JP7717447B2 - Edge seating support device with table - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a seating support device with a table, which supports a person being assisted in a seated position on the edge of a chair and which is composed of a table or the like positioned on top of the device.

Information programs often feature stories about how if an elderly person is bedridden for two weeks, they lose seven years' worth of muscle mass. The muscle loss caused by being bedridden can be said to be the gateway to disuse disorders for the elderly. If disuse disorders progress, they may become unable to live without assistance.

Generally, it is rare for there to be multiple caregivers for one person requiring care, and in reality, meal assistance in hospitals, welfare facilities, etc. is provided on a one-to-one basis. In Japan, where the birthrate is declining and the population is aging, home care is provided by elderly people, which is also one-to-one care.
When a caregiver uses a bedside support device to help a wobbly person who cannot sit up on their own sit up on the edge of the bed, the caregiver supports the person with one hand while maneuvering and setting up the support device with the other hand to maintain the bedside position. However, existing support devices are generally too heavy to hold in one hand. In addition, when the caregiver is supporting the person, the range of motion of the other hand is naturally limited, making even changing a cardigan or other outer garment a significant effort. It is generally very difficult to handle a heavy and large support device with one hand (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

Some existing edge-of-bed support devices have legs with casters that can be slipped under the bed. However, some of the recently introduced ultra-low bed types, which are intended to prevent falls, have a gap between the bed frame and the floor so narrow that it is not possible to fit even a finger in, making it impossible to insert the legs of the edge-of-bed support device in the first place (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

In the type of device disclosed in Patent Document 3, a patent publication of St. Luke's International University, the sitting support device itself is fixed to a side rail attached to the end of the bed, so the side rail is required. First, when trying to get a sleeping person to sit up in bed, the lower body, especially the feet, tend to hit the side rail at the foot of the bed, so the side rail must be removed first. It is difficult to attach and remove the side rail (usually made of iron) while supporting an unsteady person. In contrast, the device of the present invention does not require a side rail because it is fixed to the bed, so the side rail, which gets in the way when sitting up, can be removed in advance.

In Japan, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's guidelines for preventing back pain in the workplace state that the weight of heavy objects that one person can handle should be no more than 40% of their body weight.
According to the results of a study that investigated the lower back strain in young and elderly groups, the weight of the heavy object used was 5 kg, which is much lighter than these standards, but in the elderly group, the lower back strain was 1.5 times the load tolerance of the lumbar intervertebral discs, which could lead to a risk of lower back pain.
Therefore, for elderly people, the weight that falls within the load tolerance of the lumbar intervertebral disc, i.e., the risk of lower back pain is considered to be low, is thought to be 5 kg/1.5 = 3.3 kg or less (see Non-Patent Document 1).

Raising the back in bed also creates a pseudo-sitting position, which has the disadvantage that if done for a long period of time, the spine becomes too straight, and the brainstem reticular formation becomes tilted, resulting in insufficient brain arousal and potentially inducing aspiration.

JP 2011-024690 JP 10-085046 Patent Publication No. 2016-163692 Doctoral dissertation reviewed by International University of Health and Welfare: The effect of aging on posture and lower back strain during lifting - A study including the effect of mental workload - 2016, by Shota Hayashi

Existing methods for helping people assume a seated position seem to focus on the stage when the person being assisted sits down, such as whether the backrest is appropriate, whether the table is positioned appropriately, etc. All seating support devices look the same when the person being assisted is sitting down. In other words, they are all the same statically, but the dynamic aspect, that is, the degree of strain placed on the person being assisted during the process of sitting down, is a different issue. In other words, the challenge is to minimize the physical strain on both the caregiver and the person being assisted, by being able to support the unsteady person with one hand while easily and safely manipulating the seating support device with the other hand during the process of sitting up from a lying down position.

The present invention is intended to solve the problems of such conventional configurations, and aims to provide a seating support device with a table that can be used even by elderly caregivers with weak muscles, and that allows for easy and frequent seating care in nursing and care settings where there is a shortage of manpower, such as elderly care.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is composed of a thick, flat, inverted U-shaped edge seating support device made of an extremely lightweight material, and a thin, flat U-shaped table made of an extremely lightweight material.

The table has support pins on both sides of the front of the table that come into contact with the front of the armrest of the seating support device, and a belt that detachably fastens the armrest and the table.

In the present invention, the table is a thin, flat U-shaped table consisting of a front portion and left and right protruding portions, and has support legs extending downward from the inside rear portions of the left and right protruding portions, and the support legs have anchor plates extending outward on the left and right sides of their lower tip portions.

In the present invention, the seating support device does not have a structure such as a leg with casters.

In the present invention, the edge seating support device has a structure that can be fixed without relying on side rails.

The present invention is characterized by its extremely light weight of 3.3 kg or less.

