JPH0316655Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] This invention is ideal for disabled people who have functional impairments in walking to train themselves to walk autonomously at home without an assistant and to recover their function. Regarding walking aids.

[Conventional technology]

Traditionally, elderly patients who have difficulty walking due to femoral neck fractures, pre-injury low back pain, kyphosis of the spine, muscle weakness, rheumatism, etc., have been trained to autonomously assist with walking. Examples of walkers for functional recovery include an alternating-type walker (hereinafter, in this specification, an "alternating-type walker" refers to a walker that trains a disabled person to walk by alternately extending both lower limbs). There are things that can happen.

This alternating type walker usually has a U-shaped side frame with a weight support part for putting weight on the upper surfaces of the front and rear legs, and the front parts of the left and right side frames are connected by multiple connecting rods. A four-point support structure supported by a total of four leg rods, front and rear, left and right, provided on the lower surface of a frame that surrounds the front and left and right sides and leaves the rear open, and also the side frames on the left and right. One leg rod on the front side is provided at the center of the front of the lower surface of the approximately triangular frame body which is formed by narrowing down toward the front of the plane, and two leg rods on the left and right are provided facing each other at the rear. Some have a three-point support structure.

These alternating type walkers allow a person with a disability to either hold the weight support rods provided at the top of the frame in an upright position, or place their body into the upper body holder of the frame and support the weight on the left and right sides. Walking training was carried out by bending forward so as to hold the rod between the armpits and putting all of one's weight on the frame.

In addition, as another conventional example, a doctor or doctor in a hospital targets people whose gait impairment is more serious than walking with a cane, but less severe than when using an alternating walker with the above structure. In order to perform walking training under the guidance and supervision of a caregiver, there are four
There is a walker with casters that allows the frame to be easily moved by rotatably mounting one or three casters.

[Problem that the invention attempts to solve]

However, the above-mentioned conventional alternating type walker is difficult to handle if you are not used to it because the mobility of the walker determines the distance a person with a disability can carry with their upper limbs when carrying their weight. Along with this, the stride length becomes arbitrary, and it takes a lot of time to train until the gait becomes rhythmic and approaches walking with a cane.While independence from the disabled person is guaranteed, it also protects the caregiver. was needed.

Furthermore, among the conventional walkers mentioned above, those with casters have the advantage of being easy to use because the stride length can be arbitrarily determined. It had the disadvantage of not being able to keep up with the vessel and tipping over easily, and lacked stability. Furthermore, after being discharged from the hospital, depending on the situation at home, walking may become difficult if there are steps such as thresholds or edges of tatami mats on the walking surface, and an unreasonable load may be placed on the affected area. The person was unable to change direction in the direction he or she intended and was unable to walk smoothly.

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention was made to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks of the conventional technology, and by adopting a technical means of installing a sliding stabilizing plate at least in front of the upper surface of the frame for weight bearing, it is possible to Later, especially in homes where there are many steps on the walking surface, such as thresholds, edges of tatami mats, and other steps, and there are no caregivers,
A sliding stabilizer plate can be slid stably on the walking surface by a person with a disability to walk smoothly, and it also makes direction changes and lateral movement easy and reliable. Compared to conventional walkers with casters, in which the casters are worn while walking, the casters prevent easy rotation under the casters, which prevents falls while walking, and are highly safe.Furthermore, the structure is simple and suitable for mass production. It is an object of the present invention to provide a walker which is low in cost due to low material costs, and is lightweight and easy to handle.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described using a four-wheeled walker with casters as shown in FIGS. 1 to 4.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a frame body, and this frame body 1 is made of a relatively small diameter and lightweight metal pipe whose surface is treated with resin, and has two linear leg rods 2A, 2B located in the front and back.
A weight support rod 2C installed horizontally on the upper ends of the leg rods 2A and 2B to support the body weight, the leg rod 2A,
2B, and connecting rods 3A and 3B for connecting the leg rods 2A and 2B by being installed horizontally in two stages below, forming a substantially U-shape in the vertical direction. Opposing left and right side frames 2, 2
and upper and lower parts 2 for connecting the front parts of the side frames 2, 2.
The standard height is approximately 75 cm, the depth is approximately 37 cm, and the width is approximately 40 cm so that the front frame 4 formed by the connecting rods 4A and 4B of the book is surrounded on the front, left and right sides, and the rear is open. It is configured to the size of . In this case, the height is adjusted by cutting it to an appropriate length depending on the age, height, etc. of the person with a disability. Reference numeral 5 denotes an upper body receiving portion surrounded by the left and right side frames 2, 2 and the front frame 4. 6 is a total of 4 in the front and rear and left and right sides rotatably attached to the lower surface of the leg rods 2A, 2A, 2B, and 2B.
casters, and these casters 6
The wheel 6a is rotated by a support cover 6b having a substantially semicircular side surface that is supported so as to be freely rotatable in the horizontal direction with respect to the leg rods 2A, 2A, 2B, and 2B so as to cover the wheel 6a, and the wheel 6a. A support piece 6c is provided at the center of the lower surface of the support cover 6b so as to freely support the support cover 6b.

