Patent Application
20130161135
The present invention relates to an apparatus for a brake of a walking support machine as an aid which disabled patients or elderly people and the like use when walking, and more particularly to an apparatus for a brake of a walking support machine which can prevent a negligent accident due to acceleration on a downhill road and can safely protect a user on an uphill road.
In general, a walking support machine has been well known as an aid which patients or weak and elderly people and disabled persons and the like use when walking. The walking support machine is used for supporting and moving a body when walking with a light step or moving to other places.
The prior walking support machine has various shapes but generally includes a body having a frame which is formed by bending a pipe; a grip part which is formed at both sides of an upper part of the body and is caught, pushed or pulled by hands to be moved; and front and rear wheels which are formed at front and rear parts of a lower end of the body.
However, the prior walking support machine lacks a brake function. The disabled patients or the weak and elderly person do not discover any structural problem from the prior walking support machine on a flat road. However, as the disabled patients or the weak and elderly person use the prior walking support machine without a brake when walking on the downhill road, the disabled patients or the weak and elderly person are involved in the negligent accident by a sudden state or an increase of speed due to the weight applied to the walking support machine.
In addition, as described above, as the prior walking support machine lacks the brake function, the prior walking support machine causes the negligent accident and cannot protect the safety of the user by permitting the walking support machine to move downwardly along an inclined road when the disabled patients or the weak and elderly person walk on the uphill road having a predetermined slope.
One object of the prevent invention is to provide an apparatus for a brake of a walking support machine which can prevent a negligent accident due to acceleration on a downhill road and can safely protect a user on an uphill road by using a brake function when walking, so as to solve the prior defects problem.
To accomplish the object, the present invention includes: a body formed with a frame, a grip part formed at both sides of an upper part of the body; and wheels formed at front and rear parts of a lower end of the body. A connective tube is formed at an upper part of a bracket for rotatably supporting the wheels. A lower part of the body is movably inserted into an inside diameter of the connective tube. A brake pin is installed at the lower part of the body so as to be in contact with the wheels in a descending state thereof. The brake pin is moved in the lower part and is in contact with the wheels to perform a braking operation by catching the grip part and pushing the body to a lower part.
According to an apparatus for a brake of a walking support machine of the present invention, when the user catches a grip part of the walking support machine and pushes the body to the lower part in the walking state, the brake pin is in contact with the wheels to perform the braking operation. Thus, the present invention can structurally prevent the negligent accident due to the acceleration on the downhill road and can safely protect the user on the uphill road by preventing the backward movement on the uphill road.
The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principle of the invention. In the drawings:
a to 3b illustrate a brake system of the present invention;
a and 2b are sectional views showing operational states of an “A” part in
a and 3b are sectional views showing operational states of a “B” part in
Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
As illustrated in
Here, the body 10 is used as a main frame corresponding to a basic frame of the walking support machine. The body 10, as shown in
The grip part 20 is installed at both sides of an upper part of the body 10. The grip part 20 plays a role of catching, pushing, and pulling the walking support machine with hands to operate the walking support machine. That is, a user catches the grip part 20 with the hands and walks in pushing and pulling the walking support machine.
The front and rear wheels 30 are installed at the front and rear sides of the lower end of the body 10. The front and rear wheels 30 play a role of smoothly moving the walking support machine when the user walks.
The bracket 40 supports rotatably the front and rear wheels 30. The connective tube 41 is formed at an upper part of the bracket 40. The lower part of the front and rear sides of the both sides of the body 10 is vertically and movably inserted into the inside diameter of the connective tube 41. At this time, the pin hole 42 through which the brake pin 50 passes is formed at the center of the lower part of the connective tube 41.
The brake pin 50 is installed at the lower part of the front and rear sides of both sides of the body 10 to receive the elastic power of the spring 60. The brake pin 50, as shown in
A supporting projection 51 which is in contact with a lower end of the body 10 is formed at an upper part of the brake pin 50. A fixing bar 52 which is inserted into the inside of the body 10 by the pressure is formed at an upper part of the supporting projection 51. At this time, the supporting projection 51 plays a role of preventing the insertion of the brake pin 50 into the body 10. The fixing bar 52 plays a role fixing the brake pin 50 to the body 10.
Meanwhile, as shown in
The spring 60 applies the elastic force to the brake pin 50. The spring 60 is inserted into the brake pin 50 and is arranged between the supporting projection 51 and the pin hole 42. Accordingly, as shown in
The snap ring 70 is inserted through pin hole 42 into the brake pin 50 projected to the lower part. The snap ring 70 plays a role of preventing the ejection of the body 10 from the connective tube 41.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, as shown in
As described above, the walking support machine of the present invention is used as an aid like before when the patients or the weak and elderly people and the disabled persons walk.
However, the present invention, as shown in
According to the apparatus for the brake of the walking support machine according to the present invention, when the user catches the grip part 20 of both sides with the hands and does not push the grip part 20 to the lower part, the braking power is not transmitted to the wheel 30, as shown in
In addition, according to the apparatus for the brake of the walking support machine according to the present invention, as described above, as the user pushes the grip part 20 to the lower part to perform the braking operation, the backward movement is prevented and the slow movement is possible on the uphill road and the user can be safely protected thereby.
The foregoing embodiments and advantages are merely exemplary and are not to be construed as limiting the present invention. The present teaching can be readily applied to other types of apparatuses. The description of the foregoing embodiments is intended to be illustrative, and not to limit the scope of the claims. Many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. In the claims, means-plus-function clauses are intended to cover the structures described herein as performing the recited function and not only structural equivalents but also equivalent structures.
While this invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
