GB1580517A - Crutches - Google Patents

Description

PATENT SPECIFICATION

( 11) 1 580 517 "S ( 21) Application No 13456/78 ( 22) Filed 6 April 1978 tn ( 23) Complete Specification filed 17 May 1978 in ( 44) Complete Specification published 3 Dec 1980 ( 51) INT CL 3 A 61 H 3/02 ( 52) Index at acceptance A 5 R 2 ( 54) IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO CRUTCHES ( 71) I, IVAN ANTHONY FOWLER, a British subject, of 9 Townfield, Kirdford, Billingshurst, West Sussex, do hereby declare the invention, for which I pray that a patent may be granted to me, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement:This invention relates to crutches and it is an object of the invention to provide crutches which can be used by a patient to raise himself to a standing position.

Many patients who have leg disabilities have difficulty in raising themselves from a sitting position to a standing position unless they are able to use their arms to provide the necessary lift Accordingly, such a patient normally has to receive some form of assistance to enable him to reach the standing position Such patients frequently have to walk with the aid of crutches and, accordingly, it is a particular object of the present invention to provide crutches which enable a patient to raise himself from the sitting position.

The invention consists in a crutch including a hand grip; a main tubular portion attached to said hand grip; an end portion telescopically arranged within said main portion and urged by a first spring outwardly with respect to said main portion; a manually operable lever adjacent to said hand grip and urged by a second spring away from said hand grip towards a locking position; and locking means controlled by said lever for preventing relative motion between the end portion and the main portion, wherein, when said lever is in said locking position, said locking means hold said end portion and said main portion in a selected one of a plurality of relative positions, while, when said lever is manually moved towards said hand grip, said locking means are releasable to allow relative motion between the end portion and the main portion.

It is to be understood that, when the lever is moved towards the hand grip, the end portion may be moved outwardly with respect to the main portion under the influence of the first spring, or may be moved into the main 50 portion under the influence of the user's weight.

When a pair of crutches in accordance with the invention is used to enable a patient to raise himself from the sitting position to the 55 standing position, he operates the lever on each crutch to reduce the length of the crutch to the minimum by pressing the crutch on the floor or other ground surface He then places his arms through the elbow supports and, 60 holding the hand grips, places one crutch on each side of the chair in the vertical position.

He then raises himself by supporting his weight with the two crutches alternately, operating the control lever of the crutch 65 which is not supporting his weight, to allow that crutch to extend a short distance under the influence of the spring.

Preferably the locking means for preventing relative movement between the extens 70 ibe end portion and the main portion include a rack secured to said end portion, and a pawl secured to said main portion For example, the rack may extend between a clamping member attached to the extensible end por 75 tion, and a ring member slidable on the main portion The pawl may be pivotally mounted on a further clamping member secured to the main portion, and the pawl may be operatively connected to the lever by means of a 80 rod The second spring serves to urge the pawl into engagement with the teeth of the rack.

In an alternative construction, the rod is replaced by a flexible cable or the like 85 Preferably the teeth of the rack are shaped so that they positively prevent the end portion of the crutch moving outwardly from the main portion as well as moving inwardly into the main portion However, if desired, the 90 1 580 517 rack may be in the form of a ratchet so that the end portion can move with respect to the main portion without operation of the control lever With this arrangement, the spring loading on the pawl must be so arranged in relation to the spring loading on the extensible end portion that there is no unintentional extension of the crutch.

It is to be understood that a known form of crutch may be readily converted into a crutch in accordance with the invention by the addition of the manually-operable lever and the locking means for preventing relative movement between the extensible end portion and the main portion Similarly, if at any time it is desired to use the crutch in the normal manner, the manually-operable lever and the locking means can be removed therefrom.

One method of performing the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which:Figure 1 is a side view of a crutch in accordance with the invention; and Figure 2 is an enlarged view, partly in section, of the crutch illustrated in Figure 1.

The crutch illustrated includes a main tubular member 1, to which is fitted an elbow support 3 and a boss 9 carrying a hand grip 2.

