US1090960A

US1090960A - Calk attachment for crutches.

Info

Publication number: US1090960A
Application number: US76889313A
Authority: US
Inventors: Samuel H Appelman
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1913-05-20
Filing date: 1913-05-20
Publication date: 1914-03-24
Anticipated expiration: 1931-03-24

Description

s. H. APPELMAN.

QALK ATTACHMENT FOR GBUTGHES. APPLICATION FILED MAY 20, 1913.

1,090 ,960. Patnted Mar.24,191l

which the crutch is UNITED STATES PATENT rich.

SAMUEL H. APPELMAN, OF BLOOM SBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

CALK ATTACHMENT ron czeuronns.

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed May a0, 1913. Serial No. 768,893.

Patented lllar. 24:. 1914.

To (ZZZ whom it may concern Be it known that T, Sat rum; Arron MAN, citizen of the United States, residing at Bloomsburg, in the county of and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Calk'Attachments for Crutches, of which the following is a specification.

My invention, relates to new and useful improvements in crutches of the typein provided with a sharp steel point or calk w ich can bereadily extended beyond or withdrawn into the lower end of the crutch without removing the crutch from beneath the arm.

= The primary object of my invention is to provide a novel form of latch for normally holding the rod in withdrawn position frictionally and so arranged that it will automatically lock the calk in extended position -"when the latter is moved outwardly, the

automatic locking of the latch servingto limit the outward movement of the'calk.

With these andotherobjects in view, my inventionw-ill be more fully described, illustrated in the aeeompaniying drawing, and thenspecifically pointe' out in the claims which are attached to and form a part of this application. l I

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective View of my improved crutch; Fi 2 is a fragmentary, longitudinal sectional I View, showing certain details of itsconstruction; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of the staff portion of my crotch showing still further details of construction;

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 44 of Fig. 2, lookin upwardly. Corresponding and like pagts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the drawing by the same reference characters. I My invention may be applied to or embodied in the construction of crutches of all types but for the sake of clearness I have 5 shown the same applied to a conventional form of crutch including the spaced

side members

10 and 11, the lower ends of which arebrought together to form a common stafi' 12 and the upper ends of which are connected ,and held in proper spaced relation by a cross bar forming a shoulder rest 13.

' The intermediate'portions of the

side bars

10 and 11 are connected by a handle .14 which also serves to brace and stiffen the side members and maintain them in spaced Columbia relation The lower end of the staff 12 of the crutch is bound by a ferrule 15 to prevent splintering and the upper end of the staii adjacent the point of merger of the

sides

10 and 11 is bound with a second ferrule 16. These ferrules are preferably formed of brass, although any other suitablemetal or material may be employed in-' stead.

The stafl is provided centrally throughout its length with a longitudinally extending bore 17 and fitting within'this bore is a ferrule 18 also preferably formed of brass.

This ferrule mayextend throughout practi' cally the entire length of the staff portion of the crutch or may terminate slightly above the lower end thereof, its function being to form a bearing for the operating rod or spur rod 19 which carries the calk 20. This bushing or sleeve 18 not onlyfo-rms a hearing for the spur rod but its'lower portion prevents binding of the spur rod in the bore through swelling of the crutch during damp weather. The lower end of the spur rod 19 is provided with a threaded socket to receive the reduced, threaded stud 21 of the calk 20, the body portion of the calk being cylindrical in shape and terminating at its lower end in a conical point 22. Both the spur rod and calk are preferably formed of steel and the former should be reasonably resilient, 'while the latter may be made harder and more highly tempered to insure satisfactory wearing qualities.

A U-shaiped bracket 23, also preferably formed of steel, is secured by screws 24 between the

side portions

10 and 11 of the crutch at a point slightly below the handle 14, theside portions of said bracket being directed downwardly along the inner faces of said members. This bracket is provided at a point slightly in advance or at the rear of the .center with a bore 25 equal in diameter to the diameter of the spur rod 19 and said rod is extended upwardly through the bore, terminatingat its upper end in a knob or handle 26, preferably formed integrally the bracket, extending longitudinally thereofand communicating at one end with the bore 25 and ending at its opposite end centrally of the bracket, this slot being slightly less in width than the diameter of the bore. The spur rod 19 is provided at a-point slightly below its handle 26 with'an encircling channel or groove 28 equal in (1 with the rod. A slot 27 is formed same in place.

