NZ200963A

NZ200963A - Walking stick with curved pick-up arm pivoted to operative shaft

Info

Publication number: NZ200963A
Application number: NZ20096382A
Authority: NZ
Inventors: J R Herrod
Original assignee: J R Herrod
Priority date: 1982-06-15
Filing date: 1982-06-15
Publication date: 1985-03-20
Also published as: GB8312032D0; AU1580083A; GB2122077A

Description

2009 6 3 PrlcrMy Cosng&ste Opec'fScation Filed: l^F.' ClffiS-r- ft & sjoo ^ v;wW<i> i * i • tiaiii>i«iriiitiiiiii „ ,.. , 2 0 MAR 19851 Pu&Kioalton t/eio: ?? •"> ! - ? r > y (oi.fc>S 8A Patents Form No. 5- Patents Act 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION "IMPROVED WALKING STICK" I, JOHN ROBERTSON HERROD, a British citizen, of 38 Vicki Street, Christchurch 4, New Zealand, hereby declare the invention, for which I pray that a patent may be granted to me, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement 200963 The present invention relates to an improved walking stick.

Many of the people who use walking sticks do so because they have stiffened joints due to e.g. arthritis or rheumatism, and such people frequently have difficulty in bending down to pick up objects and/or in stretching to pick up distant objects. To be of practical value, any device for picking up objects must be in a form in which it is always to hand, since its usefullness is lost if the user has to get up to fetch it.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a walking stick which not only functions as a conventional walking stick but also enables the user to pick up objects " without the user having to reach out or bend down.

The present invention provides a walking stick comprising: a straight supporting portion having a handle secured to one end thereof and a foot secured to the other end thereof; a pick-up device which includes a rigid arm pivoted to said straight portion, said arm being shaped and dimensioned so as to extend from said pivot point in a curve towards said foot, terminating adjacent said foot and resting adjacent said foot when not in use; and pivoting means which pivots said arm away from and towards said foot, said pivoting means including a shaft the longitudinal axis of which is substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of said straight portion, said shaft being pivoted at one end to said arm. _ Siz. patent cfpct iiiii wwnr 1 SN6V1934 i 2 0096 3 By way of example only, two preferred, embodiments of the present invention are described in detail, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Fig.l is a side view of a first embodiment of the invention; and Fig.2 is a side view of a second embodiment of the invention.

Referring to the drawings, a walking stick 2 comprises a straight supporting portion 3, a curved handle 4, and a pick-up device 5. The portion 3 is formed integrally with the handle 4 and the free end of the portion 3 is fitted with a rubber foot 6, to prevent the stick from slipping on hard floors. The portion 3 and handle 4 may be made of any suitable material e.g. wood, or aluminium-alloy tube.

Referring to Fig.l, the pick-up device 5 compri®s a curved arm 7 which is pivotally mounted near one end to a collar 8 secured around the straight portion 3 of the stick at a position such that the other end 9 of the arm 7 lies opposite the foot 6. The arm 7 curves towards the foot 6, and the surface of the end 9 adjacent the foot 6 is covered with a non-slip material (e.g. textured rubber) so that the objects can be grasped between the end 9 and the foot 6 without slipping.

The end 10 of the arm 7 projects beyond the collar 8,-and one end of a shaft 11 is pivoted to said end 10. The other end of the shaft 11 is pivoted to a lever 12 which is pivoted to a second collar 13 secured around the straight 2 009 6 3. portion 3 of the stick adjacent the handle 4« The free end of the lever 12 is curved upwards so that it can be grasped easily by a person holding the handle l+. The longitudinal axes of the shaft 11 and the straight portion 3 are substantially parallel.

In the position shown in Fig.l, the gap y between the foot 6 and the end 9 can be widened by pushing the lever 12 in the direction of arrow A. The stick is then positioned by the user so that the object to be picked up lies in the gap y, and the end 9 is closed on the object by pulling the lever 12 in the direction of arrow B until the object is firmly grasped between the foot 6 and the end 9, and thus can / be brought towards the user by moving the stick.

Turning now to Fig.2, the pick-up device 5 comprises an arm 15 one end of which is formed with an end 16 identical . in construction to the end 9 described with reference to Figure 1.' The other end of the arm 15 terminates in a y- ■ shaped yoke 17 each limb of which is pivoted to a collar 1$ mounted on the portion 3« A shaft 19 is pivoted at one end to the junction of the yoke 17; the longitudinal axis of the shaft 19 is substantially parallel to that of the portion 3 and is held slidably in this position by a bracket 21 secured to the portion 3 adjacent the handle 4> and surrounding the shaft 19. The other,, end of the shaft 19 is fitted with a knob 22 so that it may be grasped easily by a user..

The stick shown in Fig. 2 is operated in broadly the same manner as that shown in Fig.l, except that the pick-up device 5 operates in the opposite sense i.e. to widen the gap y the knob 22 must be pulled upwards in the direction of arrow B, and to close the gap y on an object to be grasped between the foot 6 and end 16, the knob 22 must be pushed in the direction of arrow A.

In both of the described embodiments, the shafts 11 or 19 and handle 12 or knob 22 may be mounted on the opposite side of the stick to that illustrated; if this is done, the shafts will be moved in the opposite sense to that described above.

The collars 8, 13 and 1$ preferably are formed as open rings, to allow easy fitting to any diameter of stick. The shafts 11, 19 may be adjustable in length to accommodate different stick lengths.

It is also envisaged that existing walking-sticks may be modified by fitting the pick-up device 5> of either type, to them.

Claims

200963 WHAT I CLAIM IS:

1. A walking stick comprising: a straight supporting portion having a handle secured to one end thereof and a foot secured to the other end thereof; a pick-up device which includes a rigid arm pivoted to said straight portion, said arm being shaped and dimensioned so as to extend from said pivot point in a curve towards said foot, terminating adjacent said foot and resting adjacent said foot when not in use; and pivoting means which pivots said arm away from and towards said foot, said pivoting means including a shaft the longitudinal axis of which is substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of said straight portion, said shaft being pivoted at one end to said arm.

2. The walking stick as claimed in Claim 1 wherein said pivoting means further includes a trigger which is pivoted to the stick adjacent the handle and which also is pivoted to the other end of said shaft.

3. The walking stick as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the other end~of said shaft is slidably secured to said straight portion adjacent the handle. h. A walking stick substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in Fig.l of the accompanying drawings. 6 • 2 009 6 3 5« A walking stick substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in Fig.2 of the accompanying drawings. JOHN ROBERTSON HERROD by his authorised agents: P.L.BERRY & ASSOCIATES per: /-/■ - 7 - v