Versatile orthopaedic leg mounted walkers

A versatile orthopaedic walker for mounting on the lower leg of a patient, comprising:

• a walker base of high strength material:
• said walker including two struts extending upwardly from opposite sides of said walker base;
• first and second struts mounted to said strut supports;
• said base having a central area for receiving the foot of a patient and a spaced lower substantially continuous surface for receiving an outer sole;
• said base being cored to reduce the weight thereof;
• said base having a first peripheral linear interlocking construction extending substantially around the periphery thereof, the outer surface of said base having an outer surface above said linear interlocking construction extending outwardly by a predetermined distance as compared with the outer surface of said base below said construction;
• an outer sole, or outsole, extending over said lower surface of said base, the upper edge of said outsole having a second peripheral linear interlocking construction mating with said first interlocking construction;
• said outer sole having a thickness at the periphery thereof substantially equal to said predetermined distance so that the outer surface of said base and outsole is substantially continuous without significant discontinuities at the upper edge of said outsole;
• and

A versatile orthopaedic walker for mounting on the lower leg of a patient, comprising:

• a walker base of high strength material:
• said walker including two struts extending upwardly from opposite sides of said walker base;
• said base having a central raised area for receiving the foot of a patient and a spaced lower substantially continuous surface for receiving an outer sole or outsole;
• first and second struts mounted respectively on said strut supports;
• and
• said struts having a predetermined thickness in at least first and second areas, and said struts including flexible structural arrangements involving substantially reduced thickness of said struts between said first and second areas for accommodating patients with varying anatomical configurations.

A versatile orthopaedic walker for mounting on the lower leg of a patient, comprising:

• a walker base of high strength material:
• said base including two upwardly extending side strut supports having inner substantially vertically extending slots for receiving struts;
• said base having a central raised area for receiving the foot of a patient and a spaced lower substantially continuous surface for receiving an outer sole or outsole;
• first and second struts and a triple locking mechanism for securing said struts into said slots in said strut supports;
• and
• said triple locking mechanism including two outer locking prongs and a central prong, wherein said two outer prongs are mechanically biased outwardly to engage said slots, and are displaced outwardly to lock said struts in place, and said central prong is biased to fit between said two outer locking prongs and maintain them in their locked position.

In combination:

• an orthopaedic support or brace;
• straps for holding said orthopaedic support or brace onto a patient;
• D-ring type mounts for pivotally securing or mounting said straps to said support or brace;
• and
• said D-ring type mount including a ring having an opening therethrough for receiving a strap, first and second flaps extending from said ring, the first of said flaps carrying a pivot pin with an enlarged head, and the other of said flaps having an opening through it for receiving the head of said pivot pin, and said hole having a variable diameter whereby following the insertion of the head of said pin through said hole, the hole contracts and locks said pivot pin to extend between said two flaps.

A versatile orthopaedic walker for mounting on the lower leg of a patient, comprising:

• a walker base of high strength material:
• said base including two upwardly extending side strut supports having inner substantially vertically extending slots for receiving struts;
• said base having a central raised area for receiving the foot of a patient and a spaced lower substantially continuous surface for receiving an outer sole or outsole;
• first and second struts and a triple locking mechanism for securing said struts into said slots in said strut supports;
• and
• said struts having two areas of a predetermined thickness and said struts including flexible structural arrangements involving reduced thickness of said struts between said two areas for accommodating patients with varying anatomical configurations.

A versatile orthopaedic walker for mounting on the lower leg of a patient, comprising:

• a walker base of high strength material:
• said walker including two struts extending upwardly from opposite sides of said walker base;
• said base having a central area for receiving the foot of a patient and a spaced lower substantially continuous surface for receiving an outer sole, or outsoles and upwardly extending side surfaces around the periphery thereof;
• a resilient outer sole, or outsole, extending over said lower surface of said base, and upward along the side surfaces of said base, firmly secured to said side surfaces;
• and
• the upper surface of said outsole is provided with a plurality of protrusions to provide increased shock absorbing and resiliency between said outsole and said base.

In combination:

• a plurality of versatile orthopaedic walkers for mounting on the lower leg of a patient, each said walker comprising:
• (a) a walker base of high strength material;
• (b) said base including two upwardly extending side strut supports having inner substantially vertically extending slots for receiving struts;
• (c) said base having a central raised area for receiving the foot of a patient and a spaced lower substantially continuous surface for receiving an outer sole or outsole;
• (d) an outer sole extending over said lower surface of said base;
• (e) first and second struts, and a snap-in locking mechanism for securing each said strut into one of said slots in said strut supports;
• and
• the base and outsole of all of the plurality of walkers being substantially the same, and some of the walkers including long struts which extend substantially up the calf of the patient, and others of the walkers include short struts which extend less than half way up the lower leg of the patient, and wherein the strut-to-base locking mechanism of all of the walkers is substantially the same.

A versatile orthopaedic walker for mounting on the lower leg of a patient, comprising:

• a high strength engineered plastic walker base:
• said base having a central raised area for receiving the foot of a patient and a spaced lower substantially continuous surface for receiving an outer sole or outsole;
• said walker including two struts extending upwardly from opposite sides of said walker base;
• said struts providing a basic level of flexibility permitting limited outward displacement of said struts;
• and
• said walker further including stop surfaces for engagement following predetermined outward displacement of said struts to limit outward movement of said struts, to greatly increase the resistance to further displacement, and to provide orthopaedic support against excessive outward flexing of said struts.

A versatile orthopaedic walker for mounting on the lower leg of a patient, comprising:

• a high strength engineered plastic walker base:
• said base having a central raised area for receiving the foot of a patient and a spaced lower substantially continuous surface for receiving an outer sole or outsole;
• said walker including two struts extending upwardly from opposite sides of said walker base;
• and
• said struts having hinge points for providing medial/lateral hinging of said struts to accommodate patients with varying anatomical configurations;
• said hinge points being located intermediate the ends of said struts, about two inches or more above the ankle joint or malleolus.