GB2552442A

GB2552442A - Wheeled walking frame for people with impaired mobility

Info

Publication number: GB2552442A
Application number: GB1602149.5A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Bower Adams Anthony
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2016-02-05
Filing date: 2016-02-05
Publication date: 2018-01-31
Also published as: GB201602149D0

Abstract

A foldable wheeled walking frame for use by walking-impaired individuals, comprises front 102 and rear 103 sub-frames connected by a hinge arrangement 300 provided along transverse bars of the sub-frames for folding the frame. In a non-use state of the frame, the front and rear sub-frames are folded flat together along the hinge. Wheels 105,106, at least one of which 105 is pivotable, are mounted on respective front and rear sub-frames. Attachment means 206,107 are provided at both sides of the frame and positioned adjacent to the hinge for detachably coupling walking sticks 109 at both sides of the frame. In use, the sticks 109 provide a walking-impaired individual with balance by transferring their weight through the frame to the wheels via the attachment means. Furthermore, the hinge (300, figure 3) and attachment means 206,107 are arranged such that the walking-impaired individual's weight acts on the hinge to ensure the front 102 and rear 103 sub-frames are unfolded rigidly.

Description

(71) Applicant(s):

Anthony Bower Adams

Highbury, 47 Park Lane, CONGLETON, Cheshire, CW12 3DG, United Kingdom (72) Inventor(s):

Anthony Bower Adams (56) Documents Cited:

GB 2519228 A CN 202554391 U US 6217056 B1 (58) Field of Search:

INT CL A45B, A61G, A61H Other: WPI EPODOC

GB 0135040 A CN 202105149 U (74) Agent and/or Address for Service:

Lean IP

Inovo Building, 121 George Street, GLASGOW, G1 1RD, United Kingdom (54) Title of the Invention: Wheeled walking frame for people with impaired mobility Abstract Title: Foldable Wheeled Walking Frame (57) A foldable wheeled walking frame for use by walkingimpaired individuals, comprises front 102 and rear 103 sub-frames connected by a hinge arrangement 300 provided along transverse bars of the sub-frames for folding the frame. In a non-use state of the frame, the front and rear sub-frames are folded flat together along the hinge. Wheels 105,106, at least one of which 105 is pivotable, are mounted on respective front and rear subframes. Attachment means 206,107 are provided at both sides of the frame and positioned adjacent to the hinge for detachably coupling walking sticks 109 at both sides of the frame. In use, the sticks 109 provide a walkingimpaired individual with balance by transferring their weight through the frame to the wheels via the attachment means. Furthermore, the hinge (300, figure 3) and attachment means 206,107 are arranged such that the walking-impaired individual's weight acts on the hinge to ensure the front 102 and rear 103 sub-frames are unfolded rigidly.

PLAN WITHOUT CRUTCHES OR HOLDERS

Figure 2

At least one drawing originally filed was informal and the print reproduced here is taken from a later filed formal copy.

7/7

05 17

Figure 1

PLAN WITHOUT CRUTCHES OR HOLDERS

Figure 2

Wheeled walking frame for people with impaired mobility

The present invention relates to a foldable wheeled walking frame for use by walking-impaired individuals, in particular, to wheeled walking frames for use in combination with walking sticks.

Background Art

Walking aids are intended to provide support and reassurance for people suffering from walking difficulties, and which can be generally classified into two categories: wheeled walkers such as rollators and trolleys; and non-wheeled aids, like walking sticks and crutches. Wheeled walkers are understood to be able to provide more stable support and are more suitable for travelling outside compared to walking sticks and crutches.

Typically, a wheeled walker has at least one swiveling front wheel, two fixed rear wheels and two handle bars providing support to both arms. Such wheeled walkers are too big to use indoors. For people who still need help balancing indoors, separate walking sticks or crutches are used. Carrying or transporting both the wheeled walker and sticks/crutches is an issue, especially for walking-impaired individuals. Patent documents US5887887A and DE201020012000U1 address this issue by introducing connection means for attaching sticks to the walker.

Furthermore, wheeled walkers are generally wide and heavy, which can take up space and are often awkward in shape. Additionally, many wheeled walkers are subject to certain kinds of collapsing methods, which could be rather difficult for disabled or elderly people to manipulate while trying to maintain balance. These drawbacks have induced people to approach the problem from the viewpoint of adapting walking sticks to include wheels in some way.

