Device for preventing falling

Abstract

Provided is a device for preventing falling, the device reducing the friction between the front portion of a shoe and the ground when walking, without affecting contact with the ground and propulsion, to prevent the front portion of the shoe from getting caught on the ground and leading to a fall. The device for preventing falling comprises: shoes which a user wears by inserting their feet thereinto; and falling-prevention units, attached to the front portion of the shoes, for reducing the friction between the front portion of the shoes and the ground in the swing phase when walking to prevent falling.

Description

Fall prevention devices

[0001] The present invention relates to a fall prevention device, and more particularly, to a fall prevention device that reduces friction between the front part of a shoe, which is not involved in contact with the ground and does not participate in generating propulsive force when walking, thereby preventing the front part of a shoe from tripping on the ground and falling.

[0002] Typically, patients with paralysis due to cerebrovascular disease exhibit a gait pattern in which the ankle cannot dorsiflex / plantarflex and invert / evert involuntary movements due to weakened muscle activity around the ankle joint caused by the paralysis of the nervous system. In other words, due to spastic paralysis of the plantar flexors, the heel of the foot does not touch the ground during the initial stance phase, but rather lands on the sole or toes, a phenomenon called foot drop.

[0003] Foot drop is a condition in which the foot cannot be lifted due to reduced or absent muscle activity around the ankle caused by paralysis of the nervous system.

[0004] Foot drop occurs when the tibialis anterior muscle around the ankle does not function properly due to paralysis of the central and peripheral nervous systems. It is particularly common in patients with spastic paralysis. To compensate, paralyzed patients adopt a circumduction gait, which slows down walking speed and increases energy consumption, resulting in an inefficient gait pattern. Ankle-foot orthosis, a physical assistance device worn to improve the gait of patients with foot drop, has become widely used.

[0005] Various devices are used as ankle joint orthotics, including Plastic AFO, UD FLEX, and AF SERVO.

[0006] Patients with foot drop often wear ankle braces like the ones described above while wearing shoes to ensure smooth walking. However, they must wear shoes that are a size larger than their usual size to accommodate the brace. This can lead to the shoe length becoming longer, which can cause the front of the shoe to catch on the ground during the swing phase, even with the brace on.

[0007] If you're lucky enough to find a pair of wide (W) shoes in your usual shoe size (though uncommon in Korea), you can wear the ankle brace without increasing the length of your shoe. This will reduce the risk of the front of your shoe catching on the ground during the swing phase, leading to a fall.

[0008] However, as the walking distance and time increase, muscle fatigue may increase and muscle strength may decrease in the knee flexors and hip extensors, which may reduce compensation for foot drop, and even if an ankle brace is worn, the front part of the shoe may catch on the ground during the swing phase, causing a fall.

[0009] Even if the foot drop is not possible due to lumbosacral nerve root abnormality or peroneal nerve abnormality (trauma, diabetic neuropathy, etc.), if the dorsiflexor muscles are weaker than normal, or even in normal people, if they walk a long distance, the front part of the shoe may catch on the ground during the swing phase due to muscle fatigue in the dorsiflexor muscles, knee flexor muscles, and hip flexor muscles, causing them to fall.

[0010] When walking in sneakers or slippers (when wearing slippers, the dorsiflexors work too hard to keep the slippers on, which can lead to muscle fatigue quickly), there are many cases where the front of the shoe or slipper gets caught on the ground and you almost fall.

[0011] Here, the sole of the shoe must have good contact with the ground (friction) in order to fulfill the original function of the shoe. However, even for patients with foot drop or normal people, the problem of falling occurs if the front part of the shoe touches the ground during the swing phase.

[0012] Therefore, a technology is needed to prevent falls by minimizing the contact force (friction) between the front part of the shoe and the front part of the shoe when the front part of the shoe touches the ground during the swing phase when walking for patients with foot drop or normal people.