In the present invention, one caregiver sits the person being assisted in a seated position on the edge of the bed, supports the person being assisted with one hand, and sets the seated position support device formed in a flat inverted U-shape with the other hand. A table formed in a flat U-shape is placed at an appropriate position on the upper surface of the armrest of the seated position support device.

Even in situations where an unsteady person needs to be supported, the device is lightweight and easy to handle, making it easy for the caregiver to provide care and allowing for one-on-one assistance with a minimum number of people.

For those requiring assistance, this has the effect of enabling them to sit more frequently, which is beneficial to their health.

In this invention, the support pins on both sides of the front of the table that abut against the front of the armrest of the seating position support device and the belts that detachably fasten the armrest and the table have the effect of preventing the front end of the table from falling forward due to the weight of an object placed on the table, and stabilizing it.

In the present invention, a table having support legs with anchor plates formed thereon has the effect of preventing the front end of the table from collapsing forward due to the weight of an object placed on the table, thereby providing stability.

The present invention does not have a structure such as caster legs, so it can be used regardless of the gap between the floor and the underside of the bed. This means that the bed can be provided to those who need it when they need it, without being restricted by the bed they are using.

Generally, when raising a care recipient into a sitting position, if there is a side rail at the foot side, it interferes with the feet of the care recipient and becomes a hindrance. In this invention, the side rail is removed, so it can be used without stress for both the caregiver and the care recipient.

In this invention, the total weight of the seating support device and table is kept to 3.3 kg or less, which is thought to be a weight that does not place a heavy load on the lower back of elderly caregivers with weakened muscles, and is expected to be effective in supporting elderly care, where 59.7% of caregivers are aged 65 or over (2019 Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, 2019 Basic Survey on Living Conditions of the People).

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a state in which the seating position support device with a table according to the present embodiment is used. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an end sitting position retainer according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a side view of the edge seating position retainer according to the present embodiment. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a seating position support device with a table according to the present embodiment. FIG. 10 is a side view illustrating a method for fixing the table in the present embodiment. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of another seating position support device with a table according to the present embodiment. FIG. 10 is a perspective view illustrating a table of another form according to the present embodiment.

The edge seating support device 1 is formed in a thick, flat, inverted U-shape. It is made of a resin, metal hollow body, or foam, preferably polystyrene foam, and is lightweight, reducing the caregiver's risk of back pain and allowing them to sit frequently. The top and bottom surfaces of the edge seating support device 1 are flat, with 1a representing the armrests and 1b representing the backrest. The inverted U-shaped cutout at 1c is the seat without a seat surface. Textured tape 1d hangs down from the front of both armrests 1a and is attached and fixed to matching textured tape 1e, which has been previously attached to the bed frame (Fig. 1).

The edge sitting support device 1 has a grip part 1f on the rear side of the backrest part 1b (Fig. 2). After the person being assisted assumes an edge sitting position on the bed, the caregiver supports the person being assisted with one hand for safety, holds the grip part 1f with the other hand, turns it around from the back of the person being assisted, and sets it in place. The textured tape 1d on the front of both armrests hanging forward is attached to the mating textured tape 1e on the bed frame side.

Next, the flat U-shaped table 2 is placed on top so that it is in front of the person being assisted who is sitting on the edge of the chair. The left and right protrusions 22c of the table 2 are passed through the belts 2a wound around both armrests 1a, and support pins 2b that abut against the front of the armrests of the seating position support device 1 are inserted from above on both sides of the front of the table 2 to securely fix the table in place (Figures 4 and 5).

Alternatively, if the table 22 has support legs 22d extending downward from the inside rear of the left and right protrusions 22c, and the support legs 22d have anchor plates 22e extending outward on the left and right sides of their lower tips, it can be installed by inserting it horizontally from in front of the person being assisted who is sitting on the edge of the chair (see Figures 6 and 7).

1: Sitting position support device 1a; armrest 1b; backrest 1c; seat 1d; textured tape 1e; textured tape 1f; grip 2: table 2a; belt 2b; support pin 22: table 22c; left and right protrusions 22d; support legs 22e; anchor plate

Claims (3)

A seating support device with a table, which has a seat without a seat surface, armrests, and a backrest, and is formed into a thick, flat, inverted U-shape; and a thin, flat U-shaped table consisting of a front surface and left and right protruding parts, the table is detachably attached to the upper surface of the armrests of the seating support device, the table has support legs pointing downward from the inside of the rear of the left and right protruding parts, and the support legs have anchor plates pointing outward on the left and right ends of their lower tips, and the table can be positioned by sliding the anchor plates on the underside of the seating support device. The edge seating support device with table according to claim 1, characterized in that the table is a thin, flat U-shaped plate consisting of a front portion and left and right protruding portions, and a support pin is provided on the front portion to abut the front of the armrest of the edge seating support device, and a belt is provided to detachably fix the armrest and the table. 3. The seating support device with a table according to claim 2, wherein the support pins are provided in pairs on both the left and right ends of the front surface.