Ambulatory aid
AssigneeAligned As Designed, LLC
InventorLinda Smith Swerdlow
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An ambulatory aid, such as a crutch, including a pair of support members connected by a load bearing handle member, and terminating at a first end with a top axilla-conforming member, and a second end with a foot piece. The crutch is used as a straight arm crutch, in which a user's weight is distributed in the hand to keep the arm straight, while preventing any load on the shoulder girdles. The crutches are configured to fit close to the body, to centralize the base of support, and keep the center of gravity lower, thereby keeping the body aligned as designed, and keeping the pectoral and pelvic girdles aligned. Proper body alignment during use results in greater stability and equilibrium of the user compared to traditional “tri-pod” creating crutches.
Claims21
An ambulatory aid comprising:
- a pair of elongate support members, each support member having an arcuate shape;
- a non-load bearing top member extending over a top portion of each support member and extending between the support members to couple the support members, the top member consisting of a non-load bearing flexible material configured to conform to a user's axilla while preventing any load on the user's shoulder girdles, wherein the flexible material includes a central portion flanked on each side by a peripheral portion, wherein the central portion is arcuate and extends between the support members, the central portion having a variable width along its length, and wherein each peripheral portion extends beyond the support members;
- a load bearing handle having a first end coupled to an anterior positioned support member of the support members, and a second end coupled to a posterior positioned support member of the support members, the handle extending between the support members, wherein a top surface of the handle maintains a continuous curve upward toward the anterior positioned support member of the support members;
- and
- a foot piece operably coupled to a bottom portion of the support members,
- wherein the ambulatory aid is configured so that a user's weight is concentrated in the arms and hands during locomotion.
An ambulatory aid comprising:
- a pair of elongate support members, each support member having an arcuate shape;
- a non-load bearing top member extending over a top portion of each support member and extending between the support members to couple the support members, the top member consisting of a non-load bearing flexible material configured to conform to a user's axilla while preventing any load on the user's shoulder girdles, wherein the flexible material includes a central portion flanked on each side by a peripheral portion, wherein the central portion is arcuate and extends between the support members, the central portion having a variable width along its length, and wherein each peripheral portion extends beyond the support members;
- a load bearing handle having a first end coupled to an anterior positioned support member of the support members, and a second end coupled to a posterior positioned support member of the support members, the handle extending between the support members;
- and
- an elongate foot piece operably coupled to a bottom portion of the support members, wherein an anterior portion of the foot piece extends beyond the bottom portion at a length greater than a posterior portion of the foot portion,
- wherein the ambulatory aid is configured so that a user's weight is concentrated in the arms and hands during locomotion.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.