AU719628B2

AU719628B2 - Restraining means

Info

Publication number: AU719628B2
Application number: AU10125/97A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Glenn Hadley Roche
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1996-02-02
Filing date: 1997-01-10
Publication date: 2000-05-11
Anticipated expiration: 2017-01-10
Also published as: AU1012597A

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

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.555 Applicant(s): Actual Inventor(s): Address for.Service: GLENN HADLEY ROCHIE GLENN HADLEY ROCHE PATENT ATTORNEY SERVICES 26 Ellingworth Parade Box Hill Victoria 3128 Australia

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Title: RESTRAINING MEANS Associated Provisional Applications: PN7834 The following statement is a frill description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us:- RESTRAINING MEANS This invention relates to a restraining means for countering the break-up of a person's lap by the person's legs falling apart from each other.

The lap of a person, formed by the fold of the body from waist to knees when the person is sitting, is an important part of a person's anatomy for utilitarian reasons. The lap is used for holding small children or babies, or pets such as cats or small dogs, or hamsters, etc.

It is also useful for resting articles on such as a breakfast table or a book. Also a correctly formed lap will generally mean that the posture of the sitting person is correct and elegant.

:However, the muscle structure of the upper leg and the lower torso and the connection o:ooo of the leg to the pelvis results in a natural outward rotation of the legs in a sitting position which is counter productive to the retention of a lap structure which remains useful for holding pets or articles. It is therefore necessary for the person to use upper leg muscles and S"lower torso muscles to counteract the natural outward rotation of the legs and hold the legs S:.i closer together to form a lap structure which is more useful. It is difficult for most people to maintain a tight useful lap structure for a long period of time and the infirm and elderly will generally have more trouble maintaining the required lap structure.

ooo i It is known to have trays which fit over the legs of a sitting person to in effect replace the lap so that any article is rested on the table rather than the lap of the person. This does not provide security or warmth for young children or babies and is not a preferred resting place ofpets.

It is also known for paraplegics to use a belt to clamp their legs together particularly when playing wheelchair sports such as wheelchair basketball. However, this over rotates the legs and does not provide a preferred lap structure and is not convenient or comfortable for able bodied people to provide a lap structure.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a means which assists the formation and retention of a lap structure.

According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a resilient restraining means being deformable but having sufficient resilience for just countering the break-up ofa user's lap when relaxed by pressing the legs partially inwards and preventing the legs falling apart fromrn each other, the restraining means having two opposing restraining hands connected to opposite ends of a narrow connecting arm which is sized and shaped so that the restraining means can be placed over a seated user's legs when relaxed with the restraining hands engaging the outer side of the user's legs which slightly press the legs together to form a lap for holding articles or animals or the like.

The restraining means of the invention, therefore, is able to form a required lap structure without discomforting the user.

15 The connecting arm can be sized so that the distance between the opposing restraining hands is fractionally larger than the sum of the diameter of the user's legs at the place the restraining arm is to be located so that the restraining means restrains but does not clamp the legs. The hands can be planar so as to provide a gentle comfortable contact with the outer side of the legs or can be curved to follow the contour of the outer side of the user's legs and will generally engage the outermost part of the outer leg. The hands can be detachably connected to the arm so that packaging of the article after manufacture is simplified and also different sized or shaped hands can be attached.

3 The connecting arm can be narrow so as to merely perform the function of locating the hands in the correct position and at the correct angle and also to maintain the hands a required distance apart. However, the connecting arm can also include an extendable portion f so that the hands can be selectively located at the required distance apart relative to the user's legs.

In order that the invention is more readily understood, a particular embodiment thereof will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a restraining means in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a front diagrammatic view of the restraining means of Fig. 1 showing connection of the hands to the connecting arm.

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Fig. 3 is an end view of the restraining means of Fig. 1.

1 Fig. 4 is an overhead plan view of the restraining means of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a restraining means in accordance with an Sembodiment of the invention. The restraining means 11 includes a ribbed elongated connecting arm 15 which has a broadened U-shape. At each end of the U-shape connecting arm 15 are attached hands 12 and 13 respectively.

The hands 12 have an inwardly facing rectangular planar surface 21 with the oooo• connecting arm 15 shaped and sized so that the respective inside planar surfaces 21 of the hands 12 and 13 oppose each other. Hands 12 and 13 further include an outside curved surface 22 coextensive with the inner planar surface 21 such that the body of the hands 12, 13 has a central bulge 23. A central bore 25 extends partially into the body of the hands 12 from an upper surface at right angles to the inside planar surface 21 and within the central bulge 23 extending along a line which substantially bisects the body of the hands 12. The bore 25 of the hands 12 and 13 has a smooth surface 26 along the length of one side with a sawtooth surface 27 along the length of the opposing side.

