WO1999034761A1

WO1999034761A1 - Walking aid

Info

Publication number: WO1999034761A1
Application number: PCT/CH1999/000002
Authority: WO
Inventors: Heinz Kehrli
Original assignee: Paraplegiker Stiftung
Priority date: 1998-01-05
Filing date: 1999-01-05
Publication date: 1999-07-15
Also published as: AU1659199A

Abstract

The invention relates to a walking aid (1) fitted with feet (2) which enable the walking aid (1) to stand unaided on a surface. The walking aid comprises a tread (12) which is positioned substantially parallel to the surface, as well as a handle (10) positioned laterally in relation to the tread. The walking aid makes it easier for disabled persons to climb stairs. The height of the tread (12) of the walking aid (1) is approximately half the height of a stair step. The walking aid (1) can therefore be placed in front of a stair step, after which the person moves the first foot onto the tread (12) and then the other foot onto the first step of the stairs. The first foot is then also placed onto the first step of the stairs. The walking aid can then placed onto the first step, and the process repeated. This facilitates the climbing of stairs.

Description

Walking aid

The present invention relates to a walking aid according to the preamble of claim 1.

Such walking aids are known. They have a frame that stands independently on feet. This frame essentially surrounds a person with walking difficulties on three sides. This person can then lift the frame, which is provided with two handles, and move it forward a little, then sets it down and takes the appropriate steps until it is practically within the frame again.

Such walking aids can only be used on essentially flat surfaces. Such walking aids are, for example, completely unsuitable for climbing stairs.

Walking aids are also crutches, for example, with which a person can relieve their legs. With such crutches, climbing stairs is not easy, it requires a certain skill.

Often, people with the relevant ailments that make normal staircase climbing practically impossible have to leave their familiar surroundings and move to nursing homes or old people's homes, for example, because the existing stairs in their usual home are too great an obstacle.

The object of the invention is now to provide a walking aid with which climbing stairs can be facilitated without the stairs having to be changed in a complex manner.

According to the invention, this object is achieved by a walking aid as described in claim 1.

Such a walking aid according to the invention has the advantage that existing stairs for people with walking difficulties can be walked on again the, because with this walking aid the height of the steps to be managed can be practically halved. In most cases, this means that it is not necessary to change existing stairs costly or to replace them with mechanical lifts. Temporarily disabled people can be released home earlier during their rehabilitation; and permanently disabled people can stay in their familiar surroundings for longer because existing stairs are no longer an insurmountable obstacle. Such walking aids according to the invention can be produced in a cost-effective manner, the procurement costs for persons who are dependent on such a walking aid are low.

An advantageous embodiment of the invention is that the base of the walking aid consists of a block of a solid material, or that feet or runners are formed by curved hollow profiles or tubes which are arranged next to one another and are provided with non-slip elements at the foot end. This block or curved profiles or pipes are provided with a non-slip tread and are provided on one side with a device and that a handle can be attached to this area. This arrangement enables a walking aid to be produced inexpensively, with the required stability being provided.

Another advantageous embodiment of the invention is that the handle is attached to an additional tube, which in turn can be telescopically adjusted in height and fits into the one-sided holding device. Thus, the handle can be adapted to the size of the person who has to use the appropriate walking aid. The handle can advantageously be rotated about the longitudinal axis of the additional tube by, for example, 180 ° and fixed again. This allows the walking aid to be used on one side or the other of a person. A further advantageous embodiment of the invention consists in the height of the tread surface being adjustable in the versions with actual feet or runners. This is achieved in a simple manner in that a set of intermediate pieces is inserted between the plate which forms the step surface and the hollow profiles on which the plate is placed and releasably connected to it. This means that the height of the step surface can be optimally adapted to the step height of the existing stairs. The height of the step surface advantageously corresponds to approximately half the height of a step of the corresponding staircase.

Embodiments of the walking aid according to the invention are explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawing.

