WO2007147985A1

WO2007147985A1 - Walking aid

Info

Publication number: WO2007147985A1
Application number: PCT/FR2007/051175
Authority: WO
Inventors: Francis Lethrosne
Original assignee: Francis Lethrosne
Priority date: 2006-06-19
Filing date: 2007-04-26
Publication date: 2007-12-27
Also published as: EP2029082A1; WO2007147985B1; MA30506B1; FR2902317A1

Abstract

Walking aid formed by a frame provided with wheels, comprising A- a gantry bearing on the ground by means of a support polygon (P) formed by at least three wheels (21, 22; 31, 32), B- a user suspension means comprising a harness (10) connected by a cable (11) to an upper point (PS) of the gantry above the user, projecting close to the centre of the support polygon (P), and a winch (12) for the cable (11), and C- a gripping bar (40) fastened to the gantry for the user.

Description

"Rollator" Field of the invention

The present invention relates to a walker consisting of a frame provided with wheels and more particularly, a walker for the rehabilitation of disabled persons or requiring rehabilitation. State of the art

A number of walkers are already known, especially for the elderly. These walkers are usually of two different types:

- A first type of walker that can be described as "static"; he leans on the ground with feet and offers support to the user's hands. This type of walker must be lifted from the ground at each step and rested forward in the direction of travel to provide support to the user. Walkers of this type make travel relatively laborious.

- A second type of walker is mounted on wheels or casters and also offers a mobile support to the hands of the user. These walkers are equipped with brakes allowing the user not to be carried away in case of declivity. These walkers offer only support for the user who must support himself with the strength of his arms. Purpose of the invention

The object of the invention is to develop a walker for the rehabilitation of persons temporarily disabled by relieving a part of the body weight. Description and advantages of the invention

The present invention relates to a walker comprising A- a gantry supported on the ground by means of a lift polygon formed by at least three wheels,

B- a user suspension means comprising a harness connected by a cable to a high point of the gantry above the user, projecting near the center of the support polygon and a winch for the cable,

C- a grab bar attached to the gantry.

The walker allows the user to move while being relieved of a portion of his weight, the gripping bar not serving then practically only to facilitate equilibrium and guide the disambiguator if necessary.

The suspension means can hold the user by relieving more or less of its own weight to facilitate walking without too much stress on the patient. Moreover, in case of sudden weakness, the patient is suspended by his harness by means of suspension and can not fall. Depending on the slack left by the suspension, the patient will only sag slightly and, in any case, the patient's center of gravity will always remain inside the support polygon, because of the structure of the portal and the provision of the point of recovery of the efforts of the suspension means on the gantry, that is to say the high point of the gantry on which the cable passes.

By the very fact of this structure, the patient can never fall or fall by its slight subsidence, the walker that supports it.

The walker having a gantry structure, it is easily accessible to install the patient or extract the walker. This walker also gives the patient the feeling of support allowing him to regain confidence for the performance of walking exercises without having the fear of an accident caused by a fall because, being supported, he can not fall.

Particularly advantageously, the rollator comprises two fixed front wheels, parallel, spaced at least the width of a person and at least one rear wheel steering, pivoting.

The user thus enjoys good stability and maneuverability.

The user being at the front near the fixed front wheels and partly engaged in the gap between the fixed front wheels, the rear wheel is a swiveling guide wheel. This rear wheel is in particular made in the form of a wheel. This wheel can also be split so as to transform the triangular lift polygon in the case of three wheels in a trapezium, whose long side is at the front between the two wheels and the short side at the back.

Particularly advantageously, the gantry consists of three substantially vertical uprights joined at the top by a frame, two uprights at the front and a rear, respectively associated- front wheels and rear wheels, the gripping bar connecting the two front uprights.

This structure of the gantry offers multiple advantages of visibility and clearance for the user who, placed just behind the two front uprights, is not bothered by the presence of the amounts. The unique rear pillar provides good clearance for accessing the volume of the gantry to install the patient or release the walker.