A further tubular member 4 is slidable within the tubular member 1, and is provided with a rubber ferrule on the outer end thereof Both tubular members consist of aluminium or an aluminium alloy, and the tubular member 4 is urged out of the tubular member 1 by means of a steel spring 6, one end of which bears on a plug 7 inserted in the end of the tubular member 4 The other end of the spring 6 bears on a further plug (not shown) in the tubular member 1 This further plug is held in position within the tubular member 1 by means of a pin 8 passing through the boss 9.

A clamp 10 is secured to the tubular member 4 and supports one end of a steel rack 11 enclosed between two steel strips 12.

The other ends of the rack 11 and the strips 12 are secured to a ring member 13 which is slidable along the tubular member 1.

A further clamp 14 is secured to the tubular member 1, and a steel pawl 15 is pivotally mounted on the clamp 14 by means of a pivot pin 16 The pawl 15 is provided with a projecting portion 17 adapted to engage the teeth 18 of the rack 11 A stainless steel rod 19 is pivotally attached at one end to the pawl and, at the other end, to an aluminium operating lever 20 The lever 20 is pivotally mounted on the tubular member 1 by means of a clamp member 21 It will be understood that the position of the pawl 15 about its pivot axis is determined by the position of the lever 20, and the rod 19 is urged by a spring 22 in the direction necessary to cause the projecting portion 17 of the pawl 15 to engage the teeth of the rack 11.

Normally the spring 22 will cause engagement between the pawl 15 and the rack 11 so that the tubular member 4 is substantially 70 locked in position in the tubular member 1.

However, if the operating lever 20 is moved towards the hand grip 2, the pawl will be moved into the position shown in broken lines in Figure 2, so that it will be disengaged 75 from the rack and, if no pressure is applied to the crutch, the tubular member 4 will move out of the tubular member 1 under the influence of the spring 6 On the other hand, if pressure is applied to the crutch with the 80 ferrule 5 in engagement with the ground, the tubular member 4 will be moved into the tubular member 1 When the lever 20 is released, the pawl will be returned to the position shown in-full-lines in Figure 2 to 85 limit any further relative movement of the two tubular members.

If desired, the simple rack and pawl mechanism illustrated may be replaced by any of the well-known mechanisms for ensur 90 ing that the pawl moves only one tooth along the rack each time the lever 20 is operated.

Claims (6)

WHAT I CLAIM IS:

1 A crutch including a hand grip; a main tubular portion attached to said hand grip; 95 and end portion telescopically arranged within said main portion and urged by a first spring outwardly with respect to said main portion; a manually operable lever adjacent to said hand grip and urged by a second 100 spring away from said hand grip towards a locking position; and locking means controlled by said lever for preventing relative motion between the end portion and the main Portion, wherein, when said lever is in 105 said focking position, said locking means hold said end portion and said main portion in a selected one of a plurality of relative positions, while, when said lever is manually moved towards said hand grip, said locking 110 means are releasable to allow relative motion between the end portion and the main portion.

2 A crutch as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said locking means include a rack 115 parallel to said main portion and said end portion, one end of the rack being secured to said end portion, and the other end being secured to a ring member slidable on said main portion 120

3 A crutch as claimed in Claim 2, wherein said manually-operable lever controls a pawl pivotally mounted on a clamp member secured to said main portion.

4 A crutch as claimed in Claim 3, 125 wherein said manually-operable lever is operatively connected to said pawl by means of a rod pivotally connected at one end to said lever, and, at the other end, to said pawl.

A crutch as claimed in Claim 4, 130 1 580 517 wherein said second spring is a tension spring connected between said rod and said clamp member.

6 A crutch substantially as hereinbefore described, with reference to, and as illustrated in, the accompanying diagrammatic drawings.

For the Applicant G F REDFERN & COMPANY Marlborough Lodge 14 Farncombe Road Worthing West Sussex BN 11 2 BT Printed for Her Majesty's Stationery Office by The Tweeddale Press Ltd, Berwick-upon-Tweed, 1980 Published at the Patent Office, 25 Southampton Buildings, London, WC 2 A l AY, from which copies may be obtained.