JPS63270054A - Walker - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate the possibility of a fall by stopping the action of a castor when load due to staggering or stumbling is applied to a walker, by mounting a slide member to the leading end of the specific leg among a plurality of legs through an elastic member and mounting the castor to said slide member. CONSTITUTION:A slide member 25 is mounted to the leading end of the leg among a plurality of legs 12, 12, 20 through an elastic member like a compression coil spring 30 and a castor 19 is mounted to the leading end of the slide member 25. When predetermined load or more due to stumbling is applied to a walker, the leg 20 having the castor 19 deforms the elastic member to withdraw and the remaining legs 12, 12 each having no castor are brought into contact with a walking surface and the movement thereof is stopped.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Field of Use for Children's Children This invention is useful for assisting sick, injured, and elderly people with weak legs and feet in hospitals, sanatoriums, rehabilitation centers, and homes as a walking aid. This invention relates to a walker used for walking training.

0■ Hitherto, as this type of walker, there have been those shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, for example.

First, in the one shown in Fig. 10, a plurality of vertical pipes (1)
Connect the top and bottom of ... with pipes (2) and (2) bent into a U-shape, respectively, to create a frame (3).
There are multiple casters (4) at the bottom of the frame (3)...
... was attached, and a U-shaped elbow pad (5) was provided at the top. When using the walker, put your body inside the frame (3), support your body by placing your elbow on the elbow pad (5) located just around your waist, and walk slowly to move the caster. (4)・・・・・・
・I made it easier to move around.

On the other hand, in the one shown in FIG. 11, pipes (6) and (6) bent into an inverted U shape are provided facing each other on the left and right.

Their corresponding sides were rotatably connected to each other by an H-shaped connecting pipe (7) to form a frame (8). When using the walker, place both hands on the handles (9) and (9) on the pipes (6) and (6) respectively, support your body with the frame (8), and walk slowly. The left and right inverted U-shaped pipes (6) and (6) were made to move by moving them forward alternately in the directions indicated by the arrows in the figure.

The problem to be solved by the invention However, the caster (4) as shown in Fig. 10...
Although the conventional walker has the advantage of making walking easier, it has the problem that it is dangerous, especially on slopes, because it can gain momentum and cause the person to fall.

For this reason, although some machines are equipped with a handbrake, it is extremely difficult to expect physically weakened patients, elderly people, etc. to operate them immediately.

Furthermore, with a conventional walker without casters as shown in Fig. 11, although it has the advantage that there is no risk of it falling over, it is difficult to move the left and right pipes (6) and (6) by one's own strength. Since the device must be moved forward, there is a problem in that it is not at all easy for seriously ill people or elderly people with severely weakened legs when using it as an aid to help them walk.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide the above-mentioned walker,
The purpose is to solve such problems so that one walk is easier and there is no risk of falling.

Means for solving the problem Therefore, the walker according to the invention has a plurality of legs (12), (12), as shown in the illustrated embodiment below, for example.
A sliding member (25) is attached to the tip of some of the legs (20) through an elastic member such as a compression coil spring (30).
Attach the caster (
Attach the casters (19) so that when a predetermined load or more is applied, the elastic member deforms and the remaining legs (12) without casters come into contact with the walking surface (g). ) is formed to be slightly longer than the remaining legs (12) without casters.

Function: During normal walking, the person places his/her hand on the person's hand and moves along with it on casters (19) while being assisted by it. However, when a load exceeding a predetermined level is applied due to a person tripping or the like, the leg (20) with casters (19) deforms the elastic member and retracts, causing the remaining leg (12) without casters to retract.
) and (12) come into contact with the walking surface (g) and stop its movement.

Embodiment Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a walker which is an embodiment of the present invention.
What is indicated by the symbol (lO) in the figure is the lower frame, which has vertical pipe parts (10a) at right angles to both ends of the horizontal pipe part (10a).
10b) and (10c) are fixed together by welding or the like to form a substantially H-shape. Then, such lower frames (10) are arranged so as to face each other on the left and right sides, and the vertical pipe portions (10) on the corresponding one side (
Rubber (11) and rubber (11) are attached to the lower ends of 10b) and (10b), respectively.
(11) and attach it to the curved tail without casters (
12) and (12), and insert the base ends of the support pipes (13) and (13) from above into the vertical pipe parts (10b) and (tab) on the negative side, respectively, and Fix the ends with screws (14) and (14).