[0013] Accordingly, the present invention has been proposed to solve the problem of common patients with drop feet and normal people falling due to the front part of the shoe getting caught on the ground during the swing phase due to the inherent function of the sole of the shoe, and the problem of the inability to prevent falls that may occur in advance due to the front part of the shoe getting caught on the ground during the swing phase in conventional ankle joint orthotics, and the purpose of the present invention is to provide a fall prevention device that prevents the front part of the shoe from getting caught on the ground by reducing the friction between the front part of the shoe and the ground, which is not involved in contact with the ground and generating propulsive force during walking.

[0014] Another object of the present invention is to provide a fall prevention device that prevents the front part of a shoe from getting caught on the ground and falling by installing a material that reduces friction with the ground on the front part of the shoe that does not participate in contact with the ground and does not participate in generating propulsive force when walking.

[0015] In order to achieve the above-described purpose, the "fall prevention device" according to the present invention is characterized by including a shoe that a user wears by inserting a foot; and a fall prevention unit that is mounted on the front portion of the shoe and reduces friction between the front portion of the shoe and the ground when the front portion of the shoe comes into contact with the ground during the swing phase of the user's walking, thereby preventing a fall.

[0016] Preferably, the fall prevention unit is

[0017] It is characterized by being formed as an integral part of the above shoe.

[0018] Preferably, the fall prevention unit is

[0019] It is characterized in that the front part of the shoe is formed to be detachable.

[0020] Preferably, the fall prevention unit is

[0021] A mounting part for mounting on the above shoes;

[0022] The above-mentioned mounting part is connected to one end, and is characterized by including a friction reducing part that reduces friction between the front part of the shoe and the ground to prevent falling.

[0023] Preferably, the mounting portion is made of a flexible material and is fitted into the shoe to be fixed to the shoe.

[0024] The above friction reduction part is characterized by being implemented with a plastic material to reduce friction when in contact with the ground.

[0025] Preferably, the friction reducing portion,

[0026] It is characterized by being implemented in a form that wraps around the front part and the lower part of the front part of the shoe.

[0027] Preferably, the friction reducing portion,

[0028] It is characterized in that it is implemented in a form that wraps only a part of the front part of the shoe and the lower part of one side of the front part.

[0029] According to the present invention, by reducing the friction between the front part of the shoe and the ground, which is not involved in contact with the ground and does not participate in generating propulsive force when walking, there is an effect of preventing the front part of the shoe from tripping over the ground.

[0030] Figure 1 is a structural diagram of a first embodiment of a fall prevention device according to the present invention.

[0031] Figures 2 and 3 are structural diagrams of a second embodiment of a fall prevention device according to the present invention.

[0032] Figures 4 and 5 are structural diagrams of a third embodiment of a fall prevention device according to the present invention.

[0033] Figures 6 and 7 are structural diagrams of a fourth embodiment of a fall prevention device according to the present invention.

[0034] Hereinafter, a fall prevention device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

[0035] The terms and words used in the present invention described below should not be interpreted as limited to their usual or dictionary meanings, but should be interpreted as meanings and concepts that conform to the technical idea of ​​the present invention based on the principle that the inventor can appropriately define the concept of the term in order to explain his or her own invention in the best way.

[0036] Therefore, the embodiments described in this specification and the configurations illustrated in the drawings are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention and do not represent all of the technical ideas of the present invention. Therefore, it should be understood that there may be various equivalents and modified examples that can replace them at the time of filing this application.

[0037] <First embodiment>

[0038] FIG. 1 is a structural diagram of a fall prevention device (1) according to a preferred first embodiment of the present invention, which may include a shoe (10) for a user to wear by inserting a foot, and a fall prevention unit (50) mounted on a front part (11) of the shoe (10) to reduce friction between the front part (11) of the shoe (10) and the ground when the front part (11) of the shoe (10) comes into contact with the ground during the swing phase of the user's walking, thereby preventing a fall.

[0039] The above front part (11) may be a part that does not participate in contact with the ground when walking in the shoe (10) and does not participate in generating propulsive force.

[0040] Here, the fall prevention part (50) can be formed integrally with the shoe (10), and can use a plastic series material (e.g., MC Nylon, Teflon, PE, PP, PC, Bakelite, etc.) that can reduce friction with the ground.

