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Laterally adjustable armrest assemblyLaterally adjustable armrest assembly description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060208552, Laterally adjustable armrest assembly. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates generally to laterally adjustable armrest assemblies. In particular, the present invention relates to laterally adjustable armrest assemblies for bariatric chairs. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] One of the most critical seating dimensions associated with bariatric chairs is the seat width. Since bariatric patients typically accumulate the majority of their weight around their lower torso and upper thighs, the seat width determines if the bulk of the bariatric patient will properly fit the chair. Similarly, when a bariatric chair design incorporates armrests, the limiting dimension that determines the width-wise fit of the chair to the bariatric patient becomes the distance between the insides of the armrests, which is usually equivalent to or close to the true width of the seating surface. When dealing with shower and commode chairs, which are generally communal among the residents of a bariatric healthcare facility, a seat width that may be functional for one bariatric patient may be too big or too small for another. The typical solution would be to accommodate the largest bariatric patient and sacrifice a comfortable armrest position for smaller patients, or conversely, to accommodate the smaller patients and remove the armrest for any especially large bariatric patients. Although accommodating bariatric patients in chairs that do not adequately fit them may be economically practical for a facility, the chair becomes uncomfortable for individual users as well, potential safety issues are created. By not having the full and proper use of the armrests to steady themselves, the bariatric occupant of the chair will feel laterally unsupported and instable, which creates a psychological discomfort and anxiety. However, in the case where an occupant begins to fall over the edge of the seat, without armrests, there are no restraints or supports for the patient to steady them self with to prevent the fall. [0003] Another challenge associated with accommodating especially wide seats on bariatric shower and commode chairs is caregiver usability in areas where maneuvering space is limited. That is the ability for the caregiver to push the width of the chair through doorways and other narrow openings, as well as manipulating the chair in and around tight spaces commonly found in showering areas and washrooms in healthcare facilities. The actual source of the physical interference caused by extra wide seats can usually be attributed to the external width across the armrests. Since armrests are typically mounted on the outside of the seat width, to ensure proper arm positioning, this mounting position places them at the widest section of the chair and makes them the most likely source of interference. For this reason many shower and commode chairs for bariatric patients have either removable armrests or armrests that are mounted within the width of the seating surface, which effectively reduces the seat width. [0004] The width between the armrests also has an effect as to how easy shower and commode chairs are to use as well as how comfortable they are to sit in. For example, when bathing a bariatric patient it is common to have the excess flesh from around the thighs fill the seat width up to the front and rear armrest support members. When this happens it becomes difficult for the caregiver to wash these areas hidden by the armrest hardware because of the limited access to the occupant. Also, by not having adequate clearance between the chair hardware and the occupant, bariatric patients cannot be transferred to and from the chair as easily. Since most bariatric patients are heavier than what is typically allowed for manual transfers, caregivers rely a great deal on being able to use motorized or hydraulic transfer lifts that utilize full body slings to support the body. [0005] These lifting slings need to be wrapped around strategic areas of the body in order to function properly and safely. In non-bariatric cases the occupant of the chair could easily reposition themselves or be repositioned by the caregiver to expose any inaccessible areas that need washing or to allow transfer lift body slings to be fitted. However when dealing with bariatrics patients, repositioning the person is not easily achieved due to their extreme size and weight. In most cases the bariatric shower chair would have provisions for swing-away, swing-up, flip-down, or removable armrests which would allow the caregiver to access any areas that were being blocked by the armrests. The cost of this solution is that the armrests become unusable for that duration, making the chair uncomfortable and potentially unsafe for the bariatric patient to sit in since they would be required to support the entire weight of their own arm as well as loose any form of lateral support to stabilize themselves. [0006] When a bariatric chair is used for commode activities it is a common desire and necessity for most people, and especially men, to relax and widen their legs in order to comfortably void themselves. If the commode chair is correctly sized when the bariatric patient is seated normally, opening their legs becomes impossible because the front vertical supports of the armrests will interfere with theirs knees and will prevent the occupant from moving their thighs outward. Due to the nature of most commode chair seats, with the commode pan reservoir positioned to match the regular seated position, the person cannot reposition themselves sufficiently forward to spread their legs without creating a misalignment with the commode reservoir. If the commode chair has provisions for swing-away, swing-up, flip-down, or removable armrests the occupant's legs can be accommodated, but again at the expense of loosing the use, security, and comfort of the armrests. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0007] According to one broad aspect of the present invention, there is provided an adjustable armrest assembly for a chair, the armrest assembly comprising: a stationary linkage which is connectable to the chair; an armrest member for supporting an arm of an individual when seated in the chair; a coupling member effecting coupling of the armrest member to the stationary linkage, the coupling member permitting travel of the armrest member relative to the stationary linkage; and, a locking element configured for acting on the coupling member to effect locking of the armrest member in any one of at least three indexed positions relative to the stationary linkage. [0008] In one aspect, permitted travel of the armrest member relative to the stationary linkage is along an arc-like path. [0009] In another aspect, the coupling member is a swivel linkage. [0010] In yet another aspect, the swivel linkage comprises a stationary linkage coupling portion and an armrest coupling portion, the stationary linkage coupling portion being offset from the armrest coupling portion, the stationary linkage coupling portion further being rotatably coupled to the stationary linkage, thereby permitting rotatable movement of the swivel linkage relative to the stationary linkage, and the armrest coupling portion being rotatably coupled to the armrest member, thereby permitting rotatable movement of the swivel linkage relative to the armrest member. [0011] In a further aspect, the armrest member includes an armrest coupling linkage for effecting the rotatable coupling to the swivel linkage, and wherein the locking element includes a detent pin which is biased to interfere with the relative rotational movement between the swivel linkage and the armrest coupling linkage, such that the locking in an indexed position is effected by the detent pin being positioned in both a swivel linkage hole provided in the swivel linkage and in a respective armrest coupling hole provided in the armrest coupling linkage, the detent pin becoming so positioned when the swivel linkage hole and the respective armrest coupling linkage hole are disposed in an overlapping relationship, the swivel linkage hole and the respective armrest coupling linkage hole becoming so disposed upon relative rotational movement between the swivel linkage and the armrest coupling linkage. [0012] In yet a further aspect, the locking element is coupled to one of the swivel linkage and the armrest coupling linkage. [0013] In a further aspect, a threaded handwheel is provided and configured for acting on the coupling member and effecting locking of the armrest member in positions other than the at least three indexed positions. [0014] According to a further broad aspect, there is provided an armrest assembly for a chair, the armrest assembly comprising a stationary linkage configured for coupling to the chair; an armrest member including an upper surface configured for supporting at least a portion of a forearm of a person when seated in the chair, wherein the upper surface includes an uppermost surface portion; at least two swivel linkages effecting coupling of the armrest member to the stationary linkage, each of the at least two swivel linkages including a respective stationary linkage coupling portion rotatably coupled to the stationary linkage for rotation about a respective swivel linkage-stationary linkage axis, and also including a respective armrest member coupling portion rotatably coupled to the armrest member for rotation about a respective swivel linkage-armrest member axis; wherein each of the at least two swivel linkages is characterized by a respective offset distance, wherein the respective offset distance is the distance between the respective swivel linkage-stationary linkage axis and the respective swivel linkage-armrest member axis in a plane which is tangent to the uppermost surface portion; wherein the at least two swivel linkages includes a most forwardly disposed swivel linkage, such that the swivel linkage-stationary linkage axis of the most forwardly disposed linkage is forwardly disposed relative to the respective swivel linkage-stationary linkage axis of each of the other of the at least two swivel linkages and the swivel linkage-armrest member axis of the most forwardly disposed linkage is forwardly disposed relative to the respective swivel linkage-armrest member axis of each of the other of the at least two swivel linkages; wherein the at least two swivel linkages also includes a most rearwardly disposed swivel linkage, such that the swivel linkage-stationary linkage axis of the most rearwardly disposed swivel linkage is rearwardly disposed relative to the respective swivel linkage-stationary linkage axis of each of the other of the at least two swivel linkages and the swivel linkage-armrest member axis of the most rearwardly disposed swivel linkage is rearwardly disposed relative to the respective swivel linkage-armrest member axis of each of the other of the at least two swivel linkages; and wherein the most forwardly disposed swivel linkage has a respective offset distance which is at least 1.2 times longer than the respective offset distance of the most rearwardly disposed swivel linkage. [0015] In a further aspect, there is provided an armrest assembly for a chair, the armrest assembly comprising a stationary linkage configured for coupling to the chair; an armrest member including an upper surface configured for supporting at least a portion of a forearm of a person seated in the chair, wherein the upper surface includes an uppermost armrest surface portion; at least two swivel linkages effecting coupling of the armrest member to the stationary linkage, each of the at least two swivel linkages