Vehicle entry/egress assistance device

摘要

An assistance device for entering and leaving a vehicle includes a handle member for supporting at least part of the weight of the user grasping a handle of the handle member, a striker pin insertion post for extending into the opening of a striker pin in the door frame, for supporting at least part of the weight of a user grasping the handle, and a pair of outrigger side portions extending transversely outwardly of the insertion post, on respective opposite sides of the handle member and insertion post, each having a transverse width greater than a transverse width of the insertion post for impeding entry of the insertion post into the opening of the striker pin when the handle member is outside the plane of the door frame.

主权项

1. An assistance device (10, 11, 210, 211) for aiding a user to enter and leave a vehicle through a door frame (12) of the vehicle, the door frame having a striker pin (14) extending from a side of the door frame and being within a plane of the door frame at a location spaced from an exterior of the door frame, the striker pin having an opening, the device comprising:
a handle member (16, 17, 216, 217) of a size, shape and strength adapted to be grasped by the hand of the user, for supporting at least part of the weight of the user; a striker pin insertion post (18, 19, 218, 219) connected to the handle member, the insertion post being of a size, shape and strength adapted to extend into the opening of the striker pin for supporting at least part of the weight of the user grasping the handle member; and an outrigger (20, 21, 220a/b, 221a/b) connected to the handle member and the insertion post, the outrigger having opposite side portions extending transversely outwardly of the insertion post on respective opposite sides of the handle member and insertion post, each side portion having a transverse width (W2) beyond the insertion post, that is greater than a maximum transverse width (W1) of the insertion post, for impeding entry of the insertion post into the opening of the striker pin when the handle member is outside the plane of the door frame and for restricting side-ways pivotal movement of the handle member when the insertion post extends into the opening of the striker pin.