According to another advantageous characteristic, the gantry is formed of two curved tubes in arches whose front branches each form an amount carrying a non-steering wheel and the rear branches are brought together to form the rear upright carrying at least one rear steering wheel, the tubes bent being joined at the top by a cross member carrying a cable pulley. This embodiment has the advantage of being both simple and very effective. It is simple since the mechanically welded construction of the gantry is replaced by a gantry formed by the assembly of two bent tubes. This structure also offers the advantage of flexibility. Insofar as the gantry is designed to simply ride the user's shoulders, his head may protrude from the opening between the two arches, while being hooked to the harness at the high point substantially at the top of the two arches, where those -ci are connected by a spacer.

The two fixed front wheels do not interfere with the guiding maneuvers performed by the patient or an assistant pushing the walker. Indeed, the patient can make a very sharp turn or turn virtually on itself, one of the front wheels advancing and the other receding substantially around the center of rotation that constitutes the patient in a standing position, holding the bar of gripping.

The wheel or wheels constituting the rear wheels are free to pivot. They are automatically oriented according to the plot of the curve to go.

According to another advantageous characteristic, a retractable guide handle, fixed above the rear wheel. The guide handle allows an assistant to guide the walker and assist the patient. This guidance is all the more flexible as the weight of the overall walker / patient is reported mainly on the front wheels. If the walker is used without a helper, the retractable handle can align with the amount so as not to be an obstacle increasing congestion.

According to another advantageous characteristic, the seat is formed by a seat provided with two rails guided between groups of gates to slide between a lowered position and a high position, cleared above the backrest.

Thus, even in the retracted position, the seat is a support for the user.

According to another feature, the seat has two footrests connected to the rails of the seat by two parallelograms articulated to move from a lowered position to a retracted position under the seat.

This allows the user to sit on the seat with their feet resting on the footrests which allows the use of the walker as a wheelchair.

The installation of the seat is very simple if the rear pillar carries a folder housing guide rollers of the rails of the seat and receiving the end of these rails in the retracted position.

This assembly of the seat ensures a good fixation and a good postponement of the efforts of the seat towards the hoops without constituting a cumbersome solution when the seat is retracted.

According to another characteristic, a retractable seat is fixed to the gantry. The patient can sit down to rest without having to be detached from the cable so as to be always protected against a fall resulting from transient weakness, loss of consciousness or loss of balance.

In addition to the retractable seat, the rear pillar carries the guide handle and the winch so as to group these control means without these hindering neither the accessibility of the volume of the walker nor the visibility for the user.

For safety reasons, the wheels are equipped with brake.

Blocking the entire gantry also allows the user to recover his balance by having at his disposal a fixed support.

According to another advantageous feature, the rear pillar carries a vertical pivot provided with a fixed plate of two forks provided with the rear wheels. In this arrangement, the plate is connected to a rearwardly-guided guide bar and a brake bow according to the outline of the guide bar and the two ends of which are borne by a joint associated with each fork and extended by a pad coming over the wheel of each fork to brake it.

This brake realization is very simple. The brake is also easy to control. Such a brake acting by friction with a pad on the tread of the wheels concerned (either front wheels or twin rear wheels), is possible given the low speed of movement.

According to another advantageous characteristic, the lower end of the rear branches of the bent tubes is welded to a branch of a V-shaped part whose other horizontal leg carries the pivot of the rear wheel plate. This assembly is a very simple solution to complete and join the lower rear end of the tube-shaped arch.

According to another characteristic, the wheels are provided with protective shells enclosing the fork, brake and wheel assembly, leaving it visible as the tread of the wheel. The hulls surrounding the wheels ensure not only the dressing of the wheels but also protect the patient against any part in relief. The shells preferably have a rounded shape and extend continuously the arches at the front. At the rear, behind the seat, the hulls surrounding the wheels have the same advantages of forming smooth surfaces, which are not likely to cling to obstacles.

Advantageously, the structure of the front wheels and rear wheels is identical and it is the same for their hulls.

