WO1994027545A1

WO1994027545A1 - Wheeled carriage especially for conveying an infant or invalid

Info

Publication number: WO1994027545A1
Application number: PCT/GB1993/002304
Authority: WO
Inventors: Colin Nicholas Morritt
Original assignee: Colin Nicholas Morritt
Priority date: 1993-05-29
Filing date: 1993-11-03
Publication date: 1994-12-08
Also published as: GB9311216D0; AU5428494A

Abstract

A wheeled infant or invalid carriage comprises a chassis assembly (1), a support structure (3) carrying mounting means (5) to receive a seat assembly (7). The mounting means (5) can be raised and lowered with respect to the support structure (3) and the seat assembly is releasably secured to the mounting means (5). The seat assembly (7) is rotatably mounted on a base member (31'). The construction of the carriage enables a child or invalid for example to be placed in or removed from a vehicle without having to be removed from the seat assembly (7). The rotational movement of the seat (7) on the base member (31') enables the person being transported to be faced in the desired direction. The carriage construction also enables the person being conveyed to be positioned over a toilet and for this purpose the base member (31') of the seat assembly (7) and the seat bottom (7a) are provided with closable openings.

Description

Wheeled Carriage Especially for Conveying an Infant or Invalid

The present invention relates to a wheeled carriage for conveying an infant or invalid, the latter may be a temporarily or permanently handicapped or disabled person of any age, such carriages being commonly referred to as pushchair or wheelchair respectively.

It is frequently necessary to transfer a person from and to such carriages. Inevitably at least with the existing designs this involves an attendant physically handling the person either lifting the person entirely or at least providing some support. In situations where the person is unable to co-operate with the attendant such handling operations are made more difficult. A common problem arises when transferring a person to or from a vehicle. Existing designs of wheelchairs for invalids and pushchairs for children all provide a support structure for the seat or such like for the person to be conveyed and this support structure occupies the space beneath the seat base or the like and extending downwardly to the support wheels. Generally the arrangement is such that the structure extends upwardly from the proximi; ■^■ of the front wheels, generally positioned adjacent the leading edge of the carriage and usually also with transverse members extending between the front wheels. This arrangement irrespective of the size of the front wheels, dictates how close the carriage can be brought to an object of limited width (ie. less than the width of the chair) which extends upwardly from the ground, or of greater width but spaced above the ground. An example of the former is a toilet whilst an example of the latter is a typical motor vehicle or bed.

It is an aim of the present invention to provide a wheeled carriage which is more convenient in use.

Accordingly, one aspect of the present invention provides a wheeled infant or invalid carriage comprising a low level chassis having leading and trailing edges, support means extending upwardly from the wheeled chassis at a position set substantially rearwardly from the leading edge and carrying mounting means to receive (preferably releasably) , at a position spaced above the wheeled chassis, a seat or other accommodation for the person to be conveyed, with the seat or other accommodation extending forwardly, at least in part, in, for example, cantilever fashion, from the support means, the arrangement being such as to define an uninterrupted spaced beneath the seat forwardly of the support means and at least above the chassis.

More particularly, the chassis comprises a pair of forwardly extending ends carrying ground engaging wheel means or the like which ends are spaced apart laterally to permit placing of the seat over an obstruction extending from ground level and of a width less than the spacing of the free ends. More particularly the chassis comprises a pair of forwardly extending arm members. In a preferred construction the arm members are disposed in parallel relation.

More particularly height adjustment means is provided for raising and lowering the height of the seat or other accommodation carried by the mounting means. Conveniently the supporting structure can incorporate telescopic members to facilitate the height adjustment. Height adjustment may be mechanically operated or otherwise.

The height adjustment means may comprise a rack and pinion arrangement, a screw and nut system, a fluidic cylinder assembly or any other convenient system. One of the co-operating parts is secured with respect to the mounting means whilst the other is secured with respect to the chassis or support structure. The height adjustment may be operated manually or utilise a supplemental power source, e.g an electric motor for example powered from batteries. In the case of a wheel chair it may be of motoriε~*d type.

