JP2003126192A - Foldable walker - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a walker which is sufficiently reduced in size and easily assembled through being folded, and further has a rigid structure. SOLUTION: A pipe is folded to form a base frame 1 having an approximately U shape in a plan view, and a pair of front wheels 4 and a pair of rear wheels 5 are attached to the base frame. A support member 10 comprising a pair of pipes is backwardly inclined and pivotally supported on the front part of the base frame. A brace 15 comprising a pair of pipes, which bears the backwardly inclined support member 10, is supported on the rear part of the base frame. Expandable shafts 29 which can extend from the upper openings of the supporting member are provided within the supporting member, and armrests 33 which extend horizontally are supported on the upper ends of the expandable shafts so as to be pivotally moved in the upward and forward direction and superposed on the axis of the expandable shafts 29.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a foldable walker for supporting walking of a physically handicapped person.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A walker used for walking assistance, walking training, rehabilitation, etc. for physically handicapped persons such as persons who have unstable walking due to poor balance in standing position, persons with trunk, lower limb muscle weakness, etc. Generally, a frame-shaped main body is provided with a pair of front wheels and a pair of rear wheels, and there is a conventional one that is configured to be foldable.

[0003]

However, since the conventional walker has a structure in which it is contracted in the width direction by folding, it cannot be made sufficiently small. For example, it can be stored under the bed or a small gap between the bed and the wall. It could not be stored in.

The present invention is intended to solve the above problems and to provide a walker which can be made sufficiently small by folding and can be easily assembled at the time of use and has a robust structure.

[0005]

To this end, a folding walker according to the present invention is constructed such that a pipe is bent to form a substantially U-shaped undercarriage, and a pair of front wheels and a pair of rear wheels are formed on the undercarriage. Is provided, and a pillar composed of a pair of pipes is pivotally supported at the front part of the underframe so that the pillar can be tilted rearward, and a bracing column composed of a pair of pipes supporting the pillar in a slightly tilted rearward direction is provided at the rear part of the underframe. Pivotally
An extension shaft is provided in the strut so as to be extendable from the upper end opening thereof, and an armrest arm extending horizontally is pivotally attached to the upper end of the extension shaft so as to be pivotable upward and forward so as to overlap with the extension shaft. It is characterized by Further, according to the present invention, in the above-described foldable walker, the bracing pillar is configured to be extendable by a double pipe, and a connecting member is provided so as to be slidable on the outer periphery of the pillar. It is characterized in that the upper end portion of the brace is slidably connected to the column via the connecting member.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a front perspective view of this walker, FIG. 2 is a partial sectional side view thereof, FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. In this walker, a metal pipe is bent to form a substantially U-shaped undercarriage 1 of a plane, and cylindrical bearings 2 are vertically fixed by welding on both front sides of the undercarriage. The front wheel 4 is rotatably supported by rotatably inserting the core shaft therein. Further, the rear wheels 5 are provided by welding the support fittings 6 to both sides of the rear portion of the chassis frame 1. Reference numeral 7 is a resistance adjusting knob provided to adjust the frictional resistance of the front wheel 4 and the rear wheel 5 during rotation, and 8 is a tip of which abuts on the outer circumference of the adjusting knob 7 in order to prevent delusion. It is an indenter.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a pin 11 having a lower end portion at the front portion of the underframe 1.
It is a pair of stanchions made of pipes that are pivotally supported so that they can be tilted rearward by being fixed by. Reference numeral 12 denotes a cylindrical portion 13 which is fixed to both ends in an orthogonal shape by welding.
Slidably fitted around the outer circumference of the
With a connecting member having a screw attached thereto, the tip of the screw is attached to the outer surface of the support column 10 by screwing the screw with the knob, and the connecting member 12
Can be fixed to the column 10. Reference numeral 15 denotes a pair of brace columns provided to support the column 10, and the brace column is a pipe 1
6, a pipe 17 is slidably inserted into the pipe 16 so as to be extendable. A small cylinder 18 is fixed to the outer surface of the pipe 16, and a forward / backward movement is urged inward by a spring 19 in the small cylinder. A moving pin 20 is provided, and a knob 21 is provided at an outer end portion of the pin, and an inner end portion of the pin is engaged with an engagement hole 22 formed at a lower end portion of the pipe 17. The lower end of the pipe 16 is pivotally supported on the rear part of the underframe 1 by a pin 23 so as to be tiltable, and the upper end of the pipe 17 is connected to the connecting member 1.
The pin 25 is attached to the mounting piece 24 protruding from the rear surface of the second tubular portion 13.
The support column 10 is supported in a slightly rearward tilted state by being pivotally attached by.

