Legless chair for bed and installation method thereof

Abstract

To provide a legless chair for a bed capable of flexibly compatible with even a bed having different intervals between holes provided in an edge part of the bed without significant modification for an existing bed for people who need care including the elderly, and capable of being stored compactly when not in use.SOLUTION: A legless chair 1 for a bed includes: a pair of frame parts 2, 2 facing each other; and a seat part 3. The frame part 2 includes: a first pole member 21 extending vertically upward; a second pole member 22 extending vertically downward; a first connection member 23 connecting upper ends of the first pole member 21 and the second pole member 22; and a second connection member 24 connecting a lower end of the first pole member 21 and the second pole member 22. A lower end of the second pole member 22 is provided with a bed fixation part 22S. Both ends of the seat part 3 are fixed to the first pole members 21.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This invention relates to a bed chair that is mainly installed in a bed at home or in a hospital to support the movement of the back of an elderly person, and a method for installing the same. [Background technology]

[0002] Traditionally, when elderly people or those requiring care get up from their beds, they often do so by grasping onto a handle, etc. Also, when elderly people or others sit down in bed from an upright position, they sometimes lean against a dresser or similar object.

[0003] For example, when elderly people or others move from or to a bed, various assistive devices for supporting the actions of standing up or sitting down are disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-173753 [Patent Document 2] Patent Publication No. 2021-108985 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, the assistive devices disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 cannot accommodate actions that require sitting up and using a backrest, such as eating in bed or talking to someone. Furthermore, these assistive devices are made up of many parts, which often require time and effort to set up, and are difficult to store when not in use, making them bulky.

[0006] Furthermore, most existing assistive devices are installed using holes on the edge of the bed, and are often inflexible in use, such as being compatible with beds with different hole spacing. For example, there is the problem that it is difficult to adjust the various dimensions to suit larger people.

[0007] In view of the above-mentioned problems, the object of the present invention is to provide a floor chair for beds that can be installed on existing beds without major modifications, in particular, one that can be placed in an upright position by utilizing the holes on the edge of the bed, and a method for installing the same. It is also to provide a floor chair for beds that can be flexibly adapted to beds with different spacing between the holes in the bed rails, and that can be stored compactly when not in use, and a method for installing the same. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] Therefore, the bed chair of the present invention has a pair of opposing frame portions and a rectangular seat portion, and each frame portion is equipped with a first support member extending vertically upward, a second support member extending vertically downward, a first connecting member connecting the upper ends of the first support member and the second support member, and a second connecting member connecting the lower end of the first support member and the second support member, and a rod-shaped or tubular bed fixing portion is provided at the lower end of the second support member, and both ends of the seat portion are fixed to the first support member, respectively.

[0009] The sheet portion is formed of a first sheet portion fixed to the first support member above the first connecting member and a second sheet portion fixed to the first support member below the first connecting member. Furthermore, a cover material may be wrapped around the first connecting member and the second connecting member.

[0010] Furthermore, the invention of the method for installing the aforementioned bed chair on a bed comprises a first installation step of fixing a pair of frame parts by inserting the bed installation part of the second support member, which is part of the frame part, into a hole provided on the edge of the bed, and a second installation step of fixing both ends of the seat part to the first support member after the first installation step. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] The pair of frames of the bed chair of the present invention function as armrests for elderly people and other people who require care when they get up from or sit down in bed. At the same time, since both ends of the seat are fixed to the first support members, they also function as the backrest of the chair.

[0012] In other words, when the bed chair of the present invention is placed on the edge of a bed, the pair of opposing frame parts and seat parts form a U-shaped space with armrests and a backrest like a floor chair, which has the effect of allowing elderly people and other people who require care to sit up and lean on a backrest when eating, talking, etc. In addition, because the bed chair of the present invention is made up of a small number of parts (a pair of opposing frame parts and seat parts), when the bed chair is not in use, the pair of frame parts can be stacked on top of each other to store it compactly.

[0013] The method for installing a bed seat of the present invention involves inserting a pair of frame parts that form the bed seat into holes provided on the edge of the bed, and then fixing a portion of each frame part with a seat part to complete the installation of the bed seat. This has the effect of allowing the bed seat to be installed easily and reliably on the bed. It also has the effect of allowing the bed seat to be removed from the bed and moved to another bed easily and in a short time. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which a legless chair for a bed 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is installed on a bed B. FIG. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a right side view of the frame portion 2. [Figure 3] 1(a) is a right side view of the first seat portion 31. FIG. 1(b) is a front view of the second seat portion 32. FIG. [Figure 4]3 is a schematic diagram showing a first sheet portion 31 and a second sheet portion 32 in use. FIG. [Figure 5] 2 is a partially enlarged perspective view of a state in which the peripheries of the first and second connecting members 23 and 24 are covered with a cover material 4. FIG. [Figure 6] 10 is a partially enlarged perspective view showing the state in which the second support member 22 is fixed by a fixing jig 5. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following, similar elements in all drawings will be designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate explanations will be omitted. Furthermore, in the description below, previously described reference numerals will be used as necessary.

