“Mobility And Stabilization Caddy” in Patent Application Approval Process (USPTO 20230263692): Patent Application

2023 SEP 07 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- A patent application by the inventor Purdue, Carole (Grasonville, MD, US), filed on February 21, 2023, was made available online on August 24, 2023, according to news reporting originating from Washington, D.C., by NewsRx correspondents.

This patent application has not been assigned to a company or institution.

The following quote was obtained by the news editors from the background information supplied by the inventors: “According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, three million older adults are treated in emergency departments for injuries resulting from falls each year, and over three hundred thousand are hospitalized for hip fractures. More than 95% of all hip fractures are caused by falls, and 90% of falls occur in bathrooms. In 2015, the medical costs for falls totaled more than fifty billion dollars, and Medicare and Medicaid covered 75% of these costs. These facts justify the development of innovative devices designed to keep people stably on their feet and reduce the risk of falling.

“There are different types of prior art mobility assistive devices, each having one or more disadvantages. Most notable is the ubiquitous walker, typically with two wheels, sometimes with four, examples of which are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,762 (Obitts), U.S. Pat. No. 7,871,088 (Silva et al) and US20110315177 (McGann et al). The conventional walker is difficult to steer, is laterally unstable and subject to tipping to either side, and is known to cause damage to furniture and other surroundings when moved through tight spaces due to limited steerability. In addition, a person who needs the walker when rising from a bed at night in a dark environment may have trouble finding and properly positioning the walker for stable rising and then walking with it in the dark environment with furniture or other objects in that person’s path.

“Another type of mobility device is disclosed in U.S. Ser. No. 10/299,875 (Schoenig et al) which is intended for patients who are necessarily connected to medical components, such as infusion pumps, IV fluid containers, etc. The requirement for transporting these medical components with the patient renders the device more structurally complex and expensive than is necessary for persons having no need for transporting medical components but who need balance support while walking. In addition, the Schoenig et al type of device has the same troublesome issues that plague conventional walker units when used in a darkened environment.

“Accordingly, there is a need for a stable and inexpensive mobility device for persons requiring balance assistance while rising from a seated position and while walking, which device can be readily manipulated in use to avoid damaging furniture and other items and can be used safely in a dark environment. The present disclosure addresses that need.”

In addition to the background information obtained for this patent application, NewsRx journalists also obtained the inventor’s summary information for this patent application: “This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

“The apparatus disclosed herein is a tip resistant mobility and stabilization caddy having a grip capable of being grasped by the hand of a patient at any point along its 360° periphery and that is easily manipulated by the patient when walking. In one aspect the mobility and stabilization caddy comprises a plurality of at least four angularly spaced legs having upper and lower ends, an upper table plate secured to the upper ends of the legs and having top and bottom surfaces and a peripheral edge, a plurality of wheels, each wheel secured at the lower end of a respective leg, and a grip secured to the table plate in radially outward spaced relation to and surrounding the peripheral edge of the plate. In another aspect the caddy may be provided with a lighting element that may be actuated manually or automatically in response to motion to illuminate the floor around the caddy for patient safety. In further aspects the wheels may be easily directionally manipulated in unison by the patient grasping the grip and simply moving his/her wrist or arm to directionally orient the caddy. In a still further aspect, a lower ballast plate is provided vertically spaced below the table plate and secured to the lower ends of the legs to provide the caddy with a low center of gravity. The table plate may have a non-slip upper surface to permit stable transport of objects placed thereon, and a cup holder may be provided on that surface.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A mobility and stabilization caddy comprising: an upper table plate defining the upper end of said caddy and having top and bottom surfaces and a peripheral edge; a plurality of at least four angularly spaced legs; a plurality of at least four wheels, each wheel secured to a respective leg; and a grip secured to said table plate in radially outward spaced relation to and surrounding said peripheral edge.

“2. The mobility and stabilization caddy of claim 1, wherein said legs each have upper and lower ends, and wherein said table plate is secured to the upper ends of said legs.

“3. The mobility and stabilization caddy of claim 2 further comprising a lower ballast plate vertically spaced below the table plate and secured to the caddy proximate the lower ends of the legs.

“4. The mobility and stabilization caddy of claim 3 further comprising a light source secured to said table plate and positioned to illuminate an area surrounding and below said table plate.

“5. The mobility and stabilization caddy of claim 4 further comprising a manually actuable switch secured to said table plate for electrically actuating said light source.

“6. The mobility and stabilization caddy of claim 4 further comprising a motion sensor secured to said table plate for electrically actuating said light source in response to movement of said mobility and stabilization caddy.

“7. The mobility and stabilization caddy of claim 4 wherein said top surface of said table plate is a high friction surface for resisting movement of objects thereon during normal movement of the caddy.

“8. The mobility and stabilization caddy of claim 4 wherein said wheels are parts of respective self-braking caster assemblies omnidirectional, and are configured to be easily directionally manipulated in unison by a patient grasping said grip and forcefully moving said caddy.

“9. The mobility and stabilization caddy of claim 3 wherein said table plate is circular, and wherein said grip is a hollow tube in the form of an annulus disposed concentrically about said table plate.

“10. The mobility and stabilization caddy of claim 9 wherein said ballast plate is circular, and wherein said table and ballast and plates are concentrically aligned.

“11. The mobility and stabilization caddy of claim 10 wherein said table and ballast plates and said legs are made of steel, and said caddy weighs at least twenty-five pounds.

“12. The mobility and stabilization caddy of claim 10 wherein said legs are equiangularly spaced about a center point of said ballast plate.

“13. The mobility and stabilization caddy of claim 12 wherein said plurality of legs is five legs.

“14. The mobility and stabilization caddy of claim 12 further comprising at least one hook secured to one of said legs for supporting personal and medical items.

“15. The mobility and stabilization caddy of claim 3 wherein said top surface of said table plate is a high friction surface for resisting movement of objects thereon during normal movement of the caddy, and further comprising a drinking cup holder defined in said top surface.

“16. The mobility and stabilization caddy of claim 3 wherein said legs are longitudinally arcuately bent convexly toward one another.

“17. A mobility and stabilization caddy comprising: a table plate table having top and bottom surfaces and a peripheral edge; a plurality of at least four equiangularly spaced legs having upper and lower ends, wherein the table plate is secured to the upper ends of said legs; a ballast plate vertically spaced below and in coaxial alignment with the table plate, said ballast plate being and secured to the lower ends of the legs; a plurality of at least four wheels, each wheel secured to the lower end of a respective leg; and a grip secured to said table plate in radially outward spaced relation to and surrounding the peripheral edge of said table plate.

“18. The mobility and stabilization caddy of claim 15 wherein said table plate is circular, and wherein said grip is a hollow tube in the form of an annulus disposed concentrically about said table plate.

“19. The mobility and stabilization caddy of claim 16 further comprising a light source secured to said table plate and positioned to illuminate an area surrounding and below said table plate.

“20. The mobility and stabilization caddy of claim 16 wherein said legs are longitudinally arcuately bent convexly toward one another.”

URL and more information on this patent application, see: Purdue, Carole. Mobility And Stabilization Caddy. U.S. Patent Application Number 20230263692, filed February 21, 2023 and posted August 24, 2023. Patent URL (for desktop use only): https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/external.html?q=(20230263692)&db=US-PGPUB&type=ids

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