Steady Stepper

---- PROTOTYPE --------- PURPOSE: To design a safe and effective weight-bearing home workout machine for an individual with cerebral palsy. The Steady Stepper utilizes a commercial portable stair-stepper attached to a custom railing system to aid in transitioning from a wheelchair to the stair-stepper, and to provide stability while stepping. Interchangeable wooden pegs mounted to the bottom of each step allow for a varying range of motion. Weight distribution over each step, and variable foot position, provide variable workout intensity. The railing system consists of four side handrails: two top handrails and two bottom handrails, which attach to a wooden base. Each handrail is made of U-shaped pieces of 1 inch diameter aluminum piping. The front rail attaches diagonally across the four side rails and serves as a truss to prevent parallelogram failure. Caps on the extruding aluminum pipe prevent injury. Each handrail is covered in a foam grip. The aluminum railing is attached to a wooden base with shotgun clamps, which are welded to four 4 by 2 inch aluminum plates, bolted to the base. The wooden base extends 10 inches past the railing so that the consumer’s wheelchair can be rolled onto the base and secured by locking the wheels. The leading edge of the base is angled 45 degrees to ease the transition. Two wooden placement strips are bolted to the base-plate to prevent the stair-stepper from moving horizontally. Since the stepper is not permanently attached to the base-plate, it can be easily removed if desired. The exercise monitor of the stepper is attached to the middle of the front handrail with a Velcro strap, allowing the user to adjust the angle of the display. Five pairs of color-coded stoppers allow the consumer to vary her workout intensity by screwing a different pair into the bottom of each step, thereby altering the maximum step travel. The stopper lengths are 1 inch (black), 2 inch (red), 2.5 inch (green), 3 inch (yellow), and 3.5 inch (blue). Cost of parts for the Steady Stepper was approximately $510. TITLE: Steady Stepper. JOURNAL: NSF 2006 Engineering Senior Design Projects to Aid Persons with Disabilities. REF: Chapter 7: pp. 66-67. PAGES: 3 with cover. 2006.