DE102018001699A1 - Walker with fold-out support structure - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a walker with fold-out support structure, wherein the walker has a handle in its upper part, the on and off and in the course of a guide tube, a controller and a battery and an electric motor with a transmission for electrical extension and retraction of The invention has for its object to develop a support structure for a walking aid, which is independently extendable and retractable, generates a wide contact surface and a stable, This is achieved by the invention in that the transmission (7) of the electric motor (6) arranged in the guide tube (3) has a spindle (10) and a spindle nut guide (11) with a spindle (12), in which a spindle nut (13) is incorporated ettet, wherein on the spindle nut guide (11) a plurality of two-piece paddles (8) are hingedly connected, the upper elements (14) in turn are each hingedly connected to a lower element (15), wherein the lower elements (15) respectively after unfolding the paddle (8) in a plurality of slot-shaped recesses (16) of the foot (9) are mounted fixing.

Description

The invention relates to a walker with fold-out support structure, wherein the walker has a handle in its upper part, the on and off and in the course of a guide tube, a controller and a battery and an electric motor with a transmission for electrical extension and retraction of has several paddles, the rest at the bottom of the guide tube laterally or fold and enclose a foot.

Walkers in the form of a walking stick or crutch with an extendable post to prevent the walker from falling over when parked are well known. For example, it is off US-A-5,755,245 a walking stick with two extendable support legs known, wherein an operating rod engages with a rack in the pinion of the support leg to extend or fold the support legs. By a compression spring, the support legs are brought into the extended position and held with a push button at the top of the walking stick in this position. The support legs must be retracted by hand to fold them together again and to tension the compression spring again. The cane shown there has a complicated and elaborate mechanism to be produced.

From the DE 90 12 614 U1 It is known to provide fold-out support feet on a walker or crutch. However, the arrangement described in this publication has the disadvantage that there is no reliable mechanism is described which ensures that the support feet can be safely transferred from the folded in the unfolded position and back again, without causing much effort.

From the JP 2005 176983 A , the JP 2009 195396 A and the JP H03 13810 U In each case, an assistant with a support tube and provided at the free end foot member is known, which can be moved between an extended and a retracted position, thereby releasing support feet, which are received in the retracted position in the foot member.

The DE 202 14 633 U1 describes a standing aid for walking aids with a base, wherein at the lower end of the support tube, a mechanism is arranged, which fold out three or four feet and thus can ensure a free standing of the assistant. The mechanism is operated by a located in the lower part of the mate housing motor with battery and has a bevel gear, which transmits the rotational movement of the motor via gears on the outside of the bearing ring mounted steel feet, at the ends of which are balls of rubber. The extension and retraction of the one-piece steel feet is circular down or up. A disadvantage of this support structure is to be considered that the fixation of the steel feet should be done exclusively on the gears. In addition, a lack of stability of the steel feet is assumed, since no adequate adaptation to the existing substrate can be done. Another disadvantage is that all additional parts to be mounted on the walker are located exclusively in their lower area. The construction is unstable by the training by means of four feet. The exposed pinion is susceptible to contamination and hooks in a dry run, since there is no lubrication. Subsequent replacement of the construction is problematic.

From the EP 2 959 875 B1 a walking aid is known, wherein the walker with a support tube having a handle portion and a free end which is provided with a provided at the free end of the support tube foot member which is displaceable along a longitudinal direction of the support tube between a retracted and an extended position on the support tube and the hollow is formed and at the free end of the Stützrohes a extending in the longitudinal direction of the support tube pin which extends beyond the free end of the support tube out and the free end has a perpendicular to the longitudinal direction ersteckenden circumferential projection, wherein at the mutually facing surfaces the support feet are formed transversely to the longitudinal direction of the support tube extending recesses and the circumferential projection is received in the recesses.
The disadvantage of this support structure is that it must fit in the retracted state inside the support tube. Due to the spatial limitedness of the support structure must be very delicate and therefore not very stable. Another disadvantage is that the support structure must move downwards out of the support tube and then spread without the foot of the walker coming to rest on the ground. In any case, the locking mechanism described does not lead to an actual increase in the robustness of the support structure in the case of an older user.

The invention has for its object to develop a support structure for a walker, which is independently off and retractable, generates a wide contact surface and has a stable, adaptable to the particular surface and multi-articulated design.
This is achieved by the invention in that the arranged in the guide tube gear of the electric motor is connected via a coupling and a spindle nut guide with a spindle in which a Spindle nut is embedded, wherein on the spindle nut guide several two-piece paddles are hinged, the upper elements are in turn each hingedly connected to a lower element, the lower elements are mounted in each case after unfolding the paddles in a plurality of slot-shaped recesses of the foot.

The upper elements of the paddles each articulate with and are connected to a split receptacle of the lower elements of the paddles.

The lower paddles have at their ends in each case a shaped bearing surface, which is shaped in such a way that it has such a curved shape, which ensures that the bearing surface in the retracted state of the paddles rest positively on the guide tube.

The guide tube has at its lower end elongated recesses for guiding the movement of the upper and lower paddle elements.

