Abstract:
A device including an elastic member and means for connecting the ends of it to a person so that the elastic strip is operable, when the person&#39;s leg is straight or nearly straight, to exert a force that tends to bend the leg at the knee and hip is disclosed. The device assists someone using the device to achieve a safe and adequate lift of his or her legs during the swing phase of the gait cycle. Prolonged use of the device has been observed to cause a person, when later walking without the device, to exhibit better leg lift during the swing phase of the gait cycle than that person did before using the device. The elastic strip can be connected at one end to a shoe insert and, at the other end, to a belt.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   (1) Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates generally to devices that provide aid to persons while they are walking and is especially geared towards assisting persons who have difficulty achieving foot clearance during the swing phase of their gait cycle. 
   (2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98 
   A remarkable number of devices have been proposed as aids to walking and or exercise. Some examples can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 420,178; 420,179; 1,608,032; 2,097,376; 3,295,517; 4,329,982; 4,566,447; 5,112,296; 5,186,701; 5,308,305; 5,362,295; 5,372,565; 5,865,203; and 6,361,517. It appears, however, that none of the devices disclosed in these patents is intended to provide or capable of providing assistance to a person in lifting his leg during the swing phase of that person&#39;s gait cycle. 
   A substantial number of persons fail to lift their legs enough during the swing phase of the gait cycle. This is a dangerous deficiency because it makes those people prone to tripping or stumbling over even the smallest obstacles. The problem is most risky for elderly persons who are at a higher risk than the general population for broken bones and, in particular, broken hips and the like. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 6,361,517 (“Slinger”) discloses a foot lift assist device for enabling a person with drop foot to walk in a nearly normal manner. The Slinger device includes a foot strap that is worn on the toot generally over the toes of the foot. One end of an elastic cord is connected to a ring on the foot strap that is located outside of the centerline of the foot while the other end of the elastic cord is connected or anchored at the person&#39;s hip, for example, to a belt. According to the Slinger patent, when a person removes his weight from the foot that has the device attached, the elastic cord exerts an upward force that bends the leg at the knee and hip and exerts an upward force that also pivots the foot upwardly about the ankle. It is noted, however, that when a user&#39;s leg is straight, the force exerted by the elastic cord, rather than exerting a force that bends the leg at the knee, it exerts a force that tends to lock the knee and hold the leg straight. It is only after a user of the Slinger device has bent his knee substantially, against the force exerted by the elastic cord, that the elastic cord becomes operable to exert a force that tends to bend the leg at the knee and the hip. 
   BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention is device including an elastic member and means for connecting it to a person so that the elastic strip is always operable to exert a force that tends to bend or flex the leg at the knee and hip, thereby assisting persons using the device to achieve a safe and adequate lift of their legs during the swing phase of their gait cycles. Initial research concerning the device of the present invention indicates that the device has an additional benefit beyond providing direct leg lift assistance during the swing phase of the gait cycle. It has been observed that a person who has used the device of the present invention for a period of time will, when walking without the device, exhibit better leg lift during the swing phase of the gait cycle than that person did before using tile device. 
   Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device imparts a bias to a leg tending to lift the leg and bend the leg at the knee and the hip at all times. 
   It is a further object of the invention to provide a simple device that will assist people who do not achieve adequate leg lift during the swing phase of their gait cycle to achieve adequate leg lift to reduce the risk of stumbling or tripping. 
   It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a simple device which can effect a positive change in swing phase leg, lift performance after it has been used for a while. 
   These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be fully appreciated by those skilled in the art upon reviewing the disclosures herein. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING 
       FIG. 1  is a top view of a shoe arch support and an attached elastic leg strap which make up part of the device according to the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  is a side view of a part of a person showing, the device of the present invention partially secured to the person. 
       FIG. 3  is a front view of the person shown in  FIG. 2  showing the device fully secured to that person in an operative way. 
       FIG. 4  is a cross sectional view through lower portions, next to the feet, of a left leg LL and a right leg RL of the person, P in  FIG. 3   
       FIG. 5  is a cross sectional view through the thigh portions of the left leg LL and the right leg RL of the person P in  FIG. 3 . 