[0016] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view (schematic diagram) of a bed chair 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention installed on a bed B. The bed chair 1 of the present invention is formed from a pair of frame members 2, 2 arranged separately on the left and right sides as shown in FIG. 1 and a seat member 3. Both ends of the seat member 3 are fixed to the left and right frame members. In other words, when the bed chair 1 is installed on a bed, the pair of left and right frame members 2, 2 and the seat member 3 connecting these frame members 2, 2 form a U-shaped space on the bed mattress in which elderly people and other people can sit. The frame member 2 and the seat member 3 will be described in detail below.

[0017] <Frame part 2> FIG. 2 shows a right side view of one frame 2 that forms part of the floor chair 1 for bed of the present invention. The frame 2 is a pair of members that are placed on both the left and right sides of the floor chair 1 when it is installed on the bed. As shown in FIG. 2, the frame 2 can be broadly divided into a first support member 21 that extends vertically upward from the mattress surface of the bed when the floor chair 1 for bed is installed on the bed, a second support member 22 that extends vertically downward to be inserted into a hole in the edge of the bed when it is fixed to the bed, and a first connecting member 23 and a second connecting member 24 that connect (bridge) the first and second support members 21 and 22. Below, the first support member 21 and the second support member 22 that form the frame 2 and the connecting members (first connecting member 23 and second connecting member 24) that connect (bridge) the first and second support members 21 and 22 will be individually described.

[0018] (First support member 21) The first support member 21, which forms part of the frame section 2, is a rod-like or tubular member that extends vertically upward (upward in Fig. 2) as shown in Fig. 2. Furthermore, as shown in Fig. 1, the two first support members 21, 21 function as support columns for the backrest of the bed chair 1 when the pair of frame sections 2, 2 are arranged on the bed. Furthermore, by connecting them to the first and second connecting members described below, they also function as part of the side frame of the bed chair 1.

[0019] (Second support member 22) The second support member 22, which forms part of the frame section 2, is a rod-shaped or tubular member extending vertically downward (downward in Fig. 2) as shown in Fig. 2. In addition, rod-shaped or tubular bed fixing parts 22S, 22S are provided at the lower ends of the two second support members 22, 22, and serve to fix the entire bed chair 1 by being inserted into holes h1, h2 provided in the edge part BF of the bed B after being arranged apart from each other as shown in Fig. 1.

[0020] In other words, because the two second support members 22, 22 are formed separately and independently, they can also be used with beds B in which the spacing between the two holes h1, h2 shown in Figure 1 is different. For example, the dimensions of the second support members 22, 22 can be adjusted to suit people with a fuller body shape, providing flexibility in use. Furthermore, by connecting the second support member 22 to the first and second connecting members described below, it can also function as part of the side frame of the bed chair 1.

[0021] Furthermore, if the hole diameter (inner diameter) of holes h1 and h2 provided on the edge portion BF of bed B shown in Figure 1 is larger than the size (diameter) of the bed fixing portion at the lower end of the second support member, the gap between the holes on the edge of the bed and the bed fixing portion can be eliminated by attaching a wrapping part made of resin or rubber to the outer periphery of the bed fixing portion, or by fitting a pipe part or the like, and the second support member (frame portion) can be fixed more firmly.

[0022] (First connecting member 23) The first connecting member 23, which forms part of the frame 2, is a rod-like or tubular member that connects the first support member 21 and the second support member 22, as shown in FIG. 2. For example, one end of the first connecting member 23 can be connected to the first support member 21 at a position above the lower end 21L, and the other end can be connected to the upper end 22U of the second support member 22. The first connecting members 23 are arranged in pairs across the width of the bed to which they are attached, and therefore serve as armrests for the bed chair 1. Therefore, covering at least the outer periphery of the first connecting member 23 with a resin or cloth cover material 4 can protect the upper arms of users, such as elderly people. FIG. 5 shows a perspective view (schematic diagram) of the first connecting member 23 and the second connecting member 24, covered with the cover material 4.

[0023] (Second connecting member 24) The second connecting member 24, which forms part of the frame section 2, is a rod-like or tubular member that connects the first support member 21 and the second support member 22 to each other, similar to the first connecting member 23 described above, as shown in Figure 2. For example, one end of the second connecting member 24 can be connected to the lower end 21L of the first support member 21, and the other end can be connected to a position below the upper end 22U of the second support member 22. The second connecting member 24 is also positioned below the first connecting member 23, i.e., approximately horizontally, on the mattress side of the bed to be installed. Therefore, the second connecting members 24 are arranged in pairs along the width direction of the bed to be installed, and therefore form the boundary of the seat surface of the bed chair 1.

