Apparatus and method for assisting impaired or disabled persons

摘要

An apparatus for assisting a person to move from a seated position on a seat or the like to a standing position and vice versa. The apparatus comprises: a base; an actuator arrangement supported by the base and a torso support configured for supporting the torso and possibly also the underarms of the person to be a supported with the chest of the person facing the torso support. The torso support has a main engagement surface for engaging the chest of the person to be assisted. The actuator arrangement being configured to be able to move the torso support up and down over a range of vertical positions and the actuator arrangement being configured to be able to move the torso support back and forth over a range of horizontal positions; the main engagement surface being formed by a chest pillow that is configured to has a pliable state in which the chest pillow can adapt its shape to the shape of the chest of a person to be supported, and the chest pillow is configured to have a state wherein the shape of the pillow is unpliable so that the chest pillow can maintain its shape for supporting the person to be supported.