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US 5,687,889 AGranted
Multi-purpose reacher and dressing aid
OwnerDouglas T. Lideninventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A manually operable combination device to help a user who cannot bend at the back, waist, or knees with applying socks, shoes, pants, tightening and loosening shoe laces, removing socks and picking things up off the ground. The device includes components to provide a reacher function with a pivoting closeable jaw operated by a trigger mechanism, a flexible or rigid plastic shovel, and a longitudinally sliding hook operated by a lever. The plastic shovel is used to apply socks and as a shoe horn. The reacher is used to apply shoes and remove socks and to pick articles up from floor. A sliding hook is used in conjunction with cord clamps on shoelaces to tighten laces. The hook is also used for application of pants.
Claims17
A device to assist a user in dressing, comprising in combination:
- a reacher including a movable jaw for clamping an item to be held between the jaw and a jaw mating portion at a jaw end of a generally rigid rod, said jaw of said reacher being manipulated toward and away from said jaw mating portion by operation of a trigger generally disposed at a handle end of said rod;
- and
- an exposed sock aid also disposed at said handle end of said rod, said sock aid including
- a flexible sheet material having:
- (i) a toe portion at one end thereof with two opposite edge formations adapted to flex towards each other upon application of a sock distended thereon, so as to present a cavity between the toe portion and sock for insertion of a foot, and flex away from each other to allow insertion of a foot in said cavity;
- and
- (ii) a heel portion at the other end of such sheet material integrally connected to said toe portion, said heel portion being generally fixedly connected to said handle end of said reacher and adapted to be pulled by said rod so as to draw said toe portion with said sock over the foot thereby unraveling said sock from said flexible sheet.
4 more elements
A device to assist a user in dressing, comprising in combination:
- a reacher including a movable jaw for clamping an item to be held between the jaw and a jaw mating portion of a jaw end of a generally rigid rod, said jaw of said reacher being manipulated toward and away from said jaw mating portion by operation of a trigger generally disposed at a handle end of said rod;
- and
- a hook having a longitudinal leg extending along and generally parallel to a longitudinal axis of said rod and a lateral leg extending laterally to the longitudinal axis of said rod, wherein said hook and said rod at said jaw end of said reacher are slidably engaged to maintain the longitudinal leg and said rod generally parallel to one another as the hook moves along said longitudinal axis of said rod, wherein said longitudinal leg is manipulated to move toward and away from said handle end of said rod by operation of a lever attached to said rod, wherein said rod at said jaw end includes a opening having an edge configured to receive and surround the path of a loop of laces as the loop is pulled toward the handle end of the rod by the hook moving in that direction, wherein the opening is sized to allow passage of the laces and not allow passage of a clamping device which urges the two sides of said loop of laces together to hold them for later use, wherein said loop of said laces can be pulled through said clamping device by positioning the clamping device against said opening and looping said loop of laces over said lateral leg and moving said hook toward said handle end of said rod.
A device to assist a user in dressing, comprising in combination:
- a rod having a handle end and a jaw end;
- a sock aid including
- flexible sheet material having:
- (i) a toe portion at one end thereof with two opposite edge formations adapted to flex towards each other upon application of a sock distended thereon, so as to present a cavity between the toe portion and sock for insertion of a foot;
- and
- (ii) a heel portion at the other end of such sheet material integrally connected to said toe portion, said heel portion being generally fixedly connected to said handle end of said rod and adapted to be pulled by said rod so as to draw said toe portion with said sock over the foot thereby unraveling said sock from said flexible sheet and permitting said heel portion to flex over the heel of the user for drawing said sock over the leg;
- and
- a hook having a longitudinal leg extending along and generally parallel to a longitudinal axis of said rod and a lateral leg extending laterally to the longitudinal axis of said rod, wherein said hook and said rod at said jaw end of said rod are slidably engaged to maintain the longitudinal leg and said rod generally parallel to one another as the hook moves along said longitudinal axis of said rod, wherein said longitudinal leg is manipulated to move toward and away from said handle end of said rod by operation of a lever attached to said rod, wherein said rod at said jaw end forms a channel having an edge configured to receive and surround the path of a loop of laces as the loop is pulled toward the handle end of the rod by the hook moving in that direction, wherein the opening of said channel within said rod is sized to allow passage of the laces and not allow passage of a clamping device which urges the two sides of said loop of laces together to hold them for later use, wherein said loop of said laces can be pulled through said clamping device by positioning the clamping device against said opening and looping said loop of laces over said lateral leg and moving said hook toward said handle end of said rod.
5 more elements
A device to assist a user in dressing, comprising in combination:
- a rod having a handle end and a jaw end;
- a hook having a longitudinal leg extending along and generally parallel to a longitudinal axis of said rod and a lateral leg extending laterally to the longitudinal axis of said rod, wherein said hook and said rod at said jaw end of said rod are slidably engaged to maintain the longitudinal leg and said rod generally parallel to one another as the hook moves along said longitudinal axis of said rod, wherein said longitudinal leg is manipulated to move toward and away from said handle end of said rod by operation of a lever attached to said rod, wherein said rod at said jaw end forms a channel having an edge configured to receive and surround the path of a loop of laces as the loop is pulled toward the handle end of the rod by the hook moving in that direction, wherein the opening of said channel within said rod is sized to allow passage of the laces and not allow passage of a clamping device which urges the two sides of said loop of laces together to hold them for later use, wherein said loop of said laces can be pulled through said clamping device by positioning the clamping device against said opening and looping said loop of laces over said lateral leg and moving said hook toward said handle end of said rod.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.