Preferably the seat comprises a seat back and seat bottom and it is preferred to have the seat rotatably adjustable in respect of the seat base. It is preferred to have the seat of the carriage releasably mounted on the mounting means and would preferably be way of a slidable connection. This is particularly useful in the case of a child seat. To this end the mounting means may comprise a pair of cantilever arms which are received in apertures of the seat bottom or the base member of the seat assembly. Preferably the seat may be reversibly mounted onto the mounting means for the purposes described further hereinafter.

Another aspect of the invention provides a child seat assembly comprising a seat bottom and a seat back and further comprising a base member to which the seat assembly is rotatably connected to provide for rotation of the seat bottom in a horizontal plane. The seat back can be pivotally mounted on the seat bottom to provide a reclining function.

The present invention will now be described further, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which;

Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of a wheeled carriage/conveyance for infants/children;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a wheelchair conveyance for adults;

Figure 3 is an underneath perspective view of a seat provided with a turntable;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a further embodiment; and

Figure 6 shows the seat module of the embodiment shown in figure 5 with the seat in an alternative position.

Referring firstly to figure 1, there is illustrated a wheeled carriage for an infant. It comprises a chassis assembly (1) , a support structure (3) extending from the chassis assembly and carrying mounting means (5) to receive a seat assembly (7) . In the illustrated embodiment the chassis assembly comprises a pair of arm members (9), (10) extending forwardly from a transverse connecting member (11) and the free ends (9a), (10a) of the respective arm members carry, preferably swivel mounted as indicated by arrow X wheel assemblies (12) . The arm members also extend rearwardly from the transverse member (11) and the free ends thereof (9b), (10b) carry wheel assemblies (13). A brake mechanism operated by pedal (14) is provided by wheel assemblies (13) which preferably are not mounted for swivelling movement on the arm members. The arms (9) , (10) , are transversely spaced apart to define a space between the free ends (9a) , (10a) extending back to the transverse member (11) in the illustrated embodiment. The mounting means (5) comprises a pair of transversely spaced arm members (15) , (16) extending in cantilever fashion from a transverse connecting member (17). The height of the arms (15), (16) can be adjusted relative to the chassis as denoted by arrow Y. The lowermost position of the arms (15) , (16) is shown in solid outline and a raised position is shown in dotted outline. The mounting means is carried adjustably with respect to the support means (3) comprising upright members (14a) , (14b) . In the illustrated embodiment the members (14a) , (14b) are shown extending from a transverse connecting member (14c) which in turn is connected to transverse member (11) by way of a swivel mounting (16) controlled by lever (21). It is preferred, however, to omit the swivel mounting (16) and to have the upright members (14a) , (14b) extend directly from the chassis.

In the illustrated embodiment a telescopic sliding connection is utilised, with each of the mounting means and support structure having respective axially aligned components slidable one within the other. Raising and lowering of the device may be achieved mechanically using a lever arrangement or by other means such as using an electric motor to control relative movement of the mounting means with respect to the support structure or chassis. Hydraulics etc. may be used. The figure illustrates one embodiment of raising/lowering mechanism comprising a housing (35) accommodating a screw member (37) rotatably journalled in the housing and co-operating with a nut member (39) . The nut member is constructed within the housing (35) (shown broken away) whereupon rotation of the screw member (37) gives rise to axial movement of the nut member. Fixing the housing relative to one of the mounting means or chassis and fixing the nut member relative to the other of the chassis and mounting means provides for relative movement therebetween on rotation of the screw member. Rotation of the screw member may be manually by a suitable lever, or by an electric motor. Accordingly the screw mechanism serves to raise the bar (17) .

The carriage further comprises a pair of handles (19) connected to the support structure (3) . Optionally the handles are pivotally connected to the support structure whereby movement as denoted by arrow "a" may be used to control raising and lowering of the mounting means (5) .

The seat assembly (7) comprises a seat bottom (7a) and a seat back (7b) each of which will preferably comprise a rigid shell and appropriet-ely padded cushioning. It is preferred to have adjusting means (27) by which the angle of the seat back with respect of the seat bottom can be continuously variably adjusted and. locked in the desired position. In the illustration of figure 1 the shell structure of the seat bottom has apertures (29) to receive slidably the arms (15) , (16) whereby the seat assembly can be releasably positioned on the mounting means (5) . A suitable locking facility may be provided, say by means of a lever operated latch carried on the seat assembly or on a mounting means as appropriate. Preferably the apertures (29) extend through the seat bottom so that the seat can be reversed and positioned onto the mounting means in the opposite orientation as indicated in dotted outline in figure 1.

