Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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ROTAT~BL~ AND DI~P~ACEABLE ~EAT
BACKGROUND TO T~E INYEN~ION
The invention concerns a rotatable and displaceable plate
arrangement as a seating surface for physically handicapped
people, with a rotary plate which is pivot-mounted on a bottom
plate and guided by means of a displaceable plate provided in
a sliding guideway of the oblong bottom plate for
reciprocating movement between two end positions, the bottom
plate being divided into several sections which are relatively
foldable around axes running transverse to the longitudinal
direction of said bottom plate.
Rotatable and displaceable seat arrangements of this species
are known (DE-U-9113964). Here the prior-art bottom plate
comprises a number of individual members, of which each is
connected in a hinge-like arrangement to associated adjacent
members by means of articulating pins extending over the full
width of said bottom plate. As the displacement guideway is
only located in the central area, two types of member must be
manufactured and assembled. The result is a multi-member belt
or band which is very flexibl~, can, for example, be rolled,
and exhibits no stiffness or rigidity. However, as it adapts
to any unevenness, the rotary plate cannot be displaced if the
bottom plate is resting on an uneven, e.g. undulating surface.
Aside from the high assembly costs, a further disadvantage
lies in the fact that dirt and foreign matter can become
lodged in the many articulating hinges between the members,
rendering cleaning difficult. In the displacement end
positions, the rotary plate cannot be secured against unwanted
or accidental shift, a situation which is undesirable ~or
handicapped persons who are standing or sitting on the rotary
plateO
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, ~UNNARY OF T~E IN~ENTION
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The object of the invention is to improve the rotatable and
displaceable seat of the species mentioned above while
` avoiding its disadvantages.
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This objective is achieved by the invention in that the bottom
plate is constructed as a single-piece plastics component, and
I that provided between each pair of relatively foldable
sections is a transverse groove emanating from the underside
surface of the bottom plate and forming an articulating web,
said transverse groove extending over the full width of said
bottom plate.
The single-piece bottom plate is preferably manufactured in a
mould as an injection-moulded component. That part of the
bottom plate not occupied by the rotary plate can thus be
swivelled around the articulating web out of the plane of the
bottom plate. For a bath lift, the free portion o~ the bottom
plate must be capable of bsing rotated steeply upwards to
match the steepness of the side flaps on the seat board of
said bath lift. This is achieved by virtue of the arrangement
of the articulating webs in the upper face area of the bottom
plate. The width of the transverse grooves also, however,
permits the bottom plate to be folded clownwards so enabling it
to be adapted to the contour of the mattress of a hospital
bed.
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Experience has shown that, in each longitudinal half of the
bottom plate, a group of three parallel transverse grooves
ensures sufficient bottom plate foldability.
A further development of the invention exists in that the
rotary plate can preferably be secured in both displacement
end positions to prevent further shiftiny. In principle it is
sufficient to provide a means of detent of the rotatable and
displaceable seat in just one end position of the displacement
path in said bottom plate, and also to provide for
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articulation in just one longitudinal half of the bottom
plate. The bottom plate must then be positioned for each
application to give it a certain orientation. With a mirror
symmetry o~ the two longitudinal halves of the bottom plate,
Z the necessity to ensure correct orientation during the
¦ positioning operation is eliminated.
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BRIEF DE8CRIPTION OF ~HE DRAWIN,~S
The invention is described in greater detail on the basis of
the drawing which depicts an embodiment of the invention,
whereby
FIG. 1 shows a partially cut-away longitudinal view of the
rotatable and displaceable seat,
FIG. 2 shows a top view of the rotatable and displaceable
seat,
FIG. 3 shows an enlarged sectional view of the central
detent device o~ the rotatable and displaceable
I seat, and
I FIG. 4 shows a horizontal sectional view along the line 4-4
' of FIG. 3.
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I DETAIL~D DESCRIPTION
A rotatable and displaceahle seat arrangement 10 features a
bottom plate 12, a rotary plate 14 with upholstery pad 16, and
a retaining ring 18. Secured to the underside of the rotary
plate 14 is a displaceable plate 20. In principle, the rotary
plate 14 and displaceable plate 20 could also be of single-
piece construction. The bottom plate 12 is of oblong shape and
is contoured with two semicircular curves and straight
elements connecting these. ~he diameter of the semicircular
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curves corresponds to that of the rotary plate 14 with the
retaining ring 18 fitted. Viewed from the top, the bottom
plate 12 features a guideway 22 open at the top, which in turn
features a T-groove cross section. In this guideway 22, the
displaceable plate of circular contour can be rotated and
shifted. The displaceable plate 20 has at the top a diameter
equivalent to the clear width of the guideway 22. In the
bottom half, the displaceable plate 20 features an external
flange 24 which engages in an open recess 26 running around
the bottom plate 12. The displaceable pla~e is secured by
screws 28 to the bottom of the rotary plate 14. In the centre
of the guideway 22 is located on one side in the upper wall
area a recess 28 (FIG. 2) which serves to facilitate
introduction of the displaceable plate 20 in the guideway 22.
Within the guideway 22 there is a hole 30 at both ends
provided in the bottom plate l2. The holes 30 are located
along the longitudinal centreline plane and lie concentric to
the semicircular contours of the bottom plate 12.
The rotary plate 14 and the displaceable plate 20 have
through-bores 32, 34 o~ the same diameter which are flush with
each other. These through-bores 32, 34 lie coaxial to the
rotational axis of the rotary plate 14. In the two
displacement end positions of the rotary plate 14, the pair of
through-bores 32, 34 are flush with the respective hole 30 in
the bottom plate 12. Located in the bore arrangement 32, 34 is
a pin 36 which is axially displaceable. In its mid-zone area,
the pin 36 exhibits two axially spaced circumferential grooves
38. Two pairs of opposing recesses 40 are provided in the top
of the displaceable plate 20, in which the ends of wire
springs 42 are located. Each pair of recesses 40 is
interconnected by a recess 44 of the same depth as recesses
40. The transverse distance between the two recess pairs 40,
40 is somewhat less than the core diameter of the pin 36 in
the area of the annular grooves 38. The wire springs 42 engage
with a light preload in either one or the other groove 38.
The pin 36 is shown in FIG. 3 in its unlocked position. If a
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downward pressure is applied to the pad 16 in the central area
;, of the rotary plate 14, the wire springs 42 deflect outwards
as a result of the V-shaped contour of the annular grooves 38
and into the recesses 44. The pin can then move downwards
until the wire springs 42 engage in the top annular groove 38.
The bottom end of the pin 36 has then en~ered the hole 30 in
the bottom plate 12, and the rotary plate 14 is locked in the
appropriate end position of the bottom plate 12 such that it
is prevented from further displacement. As the hole 30 is open
at the bottom, the application of an appropriate finger
pressure from below will push the pin 36 upwards back into its
unlocked position in which it is again detained.
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The bottom plate 12 features in each longitudinal half a group
of three parallel transverse grooves 46 which extend over the
full width of said bottom plate 12, and extend from the
underside over virtually the full thickness of said bottom
plate 12, leaving just thin articulating webs 48 in the top
section of the bottom plate. By means of these articulating
webs 48, that portion of the bottom plate 12 not occupied by
the rotary plate 14 can be folded upwards and downwards. The
degree of bend downwards is limited by the width of the
transverse grooves 46. In the upward direction, the bending
angle is unlimited. The free portion of the bottom plate 12
can thus, for example, be bent at right angles to the other
portion of the bottom plate.
Arranged on the underside of the bottom plate 12 are several
anti-slip strip~ 50 which are preferably positively located in
corresponding underside recesses of said bottom plate 12.