A connecting frame (17) is attached to the outside of these support pipes (13), (13) by fitting short pipe parts (17a), (17a) from above, respectively. The connecting frame t, (17) is a ``<''-shaped pipe part (], 7b
), the upper end of the vertical pipe section (17c) is fixed by welding or the like to create an almost T-shape, and the aforementioned short pipe section (17b) is attached to both ends of the Ig (#j-shaped pipe section (17b)).
a) and (17a) are similarly fixed vertically by welding or the like. And those short pipe parts (17a) and (17a)
After fitting the support pipes (13) and (13) and abutting them against the upper ends of the vertical pipe parts (lOb) and (10b), insert the circumferential grooves of these support pipes (13) and (13). The rings (18) and (18) are fitted into the frame to prevent the connecting frame (17) from being removed. Thus, a front leg (20) having casters (19) is formed at the lower end of the vertical pipe portion (17c) of such a connection frame (17).

That is, as shown in FIG.
Outside the tip of the vertical pipe part (17c) is an outer pipe (23
) and secure with screws (24), and cover that part with a rubber cover (31) as shown in Figure 1. A sliding member (25) is housed in the outer pipe (23) from above and is slidable therein, and the lower end of the outer pipe (23) is squeezed to prevent the sliding member (25) from below. Extraction is prevented from being extracted. The sliding member (25) has a caster attachment part (27) fixed to the lower end of an inner pipe part (26).

The caster support member (2
Screw in the male threaded part (28a) of 8) and tighten the nut (29).
to attach the casters (19) to the sliding member (25). A compression coil spring (3
0), and slide the sliding member (
25) always has the habit of moving downwards.

On the other hand, the vertical pipe portions (10c) and (10c) on the other side corresponding to the left and right sides of the lower frames (10) and (10) shown in FIG.
for.

Insert the support pipes (33) and (33) shown in Figure 3,
Also fix with screws, etc. As shown in FIG. 3, each support pipe (33) has long grooves (33b) and (
33b), and a stopper member (34) is fixed to the lower end. As shown in FIG. 1, rear legs (38) having casters (37) are formed at the bottom of each support pipe (33).

That is, as shown in FIG. 3, each support pipe (33)
An outer pipe (42) is placed on the lower part of the frame from below with a compression coil spring (41) in between, and the left and right outer pipes (42) and
(42) and the vertical pipe section (10c) and (10c) mentioned above.
) is equipped with a rubber cover (44) as shown in Figure 1.
)・(44). And the outer pipe (42)
The screw (43) inserted radially from the - side is screwed into the other side through the long grooves (33b) and (33b) of the support pipe (33), which urges the outer pipe (42) downward and its Prevents extraction. Each outer pipe (4
2) Ha.

A caster (37) is attached to the lower end, and a step (42a) is provided therein, and the above-mentioned section is formed between the step (42a) and the intermediate enlarged diameter section (33a) of the support pipe (33). In this way, the hind legs (38 )・(38).

Now, referring to FIG. 1 again, each lower frame (10) is fitted with both ends of the vertical pipe parts (10b) and (10c), and the upper frame (10) is bent into an inverted U shape. 46). Then, such upper frames (46) are left and right opposed.

However, on the back side of the front (left side in the figure) of the upper part of these rain frames (46) and (46), there is a telescopic frame (
47). As shown in FIG. 4, the telescopic frame (47) has an outer cylinder (4) having a plurality of positioning holes (48a) in the length direction at mutually opposing positions.
8), and an inner cylinder (49) which has one ball fitting hole (49a) and (49a) at positions facing each other and which is inserted into the outer cylinder (48). Bolt (50
) and (50) and wing nuts (51) and (51) are fixed to the upper frames (46) and (46), respectively. and,
As shown in the figure, inside the inner cylinder (49), there are positioning balls (53) on the outside of both ends of a leaf spring (52) bent into a figure 7 shape.
A positioning member (54) is inserted. Therefore, the positioning ball (53) is inserted into the aforementioned ball fitting hole (4).
9a) and (49a), and then further insert the positioning ball (53) into the positioning hole (4) of the outer cylinder (48).
8a) ... selectively engages with appropriate opposing one by one, and the engaging positioning holes (48a) and (48
By changing a), the length of the telescopic frame (47) can be adjusted.