' viding squared spaced otherwise secured to the lower face of the bracket at that side adjacent the bore 25 and has its inner end cut-away arcuately as shown at30 to conform to the adjacent 0rtion of the bore 25 with which it is in a ine-' ment. This plate, together. with the bracket, forms' a bearing surface for the :spur'rod during its movement'to advance or retract the calk 20. i An angular leaf spring 31 is secured by one arm to the lower face of the bearing plate 29 by a screw 32 which passes through said spring arm, through the bearing plate and partially through the bracket 23. The spring is further secured in place and held against all pivotal movement about i-the screwby extending one reduced (and 33 into a recess 34 formed in the adjacent side portion of the bracket 23. The opposite arm of extends inwardly and down-,

this spring wardly engaging against the spur rod to constantly tend to force the same into the slot 27. i- In operation, assuming that the parts are in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 2 of the-drawing, it will be apparent:

against the. spur that the spring 31, pressing .rod 19'as it does,'forces t e same into frictional engagement with the adjacent opening of the slot 27 and. so holds the rod frictionally against movement. Moreover, inasmuch as the bore 25, through which the rod at this time extends, is formed slightly away from the center of the bracketand consequently slightly out of vertical alinement with vthe bore l'? through which the lower portion of the rodextends the resiliency of the rod itself wiil further act to lock the In this position, the lower end of the spur rod, together with the calk carried thereby is retracted into the lower end of the staff portion of the crutch and the crutch may therefore be used upon polished floors or other surfaces without danger of mar'r'ing the same because of the calk.

Whenever the person using the crutch encounters an icy or otherwise slippery surface lie-may however, extend the calk merely by pressing downwardly upon the knob or handle 26 at the upper end of the spur rod to force the same against the frictional engz-igemcnt between said rod and theend of the slot until the reduced portion 25 reaches theplane of the bracket 23 when both the,

action of the spring 31 course be understood that thespur rod is so proportioned that in this position the cal'k is extended a suitable distance below the lower-end of the crutch staff. The calk may at any time be again retracted by swinging the upper end of the spur rod against the until the spur rod is seated in the bore 25 and by then pulling upwardly upon the rod to retract the calk.

It will of course be apparent that this invention may be applied either to crutches the ordinary cup-shaped rubber tips one 0 which is conventionally shown at 35. In this latter case, of course, the tip will be provided with a bore 36 in alinement with the bore of the crutch stafl'.

Although I havefully described my invention in all its details, "it will be understood that I do not intend in any way to having plain wooden terminals or crutches having limit myself to the specific details of const'ruction illustrated in the drawing and described in the foregoing specification, as variousminor changes, within the scope of the appended claimsmay be made at any time without in the slightest degree departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

'1. In a crutch having spaced side members connected intermediate their length by a handle and merging at their lower ends nto a staff portion having a' longitudinal bore, a bracket extending between the side members and provided with a bore and a longitudinal slot communicating with the bore and less in width than the diameter of the bore, the bore being ofi'set vertically with respect tothe bore of the staff and the remote end of the slot being in vertical alinement with the bore of the staff, a resilient operating rod carrying a calk at its lower endslidable through the bore of the bracket and staff to extend or retract the calk below the lower end of the tafl, said operating rod being provided wit 1 a reduced portion to permit the seating of the rod in'the slot through the resiliency of the rod when the rod is lowered to extend the calk, and additional means for forcing the rod into the slot.

2. In a crutch having spaced side members connected intermediate their length b a handle and merging at their lower ends 1nto a staff portion having a longitudinal bore, a bracket extending between the side members and provided with a bore and a longitudinal slot communicating with 'the bore and less in Width than the diameter of the bore, the bore being oifset vertically with respect to the bore of the stafi' and the remote end of the slot being in vertical alinement with the bore of the staiT, a resilient operating rod carrying a calkat its lower end slidable through the bore of the bracket and staff toextend or retract the calk below the lower endof the staff, said operating rod being provided with a reduced portion to permit the seating of the rod in the slot through the resiliency of the rod when the 0 rod is lowered to extend the calk, and additional means for forcing the rod into'the slot, said means including an angular leaf spring secured by one arm to the lower face of the bracket and having a reduced end v M Coplei of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the commissioner of ratentm.

' Washington, D. 0.

seating in a socket formed in the bracket, the 10 op osite arm of said spring bearing against the rod. r

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

SAMUEL H. APPELMAN. [1,. s] Witnesses:

K. OARLo'rTA MOYER, H. Mom. SMITH.