According to another advantageous characteristic, the upper cross-member carries the pulley by an adjustable fastening point in the longitudinal direction.

The adjustable fixing point in the upper part of the gantry makes it possible to advantageously adapt the hooking position to the corpulence of the user to ensure the best stabilization.

According to another advantageous characteristic, the cable is equipped with a system for measuring the shedding of the patient.

This allows accurate dosing, the effort to be provided by the patient. In addition, it is possible to resume a later session by directly using the appropriate shedding without having to waste time in trial and error.

According to another advantageous feature, the two uprights are joined by a retractable cross member forming the gripping bar connected to one of the uprights by a hinge and the other upright by a latch and this cross is doubled by an actuating bar A front brake also retractable and each end of which is connected to a downward rod along the upright to actuate the brake pad of the wheel associated with this amount.

This retraction of the crossbar and the brake bar makes it possible to clear the opening of the walker at the front to engage several walkers at rest, one inside the other and thus reduce their size in the storage position. drawings

The present invention will be described hereinafter in more detail using two embodiments of a walker, shown below in the accompanying drawings in which: - Figures 1 to 5 show the first embodiment: * Figure 1 is a view of ³ A before the walker,

* Figure 2 is a rear view of ³ A of the walker,

FIG. 3 is a side view of the walker,

* Figure 4 is a front view of the walker and

FIG. 5 is a view from above of the walker; FIGS. 6 to 13 show the second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a front perspective view of the walker,

FIG. 7 is a rear perspective view of the walker,

* Figure 8 is a side view of the walker,

FIG. 9A is a view of the mechanism of the retractable seat and the deployed footrests,

FIG. 9B is a view corresponding to FIG. 9A but with the footrests folded,

FIG. 10A shows the rear part of the rollator with the seat extended, FIG. 1 OB is a view similar to that of FIG. 10A but with the folded seat,

FIG. 10C is a side view of the unfolded seat according to FIG. 10A, * Figure 1 1 is a view of the rear wheels of the steering wheel and their assembly,

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the front part of the decampler, one of the wheels having its casing shell, the other without the shell,

* Figure 13 shows the grouping of several walkers in the waiting position.

Description of embodiments

The first embodiment of a walker will be described hereinafter with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.

According to Figures 1 and 2, the rollator is formed of a frame provided with wheels 21, 22; 31, 32 to receive a user U (patient) in a supported position, especially for rehabilitation exercises.

This walker consists of a gantry supported on the ground by two front wheels 21, 22 and one or two wheels or rear wheels 21, 32. These wheels define the support polygon P by which the gantry is supported on the ground .

The gantry is provided with a means of suspension constituted by a harness 10 which is passed around the body of the user U. This harness 10 is hooked to a cable 1 1 passing through a high point of the gantry, above the user U to be connected to a winch 12 to adjust the tension of the cable 1 1 and, if necessary, lift the user U under the detailed conditions later.

The front of the gantry is equipped with a gripping bar 40 which allows the user U to stand and / or guide the walker.

The suspension point PS of the cable 1 1 in the upper part of the gantry projects vertically inside the support polygon P and in particular near the center thereof. In fact, the front wheels 21, 22 are spaced a width, corresponding substantially to that of a wheelchair (or the width of a person) so that the user U is close to the front when it holds the bar 40 and the attachment point 13 of the cable 1 1 to the harness 10 is in its back and then projects close to the center of the support polygon P.

In more detail:

According to FIGS. 1 and 2, the gantry is constituted by two front uprights 51, 52 and a rear upright 53 joined together in part upper part by a substantially triangular frame 60. The lower end of the two front uprights 51, 52 ends with a fork 21 1, 221 each receiving a wheel 21, 22. These front wheels 21, 22 of relatively large dimensions to facilitate the passage of obstacles or irregularities of the ground, are parallel and non-orientable. The gripping bar 40 connects the two uprights 51, 52. It is fixed at an adjustable height depending on the size of the user U. This bar 40 constituting the front crossbar near the lower part of the gantry, also stabilizes it. ci by bringing together the two uprights 51, 52 so as to avoid any other connection or crosses at the wheels 21, 22 and leave room for the advancement of the feet.