In addition, as can be seen from Fig. 1, there is a
Attach the handles (55) and (55). The person using the walker should hold these handles (55) and (55) to support the body and casters (19), (37), and (3).
7) and moves along with the walker.

The walker shown in FIG. 1 is constructed as described above. Then, as shown in Fig. 5, the front legs (20) and the hind legs (3
Casters (19), (37), (37) of 8) and (38)
) is placed on the walking surface (g) in contact with the walking surface (g) such as the floor, corridor, road, etc. At this time, in the natural state, the remaining front legs (12) and (12) without casters are provided so as to float a distance mcQ') from the walking surface (g) as shown in the figure. i.e. front legs (20) with casters (19)
are formed to be slightly longer than the front legs (12) and (12) without casters. For example, by forming the pipe portion (17b) in a dogleg shape as in the illustrated embodiment, when the walker is moved forward as shown by the arrow in the figure, the center of the caster (19) does not have a caster. The remaining front legs (
12) is preferably located slightly forward (by m in the illustrated embodiment). This is so that even if there is a slightly higher step on the walking surface (g), such as a threshold, the caster (19) will hit the step before the front foot (12) hits the step, making it easier to get over the step. This is for the purpose of

By the way, although not shown in the drawings, in this embodiment, the support pipes (13) and (13) attached to the - side vertical pipe sections (TOB) and (LOB), respectively, also have ball fitting holes (shown in FIG. 4). A ball fitting hole similar to 49a) and (49a) is made, and a positioning member similar to the positioning member (54) shown in FIG. 4 is inserted into the hole. Then, the positioning balls of the positioning member are similarly fitted into the ball fitting holes. On the other hand, the upper frames (46) (46) that fit into the support pipes (13) (13) also have positioning holes (46a) similar to the positioning holes (48a) shown in FIG. )..., each with one position facing each other and three at approximately equal intervals in the length direction (see Figures 1 and 6), and support pipes (I3). Upper frame (46) and (4) on (13)
6), their positioning holes (46a
)...... The above-mentioned positioning balls are selectively fitted into each of the opposing ones as appropriate, and then the frame (4
6) Determine the height position of (46). Now, as shown in Figure 1, insert the positioning ball into the lowest positioning hole (46
If it is fitted into a) and (46a), the handle (55)
・The position (55) is the highest. In this state, press the positioning balls on both sides with your fingers and press the upper frame (
When 46) and (46) are pushed down, the positioning balls fit into the next intermediate positioning holes (46a) and (46a), and the positions of the handles (55) and (55) become intermediate heights. Furthermore, when the 1st positioning ball is pushed in from that state and the upper frame (46) (46) is pushed down, the 1st positioning ball is inserted into the uppermost positioning hole (46a) (46a).
The handles (55) and (55) are at the lowest height as shown in FIG. In the illustrated embodiment, three stages of positioning holes (46a) are provided, but it goes without saying that the number of positioning holes (46a) is not limited to three stages. Furthermore, when a particularly high walker is required or a walker with a low height is required, the upper frames (46) and (46) may be replaced with new ones.

Now, when using the walker whose height has been adjusted appropriately in this way, as mentioned above, the handles (55) and (55
) and put it on the casters (19), (37), (37
) while walking using the walker as support.