Reference numeral 7 denotes a chair that is provided on the connecting rods 3A, 3A of the side frames 2, 2 so that it can be raised and lowered, and this chair 7 is made of synthetic resin vinyl, synthetic leather, etc., with a cushion material such as sponge or cotton interposed on the upper surface of the board. A plate-shaped seat 7a is formed by covering the seat with a flexible sheet such as, and this seat 7a has several hinges 8,
8 to be hinged to the connecting rods 3A, 3A so as to be able to rise and fall freely, so that when walking, it is leaning against the front frame 4 so that it does not get in the way of walking,
Also, when resting during walking training, the left and right connecting rods 3A,
A chair 7 is formed so as to be placed on the upper surface of 3A.

9 is the front of the lower surface of the frame 1, for example, the front 2
These sliding stabilizing plates are removably fixed to the lower surfaces of the two casters 6, 6 attached to the leg rods 2A, 2A of the book using suitable fixing means, and these sliding stabilizing plates 9, 9 are made of, for example, plastic. It is made of a flexible material such as, and is roughly ski-shaped with the tip side curved up by about 1/3, and is approximately 8 cm wide, 16 cm long, and 5 mm thick to provide stability when walking. In addition to measuring, it also prevents smooth movement.
Reference numeral 10 denotes a mounting bracket having a substantially L-shaped side surface for fixing the sliding stabilizing plates 9, 9 to the lower surfaces of the front casters 6, 6. The sliding stabilizing plates 9, 9 are attached to the support cover 6 of the front casters 6, 6 using a plurality of screws 11 while the lower surface is in contact with the sliding stabilizing plate 9.
b, 6b are screwed. In this case, the front 1
If the wheels 6a of the pair of casters 6, 6 are placed on the upper surface of the sliding stabilizing plates 9, 9 below, when a disabled person puts his weight on the frame 1 while walking, the wheels 6a in front of the pair of casters 6, 6 The wheels 6a, 6a interposed between the two leg rods 2A, 2A and the sliding stabilizers 9, 9 soften the impact received from the sliding stabilizers 9, 9 against the walking surface 12, and the sliding becomes smooth, especially when walking. Even when there is a step 12a on the surface 12 at a threshold, the edge of a tatami mat, etc., the sliding stabilizers 9, 9 slide smoothly.

The first embodiment of the present invention has the above-mentioned configuration, and for walking training, a disabled person enters the upper body receiving part 5 in the frame 1 and stands upright with both arms on the side. By grasping the weight-supporting rods 2C, 2C of the frames 2, 2, the user puts his/her weight on the frame 1 and alternately puts out his/her legs to walk.

In this case, the leg rods 2 in front of the left and right side frames 2, 2
On the lower surface of the casters 6, 6 attached to A, 2A, sliding stabilizing plates 9, 9 are attached to mounting brackets 1 whose sides are approximately L-shaped.
Since they are screwed together using screws 0 and 10 in the front and back, the two sliding stabilizers 9 and 9 in the front are on the collapsing surface 12.
At the same time, the two rear leg rods 2
The casters 6, 6 attached to B, 2B are rotated so that the disabled person can stably walk at the walking speed of the disabled person while being supported at four locations on the front, back, left and right. In other words, the sliding stabilizing plates 9, 9 have a width of 8 cm, a length of about 16 cm, and the tip side is about 1/3
It has a ski-like shape that curves upward, and is made of a flexible material such as plastic so that it is flexible, so it has a sufficient contact area with the walking surface 12, making it stable. In addition, there are also steps such as thresholds and edges of tatami mats on walking surfaces 12 in the home.
2a, the person with a disability can easily get over the step 12a and slide smoothly, and it is also easy for the person with a disability to change direction in the intended direction and slide sideways, so that the person with a disability can walk reliably.