Figure 3 illustrates an underneath perspective view of the seat assembly (7) of figure 1 and illustrates a presence of a base member (31) which is journalled to the seat bottom (7a) so as to permit rotation of the seat bottom with respect to the seat base in a generally horizontal plane. A suitable latching mechanism is provided to prevent unwanted rotation. The purpose of this is to be described further hereinafter.

Figure 4 illustrates an alternative embodiment of seat assembly again comprising a seat bottom (7a) and a seat back (7b) but in this embodiment the seat base member is enlarged as at (31) and contains the apertures (29) to receive the mounting means (15) , (16) . Again the seat bottom (7a) is mounted for rotational movement at about a substantially vertical axis VI with respect to the base (31) . With this embodiment the optional rotational mechanism (16) , (21) between the support structure and chassis can be omitted.

An optional feature is the provision of a luggage carrying basket (33) which can be positioned releasably between the arm members (9) , (10) supported on appropriate lugs (35) .

Referring to figures 5 and 6 there is shown a further embodiment of a wheeled carriage/conveyance for infant/children which has features common to the embodiments shown in figures 1 and 2 and corresponding components have been given the same reference numerals. The chassis assembly (1) includes a brake operating bar (41) which is pivotally attached to the chassis assembly and operates brakes for the wheel assemblies (13) .

The support structure (3) includes an upper transverse member (11a) which is connected to the upper ends of the members (14a) and (14b) and a further central upright member (14c) which extends between the member (11) and the member (11a).

A lever (43) is pivotally mounted on the support structure (3) and operates a clamping and release mechanism of the mounting means (5) . In this embodiment the mounting means (5) whilst including arm members (15) and (16) also includes a transverse member (45) which connects the free ends of the arms (15) and (16) . For practical purposes the arms (15) and (16) and the transverse member (45) can be formed from a single length of tubing .

The seat assembly (7) again comprises a seat bottom (7a) and a seat back (7b) and adjusting means (27) to adjust the angle of the seat back with respect of the seat bottom. The seat bottom (7a) is joined to the seat base (31') so to allow rotation of the seat bottom with respect to the seat base as shown by a comparison between figures 5 and 6.

The seat base (31') is provided with a horizontal opening (47) and the mounting means (5) in the forms of the arms (15) , (16) and transverse member (45) engages in the opening of the seat base (31'). The seat base is provided with a latching mechanism (49) to secure the mounting means (5) to the seat base (31') . As with the embodiment shown in figures 2 and 4 the optional rotational mechanism (16) (21) between the support structure and the chassis can be omitted.

The seat assembly (7) is provided with a handle (51) which is pivotally mounted to the seat bottom (7a) and which can be locked in a any desired positions. The handle (51) enables the carriage to be propelled and manoeuvred by the attendant.

In the arrangement shown the mounting means (5) can be raised and lowered manually or by any other means as described above with reference to the embodiment shown in figures 1 to 4 and can be locked in position by operation of the lever (43) to clamp the mounting means (5) to the support structure (3) . From a consideration of the aforedescribed constructions it will be apparent that with the optional luggage carrier (33) removed there is an uninterrupted space between the top of the chassis (1) beneath the seat assembly (7) and forwardly of the support structure (3) . Furthermore with the illustrated embodiments there is also an uninterrupted space between the arm members (9) , (10) of the chassis. The aforementioned uninterrupted space especially in conjunction with the height adjustment facility for the seat assembly (7) it is particularly useful in transferring a person from or to the apparatus especially where this involves transferring from a motor vehicle although there are other applications where the arrangement simplifies the transfer process. In the case of a motor vehicle with the motor vehicle door open and the seat assembly (7) in a raised position the carriage can be wheeled up to the side of the motor vehicle and by virtue of using a low overall height for the chassis assembly (1) the leading edge can pass underneath the body of the vehicle whilst the raised seat assembly (7) will be sufficiently high to clear the internal seats of the vehicle. Thus the seat assembly (7) can be moved at least partially into the vehicle. The seat height can then be lowered, and conveniently the latching mechanism (49) holding the seat assembly (7) onto the arms (15) , (16) may be released and the seat moved forwardly, or more preferably, the carriage (1) wheeled away with the seat assembly (7) supported by its base (31) on the vehicle seat for example. This avoids having to lift the person. The rotatable facility here becomes useful in reorientating the seat to face forwardly by rotating through say 90°. The seat may be strapped into position using harnesses provided on the vehicle. Removal will follow the reverse procedure. Alternatively the person may simply be slid off the seat of the carriage. Again the arrangement avoids lifting.

