Abstract:
The present invention provides a replaceable cap designed to fit into the rear leg of walker. The cap has a non-scratch pad on the bottom surface which provides skidding action and removes the chirping noise caused by normal walkers. The cap is also designed to be inserted into a protective cover for use on rough surfaces.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to accessories for rolling walkers typically used by elderly or people who have physical disabilities. More particularly, the present invention relates to a removable cap with a non-scratchpad used on legs of a walker to provide sliding or skidding actions. The present invention also provides for a detachable protective cover which fits onto the cap for outdoor use or on rough surfaces. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    Walkers are very common mobility aids, used by individuals who otherwise have difficulty walking by themselves. Walkers are used as support by many of the frail aged and other persons with physical disabilities. Typical walkers include a frame that has two similar side pieces connected by a center brace. Each side piece is generally U-shaped and inverted to form the legs of the walker which terminate at a lower end for contact with the ground or floor at the corners of a rectangle. In this manner, two forward or front legs and two rear legs are defined. Each side frame portion also has a handgrip portion on the upper part of the frame so the hands of the user rest upon the upper part to allow the person to move the frame forward and then to step up to the frame to assist the walking of the person. 
         [0005]    There are several variations of the above described walker. One very popular version is a rolling walker. This walker typically has a pair of wheels mounted on the front legs to facilitate the movement of the frame. The rear legs are often mounted with a pair of elastomeric tips to provide stability and traction during the use of the walker. The purpose of a rolling walker is to decrease the risk of fall while allowing the user to conserve energy by pushing the walker instead of picking the walker up with every step. Non-rolling walkers have to picked up, moved forward and placed down prior to each step. 
         [0006]    While the walker described above is fully functional, there are numerous technical issues which make them less than ideal for everyday use. For instance, the skidding action of the rear legs creates a chirping noise as well as vibrations that are transmitted to the hands and arms of the user. The noise is produced when the elastomeric rubber tips frictionally engage and then disengage from a smooth hard surface such as tile or wood, which is commonly found in the environments where the use of walkers are prevalent, such as hospitals and nursing homes. It would be highly desirable in these situations to minimize any unnecessary noise. 
         [0007]    A popular current approach to this problem has been to use tennis balls placed on top of the elastomeric tips. In order to do this, a hole must be created in a tennis ball which creates an opening for the rear leg to fit through. This is rather inconvenient for a variety of reasons. First, while this solves the noise problem temporarily, the outer surface of the tennis ball wears out rather quickly and the noise returns. Second, cutting open a tennis ball with sharp knife or razor can be a dangerous procedure leading to severe lacerations for the person handling the cutting tools. Third, tennis balls are aesthetically unpleasing and are out of place with the normal design of a walker. 
         [0008]    There are also commercially available products which address the issue of rubber tips engaging the ground, including Skids or Skis. These products are usually made of hard plastic or Teflon and slide easily across most floors. However, these devices require tools to install and may damage the surface during use, especially tiles and wood floors. 
         [0009]    Thus, there has been a long standing need to solve the problem of reducing the noise created by the elastomeric tip while addressing the issues of durability, safety and aesthetics without damaging tiles and wood floors. The present invention addresses this long standing need and desire in the art. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    The present invention solves the above described problems by providing a replaceable cap accessory adapted for installation on a terminal end of a leg on a walker to replace the elastomeric tip found at the end of the leg. Generally, the cap comprises a non-scratch or scratch resistant pad, a recessed bottom bonded to the non-scratch or scratch resistant pad, where one side of the recessed bottom is shaped to partially encase the non-scratch or scratch resistant pad and another side of the recessed bottom is shaped to surround and frictionally engage the leg on a walker when the leg is inserted into said cap and a detachable cover for protecting the non-scratch or scratch resistant pad on rough or outdoor surfaces, configured with concentric grooves, allowing the recessed bottom to snap into the cover. 
         [0011]    The non-scratch or scratch resistant pad may be industrial grade and one pad will typically last the equivalent of 100 tennis balls. The noise created during the use of the walker is also greatly reduced since the elastomeric tip is no longer in contact with the surface. The pads are also water resistant and will not absorb liquids. The pads also serve to dampen the vibrations caused during the normal use of the walker, further adding comfort to the user and preventing any injuries which may arise from chronic use of a walker. The caps are also designed to fit directly onto the leg after removing the elastomeric tip. Once the tip is removed, caps may be replaced without the use of any tools, thus adding convenience as well as safety features. Furthermore, the caps may come in various colors to match the appearance of the walker and/or aesthetic desires of the user. 
         [0012]    The present invention is directed to a replaceable cap adapted for installation on a terminal end of a leg on a walker to replace the elastomeric tip found at the end of the leg, comprising a non-scratch pad and a recessed bottom bonded to the non-scratch pad, where one side of the recessed bottom is shaped to partially encase the non-scratch pad and another side of the recessed bottom is shaped to surround and frictionally engage the leg on a walker when the leg is inserted into the cap. 
         [0013]    The present invention is also directed to a replaceable cap adapted for installation on a terminal end of a leg on a walker, comprising a scratch resistant pad and a recessed bottom bonded to the scratch resistant pad, wherein one side of the recessed bottom is shaped to partially encase the scratch resistant pad and another side of the recessed bottom is shaped to surround and frictionally engage the leg on a walker when the leg is inserted into said cap. 
