JP2001187096A - Walk-assisting utensil - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform a leg strength training by ensuring a walking with stability, and at the same time, make a walking-assisting utensil usable as a wheelchair as well. SOLUTION: This walk-assisting utensil is equipped with a frame member, a pair of front wheels and a pair of rear wheels. In this case, the rear surface side of the frame member is formed into a door section, and the fame member is built up into an approximately trapezoidal shape. The pair of front wheels are attached to both of the right and left end sections of the lower front frame of the frame member in a manner to be turnable to the frame. The pair of rear wheels are attached to both of the right and left end sections of the lower rear frame of the frame member in a manner to be non-turnable. On the upper right and left frames of the frame member, a gripping section is respectively provided at the approximately central sections, and on the internal surface of the door section, a seat section is attached at an approximately central height location. At the same time, on the internal lower area of the front frame, a footrest is provided. Then, on the inside of the upper front frame of the frame member, a handle section for a user is provided. Also, on the outside of the upper frame of the door section, a handle section for a helper is provided.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a walking aid that assists a person with weak feet in walking and can be used as a wheelchair.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, wheelchairs, crutches, and the like have been used to assist walking of persons with reduced physical strength and weak feet.

[0003]

However, since no leg force is used when moving in a wheelchair, recovery training (rehabilitation) of the leg force cannot be performed. Also,
Crutches lack stability during walking and cannot take a break while using crutches during walking. Therefore, provision of a walking aid having both of these functions has been desired.

Accordingly, the present invention has been proposed to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is possible to secure stable walking, perform leg training, and use the present invention as a wheelchair. It is intended to provide a walking aid.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, a walking aid according to the present invention comprises a frame member having a door portion on a rear surface side, assembled substantially on a trapezoid, and a lower portion of the frame member. The frame member includes a pair of front wheels that are pivotally attached to the left and right ends of the front frame and a pair of rear wheels that are non-pivotally attached to the left and right ends of a lower rear frame of the frame member. In the upper left and right frames, a grip portion is provided at a substantially central portion, and a seating portion is attached to the inner surface of the door portion at a substantially center height position, and a footrest portion is provided below the inside of the front frame. In addition, a handle portion for a user is provided inside the upper front frame of the frame member, and a handle portion for an attendant is provided outside the upper frame of the door portion. It is.

The height of the seating portion can be adjusted.

In consideration of the safety of the user of the present invention, a brake device is attached to the rear wheel, and an operating portion of the brake device is connected to at least one of the grip portions provided on upper left and right frames of a frame member. It is good to provide on one side. Further, if a safety belt for supporting the trunk of the user is provided in the seating portion, the safety of the user is further improved. Further, an alarm device for notifying a user of an abnormality may be provided.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of a walking aid according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a walking aid according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view, FIG. 3 is a plan view, FIG. 4 is a side view, and FIG. 5 is a rear view.

As shown in FIG. 1, a walking aid 1 according to the present invention comprises a frame member 3 having a door portion 2 on the rear side and assembled on a substantially trapezoid. The material of the frame member 3 may be steel, stainless steel, reinforced aluminum, or the like.

The frame member 3 has a lower frame portion 4
And a middle frame portion 5 and an upper frame portion 6 corresponding to the lower frame portion 4, and a pair of a front frame portion 7 and a rear frame portion 8 connecting these.

The lower frame portion 4 includes lower left and right frames 4a and 4b and lower front and rear frames 4c and 4d. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the front portion is formed in a trapezoidal shape with a slightly narrow width. . The reason why the width of the front side is reduced in this way is to effectively utilize the space for accommodating a plurality of the present apparatuses, as described later.

The upper frame 6 comprises upper left and right frames 6a and 6b and an upper front frame 6c. Similarly, the middle frame portion 5 is also provided with
a, 5b and an upper front frame 5c. The middle frame portion 5 is for reinforcing the frame member 3.

The frame member 3 configured as described above
As shown in FIG. 5, the rear side is open, and a door frame member 9 as the door portion 2 is attached here. The door frame member 9 is detachably and rotatably attached to one rear frame 8a by a hinge portion 10 attached to one vertical frame 9a, and the other vertical frame 9b side is attached to the other rear frame. 8
b can be opened and closed. The open end of the door frame member 9 is kept closed by the lock member 11 with respect to the other rear frame 8b.

Therefore, the door frame portion 9 behind the frame member 3 is unlocked, the door portion 2 is opened, and the user can enter the frame member 3.

Further, the door portion 2 can be easily removed from the frame member 3.

Next, a handle 12 for a user is provided inside the upper front frame 6c of the frame member 3, and a handle for an attendant is provided outside the upper frame 9c of the door frame 9. 13 are provided. Further, on the outer side of the upper front frame 6c of the frame member 3, as shown by an arrow in FIG.
4 is provided via a not-shown fixable hinge portion. The table board 14 is used as a simple table when the walking aid 1 is used as a wheelchair or the like.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the lower frame 4 can be swiveled with respect to the frame member 3 below the lower left and right frames 4a, 4b and the lower front frame 4c. Caster 1
5 and 15 are attached as a pair.

The lower left and right frames 4a and 4b of the lower frame portion 4 are connected to the lower rear frame 4d at respective connection positions so as to extend from the lower rear frame 4d so as to be slightly unrotatable with respect to the frame member 3. A large pair of rear wheels 16,
16 are attached.

