Cup holder for parkinson's patients

Abstract

The present invention relates to a cup holder for Parkinson's patients, which can be used to prevent Parkinson's patients from overturning and shaking the cup and the liquid placed inside, especially when drinking liquid beverages, characterized in that it comprises a grip (1) with a gap that the hand can easily grasp to hold the apparatus, a control unit (2) placed under the grip (1) and containing a microprocessor, acceleration sensor, and battery, a cup groove (3) in which a cup is placed, a stop button (4) placed in the gap inside the grip (1) that stops the apparatus in its current state when pressed and allows the apparatus to continue working to keep the cup straight when released, a first motor (5) located on the control unit (2), a moving part (6) connected to the first motor (5) and moved up and down on the vertical axis by the first motor (5), and a second motor (7) connected to the cup groove (3) and allowing the cup groove (3) to move in multiple directions on the horizontal axis.

Description

[0001] SPECIFICATION

[0002] CUP HOLDER FOR PARKINSON'S PATIENTS

[0003] Technical Field:

[0004] The present invention relates to a cup holder for Parkinson's patients, which can be used to prevent Parkinson's patients from overturning and shaking the cup and the liquid placed inside, especially when drinking liquid beverages.

[0005] State of the Art:

[0006] Today, it is clearly observed that patients diagnosed with Parkinson's are exposed to many negative effects that reduce their daily quality of life. It has been found that patients have difficulty performing even the most basic skills as the level of the disease progresses, and at more advanced levels, they are unable to perform basic functions without assistance. Although there are studies to improve the quality of life of patients, these studies are not inclusive of all areas. One of these areas is the difficulty of using cups, which are often used during basic fluid consumption.

[0007] Utility model application no. TR2021017711 describes the “Tablespoon with Tilt Sensor”. The invention relates to a table spoon that enables children who do not know how to use a spoon during eating and Parkinson's patients who have a shaky grip on the spoon due to muscle disorders to eat without spilling the food, and is characterized by a spoon handle, micro control card, tilt sensor, servo motor, spoon tip, switch, and battery.

[0008] The invention described above is aimed at improving the quality of life of Parkinson's patients. It is limited only to spoons used during eating and does not meet an important need of daily life, such as fluid consumption. It also uses a servo motor that can move in a single axis.

[0009] Patent application no. CN109288356A describes a "Spoon for Parkinson's Patients". The invention describes a spoon for patients with Parkinson's disease. The spoon includes a spoon body, a handle sleeve, and a shaking damper. The spoon body includes a spoon head and a spoon handle. The handle sleeve sleeves the spoon handle. The shaking damper is arranged between the handle sleeve and the spoon handle. The shakingdamper is a coil spring group consisting of a plurality of identical coil springs connected coaxially in parallel. The diameter of the elastic strands forming the coil springs gradually increases from the outside to the inside, and the density of the coil springs gradually decreases from the outside to the inside. When the handle sleeve shakes, the shaking of the handle sleeve first causes the circumference of the coil springs to shake, and then the shaking is gradually transferred to the center. Since the coefficient of hardness of the coil springs increases from the outside to the inside, the shaking of the coil springs gradually decreases from the outside to the inside, the shaking of the handle sleeve is balanced by the shaking of the circumference of the coil springs, and thus the spoon body in the middle of the coil springs hardly shakes. The spoon manufactured for Parkinson's patients can meet the needs of Parkinson's patients to eat independently.

[0010] The invention described above uses a mechanical shaking damping system, but this system has a passive structure and is unable to respond instantaneously and actively to tremor movements. This can lead to the spoon being ineffective against more complex levels of tremors in Parkinson's patients. It is also not suitable to function in situations where momentum is critical, such as fluid handling.

[0011] As a result, there is a need for a new technology which can overcome the disadvantages mentioned above.

[0012] Definition of the Invention:

[0013] The present invention is a cup holder for Parkinson's patients, which can overcome the disadvantages mentioned above, and is characterized by having a microprocessor and acceleration sensor, a stop button, motors that stabilize the cup groove, autonomous operation, convenience for Parkinson's patients, low cost, and ease of use.

[0014] The present invention offers many advantages that improve the quality of life of Parkinson's patients. Thanks to its movement mechanism that tolerates involuntary hand tremors, it allows patients to safely consume fluids without encountering problems such as spilling fluid or shaking the cup. It offers ease of use with its ergonomically designed grip and user-friendly stop button. In addition, the cup groove moving on every axis to maintain stability creates an effective solution for users with different levels of tremor. The microprocessor-assisted system precisely controls the motors, ensuring highaccuracy and reliability. Thanks to its lightweight, portable structure and low energy consumption, it offers a practical use in daily life.

[0015] With the easy fastening of the parts that make up the invention to each other, it is easy to install, and thanks to the short assembly time, costs are low. Also, the invention has a solid structure.