[0041] The operation of the fall prevention device (1) configured in this manner is described in detail as follows.

[0042] Patients with foot drop or normal people walk wearing shoes (10) with a fall prevention part (50) formed integrally.

[0043] If the front part (11) of the shoe (10) gets caught on the ground while walking, there is a risk of falling due to the structure and material used to improve the contact (friction) with the ground, which is the original function of the shoe (10).

[0044] In particular, in the case of patients with foot drop, the shoes worn while wearing an ankle brace are larger than usual, so the front part that does not participate in contact with the ground or generating propulsion when walking is larger than that of normal shoes.

[0045] In the case of patients with foot drop, the front part of the shoe, which is larger than that of regular shoes, often catches on the floor, and in this case, there is a high risk of falling due to the friction with the ground.

[0046] Accordingly, as is well known, the present invention has a fall prevention part (50) having a friction reduction function formed on the front part (11) of the shoe (10) and a part of its lower part, which is a part that does not participate in contact with the ground and does not participate in generating propulsive force when walking, thereby reducing friction with the ground and preventing falling.

[0047] Here, the fall prevention unit (50) uses a plastic material that can reduce friction with the ground as described above, so that when the front part (11) of the shoe (10), which is a part that does not participate in contact with the ground and does not participate in generating propulsion when walking, touches the floor (ground), a natural slip is induced by the material that can reduce friction with the ground, thereby preventing falling due to reduced friction with the ground.

[0048] Here, natural slip can be said to mean a state that does not mean slipping, but only gives the feeling of slight slipping.

[0049] Even for normal people, when the front part (11) of the shoe (10), which is not involved in contact with the ground during the swing phase of walking and is not involved in generating propulsive force, catches on the floor (ground), it is common to fall due to the contact force with the ground. However, even in cases where the front part (11) of the shoe (10) catches on the floor (ground) as described above, natural slip is induced by a material that can reduce friction with the ground, so that falling can be prevented due to reduced friction with the ground.

[0050] <Second embodiment>

[0051] FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are structural diagrams of a fall prevention device (1) according to a preferred second embodiment of the present invention, which may include a shoe (10) for a user to wear by inserting a foot, and a fall prevention unit (20) mounted on a front part (11) of the shoe (10) to reduce friction between the front part (11) of the shoe (10) and the ground when the front part (11) of the shoe (10) comes into contact with the ground during the swing phase of the user's walking, thereby preventing a fall.

[0052] The above front part (11) may be a part that does not participate in contact with the ground when walking in the shoe (10) and does not participate in generating propulsive force.

[0053] Here, the fall prevention part (20) can be formed detachably on the front part (11) of the shoe (10), and can be made of a plastic material (e.g., MC Nylon, Teflon, PE, PP, PC, Bakelite, etc.) that can reduce friction with the ground.

[0054] Preferably, the fall prevention part (20) may include a mounting part (21) for mounting on the shoe (10), and a friction reduction part (22) that is connected at one end to the mounting part (21) and reduces friction between the front part (11) of the shoe and the ground to prevent falling.

[0055] In addition, the mounting portion (21) is made of a flexible material and is fitted to the shoe (10) to secure the fall prevention portion (20) to the shoe (10). In addition, the friction reduction portion (22) may be made of a plastic material to reduce friction when in contact with the ground.

[0056] The operation of the second embodiment of the fall prevention device (1) configured in this manner is described in detail as follows.

[0057] First, a patient with foot drop or a normal person walks with a fall prevention part (20) attached to the front part (11) of a shoe (10).

[0058] Here, the attachment part (21) of the fall prevention part (20) is made of a flexible material with flexibility similar to rubber or a band, and can be easily attached to an existing shoe (10) by inserting it into the upper part of the front part (11) of the shoe (10).

[0059] When a fall prevention part (20) is installed on a shoe (10) using a mounting part (21), a friction reduction part (22) connected at one end to the mounting part (21) is naturally positioned on a part of the front part of the shoe (1) and / or the lower part of the front part, as shown in FIG. 3.