The rear amount 53 of the gantry is constituted by a tube preferably terminated in the lower part by a frame 70 carrying a plate 531 receiving two wheels 31, 32 orientable. These rollers 31, 32 are free to pivot about a vertical axis.

Although it is possible to use a single caster at the back, it is nevertheless preferable to use two casters 31, 32 paired to have a greater support surface especially as the rear pillar 53 also carries a retractable seat 71 fixed to the frame at the base of the rear pillar of the gantry.

The frame 70 reaches the seat 71 so as to bring the articulation of the seat 71 and also to rely on the two rollers 31, 32 which widen at this location the support polygon P. This is all the more useful if the seat 71 is used because then the center of gravity is moved backwards, where the lift polygon P has its smallest width.

The width of the seat 71 retractable is substantially equal to the spacing of the two branches. The seat 71 is held in the retracted position by means of a not shown hook hinged to the rear upright 53 of the gantry. The seat can be covered with a foam material to provide a non-slip function and increase comfort.

When it is desired to install the user on the retractable seat 71, it suffices to release the cable 1 1 by means of the winch 12 while advancing slightly the gantry. The user whose feet are resting on the ground, automatically descends to the seat 71 to sit.

The post also projects rearwardly, the winch 12 of the suspension cable 1 1 and a guide handle 14 retractable. This guide handle 14 can be placed in a substantially horizontal position projecting rearward to allow an assistant to hold and guide the rollator by acting substantially vertically swivel casters 31, 32. The lateral opening of the walker , that is to say the free distance E between the rear edge of the front wheels 21, 22 and the front of the rear pillar 53 and accessories (retractable seat 71 in the raised position) allows the passage of a wheelchair in such a way as to be able to place a patient directly under the high point of attachment PS of the suspension means and to facilitate its installation in the walker.

The winch 12 is intended to lift and offload the user of part of its weight by exerting traction on the harness 10. The winch 12 comprises a locking device for adjusting the tension or the free length of the cable 1 1 The rollers 31, 32 rear are advantageously provided with a brake for blocking. These can be equipped with a braking device, actuated by the foot of the person who drives the walker and walks behind it. The front wheels 21, 22 are also equipped with a brake or two paired brakes which are controlled directly from the gripping bar 40. These brakes, their transmission and their control are not shown in the drawings. In FIGS. 1 and 2, the user U is shown very briefly surrounded by his harness 10, standing near the gripping bar 40. The side view of FIG. 3 shows the shape of the gantry and the position of the U standing user highlighting his position. This figure shows that the gantry is sized to exceed the head of a user U without however leaving too much space to prevent the attachment point 13 of the harness is too far from the point of attachment PS or return of the cable on the top of the gantry to avoid a pendulum movement, which could destabilize the walker; thus the projection of the center of gravity remains in the support polygon P with a sufficient margin of safety, compatible with the use of the walker. This figure also shows the position of the feet of the user upright in the interval of the two front wheels by emphasizing the position of the gripping bar 40, set back from the vertical passing through the fulcrum of the front wheels 21 , 22. Although the bust of the user U is leaning forward, the cable 1 1 being simply stretched, the center of gravity of the person will not exceed the vertical plane passing through the bearing points of the front wheels 21, 22.

Figure 3 also shows the gap E which remains between the rear of the front wheels 21, 22 and the rear post 53 of the gantry (this interval E does not take into account the lowered position of the retractable seat 71).

The front view of Figure 4 shows the position of the user standing in the space between the two front uprights 51, 52 and the front wheels 21, 22 of the gantry.

The space is used in a very functional manner because this geometry allows the user to walk, the front wheels 21, 22 being fixed and parallel without the size of the walker in the width direction being too important. ; on the contrary, it is reduced to the minimum possible to facilitate circulation.

