Rollator Braking System With Integrated Handle Lever
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional rollator braking systems are difficult for patients to operate, requiring upper body strength and balance, increasing the risk of falling as they need to remove their hands from the handles to engage the brakes.
Innovation Solution
A new braking system featuring a gel handle for secure hand placement, allowing patients to pull up on the brakes and push a button with any finger to secure them, with an adjustable mechanism to accommodate limited strength, and a wire mechanism connecting the lever to the brakes for easy operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional rollator brakes are used, then the braking function is achieved, but the patient must remove hands from handles requiring upper body strength and increasing fall risk
Solution Approach 1:
The brake lever is integrated directly into the handle structure, merging the braking function with the handhold function. This allows patients to operate brakes without removing hands from handles, eliminating balance disruption and reducing fall risk while maintaining continuous hand support.
Solution Approach 2:
The brake system is designed to be operated passively by the patient's natural hand movement on the handle. The lever activates automatically when the patient shifts hand position or applies light pressure, eliminating the need for active upper body strength to secure brakes.
2Reliability
If traditional braking mechanism is used, then braking is achieved, but it requires upper body strength which most patients lack
Solution Approach 1:
A wire cable system acts as an intermediary between the lever and brake mechanism. This allows the lever to be positioned close to the handle for easy access while transmitting force to the brake over a longer distance, reducing the effort needed to activate the braking function.
Solution Approach 2:
The brake lever is positioned in a different spatial dimension relative to the handle, allowing operation through lateral hand movement rather than requiring downward or inward force. This dimensional change enables patients with limited hand strength to activate brakes effectively.
3Ease of manufacture
If plastic handle is used, then manufacturing is simple, but it does not provide secure hand placement
Solution Approach 1:
The handle combines plastic construction with an added gel grip overlay. The plastic provides structural integrity and ease of manufacture, while the gel material provides enhanced friction and comfort for secure hand placement. This composite approach solves both manufacturing simplicity and grip security requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
A braking system for a rollator with a frame includes an adjustable handle to be installed on a right subframe or a left subframe of the frame of the rollator, a bracket fixedly connected to the handle, a lever rotatably connected to the bracket, a lock movably connected to the bracket and configured to fix the lever in a locked position when the lock is moved relative to the bracket once the lever is rotated toward the frame, and a wire operably connected between the lever and a brake on the frame of the rollator, such that the wire applies the brake when the lever is rotated toward the bracket and when the lever is fixed in the locked position.