JP2001087329A - Stick for visually handicapped person - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a stick for a visually handicapped person in which the person can easily get over a small unevenness even when the stick collides with it and which can be easily handled and gives little fatigue. SOLUTION: This stick for a visually handicapped person is a stick wherein a rotating ring is fitted near the apex of the stick through a spring member. In addition, the above described ring is arranged so as to position in the rear of the apex part of the stick under a condition where the stick is used.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cane for visually impaired persons having a rotating wheel at the tip of the cane.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Currently, a cane for the visually impaired (hereinafter referred to as a cane) generally used is an ordinary white cane without a rotating wheel. In this, a stick of resin is attached to the tip of the walking stick, and the state of the passage is sensed by touching or sliding the passage on the passage. However, it is difficult to continuously detect the state of the passage by this method, and if the vehicle hits bumps or bumps or stairs, it may be injured or worse.

[0003] As a method of solving the above-mentioned problem of the cane,
There is a cane in the technical field to which the present invention belongs, which has a rotating wheel at the tip. This method is disclosed in patents, but is rarely used in practice. As a conventional example, there is Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 8-256812 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 8-256812). FIG. 4 shows a configuration and a use state of the conventional example. Two small rotating wheels 33 having a diameter of about 3 cm are attached to the cane main body 31a in parallel (not shown) via a bearing (not shown) so as to be freely rotatable. Further, the bearing is a cane main body 31a.
It is mounted so that it becomes coaxial with respect to. Further, a rigid structure having no elastic body is provided between the rotating wheel 33 and the cane main body 31a.

A person 6 holds a cane 31 having a rotating wheel 33 attached to the tip of the cane 31 and rolls it on a passage 7 for use. By rotating the rotating wheel 33 at the tip of the cane 31 straight or in a zigzag manner on the passage 7, the state of the passage,
For example, ascent and descent of stairs and small irregularities can be continuously and easily detected.

[0005] In the cane 31 to which the conventional rotating wheel 33 has arrived,
As a result of the above structure, there are the following problems. In the operation of rolling on the passage 7, if the bumper collides with even small irregularities less than the radius of the rotating wheel 33, the rotating wheel 33 is caught and the movement of the cane 31 stops at that location,
Each time, it is necessary to lift the stick 31 upward from the surface of the passage 7 to avoid unevenness. This operation is complicated, requires skill, and causes fatigue.

When the cane 31 is composed of two parallel rotating wheels, if only one of the rotating wheels 33 collides with unevenness, the cane 31 is rotated.
Since the direction is changed without permission, the operation of the cane 31 is further complicated and easily fatigued.

[0007]

In the above-mentioned conventional cane, it is easy to continuously detect the state of the passage. However, when it hits a small unevenness, the rotating wheel is caught and stops. If only one of the rotating wheels hits the unevenness, the cane changes direction without permission. As described above, there is a problem that the operation of the cane is complicated, requires skill, and the user is easily tired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and provides a wand for a visually impaired person who can easily get over even if it hits a small unevenness, can easily operate the wand, and has less fatigue. To provide.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cane having a rotating ring mounted near a distal end thereof via a spring member.

[0010] Further, in the wand, the rotating wheel is disposed so as to be located rearward of a tip portion of the wand when the wand is used.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3. FIG. FIG.
2 shows the configuration and use state of the wand for the visually impaired of the embodiment, FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the wand for the visually impaired according to the first modification, and FIG. 3 shows the configuration and use state of the wand for the visually impaired according to the second modification. Show. In FIG. 1, a rotating wheel 3 is attached to the vicinity of the distal end of a cane main body 1a via a spring member 2, and the rotating wheel 3 is located rearward from a distal end portion 1d of the cane 1 when the cane 1 is used. It is arranged as follows.

One rotating wheel 3 is attached to the spring member 2 via a bearing (not shown) so as to be rotatable. Further, the bearing is rotated so as to rotate in parallel with the surface of the passage 7. , Attached to the spring member 2. With such a structure, the rotating wheel 3 can freely perform both straight traveling and zigzag operation. The person 6 holds the grip portion 1b of the cane 1 and pushes in the direction of the ram 1c to roll the rotating wheel 3 on the passage 7,
The wand 1 is operated in a straight line or zigzag left and right while sensing the condition on the passage 7 and moving.

As the spring member 2, a leaf spring, a coil spring, a linear spring, or the like is used, and is mounted so as to be vertically displaced with respect to the surface of the passage 7. The material of the spring member 2 is
An elastic material such as a metal and a resin is suitable. When a leaf spring is used as the spring member 2, it may be mounted in a U-shape as shown in FIG. If the strength of the leaf spring is too strong, it will be close to a rigid body, and will be close to the conventional example of FIG. 4, and the effect will be insufficient. On the other hand, if it is too weak, stone pier 1c will be in passage 7.
And the effect of the rotating wheel 3 is lost. The strength of the spring is preferably set experimentally.