In addition, the user U being upright, thus resting on the ground by his feet, his center of gravity is located in vertical projection between the projection of the high point of the passage of the cable and that of the center of gravity of the free person 1 Under these conditions, the center of gravity is very close to the front side of the support polygon P which is the largest side. This results in excellent lateral stability because even if the cable binds slack to allow the person to normally rest on the ground for the walking exercise, then, even in case of a false movement automatically resulting in a lowering from the point of attachment 13 of the harness 10 to the cable 1 1, the cable is stretched and the center of gravity is not likely to leave the support polygon P. This excellent stability also exists in the longitudinal direction, when the person is standing in walking position near the grab bar which is the normal use position of the walker for walking. When seated in the seat, the person's center of gravity is lowered so that, again, he will not exit the support polygon P even if the seated person is leaning to the side within the limits of movements authorized by the length. cable 1 1, soft, before it is stretched. In this way, the orientated rollers 31, 32, even closer transversely than the front wheels, are adapted to this lowering of the center of gravity. Moreover, when the person is seated on the seat 71 to rest, the The waiter is usually at a standstill and a seated person usually moves much less than a person walking.

Finally, the top view of FIG. 5 shows more particularly the support polygon P (trapezium) defined by the two bearing points of the two front wheels 21, 22 and the two bearing points of the rear directional rollers 31, 32. As the rear wheels 31, 32 are steerable while the front wheels 21, 22 are not, the shape of the lift polygon P hardly or only insignificantly changes when the rollers are pivoted 31, 32 and change from one to another. 'orientation. This figure also shows the cross 61 of the upper frame 60 of the gantry with the fixing point or guiding the cable connected to the harness. The guide point of the cable 1 1 both at the cross member 61 and backwards above the pulley is preferably constituted by a tube in which the cable 1 1 can slide in the manner of a cable Bowden.

The cable 1 1 for supporting the user U from the winch 12 passes through the top of the rear pillar 53 and then passes the cross member 61 to the hooking device 13 of the harness 10. The harness 10 is preferably a back-hanging harness. The attachment of the cable 1 1 to the harness 10 is made by means of a fastener type carabiner.

To facilitate the movement of the cable 1 1 and reduce the frictional forces and wear, the passage of the cable in the crossbar 61 is a bent metal tube whose radius of curvature is approximately 10 cm. This bent tube is preferably made of stainless steel. The ends of the tube are flared to avoid shearing the cable.

To allow a precise adjustment of the weight of the patient, it is expected to have a force sensor not shown on the cable l i near the winch 12. Such a sensor can precisely define the load shedding required. In addition, in the case where a gantry would be used for the rehabilitation of several patients, it is then possible to easily adjust the gantry with shedding specific to each patient.

In this embodiment, the amounts of the gantry 51, 52, 53 are interconnected at their upper end by means of a triangular frame 60. The assembly is done by means of intermediate parts 65, 66, 67 to which are screwed or soldered the different elements. According to a variant not shown, a synthetic foam bead is fixed by one of its ends near the middle of the gripping bar 40 and at its other end, at any point of the rear upright 53 to avoid, during the Rehabilitation exercise, crossing the legs of the user.

The walker can be made with assembled tubes welded or screwed. The structure of the gantry can also be made of plastic material reinforced with fibers. Parts of the rollator may be removable to reduce bulk for storage or transport.

The second embodiment of a walker will be described hereinafter with reference to FIGS. 6 to 13.

According to FIGS. 6 to 8, the walker consists of a gantry 160 whose frame is formed of two tubes 151, 152 curved in arches, resting on the ground via four wheels 121,

122; 131, 132, two front wheels 121, 122 non-steering and two rear wheels 131, 132 overall direction. It also comprises a means of suspension of the user, formed of a harness, not shown, connected by a cable 1 1 1 to a high point PS of the gantry above the shoulders. The cable 1 1 1 is preferably attached to a point of attachment of the harness in the back of the user.

