DE202021002329U1 - Walking aid for injured legs with lockable suspension - Google Patents

Abstract

Walking aid for injured legs, characterized in that a compression spring in a tube attached to the leg acts on a rubber foot protruding from the bottom via a telescopically extendable but lockable plunger.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Injuries to the legs and especially the knee joint often heal poorly because patients are often forced to make movements in everyday life that are painful but can hardly be avoided.
This applies, for example, to climbing stairs, when the placing of a foot with the weight shift on it can only be incompletely compensated for by supporting it on a handrail or a walking aid.

STATE OF THE ART

Walking aids for leg injuries have been known since antiquity, be it simple sticks with a handle, crutches supported under the armpits, to walking carts similar to current walkers.

In a study by the Santa Clara University [1], all possible historical and current walking aids were compared and evaluated and there was general criticism that they restricted the use of the injured person's hands and thereby cause further risk of accidents, because they are not on handles or fixed objects in the vicinity could hold on.

On the other hand, leg orthoses widely used in the USA were evaluated that normally do not use the hands: "i Walk", KneeWalker and the "Freedom Leg" from the provider "Forward Mobility".

In view of their shortcomings, the development of their own orthosis was then presented as a “hands-free wearable crutch”.

• Gefederte Beine von Beinorthesen geben keine erkennbare Rückmeldung des Widerstandes der Bodenfläche, auf der sie aufsetzen und die Einstellung der Beinhöhe bzw. Anpassung gegenüber dem unverletzten Bein (die z.B. beim Begehen von Treppenstufen wichtig wäre) ist meist umständlich und nur bei abgenommener Orthese oder durch eine Hilfsperson möglich.

However, this development is also unlikely to have overcome major shortcomings in such walking aids - as set up by myself:

• Spring-loaded legs of leg orthoses do not give any recognizable feedback of the resistance of the floor surface on which they are touching and the adjustment of the leg height or adjustment to the uninjured leg (which would be important, for example, when walking on stairs) is usually cumbersome and only when the orthosis is removed or by one Auxiliary person possible.

US9408443B2 describes a crutch for assisting a user in walking with a leg platform configured to take pressure off the lower part of the leg and the foot. This is done by bending the knee in a horizontal position. The height is adjusted before the crutch is donned or by another person in the donned state.

US6494919B1 describes a similar crutch, here an adjustment of the height is not provided.

In the US6494919B1 The legrest listed includes a frame and a bracket connected to a lower end of the frame to come into contact with a floor surface during use. The leg support further includes a first attachment assembly connected to an upper end of the frame and configured to removably attach the frame to a first portion of a user's leg and a second attachment assembly connected to a lower end of the frame and configured to removably attach the frame to a second portion of a user's leg. Here, too, the height is adjusted before donning or by another person in the donned state.

WO 2018/002733 A1 Figure 10 shows a leg brace that attaches the lower extremity of a leg to a splint and isolates it from the upper extremity. The leg brace includes a thigh cuff and a lower leg cuff. Two struts are attached to opposite sides of the cuffs and extend down the limb. Here, too, the leg splint must be adjusted before it is put on or by a third party.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore the object of the present invention to create a leg orthosis that causes the foot to be placed on the ground in a gradually adjustable spring and cushioned manner, so that on the one hand there are no jerky loads on the ankle, knee or hip, but on the other hand good control of the placing on the ground and adjustment of the leg length by the user himself.

SOLUTION

The solution consists of a walking aid in which a tube with a mechanical or hydraulic compression spring is attached to the patient's lower and / or thigh.

This is done with lashing straps or Velcro straps that wrap around the leg.

The upper part of the tube ends in a grip for additional hand support, while the lower part has a rubber foot which is guided through a telescopic extension in the tube and is sprung by the compression spring. The pull-out is to be locked by turning the handle, the damping is controlled by an adjustment device changed This can also be used to compensate for different leg lengths.

The compression spring and rubber foot cushion the leg when it hits the ground in order to avoid shock loads.

Figure list

• 1 shows a walking aid attached to one leg ( 1 ). Through the upper straps ( 2a , 2 B , 2c ) the walking aid is placed on the thigh ( 3 ) and through the lower straps ( 8a , 8b ) on the lower leg ( 9 ) fixed. The rail ( 4th ) ensures the stabilization of the impaired leg. The rubber foot ( 5 ) below the foot serves as a step on the affected leg. The compression suspension ( 6a ) and the height adjustment ( 7a ) above the rubber foot enable the functions described in the solution.

The setting of the compression spring ( 6a ) takes place via a rotary handle ( 6b ), as well as another twist grip ( 7b ) the adjustment of the height adjustment ( 7a ).

QUOTES INCLUDED IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of the documents listed by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions.

Patent literature cited

• US 9408443 B2 [0007]
• US 6494919 B1 [0008, 0009]
• WO 2018/002733 A1 [0010]

Claims (6)

Walking aid for injured legs, characterized in that a compression spring in a tube attached to the leg acts on a rubber foot protruding from the bottom via a telescopically extendable but lockable plunger. Walking aid after Claim 1 , characterized in that said tube with cushioning elements is attached to the leg by lashing straps or Velcro straps. Walking aid after Claim 1 and 2 , characterized in that the tube has a handle at its upper end for support. Walking aid after Claim 3 , characterized in that the handle is rotatable and thus a stepless limitation and damping of the spring movement up to locking can take place. Walking aid after Claim 4 , characterized in that the damping and locking of the spring movement when using spiral compression springs takes place by narrowing the movement space with a threaded spindle on a cone in the pipe. Walking aid after Claim 4 , characterized in that the damping and locking of the spring movement when using hydraulic or pneumatic springs takes place by adjusting the associated valves.

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