1 shows a spatial representation of a first embodiment of a walking aid according to the invention, the lower part consisting essentially of a (possibly hollow) body, box or block made of light material such as B: plastic, plastic or foam and a height-adjustable handle; Fig. 2 in a spatial representation another

Embodiment of a walking aid according to the invention with four feet and a height-adjustable footboard and handle; 3 is a spatial representation of the lower part of a further embodiment of a walking aid according to the invention with feet designed in the form of runners; 4 shows a view of the lower part of the walking aid according to FIG. 2, standing on a step; FIG. 5 shows a sectional view through part of the walking aid according to the invention according to FIG. 1, in which the possibility of adjusting the height of the step surface can be seen; and

Fig. 6 is a sectional view through part of the rod of the handle, in which the adjustment of the height of the rod can be seen.

1 comprises four feet 2, two feet 2 each being formed by a correspondingly curved hollow profile 3. Of course, other profiles are also conceivable, which can be formed from metal and / or plastic. The end regions of the two hollow profiles 3 forming the feet 2 are each provided with a protective cap 4, which can be made of plastic, for example.

The two hollow profiles 3 forming the feet 2 are connected to one another by means of a transverse tube 5, this tube protruding on one side beyond the two hollow profiles 3 and this area 6 being bent essentially at right angles such that it is perpendicular to those through the feet 2 level formed (standing area). On this area 6 of the tube 5, a further tube 7 is placed, which is connected to the area 6 of the tube 5 in such a way that its height can be adjusted, as will be described below. The opposite end of the further tube 7 is provided with bends 8, so that a grip area 9 is formed, which is provided with a handle 10, which can also be made of plastic.

A plate 11, which has a substantially rectangular shape and which serves as a tread surface 12, is placed on the hollow profiles 3. Here, the plate 11 is detachably connected to the two hollow profiles 3, as a result of which the height can be adjusted, as will be described below. The tread surface 12 is designed to be non-slip.

Such a walking aid 1 according to the invention can be used by people with walking difficulties, in particular for climbing stairs. This person holds this walking aid 1 on the handle 10 and places it immediately in front of the first step of a staircase. Then this person puts one foot on the tread 12, which is about half the height of the first step of the stairs. Then the person can put the other leg on the first step of the stairs. During this process, the person can hold onto the handle 10 of the walking aid 1 with one hand, while he can hold onto the banister, for example, with the other hand. Then the walking aid 1 is set to the first level, the process described above can be repeated. With this device, climbing stairs is made easier for people with reduced mobility, they do not have to climb the entire height of the stairs at once, but can climb one step in two steps, each about half the height. Conversely, the walking aid can be used when descending the stairs.

Instead of four feet 2, as shown in FIG. 2, the hollow profiles 3 can be bent such that they each form a runner 1, as shown in FIG. 3. May constructions instead of tubes and hollow profile con- the whole tread made of plastic, plastic or foam are ^made, what is essential is that in jedwelcher variant, the bearing ^surfaces (feet or runners) and the tread surfaces as far as possible are non-slip.

As can be seen from FIG. 1, it is advantageous if the walking aid 1 is designed such that the height h at which the tread surface 12 located above the stand area 16 can be adjusted so that this height h corresponds to approximately half the step height h of a staircase. For this purpose, the plate 1 1 is connected to the hollow profiles 3 by means of screws 17, it being possible for a set of intermediate pieces 18 to be inserted between the plate 11 and the hollow profile 3, which intermediate pieces 18 each have a length s. In this case, one set of intermediate pieces 18 with the length s can be replaced by another set of intermediate pieces 18 each with a different length s. Intermediate pieces can also be placed on top of each other. This allows the height h to be adjusted accordingly.

In Fig. 5 the attachment of the plate 1 1 to the corresponding hollow profile 3 by means of the screws 17 is shown in detail. In the example shown, the screw 17 is provided with a wing nut 19. Of course, other screws and / or nuts would also be conceivable.