At the front, the tubes 151, 152 curved in arches are connected by a crossbar 140 forming a gripping bar and, at the rear, the two tubes carry a retractable seat 171 and a winch 1 12 as well as guide means and braking. Braking means are also provided in the front part.

In more detail:

The gantry 160 is formed of two tubes 151, 152 bent into arches, practically in circular arcs. These two arches 151, 152 are arranged in vertical planes opening V-shaped towards the front (on the right according to Figure 6) and approaching the rear to be assembled and carry a pivot 135 provided with a platen 120 carrying the rear wheels 131, 132 generally direction, the plate 130 being equipped with a guide bar 1 14 and the seat 171. The seat 171 retracts backwards in the curvature of the arches while the two branches before

151a, 152a descend vertically and are connected by the cross member 140 forming the gripping bar. The wheels 121, 122; 131, 132 protected by a shell 123, 124; 133, 134 are oriented fixedly forward, for the front wheels 121, 122 and rearward, for the rear wheels 131, 132 so as not to encroach on the interior volume of the walker, by an obstacle to walking.

As the front wheels 121, 122 are not steered, it is not annoying that they are directed forward. The rear steering wheels 131, 132 are drawn wheels. In this embodiment, to simplify the construction, they are generally pivotable, that is to say integral in rotation of the plate 130 and pivotally with the platinum around its axis 135.

Above the retracted seat 171, the hoops carry a back 172 forming a cover housing the guide rails 173 of the seat 171 in the retracted position, which will be described in more detail below and the winch 1 12.

In the upper part, the two tubes 151, 152 in the form of arches are connected by a crosspiece 153 preferably split, connected by an intermediate beam 154 located in the median plane and which is hung pulley. The fixing point of the pulley is adjustable to enable this attachment point for suspension or assistance of the user to be advanced or retracted, so that, depending on the size of the latter, the The suspension point can be adjusted in the longitudinal direction.

At the front, the cross 140 is doubled by a brake handle 141, constituted by a horizontal branch, retractable as the cross 140 for reasons that will be seen later. The handle 141 is connected to two branches 142 which descend along the branches 151a, 152a of the tubes to join hinge points not shown here and continue beyond the hinge points by two pads each associated with the strip of wheel bearing. The actuation of the brake handle 141 by bringing it closer to the cross member 140, controls the tilting of the pads and the braking of the wheels.

This front brake available to the user is completed by a brake on the rear wheels, available to the attendant walking behind the walker.

It should be noted that the curve, practically in the form of an arc of the gantry 160 (FIG. 8), makes it possible to integrate into the concavity of the bending both the seat 171 whose seat is in the retracted position, the winch 1 12 and the guide bar 1 14 with the brake bar 1 15.

In more detail, according to FIGS. 9A, 9B, the seat 171 is formed by a seat 173 whose outline is sketched, carried by two rails 174 to which it is secured. These two rails 174, of curved shape in an arc of a circle of curvature similar to that of the rear branches 151b, 152b of the hoop-shaped tubes, constitute two tubular rails, passing between two double groups of grooved rollers 175, 176: a double group 175 of each time three rollers (two bottom rollers and a top roller), installed on a plate 177 to which is connected the end 151c, 152c of each of the branches 151b, 152b of the hoops rear side. The second double group of three rollers, is located in the rising portion of the arch to form a bearing for the tubular rails 174 carrying the seat. At the front, the tubular rails 174 each carry an articulated link 178 in the form of a parallelogram, split, each terminated by a footrest 179.

The articulated links 178 in the form of deformable parallelograms are constituted by a split branch 178a located on either side of the footrest 180 to which they are connected by a hinge and a median branch 178b rear, regulating the movement of the footstool 179 remaining parallel to itself to come, either in the deployed position as that shown in Figure 9A or in the folded position under the seat 173 of the seat, next to the two guide rails 174. The seat 173 is shaped part, hollow, overlapping the rails 174 and the footrests 180 with their articulated parallelograms 178 as shown in Figure 9B.