         [0014]    The present invention is directed further to a detachable cover for protecting replaceable caps adapted for installation on the bottom legs of walkers, comprising a hollow, cylindrical plastic cast or extruded figure, partially cut open and configured with concentric grooves. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0015]    So that the matter in which the above-recited features, advantages and objects of the invention as well as others which will become clear are attained and can be understood in detail, more particular descriptions and certain embodiments of the invention briefly summarized above are illustrated in the appended drawings. These drawings form a part of the specification. It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention and therefore are not to be considered limiting in their scope. 
           [0016]      FIGS. 1A-1C  are drawings of the replaceable cap.  FIG. 1A  shows the cap engaged to the detachable cover.  FIG. 1B  shows the replaceable cap.  FIG. 1C  shows the detachable cover. 
           [0017]      FIG. 2  is a cross section view of the replaceable cap. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0018]    The use of the word “a” or “an” when used in conjunction with the term “comprising” in the claims and/or the specification may mean “one,” but it is also consistent with the meaning of “one or more,” “at least one,” and “one or more than one.” Some embodiments of the invention may consist of or consist essentially of one or more elements, method steps, and/or methods of the invention. It is contemplated that any method or composition described herein can be implemented with respect to any other method or composition described herein. 
         [0019]    The use of the term “or” in the claims is used to mean “and/or” unless explicitly indicated to refer to alternatives only or the alternatives are mutually exclusive, although the disclosure supports a definition that refers to only alternatives and “and/or.” 
         [0020]    In one embodiment, the present invention provides a replaceable cap adapted for installation on a terminal end of a leg on a walker to replace the elastomeric tip found at the end of the leg, where the cap comprises a non-scratch pad, a recessed bottom bonded to the non-scratch pad, where one side of the recessed bottom is shaped to partially encase the non-scratch pad and another side of the recessed bottom is shaped to surround and frictionally engage the leg on a walker when the leg is inserted into said cap and a detachable cover for protecting the non-scratch pad on rough or outdoor surfaces, configured with concentric grooves, allowing the recessed bottom to snap into the cover. The recessed bottom may be a cast or extruded shape. The material of the recessed bottom may be made from representative materials including but not limited to fiberglass, thermoplastic, silicone or polyethylene. The thermoplastic may be made from representative materials including but not limited to acrylonitrile, butadiene, or styrene. The non-scratch pad may be formed from representative materials including but not limited to polyacrylate, polyamide, polystyrene, polyester, polyimide, polystyrene, polycarbonate, polypropylene, or polyurethane. The detachable cover may be cylindrically shaped with an outer wall partially cut open and designed to receive the outer edge of the recessed bottom. The detachable cover may be made of representative materials including but not limited to fiberglass, thermoplastic, silicone, polyethylene or polyoxymethylene. 
         [0021]    The total weight of the replaceable cap may be between about 50 grams to about 1000 grams. The diameter of the detachable cover may be between about 1 cm to about 5 cm. The total length of the replaceable cap may be between about 4 cm to 10 cm. 
         [0022]    In another embodiment, the present invention provides a replaceable cap adapted for installation on a terminal end of a leg on a walker, comprising a scratch resistant pad and a recessed bottom bonded to the scratch resistant pad, where one side of the recessed bottom is shaped to partially encase the scratch resistant pad and another side of the recessed bottom is shaped to surround and frictionally engage the leg on a walker when the leg is inserted into said cap. The recessed bottom may be a cast or extruded shape. In a related embodiment, the recessed bottom may be made from representative materials including but not limited to fiberglass, thermoplastic, silicone or polyethylene. The thermoplastic may be acrylonitrile, butadiene or styrene. In another related embodiment, the scratch resistant pad may be made from representative materials including but not limited to polyacrylate, polyamide, polyester, polyimide, polystyrene, polycarbonate, polypropylene and polyurethane. The total weight of the cap is between about 25 grams to about 1000 grams. The total length of the cap is between about 2 cm to 8 cm. 
         [0023]    In another embodiment, the present invention provides a detachable cover for protecting replaceable caps adapted for installation on the bottom legs of walkers, comprising a hollow, cylindrical plastic cast or extruded figure, partially cut open and configured with concentric grooves. The detachable cover may be made from representative materials including but not limited to fiberglass, thermoplastic, silicone, polyethylene or polyoxymethylene. The total weight of the detachable cover may be between about 25 grams to about 750 grams. The diameter of the cover may be between about 1 cm to about 5 cm. The total length of the cover may be about 4 cm to 10 cm. 
       Using the Accessory 
       [0024]    The preferred use of the above described walker accessory ( 1 ,  2 ) ( FIGS. 1B and 1C ) is to first remove the elastomeric tip from the walker that is intended to be used. Replace the elastomeric tip with the present invention. The non-scratch or scratch resistant pad ( 3 ) is simply adhered into the recessed bottom without the need for tools ( FIG. 1B ). The cover ( 2 ) may be used by simply inserting the accessory ( FIGS. 1A and 2 ). 
         [0025]    Any patents or publications mentioned in this specification are indicative of the levels of those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains. Further, these patents and publications are incorporated by reference herein to the same extent as if each individual publication was specifically and individually incorporated by reference. 
         [0026]    One skilled in the art will appreciate readily that the present invention is well adapted to carry out the objects and obtain the ends and advantages mentioned, as well as those objects, ends and advantages inherent herein. The present examples, along with the methods, procedures, treatments, molecules, and specific compounds described herein are presently representative of preferred embodiments, are exemplary, and are not intended as limitations on the scope of the invention. Changes therein and other uses will occur to those skilled in the art which are encompassed within the spirit of the invention as defined by the scope of the claims.