Specifications

Background

Human beings, throughout their lifespans, will almost certainly be faced with physical injuries that will either be imposed by accidents or old age. The crutch, in essence, is a device that allows the user to transfer a portion of his/her body weight off of their legs and onto the device. The problem is that accessibility is severely hindered for the user, normally either one or two arms are in use at all times while walking. This typically leaves the user unable to grab, push or pull anything without risking dropping of the crutch, an undoubtedly painful experience.

Proposed Concept

The design is essentially an exoskeleton that runs on the outside of the user’s leg. It starts at the thigh just above the knee and terminates just below the users foot at ground level. At the top of the figure below, the hands free crutch is connected to the thigh with a cone shaped sleeve with straps for a custom fit. Two structural tubes run on the outside of the lower leg and down to an adjustable curved plate below the user’s foot.

Once connected to the leg, this design does not require the use of hands or arms while the user is walking. Adjusts can be made to the height, thigh diameter, bottom plate size and optional knee bearing attachment. These adjusts will allow for greater flexibility in regards to the size of the user.

The table above shows us the functions, physical and environmental characteristics, adjustability, force distribution and the weight requirement. For the functions, we want to make sure that product is comfortable enough to wear and is hands free. We also want to make sure the thigh wrap is adjustable from customer to customer, as well as the food plate. Having rubber leg tips will allow the product to be used in different weather conditions. Adjustability in the foot plate is also important in order to accommodate for a variation of customers.