Patent ID: 6453920
Filing Date: 2002-09-24
Classification: F17C

Abstract:
A walking assistance device providing a portable supply of medicinal gas comprising:a handle adapted to be grasped by a user; a support structure composed of at least one tube and constructed and arranged to support said handle in a raised position with respect to the ground for grasping by the user while in a generally upright standing position and being further constructed and arranged to support at least a portion of the user's weight during at least a portion of the user's stride; and a gas storage vessel carried within said support structure, said gas storage vessel comprising: a plurality of hollow chambers; a plurality of conduit sections, each of said conduit sections being positioned between adjacent ones of said plurality of hollow chambers to interconnect said plurality of hollow chambers, each of said conduit sections having a maximum interior transverse dimension that is smaller than a maximum interior transverse dimension of each of said hollow chambers; and a reinforcing filament wrapped around said hollow chambers and said conduit sections, wherein said gas storage vessel comprises at least one continuous strand of interconnected ones of said plurality of hollow chambers spaced apart by ones of said plurality of conduit sections, said continuous strand being incorporated within said at least one tube.