       FIG. 6  is a cross sectional view through the hips H of the person P in  FIG. 3 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   Referring to  FIG. 1 , a left shoe insert  10  is illustrated. The insert  10  comprises a heel portion  12  and a toe portion  14 . It is preferred that an arch support  16  is also provided on the insert  10 . An elastic member comprising an elastic leg strap  18  is connected to the insert  10  by stitching as indicated at  20 . The left shoe insert provides a means for connecting the elastic leg strap  18  to a left shoe. It is preferred that, as shown in  FIG. 1 , the elastic leg strap  18  is connected to the bottom of the insert  10  so that, when the insert  10  is placed within a shoe., the elastic leg strap will be between the insert  10  and the bottom of the shoe. It will be appreciated that the elastic leg strap  18  can be connected to the insert  10  by any suitable means including, but not limited to, glue or adhesive and mechanical fasteners including, but not limited to snaps, hook and loop fasteners, rivets, staples, threaded fasteners and the like. 
   As shown in  FIG. 1 , the elastic leg strap  18  is connected to the heel portion  12  of the shoe insert  10 . It is preferred, as shown in  FIG. 1 , that the elastic leg strap  18  be connected to the insert so that it extends from the point where it is connected to the left shoe insert  10 , to the left and towards a real or heel edge  22  of the insert  10 . A device according to the invention may also include a right shoe insert (not shown) that would be a mirror image of the left shoe insert  10 . A device according to the present invention may include only a right shoe insert and elastic leg strap. In a right shoe insert, the elastic leg strap would extend from the point where it is connected to the insert to the right and towards the real or heel edge of the right shoe insert. It will be appreciated that the exact location of the connection point between the elastic leg strap and a left or right shoe insert is not critical. Essentially, however, the elastic leg strap  18  must be connected to the shoe insert  10  in such a manner that, when the insert  10  is positioned within a shoe and a foot is inserted into the shoe on top of the insert  10  and tension is applied to the elastic leg strap so that the elastic leg strap tends to lift the shoe, the insert  10  and the foot therein, the lifting force acts on the insert  10  on the rear half of the insert and, preferably, on the outside of the insert  10 . i.e., the left side for a left shoe insert and the right side for a right side shoe insert. 
   Turing now to  FIG. 2 , a right elastic leg strap  24  is positioned alongside a right leg RL of a person indicated generally at P. A lower end (not shown) of the right elastic leg strap  24  is positioned within a right shoe RS and is connected, inside of the shoe RS, to a right shoe insert (not shown) as described above. A second or upper end  26  of the right elastic leg strap  24  has been fed through a cinching buckle  28  and is hanging down adjacent to a middle portion  30  of the right elastic leg strap  24 . The cinching buckle  28  is supported on a tab  32  that is securely connected to a waist belt  34  that is secured about the waist of the person P. The waist belt  34  comprises a first end  36  that overlaps a second end  38  and the overlapping portions are connected together by any suitable means such as hook and loop fasteners or other mechanical fasteners (not shown), Alternatively, the belt  34  might be provided with straps and buckles (not shown). It is preferred that the belt  34  be elastic so that it can be fitted snugly and securely to the person P and so that tensile forces exerted against the belt  34  are distributed broadly through the belt  34 . In place of the belt  34  a conventional belt of the type typically used to hold Lip trousers may be used. An elastic belt having a substantial width, such as the belt  34 , is strongly preferred, however. 
   As an alternative to the cinching buckle  28 , hook and loop fasteners are illustrated for attaching an upper portion  40  of the right elastic leg strap  24  to the belt  34 . A hook strip  42  is secured by stitching, adhesive or other suitable means to the outside of the waist belt  34 . A plurality of loop strips  44  are secured to the upper portion  40  of the right elastic leg strap  24 . Regardless of whether the elastic leg strap  24  is secured to the belt  34  by a cinching buckle  28 , hook and loop fasteners  42  and  44  or some other means, when the elastic leg strap  24  is so connected, it must be stretched or tensioned, as described in more detail below. 
   A thigh strap  46  having a first end  48  and a second end  50  is slit at  52  so that the elastic leg strap  24  can be held between two rear portions  54  and a front portion  56  of the thigh strap  48 . This arrangement allows the elastic leg strap  24  to slide up and down relative to the thigh strap  46  but constrains the elastic leg strap  24  from moving around a person&#39;s thigh. In other words, the thigh strap  46  cooperates with the elastic leg strap  24  to maintain the leg strap  24  in a fixed circumferential location relative to the thigh of a person P. It is preferred that the thigh strap be elasticized. Connectors are provided on the ends  48  and  50  of the thigh strap  46  and hook and loop fasteners comprising a hook strip  58  and a loop strip  60  are the preferred type of connectors. The hook strip  58  and the loop strip  60  are secured by stitching, adhesive or other securing means to the first and second ends  48  and  50  of the thigh strap  46 . 
