Walker Seat

The applicants hereby invoke the benefits of 35 U.S.C. 119(e)(1) with respect to the invention disclosed by the Applicants in pending provisional application Ser. No. 60/028,761, filed Oct. 22, 1996 and incorporate said application by reference.

This invention relates to a folding seat for a walker, and in particular to a seat that is more inexpensive to make and easier to install than the prior art. In particular, it relates to such a seat which can be adjusted to the height of a person who is sitting in the chair.

Examples of the prior art seats for walkers include the following U.S. Patents: U.S. Pat. No. 3,354,893, U.S. Pat. No. 2,798,533, U.S. Pat. No. 3,993,349, U.S. Pat. No. 4,532,948, U.S. Pat. No. 4,907,794, U.S. Pat. No. 4,907,839, U.S. Pat. No. 4,976,620, U.S. Pat. No. 5,280,800, U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,824, U.S. Pat. No. Des. 298,816, and U.S. Pat. No. Des. 331,209.

One object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive, removable, height-adjustable seat which can be easily attached to a walker.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the description which follows taken together with the appended drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention attached to a common form of walker.

FIG. 2 is a reverse perspective view of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 a bottom view of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the same embodiment of the invention as illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3.

FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of FIG. 4.

This invention comprises a folding seat for walkers which is characterized as being inexpensive, easily removable, installable, and storable. In its general form it comprises an elongated, flexible sheet whose ends can be bent over and under the side bars of a walker and joined together underneath to form a seat. Examples of joining means are lace and eyelets, zippers, buttons, clasps, straps, buckles, and hooks and loops ("VELCRO"). Where the joining means permits adjustment of the spacing or overlap of the ends, the height of the seat from the floor is adjustable. In its preferred form the joining means comprises a row of eyelets on each end threaded together with a lace so as to provide easy adjustment of the seat height.

As illustrated in the drawings, one embodiment of the invention comprises a sheet of heavy duty duck 10 having a finished edge 10a and having transverse rows of eyelets 11 and 12. The row of eyelets 11 are on a strip 11 b which is attached on one end to the sheet 10 inwardly from the edge, 11 a designating the outer portion. Similarly, the row of eyelets 12 are on a strip 12b which is attached on one edge to sheet 10 inwardly from the edge. 12a designates the outer portion. Extending from one longitudinal edge of the sheet are spaced pairs of ties 13, 14, 15 and 16. The ties are part of reinforcing sheets 17 and 18 and are attached to the reverse or non-seating surface side of the sheet 10.

The common walker 23 illustrated in the drawings comprises a pair of U-shaped side rails 19, 20, each having an upper hand gripping portion, an upper cross bar 21, 22, a support portion 23, and a lower cross member 25, 26. These U-shaped portions are joined together at the rear by folding cross pieces 28 and cross bar 27.

Installation is accomplished by having the reverse or non-seating surface of the sheet face upward so that the four ties 13-16 face frontward. The sheet is then placed under and over the side rails 21 and 22 below the hand gripping portions of the side rails 19 and 20 of the walker 23. Lace cord 24 is threaded through eyelet arrays 11 and 12. Then the sheet is rotated so that the seat surface is now facing upward and the lace surface is facing downward. The ties are then attached to the side rails 19 and 20 of the walker. In addition to ties, other methods of attachment may be used such as straps, snaps, buckles, buttons, hooks and loops, and "VELCRO".

If the seat is too high for the person in that the person's legs do not rest on the floor, the laces can be made wider apart and then retied. If the seat is too low, the laces can be tightened and then retied. The walker may be folded and stored without removing the seat. No special tools or equipment are needed for attaching or detaching the seat. The invention will fit any standard walker with side parallel bars.

In the particular illustrated embodiment, the sheet is made of 600 by 600 denier 100% polyester and is backed with vinyl. The preferred cord is a length of 5 feet of number 4 polyester.