By taking advantage of basic functions of both wheeled walkers and walking sticks, patent document CN203107482U discloses a wheel chair consisting of two sets of symmetric scissor-type supporting structures and capable of being transformed into walking sticks. However, the practical utility of the wheeled chair is strongly reduced by the sequential and rather complicated steps involved in collapsing the chair to transform into walking sticks, and conversely in restoring it, where users are likely to lose balance and cause injuries.

Patent document US5188138A discloses a walking stick that allows for compact storage and easy operation but the usage is restricted by two facets. Firstly, the walking stick is an integrated product, which means that the sticks cannot be detached from the wheels making it unsuitable for indoor use, for example climbing up stairs. Secondly, with the wheels alongside the user, the walking stick suffers from stability problems.

Patent application No. CN 201210583574 discloses a wheeled support - a socalled roller bracket for attachment to walking sticks. The roller bracket is a T-shaped structure which constitutes a front axle and a straight axle. A front wheel is provided in the vertical portion of the end portion T and at least two rear wheels are fixed to both ends of the straight axle. The Tshaped structure provides a more stable support for users than the simple linear structure disclosed in US5188138A above. However, the roller brackets are also subject to drawbacks. Firstly, the roller bracket is not foldable, causing additional difficulties for transport and storage. Secondly, because only one stick is allowed per roller bracket, for users who need extra support with two sticks, the users have to rely on two separate roller brackets, which is likely to cause stability issues as the roller brackets may move in different directions. The biggest disadvantage of the design is the T-shaped structure, where the straight axle could severely interfere with the legs of a user using the roller bracket by not leaving enough space between the legs and the axle.

In summary, none of the above prior art references provides a satisfactory solution towards equipping walking sticks with wheels without sacrificing the stability, foldability and compatibility of the resulting device. Neither of the above prior art references tackles the challenge of making wheeled walking sticks convenient and appropriate for indoor use as much as for outdoors.

Summary of invention

The object of the present invention is to overcome at least some of the above-identified problems of the prior art. It is desirable to offer people who have walking difficulties a foldable wheeled walking frame, which supports attachment of walking sticks and crutches allowing for stable transportation and easy storage. It is desirable to provide a wheeled walking frame that takes advantage of basic functions of wheeled walkers while obviating the previously stated drawbacks related to wheeled walkers.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a foldable wheeled walking frame for use by walking-impaired individuals, comprising:

a. front and rear sub-frames connected by a hinge arrangement for folding the wheeled walking frame;

b. a plurality of wheels, at least one of which is pivotable, mounted on respective front and rear sub-frames; and

c. attachment means for detachably coupling walking sticks with the wheeled walking frame such that in use the sticks provide the walking-impaired individuals with balance by transferring their weight through the frame to the wheels via the attachment means, and wherein their weight acts on the hinge to ensure the front and rear sub-frames are unfolded rigidly.

Preferably, the rear sub-frame is shaped to provide legroom between rear wheels. Thus in one embodiment, the front and rear sub-frames are respectively provided with two side bars extending longitudinally from ends of a transverse bar, the arrangement of which is to preclude interference between the wheeled walking frame and the legs of a user using the frame.

Preferably, the hinge arrangement is provided along transverse bars of the sub-frames. In a non-use state of the wheeled walking frame, the subframes are folded flat together along the hinge arrangement for compact storage, occupying as little space as possible when used indoors. Advantageously, the hinge arrangement allows for folding and unfolding of the wheeled walking frame in an easy operation making the frame suitable for elderly and disabled people.

Preferably, the plurality of wheels are mounted on the sub-frames at extremities of the walking frame for rolling on the ground. The wheels can be pivotable in order to provide flexible steering of the wheeled walking frame.

Preferably, the attachment means are provided at both sides of the wheeled walking frame for detachably coupling walking sticks at both sides of frame. Each individual attachment means may comprise a cup disposed at the bottom of a walking stick and a rigid or resilient ring or yoke mounted on one end of a swing arm where the other end of the swing arm is fixed to one side of the wheeled walking frame. In a non-use state of the wheeled walking frame, the swing arms may rest on the sides of the frame, to reduce the size of the folded wheeled walking frame.

Preferably, the attachment means are positioned adjacent to the hinge arrangement. It is further preferred that a walking stick is placed through the ring or yoke and rests in the cup which has an indentation with a nonslip surface in order to retain the stick securely in position.