[0060] When the fall prevention part (20) is attached to the shoe (10), and the front part (11) of the shoe (10) catches on the ground while walking, there is a risk of falling due to the structure and material used to improve the contact force (friction force) with the ground, which is the original function of the shoe (10).

[0061] In particular, in the case of patients with foot drop, the shoes worn while wearing an ankle brace are larger than usual, so the front part that does not participate in contact with the ground or generating propulsion when walking is larger than that of normal shoes.

[0062] In the case of patients with foot drop, the front part of the shoe, which is larger than that of regular shoes, often catches on the floor, and in this case, there is a high risk of falling due to the friction with the ground.

[0063] Accordingly, as is well known, the present invention has a fall prevention part (20) having a friction reduction function formed on the front part (11) of the shoe (10) and a part of its lower part, which is a part that does not participate in contact with the ground and does not participate in generating propulsive force when walking, thereby reducing friction with the ground and preventing falling.

[0064] Here, the fall prevention unit (20) uses a plastic material that can reduce friction with the ground as described above, so that when the front part (11) of the shoe (10), which is a part that does not participate in contact with the ground and does not participate in generating propulsion when walking, touches the floor (ground), a natural slip is induced by the material that can reduce friction with the ground, thereby preventing falling due to reduced friction with the ground.

[0065] Here, natural slip can be said to mean a state that does not mean slipping, but only gives the feeling of slight slipping.

[0066] Even for normal people, when the front part (11) of the shoe (10), which is not involved in contact with the ground during the swing phase of walking and is not involved in generating propulsive force, catches on the floor (ground), it is common to fall due to the contact force with the ground. However, as described above, when the front part (11) of the shoe (10) catches on the floor (ground), natural slip is induced by a material that can reduce the friction with the ground, so that falling can be prevented due to the reduction in the friction with the ground.

[0067] <Third embodiment>

[0068] FIGS. 4 and 5 are structural diagrams of a fall prevention device (1) according to a preferred third embodiment of the present invention, which may include a shoe (10) for a user to wear by inserting a foot, and a fall prevention unit (30) mounted on a front part (11) of the shoe (10) to reduce friction between the front part (11) of the shoe (10) and the ground when the front part (11) of the shoe (10) comes into contact with the ground during the swing phase of the user's walking, thereby preventing a fall.

[0069] In this third embodiment, in contrast to the second embodiment, the friction reduction portion (32) of the fall prevention portion (30) is formed to be biased toward one side (i.e., the right side based on the front) of the front part (11) of the shoe (10).

[0070] The above front part (11) may be a part that does not participate in contact with the ground when walking in the shoe (10) and does not participate in generating propulsive force.

[0071] Here, the fall prevention part (30) can be formed detachably on the front part (11) of the shoe (10), and can be made of a plastic material (e.g., MC Nylon, Teflon, PE, PP, PC, Bakelite, etc.) that can reduce friction with the ground.

[0072] Preferably, the fall prevention part (30) may include a mounting part (31) for mounting on the shoe (10), and a friction reduction part (32) connected at one end to the mounting part (31) to reduce friction between the front part (11) of the shoe and the ground to prevent falling.

[0073] In addition, the mounting portion (31) is made of a flexible material and is fitted to the shoe (10) to secure the fall prevention portion (30) to the shoe (10). In addition, the friction reduction portion (32) may be made of a plastic material to reduce friction when in contact with the ground.

[0074] The operation of the third embodiment of the fall prevention device (1) configured in this manner is described in detail as follows.

[0075] First, a patient with foot drop or a normal person walks with a fall prevention part (30) attached to the front part (11) of a shoe (10).

[0076] Here, the attachment part (31) of the fall prevention part (30) is made of a flexible material with flexibility similar to rubber or a band, and can be easily attached to an existing shoe (10) by inserting it into the upper part of the front part (11) of the shoe (10).

[0077] When a fall prevention part (30) is mounted on a shoe (10) using a mounting part (31), a friction reduction part (32) connected at one end to the mounting part (31) is naturally positioned on a part of the front part of the shoe (10) and / or the lower part of the front part, as shown in FIG. 5.