Further, fixing members 27 having tubular portions 26 fixed to each other in an orthogonal shape by welding are fitted to the upper ends of the columns 10, and a screw 28 with a knob is screwed to each of the tubular portions 26. There is. Then, a pair of extension shafts 29 are inserted into the upper end openings of the columns 10 so as to be extendable, and the knob screws 28 are screwed, so that the extension shafts can be fixed in an appropriately extended state. . Further, the respective extension shafts 29 are integrally connected in a gate shape by welding a horizontal shaft 30 to the upper end portion. Then, by mounting a mounting piece 31 on the front surface of the upper end portion of the extension shaft, passing a pin 32 through the mounting piece, and passing the pin through a mounting piece 34 of an armrest arm 33 formed in a U-shaped plane, An armrest arm is pivotally supported on the horizontal shaft 30 so as to be pivotable upward and forward as indicated by an arrow. Therefore, the armrest arm 33 can be superposed on the front surface of the column 10 by once turning upward and forward. A pair of grips 35 are supported on a front portion of the armrest arm 33 by a support shaft 36 so as to be tiltable outward. Reference numeral 37 is an armrest pad made of an elastic material, which is fixed to both upper surface portions of the armrest arm 33. Also,
Reference numeral 38 is a rubber pad attached to the front surface of the armrest arm 33.

In the walker thus constructed, the extension shaft 29 is extended to adjust the height of the armrest arm 33 according to the height of the physically handicapped person to be used.
Place both arms on the top and grasp the grip 35 by hand to perform gait training. When not in use, the knob screws 28 are loosened to contract the respective extension shafts 29 into the support column 10, the grip 35 is tilted outward, and the armrest arm 33 is pivoted as described above to rotate the front face of the support column 10. Polymerized into the
Is pulled to release the engagement between the advancing / retreating pin 20 and the pipe 17, and at the same time the muscular column 15 is contracted, at the same time, the knob screw 14 is loosened and the connecting member 12 is slid downward along the column 10.

By doing so, the column 10, the brace 15 and the armrest arm 33 can be superposed on the underframe 1 as shown in FIG. 5, and the folded state becomes very short, so the lower part of the bed. It can be easily stored in a space. In this folded state, if the rear wheel 5 is on the lower side and the rubber pad 38 is grounded to stand up, it can be stored in a narrow gap between the bed and the wall. Therefore, this walker can be kept in a small hospital room.

In the assembly, the holding member 27 is held and the lifting column 10 and the brace column 15 are erected, and the armrest arm 33.
It is robust because the column 10 can be easily put into use, and the column 10 is stably supported by the braces 15. It should be noted that it is possible to provide a larger number of wheels on the underframe 1 to increase the stability.

[0012]

As described above, in the foldable walker of the present invention, the pipe is bent to form a substantially U-shaped undercarriage of a plane, and a pair of front wheels and a pair of rear wheels are provided on the undercarriage. A support column composed of a pair of pipes is pivotally supported at the front part of the underframe so as to be tiltable rearward, and a bracing column composed of a pair of pipes which supports the support column in a slightly rearward tilted manner is supported at the rear part of the chassis frame. An extension shaft is provided in the strut so as to be extendable from the upper end opening thereof, and an armrest arm extending horizontally at the upper end of the extension shaft is pivotally mounted so as to be pivotable upward and forward so as to be capable of overlapping with the extension shaft. When it is not in use, it is small enough to be stored in the lower space of the bed by folding, so that it can be kept in a small hospital room without hindrance. In addition, it is easy to assemble and can be easily used, and the strut is stable and robust, which is a remarkable effect.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a walker showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional side view of a walker showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG.

4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional side view of the walker according to the embodiment of the present invention when the walker is folded.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 chassis frame 4 front wheels 5 rear wheels 10 props 12 Connection member 15 Brace 29 Extension axis 33 armrest arm

Continued front page    (72) Inventor Tomohiro Matsuba             1-4-23 Marunouchi, Naka-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi               Inside J Medic Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A pipe is bent to form a substantially U-shaped undercarriage in a plane, a pair of front wheels and a pair of rear wheels are provided on the undercarriage, and a pair of pipes are formed in a front portion of the undercarriage. A support pillar is tiltably supported rearward, and a bracing pillar composed of a pair of pipes that supports the support pillar in a slightly rearward tilted manner is supported at a rear portion of the underframe, and the support pillar can be extended from an upper end opening thereof. A foldable walker characterized in that an extension shaft is provided as described above, and an armrest arm extending horizontally is pivotally attached to the upper end of the extension shaft so as to be pivotable upward and forward so as to overlap with the extension shaft. . 2. The bracing column is configured to be extendable by a double pipe, and a connecting member is provided so as to be slidable on the outer periphery of the column. The foldable walker according to claim 1, wherein an upper end portion of the brace is slidably connected to the column via the connecting member.