If a load exceeding a predetermined value is applied to the walker due to, for example, stumbling or staggering, the walker is pushed down against the aforementioned compression coil springs (30) and (41), and first the seventh As shown in the figure, both support pipes (3
3) Press the stopper members (34) and (34) of (33) against the casters (37) and (37) to brake their rotation. Also, next is a compression coil spring (30
) by sliding the sliding member (25) against the outer pipe (23
) and move upward within the casters (
The remaining front legs (12), which do not have the front legs (19), come into contact with the walking surface (g), making it difficult to move using the casters (19). Therefore, while walking, casters (19), (37),
Even if the rotation by (37) gains momentum and causes the walker to stagger, if a load greater than a predetermined amount is applied to the walker due to the wobbling, as described above, those casters (19), (37), and (37) ) because it stops the action of
There is no risk of it falling over easily like in the conventional case. In addition, even when using the walker in a sloping hallway or on a slope in a hospital, if you walk while leaning on the walker, you can use the casters (19).
Because it is possible to stop the action of (37) and (37),
Similarly, it doesn't fall over easily. Moreover, in the illustrated embodiment, the brakes are first applied to the rear legs (38) and (38), and then the front legs (12) and (12) touch the ground, and the movement of the walker is not immediately stopped. , there is no risk of tripping over the front. In addition, in Figure 8,
In order to emphasize the state in which the front foot (12) is in contact with the ground, the walker is shown at a large angle, but in reality, the front foot (12)
- There is no need to shorten (12).

The illustrated walker according to this embodiment has a wing nut (
51) and (51), push in the positioning balls (53) and (53) with your fingers against the leaf springs (52), pinching the opening angle of the rain cover frames (46) and (46), and inserting them inside. Tube (49
) into the outer cylinder (48) and their positioning balls (
53)・(53) is the innermost positioning hole (48a)
- It can be fitted into (48a) and folded as shown in Fig. 9. Therefore, when the use is finished, it is stored in this state. Therefore, the walker of the illustrated embodiment has the advantage that it can be stored without taking up much space.

By the way, in the embodiments detailed above, the case where the present invention is applied to a cart-type walker has been described. but,
The present invention is not limited to such a walker, but can be similarly applied to a stick-like walker, and can also be applied to, for example, a crutch that has separate left and right sides. In this case, the hind legs (38) and (38) of the illustrated embodiment are naturally unnecessary, and the tips of each caster are equipped with casters corresponding to the front legs (12) and (20) of the illustrated embodiment described above. This means that there will be legs with and without legs. In the illustrated embodiment, the legs (19) have casters (19).
20) is one leg, and the remaining leg (12) does not have casters.
- Although the case in which (12) has two legs has been described, the number of legs having casters may be two or more, and if particularly necessary, the remaining legs without casters may also be three or more.

Further, in the illustrated embodiment described above, the sliding member (25) is housed and supported within the outer pipe (23).

However, it is not limited to the case where it is stored inside the outer pipe, and it may also be installed on the outside of the outer vibrator. What is necessary is just to slidably support it with an outer pipe or other support member so that it contacts a walking surface.

Effects of the Invention Therefore, according to the present invention, among the plurality of legs, the leg with casters is made longer than the leg without casters, so that the casters touch the walking surface in the natural state, and the walker can be easily moved using the casters. can do. Therefore, even a seriously ill person or an elderly person with considerably weakened legs and back can easily handle it. In addition, if the walker stumbles or stumbles, a load is applied to the walker, the foot with casters is pulled in against the elastic member, and the foot without casters comes into contact with the walking surface and the casters stop working. Therefore, in such a case, the risk of gaining momentum and falling can be eliminated.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 9 show a walker which is an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the front leg portion with casters, and FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the hind leg. Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the telescopic frame part, Fig. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the part.
The figure is an overall side view in the natural state, Figure 6 is an overall perspective view with the height at its lowest, Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view of the hind foot when a load is applied, and Figure 8 is a view when a load is applied. FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the folded state. FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 are perspective views each showing a conventional walker. (12)・・・・・・・・・Feet (19)・・・・・・・・・Casters (20)・・・・・・・・・Feet

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A sliding member is attached via an elastic member to the tips of some of the legs, and a caster is attached to the tip of the sliding member, and a load of more than a predetermined value is applied. The leg with the caster is formed to be slightly longer than the remaining leg without the caster so that the elastic member deforms and the remaining leg without the caster comes into contact with the walking surface.
Walker. 2. The walker according to claim 1, wherein some of the legs with casters and the remaining legs without casters are used as front legs, and hind legs with casters are separately provided. 3. A sliding member is attached to the tip of the hind leg via an elastic member, and a caster is attached to the tip of the sliding member, and when a load of more than a predetermined value is applied, the elastic member deforms and the sliding member is moved. The walker according to claim 2, wherein a stopper member is provided at the tip of the hind leg to stop the rotation of the caster by contacting the caster when the member is moved.