US2656874A - Walking aid - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 27, 1953 w. c. ROBB 2,

WALKING AID Filed Dec. 21, 1949 Patented Oct. 27, 1953 WALKING AID William Cribbes Robb, Stretford, England, assignor to Enna Limited, Greenford, England Application December 21, 1949, Serial No. 134,259 In Great Britain August 11, 1949 Claims.

necessary to provide a support mounted on wheels which the user has pushed forwardly in front of him. This arrangement has obvious disadvantages on sloping ground.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a walking aid which is both simple and convenient in use and of light and inexpensive construction.

According to the invention a walking aid comprises in combination a front member and a rear member, each having a pair of feet at their lower ends, hinge means connecting said members together at their upper ends to form a trestlelike structure, stay means connecting the front and rear members intermediate their ends and limiting both their opening and closing to maximum relative positions within limits providing always a stable, trestle-like structure, and a pair of handles attached to the front member. extending rearwardly over the rear member between which a person may stand to obtain support therefrom.

Preferably the feet of both the front and rear members are provided with some means for reducing slip; a rubber end cap is suitable for this purpose.

The members are preferably made of metal tube to provide a light and strong construction. The front member is preferably of inverted U- shape, the top part of the U serving as a support for rearwardly extending handles, which are adjustably mounted thereon to provide for use by persons of different height.

Similarly the link system for limiting the relative movement of the front and rear members may be adjustable, so as to allow for a greater or lesser relative movement according to the needs of the user. Spring means may be provided to assist the normal action of gravity for closing movement as later explained.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood one form of walking aid made in accordance with the invention is described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 shows a. side view of the apparatus,

Figurez shows an end view,

Figure 3 shows a detail of the connecting links,

Figure 4 is a detail showing the spring for the connecting links.

The walking aid comprises a front member I of inverted U-shape, forming front legs 2 and top bar 3 and having a cross support strut 4. Brackets 5 mounted near the top end of each of the front legs '2 carry pivots 6 attaching rear legs 1, interconnected by a cross bar 8 to form a rear member pivotally attached to the front member as in a trestle-like structure. The feet of the legs 2 and 1 both have rubber footings 9 mounted on them to prevent slip when in use.

The front and rear legs of the said trestlelike structure are joined by a link system at either side, comprising rear links H and front links 12 pivotally attached to the rear and front legs respectively and pivotally attached to each other by a pivot I l. The rear link is formed with slots 15 of arcuate shape relative to the pivots M, in which move pin members I6 attached to the front links l2. Between the overlapping ends of the links are positioned springs H which tend to draw the legs towards one another.

Each pair of front and rear links forms a stay which not only limits the opening or separation of the front and rear members but also limits their closed position so that in either position they provide a stable trestle-like structure from which the user can obtain support in all directions.

On the top bar 3 of the front member are mounted brackets I 8 for the cranked ends of handles 19, which are longitudinally movable in said brackets and are clamped in position by means of screws and co-acting wing nuts. The handles are completed by rubber grips 20 and are so proportioned as to project rearwardly over the rear feet to permit the user conveniently to stand between the handles and obtain support therefrom. As seen from Fig. 4 the spring I! is coiled around the pivot l4 and has its ends Ma and Nb bent outwardly and located in holes in the links H and [2 respectively.

In use progression is made in a series of steps forward by the walking aid by alternately pressing down upon the handles to cause the feet of the front member to move forward, thereby opening the trestle and raising up the handles to allow the feet of the rear member to move forward by the action of gravity and the springs of the link system thereby closing the trestle.

In use, the step cycle is commenced by lifting upwardly on the handles l9, which will cause the apparatus to tilt about the feet of the front member so that the feet of the rear member lift off the ground, allowing gravity and the springs I! to retract the link system until the pin I6 is obstructed by the other end of the slot l and so draw the rear member forward to its position shown dotted in Fig. l, in which position it is incidentally fully stable laterally. The next movement to be made is to press down on the handles IS. The greater part of the weight of the user will then come on the legs of the rear member and at the same time set up a rotational force about the pivot 6 tending to open the trestle-like structure and thereby to move the front and rear legs apart. The weight being thereby mainly on the feet of the rear member, the feet of the front member will slide forward up to the limit allowed by the link system, that is, until the pin [6 is obstructed by the topend of the slot I! thus completing the step. In this position (shown in chain line in Fig. 1) also the structure is again fully stable to support any weight which the user may reasonably place on the handles.

