JP3174724U - Visually impaired staff - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a walking stick suitable for use by an elderly person suffering from visual impairment, capable of quickly grasping downstairs and steps, and preventing falling.
A cane body, a wheel provided on a distal end side of the cane body, a first position near the distal end of the cane body, and a first position away from the distal end of the cane body. A moving means 3 that enables the wheel 2 to move between the second position and an urging means 4 that urges the wheel 2 to the first position are provided. The wheel 2 is separated from the tip 1a of the cane body 1 to the opposite side to the tip of the cane body 1 by a predetermined distance at the first position, and the wheel 2 is disposed at the first position and is on the ground at normal times. In the event of an emergency, the wheel 2 moves to the second position, and the tip 1a of the cane body 1 is easily grounded to the ground.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a cane for a visually impaired person that is particularly useful for an elderly person suffering from a visual impairment such as a weakly sighted person.

  In addition to blindness, visually impaired persons suffering from visual impairments such as night blindness and visual field stenosis generally confirm the walking direction with a walking stick and obstacles around it. However, if you check by shaking the cane in this way, the obstacle will be confirmed by moving the cane away from the ground, so it is not possible to immediately grasp the obstacle near the ground, which may be very dangerous .

  Therefore, a visually impaired person's wand equipped with an ultrasonic sensor has been developed, and there is one that detects and confirms an obstacle with an ultrasonic sensor (for example, see Patent Document 1). However, in this cane, it is necessary to provide an ultrasonic sensor, a control device, and the like, which is complicated and very expensive. Further, since the ultrasonic sensor is provided on the front surface of the cane, it is not possible to quickly detect a staircase or the like below the ground.

  There is also a cane for the visually impaired with a wheel at the tip of the cane (see, for example, Patent Document 2). With this cane, obstacles are searched for while the wheels are always in contact with the ground, so it is possible to quickly find down stairs such as station platforms and protruding or recessed steps. However, since this cane has a wheel attached to the tip, it cannot be used as a cane for preventing falls, and is difficult to use when the visually handicapped person is an elderly person.

JP 2003-93454 A Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-82428

  Therefore, the problem to be solved by the present invention is particularly suitable for use by elderly people suffering from visual impairment, and can quickly grasp downstairs and steps, and can also be used as a cane to prevent falls. It is to provide a walking stick for the disabled.

In order to solve the above problems, a walking stick for the visually impaired according to the present invention is:
A cane body, a tip provided at one end of the cane body, a handle provided at the other end of the cane body, a wheel provided at the tip side of the cane body, and a first position near the tip of the cane body And a moving means for allowing the wheel to move between the first position and a second position away from the tip of the cane body, and a biasing means for biasing the wheel to the first position,
The wheel is separated from the tip of the wand body to the opposite side to the tip of the wand body by a predetermined distance at the first position,
During normal times, the user touches the wheel placed at the first position on the ground and rolls it,
In an emergency, when the user applies a force with the tip of the cane body directed toward the ground, the wheel moves to the second position so that the tip of the cane body is easily grounded to the ground.

Preferably,
The moving means includes a support member that rotatably supports the wheel, a rotation shaft member that extends in a direction substantially perpendicular to the axial direction of the cane body, and that allows the support member to rotate with respect to the cane body; A support member is inserted through the cane body, and a notch for restricting the movement of the support member at the first position and the second position is provided.

Preferably,
The handle extends in a direction substantially perpendicular to the length direction of the cane body, and extends substantially in parallel to the rotating shaft member for allowing the wheel to rotate.
A T-shape is formed by the handle and the cane body,
In a normal state, by changing the direction of the handle that the user has, the portion that contacts the ground can be easily changed between the wheel and the tip portion.

Preferably,
An illuminating unit is provided on the handle side of the cane body, and the illuminating unit irradiates the tip side of the cane body.

  As described above, the visually impaired person's wand according to the present invention includes the wand body, the wheel provided on the tip side of the wand body, the first position near the tip of the wand body, and the first position from the first position to the tip of the wand body. A moving means that enables the wheel to move between a second position away from the opposite side and an urging means that urges the wheel to the first position. Further, the wheel is separated from the tip of the cane body by a predetermined distance to the opposite side to the tip of the cane body at the first position. In a normal state, the wheel is arranged at the first position and comes into contact with the ground. In an emergency, the wheel moves to the second position and the tip of the cane body is easily brought into contact with the ground.

  Therefore, in normal times, the wheel is arranged at the first position near the tip of the cane, so that the obstacles on the ground can be searched with the wheel in contact with the ground, down stairs, protruding or recessed steps, etc. Can be found quickly. Furthermore, in an emergency that is likely to fall, the user applies force with the tip of the cane directed toward the ground, and as a result, the wheel moves to a second position away from the tip of the cane and the tip of the cane is grounded. The user can be prevented from falling.

It is a side view showing a cane for the visually impaired. It is a front view which shows a cane for visually handicapped persons. It is a rear view which shows a walking stick for visually impaired. The figure which shows the 1st use condition of a cane for visually impaired. The figure which shows the 2nd use condition of a walking stick for visually impaired.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a cane for a visually handicapped person according to the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

[overall structure]
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the cane for a visually impaired person includes a cane body 1 made of a cylindrical member. The cane for the visually impaired is a portion where the tip 1 a of the cane body 1 is in contact with the ground, and includes a rubber tip 11 on the tip side which is one end of the cane body 1. The tip portion 11 serves as a slip stopper with respect to the ground. In addition, the visually impaired person's wand includes a handle 10 at the other end opposite to the distal end side of the wand body 1.

  In the present embodiment, a single wheel 2 is provided on the distal end side of the cane body 1. The visually impaired person's wand is provided with a moving means 3, which moves the wheel 2 to a first position near the tip of the wand body 1 (position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 1) and from the first position to the wand body. It is possible to move between a second position (a position indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1) that is opposite to the tip of 1.

In the present embodiment, the moving means 3 is configured as follows. The wheel 2 is rotatably supported by the support member 30 by a rotating shaft member 34 extending in a direction 1 c perpendicular to the length direction 1 b of the cane body 1, and is disposed on the back side of the cane body 1.
The cane body 1 has a front side cut portion 32 and a back side cut portion 33 formed therein. The notches 32 and 33 are extended in the length direction 1 b of the cane body 1. The support member 30 is installed through the cane body 1 through the notches 32 and 33.
The support member 30 is rotatably supported with respect to the cane body 1 by a rotating shaft member 31 extending in a direction 1c perpendicular to the length direction 1b of the cane body 1. The support member 30 can be rotated by the rotating shaft member 31 and the rotational movement of the support member 30 is restricted at a predetermined angle by coming into contact with both ends of the cut portions 32 and 33. The lengths of the notches 32 and 33 are configured such that the movement of the wheel 2 is restricted at the first position and the second position.

The visually impaired person's wand includes a biasing member 4 made of a coil spring between the support member 30 and the wand body 1. By the urging force of the urging member 4, the wheel 2 is configured to be disposed at the first position (position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 1).
As shown in FIG. 1, the wheel 2 is separated from the tip 1 a of the cane body 1 by a predetermined distance t (for example, 1 to 3 cm) on the opposite side to the tip of the cane body 1 at the first position. As will be described later, when the wheel 2 is separated by a predetermined distance t, the wheel 2 comes into contact with the ground and easily rolls, and when the user 2 is prevented from falling, the wheel 2 is moved from the first position to the second position. It moves and the front-end | tip part 11 becomes easy to contact | abut to the ground. The predetermined distance t is appropriately determined according to the outer diameter size of the wheel 2 and ease of use.

  Furthermore, the cane body 1 is configured to be extendable and contractable by the length adjusting means 13, and the cane body 1 can be expanded and contracted according to the height of the user. In the present embodiment, the length adjusting means 13 is configured by fitting the divided cane bodies 1, and the pin members that can be moved in and out by shifting each cane body 1 are provided in a plurality of holes provided at predetermined intervals. Each cane body 1 is positioned by being fitted to the portion, and the cane body 1 is expanded and contracted. The length adjusting means 13 is provided in the vicinity of the handle portion 10 of the cane body 1 so that the cane body 1 can be easily expanded and contracted.

  Furthermore, the cane for the visually impaired includes an illumination unit 12 on the handle 10 side of the cane body 1. The illumination unit 12 is provided toward the tip 1a side of the cane body 1. When the illumination unit 12 is irradiated at night, the entire cane body 1 is irradiated and the ground near the tip 1a of the cane body is irradiated. As a result, even if the user is night blind or the like and the visual ability is significantly deteriorated at night, the state of the ground near the tip 1a of the cane body 1 can be confirmed by irradiating the illumination unit 12, and the user can be confirmed. A third person such as a driver who is approaching is also irradiated and reflected on the entire cane body 1 and a shadow of the cane body 1 is formed on the ground, so that the user can be detected quickly and very safe. It will be something.

  Further, the handle portion 10 extends in a direction 1c perpendicular to the length direction 1b of the cane body 1 and extends in parallel to the rotary shaft member 34 that supports the wheel 2 in rotation (see FIG. 2 and 3). Thus, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the handle portion 10 and the cane body 1 are formed in a T shape. By changing the shape of the handle 10 in this way, the portion of the handle 10 that is in contact with the ground can be changed between the wheel 2 and the tip 11 by changing the orientation of the handle 10 that the user has in use. It becomes easy. That is, as will be described later, when the user holds the handle 10 and faces the back of the hand, the wheel 2 faces downward, so that the wheel 2 can be grounded and the wheel 2 is rolled to search for an obstacle. it can. Further, when the back of the user's hand is turned sideways, since the wheel 2 faces sideways, the wheel 2 cannot be grounded to the ground, and the tip end portion 11 can be grounded, and the obstacle is explored by shaking in the same manner as a normal cane. While being able to prevent falling.