   Turning now to  FIG. 3 , a person P has on the device of the present invention. The right elastic leg strap  24  (not show) is secured between the right shoe insert I  0  (not shown) and the waist belt  34 . A left elastic leg strap (not shown) corresponding with the right elastic leg strap is secured between a left shoe insert (not shown) corresponding with but a mirror image of the right shoe insert  10  (not shown) and the waist belt  34 . The elastic leg straps are connected to the waist belt  34  so that when the person&#39;s legs are straight, as shown in  FIG. 3 , the elastic is tensioned. Further, the elastic leg straps are positioned at the rear of the person&#39;s feet on the outside, behind the person&#39;s knees on the outside and behind the persons limps on the outside so that, due to the tension in the elastic leg straps, the straps are operable to exert a force on the person&#39;s legs tending to bend or flex the legs at the knee and the hip, and to lift the person&#39;s feet. When the person is walking, and is in the swing phase of the person&#39;s gait, the leg that is swinging will be acted on by the elastic strap associated with that leg. Specifically, the strap will exert a lifting force on the associated foot and exert a force operable to tend to cause the leg to bend or flex at the knee and the hip. 
   Referring now to  FIG. 4 , cross sections through the lower portions, next to the feet, of a left leg LL and a right leg RL of the person P in  FIG. 3  are illustrated. Four quadrants are illustrated for each lower leg portion. The left leg LL has an outer front quadrant OF, an inner front quadrant IF, an inner rear quadrant IR and an outer rear quadrant OR. The right leg RL has an outer front quadrant OF, an inner front quadrant IF, an inner rear quadrant IR and an outer rear quadrant OR. The elastic leg strap  26  associated with the right leg RL is positioned in the outer rear OR quadrant of the right leg. A corresponding elastic leg strap  26 ′ that is associated with the left leg LL is also positioned in the outer rear OR quadrant of the left leg. This positioning of the elastic straps  26  and  26 ′ in the vicinity of the lower portions of the right and left legs is achieved and maintained by the right and left shoe inserts (not shown) as described above with reference to  FIG. 1 . 
   Referring now to  FIG. 5 , cross sections through the thigh portions of a left leg LL and a right leg, RL of the person P in  FIG. 3  are illustrated. Four quadrants are illustrated for each thigh leg portion. The left leg LL has an outer front quadrant OF, an inner front quadrant IF, an inner real quadrant IR and an outer rear quadrant OR. The right leg RL has an outer front quadrant OF, an inner front quadrant IF, an inner real quadrant IR and an outer real quadrant OR. The elastic leg strap  26  associated with the right leg RL is positioned in the outer real OR quadrant of the right leg in the thigh region. A corresponding elastic leg strap  26 ′ that is associated with the left leg LL is also positioned in the outer real OR quadrant of the left leg in the thigh region. This positioning of the elastic straps  26  and  26 ′ in the vicinity of the thigh portions of the right and left legs is achieved and maintained by the right thigh strap  46  and a left thigh strap  46 ′ ( FIGS. 3 and 5 ) and by positioning tile slits  52  thereof in the outer rear quadrants OR of the right and left leg, respectively. 
   Referring now to  FIG. 6 , a cross section through the hips H of the person P in  FIG. 3  is illustrated. Four quadrants are illustrated for the hip portion. The hips have a left outer front quadrant LOF, a right outer front quadrant ROF, a right outer rear quadrant ROR and a left outer real quadrant LOR. Tile elastic leg strap  26  associated with the right leg is positioned in the right outer rear ROR quadrant of the hips H. The corresponding elastic leg strap  26 ′ that is associated with the left leg LL is positioned in the left outer real LOR quadrant of the lips H. This positioning of the elastic straps  26  and  26 ′ in the vicinity of the hips is achieved and maintained by the position of the cinching buckles on the waist belt  34 . 
   The tension in the elastic legs straps is preferably adjustable through the cinching buckle or the hook and loop fasteners or other means for connecting the elastic leg straps to the waist belt. Tile most effective tension or the elastic leg straps may vary from person to person and can be readily determined by trial and error.