Brief description of drawings

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a side elevation schematic of a wheeled walking frame according to an embodiment of the present invention incorporating a walking stick.

Figure 2 shows the wheeled walking frame of Figure 1 in plan view, wherein for a better understanding, walking sticks and rings with swing arms are not shown.

Figure 3 shows a side elevation view of a wheeled walking frame in a folded-down position according to the invention.

Whenever in the figures the same reference numerals are applied, these numerals refer to the same elements.

Description of embodiments

With reference to Figure 1, a preferred embodiment of a wheeled walking frame 100 comprises a front sub-frame 102, a rear sub-frame 103, a hinge arrangement 300, front wheels 105, rear wheels 106, rings 107 and cup

206.

With reference to all figures, a transverse bar 201 coupled with two side bars 202 form the front sub-frame 102 and a transverse bar 203 coupled with two side bars 204 form the rear sub-frame 103. The two sub-frames are connected by a hinge arrangement 300 applied along the transverse bars 201 and 203 of each respective sub-frame 102 and 103.

With reference to Figure 1 and Figure 2, front wheels 105 are arranged pivotally on shafts 104 extending downwardly at the extremities 205 of the walking frame at the ends of the side bars 202 of the front sub-frame 102. Similarly, rear wheels 106 are mounted on the side bars 204 of the rear sub-frame 103. It is preferred that the sub-frames 102 and 103 be semirectangular in shape as shown in Figure 2 of this particular embodiment, although other shapes including truncated V-shapes or U-shapes may be suitable for one or both of the sub-frames 102 and 103 in order to provide legroom between the rear wheels. Also preferably the sub-frames 102 and 103 can be made with lightweight steel tubes together with plastic wheels 105 and 106 to allow effortless handling of the wheeled walking frame 100.

Referring again to Figure 1, a walking stick 109 is placed passing through a ring 107 (or U-shaped yoke, not shown) connected with one end of a swing arm 108. The ring/yoke 107 securely retains the stick 109 in place during use. The other end of the swing arm 108 is affixed on side bars 202 of the front sub-frame 102. Alternatively, the same effect can be achieved by affixing the bottom end of the swing arm 108 on side bars 204 of the rear sub-frame 103. The bottom of the stick 109 sits in a cup 206 which is attached on side bars 202 of the front sub-frame 102. The cup 206 is provided with an indentation and preferably non-slip inner surface for an efficient grip of the stick 109. The swing arm 108 can be stored as in Figure 3 and allows the wheeled walking frame 100 to fold flat.

By means of wheels 105 and 106, a user can push the wheeled walking frame 100 forwards by leaning on the stick 109 such that the stick 109 is inclined backwards towards the user side. Moreover, having the cup 206 positioned adjacent to the hinge arrangement 300 ensures that body weight placed on the stick 109 by a user can be securely transferred to the subframes 102 and 103. When the user presses their weight against the cup

206 with the stick 109, the wheeled walking frame is held in a rigid unfolded state, promoting greater stability of the wheeled walking frame 100 and improved balance of the user.

Claims

Claims What is claimed is:

1 A foldable wheeled walking frame for use by walking-impaired individuals, comprising:

c. attachment means for detachably coupling walking sticks with the wheeled walking frame such that in use the sticks provide a walking-impaired individual with balance by transferring their weight through the frame to the wheels via the attachment means, and wherein the hinge and attachment means are arranged such that the walking-impaired individual’s weight acts on the hinge to ensure the front and rear sub-frames are unfolded rigidly.

2. A foldable wheeled walking frame according to claim 1, wherein the rear sub-frame is shaped to provide legroom between rear wheels.

3. A foldable wheeled walking frame according to any preceding claim, wherein the hinge arrangement is provided along transverse bars of the sub-frames.

4, A foldable wheeled walking frame according to any preceding claim, wherein the plurality of wheels are mounted on the sub-frames at extremities of the walking frame.

5, A foldable wheeled walking frame according to any preceding claim, wherein the attachment means are provided at both sides of the wheeled walking frame for detachably coupling walking sticks at both sides of frame.

5 6. A foldable wheeled walking frame according to any preceding claim, wherein the attachment means are positioned adjacent to the hinge arrangement.

Intellectual

Property

Office

Application No: GB1602149.5