DE29800585U1 - Medical walking aid - Google Patents

Description

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-1-DESCRIPTION

Medical walking aid TECHNICAL AREA

The present invention relates to a medical walking aid for therapeutic purposes with a stable support structure mounted on rollers, on which the person to be supported when standing and/or walking supports themselves in the standing and walking position.

Such medical walking aids are used primarily in the field of rehabilitation. Such walking aids take on the function of helping people who are limited in the use or resilience of their lower extremities due to surgery or illness to get used to walking or standing again, without the constant need for nursing staff. Furthermore, such walking aids are also used in cases where the person can no longer stand or walk for a longer period of time, in order to enable "independent" standing and/or walking at least, for example, in a familiar environment.

STATE OF THE ART

Medical walking aids of the type mentioned above are known. The support structure is mounted on a total of three rollers. The person to be supported supports themselves with their upper extremities, in particular their arms or forearms, on the support structure. The person must therefore use their upper extremities for support purposes during the entire walking or standing process, which

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However, for many people, not over a longer period
is possible, for example as a result of general weakness or disturbances of the state of balance.
Therefore, the known walking aids can only be used to a limited extent for the latter group of people, as nursing staff
is needed to keep an eye on the person using the walking aid and to support them if necessary. "Dangerous" situations can arise, particularly if a sudden state of weakness occurs.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Based on the above-mentioned prior art, the present invention is based on the task or technical problem of providing a medical walking aid for therapeutic

purposes that increase safety when using such walking aids and make them available to a wider range of people
counteracts the risk of accidents due to weakness or overload, has a simple structure

has, is economical to produce and easy to operate.

The walking aid according to the invention is characterized by the features of
independent claim 1. Advantageous embodiments and further developments are the subject of the dependent
Expectations.

The medical walking aid according to the invention is characterized
accordingly characterized by the presence of a seating unit,
which is arranged on the support structure at such a height above the ground that the person in the walking or standing position can essentially sit down in the sitting position on the seat unit in this position.

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only a slight movement is required to get into the sitting position, i.e. the standing or walking position essentially corresponds to the sitting position.

Preferably, the seat unit is height-adjustable on the support structure so that the seat height can be easily adjusted to the operator's height.

Because the sitting position of the walking aid according to the invention corresponds practically to the walking or standing position in terms of its height, the operator can easily support himself on the seat unit if a state of weakness occurs, for example in the lower extremities, without there being a risk of the person falling. Even when covering longer distances, the sitting position can be adopted without any problem for relaxation purposes and then the standing or walking position can be adopted again without the need for the help of nursing staff "to

20 Get Up" is needed.

An embodiment that can be produced economically and takes practical conditions into account is characterized in that the support structure is designed as a frame device comprising profile units, whereby these profile units are preferably designed as hollow tubular profiles made of steel or aluminum.

A particularly preferred embodiment of the walking aid according to the invention is characterized in that all rollers are connected to the support structure so that they can rotate about an axis of rotation that is essentially perpendicular to the ground, so that the operator can "turn on

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the spot" is possible without any problems, which increases the mobility of using the walking aid, especially in confined spaces or living conditions.

A walking aid according to the invention that is particularly optimized for everyday practical use is characterized in that the support structure has a first profile unit with a seat unit connected to it and this first profile unit is detachably connected to the rest of the support structure, whereby a particularly advantageous further development is characterized in that a clamping device is present to which the first profile unit, a second profile unit designed as a steering unit and/or the third profile unit having the rollers are clamped, in particular in a height-adjustable manner, and together form the support structure. The ability to dismantle the structure saves transport costs when selling the walking aid, since the ability to dismantle the walking aid means that the transport volume can be significantly reduced, which leads to large cost savings.

A particularly preferred embodiment of the walking aid according to the invention is characterized in that the seat unit is designed as a narrow seat unit, in particular a narrow bench unit, whereby it can be particularly advantageous to equip the second profile unit with support units for the forearms of the person.

Further embodiments and advantages of the invention result from the features further listed in the claims and from the exemplary embodiments given below. The features of the claims can be combined with one another in any way, provided they do not obviously exclude one another. 35

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SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The invention and advantageous embodiments and further developments of the same are described and explained in more detail below using the examples shown in the drawing. The features shown in the description and the drawing can be used individually or in groups in any combination according to the invention. They show:

Fig. 1 schematic side view of a medical walking aid with a seat unit,

Fig. 2 schematic perspective view of a first embodiment of a medical walking aid and

Fig. 3 schematic perspective view of a second embodiment of a medical walking aid.

WAYS TO CARRY OUT THE INVENTION

A walking aid 10.1 shown schematically in Fig. 1 and in perspective in Fig. 2 has a _support structure 20.1 which is designed as a support frame. The support structure 20.1 has round profile elements which can be releasably connected to one another, namely a first profile element 22.1, a second profile element 24 and two third profile elements 26.1. All profile elements are releasably clamped to a common clamping device 40. The two profile elements 26.1 form a U-shape which is open at the bottom, with a roller 12 being connected to the lower end of each of the profile units 26.1, with the roller connection having a rotation axis 32 which is essentially perpendicular to the floor 16.