Therefore, the frame member 3 is movable by the front wheels 15, 15 and the rear wheels 16, 16. Also, the front wheels 15, 15 are
, It is possible to change directions when moving forward.

On the other hand, the upper left and right frames 6a, 6b of the upper frame portion 6 of the frame member 3 are provided with gripping portions 17a, 17b substantially at the center, respectively.

Therefore, by walking while holding the holding portions 17a and 17b with both hands in the frame member 3 and supporting the body, the front and rear wheels of the walking aid 1 rotate together, and It is made to be able to assist walking.

Next, on the inner surface of the door frame 9,
A seat 18 is attached at a substantially central height position. That is, the seating portion 18 is located at a position substantially at the height of the center of the door frame portion 9 with respect to the ladder-shaped reinforcing frame 90.
The height position of the seat 18 is adjustable. The seat 18 is for the user to sit down when tired.

As shown in FIG. 3, the seating portion 18 has a substantially central portion protruding, and both sides thereof are recessed so as not to interfere with walking, and have a substantially mountain-shaped plane. The seat 18 is formed of genuine leather, synthetic leather, nylon, or the like. Further, although not shown, a cushion member such as a spring or urethane for absorbing vibration is arranged in the inside thereof.

As means for adjusting the height of the seat portion 18, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of screw holes 91,
A pair of holes 91 are provided, and screw holes 93, 93 provided in the reinforcing frame 90 are adapted to the screw holes 93, 93 by using long screws 92, 92, and screwed and attached, thereby enabling height adjustment. In addition, as the height position adjusting means of the seat portion 18, for example, although not shown, a reinforcing frame 90 to which the seat portion 18 is attached and fixed is attached to the vertical frames 9 a and 9 b on both sides of the door frame portion 9. On the other hand, it may be one that is slid and fixed so that the mounting height position can be adjusted.

A safety belt 19 for supporting a user's trunk is attached to the seating portion 18. The safety belts 19, 19 are a pair of adjustable length belt members each having one end attached below the central protruding portion 18a of the seating portion 18, and the other ends of the belts are connected to the middle left and right frames 5a, 5b, respectively. It is designed to be detachable from the belt fixing portion 27 provided. And
The safety belts 19, 19 support both the thighs of the user and are fixed to the middle left and right frames 5a, 5b, respectively, thereby supporting the trunk of the user.

A footrest plate 20 is provided below the inside of the front frame 7. Therefore, by sitting on the seating portion 17 and placing both feet on the footrest plate 20, the walking aid 1 can be used as a wheelchair.

When the walking aid 1 is used as a wheelchair, the assisting person can carry out the driving movement by holding the handle 13 for the assisting person.

Next, in the walking aid 1 according to the present invention, a brake device 21 is attached to the rear wheel 16 and a brake lever 22 serving as an operating portion of the brake device 21 is provided on one of the grip portions. Have been.

Therefore, it is possible to prevent the walking aid 1 from traveling on its own weight on a downhill or the like.

Although not shown, the above-mentioned brake lever may be provided along with the handle 13 for an attendant. In this way, the attendant can also operate the brake.

Further, the walking aid 1 according to the present invention includes:
An alarm device 23 for notifying the user of an abnormality is provided. In this embodiment, as the alarm device 23,
An emergency light 25 is attached to the tip of an antenna unit 24 attached to the upper front part. By operating the operation switch 26 provided in the vicinity of the grip 17a, the emergency light 25 blinks or the like to notify the user of the abnormality. The alarm device is not limited to this embodiment, but may use a sound such as a buzzer or use both sound and light. Moreover,
The radio wave signal may be skipped to notify the administrator.

Next, when storing a plurality of walking aids 1 according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 7, by removing the door frame 9 from the frame member 3, the front side of the walking aid 1 can be stored. Since it is narrow, it can be stabbed and stored in a separate walking aid 1. Therefore, the storage space for storing a plurality of storage spaces can be reduced, and the space can be effectively used.

[0034]

According to the walking aid according to the present invention configured as described above, it is possible to secure stable walking and perform leg strength training to assist walking of a person with weak feet. It can be used as a wheelchair.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a walking aid according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a walking aid according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a walking aid according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a walking aid according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a rear view showing the walking aid according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a main part showing a method of attaching a seat to a door frame.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a storage state of a plurality of walking aids.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 walking aid, 2 doors, 3 frame members, 12
Handle for user, Handle for 13 caretaker, 15 Casters, 16 Rear wheel, 17a, 17b Gripping section, 18 Seating section

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A frame member assembled on a substantially trapezoid with a rear side serving as a door, a pair of front wheels pivotally attached to left and right ends of a lower front frame of the frame member, A pair of rear wheels that are non-rotatably attached to left and right ends of a lower rear frame of the frame member, and upper left and right frames of the frame member are provided with gripping portions substantially at central portions, respectively. On the side surface, a seating portion is attached at a substantially central height position, a footrest portion is provided below the inside of the front frame, and a handle portion for a user is provided inside the upper front frame of the frame member. A walking aid provided with a handle portion for an attendant outside the upper frame of the door portion. 2. The walking aid according to claim 1, wherein a height position of the seating portion is adjustable. 3. The walking aid according to claim 1, wherein a brake device is attached to the rear wheel, and an operating portion of the brake device is provided on at least one of the grip portions provided on upper left and right frames of a frame member. . 4. The walking aid according to claim 1, wherein a safety belt for supporting a user's trunk is provided on the seating portion. 5. The walking aid according to claim 1, further comprising an alarm device for notifying a user of an abnormality.