US20190343252A1

US20190343252A1 - Safety walking stick

Info

Publication number: US20190343252A1
Application number: US15/975,787
Authority: US
Inventors: Ming-Hsien Lee
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2018-05-10
Filing date: 2018-05-10
Publication date: 2019-11-14

Abstract

A safety walking stick includes: a stick body; a lower base, which has a top surface formed with a receiving trough; an internal holder, which is fixedly mounted in the receiving trough of the lower base; a spring, which has an end coupled to the stick body and an opposite end coupled to the internal holder. The stick body and the internal holder are spaced from each other with a gap defining a predetermined distance therebetween. The gap provides a free space allowing for and accommodating deformation of the spring so that in a condition that the stick body is set in an inclined state with respect to the ground, the lower base is allowed to keep a maximum contact area with respect to the ground in order to achieve an effect of safety for skidproofness

Description

(a) TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a walking stick, and more particularly to a safety walking stick.

(b) DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

A cane or walking stick functions as a motion assistive device to help a user to stand and walk. The user may apply some of the body weight to the walking stick in order to reduce the loading and force that the legs must bear so that the user may walk easily and smoothly.
A conventional walking stick generally comprises a straight and rigid (or very stiff) stick body and a handle mounted to an end of the stick body to be gripped and held by a user. An opposite, free end of the stick body is generally positionable on and contacting the ground surface. The elders and people having weak or injured legs or knees may need to first put the lower free end of the stick on the ground and transfer the body weight to the stick in order to stand up from a sitting posture with stresses or forces acting on the legs and knees reduced. However, by placing the lower end of the stick on the ground to have the stick to support and bear the body weight in such a way, the stick is generally, or at least partly, in an inclined condition to allow the user to apply a force thereto in a sitting posture. A frictional force is thus induced between the lower end of the stick and the ground. Such a frictional force, regardless the force applied by the user to the stick, is determined by the contact area between the lower end of the stick and the ground. When the stick is placed in an inclined condition, the frictional force between the stick and the ground would be reduced and as such, when the user applies a force to the stick, which involves a horizontal component, may unexpectedly cause the lower end of the stick to move relative to the ground. This would lead to instability of the movement of the user trying to stand up, or in a worse case, may cause fall and injury of the user in trying to stand up.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the above, for the purpose of improving the deficiency of the known walking stick that a contact area between a lower end of the stick and the ground may get undesirably reduced in an inclined condition of the stick so as to lead to insufficiency of frictional force therebetween, easy slippage, and causing fall of a user, the present invention provides a safety walking stick that generally comprises: a stick body; a lower base, which has a top surface formed with a receiving trough; an internal holder, which is fixedly mounted in the receiving trough of the lower base; a spring, which has an end coupled to the stick body and an opposite end coupled to the internal holder, wherein the stick body and the internal holder are spaced from each other with a gap defining a predetermined distance therebetween and the gap provides a free space allowing for and accommodating deformation of the spring so that in a condition that the stick body is set in an inclined state with respect to the ground, the lower base is allowed to keep a maximum contact area with respect to the ground in order to achieve an effect of safety for skidproofness.
The foregoing objectives and summary provide only a brief introduction to the present invention. To fully appreciate these and other objects of the present invention as well as the invention itself, all of which will become apparent to those skilled in the art, the following detailed description of the invention and the claims should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Throughout the specification and drawings identical reference numerals refer to identical or similar parts.
Many other advantages and features of the present invention will become manifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to the detailed description and the accompanying sheets of drawings in which a preferred structural embodiment incorporating the principles of the present invention is shown by way of illustrative example.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the embodiment of FIG. 1 in an assembled form.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the embodiment of FIG. 1 in an assembled form, taken from a different direction.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view, in an assembled form, illustrating the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view illustrating an operation of the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view illustrating an operation of the embodiment of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following descriptions are exemplary embodiments only, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the following description provides a convenient illustration for implementing exemplary embodiments of the invention. Various changes to the described embodiments may be made in the function and arrangement of the elements described without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.
Referring to FIGS. 1-4, a safety walking stick 100 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention generally comprises a stick body 10, a handle 20, a lower base 30, an internal holder 40, and an elastic body, such as a spring 50.
Referring to FIGS. 1-4, the stick body 10 comprises a rod, which is preferably straight and rigid or is alternatively extendible/contractible or expandable/foldable. The stick body 10 has an upper end formed with a top opening 11 and a lower end formed with a bottom opening 12.
Referring to FIGS. 1-4, the handle 20 comprises a handgrip 21 and a projection 22. The projection 22 is extended integrally from a lower side of the handgrip 21 as a unitary structure. The projection 22 is insertable and thus fit into the top opening 11 of the stick body 10 to combine the handle 20 with the upper end of the stick body 10 such that the handgrip 21 is preferably in a generally perpendicular manner with respect to the stick body 10 to allow a user to hold and grip. The projection 22 may alternatively be of a hollow tubular structure such that an upper end of the stick body 10 is insertable into the hollow tube of the projection 22 to similarly achieve the effect of combining the handle 20 to the stick body 10.
Referring to FIGS. 1-4, the lower base 30 is formed, as a unitary structure, of a material of elasticity. The lower base 30 has a bottom surface that comprises a skidding-resistant pattern 31 formed thereon. The lower base 30 has a top surface that is formed with a receiving trough 32.
Referring to FIGS. 1-4, the internal holder 40 is formed, as a unitary structure, of a rigid or stiff material. The internal holder 40 is made in the form of a hollow tube or cylinder that comprises a coupling bore 41 formed therethrough. The internal holder 40 is disposed in the receiving trough 31 of the lower base 30 as being integrally formed therewith or adhesively bonded thereto.
Referring to FIGS. 1-4, the spring 50 has an end stuffed into and fixed in the bottom opening 12 of the stick body 10 and an opposite end stuffed into and fixed in the coupling bore 41 of the internal holder 40 such that the spring 50 is connected to the stick body 10 and the internal holder 40 as a coupling therebetween, wherein the lower end of the stick body 10 is partly received into the receiving trough 32 of the lower base 30 in a manner of being not in contact engagement with the internal holder 40 to thereby define therebetween a gap or space 60 that forms a predetermined distance between the stick body and the internal holder.
The above provides a description to components of the safety walking stick 100 according to the preferred embodiment and assembly thereof. In the following, a description will be provided for illustrating an operation and features thereof.
Firstly, referring to FIG. 4, when the stick body 10 of the present invention is set in a condition of being generally perpendicular to a ground surface 90, the skidding-resistant pattern 31 on the bottom of the lower base 30 is in contact engagement with the ground surface 90 with the entire surface area thereof so that a maximum available frictional force is induced therebetween.
When a user wishes to stand up from a sitting posture to a standing posture, a force is applied to the stick body 10 at such an angle that the stick body 10 is not perpendicular to but in an inclined state with respect to the ground surface 90 (as shown in FIG. 5). Since the stick body 10 is coupled to the internal holder 40 disposed in the lower base 30 by the spring 50 and since the stick body 10 is not in contact with the internal holder 40 but with a gap 60 existing therebetween, even the stick body 10 is in an inclined state with respect to the ground surface 90, deformation which the spring 50 may undergo would allow the skidding-resistant pattern 31 of the lower base 30 to keep in full area contact with the ground surface 90. As such, the frictional force between the present invention and the ground surface would not be reduced due to inclination of the stick body 10 and events such as skidding with respect to the ground surface and falling of the user can be effectively prevented.
As shown in FIG. 6, when the present invention is used when a user is walking, Since the stick body 10 is coupled to the internal holder 40 disposed in the lower base 30 by the spring 50 and since the stick body 10 is not in contact with the internal holder 40 but with a gap 60 existing therebetween, even the stick body 10 is set in an inclined state with respect to the ground surface 90, deformation which the spring 50 may undergo and a free space for the deformation of the spring 50 provided by the gap 60 would allow the skidding-resistant pattern 31 of the lower base 30 to keep in full area contact with the ground surface 90 to thereby achieve effects of safety and skidproofness.
It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together may also find a useful application in other types of methods differing from the type described above.
While certain novel features of this invention have been shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claim, it is not intended to be limited to the details above, since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A safety walking stick, comprising:

a stick body;

a lower base, which is formed of an elastic material and has a top surface in which a receiving trough is formed;

an internal holder, which is fixedly mounted in the receiving trough of the lower base; and

a spring, which has one end coupled to the stick body and an opposite end coupled to the internal holder such that the stick body and the internal holder are spaced from each other by a gap that defines a predetermined distance between the stick body and the internal holder, wherein a portion of the spring is located in the gap between the stick body and the internal holder and is deflectable to change an angular position of the stick body relative to the lower base;

wherein the stick body is resiliently supported on the lower base by the spring and a tubular portion of the elastic material of the lower base that extends from a bottom of the lower base and circumferentially surrounds the stick body and the spring, such that the stick body is angularly movable with respect to the lower base through elastic deformation of both the spring and the tubular portion of the elastic material of the lower body.

2. The safety walking stick according to claim 1, wherein the lower base and the internal holder are integrally formed with each other as a unitary structure.

3. The safety walking stick according to claim 1 further comprising a handle, wherein the stick body having an upper end formed with a top opening and the hand comprises a handgrip and a projection extending from a lower side of the handgrip, the projection being insertable into the top opening of the stick body to combine the handle to the upper end of the stick body.

4. The safety walking stick according to claim 1, wherein the stick body has a lower end that is received in the receiving trough of the lower base and the lower base has a bottom surface that comprises a skidding-resistant pattern formed thereon.

5. The safety walking stick according to claim 1, wherein the stick body has a lower end formed with a bottom opening and the internal holder comprises a coupling bore formed therein, wherein said one end of the spring is inserted into and fixed in the bottom opening of the stick body and said opposite end of the spring is inserted into and fixed in the coupling bore of the internal holder.