US 12,357,488 B2
Rear entry walker
H. Darrel Darby, Mount Pleasant, SC (US); and Wu Zhang, Proctorville, OH (US)
Assigned to DARCO INTERNATIONAL, INC., Huntington, WV (US)
Filed by DARCO INTERNATIONAL, INC., Huntington, WV (US)
Filed on Oct. 14, 2020, as Appl. No. 17/070,569.
Prior Publication US 2022/0110776 A1, Apr. 14, 2022
Int. Cl. A61F 5/01 (2006.01)
CPC A61F 5/0195 (2013.01) [A61F 5/0111 (2013.01)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A shell for a walker, the shell comprising:
a base configured to receive a foot of a user thereon;
a pair of side bodies extending upwards from the base and that are rigid, the pair of side bodies configured to cover a left side and a right side of at least one from among an ankle and a part of a lower leg of the user, respectively, while the foot of the user is received by the base; and
a tibial body that is rigid and fixed to each of the pair of side bodies, the tibial body configured to cover a tibia of the user, without also covering a top side of the foot, while the foot of the user is received by the base,
wherein the tibial body and the pair of side bodies are rigid such that the shell is configured to prevent ankle joint movement of the user,
in a top view of the shell, the tibial body has a triangular shape that is configured to offload pressure applied to the tibia of the user by avoiding contact with the tibia while causing a gastrocnemius muscle and a tibialis anterior muscle of the user to absorb forces applied by the tibial body,
the tibial body is integrally formed with each of the pair of side bodies,
a bottom end of the tibial body extends integrally from top ends of the pair of side bodies, and
an inner surface of the tibial body extends laterally and medially to an interior vertex portion of the tibial body such that the inner surface of the tibial body has an angle that is configured to prevent the tibial body from contacting with the tibia.