Also, when walking, the weight is transferred to the front left and right leg rods 2A, 2.
A, since the casters 6, 6 are interposed between the leg rods 2A, 2A and the sliding stabilizers 9, 9, the casters 6, 6 will cause the sliding stabilizers 9, 9 to The applied impact is prevented from being directly transmitted to the frame 1 and is buffered, thereby reducing the application of an unreasonable load to the disabled person's affected area.

In addition, when walking training becomes tiring or when it is necessary to carry a small load, the seat 7a resting on the front legs 2A, 2A can be rotated via the hinges 8, 8, so that the left and right side frames 2 ,2 connecting rod 3
A and 3A can be placed on the chair 7 to allow the person to sit and rest, and also carry luggage by placing the baggage on the top surface of the chair 7.

The one shown in Figs. 5 and 6 includes one leg rod 2A located at the front and center, and left and right leg rods 2A at the rear.
B and 2B form a frame 1', and the three-point support structure includes three casters 6 attached to the lower surface of the two rear leg rods 2B and 2B and one of the front leg rods 2A. In a walker, the front one
This figure shows a walker in which a stable sliding plate 9 is fixed to only one caster 6 using the same fixing means as in the previous embodiment. And in this example as well,
By sliding one front sliding stabilizing plate 9 on the upper surface of the walking surface 12 and rotating the two rear casters 6, 6, the disabled person can be prevented from falling even when there is a step 12a on the walking surface 12. Walking training can be performed safely and with easy direction changes.

What is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 is the third embodiment of the present invention.
This is an embodiment, and in this embodiment, if the walking surface 12 is decoratively finished with vinyl or the like and the coefficient of friction with the sliding stabilizer plate 9 is large and it is difficult to slide, holes of an appropriately shaped shape are formed in the sliding stabilizer plate 9 as necessary. 9a, and the lower circumferential surface of the wheel 6a of the caster 6 is exposed through the hole 9a so that it can slightly contact the walking surface 12, so that the wheel 6 of the caster 6
By rotating in contact with the walking surface 12, the friction between the sliding stabilizer plate 9 and the walking surface 12 is reduced, the movement of the walker is smooth, and walking is facilitated.

In this case, it is possible to adjust the degree of contact of the wheels 6a exposed through the holes 9a with the walking surface 12 by adhering an adhesive tape (not shown) or the like to the lower surface of the sliding stabilizer 9. It is also conceivable to adjust the friction by, for example, adhering the slide stabilizer 9 to the lower surface of the sliding stabilizer plate 9.

In the first to third embodiments described above, the sliding stabilizer plate 9 is fixed to the lower surface of the wheel 6a of the caster 6 which is rotatably attached to the lower end of the front leg rod 2A. Without being limited to this, the sliding stabilizer 9 can be attached to the leg rod 2A of a walker with a four-point support structure or a three-point support structure without using the casters 6.
It may be directly fixed to the lower end of 2B. Furthermore, if the leg rods 2A, 2B do not protrude from the lower surfaces of the frames 1, 1', the sliding stabilizing plate 9 may be attached directly to the lower surfaces of the frames 1, 1'.

The sliding stabilizing plate 9 is made of a flexible material such as plastic and is shaped like a ski with about 1/3 of its tip end extending upward, but this is just a typical example. It's okay if it's hot. As shown in the figure, the lower surface need not be limited to a simple plate shape, but may include multiple ribs (not shown) in order to reduce the coefficient of friction and ensure smooth sliding and selectivity in direction switching. may be provided.

Furthermore, in any of the above embodiments, the sliding stabilizing plate 9 has two mounting fittings 10 and a plurality of screws 1.
1, but the fixing means is not limited to screwing, but it is also possible to provide a protrusion and a recess into which the support cover 6b of the caster 6 and the mounting bracket 10 are respectively engaged. This may be accomplished by a twisted locking means, or may be bonded using an adhesive.