FIGS. 9A, 9B also show the attachment of the lower rear end 151c, 152c of the two tubes 151, 152 in the form of an arch. These ends are each fixed to the piece 177 V-shaped, lying, a split branch 177a is inclined to receive the end 151c, 152c cut at the square of the tube 151, 152 and the other branch 177b is horizontal . This other horizontal branch 177b, common to the two V-shaped parts, carries the pivot 135, for example a pivot formed of a bearing ring, the other part located below is integral with the plate 130 carrying the two wheels 131 , 134.

The guide bar 1 14 is fixed to two blades 1 15 extending the plate 130 rearward, at the wheels 131, 132. The roll bar 1 16 placed inside the guide bar 1 14 consists of a round part, located in the contour of the guide bar and hinged at the front end, has two branches back 1 17, fixed to a pivot 1 18 carried by the fork 1 19 of the wheel as will be seen next (Figure 12).

Figures 10A, 10B show the seat 171 in the deployed position and in the folded position, the undeployed footrests not appearing.

The seat 173 forming the seat continues to the rear by a box 173a capping the rails 174 and this box of the seat is housed in the folder 172.

The side view of FIG. 10C shows the arrangement of the various pieces explained above and, in particular, the disposition of the seat 171 in the extended position, prolonging the curved shape of the two arches 151, 152 and the roll bar. guide 1 14 and the brake roll 1 16.

Figure 11 shows the detail of a rear wheel 132 whose shell has been removed.

The wheel 132 is carried by a fork 1 19 turned towards the rear. The top of the fork 1 19 is connected by a tube 120 below the plate 130 carrying the forks 1 19 of the two wheels 131, 132.

This figure also shows the hinge 1 18 of the brake bar 1 16 in the upper part of the fork 1 18 and the brake pad 140 extending the back leg 17 to the rear, inside the fork 1 19, to come above the tread of the wheel 132.

This figure also has the advantage of showing the particular shape of the brake bar 1 16of which the two branches pass between the two lugs 1 15 carrying the ends of the guide bar 1 14 connected to the plate 130, to go down and join the U-shaped part whose two branches 1 17 are connected at each fork 19 to the joint 1 18.

The sleeves 120 connecting the forks 1 19 to the plate 130 contain the compensating spring of the braking device. Figure 12 shows the front portion of the rollator at two wheels 121, 122. Again, one of the wheels is not caped by its shell and reveals its structure. This is identical to that of the rear wheels except that the control of the brake pad 145 is done by the return rod 142 presented above, which runs along the straight vertical part before 151b, 152b of each tube of the gantry.

This figure shows the compensating spring of the braking device housed in the tubular portion 120 of the rear wheels. In this example, the front wheels 121, 122 are fixed and non-directional.

Finally, this figure (like Figure 1 1 and some other previous figures) reveals the shell 124 covering the fork 1 19 and substantially the entire wheel 122 to let only the tread.

According to FIG. 13, the rollators can be arranged nested within each other thanks to the V-shaped arrangement of the hoops forming the gantry and the retraction of the gripping bar 140 and the brake control bar 141. The bar gripper 140 is carried by two uprights 151a of the hoop 152 by a pivoting sleeve 146 and engages in a fixed sleeve 147 carried by the other upright 152a of the hoop 152.

Figure 13 shows the bar 140 pivoted on the side to allow the nesting of the walkers. The brake control bar 142 is also pivotally mounted at the end of the connecting rod 142 associated with this side of the rollator and the bar 141 engages in the use position, when the gripping bar 140 is put into position. place in the other sleeve 147, also on the end of the brake control rod 142 of the other end 121.

Claims

R E V E N D I C A T IO N S

1) Rollator consisting of a frame provided with wheels, characterized in that it comprises A- a gantry supported on the ground by means of a levitation polygon (P) formed by at least three wheels ( 21, 22; 31, 32), B- a user suspension means comprising a harness (10) connected by a cable (1 1) to a high point (PS) of the gantry above the user, projecting near the center of the support polygon (P) and a winch (12) for the cable (1 1),

C- a gripping bar (40) fixed to the gantry for the user.