[Use status]
As shown in FIG. 4, when the user 40 holds the handle 10 and turns the back of the hand 41 upward, the wheel 2 faces downward, so that the wheel 2 can be grounded to the ground (first use state). In the normal state of the first use state, the user rolls the wheel 2 in the first position on the ground. As a result, since the wheel 2 is always in contact with the ground, if there is a descending staircase or the like, the entire cane is lowered, and if there is a projection or the like, the user can quickly find an obstacle. Further, in an emergency that is likely to fall, the user applies force toward the tip of the cane. As a result, the wheel 2 moves from the first position to the second position so as to face the urging force of the urging member 4, and the tip end portion 11 comes into contact with the ground, thereby preventing the user from falling. Yes. As described above, the visually impaired person's walking stick according to the present invention can quickly grasp the descending stairs and the steps, and can also prevent the user from falling.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, when the user 40 holds the handle portion 10 and turns the back 41 of the user 40 sideways, the wheel 2 faces sideways, so that the wheel 2 cannot be grounded to the ground, and the tip portion 11 can be grounded to the ground (second use state). In this second use state, the user 40 can search for an obstacle by shaking and can also be used as a conventional cane for preventing a fall. As described above, the cane for the visually impaired according to the present invention has a T-shaped handle portion 10, so that the portion that touches the ground can be simply changed by changing the orientation of the user's hand. It is possible to easily change the wheel 2 and the tip 11 and shake it to check for obstacles, and it can also be changed easily as a conventional cane that prevents falls.

[Other Embodiments]
In the above embodiment, the wheel 2 is a single wheel, but it may be two wheels arranged in parallel in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the cane body. Moreover, although the moving means 3 of the said embodiment is excellent in drivability and productivity, it is not limited to the structure of said embodiment, Various mechanisms can be employ | adopted. For example, the urging member 4 may be provided inside the wand body 1 and the support member 30 may be urged. Moreover, it is good also as a mechanism which can provide the support member 30 and the rotating shaft member 31 in the outer side of the cane main body 1, respectively, and can move the wheel 2 from a 1st position to a 2nd position. Further, the means for regulating the movement of the support member 30 may be a protrusion provided on the cane body 1. That is, the block mechanism that constitutes the moving means 3 may be provided outside the cane body 1. Moreover, you may provide the link-type moving means 3 which moves the wheel 2 using the link mechanism which consists of a some member.

  Moreover, the cane body 1 may be configured to be folded by folding the vicinity of the center of the cane body 1 so as to be compact and excellent in portability. In addition, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the visually impaired person's wand of the present embodiment is for left-handed use. However, by changing the position of the wheel 2 and the shape of the handle 10, it can be used for right-handed use. it is obvious.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cane body 2 Wheel 3 Moving means 4 Energizing member 10 Handle 11 Tip part 12 Illumination part 13 Length adjustment means 1a Cane body tip 1b Cane body axial direction 1c Perpendicular to the axial direction of the cane body 30 Member 31 Rotating shaft member 32 of support member Front side cut portion 33 Rear side cut portion 34 Wheel rotating shaft member 40 User 41 Back of user's hand t Predetermined distance

Claims (4)

A cane body, a tip provided at one end of the cane body, a handle provided at the other end of the cane body, a wheel provided at the tip side of the cane body, and the vicinity of the tip of the cane body A moving means for allowing the wheel to move between a first position of the first position and a second position away from the first position on the opposite side of the tip of the cane body, and biasing the wheel to the first position And an urging means for
The wheel is separated from the tip of the wand body to the opposite side to the tip of the wand body by a predetermined distance in the first position;
In a normal time, the user touches and rolls the wheel arranged at the first position on the ground,
In an emergency, when the user applies a force with the tip of the cane body directed toward the ground, the wheel moves to the second position, and the tip of the cane body is configured to easily come into contact with the ground. A walking stick for the visually impaired.   The moving means is a support member that rotatably supports the wheel, and extends in a direction substantially perpendicular to the axial direction of the cane body, so that the support member is rotatable with respect to the cane body. 3. A rotary shaft member, and a notch for inserting the support member into the cane body and restricting the movement of the support member at the first position and the second position. The cane for the visually impaired according to 1. The handle extends in a direction substantially perpendicular to the length direction of the cane body, and extends substantially parallel to a rotation shaft member for allowing the wheel to rotate,
A T-shape is formed by the handle and the cane body,
In the normal time, by changing the direction of the handle held by the user, it is configured to easily change the portion that contacts the ground between the wheel and the tip portion. The cane for the visually impaired according to claim 1 or 2.   The cane for a visually handicapped person according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein an illumination unit is provided on a handle side of the cane body, and the illumination unit irradiates a distal end side of the cane body.

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