Granted Patent B2

US 12,357,488 · App. 17/070,569 · Granted Jul 15, 2025

Inventors: H. Darrel Darby (Mount Pleasant, SC); Wu Zhang (Proctorville, OH)

Assignee: DARCO INTERNATIONAL, INC.

A61F5/0195A61F5/0111

Abstract

Claims (47)

1. A shell for a walker, the shell comprising:

a base configured to receive a foot of a user thereon;

a pair of side bodies extending upwards from the base and that are rigid, the pair of side bodies configured to cover a left side and a right side of at least one from among an ankle and a part of a lower leg of the user, respectively, while the foot of the user is received by the base; and

a tibial body that is rigid and fixed to each of the pair of side bodies, the tibial body configured to cover a tibia of the user, without also covering a top side of the foot, while the foot of the user is received by the base,

wherein the tibial body and the pair of side bodies are rigid such that the shell is configured to prevent ankle joint movement of the user,

in a top view of the shell, the tibial body has a triangular shape that is configured to offload pressure applied to the tibia of the user by avoiding contact with the tibia while causing a gastrocnemius muscle and a tibialis anterior muscle of the user to absorb forces applied by the tibial body,

the tibial body is integrally formed with each of the pair of side bodies,

a bottom end of the tibial body extends integrally from top ends of the pair of side bodies, and

an inner surface of the tibial body extends laterally and medially to an interior vertex portion of the tibial body such that the inner surface of the tibial body has an angle that is configured to prevent the tibial body from contacting with the tibia.

2. The shell of claim 1 , wherein the pair of side bodies are integrally formed with the base.

3. The walker of claim 2 , further comprising a tibial liner, wherein at least one from among the tibial body and the pair of side bodies is configured to connect to the tibial liner.

4. The shell of claim 1 , wherein the shell is configured to receive the foot of the user at a rear side of the shell via an opening provided between rear sides of the pair of side bodies.

5. The shell of claim 4 , wherein the pair of side bodies or the tibial body is configured to connect to a strap that extends across a calf of the user by extending across the opening.

6. The shell of claim 1 , wherein at least one from among the tibial body and the pair of side bodies is configured to connect to a tibial liner.

7. The shell of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the tibial body is rigidly fixed to each of the pair of side bodies.

8. The shell of claim 1 , wherein at least one from among the base and the pair of side bodies is configured to connect to a strap that extends across the top side of the foot of the user or a front side of the ankle of the user.

9. The shell of claim 1 , wherein the pair of side bodies are inclined from the base towards a front side of the shell such that the top ends of the pair of side bodies are fixed to the bottom end of the tibial body at the front side of the shell.

10. The shell of claim 1 , wherein the tibial body and the pair of side bodies are formed of at least one from among nylon, polypropylene, polycarbonate (PC), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), aluminum, and steel.

11. A walker comprising:

a liner of the walker configured to surround a portion of a foot of a user and a part of a lower leg of the user; and

a shell of the walker comprising:

a base configured to receive the foot of the user, within the liner, there on;

a pair of side bodies extending upwards from the base and that are rigid, the pair of side bodies configured to cover a left side and a right side of at least one from among an ankle and the part of the lower leg of the user, respectively, while the foot of the user is received by the base; and

a tibial body that is rigid and fixed to each of the pair of side bodies, the tibial body configured to cover a tibia of the user, without also covering a top side of the foot, while the foot of the user is received by the base,

wherein the tibial body and the pair of side bodies are rigid such that the shell is configured to prevent ankle joint movement of the user,

in a top view of the shell, the tibial body has a triangular shape that is configured to offload pressure applied to the tibia of the user by avoiding contact with the tibia while causing a gastrocnemius muscle and a tibialis anterior muscle of the user to absorb forces applied by the tibial body,

the tibial body is integrally formed with each of the pair of side bodies,

a bottom end of the tibial body extends integrally from top ends of the pair of side bodies and

an inner surface of the tibial body extends laterally and medially to an interior vertex portion of the tibial body such that the inner surface of the tibial body has an ankle that is configured to prevent the tibial body from contacting with the tibia.

12. The walker of claim 11 , wherein the shell is configured to receive the foot of the user at a rear side of the shell via an opening provided between rear sides of the pair of side bodies.

13. The walker of claim 12 , further comprising a strap, wherein the pair of side bodies or the tibial body is configured to connect to the strap such that the strap extends across a calf of the user by extending across the opening.

14. The walker of claim 11 , wherein the pair of side bodies are integrally formed with the base.

15. The walker of claim 11 , further comprising a strap, wherein at least one from among the base and the pair of side bodies is configured to connect to the strap such that the strap extends across the top side of the foot of the user or a front side of the ankle of the user.

16. A rear-entry walker comprising:

a shell of the rear-entry walker, the shell comprising:

a base configured to receive a foot of a user thereon;

a pair of side bodies extending upwards from the base and that are rigid, the pair of side bodies configured to cover a left side and a right side of at least one from among an ankle and a part of a lower leg of the user, respectively, while the foot of the user is received by the base; and

a tibial body that is rigid and fixed to each of the pair of side bodies, the tibial body configured to cover a tibia of the user, without also covering a top side of the foot, while the foot of the user is received by the base,

wherein the shell is configured to receive the foot of the user at a rear side of the shell via an opening provided between rear sides of the pair of side bodies,

the tibial body and the pair of side bodies are rigid such that the shell is configured to prevent ankle joint movement of the user,

in a top view of the shell, the tibial body has a triangular shape that is configured to offload pressure applied to the tibia of the user by avoiding contact with the tibia while causing a gastrocnemius muscle and a tibialis anterior muscle of the user to absorb forces applied by the tibial body,

the tibial body is integrally formed with each of the pair of side bodies,

a bottom end of the tibial body extends integrally from top ends of the pair of side bodies and

an inner surface of the tibial body extends laterally and medially to an interior vertex portion of the tibial body such that the inner surface of the tibial body has an ankle that is configured to prevent the tibial body from contacting with the tibia.

17. The rear-entry walker of claim 16 , further comprising:

a tibial liner provided on the inner surface of the tibial body.

18. The rear-entry walker of claim 17 , wherein at least one from among the tibial body and the pair of side bodies is connected to the tibial liner.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (102)