom (not seen) of seat  20 . Axle  16  is mounted forward of the center line (not shown) of longitudinal frame members  15 ,  15 ′. This forward mounting causes seat  20  to assume a normal, dormant rear tilt, as in  FIG. 5 . Rear lateral member  13  acts as a stop to limit the upward tilt of seat  20  while front lateral member  14  limits the downward tilt of seat  20  as seen in  FIGS. 5 and 6  respectively. 
   Seat  20  is cushioned as standard and includes skirt  21  having front section  22 , left side section  23  ( FIG. 4 ) and right side section  23 ′ as shown in  FIG. 1 . Skirt sections  22 ,  23  and  23 ′ are attached along the top edge of seat  20  and extend downwardly to cover frame  12  to prevent finger or hand intrusion between seat  20  and seat frame  12  for safety and aesthetic reasons. Seat  20  is a typical covered, cushioned chair seat having a bottom made with a rigid plywood or other material (not seen) and is positioned higher, preferably about 15 cm, than usual chair seats which are approximately twenty inches ( 20 ″) (50.8 cm) from the seat top to the floor. Chair  10  further includes covered, cushioned chair back  25  ( FIG. 2 ) as is typical in the furniture industry. Back  25  is affixed to rear legs  28 ,  28 ′ such as with standard bolts or screws (not shown) as also seen in  FIGS. 1 and 4 . 
   As further shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  4 ,  5  and  6 , rear legs  28 ,  28 ′ are integrally formed in an inverted L-shape with arms  27 ,  27 ′ having cantilevered forward ends  29 ,  29 ′. Front legs  30 ,  30 ′ are also integrally formed in an inverted L-shape and are shorter than rear legs  28 ,  28 ′ so that when joined together they form an inverted U-shape and provide a space therebetween for placement of respectively insets  32 ,  32 ′ as in seen in  FIGS. 4-6 . As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , insets  32 ,  32 ′ do not have the width of front legs  30 ,  30 ′ or rear legs  28 ,  28 ′ thereby forming a recess and allowing space for the user&#39;s fingers to securely grip arms  27 ,  27 ′. Cantilevered ends  29 ,  29 ′ further allow easy gripping of arms  27 ,  27 ′ as shown for example in  FIG. 6  as elderly user  60  grasps arm  27  during egress. As would be understood front legs  30 ,  30 ′, insets  32 ,  32 ′ and arms  27 , 27 ′ are respectively joined together such as by conventional bolts or screws (not shown) for structural stability. 
   Footrest  38  as shown in  FIG. 7  is likewise a rectangular shape and is longer than rectangular seat  20  to assist user  60  when mounting or departing chair  10 . Footrest  38  is preferably formed from tubular steel and is affixed to front legs  30 ,  30 ′ and rear legs  28 ,  28 ′ by conventional screws or bolts (not shown). 
   When in use as shown in  FIGS. 5-6 , tiltable seat  20  allows for movement in a seesaw like manner. In  FIG. 4 , seat  20  is shown in a horizontal position whereas in  FIG. 6 , seat  20  is tilted or rotated along axle  16  forwardly, to allow easy ingress and egress of user  60 . By utilizing cantilevered arm ends  29 ,  29 ′ and footrest  38  and with the shifting weight of user  60  on seat  20  as shown in  FIG. 5 , seat  20  is tilted rearwardly with user  60  in a secure, rearwardly sitting position. Safety and convenience are thus afforded user  60  with seat  20  as in  FIG. 5 , user  60  is less likely to inadvertently slide or topple forwardly from seat  20  whereas in  FIG. 6  user  60  by utilizing cantilevered ends  29 ,  29 ′ and footrest  38  can more conveniently mount and depart chair  10  with tiltable seat  20 . 
   The illustrations and examples provided herein are for explanatory purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the appended claims.