US20070169308A1

US20070169308A1 - Glide for walker leg

Info

Publication number: US20070169308A1
Application number: US11/373,974
Authority: US
Inventors: Johnny Chiu
Original assignee: Valentine International Ltd
Current assignee: Valentine International Ltd
Priority date: 2006-01-26
Filing date: 2006-03-14
Publication date: 2007-07-26
Also published as: TWM295511U

Abstract

A glide for walker leg includes a seat including a bottom cavity; a base on the seat and including a hole and a top groove; a hollow first sliding member adapted to mount on the base and including a first bore, a bottom rail slidably inserted into the groove, and a top first slope; a hollow second sliding member including a bottom second slope adapted to matingly, slidably mount on the first slope, a second bore, and an upper threaded section in the second bore; and a threaded fastener adapted to insert through the cavity, the hole, the first and second bores for threadedly securing to the threaded section. Driving the fastener will slide the second sliding member relative to the first sliding member by sliding the rail in the groove so as to urge the first and second sliding members against an inner wall of the leg.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to walker legs and more particularly to such legs having characteristics including increased stability by attaching to an improved glide.
2. Related Art
A great variety of walkers are available for assisting the lame or the convalescent. Conventionally, a walker is made of metal tubes and comprises a plurality of plastic glides (e.g., ski glides or the like) each attached to the leg thereof.
A conventional walker is shown in FIG. 1 and comprises a plurality of metal legs A each adapted to attach to one of different types of glides B, C, and D. The glide B, C, or D comprises a cylindrical bore E for tightly receiving the leg A.
However, the prior art suffered from a disadvantage. For example, the fastening of the leg A in the bore E may be compromised after a short period time of use due to poor quality and/or bore expansion or contraction caused by temperature change. Thus, the need for improvement still exists.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a detachable glide adapted to mount in a hollow leg of a walker.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a glide adapted to quickly detach from a hollow leg of a walker and attach thereto after replacing with a different one.
In one aspect of the present invention the glide can be either attached to the leg by threadedly securing its fastener thereto or detached therefrom by unfastening the fastener.
In another aspect of the present invention driving the fastener will slide two sliding members of the glide to urge against an inner wall of the leg for fastening the glide and the leg together.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional walker and glides each adapted to attach to the leg thereof;
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a preferred embodiment of glide for walker leg according to the invention;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of FIG. 2; and
FIGS. 4 and 5 are sectional views showing the assembly of the glide of FIG. 2 and a leg of walker.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, a glide in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention adapted to attach to the leg of a walker is shown. The glide comprises an elongate seat 10 of L-section, a raised base 20 formed on a top of the seat 10, a first sliding member 30 adapted to mount on the base 20, a second sliding member 40 adapted to matingly mount on a top of the first sliding member 30, and a fastener 50 adapted to fasten all of the above components together. Each component is discussed in detailed below.
The seat 10 is implemented as ski glide which is designed for easy sliding over snow. But other types of seat are possible in other embodiments. The seat 10 comprises a cavity 11 on its bottom. The base 20 comprises a longitudinal hole 21 in communication with the cavity 11, a top disc 22, and a transverse groove 23 formed on the disc 22 having a length equal to a diameter of the disc 22. A top of the hole 21 is formed at a center of the groove 23.
The first sliding member 30 is of hollow cylinder and comprises two opposite rails 32 formed on a bottom 31, a top slope 33, and a bore 34. The second sliding member 40 is also of hollow cylinder and comprises a bottom slope 43 shaped to matingly engage with the top slope 33, a bore 41, and a threaded section 42 formed on an upper portion of the bore 41. The fastener 50 is implemented as a screw and comprises a head 51 and a thread 52.
Referring to FIG. 4 in conjunction with FIGS. 2 and 3, an assembly of the invention in a hollow leg 60 of a walker will be described in detailed below. Mount the first sliding member 30 on the base 20 by inserting the rails 32 into the groove 23. Place the second sliding member 40 on the first sliding member 30. Insert the fastener 50 through the cavity 50, the hole 21, the bore 34, and the bore 41. Next, use a screw driver to drive the head 51 for threadedly securing the thread 52 to the threaded section 42. Mount the leg 60 onto the assembled base 20, the first sliding member 30, and the second sliding member 40 with its inner wall 61 being separated from the base 20, the first sliding member 30, and the second sliding member 40 by a predetermined distance (i.e., not fastened).
Referring to FIG. 5, a user may then further drive the head 50 for sliding the second sliding member 40 relative to the first sliding member 30. As a result, the second sliding member 40 moves leftward and the first sliding member 30 moves rightward (i.e., the rails 32 slide in the groove 23) respectively until the head 50 is stopped by the shoulder between the cavity 11 and the hole 21. Also, both the second sliding member 40 and the first sliding member 30 are urged against the inner wall 61. As an end, the glide of the invention and the leg 60 are fastened together. To the contrary, unfastening the fastener 50 will detach the glide from the leg 60.
Note that each of the first sliding member 30 and the second sliding member 40 may have other shapes other than above (i.e., cylinder). Also, the bore 34 may have a section of other shape other than circle as shown above as long as the sliding of the first sliding member 30 relative to the base 20 is not hindered by, for example, the thread 52. Moreover, the glide of the invention may be attached to the leg of an object other than walker without departing from the spirit of the invention.
While the invention herein disclosed has been described by means of specific embodiments, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention set forth in the claims.

Claims

1. A glide mountable in a hollow leg of a device comprising:

a seat including a bottom cavity;

a base formed on the seat and including a longitudinal hole in communication with the cavity, and a top first mating member;

a hollow post-like first sliding member adapted to mount on the base and including a first bore, a bottom second mating member adapted to slidably insert into the first mating member, and a top first slope;

a hollow post-like second sliding member including a bottom second slope adapted to matingly, slidably mount on the first sliding member,

a second bore, and a threaded section formed in an upper portion of the second bore; and

a fastener including a thread and adapted to insert through the cavity, the hole, the first bore, and the second bore for threadedly securing the thread to the threaded section;

whereby driving the fastener will slide the second sliding member relative to the first sliding member by sliding the second mating member in the first mating member, laterally move the second sliding member in a first direction to urge against an inner wall of the leg, and laterally move the first sliding member in a second opposite direction to urge against the inner wall of the leg until the fastener is stopped by a shoulder formed between the cavity and the hole.

2. The glide of claim 1, wherein the first mating member is a groove.

3. The glide of claim 2, wherein the second mating member is a rail adapted to slidably insert into the groove.

4. The glide of claim 1, wherein the first mating member is a rail.

5. The glide of claim 4, wherein the second mating member is a groove adapted to slidably receive the rail.

6. The glide of claim 1, wherein the second slope is adapted to matingly, slidably mount on the first slope of the first sliding member.