Adaptable Furniture Base

Abstract

Persons with physical impairment often have difficulty maintaining independent living at their own home. Simple daily activities such as getting up and out of a low seat chair can prove problematic. The claimed invention provides a lift system and method of installing the same that the physically impaired person can adapt to and raise a particular piece of furniture with minimal physical effort. The adaptable system includes a pair of lift assemblies, each lift assembly having a first rail member and a second rail member that are slideably engaged on a first end, having a riser on each second end. At each riser location there is a flip out guide that provides a visible pointer to facilitate alignment with the furniture leg without having to bend over or lift the furniture. For increased stability an optional cross member can be fixated between the first and second rail members.

I claim: 
     
         1 . An adaptable system for raising the seating height of furniture, the adaptable system comprising:
 a pair of lift assemblies, each lift assembly having a first rail member and a second rail member that are slideably engaged on a first end with a riser fixated on each second end;   a locking mechanism interacting with the first rail member and second rail member such that when engaged, the locking mechanism fixates the relative position of the first rail member and second rail member; and   at least one guide operably projecting from a riser.   
     
     
         2 . A method for raising the seating height of furniture through the use of two adaptable lift assemblies, comprising the steps of:
 locating a first lift assembly having a slideably engaged first and second rail member with risers on their distal ends on the floor adjacent to the right side of the furniture to be raised;   aligning the first lift assembly guides with the furniture supports by slideably moving the first rail member relative to the second rail member such that the risers are in alignment with the supports;   engaging a lock to fixate the relative position of the first and second rail member of the adapted first lift assembly;   locating a second lift assembly having a slideably engaged first and second rail member with risers on their distal ends on the floor adjacent to the left side of the furniture to be raised;   aligning the second lift assembly guides with the furniture supports by slideably moving the first rail member relative to the second rail member;   engaging a lock to fixate the relative position of the first and second rail member of the adapted second lift assembly;   rotating the furniture so that two supports are lifted off of the floor;   slipping the first adapted lift assembly under the furniture so that the risers are directly under the lifted supports;   counter rotating the furniture until the lifted supports rest on the risers of the first left assembly, and the other supports are lifted off the floor;   slipping the second adapted lift assembly under the furniture so that the risers are directly under the lifted supports; and   rotating the furniture until all furniture supports are resting upon the risers.   
     
     
         3 . The adaptable system of  claim 1 , wherein each riser includes a mounting structure adapted to receive and secure a furniture support structure. 
     
     
         4 . The adaptable system of  claim 1 , wherein the second rail members include a longitudinal elongated slot having a threaded fastener inserted there through to compressively lock the first rail member to the second rail member when a threaded fastener is rotated, and released when counter rotated. 
     
     
         5 . The adaptable system of  claim 1 , wherein the guide removably attaches to the lift assembly at the riser location. 
     
     
         6 . The adaptable system of  claim 1 , wherein the guide hingedly connects to the lift assembly at the riser location. 
     
     
         7 . The adaptable system of  claim 1 , further including at least one cross member that attaches between the lift assemblies. 
     
     
         8 . The adaptable system of  claim 1 , further including at least one adjustable cross member that adjusts to the length between the lift assemblies and fixates there between. 
     
     
         9 . The adaptable system of  claim 1 , wherein the locking mechanism is operable without tools or additional hardware. 
     
     
         10 . The adaptable system of  claim 1 , wherein the first and second rail members slidably engage one another such that when stored or shipped the first rail member slides within the second rail member thereby providing a smaller compact size when not in use. 
     
     
         11 . The adaptable system of  claim 1 , wherein at least two risers are constructed from resilient rubber. 
     
     
         12 . The adaptable system of  claim 1 , wherein at least two risers include a spring member integrally constructed within the riser. 
     
     
         13 . The adaptable system of  claim 1 , wherein at least two risers include a spring member encased in resilient rubber. 
     
     
         14 . The adaptable system of  claim 1 , wherein at least two risers are constructed from plastic. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 2 , further including the step of fixating an adjustable cross member between the first adapted lift assembly and the second adapted lift assembly.