including a respective stationary linkage coupling portion rotatably coupled to the stationary linkage for rotation about a respective swivel linkage-stationary linkage axis, and also including a respective armrest member coupling portion rotatably coupled to the armrest member for rotation about a respective swivel linkage-armrest member axis; wherein each of the at least two swivel linkages is characterized by a respective offset distance, wherein the respective offset distance is the distance between the respective swivel linkage-stationary linkage axis and the respective swivel linkage-armrest member axis in a plane which is tangent to the uppermost surface portion; wherein the at least two swivel linkages includes a most forwardly disposed swivel linkage and a most rearwardly disposed swivel linkage; and wherein the most forwardly disposed swivel linkage has a respective offset distance which is at least 1.2 times longer than the respective offset distance of the most rearwardly disposed swivel linkage. [0016] In yet a further aspect, there is provided a chair comprising a chair frame; and an armrest assembly including: a stationary linkage coupled to the chair frame; an armrest member including an upper surface configured for supporting at least a portion of a forearm of a person seated in the chair, wherein the upper surface includes an uppermost surface portion; at least two swivel linkages effecting coupling of the armrest member to the stationary linkage, each of the at least two swivel linkages including a respective stationary linkage coupling portion rotatably coupled to the stationary linkage for rotation about a respective swivel linkage-stationary linkage axis, and also including a respective armrest member coupling portion rotatably coupled to the armrest member for rotation about a respective swivel linkage-armrest member axis; wherein each of the at least two swivel linkages is characterized by a respective offset distance, wherein the respective offset distance is the distance between the respective swivel linkage-stationary linkage axis and the respective swivel linkage-armrest member axis in a plane which is tangent to the uppermost surface portion; wherein the at least two swivel linkages includes a most forwardly disposed swivel linkage, such that the swivel linkage-stationary linkage axis of the most forwardly disposed linkage is forwardly disposed relative to the respective swivel linkage-stationary linkage axis of each of the other of the at least two swivel linkages and the swivel linkage-armrest member axis of the most forwardly disposed linkage is forwardly disposed relative to the respective swivel linkage-armrest member axis of each of the other of the at least two swivel linkages; wherein the at least two swivel linkages also includes a most rearwardly disposed swivel linkage, such that the swivel linkage-stationary linkage axis of the most rearwardly disposed swivel linkage is rearwardly disposed relative to the respective swivel linkage-stationary linkage axis of each of the other of the at least two swivel linkages and the swivel linkage-armrest member axis of the most rearwardly disposed swivel linkage is rearwardly disposed relative to the respective swivel linkage-armrest member axis of each of the other of the at least two swivel linkages; and wherein the most forwardly disposed swivel linkage has a respective offset distance which is at least 1.2 times longer than the respective offset distance of the most rearwardly disposed swivel linkage. [0017] In another aspect, there is provided a chair comprising a chair frame; and an armrest assembly including a stationary linkage coupled to the chair frame; an armrest member including an upper surface configured for supporting at least a portion of a forearm of a person seated in the chair, wherein the upper surface includes an uppermost surface portion; at least two swivel linkages effecting coupling of the armrest member to the stationary linkage, each of the at least two swivel linkages including a respective stationary linkage coupling portion rotatably coupled to the stationary linkage for rotation about a respective swivel linkage-stationary linkage axis, and also including a respective armrest member coupling portion rotatably coupled to the armrest member for rotation about a respective swivel linkage-armrest member axis; wherein each of the at least two swivel linkages is characterized by a respective offset distance, wherein the respective offset distance is the distance between the respective swivel linkage-stationary linkage axis and the respective swivel linkage-armrest member axis in a plane which is tangent to the uppermost surface portion; wherein the at least two swivel linkages includes a most forwardly disposed swivel linkage and a most rearwardly disposed swivel linkage; and wherein the most forwardly disposed swivel linkage has a respective offset distance which is at least 1.2 times longer than the respective offset distance of the most rearwardly disposed swivel linkage. [0018] In one aspect, the most forwardly disposed swivel linkage has a respective offset distance which is at least 1.5 times longer than the respective offset distance of the most rearwardly disposed linkage. [0019] In another aspect, the most forwardly disposed swivel linkage has a respective horizontal offset distance which is at least 2 times longer than the respective horizontal offset distance of the most rearwardly disposed linkage. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0020] Preferred embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Continue reading about Laterally adjustable armrest assembly... Full patent description for Laterally adjustable armrest assembly Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Laterally adjustable armrest assembly patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. 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