Patent Application
20110238131
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic walking aid, and more particularly to a leg electric shock switch of an electronic walking aid that provides a cost-effective application that can be promoted extensively.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electronic walking aid is generally used for assisting, rehabilitating or treating a foot drop patient. The main cause of a foot drop is a problem (such as a strike) occurred at the patient's brain or nerves, such that neural signals cannot be transmitted to positions of related muscles of the patient's leg, and thus the patient's foot cannot be lifted normally and the patient has mobility difficulties. Wearing the electronic walking aid can assist a foot-drop patient to walk stably and achieve the effects of reducing the risk of being stumbled while walking, releasing the level of convulsion of thigh and upper leg muscles (quadriceps), increasing the movement range of ankles, and improving a patient's postures, or even providing a function of curing the patient completely. With reference to
During use, if the normal leg 102 of the patient 100 touches and presses the upper insulating plate 91, and the curved portion of the upper conducting plate 94 is pressed and deformed to touch the lower conducting plate 95 to form an electric connection, and a power source is electrically conducted, such that the main system 80 generates a weak current to the electrode pad 81, and a shank muscle of the foot-drop leg 101 is contracted to lift up the leg 101.
Although the foregoing conventional electronic walking aid can achieve the effect of stimulating muscles by electric currents to produce limb movements, the structural design still has the following drawbacks. Since the plurality of press switches 93 are very small, and their operation is achieved by pressing and deforming the curved portion of the upper conducting plate 94 to touch the lower conducting plate 95, therefore the pressure-resisting and elastically deforming capabilities of the upper conducting plate 94 become the key points of the design of the press switches 93, and the press switches 93 must be made of a noble metal with a high strength for resisting pressure and deformation. As a result, the press switches 93 incur a high cost and thus cannot be used extensively as a low-cost consuming material. Obviously, the design of the conventional press switches 92 is not good enough. Since the press switches 93 have a small size, the installation of the press switches 93 and the serial connection of the conductive wire 96 will be very complicated, and thus incurring a higher manufacturing cost. Therefore, it is an important subject for related manufacturers to improve the structure of the conventional electronic walking aid.
In view of the shortcomings of the prior art, the inventor of the present invention based on years of experience in the related industry to conduct extensive researches and experiments, and finally developed an easy-to-install, stable and cost-effective electronic walking aid switch in accordance with the present invention, in hope of serving the general public and promoting the development of the related industry.
Therefore, it is a primary objective of the present invention to provide a leg electric shock switch of an electronic walking aid that provides a simple and easy way of manufacturing a stable and secured product and achieves the effects of lowering the manufacturing cost, promoting an extensive application, and enhancing the competitiveness of the product.
To achieve the foregoing objective, the present invention discloses a leg electric shock switch of an electronic walking aid comprising:
an upper insulating plate, having a restoring resilience;
an upper electrode plate, installed below the upper insulating plate;
a lower insulating plate;
a lower electrode plate, installed above the lower insulating plate;
an isolating element, being a plate made of an insulating material, and coupled between the upper electrode plate and the lower electrode plate, and including a plurality of through holes;
thereby, if the upper insulating plate is touched and pressed, the upper electrode plate will produce a deformation, and the upper electrode plate will be passed through the through hole and electrically contacted and connected to the lower electrode plate.
The technical characteristics and effects of the present invention will become apparent with the detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the illustration of the related drawings.
With reference to
With reference to
In summation of the description above, the leg electric shock switch of an electronic walking aid of the present invention adopts the large upper and lower electrode plates 12, 22 for the pressing, contact, and electric connection, so that the invention does not require the strict condition of the conventional small switch having a powerful strength to resist pressure, and a general metal material can be used to achieve the desired effect. The present invention not just provides a durable product only, but also improves the cost-effectiveness. In addition, the present invention has a simple, easy and practical design, not just providing high reliability to prolong the lifespan of the product, but also providing an easy manufacturing procedure to lower the cost of the product. In addition, the product can be made of a low-cost material and used extensively, such that the product competitiveness can be enhanced significantly.
The present invention improves over the prior art and complies with patent application requirements, and thus is duly filed for the patent application. While the invention has been described by device of specific embodiments, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those generally skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention set forth in the claims.