[0024] The first connecting member 23 and the second connecting member 24 can be connected to the first support member 21 and the second support member 22 by various fastening methods, such as screwing, fitting, welding, or bonding, or by using joint parts such as elbows or tees. The first support member 21, the second support member 22, the first connecting member 23, and the second connecting member 24 can also be integrally molded or cast from a metal such as resin or aluminum alloy. For example, the first support member 21 and the second connecting member 24 may be formed by bending a single steel pipe into an L-shape. The same applies to the second support member 22 and the first connecting member 23.

[0025] <Seat part 3> Figures 3(a) and 3(b) show front views of the seat portion 3 (first seat portion 31, second seat portion 32) that forms part of the bed chair 1 of the present invention. As shown in Figures 3(a) and 3(b), the seat portion 3 (31, 32) is rectangular overall, and has support post attachment portions on both ends for attachment to the first support member that forms part of the frame portion described above.

[0026] The form of the support pole attachment parts can be, for example, support pole attachment parts 31a, 31a of a bag-stitched form into which the first support pole member can be directly inserted as shown in Fig. 3(a), or support pole attachment parts 32a, 32a, 32b, 32b of a hook-and-loop fastener form such as Velcro (registered trademark) that can be easily attached to and detached from the first support pole member as shown in Fig. 3(b). Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the first sheet part 31 and the second sheet part 32 in use.

[0027] The seat can be made of various materials, such as natural fibers such as cotton and linen, or synthetic fibers such as polyester and nylon. By changing the width (left-right direction in Fig. 3) of the seat 3 shown in Fig. 1 and the first and second seat sections 31 and 32 shown in Fig. 3 and 4, the width of the seat surface of the bed chair of the present invention can be freely changed in the depth direction.

[0028] For example, by installing a pair of frame parts in a V-shape when viewed from the edge of the bed and fixing both ends of the sheet part, which has a shorter width, to the first support member, the width at the back side can be made narrower than the width at the front side (the edge of the bed).In contrast, by installing a pair of frame parts in an inverted V-shape and fixing both ends of the sheet part, which has a longer width, to the first support member, the width at the back side can be made wider than the width at the front side (the edge of the bed).

[0029] Next, we will explain the method for installing the aforementioned bed chair on a bed, i.e., the invention of the bed chair installation method. The bed chair installation method of the present invention is roughly divided into a first installation step of fixing a pair of frame parts to the bed and a second installation step of fixing both ends of the seat part to the frame parts. The first installation step and the second installation step will be explained in detail below.

[0030] <First installation process> In the first setting step, the tips of the second support members 22, 22 that form part of the frame sections 2, 2, i.e., the bed installation sections 22S, 22S, are inserted into holes h1, h2 provided in the edge BF of the bed B as shown in Fig. 1. In this case, in addition to the form in which a pair of frame sections are installed parallel to each other as shown in Fig. 1, the pair of frame sections may be installed in a V-shape when viewed from the edge of the bed, or in an inverted V-shape when viewed from the edge of the bed.

[0031] If the hole diameter (inner diameter) of holes h1 and h2 provided in the edge portion BF of bed B shown in Figure 1 is larger than the size (diameter) of bed fixing portion 22S of second support member 22, a wrapping part made of resin or rubber can be attached to the outer periphery of bed fixing portion 22S, or a pipe part or the like can be fitted in.

[0032] <Second installation process> In this second installation process, both ends of the seat are fixed to the first support members that form part of the frame after the first installation process. As shown in Figure 1, both ends of the seat 3 are attached (fixed) to the first support members 21, 21 of the pair of frames 22, 22 installed in the first installation process, forming a U-shaped space when viewed from the edge BF of the bed B, thereby determining the seat position and width of the bed chair of the present invention.

[0033] In addition to the sheet portion 3 shown in Fig. 1, the sheet portion fixed to the first support member may be a first sheet portion 31 shown in Fig. 3(a) or a second sheet portion 32 shown in Fig. 3(b). That is, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the first sheet portion 31 may be fixed to the first support member 21 at a position above the first connecting member 23 with support mounting portions 31a, 31a in the form of a hollow stitch, and the second sheet portion 32 may be fixed to the first support member 21 at a position below the first connecting member 23 with support mounting portions 32a, 32a, 32b, 32b in the form of a hook-and-loop fastener.

