Portable occupant-arising assist seat with torsion springs

Claim 1

Apparatus that is placed on a seat to help its user in being seated and in arising, said apparatus comprising: a rigid tubular U-shaped frame that rests on the seat when in use and that includes a rear portion and right and left side portions, and that further includes right and left hand holds that extend upwardly from the right and left side portions respectively; a sheet of a pliable material that spans said rigid tubular U-shaped frame and that supports and stabilizes the apparatus on the seat when in use; a tubular U-shaped panel support having a left portion, a rear portion and a right portion, the width of said tubular U-shaped panel support being less than the spacing between the right and left hand holds; right and left torsion springs resiliently connecting said rigid tubular U-shaped frame to said tubular U-shaped panel support and holding said tubular U-shaped panel support in an unloaded position in which it is inclined upwardly to the rear relative to said rigid tubular U-shaped frame, said right and left torsion springs permitting said tubular U-shaped panel support to yield to the user's weight by pivoting downward toward said rigid tubular U-shaped frame, said right and left torsion springs each including a frame shank extending into an end of said rigid tubular U-shaped frame, and each including a panel support shank extending into an end of said tubular U-shaped panel support.