IP Library Granted Patent US 9,763,849
Granted Patent B2
US 9,763,849 · App. 15/095,854 · Granted Sep 19, 2017

Collapsible rolling walker

Inventors: Michael Paterson (San Francisco, CA); Tong Jin Kim (West Lafayette, IN); Kegan McDaniel (Chicago, IL); Luke Westra (Chicago, IL)
Assignee: Medline Industries, Inc.
A61H3/04A61H2003/002A61H2003/046A61H2201/0157A61H2201/0161A61H2201/1633
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 9,763,849
App. No.
15/095,854
Granted
Sep 19, 2017
Kind
B2
Abstract

A collapsible rolling walker that readily collapses for storage and/or transportation and that readily deploys for use.

Claims (38)

1. A rolling walker comprising:

a seat assembly;

a first hub and a second hub disposed on opposing sides of the seat assembly, each of the first and second hubs comprising at least three sub-hubs wherein a second and a third one of the three sub-hubs are configured to selectively rotate with respect to a first one of the three sub-hubs;

a first wheel-bearing rear leg that is secured to the first one of the three sub-hubs of the first hub;

a second wheel-bearing rear leg that is secured to the first one of the three sub-hubs of the second hub;

a first handle arm that is secured to the second one of the three sub-hubs of the first hub;

a second handle arm that is secured to the second one of the three sub-hubs of the second hub;

a first wheel-bearing front leg that is secured to the third one of the three sub-hubs of the first hub;

a second wheel-bearing front leg that is secured to the third one of the three sub-hubs of the second hub;

such that the wheel-bearing front legs, the wheel-bearing rear legs, and the handle arms can be selectively rotated with respect to one another between a fully-collapsed state and a fully-deployed state;

wherein the seat assembly includes a latch trigger that controls a first and second latch mechanism disposed respectively and at least partially within the first and second hubs to thereby control when the wheel-bearing front legs and the handle arms can rotate with respect to the wheel-bearing rear legs.

2. The rolling walker of claim 1 wherein the three sub-hubs share a same external shape and size.

3. The rolling walker of claim 2 wherein the external shape comprises a disk.

4. The rolling walker of claim 1 wherein the first and second latch mechanisms each comprise a longitudinal member that extends partially out of a side of the seat assembly.

5. The rolling walker of claim 4 wherein each of the longitudinal members has an inwardly-disposed end that connects to the latch trigger.

6. The rolling walker of claim 5 wherein each of the longitudinal members has a circular cross section.

7. The rolling walker of claim 6 wherein each of the first and second sub-hubs includes an arcuate slot formed therethrough to receive a corresponding one of the longitudinal members.

8. The rolling walker of claim 7 wherein each of the arcuate slots includes a circular-shaped opening that is wider than the corresponding arcuate slot.

9. The rolling walker of claim 8 wherein each of the longitudinal members has a plurality of wider-diameter areas that are sized to fit within the circular-shaped opening but not within the arcuate slot and a plurality of smaller-diameter areas that are sized to fit within the arcuate slots.

10. The rolling walker of claim 9 wherein the longitudinal members are normally biased outwardly and away from the seat assembly.

11. The rolling walker of claim 1 wherein the wheel-bearing front legs, the wheel-bearing rear legs, and the handle arms are positioned substantially parallel to one another when the rolling walker is in the fully-collapsed state.

12. The rolling walker of claim 1 wherein the first and second handle arm each includes a hand-manipulable brake handle.

13. The rolling walker of claim 12 wherein the hand-manipulable brake handle is configured to assert a brake mechanism without latching when moved in a first direction and to assert the brake mechanism while latching when moved in a second, different direction.

14. The rolling walker of claim 13 wherein the second direction is opposite the first direction.

15. The rolling walker of claim 13 wherein the hand-manipulable brake handle is further configured to unlatch when moved from a latched position in the first direction.

16. The rolling walker of claim 13 further comprising a brake cable that connects each of the hand-manipulable brake handles to a corresponding one of the brake mechanisms, wherein at least a majority portion of the brake cable is hidden from view within the rolling walker.

17. A rolling walker comprising:

a seat assembly wherein the seat assembly includes a discrete upper portion;

a first hub and a second hub disposed on opposing sides of the seat assembly, each of the first and second hubs comprising at least three sub-hubs wherein a second and a third one of the three sub-hubs are configured to selectively rotate with respect to a first one of the three sub-hubs;

a first wheel-bearing rear leg that is secured to the first one of the three sub-hubs of the first hub;

a second wheel-bearing rear leg that is secured to the first one of the three sub-hubs of the second hub;

a first handle arm that is secured to the second one of the three sub-hubs of the first hub;

a second handle arm that is secured to the second one of the three sub-hubs of the second hub;

a first wheel-bearing front leg that is secured to the third one of the three sub-hubs of the first hub;

a second wheel-bearing front leg that is secured to the third one of the three sub-hubs of the second hub;

such that the wheel-bearing front legs, the wheel-bearing rear legs, and the handle arms can be selectively rotated with respect to one another between a fully-collapsed state and a fully-deployed state.

18. The rolling walker of claim 17 wherein the discrete upper portion includes a plurality of rods configured to be received by corresponding holes formed in a remaining portion of the seat assembly.

19. The rolling walker of claim 18 wherein the rods have a circumferentially-enlarged portion configured to captivate the rods within the holes formed in the remaining portion of the seat assembly.

Assignments (6)
PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded May 28, 2026
From: MEDLINE INDUSTRIES, LP
To: WILMINGTON TRUST, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS NOTES COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 075643/0462 →
PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Jun 20, 2025
From: MEDLINE INDUSTRIES, LP
To: WILMINGTON TRUST, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS NOTES COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 071672/0100 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Oct 21, 2021
From: MEDLINE INDUSTRIES, LP
To: WILMINGTON TRUST, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
Reel/Frame 057927/0091 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Oct 21, 2021
From: MEDLINE INDUSTRIES, LP
To: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A.
Reel/Frame 058040/0001 →
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Oct 20, 2021
From: MEDLINE INDUSTRIES, INC.
To: MEDLINE INDUSTRIES, LP
Reel/Frame 058554/0159 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Apr 28, 2016
From: PATERSON, MICHAEL; KIM, TONG JIN; MCDANIEL, KEGAN; WESTRA, LUKE
To: MEDLINE INDUSTRIES, INC.
Reel/Frame 038401/0830 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 62145356 · Apr 9, 2015
Related Publication 20160296410A1 · Oct 13, 2016