The rotating wheel 3 is disposed so as to be located behind the tip 1d of the cane 1 when the cane 1 is used. Accordingly, in a state where the cane 1 is pushed in the direction of the tip of the ram 1c, the rotating wheel 3 is moved by the spring member 2 to the tip 1d.
You will be pulled in the direction. As a result, for example, when the rotating wheel 3 collides with small irregularities having a radius of about the radius of the rotating wheel 3, the spring member 2 is vertically displaced with respect to the surface of the passage 7 so that the rotating wheel 3 It is possible to move up and down with respect to the surface and easily get over the unevenness. With this effect, the person 6 does not have to bother raising and lowering the stick 1 in the vertical direction with respect to the irregularities on the surface of the passage 7. Also, since there is only one rotating wheel 3,
It is possible to reduce the possibility that the wand 1 faces in an arbitrary direction due to collision with the unevenness.

The tip 1c of the cane 1 has a spring member 2c.
And / or a structure that protrudes from the rotating wheel 3 toward the tip of the cane 1, that is, the side opposite to the person 6. in this case,
In the use state of FIG. 1, it is necessary to have a structure in which the ram 1 c does not contact the surface of the passage 7. By adopting such a structure, when the person 6 stops and makes the cane 1 stand vertically, and rests, the stone foot 1c is in contact with the passage 7 surface, so that the weight of the arm of the person 6 can be sufficiently supported.

A haptic device 4 can be provided near the tip of the cane 1. The haptic device 4 is preferably a stainless steel or resin wire or plate having a diameter of about 1 to 2 mm. This wire is formed in a loop or T-shape having a width in the left-right direction of about 30 to 40 cm as shown in FIG. The haptic device 4 is attached to the walking stick 1 so as to be separated from the passage 7 by about 1 cm. With such a structure, it is possible to detect a protrusion on the surface of the passage 7 which may be tripped over the entire width of the walk. As it is lighter than the shock caused by, the surprise can be reduced.

By using a human body sensor using infrared rays as a modification of the haptic device, if there is an obstacle ahead in the traveling direction, it can be detected whether it is an animal including a human or another object. If the lens attached to the human body sensor has too wide a viewing angle, it is difficult to determine. Therefore, it is preferable to reduce the viewing angle to some extent. As a method therefor, there is a method of attaching a cylindrical shield to the front of the human body sensor. It should be noted that the human body sensor also reacts to a wall or the like heated by the sun.

As a similar device to the haptic device, the stick can be provided with a system for exchanging information in a non-contact manner using electromagnetic waves or infrared rays. For example, a guide system in which a reader / writer is carried by a person and placed on a path passing through a chip or a tag equipped with an IC capable of transmitting and receiving signals to and from the reader / writer in a non-contact manner using electromagnetic waves. Is also used. By providing an antenna near the tip of the cane, there is an advantage that it is not necessary to generate a strong electromagnetic wave around the antenna and the antenna can be downsized.

FIG. 2 shows a first modification. When the person 6 walks, a width of about 30 to 40 cm is required. If an obstacle cannot be sensed during this width, it may cause injury if it hits the obstacle. In view of this, a plurality of the spring members 12 and the rotating wheels 13 are attached in accordance with the width. By doing so, it is possible to detect the unevenness of the entire lateral width of walking without operating the walking stick 11 zigzag. In this case, the spring member 12 does not have to be attached to all the rotating wheels 13.

FIG. 3 shows a second modification. A rotating wheel 23 is provided at the tip of the stick 21 via a spring member 22. The rotating wheel 23 is sufficiently larger than the unevenness in the passage 7, for example, about 10 cm in diameter, and is made of a light plate material to reduce the weight. When the diameter of the rotating wheel 23 is sufficiently larger than the unevenness, the unevenness can be easily overcome. By using the spring member 22, the impact from the rotating wheel 23 due to the unevenness of the passage 7 is reduced, and the fatigue of the user can be reduced.

[0021]

The present invention has the effect of providing a wand for the visually impaired who can easily get over even if it hits small irregularities, can easily operate the wand, and has little fatigue.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration and a use state of a cane for a visually impaired person according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a wand for a visually impaired person according to a first modification;

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration and a use state of a wand for a visually impaired person according to a second modification.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration and a use state of a conventional cane for the visually impaired.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Wand for visually impaired person 1a Wand main body 1b Grip part 1c Stone stick 1d Tip part 2 Spring member 3 Rotating wheel 4 Tactile device 5 Support body 6 people 7 Passage 11 Wand for visually impaired person 11a Cane body 11b Gripping part 11c Stone stick 12 Spring member 13 Rotating wheel 15 Support body 21 Wand for visually impaired person 21a Cane body 21b Gripping part 22 Spring member 23 Rotating ring 31 Wand for visually impaired person 31a Cane body 31b Gripping part 33 Rotating ring

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A wand for a visually impaired person, wherein a rotating wheel is attached near a tip end via a spring member. 2. The visual aid according to claim 1, wherein the rotating wheel is disposed so as to be located rearward of a tip portion of the wand for the visually impaired when the wand for the visually impaired is in use. Cane for the disabled.