Furthermore, in each of the above embodiments, the sliding stabilizing plate 9 is attached only to the front of the frames 1, 1' rather than to the rear, but this is because there is a step 12a on the walking surface 12 during walking training. This is not intended only for sliding, but for changing direction, and if necessary, of course, the sliding stabilizer 9 can be attached directly to the rear casters 6, 6 or the two rear leg rods 2B, 2B. In this case, a person with a disease or disability can walk more stably than when walking by rotating the casters 6.

[Effect of idea]

As mentioned above, the present invention adopts the technical means of installing a sliding stabilizer plate at least in front of the lower surface of the frame body for weight bearing, so that it is particularly easy to avoid thresholds, edges of tatami mats, and other steps on the walking surface. Compared to conventional walkers with casters, in which only multiple casters are attached to the underside of the frame and the wheels rotate to allow walking, even in homes where there is no helper, the sliding stabilizer is attached to the front. It prevents the casters from rotating easily and prevents falls when walking, and allows disabled people to slide the sliding stabilizer plate stably against the walking surface to walk smoothly and safely. By providing a stabilizing plate, direction changes and lateral movements can be easily and reliably performed.

In addition, this invention has a simple structure and is suitable for mass production, and the material cost is low, so the cost is low.
In addition, the frame is made of relatively thin metal pipes, making it lightweight, and the size can be easily adjusted to suit the elderly, children, and other disabled people, so it can be adjusted to suit the walking ability of disabled people. It becomes easier to select and handle.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a front view showing the first embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a side view, Fig. 3 is a plan view, Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the main parts, and Fig. 5 is a side view of the invention. 6 is a plan view, and FIG. 7 is a bottom view showing the third embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is also a vertical side view. 1, 1'...Frame body, 2...Side frame, 2A, 2B...
... Leg rod, 2C ... Weight support rod, 3A, 3B ... Connection rod, 4 ... Front frame, 5 ... Upper body holder, 6 ... Caster, 6a ... Wheel, 6b ... Support cover, 7
...Chair, 8...Hinge, 9...Sliding stabilizer, 1
0...Mounting bracket.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] (1) The front, left and right sides are surrounded by left and right opposing side frames with weight-supporting rods on the upper surface, and connecting rods that connect the front of the side frames, and the rear is A walker characterized in that a sliding stabilizing plate is attached to at least the front lower surface of a frame body formed to be open. (2) The sliding stabilizing plate is made of a flexible material such as plastic and has a tip end of about 1/3 and is shaped like a ski with a curved top. Claim 1. Walker as described. (3) The sliding stabilizing plate is made of a total of four casters rotatably attached to the lower surfaces of the leg rods located at the front and rear of the side frame having a substantially U-shaped side frame.
The walker according to claim 1, wherein the walker is fixed to the lower surfaces of at least the two front casters using appropriate fixing means. (4) The sliding stabilizer plate is fixed to the front leg rod of the front and rear leg rods of the side frame having a generally U-shaped side surface, and a caster is rotatably fixed to the rear leg rod. A walker according to claim 1 of the utility model registration claim, characterized in that: (5) The sliding stabilizing plate is appropriately fixed to the lower surface of at least one front caster among a total of three casters rotatably mounted at the center of the front of the lower surface of the frame and at the two rear corners of the lower surface. The walker according to claim 1 of the utility model registration, characterized in that the walker is fixed using means. (6) The sliding stabilizing plate is characterized in that one sliding stabilizer is attached to the center of the front lower surface of the frame, and two casters are rotatably attached to two rear corners of the lower surface of the frame. A walker according to claim 1 of the utility model registration claim. (7) Claims 1 and 2 of the utility model registration claim, characterized in that the sliding stabilizer plate is screwed to the front and rear of a support cover that covers the wheels using mounting brackets having a generally L-shaped side surface. Section 3, Section 4, Section 5
or the walker according to any one of Item 6. (8) The sliding stabilizing plate is provided with a hole as necessary, and the lower circumferential surface of the wheel of the caster can be slightly contacted with the walking surface through the hole. Range 1st, 2nd
3. The walker according to any one of Item 3, Item 4, Item 5, Item 6, or Item 7.