The substantially U-shaped connecting arm 15 has an elongated linear central portion 31 connecting around curved edges to end portions 33 which are substantially at right angles to the central linear portion 31. At each end of the U-shaped connecting arm 15 are located connecting pins 35 which are sized and shaped complementary to the bore 25 of the hands 12 and 13 and includes a smooth surface 36 along one length of the connecting pin 35 and a sawtooth surface 37 complementary to the sawtooth surface 27 of the bore 25. When the :connecting pin 35 is inserted into the bore 25, the sawtooth surface 27 engages and locks oooto with the sawtooth surface 37 of the connecting arm thereby fixedly connecting the hands 12, 13 to the connecting arm The U-shaped connecting arm 15 is sized so that it allows space within the U-shape for the location of a seated person's two legs and allows the hands 12 and 13 to be positioned on the outer side of the legs of the user to restrain the natural outward rotation of the user's legs 15 which counters formation of a required lap structure. The connecting arm 15 is sized to be oo.o o..."able to locate the opposing inside planar surface 21 of the hands 12 and 13 at a distance fractionally larger than the sum of the diameters of the user's legs at the point at which the restraining means 11 is to be located or at least fractionally larger than the diameters of the user's legs when gently compressed taking into account the varying muscular/fat content of the user's legs. Due to the natural resilience of the plastic medium to be used, the restraining means 11 can be sized so that although when not in use it may have a distance between the opposing inside plane of surfaces 21 which is not fractionally larger than the sum of the diameters of the user's two legs may, when in use and when countering the outwardly directed pressure of the legs, the restraining means 11 reaches a resting point at which the inside planar surfaces 21 of the hands 12 and 13 are located fractionally greater than the sum of the diameters of the user's legs.

It should be evident from the description hereinabove that the present invention provides an improved restraining means for assisting the formation of a required lap structure and countering the break-up of a user's lap by the legs falling apart from each other. The connecting arm 15 can have extension means which allow for extension of the distance between the inside planar surfaces 21 of the hands 12 and 13 to suit the dimension of the S user's legs. Also, the hands may be differently shaped and be integral with the connecting oeooo arm 15 which although not allowing for easy packing and transport performs the function of the invention. Also it can be seen that the connecting arm 15 may include a structure which is suitable for clipping on items such as a book rest or lamp.

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Claims

1. A predominantly plastic restraining means which forms a user's lap and counters the break-up of a user's lap when relaxed by pressing the legs gently inwards and preventing the legs falling apart from each other, the restraining means having two opposing restraining hands connected to opposite ends of a connecting arm narrower than the width of the hands and which is sized and shaped so that the restraining means can be placed over a seated user's legs near the knees when relaxed with the restraining hands engaging the outer side of the user's legs and slightly pressing the legs together to form the user's lap enabling the user to hold articles or animals or the like directly on the user's lap.

2. A restraining means according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the hands are substantially planar.

3. A restraining means according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the hands are curved to follow o* Ssubstantially the contour of the outerside of the user's legs.

4. A restraining means according to claim 3 or 4 wherein the hands are able to engage the outermost part of the user's legs.

5. A restraining means according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the hands 0..0 #o# S. are detachably connected to the connecting arm.

6. A restraining means according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the connecting arm is narrower than the width of the hands.

7. A restraining means according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the connecting arm includes an extendable portion such that the hands can be selectively located at a required distance apart relative to the user's legs.

8. A restraining means according to any one of claims 1 to 7 wherein at least part of the restraining means is made of resilient material allowing relative resilient movement of the hands such that the resilience counters the break-up of the user's lap by the legs falling apart from each other.

9. A restraining means substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the drawings.

A method of holding an animal including the steps of providing a restraining means having two opposing hands spaced by an inter-connecting arm that can be held by a single hand of the user; pressing the user's legs together to form a lap that can hold an animal directly thereon; placing the resilient restraining means around the legs adjacent the knees with the hands of the restraining means contacting the outside of respective legs to prevent the legs Sfalling apart and placing the animal directly on the lap of the user next to the resilient means.

11. A method of holding an animal substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the drawings. Dated this 21st day of February 2000 a o PATENT ATTORNEY SERVICES Attorneys for GLENN HADLEY ROCHE