2) A walker according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises two front wheels (21, 22) fixed, parallel, spaced at least the width of a person and at least one rear wheel (31, 32) , swivel.

3) A walker according to claim 1, characterized in that the gantry consists of three uprights (51, 52, 53) substantially vertical joined at the top by a frame (60), two amounts at the front (51, 52 ) and a post (53) respectively associated with the front wheels (21, 22) and the rear wheels (31, 32), the gripping bar (40) connecting the two front pillar (51, 52).

4) A walker according to claim 1, characterized in that the gantry (160) is formed of two tubes (151, 152) curved in arches whose front legs (151a, 151b) each form an amount carrying a wheel (121, 122) and the rear branches are brought together to form the rear pillar carrying at least one rear wheel (131, 132) director, the bent tubes (151, 152) being joined at the top by a cross member (153) carrying a pulley of cable.

5 °) Rollator according to claim 2, characterized in that the rear wheel (31, 32) is a roulette wheel.

6 °) walker according to claim 1, characterized by a retractable guide handle (14) attached to the rear of the gantry.

7 °) walker according to claim 1, characterized by a retractable seat (71) attached to the rear gantry.

8 °) walker according to claim 7, characterized in that the seat is formed by a seat (171) provided with two rails (174) guided between groups of rollers (175, 176) for sliding between a lowered position and a position high, unobstructed above the backrest (172).

9 °) walker according to claim 7, characterized in that the seat (171) carries two footrests (179) connected to the seat rails by two parallelograms articulated (178a, 178b) to move from a lowered position to a position retracted under the seat.

10 °) walker according to claims 3, 5 and 6, characterized in that the rear pillar (53) carries the retractable seat (71), the handle (14) and the winch (12).

1 1) Roller according to claim 1, characterized in that the wheels are provided with brake and the brakes of the front wheels (21, 22) are controlled from the gripping bar (40).

12 °) walker according to claim 1, characterized in that the cable (1 1) is equipped with a system for measuring the shedding of the patient.

13 °) Rollator according to claim 1, characterized in that the rear pillar carries a backrest (172) housing rollers (175, 176) for guiding the rails of the seat (171) and receiving the end of these rails (175, 176) in the retracted position.

14 °) walker according to claim 1, characterized in that the rear pillar carries a vertical pivot (135) provided with a plate (130) integral with two forks (1 19) provided with the rear wheels (131, 132).

15 °) walker according to claim 14, characterized in that the plate (130) is connected to a guide bar (1 14) rising towards the rear and a brake hoop (1 16) following the outline of the hoop guide (14) and whose two ends are carried by a joint associated with each fork and extended by a pad (145) coming above the wheel (131, 132) of each fork (1 19). to stop it.

16 °) walker according to claim 4, characterized in that the lower end of the rear branches of the bent tubes is welded to a branch (177a) of a V-shaped piece (177) lying, the other horizontal leg (177b). carries the pivot (135) of the plate (130) of the rear wheels (1 1 132).

17 °) walker according to claim 1, characterized in that the wheels (1 1, 122; 131, 132) are provided with protective shells (123, 124; 133, 134) enveloping the fork, brake and wheel assembly, leaving it visible as the tread of the wheel (121, 122; 131, 132).

18 °) walker according to claim 4, characterized in that the upper cross member (153) carries the pulley by a fixing point adjustable in the longitudinal direction.

19 °) Rollator according to claim 4, characterized in that the two uprights (151, 12) are joined by a retractable cross member (140) forming the gripping bar connected to one of the uprights by a hinge and to the other upright by a latch and this cross member (140). ) is doubled by a front brake actuating bar (141, 142) also retractable and each end of which is connected to a rod (142) descending along the upright (151a, 152a) for actuating the brake pad (45) of the wheel (121, 122) associated with this amount.