[0078] When the fall prevention part (30) is installed on the shoe (10), and the front part (11) of the shoe (10) catches on the ground while walking, there is a risk of falling due to the structure and material used to improve the contact force (friction force) with the ground, which is the original function of the shoe (10).

[0079] In particular, in the case of patients with foot drop, the shoes worn while wearing an ankle brace are larger than usual, so the front part that does not participate in contact with the ground or generating propulsion when walking is larger than that of normal shoes.

[0080] In the case of patients with foot drop, the front part of the shoe, which is larger than that of regular shoes, often catches on the floor, and in this case, there is a high risk of falling due to the friction with the ground.

[0081] Accordingly, as is well known, the present invention has a fall prevention part (30) having a friction reduction function formed on the front part (11) of the shoe (10) and a part of its lower part, which is a part that does not participate in contact with the ground and does not participate in generating propulsion when walking, thereby reducing friction with the ground and preventing falling.

[0082] Here, the fall prevention unit (30) uses a plastic material that can reduce friction with the ground as described above, so that when the front part (11) of the shoe (10), which is a part that does not participate in contact with the ground and does not participate in generating propulsion when walking, touches the floor (ground), a natural slip is induced by the material that can reduce friction with the ground, thereby preventing falling due to reduced friction with the ground.

[0083] Here, natural slip can be said to mean a state that does not mean slipping, but only gives the feeling of slipping slightly.

[0084] Even for normal people, when the front part (11) of the shoe (10), which is not involved in contact with the ground during the swing phase of walking and is not involved in generating propulsive force, catches on the floor (ground), it is common to fall due to the contact force with the ground. However, as described above, when the front part (11) of the shoe (10) catches on the floor (ground), natural slip is induced by a material that can reduce the friction with the ground, so that falling can be prevented due to the reduction in the friction with the ground.

[0085] This third embodiment can be very useful for preventing falls in patients with foot drop and in normal people who have a condition where the little toe touches the ground more than the big toe when walking.

[0086] <Example 4>

[0087] FIGS. 6 and 7 are structural diagrams of a fall prevention device (1) according to a preferred fourth embodiment of the present invention, which may include a shoe (10) for a user to wear by inserting a foot, and a fall prevention unit (40) mounted on a front part (11) of the shoe (10) to reduce friction between the front part (11) of the shoe (10) and the ground when the front part (11) of the shoe (10) comes into contact with the ground during the swing phase of the user's walking, thereby preventing a fall.

[0088] In this fourth embodiment, in contrast to the third embodiment, the friction reduction portion (42) of the fall prevention portion (40) is formed to be biased toward one side (i.e., the left side based on the front) of the front part (11) of the shoe (10).

[0089] The above front part (11) may be a part that does not participate in contact with the ground when walking in the shoe (10) and does not participate in generating propulsive force.

[0090] Here, the fall prevention part (40) can be formed detachably on the front part (11) of the shoe (10), and can be made of a plastic material (e.g., MC Nylon, Teflon, PE, PP, PC, Bakelite, etc.) that can reduce friction with the ground.

[0091] Preferably, the fall prevention part (40) may include a mounting part (41) for mounting on the shoe (10), and a friction reduction part (42) connected at one end to the mounting part (41) to reduce friction between the front part (11) of the shoe and the ground to prevent falling.

[0092] In addition, the mounting portion (41) is made of a flexible material and is fitted to the shoe (10) to secure the fall prevention portion (40) to the shoe (10). In addition, the friction reduction portion (42) may be made of a plastic material to reduce friction when in contact with the ground.

[0093] The operation of the fourth embodiment of the fall prevention device (1) configured in this manner is described in detail as follows.

[0094] First, a patient with foot drop or a normal person walks with a fall prevention part (40) attached to the front part (11) of a shoe (10).

[0095] Here, the attachment part (41) of the fall prevention part (40) is made of a flexible material with flexibility similar to rubber or a band, and can be easily attached to an existing shoe (10) by inserting it into the upper part of the front part (11) of the shoe (10).

[0096] When a fall prevention part (40) is mounted on a shoe (10) using a mounting part (41), a friction reduction part (42) connected at one end to the mounting part (41) is naturally positioned on a part of the front part of the shoe (10) and / or the lower part of the front part, as shown in FIG. 7.