In the embodiment according to FIG. 5, a non-slip covering 20 is attached to the plate 11. This non-slip covering 20 can, for example, be glued to the plate 11. As a result, the heads 21 of the screws 17 can also be covered. This non-slip covering 20 is formed, for example, from a plastic mat, the tread of which can be profiled.

The connection and the height adjustability between the further tube 7 and the area 6 of the tube 5 (FIG. 1) is shown in FIG. 6. The area 6 of the tube 5 and the further tube 7 are inserted into one another telescopically. In the further tube 7 there is a first row of through holes 21 which are evenly spaced from one another. In the tube 5, a bolt 22 is held on a spring plate 23, which in turn is fastened in the tube 5. The bolt 22 protrudes through an opening 24 of the tube 5 and extends through one of the holes 21 of the further tube 7. To adjust the height, the bolt 22 and thus the spring plate 23 can be pushed back until the corresponding hole 21 is released, where - After the further tube 7 can be moved with respect to the tube 5 until the bolt can penetrate into another hole 21. Another row of holes 24 is provided opposite the row formed by holes 21. As a result, the further pipe 7 can be rotated by 180 ° with respect to the pipe 5. As a result, the grip area 9 (FIG. 1) is rotated by 180 °, the person using the corresponding walking aid 1 can grip it with the other hand and insert it on the other side of the body.

With this walking aid, climbing stairs for people with reduced mobility can be made easier. It would also be conceivable for two walking aids to be used at the same time, the height of one walking aid corresponding to approximately one third of a step height of the stairs, while the other walking aid has a height which could correspond to approximately two thirds of the step height of the stairs. If these two walking aids are used at the same time, the person can climb a staircase in three steps.

Claims

claims

1. Walking aid, which consists of a structure with at least one handle (10) and at least three support points, which enables the walking aid (1) to stand independently on a standing surface (16), characterized in that the support points are provided by feet ( 2; 14) are formed, over which a tread surface (12) is arranged which runs essentially parallel to the standing surface (16) and which is at a distance (h) from the standing surface (16) which distance (h) is smaller than a height (H) of a step.

2. Walking aid according to claim 1, characterized in that four feet (2) are provided, which are formed by two curved hollow profiles (3) which are arranged next to one another, and that the feet (2) are each equipped with a protective cap (4) are.

3. Assistant according to claim 1, characterized in that the feet are formed by two curved hollow profiles (3) which each have the shape of a runner (14) which are arranged next to one another and which are provided with non-slip elements (15).

4. Assistant according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that a tube (5) is attached to the hollow profiles (3), which has a one-sided over the hollow profiles (3) projecting area (6) and this area (6) substantially is bent at a right angle so that it is essentially perpendicular to the tread surface (12) and that a grip area (9) with a handle (10) is attached to this area (6) of the tube (5).

5. Walking aid according to claim 4, characterized in that the grip area (9) with the handle (10) with respect to the tread surface (12) is laterally offset outwards.

6. Walking aid according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the grip area (9) with the handle (10) is formed from at least one further tube (7) which is telescopically placed on the area (6) of the tube (5) and is adjustable in height.

7. Assistant according to claim 1, characterized in that the lower part is made of a possibly hollow body, box or block of solid material which also represents the connection between the tread (12) and the feet (2).

8. Walking aid according to one of claims 4 to 7, characterized in that the grip area (9) with the handle (10) can be rotated about the longitudinal axis of the further tube (7) and can be locked in predetermined positions.

9. Walking aid according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the tread surface (12) is formed by a plate (11) which can be placed on the hollow profiles (3) and detachably connected to them.

10. walking aid according to claim 9, characterized in that between the plate (11) and the hollow profiles (3), a set of intermediate pieces (18) with the length (s) can be used, wherein a set of intermediate pieces (18) with the Length (s) is interchangeable with another set of intermediate pieces (18) which have a different length (s).

11. Walking aid according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that the tread surface (12) is formed by a non-slip covering (20) which is placed on the plate (11).