Walking system for paraplegics

Claim 1

An orthopedic roller skate for paraplegics and persons with like infirmities, comprising: a sole plate adapted to be fixed to the foot of a person; two pairs of wheels with rubber peripheries mounted on the underside of said plate and having parallel axes, each of said wheels being provided with a respective shaft; respective ratchets on said shafts, and respective pawls engaging said ratchets for permitting only forward movement of said skate and corresponding rotation of said wheels in one sense; a further ratchet mounted on one of said shafts; a tongue engageable with said further ratchet and engageable with same to prevent rotation of the wheels of said one of said shafts in said one sense, said tongue having a generally Sshaped end proximal to said further ratchet; and a lever engageable with a leg portion of the person above said plate and acting upon said tongue for enabling said tongue to engage said further ratchet upon the travel of said skate in a forward direction corresponding to the completion of a step by said person, said lever being provided with a crankshaft along the underside of said plate and acting upon said S-shaped end.