[0097] When the fall prevention part (40) is installed on the shoe (10), if the front part (11) of the shoe (10) catches on the ground while walking, there is a risk of falling due to the structure and material used to improve the contact force (friction force) with the ground, which is the original function of the shoe (10).

[0098] In particular, in the case of patients with foot drop, the shoes worn while wearing an ankle brace are larger than usual, so the front part that does not participate in contact with the ground or generating propulsion when walking is larger than that of normal shoes.

[0099] In the case of patients with foot drop, the front part of the shoe, which is larger than that of regular shoes, often catches on the floor, and in this case, there is a high risk of falling due to the friction with the ground.

[0100] Accordingly, as is well known, the present invention has a fall prevention part (40) having a friction reduction function formed on the front part (11) of the shoe (10) and a part of its lower part, which is a part that does not participate in contact with the ground and does not participate in generating propulsive force when walking, thereby reducing friction with the ground and preventing falling.

[0101] Here, the fall prevention unit (40) uses a plastic material that can reduce friction with the ground as described above, so that when the front part (11) of the shoe (10), which is a part that does not participate in contact with the ground and does not participate in generating propulsion when walking, touches the floor (ground), a natural slip is induced by the material that can reduce friction with the ground, thereby preventing falling due to reduced friction with the ground.

[0102] Here, natural slip can be said to mean a state that does not mean slipping, but only gives the feeling of slight slipping.

[0103] Even for normal people, when the front part (11) of the shoe (10), which is not involved in contact with the ground during the swing phase of walking and is not involved in generating propulsive force, catches on the floor (ground), it is common to fall due to the contact force with the ground. However, as described above, when the front part (11) of the shoe (10) catches on the floor (ground), natural slip is induced by a material that can reduce the friction with the ground, so that falling can be prevented due to the reduction in the friction with the ground.

[0104] This fourth embodiment can be very useful for preventing falls in patients with foot drop and in normal people with a condition where the big toe comes into contact with the ground more than the little toe when walking.

[0105] According to the present invention described above, by reducing the friction between the front part of the shoe and the ground, which is not involved in contact with the ground and does not participate in generating propulsive force when walking, it is possible to prevent the front part of the shoe from tripping over the ground.

[0106] In addition, according to the present invention, a material that reduces friction with the ground is installed on the front part of the shoe that does not participate in contact with the ground and does not participate in generating propulsion when walking, thereby preventing the front part of the shoe from getting caught on the ground and falling.

[0107] Although the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described according to the above embodiments, it is obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments and can be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit thereof.

[0108] The present invention applies to a technology for preventing falls by reducing the friction between the front part of a shoe and the ground.

Claims

1. Shoes that the user wears by inserting his or her feet; A fall prevention device characterized by including a fall prevention unit mounted on the front part of the shoe to reduce friction between the front part of the shoe and the ground when the front part of the shoe comes into contact with the ground during the swing phase of the user's walking, thereby preventing a fall.

2. In claim 1, the fall prevention unit comprises: A fall prevention device characterized in that it is formed integrally with the above shoe.

3. In claim 1, the fall prevention unit comprises: A fall prevention device characterized in that it is formed detachably on the front part of the shoe.

4. In claim 3, the fall prevention unit, A mounting part for mounting on the above shoes; A fall prevention device characterized in that it includes a friction reduction part that is connected to the above-mentioned mounting part and reduces friction between the front part of the shoe and the ground to prevent falling.

5. In claim 4, the mounting part is made of a flexible material and is fitted into the shoe to fix the fall prevention part to the shoe. A fall prevention device characterized in that the friction reduction part is implemented with a plastic material to reduce friction when in contact with the ground.

6. In claim 4, the friction reducing portion, A fall prevention device characterized in that it is implemented on a part of the front part and the lower part of the front part of the shoe.

7. In claim 4, the friction reducing portion, A fall prevention device characterized in that it is implemented on a part of the front part of the shoe and one side of the lower part of the front part.

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