Land vehicles – Wheeled – Stable vehicles – handle-propelled
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-11
2002-04-09
Dickson, Paul N. (Department: 3618)
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Stable vehicles, handle-propelled
C280S087050, C280S047110
Reexamination Certificate
active
06367823
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a walker to be used by the aged, and also relates to a baby walker. In particular, it relates to a structure that is foldable in two directions (i.e., the front/rear direction and the width direction), to a folding structure of a push rod section of the walker, and to an immobilizing mechanism which enables a user to easily manually halt the walker.
Recently, walkers of various types have been widely used as walking aids by aged persons who have weakened legs and limbs, replacing walking sticks or canes.
Thus, many kinds of walkers have been developed. For example, there are walkers with a seat portion so that the user may sit down on the seat portion anywhere at which the user becomes tired, and walkers with a storage space for storing goods after shopping. Many walkers also have a brake device for reducing the moving speed of the walker when, for example, going down a slope, and an immobilizing mechanism for inhibiting the movement of the walker.
It is desirable for the aged that the walker be capable of being stored in as small a space as possible, similar to a conventional baby cart. However, although the conventional walkers can be folded in the front-to-rear direction, many walker can not be folded in the widthwise (i.e., left-to-right) direction because of the comparatively large weight of the aged in comparison with the weight of a baby. As a result, a heavier structure is required to withstand weight of at least about 100 Kg. Furthermore, the requirement that the cart be foldable not only in the front-and-rear direction but also in the widthwise direction creates an undesirably complex mechanical construction and a heavy weight thereof.
The applicants of this application have filed a Japanese patent application relating to a handcart on Oct. 14, 1997, (Japanese Patent Application No. 9-280253).
According to the Japanese patent application, the handcart
15
is constructed, as shown in
FIGS. 29
to
33
, of a right and left pair of legs
1
and rear legs
2
. A push rod
3
with an approximately U-letter shape has side portions which are mounted on the front legs, and the upper end portions of the push rod
3
are connected with each other. A right and left pair of seat rods
4
each have one end pivoted on a respective rear leg
2
and an intermediate portion pivoted on a respective front leg
1
. A front connecting member
6
is composed of a pair of rigid members each including an outer end portion pivoted on the front leg, and each including an inner end portion rotatably supported around a pivot means
5
. A rear leg connecting member
8
is composed of a pair of rigid members connecting the rear legs, and each of the pair include an outer end portion pivoted on the rear leg and an inner end portion rotatably supported around a pivot means
7
. A pair of open/close rods
10
(
FIG. 31
) are arranged to have an approximately X-letter shape, and a lower end portion of each rod
10
is pivoted on one of the rear legs
2
and while upper end portion of each rod
10
is pivoted on the other rear leg
2
and the intermediate portions of each rod
10
is rotatably supported by a pivot means
9
. A pair of operation rods
12
each have an outer end portion pivoted above the pivot means
9
on the open/close rods
10
, and each have an inner end portion rotatably supported around a pivot means
11
. A flexible connecting member
13
connects the pivot means
11
(which allows the inner end portion of each of the pair of operation rods
12
to pivot) and the pivot means
7
(which pivots on the inner end portion of the rear leg connecting member
8
). Traction rods
14
each have lower end portions pivoted at a position adjacent to the pivot means
5
(rather than the center position) of each rigid member of the front leg connecting member
6
, and each have upper end portions pivoted on one of the seat rods
4
at a position between two pivot means. Sliders
16
are provided for sliding the upper end portion of each rear leg with respect to each front leg when the walker is folded. (FIG.
30
).
Furthermore, as shown in
FIGS. 32 and 33
, the push rod
3
is composed of a right and left pair of outer rods
17
, a pair of inner rods
18
for sliding within the outer rods
17
, a pair of rotation members
19
rotatable in the circular direction with respect to the upper end portion of each of the inner rods
18
, a pair of handle portions
21
each having a lower end portion fixed on one of the rotation members
19
through a pin
20
. Thus, the push rod
3
can be extended upwardly and then curved by about 90 degrees to form a pair of right-angle elbows. A connecting rod
22
extends upwardly from the upper horizontal portions of handle portion
21
to connect the horizontal portions. Moreover, the upper portion of each inner rod
18
is received in a respective rotation member
19
, and the lower portion thereof is rotatably received in a respective outer rod
17
. A plurality of holes
23
are provided on each outer rod
17
and each inner rod
18
with a constant gap. Thus, a vertical adjustment of the position of the handle portion
21
can be accomplished by inserting the pin into one of the holes
23
.
Moreover, grooves
24
are formed on the rotation member
19
, and the projected portion
25
mounted on the upper end portion of each inner end portion
18
is fitted in the groove
24
. Thus, the rotation of the handle portions
21
around the inner rods
18
within a range of about 90 degrees can be achieved.
The hold member
26
for holding the inner end portion of each of the pair of operation rods
12
is moved upwardly. Furthermore, the pivot means
7
of the rear leg connecting members
8
,
8
is moved upwardly through the connection member
13
. As shown in
FIG. 33
the horizontal portion of the pair of handle portions
21
is moved rearwardly by pulling the connection rod
22
rearwardly, and then the projected portion
25
moves in the groove
24
of each rotation member
19
outwardly from the position as shown in FIG.
32
. By this, the walker
15
is compressed in the widthwise direction by the open/close rod
10
and simultaneously compressed in the front-to-rear direction by the front leg connecting members
6
,
6
and the traction rods
14
,
14
. Thus, a position of being folded in the front-to-rear direction and the right-to-left direction is achieved.
By pushing the connection rod
22
forward, the horizontal portions of the pair of handle portions
21
are aligned on a straight line at the horizontal position, and the walker is expanded in the widthwise direction by expanding the open/close rod
10
to form an X-letter shaped formation. Furthermore, the walker is also expanded in the front-to-rear direction by the front leg connecting members
6
,
6
and the traction rods
14
,
14
to achieve the expanded position as shown in
FIGS. 29 and 31
.
By this construction, there is presented a novel walker capable of supporting an adult in a stable manner, and also capable of being freely foldable in the front-to-rear direction and also the right-to-left direction safely and surely.
The connecting rod
22
is composed of two links A, B having recess portions as shown in
FIG. 34
, (JPA-1-297372). One end of each of the links A and B is connected to one of the handle portions through pins
27
a,
27
b,
and the other end is connected to the other handle portion through the pins
28
a,
28
b
sliding within the longitudinal slits mounted thereon. By operating the knob
29
contacting with the recess portion, two links A and B move thereby so as to enable the handle portion
21
to move from the straight state (
FIG. 34A
) to the folded state (FIG.
34
B).
Moreover, a brake device, in which braking plates are depressed on the right and left rear wheels so as to brake the rear wheels, is generally known in the art. The brake plate is operated by a mechanism that is similar to the brake mechanism used in bicycles. Moreover, an immobilizing device having a push rod inserted from a side portion int
Dickson Paul N.
Fischmann Bryan
Satsuki Co., Ltd.
Wenderoth , Lind & Ponack, L.L.P.
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