[0034] When fixing the bed seat of the present invention to the edge of a bed, if there are no holes in the bed edge for inserting the support posts of the bed seat, or if the size (diameter) of the hole in the bed edge is smaller than the size (diameter) of the bed-fixing part of the second support member and the second support member cannot be inserted into the hole, it is possible to fix the support posts of the bed seat using a special fixing jig. Figure 6 shows a partially enlarged perspective view (schematic diagram) of a part of the bed seat (the bed-fixing part of the second support member) fixed with fixing jig 5.

[0035] As shown in Figure 6, the fixing jig 5 is composed of an upper fixing part 51 that comes into close contact with the underside of the bed frame, a lower fixing part 52 that comes into close contact with the floor surface, fixing brackets 53, 53 equipped with an openable hinge, and a second support member protective tube 54 into which the bed fixing part 22S of the second support member 22 can be inserted. The fixing jig 5 is fixed in place in its entirety by pressing (stretching) the underside of the bed frame using the upper fixing part 51 and the floor using the lower fixing part 52. The second support member 22 (bed fixing part 22S), which is part of the bed-accessible floor chair of the present invention, is then inserted into the second support member protective tube 54. In other words, when fixing the bed-accessible floor chair of the present invention to the edge of a bed, the support of the bed-accessible floor chair can be fixed using a dedicated fixing jig 5.

[0036] As described above, the bed chair of the present invention has a pair of opposing frame portions and a seat portion, each frame portion having a first support member extending vertically upward, a second support member extending vertically downward, and first and second connecting members connecting the first and second support members to each other, and a rod-shaped or tubular bed fixing portion is provided at the lower end of the second support member, and both ends of the seat portion are fixed to the first support member.

[0037] The two second support members that form part of the frame are formed separately and independently, so the bed chair can be installed at any interval according to the spacing of the holes in the edge (frame) of the bed. For example, the dimensions of the second support members can be adjusted to suit people with a fuller figure, providing flexibility in use.

[0038] The space formed by the pair of frame parts and the seat part is U-shaped like a legless chair, so it serves as a place for the elbows of elderly people and other people who require care when they need to sit up and lean back while eating or talking in bed. At the same time, the seat part also serves as the back of a chair as both ends of the seat part are fixed to the first support members.

[0039] In other words, when the bed chair of the present invention is placed on the edge of a bed, the pair of opposing frame parts and seat parts form a U-shaped space like a chair with a pair of left and right armrests and a backrest, which has the effect of accommodating elderly people and other people who require care when they sit up and move around in bed.In addition, because the bed chair of the present invention is made up of a small number of parts (a pair of opposing frame parts and seat parts), when the bed chair is not in use, the pair of frames can be stacked on top of each other to store it compactly.

[0040] Furthermore, the method for installing a floor chair for a bed of the present invention involves inserting a pair of frame parts that form the floor chair for a bed into holes provided on the edge of the bed (first installation step), and then fixing a part of each frame part with a seat part (second installation step), thereby completing the installation of the floor chair for a bed. This has the effect of allowing the floor chair to be installed on the bed simply and reliably. Additionally, it has the effect of allowing the floor chair to be removed from the bed and moved to another bed easily and in a short time. [Explanation of symbols]

[0041] 1. Bed chair 2 Frame section 3 Seat section 4 Cover material 5 Fixture 21 First support member 21L Lower end of first support member 22 Second support member 22S Bed fixing part 22U Upper end of second support member 23 First connecting member 24 Second connecting member 31 First seat section 31a Pillar mounting part 32 Second seat section 32a, 32b Pillar mounting part 51 Upper fixing part 52 Lower fixing part 53 Fixing bracket 54 Protective tube for second support member

Claims

1. A bed chair having a pair of opposing frame portions and a rectangular seat portion, each of the frame portions comprising a first support member extending vertically upward, a second support member extending vertically downward, a first connecting member connecting the upper ends of the first support member and the second support member, and a second connecting member connecting the lower end of the first support member and the second support member, wherein a rod-shaped or tubular bed fixing portion is provided at the lower end of the second support member, and both ends of the seat portion are fixed to the first support member.

2. The bed chair described in claim 1, characterized in that the seat portion is formed from a first seat portion fixed to the first support member above the first connecting member, and a second seat portion fixed to the first support member below the first connecting member.

3. 3. The legless chair for a bed according to claim 2, wherein a cover material is wrapped around the outer surface of the first connecting member.

4. 3. The legless chair for a bed according to claim 2, wherein a cover material is wrapped around the outer surfaces of the first connecting member and the second connecting member.

5. A method for installing a bed chair according to any one of claims 1 to 4 on a bed, comprising: a first installation step of fixing the pair of frame parts by inserting the bed installation part of the second support member into a hole provided on the edge of the bed; and a second installation step of fixing both ends of the seat part to the first support member after the first installation step.

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