This invention relates to an improved foldable walker and particularly to a locking device for a foldable walker.
Although foldable walkers are known, there is a need for a foldable walker having a simple and effective means for locking the walker in an open position for use and for permitting the walker to be readily folded for storage and transport.
Several prior art walkers provide a pair of telescoping tubes with the inner tube carrying a spring biased pin that is received in an aperture provided in the outer to lock the inner tube with respect to the outer tube. U.S. Pat. No. 3,690,652, for example, provides sleeves (23, 25) to position a front cross-brace 20 on the legs (12) of the walker. The legs carry a spring biased key (30) that extends through slots (40 or 42) in the sleeves (23, 25) to lock the legs in position with respect to the front cross brace.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,993,088 shows a foldable walker having a telescoping bar (74) that includes an inner tube (76) telescoped within an outer tube (78). One end of the inner tube is riveted to the rear leg of the walker. The other end of the bar (74) is attached to the front cross brace. A spring loaded locking button (84) is provided on the inner tube (76) to engage an aperture in the outer tube (78) to lock the inner tube with respect to the outer tube and consequently to lock the side members of the walker in an open position.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,180,086 shows an improvement to U.S. Pat. No. 3,993,088 where the legs can be hyper-extended and a palm pusher device (44) is provided to operate the spring biased locking button.
One problem with these and other walkers having telescoping tubes is that it requires additional parts and a complicated structure to attach the tubes to the rear legs or to joining members provided between the front and rear legs. Another problem is that the locking devices are inconveniently located making it difficult for the user to unlock the walker so that it can be folded for storage.
The present invention solves these problems by providing a foldable walker having a locking device with an easy to reach push button located on the front cross bar so that the legs can be unlocked from the open position.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds