JP2006081632A - Foldable stick - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a foldable stick with a high quality which achieves excellent stability, invariably with ease of handling by restricting the accidental rotation about the axis of the joint fitted parts at the respective link parts of the pipe shafts. <P>SOLUTION: Eight ribs 19 along the direction of the axis of a protruded joint 7 are formed being dispersed circumferentially at equal intervals on the side 15 of the fitting protruded part of the protruded joint 7 while eight grooves 20 are formed being dispersed circumferentially at equal intervals corresponding to the respective ribs 19 on the side 14 of the fitting recessed part of a recessed joint 8. The ribs 19 provided on the side 15 of the fitting protruded part are so arranged as to be larger gradually in width and height toward the side of its base end from the side of its top surface 13. The grooves 20 provided on the side 14 of the fitting recessed part corresponding to the ribs are so arranged as to be larger gradually in width and depth toward the side of its tip face 16 from the side of its bottom surface 12. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a folding cane.

  Conventionally, walking sticks (also referred to as walking sticks and poles) have been used not only for the disabled, such as elderly people, but also for healthy people, such as trekking and light climbing. In recent years, such canes are considered to be portable and can be extended and held to a predetermined length when used, as proposed in Patent Documents 1 to 3, for example, and can be folded and carried when not in use. Folding canes (hereinafter simply referred to as folding canes) are widely used.

The general structure of this type of folding cane will be described below.
That is, as shown in FIG. 8, the folding cane 31 is exemplified by three to five short pipe shafts 32 (in FIG. 8, the one constituted by four pipe shafts 32a, 32b, 32c, 32d). Are used as one long cane, and a grip 33 for a user to hold by hand is attached to the upper end of the pipe shaft 32a constituting one end of the cane. In addition, a non-slip rubber protrusion 34 is attached to the lower end of the pipe shaft 32d constituting the other end of the cane.

Normally, when the folding cane 31 is not in use, the pipe shafts 32a, 32b, 32c, and 32d in a connected state are separated by being separated as shown in FIG. It can be folded and bundled with a binding band or the like and placed in a handbag or bag for easy carrying. In use, the pipe shafts 32a, 32b, 32c, and 32d can be connected again as shown in FIG. 8 to be used as one long cane.
An elastic string member 35 such as a rubber string is inserted into each pipe shaft 32 constituting the folding cane 31 from one end to the other end of the folding cane 31, and the elastic string member. 35, the pipe shafts 32a, 32b, 32c, and 32d are combined and connected.

  Usually, as the connection structure of each of the pipe shafts 32, as shown in FIGS. 10 to 11, the fitting convex portion 37 of the convex joint 36 provided at the end portion of one pipe shaft 32 is replaced with the other. The pipe shaft 32 has a structure in which it is inserted concentrically into a fitting recess 39 of a concave joint 38 provided at the end of the pipe shaft 32. When the pipe shafts 32a, 32b, 32c, and 32d are connected, the fitting state of the convex joint 36 and the concave joint 38 is the inside of the pipe shafts 32a, 32b, 32c, and 32d. It is held by the tension of the elastic string member 35 inserted through the fitting, and the fitting portions of both the convex joint 36 and the concave joint 38 are fitted so that they are in close contact with each other, and the fitting state is reliably maintained. It is configured as follows.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 32-10640 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 61-73216 JP 2001-178513 A

By the way, the fitting part of both the convex joint and the concave joint described above has a cylindrical shape whose cross section forms a perfect circle in order to enable smooth and instantaneous fitting when the pipe shaft is connected, or Most of them are formed in a conical shape, and when the stress around the axis acts on the pipe shaft, the fitting convex part of the convex joint moves around the axis Z in the fitting concave part of the concave joint. The structure is easy to rotate.
If the joint rotates around the axis in this way, the connection state of each pipe shaft becomes very unstable, and it is difficult to use during use and makes the user feel uncomfortable. There was a problem.

  Therefore, in view of such a conventional problem, the present invention suppresses rotation around the axis of the joint fitting portion in each connecting portion of each pipe shaft, is always easy to use, has excellent stability, and has a high quality. The purpose is to provide.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is configured as follows.
That is, the folding cane according to claim 1 of the present invention is configured by connecting a plurality of pipe shafts, and the connection of each of the pipe shafts is provided at the end of the pipe shaft, and the concave joint, In the folding cane performed by fitting, ribs or grooves distributed at equal intervals in the circumferential direction are formed on at least a part of the fitting surfaces of the convex joint and the concave joint. It is.

  Moreover, Claim 2 is the folding cane according to Claim 1, wherein the convex joint corresponds to the fitting convex upper surface corresponding to the fitting concave bottom surface of the concave joint and the fitting concave side surface. A fitting convex side surface and a flange upper surface corresponding to the tip end surface of the concave joint, and the fitting convex surface, the fitting convex side surface, and the collar upper surface on any one of the surfaces A rib or a groove is formed.

  A third aspect of the present invention provides the folding cane according to the second aspect, wherein a rib or groove formed on a side surface of the fitting convex portion is formed along an axial direction of the convex joint, and the fitting convex The ribs or grooves formed on the upper surface of the part and the upper surface of the collar part are formed along a radial direction orthogonal to the axis.

  A fourth aspect of the present invention is the folding cane according to the second or third aspect, wherein the rib or groove formed on the side surface of the fitting convex portion is closer to the proximal end side than the tip surface side of the fitting convex portion. The width and / or height (depth) is large.

  A fifth aspect of the present invention provides the folding cane according to the first aspect, wherein the concave joint corresponds to a fitting concave bottom surface corresponding to the fitting convex top surface of the convex joint and the fitting convex side surface. It has a fitting recess side surface and a front end surface corresponding to a flange upper surface formed on the base end side of the fitting convex portion, and any one of the fitting recess bottom surface, the fitting recess side surface, and the tip surface The rib or groove is formed on the surface.

  Claim 6 is the folding cane according to claim 5, wherein the rib or groove formed on the side surface of the fitting recess is formed along the axial direction of the concave joint, and the fitting recess bottom surface and The ribs or grooves formed on the front end surface are formed along a radial direction orthogonal to the axis.

  Claim 7 is the folding cane according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the rib or groove formed on the side of the fitting recess has a width and In other words, the height (depth) is large.

  As described above, in the folding cane of the present invention, when the convex joint and the concave joint are fitted, the ribs and grooves formed on the fitting surfaces of the joints are engaged and locked. Thus, the fitting convex portion of the convex joint is prevented from rotating around the axis within the fitting concave portion of the concave joint. As a result, a stable connection state can always be obtained even if stress around the axis acts on the pipe shaft.

  Further, since the ribs and grooves described above are formed at equal intervals on the peripheral surface of the fitting surface, the positions of the ribs and grooves are visually checked when the convex joint and the concave joint are fitted. Even if the positioning is not performed, the rib can be easily fitted into the groove, whereby the joints can be smoothly and instantaneously fitted.

  Still further, when the rib and / or groove is formed on the side surface of the fitting convex portion or the side surface of the fitting concave portion, the width and height of the rib or groove formed on the side surface of the fitting convex portion is set to the width of the fitting convex portion. It is configured to be smaller on the top surface side and larger on the base end side, and correspondingly, the width and height of ribs and grooves formed on the side surface of the fitting recess are reduced on the bottom surface side of the fitting recess. By configuring so that the tip side becomes larger, the fitting of both the joints as described above can be performed more smoothly, and when the both joints are fitted, the rib and the groove are strong. It becomes engaged and locked, and a good connected state can be expressed. In addition, even if there is an error in machining accuracy between the convex joint and the concave joint, both the joints can always be securely fitted, and there is no rattling at the connecting portion of the pipe shaft. .

The present invention will be described below based on preferred embodiments described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an external explanatory view of the folding cane 1 of the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a state in which the folding cane 1 is folded.

  That is, the folding cane 1 shown in this embodiment is similar to the folding cane described above, and shows an example in which a plurality of short pipe shafts 2 (in this embodiment, four pipe shafts 2a, 2b, 2c, and 2d are used). ) Are used as a single long cane, and the upper end portion of the pipe shaft 2a constituting the first stage (uppermost stage) located on one end side of the folding cane 1 is attached to the user. A grip 3 for gripping with a hand is attached, and a strap 5 is attached to a lower portion of the grip 3 via a joint material 4. Further, an anti-slip rubber stone protrusion 6 is attached to the lower end portion of the pipe shaft 2d constituting the fourth stage (lowermost stage) located on the other end side of the folding cane 1.

  Each of the pipe shafts 2a, 2b, 2c, and 2d is made of, for example, a tubular body having an outer diameter of 16 mm and a thickness of about 1.2 mm formed of a fiber reinforced resin material. Each of the pipe shafts 2a, 2b, 2c, and 2d has a length La of about 170 mm to 230 mm. The pipe shafts 2a, 2b, 2c, and 2d are connected to form a single folding cane 1. In this case, the total length L of the folding cane 1 is configured to be about 850 mm. In the folding cane 1 of the present embodiment, each of the pipe shafts 2a, 2b, 2c, and 2d is made of a fiber reinforced resin material. The folding cane 1 can be made lighter and lighter and can be easily handled and carried by elderly people.

  When the folding cane 1 is not in use, as shown in FIG. 2, the pipe shafts 2a, 2b, 2c, and 2d from the first stage to the fourth stage are separated and separated into a compact state. It is folded so that it is bundled with a binding band or the like and put in a handbag or the like so that it can be carried easily. On the other hand, at the time of use, as shown in FIG. 1, the pipe shafts 2a, 2b, 2c, and 2d can be connected again to be used as one long cane.

  FIG. 3 shows a connecting portion between the first-stage and second-stage pipe shafts 2 a and 2 b in the folding cane 1. In the folding cane 1 of the present embodiment, the connecting portions of the second and third stage pipe shafts 2b and 2c and the connecting portions of the third and fourth stage pipe shafts 2c and 2d are also provided. The configuration is similar to this.

In the connecting portion of the pipe shafts 2a and 2b, the pipe shafts 2a and 2b are connected by fitting the convex joint 7 and the concave joint 8 together. In the example of FIG. 3, the fitting convex portion 9 of the convex joint 7 bonded and fixed to the end portion of the first stage pipe shaft 2a is bonded and fixed to the end portion of the second stage pipe shaft 2b. The structure which inserts in the fitting recessed part 10 of the concave joint 8, and fits is taken.
The convex joint 7 has a structure having a fitting convex portion 9 inserted into the fitting concave portion 10 of the concave joint 8 and a flange portion 11 on the proximal end side of the fitting convex portion 9. When the concave joint 8 is fitted, the fitting convex upper surface 13 corresponding to the fitting concave bottom surface 12 of the concave joint 8; the fitting convex side 15 corresponding to the fitting concave side surface 14; And a flange upper surface 17 corresponding to the distal end surface 16 of the concave joint 8. On the other hand, the concave joint 8 has a structure having a fitting concave portion 10 for receiving the fitting convex portion 9 of the convex joint 7, and when the concave joint 8 is fitted to the convex joint 7, Corresponding to the fitting concave bottom surface 12 corresponding to the fitting convex upper surface 13 of the convex joint 7, the fitting concave side surface 14 corresponding to the fitting convex side surface 15, and the flange upper surface 17 of the convex joint 8. And a leading end surface 16. In addition, in this embodiment, while the fitting recessed part side surface 14 of the said concave joint 8 is formed in the taper shape which expands sequentially toward the opening edge part located in the front end surface 16 side of the said concave joint 8, The fitting convex side surface 15 of the convex joint 7 is formed in a tapered shape corresponding to the fitting concave side surface 14 of the concave joint 8 successively.

  When the pipe shafts 2a and 2b are connected, the fitting state of the fitting convex portion 9 of the convex joint 7 and the fitting concave portion 10 of the concave joint 8 is inserted into the pipe shafts 2a and 2b. It is held by the tension of the elastic string member 18. In the folding cane 1 of this embodiment, an elastic string member 18 is inserted through the inside of each pipe shaft 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, and one end of the elastic string member 18 is a first-stage pipe. The other end is locked in the fourth stage pipe shaft 2d. As a result, when the pipe shafts 2a, 2b, 2c, and 2d are connected to each other, the tension in the expansion / contraction direction of the elastic string member 18 is applied so that the fitting surfaces of both joints are in close contact with each other. Is surely maintained.

  In such a connecting portion of the pipe shafts 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d, in the present embodiment, the convex joint 7 and the concave joint 8 are combined and combined with each other. A major feature is that ribs 19 or grooves 20 dispersed at equal intervals in the circumferential direction are formed on at least a part of the fitting surface of the concave joint 8.

  As the fitting surface on which the rib 19 or the groove 20 is formed, the fitting convex portion upper surface 13, the fitting convex portion side surface 15, the flange upper surface 17 and / or the concave shape of the convex joint 7 described above are used. Any one of the fitting recess bottom surface 12, the fitting recess side surface 14, and the tip surface 16 of the joint 8 may be mentioned.

  In the example shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, eight ribs 19 along the axial direction of the convex joint 7 are formed on the fitting convex side surface 15 of the convex joint 7 so as to be dispersed at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. In addition, eight grooves 20 corresponding to the ribs 19 are formed at equal intervals in the circumferential direction on the fitting recess side surface 14 of the concave joint 8. The ribs 19 provided on the side surfaces 15 of the fitting protrusions are configured such that the width and height of the ribs 19 increase toward the base end side from the fitting protrusion upper surface 13 side, and correspond to this. The groove 20 provided in the fitting recess side surface 14 is configured such that the width and depth of the groove 20 increase from the fitting recess bottom surface 12 side toward the tip surface 16 side. 4A is an explanatory diagram of an end surface of the fitting convex portion 9 in the aa line portion of FIG. 3, and FIG. 4B is a fitting concave portion 10 in the bb line portion of FIG. The end surface explanatory drawing of is represented.

  In such a folding cane 1 shown in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, when the convex joint 7 and the concave joint 8 are fitted, the fitting convexes forming the fitting surfaces of the two joints. The rib 19 formed on the side surface 15 and the groove 20 formed on the side surface 14 of the fitting recess are engaged and locked so that the fitting projection 9 of the convex joint 7 is fitted to the concave joint 8. It is prevented from rotating around the axis within the joint recess 10. As a result, a stable connection state can always be obtained even if stress around the axis acts on the pipe shafts 2a, 2b, 2c, and 2d.

  Further, since the ribs 19 and the grooves 20 are formed at equal intervals on the peripheral surfaces of the fitting convex side surface 15 and the fitting concave side surface 14, the convex joint 7 and the concave joint are formed. 8, the rib 19 can be easily inserted into the groove 20 without visual alignment of the positions of the rib 19 and the groove 20. Matching can be performed smoothly and instantaneously.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the rib 19 is configured such that the width and height of the rib 19 are reduced on the fitting convex portion upper surface 13 side of the convex joint 7 and increased toward the proximal end side, and correspondingly. The width and height of the groove 20 are made smaller on the fitting recess bottom surface 12 side of the concave joint and larger on the tip surface 16 side. Can be performed more smoothly, and when the two joints are fitted, the rib 19 and the groove 20 are strongly engaged and locked, and a good connected state can be expressed. In addition, even if there is an error in machining accuracy between the convex joint 7 and the concave joint 8, both the joints can always be reliably fitted, and rattling occurs at the connecting portion of the pipe shaft 2. There is nothing.

  In the above embodiment, the example in which the eight ribs 19 and the groove 20 are formed on the fitting convex side surface 15 and the fitting concave side surface 14 has been described, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The number of the ribs 19 and / or the grooves 20 can be appropriately selected as long as it is within the range of 3 or more and 20 or less. If the number of the ribs 19 and / or grooves 20 is less than three, the joints of the two joints cannot be smoothly and instantaneously fitted, and the number of the ribs 19 and / or grooves 20 is twenty. If it is more, the forming process of the rib 19 or the groove 20 becomes difficult and the processing accuracy tends to be lowered. The number of the ribs 19 and / or grooves 20 is particularly preferably 4 or more and 12 or less.

  Further, the formation site of the rib 19 and / or the groove 20 is not limited to the example in which the rib is formed on the fitting convex side surface 15 and the fitting concave side surface 14, but for example, as shown in FIG. Ribs 19 are formed at equal intervals along the radial direction perpendicular to the axis Z of the convex joint 7 on the fitting convex top surface 13 of the joint 7, and on the fitting concave bottom surface 12 of the concave joint 8. The groove 20 corresponding to the rib 19 is formed, or as shown in FIG. 7, the flange upper surface 17 of the convex joint 7 has a radial direction orthogonal to the axis Z of the convex joint 7. The ribs 19 may be formed so as to be distributed at equal intervals along the grooves, and the grooves 20 corresponding to the ribs 19 may be formed on the distal end surface 16 of the concave joint 8.

  In the above embodiment, the rib 19 is formed on the convex joint 7 side and the groove 20 is formed on the concave joint 8 side. However, in the present invention, of course, this is the opposite form. A groove 20 is formed in any one of the fitting convex surface 13, the fitting convex side surface 15, and the flange upper surface 17 of the convex joint 7, and the fitting concave bottom surface 12 of the concave joint 8 is fitted. An example in which the rib 19 is formed on any one of the joint recess side surface 14 and the tip end surface 16 can also be used.

Explanatory drawing of the folding cane of this embodiment. Explanatory drawing which shows the state which folded the folding cane of this embodiment. The expansion explanatory view showing the connecting part of a pipe shaft. End surface explanatory drawing of a fitting convex part and a fitting recessed part. End face explanatory drawing showing the state which the fitting convex part and the fitting recessed part fitted. Explanatory drawing showing other embodiment. Explanatory drawing showing other embodiment. External appearance explanatory drawing of the conventional folding stick. External appearance explanatory drawing of the conventional folding stick. Explanatory drawing of the principal part of the conventional folding cane. Explanatory drawing of the principal part of the conventional folding cane.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Folding cane 2 Pipe shaft 2a Pipe shaft 2b Pipe shaft 2c Pipe shaft 2d Pipe shaft 3 Grip 4 Joining material 5 Strap 6 Stone bump 7 Convex joint 8 Concave joint 9 Fitting convex part 10 Fitting concave part 11 Ridge part 12 Fitting Concave bottom surface 13 Top surface of fitting convex portion 14 Side surface of fitting concave portion 15 Side surface of fitting convex portion 16 Front end surface 17 Top surface of buttocks 18 Elastic string material 19 Rib 20 Groove 31 Folding cane 32 Pipe shaft 32a Pipe shaft 32b Pipe shaft 32c Pipe shaft 32d Pipe shaft 33 Grip 34 Stone bump 35 Elastic string material 36 Convex joint 37 Fitting convex part 38 Concave joint 39 Fitting concave part

Claims (7)

  In the folding cane, which is configured by connecting a plurality of pipe shafts, and the connection of each of the pipe shafts is performed by fitting a convex joint provided at an end of the pipe shaft and a concave joint, the convex joint A folding cane characterized in that ribs or grooves distributed at equal intervals in the circumferential direction are formed on at least a part of the fitting surface of the concave joint.   The convex joint includes a fitting convex upper surface corresponding to the fitting concave bottom surface of the concave joint, a fitting convex side surface corresponding to the fitting concave side surface, and a flange corresponding to the tip surface of the concave joint. The rib or groove is formed on any one of the upper surface of the fitting convex portion, the side surface of the fitting convex portion, and the upper surface of the flange portion. Folding cane.   The rib or groove formed on the fitting convex side surface is formed along the axial direction of the convex joint, and the rib or groove formed on the fitting convex upper surface and the collar upper surface is The folding cane according to claim 2, wherein the folding cane is formed along a radial direction orthogonal to the axis.   The rib or groove formed on the side surface of the fitting convex portion is configured to have a larger width and / or height (depth) from the distal end side to the proximal end side of the fitting convex portion. The folding cane according to claim 2 or 3.   The concave joint is formed on the bottom surface of the fitting concave portion corresponding to the top surface of the fitting convex portion of the convex joint, the side surface of the fitting concave portion corresponding to the side surface of the fitting convex portion, and the base end side of the fitting convex portion. A rib upper surface and a corresponding tip surface, and the rib or groove is formed on any one of the fitting recess bottom surface, the fitting recess side surface, and the tip surface. The folding cane according to claim 1.   The rib or groove formed on the side surface of the fitting recess is formed along the axial direction of the concave joint, and the rib or groove formed on the bottom surface of the fitting recess and the tip surface is formed with the axis. The folding cane according to claim 5, wherein the folding cane is formed along an orthogonal radial direction. The rib or groove formed on the side surface of the fitting recess is configured such that the width and / or height (depth) of the rib or groove is larger from the bottom surface side of the fitting recess to the front end surface side. The folding cane according to claim 5 or 6.

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