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The first profile unit 22.1, which runs to the right in Figures 1 and 2, is also clamped to the clamping device 40. The first profile unit 22.1 is L-shaped and also has a roller 12 at its free end, the connection of which also has a rotation axis 32 that is arranged perpendicular to the floor, with all of the rollers 12 being arranged in a plane spaced apart from one another in such a way that the entire walking aid 10.1 is designed to be stable as such. On the top side, in the corner area of the L-shaped first profile unit 22.1, there is a seat unit 30, the width of which is relatively narrow in relation to the length.

On the upper side, the second profile unit 24 is releasably clamped to the clamping device 40, which initially has an upwardly extending rod region 25, onto which a U-shaped profile shape is formed, which is open to the right in Figures 1 and 2, with supports 28 for resting the forearms of an operator 14 being connected to both flanges of the U-shape.

20

As already mentioned, all profile units are detachably clamped to the clamping device 40 and are rigidly connected to one another in their clamped position. The "steering" of the walking aid 10.1 is made possible by the fact that all rollers 12 are connected via the rotation axis 32 already described.

A significant difference from the known walking aids is that the seat unit 30 is present, namely at a height H (see Fig. 1) relative to the level of the floor 16, such that the upright standing or walking position is essentially the same as the sitting position of the person 14. This arrangement of the seat unit 30 makes it possible

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It is easily possible for a person 14, for example in the event of a state of exhaustion, to significantly relieve the load on the lower and upper extremities by simply sitting on the seat unit 30 without the risk of falling. At the same time, it is easily possible for the person 14 to change from the "sitting" resting position back into the standing position and walking without the help of nursing staff.

The second variant of a medical walking aid 10.2 shown in Fig. 3 is based on the same principle as the walking aid 10.1 according to Figures 1 and 2. One difference is that the first profile unit 22.2 is designed as a cantilever profile unit pointing backwards with a seat unit 30 arranged on the top in the end area. Another difference is that the third profile units 26.2, which initially point downwards from the clamping device 40 and form a U-shape, have profile areas formed essentially parallel to the ground at 90° to the rear, to which a roller 12 is hinged at the beginning and end, again via a rotation axis 32 running perpendicular to the ground, whereby a total of four rollers 12 are used, which are arranged in one plane in such a way that the stability of the walking aid 10.2 is practically always guaranteed, even when a person is supporting it. Otherwise, identical components have the same reference numerals as in Fig. 2 and are not explained again.

Claims (1)

-1-CLAIMS 01) Medical walking aid (10.1; 10.2) for therapeutic purposes with - a stable support structure (20.1; 20.2) mounted on rollers (12) on which the person (14) to be supported when standing and/or walking supports himself in the standing and walking position, characterized in that - a seat unit (30) is provided which is arranged at such a height (H) above the floor (16) on the support structure (20.1; 20.2) that the person (14) in the walking or standing position can essentially sit down in the sitting position on the seat unit (30) in this position or can only get into the sitting position by moving slightly, i.e. the standing or walking position essentially corresponds to the sitting position. 02) Walking aid according to claim 1, characterized in that - the seat unit (3 0) is height-adjustable and is attached to the support structure (20.1; 20.2). 03) Walking aid according to claim 1 and/or 2, characterized in that - the support structure (20.1; 20.2) is mounted on three or four rollers (12). 04) Walking aid according to one or more of the preceding claims,
characterized in that - the support structure (20.1; 20.2) is designed as a frame device having profile units (22.1, 22.2; 24; 26.1, 26.2). January 14, 1998 .·.·»· ·· ··· .. -2- 05) Walking aid according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that - all rollers (12) by a substantially right- are rotatably connected to the support structure (20.1; 20.2) by a rotation axis (32) running at an angle to the ground (16). 06) Walking aid according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that - the support structure (20.1; 20.2) has a first profile unit (22.1; 22.2) with a seat unit (30) connected thereto and this first profile unit (22.1; 22.2) is detachably connected to the rest of the support structure. 07) Walking aid according to claim 6, characterized in that - a clamping device (40) is provided, to which the first profile unit (22.1; 22.2), a second profile unit (24) designed as a steering unit and/or the third profile unit (26) having the rollers (12) are connected in a clamped manner, in particular in a height-adjustable manner, and form the support structure (20.1; 20.2). 08) Walking aid according to claim 4, characterized in that - the profile units (22, 24, 26) are designed as hollow profile units, in particular tubular profile units. 09) Walking aid according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that 35 KADI-04gDE 14 January 1998 -3- - the seat unit (30) is designed as a narrow seat unit, in particular a narrow bench seat unit. 10) Walking aid according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that - the second profile unit (26) has two support units (28) for the forearms of the person requiring the walking aid. 10 11) Walking aid according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that - the support structure (20.1; 20.2) is made of steel and/or aluminium. 20 25 30 35