[0016] Description of the Drawings:

[0017] The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying figures, so that the features of the invention will be more clearly understood and appreciated, however it is not intended to limit the invention to these particular embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended all alternatives, modifications and equivalences that may be included in the field of the invention as defined by the accompanying claims are within the scope. It should be understood that the details shown are for the sole purpose of illustrating preferred embodiments of the present invention and are intended to provide the most useful and easily understandable description of both the forming of the methods and the rules and conceptual features of the invention. In the drawings;

[0018] Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the system.

[0019] Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the system.

[0020] Fig. 3 is a detailed perspective view of the system.

[0021] Fig. 4 is a detailed perspective view of the system.

[0022] The figures which will help understand this invention are numbered as indicated in the accompanying drawing and are given below with their names.

[0023] Description of the References:

[0024] 1. Grip

[0025] 2. Control Unit

[0026] 3. Cup Groove

[0027] 4. Stop Button

[0028] 5. First Motor

[0029] 6. Moving Part7. Second Motor

[0030] Description of the Invention:

[0031] The invention comprises a grip (1) with a gap that the hand can easily grasp to hold the apparatus, a control unit (2) placed under the grip (1) and containing a microprocessor, acceleration sensor, and battery, a cup groove (3) in which a cup is placed, a stop button (4) placed in the gap inside the grip (1) that stops the apparatus in its current state when pressed and allows the apparatus to continue working to keep the cup straight when released, a first motor (5) located on the control unit (2), a moving part (6) connected to the first motor (5) and moved up and down on the vertical axis by the first motor (5), and a second motor (7) connected to the cup groove (3) and allowing the cup groove (3) to move in multiple directions on the horizontal axis.

[0032] The invention comprises a moving part (6) that moves the second motor (7) and the cup groove (3) attached thereto up and down on the vertical axis.

[0033] The invention comprises a control unit (2) that keeps the cup positioned in the cup groove (3) stable by operating the first motor (5) and the second motor (7) correctly in line with the instant data received from the acceleration sensor by the microprocessor inside.

[0034] Detailed Description of the Invention:

[0035] The constituent parts of the invention are essentially: grip (1), control unit (2), cup groove (3), stop button (4), first motor (5), moving part (6), and second motor (7).

[0036] The present invention is an apparatus design allowing fluid-filled cups to remain stable against involuntary hand tremors of Parkinson's patients. The apparatus includes a grip (1) with an opening so that the user can easily grasp it with his hand. The control unit (2) placed at the bottom of the grip (1) comprises a microprocessor, acceleration sensor, and battery. This control unit (2) contains the basic components for operating the apparatus. The apparatus has a cup groove (3) in which a cup can be placed. The cup groove (3) moves in the opposite direction to the movement of the grip (1) to prevent spillage. The stop button (4) placed by the user in the gap inside the grip (1) is designed to fix the apparatus in its current state. When the button (4) is pressed, the cup groove(3) is fixed; when released, it starts working again to keep the cup stable. The apparatus includes two precision motors, the first motor (5) and the second motor (7). The first motor (5) is located above the control unit (2) and moves the cup groove (3) up and down on the vertical axis thanks to the moving part (6) connected thereto. The second motor (7) compensates for the involuntary movements of the user by moving the cup groove (3) in multiple directions on the horizontal axis. This whole mechanism works by analyzing the instantaneous data from the acceleration sensor by the microprocessor. The microprocessor moves the first motor (5) and the second motor (7) synchronously according to the sensor data, ensuring that the cup groove (3) remains stable in every axis. This system allows Parkinson's patients to consume fluids without being affected by hand tremors.

Claims

CLAIMS1 . A cup holder for Parkinson's patients, characterized in that it comprises:— a grip (1) with a gap that the hand can easily grasp to hold the apparatus, — a control unit (2) placed under the grip (1) and containing a microprocessor, acceleration sensor, and battery,— a cup groove (3) in which a cup is placed,— a stop button (4) placed in the gap inside the grip (1) that stops the apparatus in its current state when pressed and allows the apparatus to continue working to keep the cup straight when released,— a first motor (5) located on the control unit (2),— a moving part (6) connected to the first motor (5) and moved up and down on the vertical axis by the first motor (5), and— a second motor (7) connected to the cup groove (3) and allowing the cup groove (3) to move in multiple directions on the horizontal axis.

2. The cup holder for Parkinson's patients according to claim 1 , characterized in that it comprises a moving part (6) that moves the second motor (7) and the cup groove (3) attached thereto up and down on the vertical axis.

3. The cup holder for Parkinson's patients according to claim 1 , characterized in that it comprises a control unit (2) that keeps the cup positioned in the cup groove (3) stable by operating the first motor (5) and the second motor (7) correctly in line with the instant data received from the acceleration sensor to the microprocessor inside.

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