This device allows the user to proceed at his own pace step by step with confidence that there will always be a stable trestle-like structure upon which 'he can rely for correcting his balance. Gentle slopes and even shallow steps can be negotiated without undue difficulty by a person who is otherwise completely helpless.

It will be observed that the apparatus is readi- 1y adjustable for persons of different height and it may be adapted for use by children, for whom the handles would otherwise be too high, by removing the handles and inserting them in the brackets from below so that they extend downwardly from the top bar 2 while still extending rearwardly over the rear member.

Additionally the link system is made detachable from one or both legs, so that, for storage, the rear legs can fold down on to the front member; the handles can be loosened and rotated into the plane of the front member. It will be observed that the front and rear mem- *bers of the walking aid may then be folded down flat one against the other into a very small space is a feature of advantage in relation to transport and packing.

What 'I claim is: I

l. A walking aid comprising, in combination, a front member, a rear member, at least onepiv- -ot connecting said front and rear members to form a trestle-like structure, at least one rearwardl-y extending handle, attached to said front member above said pivot, means positively 'delimiting the relative angular movement of :said front and rear members towards and away from each other and means loading said front and rear members angularly toward each other.

2. A walking aid comprising in combination a front member, a rear member, at least one pivot connecting said front and rear members to form a trestle-like structure, at least one rearwardly extending handle attached to said front member above said pivot, a retracting link system pivotally attached to said front and rear members below said pivot, said retracting link system comprising a front link and a rear link pivotally attached to one another, means positively delimiting the rotation of the links relative to each other and spring means tending to draw the ends of the links attached to the front and rear members towards each other.

3. A "walking aid comprising, in combination, a front member of inverted -U-shape forming two front legs and a top bar, a two-legged rear member, pivots attaching the legs of said rear member to oorrespond'ing-legsof the front memher to form a trestle-like structure, rearwardly extending handles attached to said top bar, means positively delimiting the relative angular movement of said front and rear members towards and away from each other and spring means between said front and rear legs tending to draw them towards each other.

4. A walking aid comprising in combination a pair of front legs and a top bar together comprising an inverted U-shape front member, a pair of rear legs, pivots attaching said rear legs to said front legs respectively to form a trestlelike structure, brackets on said top bar, handles mounted in said brackets, means allowing said handles to be rotated in and moved longitudinally with respect to said brackets, a rear link pivotally attached to a rear leg, a front .link pivotally attached to a corresponding front 12%. a pivot joining said front and rear links, an arcuate slot in one of said links .and a co-acting pin member carried on the other of said legs to delimit positively the relative rotation of .said links and a spring attached at its ends to each of said links so as to tend to draw said front and rear legs towards each other.

5. A walking aid comprising in combination a front member and a rear member, each having a pair of feet at their lower ends, hinge means connecting said members together at their upper ends to form a trestle-like structure, extensible stay means, having positively determined maximum and minimum effective lengths, connecting the front and rear members intermediate their "ends and limiting both their opening and c10sing to maximum relative positions within its positively demarked and providing a continuously stable, trestle-like structure, and a pair of handles attached to the from; member, extending rearwardly over the rear member between which a person may stand to obtain support therefrom.

'6. A walking aid according to claim 5, chara'ct-eri'zed by spring means urging the front and rear members together.

7. A walking aid according to claim 5., characterized :by a detachable coupling for the stay means to allow the front and rear members to be closed together for storage or transport.

8. A walking aid according to claim 7, characterized in that the handles are nmnked, and by mounting brackets therefor haying sockets with their :axes longitudinally of and adjeowt to the plane of the from member so that the handles may be turned to lie substantially flat relative to such member for storage or transport.

9. A walking aid according -to claim 5, characterized in that the stay means comprises an articulated link system consisting of a pair of links haying movement-limiting means adjacent their common pivot.

1-0. .A walking aid according to claim :9, characterized in that the movement-limiting means comprises complementary pin and. arcuate 51 construction at the common pivot. 1

WILLIAM CRIBBES ROBE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name 7 Date 1,860,476 Ravert May '31, 1932 2,168,425 .Sleeseman Aug. '8, 1938 2,208,195 Paul July 1-6, 1940 2,459,066 Duke Jan. 11, 1949 2,518,763 DeBois Aug. 15,1950

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