Inventor
Associate Professor Ir Dr. Ng Poh KiatDescription of Invention
The inability of regular walkers to properly balance on the staircase or inclined surfaces limits their usefulness and may introduce significant risk to the user. Furthermore, the need to lift the regular walker causes each step to be heavier than the last. Thus, there exists a need for a walker that can overcome the aforementioned inadequacies of the prior art. The present invention relates to a walking and stair climbing aid designed to assist users such as elderly or injured patient in walking with a continuous gait pattern, ascending and descending stairs. The walker apparatus includes: (a) reciprocal function to have better gait movement and to provide stable support. (b) use of swivel joints for independent alternative movement of either side of the user. (c) employs double slider crank mechanism having a pair of disc bearing and mechanical linkages at a pair of sides of the walking frame to assist in stable stair climbing and descending. (d) provides improved stability by transferring the weight of the user to appropriate legs and extending them for providing proper support, automatically using the rotation of the disc bearings. Target/Relevant market segments include manufacturers of walking frames and assistive technologies. Market worth for regular walkers have prices ranging from RM 80 to RM500. With mass production, our invention price can be reduced to a range of RM100 to RM200.