Preferably, three or five paddles are arranged as a support structure at the foot of the walker to ensure increased stability.

Between the spindle nut guide and the foot of the support ring a slotted base is arranged, which engages in a central bore of the support ring.

The electric motor is connected to a gear formed as a planetary gear or spur gear and a power supply of 3 - 24 V and designed as a trapezoidal spindle or a helical spindle spindle by means of the coupling.

The guide tube encompasses the base, the spindle nut guide as well as the motor bridge and the motor as well as the coupling and the spindle.

In the lower region of the slotted guide tube whose webs engage in the chambers of the support ring and are stabilized by them.

The support ring has a bore for the fixing bolt, which connects the support ring with the base and the guide tube.

The spindle nut is embedded in the spindle nut guide and converts the up and down movement by means of clockwise or anti-clockwise rotation of the electric motor.

• • es wird keine zweite Hand des Nutzers zur Bedienung der Stützkonstruktion benötigt
• • die Stützkonstruktion ist mehrfach gelenkig ausgeführt, sodass sie sich sehr gut den gegebenen Bodenverhältnissen anpasst
• • durch die spezielle Spreizkonstruktion und die geformten Auflageflächen ist eine sehr stabile Auflage möglich
• • durch die schlitzförmigen seitlichen Aussparungen im Fußteil der Gehhilfe können die unteren Elemente der Paddel formschlüssig fixiert werden, was eine zusätzliche Stabilität bewirkt
• • die Stege des geschlitzten Führungsrohres greifen in den Kammern des Stützringes ein und werden von diesen zusätzlich stabilisiert, was der gesamten Konstruktion eine weitere Festigkeit beschert und gegen Verdrehen und verbiegen schützt
• • zusätzlich dazu beugt die Gewindesteigung sowie die Feststellung am Elektromotor einer Beschädigung vor
• • durch die Verteilung der elektrischen und der mechanischen Konstruktionsteile auf der gesamten Länge der Gehhilfe kann eine sehr gute Anpassung der Länge derselben an die entsprechende Größe des Nutzers erfolgen sowie eine überdurchschnittliche Stabilität und Standfestigkeit erzielt werden
• • bedingt durch den Bausteinaufbau ist es möglich, die Gehhilfe auch ohne Zusatzfunktionen zu nutzen, die einfach aus- und einzubauen sind
• • es muss lediglich ein Verbindungsbolzen gelöst werden, um die gesamte Baugruppe auszubauen und durch einen Dummy zu ersetzen

Advantages of the invention:

• • no second hand of the user is needed to operate the support structure
• • The support structure is articulated several times, so that it adapts very well to the given soil conditions
• • Due to the special expansion construction and the shaped support surfaces, a very stable support is possible
• • The slit-shaped side recesses in the foot part of the walker allow the lower elements of the paddles to be fixed in a form-fitting manner, which provides additional stability
• • The webs of the slotted guide tube engage in the chambers of the support ring and are additionally stabilized by this, which gives the entire structure further strength and protects against twisting and bending
• • In addition, the thread pitch and the determination on the electric motor prevents damage
• • By distributing the electrical and mechanical construction parts along the entire length of the walker, it is possible to achieve a very good adaptation of their length to the size of the user and to achieve above-average stability and stability
• • Due to the block structure, it is possible to use the walker without additional functions that are easy to remove and install
• • Only one connecting bolt has to be loosened in order to remove the entire assembly and replace it with a dummy

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

1 -

Handle

2 -

On-off switch

3 -

guide tube

4 -

control

5 -

battery pack

6 -

electric motor

7 -

transmission

8th -

paddle

9 -

foot

10 -

clutch

11-

Spindle nut guide

12 -

spindle

13 -

spindle nut

14-

upper element

15 -

lower element

16 -

slot-shaped recess

17 -

shared recording

18 -

shaped support surface

19 -

elongated recesses

20 -

motor bridge

21 -

slotted base

22 -

charging socket

23 -

Support ring (to stabilize the guide tube)

24 -

chambers

25 -

fixing bolts

embodiment

The invention will be explained in more detail with reference to an embodiment.

• - 1 - die gesamte Gehhilfe in der Seitenansicht mit Einbauten
• - 2 - der untere Teil der Gehhilfe mit eingeklappten Paddeln
• - 3 - der untere Teil der Gehhilfe mit teilweise ausgeklappten Paddeln
• - 4 - der untere Teil der Gehhilfe mit vollständig ausgeklappten Paddeln
• - 5 - das Innenleben des unteren Teils der Gehhilfe

Showing:

• - 1 - The entire walker in the side view with internals
• - 2 - The lower part of the walker with folded paddles
• - 3 - The lower part of the walker with partially unfolded paddles
• - 4 - The lower part of the walker with completely unfolded paddles
• - 5 - the inner workings of the lower part of the walker

The walker points at the handle 1 an on-off switch 2 and a charging socket 22 on ( 1 ). In the course of the handle ends 1 in a guide tube 3 in which a controller 4 as well as a battery 5 and an electric motor 6 and a gearbox for extending and retracting the paddles 8th accommodated. The electric motor 6 is below via a coupling 10 and a spindle nut guide 11 with a spindle 12 connected, in which a spindle nut 13 is embedded. At the spindle nut guide 11 are the two-part paddles 8th hinged, whose upper elements 14 again articulated with lower elements 15 are connected ( 2 ).

The lower elements 15 also each have a split recording 17 on, in the upper elements 14 intervention.

Be the two-part paddle 8th unfolded, grab their lower elements 16 in slot-shaped recesses 17 of the foot 9 and are fixed by these and laterally stabilized ( 3 ; 4 ).

The lower elements 15 also have the shaped bearing surfaces eighteen on, the shape of which is open concave upwards, so that on the one hand the support surfaces in the unfolded state can adapt to almost any floor shape and on the other hand by the concave shape a very good snuggling against the round shape of the guide tube 3 is enabled in the folded state.

The extension and retraction of the paddles 8th is through elongated recesses 19 at the lower circumference of the guide tube 3 allows, in which the upper elements 14 the paddle 8th can move ( 5 ).

The support structure preferably has three or five paddles 8th on. In the present case, an example with five paddles 8th shown.

Between the spindle nut guide 21 and the foot of the support ring 23 is a slotted base 21 arranged in a central bore of the support ring 23 intervenes.

The electric motor 6 is with a designed as a planetary gear or spur gear transmission 7 and a power supply of 3 - 24 V and designed as a trapezoidal spindle or as a helical spindle spindle 12 by means of the coupling 10 connected is.

The guide tube 3 embraces the base 21 , the spindle nut guide 11 as well as the motor bridge 20 and the electric motor 6 as well as the clutch 10 and the spindle 12 ,

In the lower part of the slotted guide tube 3 grab its webs in the chambers 24 of the support ring 23 and are stabilized by these.

The support ring 23 has a hole for the fixing bolt 25 on, the support ring 23 with the base 21 and the guide tube 3 combines.

The spindle nut 13 is in the spindle nut guide 11 embedded and sets the up and down movement by means of clockwise or counterclockwise rotation of the electric motor 6 around.

The motor bridge 20 connects the electric motor 6 over the clutch 10 with the spindle 12 and the base 21 , The spindle center guide 11 is via the motor bridge 20 guided on a given vertical path. A twisting is prevented.

QUOTES INCLUDE IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of the documents listed by the applicant has been generated automatically and is included solely for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions.

Cited patent literature

• US 5755245 A [0002]
• DE 9012614 U1 [0003]
• JP 2005176983 A [0004]
• JP 2009195396 A [0004]
• JP H0313810 U [0004]
• DE 20214633 U1 [0005]
• EP 2959875 B1 [0006]

Claims (8)

Walker with fold-out support structure, wherein the walker in its upper part a handle (1) having an on-off switch (2) and in the course of a guide tube (3) a controller (4) and a battery (5) and a Electric motor (6) having a gear (7) for electrical extension and retraction of a plurality of paddles (8) which laterally rest or unfold at the lower end of the guide tube (3) and enclose a foot (9), characterized in that the in the guide tube (3) arranged gear (7) of the electric motor (6) via a coupling (10) and a spindle nut guide (11) is connected to a spindle (12) in which a spindle nut (13) is embedded, wherein on the spindle nut guide (11) a plurality of two-piece paddles (8) are hingedly connected, the upper elements (14) in turn are each pivotally connected to a lower element (15), wherein the lower elements (15) in each case after folding the paddles (8) in several en slot-shaped recesses (16) of the foot (9) are mounted fixing. Walker with fold-out support structure according to Claim 1 , characterized in that the upper elements (14) of the paddles (8) each engage in an articulated manner in a split receptacle (17) of the lower elements (15) of the paddles (8) and are connected thereto. Walker with fold-out support structure according to Claims 1 and 2 , characterized in that the lower elements (15) each have a shaped bearing surface (18) at their ends. Walker with fold-out support structure according to Claim 3 , characterized in that the support surface (18) is shaped in such a way that it has a curved shape, which ensures that the support surface in the retracted state of the paddles (8) form-fitting manner on the guide tube (3). Walker with fold-out support structure according to Claim 1 , characterized in that the guide tube (3) at its lower end elongated recesses (19) for guiding the movement of the upper and lower paddle elements (14, 15), which engage in chambers (24) of a support ring (23). Walker with fold-out support structure according to Claim 1 , characterized in that preferably three or five paddles (8) are arranged as a support structure on the foot (9) of the walker. Walker with fold-out support structure according to Claim 1 , characterized in that between the spindle nut guide (11) and the foot (9) of the support ring (23) a slotted base (21) is arranged, which engages in a central bore of the support ring (23). Walker with fold-out support structure according to Claim 1 , characterized in that the electric motor (6) with a trained as a planetary gear or spur gear (7) and a power supply of 3 - 24 V and designed as a trapezoidal spindle or helical spindle spindle (12) by means of the coupling (10) is connected.

Images