It will be appreciated that there are other situations requiring transfer of a person from or to a seat which could benefit from the facility to be able to approach closely to another seat and this is made possible by the uninterrupted space provided in the above described constructions. The basic structure of the carriage can also be used advantageously in positioning a person over a toilet. It is anticipated that a special seat construction would be employed having say a removable plug in the bottom part and either omitting the base part (31) or incorporating a corresponding aperture in the base part (31) or (31') . Positioning of the seat in the reverse orientation as shown in dotted outline in figures 1 and 2, and as shown in figure 6 would enable the person to be positioned over a conventional W.C pan. The seat could then be lowered down to the appropriate height. Figure 2 illustrates how the apparatus can be adapted to provide a wheelchair construction and it will be seen that the construction is exactly the same save for replacing small wheel assemblies (13) with the larger wheels (13') and hence the construction has not been described further. Also the transverse bar (11) is extended to provide the mounting for the wheels (13') in place of the extending arm members (9b), (10b) of figure 1. Like reference numerals have been used to denote corresponding parts. The method of use corresponds substantially to that described previously.

Claims

1. A wheeled infant or invalid carriage comprising a low level chassis having leading and trailing edges, support means extending upwardly from the wheeled chassis at a position set substantially rearwardly from the leading edge and carrying mounting means to receive at a position spaced above the wheeled chassis, a seat or other accommodation for the person to be conveyed, with the seat or other accommodation extending forwardly, at least in part, in, for example, cantilever fashion, from the support means, the arrangement being such to define an uninterrupted space between the seat forwardly of the support means and at least above the chassis.

2. A carriage as claimed in claim 1 in which the seat or other accommodation is releasably secured to the mounting means.

3. A carriage as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 in which the chassis comprises a pair of forwardly extending ends carrying ground engaging means or the like which ends are spaced apart laterally to permit placing of the seat over an obstruction extending from ground level and of a width less than the spacing of the free ends.

4. A carriage as claimed in claim 3 in which the chassis comprises a pair of forwardly extending arm members.

5. A carriage as claimed in claim 4 in which the arm members are disposed in parallel relation.

6. A carriage as claimed in any one of the preceding claims including height adjustment means for raising and lowering the height of the seat or other accommodation carried by the mounting means.

7. A carriage as claimed in claim 6 in which the support means incorporates telescopic members to facilitate the height adjustment which can be mechanically operated or otherwise.

8. A carriage as claimed in claim 6 in which the height adjustment means comprises a rack and pinion arrangement, a screw and nut system, a fluidic cylinder assembly or any other convenient means of adjustment.

9. A carriage as claimed in any one of the preceding claims 6 to 8 in which one co-operating part of the height adjustment means is secured with respect to the mounting means whilst the other co-operating part of the height adjustment means is secured with respect to the chassis or support means.

10. A carriage as claimed in any one of the preceding claims 6 to 9 in which the height adjustment means is operated manually or uses a supplemental power source eg. an electric motor which may be powered from batteries.

11. A carriage as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the seat or other accommodation comprises a seat back and a seat bottom, the seat being rotatably adjustable with respect to a seat base.

12. A carriage as claimed in claim 11 in which the seat or other accommodation is releasably mounted on the mounting means.

13. A carriage as claimed in claim 12 in which the mounting means comprises an arm or a pair of cantilever arms which are received in an aperture or apertures in the seat bottom or the seat base of the seat assembly.

14. A carriage as claimed in any one of claims 11 to 13 in which the seat is rotatably mounted on the seat base of the seat assembly.

15. A carriage as claimed in claim 14 in which the seat can be secured in one of a number of positions with respect to the seat base of the seat assembly.

16. A carriage as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the seat or other accomodation includes a handle which is pivotably mounted on the seat assembly.

17. A wheeled infant or invalid carriage constructed and arranged for use and operation substantially as herein described, and with reference to the accompanying drawings.