S. Siu, M. Wong, A. Shah, H. Li, A. Soong, R. Cao, L. Pino, and J. Zelek (Canada)
Rollator, walker, parking brake
A large concern for the elderly is forgetting to engage the parking mechanism on the rollator (i.e., walker) before using it as a seat or for support. Interviews and research indicate that the elderly are prone to falling because of the dependence on memory to activate the rollator’s parking mechanism and also the inability of the current rollator to effectively park when the braking mechanism is engaged. We focus on creating a rollator that will brake by default and thus will eliminate the need for users to rely on memory to activate the parking mechanism. The first iteration of our design is based on the concept of a pin lock braking system that is activated by the top frame of the rollator. The second and final iteration of the design replaces the pin-lock with a chain-lock. Based on another round of customer feedback, the next generation of the rollator will replace the chain-lock with a ratchet gear lock.
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