Wheelchair with detachable walker
OwnerCarole Purdueinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A wheelchair having a detachable walker. The walker can be mechanically attached and detached from the wheelchair easily so that the user can safely rise from a sitting position on the wheelchair to a standing position assisted by the walker. During that transition, the user has the wheelchair attached to the walker in case the user falls backwardly or gets tired and wants to again be seated in the wheelchair. When the user has reached the standing position, the user can ambulate in a space intermediate the walker and the wheelchair or simply detach the walker from the wheelchair and continue ambulating while relying solely on the walker for support.
Claims10
A combination of a wheelchair and a walker mechanically affixed together, the wheelchair comprising a wheelchair frame for supporting a user in a sitting position, a pair of front wheels and a pair of drive wheels rotatably affixed to the frame and being movable to propel the wheelchair over a flat surface, the walker comprising a walker frame having a handle adapted to be grasped by a user, and having at least two wheels that contact the flat surface when supporting a user, the walker having a rear facing toward the wheelchair and a front facing outwardly from the wheelchair, the walker further having a least one downwardly directed member that interfits into at least one hollow attachment socket on the wheelchair, the walker further having a pair of support legs proximate the rear of the walker that independently extend toward a floor and are adapted to support the rear of the walker when detached from the wheelchair in a generally level orientation.
A method of allowing a user to transition from a sitting position in a wheelchair to a standing position supported by a walker, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing a wheelchair having a wheelchair frame to support a user in a sitting position, the wheelchair frame having drive wheels and support wheels affixed thereto, the wheelchair having a first component of an attachment system,
- providing a walker comprising a walker frame having front wheels and rear support legs, the walker having a second component of an attachment system that is separate from the rear support legs and located between the support legs and the front wheels, and
- using the attachment system to attach the walker to and detach the walker from the wheelchair wherein, when detached, the walker is supported on the front wheels and rear support legs in a generally level orientation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.