WO2017203697A1

WO2017203697A1 - Elastic telescopic stick

Info

Publication number: WO2017203697A1
Application number: PCT/JP2016/065742
Authority: WO
Inventors: 秀臣木崎
Original assignee: 株式会社キザキ
Priority date: 2016-05-27
Filing date: 2016-05-27
Publication date: 2017-11-30
Also published as: JPWO2017203697A1

Abstract

Provided is an elastic extensible stick that can be used as a muscle-strengthening cane for athlete training or a walking-assistance stick for a walker. An elastic extensible stick (1), provided with: a main stick body (10) that has an elastic mechanism and that can be extended or retracted, a grip (91) attached to the upper end part of the main stick body (10), and a ferrule part (92) attached to the lower end part of the main stick body (10). The main stick body (10) is formed so that an inner tube (12) is inserted into an outer tube (11) allowing for extension or retraction, and a sealable air chamber (60) is formed as the elastic mechanism. The main stick body (10) is provided with a valve (50) communicating with the air chamber (60). The air chamber (60) can be placed in an open-to-atmosphere state or a closed state by opening/closing the valve (50).

Description

Elastic telescopic cane

The present invention relates to an elastic telescopic cane that can be used as an assisting cane for a person who is unable to walk by stretching with elasticity and also as a muscle strengthening cane that applies a load to the upper arm of the user.

Conventionally, auxiliary wands have been used to assist walking when the legs are weak or the body is broken. Patent Document 1 introduces an auxiliary cane that expands and contracts with elasticity to absorb an impact from the ground.

Many exercise canes are also used, such as downhill ski stocks, cross-country ski stocks and Nordic walking poles.
Patent Document 2 introduces a muscle-strengthening cane that stretches and contracts with elasticity, which is used by ski athletes and the like to strengthen the muscular strength of the upper arm that presses the ground.

This muscle reinforcing cane is expanded and contracted by inserting the inner tube into the outer tube, and an elastic body such as rubber is provided between the outer tube and the inner tube. When the user strongly presses the ground with this cane, the force of pushing back by the elastic body acts, so that the muscles of the upper arm can be strengthened.

In this muscle-strengthening wand, an elastic body such as rubber is used as an elastic mechanism, so the reaction force of the elastic body is proportional to the elongation rate of the elastic body. That is, a reaction force proportional to the length to be compressed is obtained. And if the length which can be expanded-contracted is lengthened, the stroke which a user compresses will become long, and the maximum value of the reaction force obtained can be enlarged.
The stroke can be adjusted by attaching an adjusting ring to the cane, and the user can adjust the reaction force by changing the stroke.

However, it is preferable that the strength of the reaction force and the stroke can be adjusted separately, if possible.
That is, it is preferable that the reaction force from the elastic body can be adjusted according to the physical strength of the user, and should be adjusted by the cross-sectional area of the elastic body. Moreover, it is preferable that a stroke can be adjusted irrespective of reaction force according to a user's body shape and use content.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-219915 Japanese Patent No. 5890590

An object of the present invention is to provide an elastic telescopic cane for use by a competitor who performs downhill skiing or Nordic walking as a muscle-strengthening cane for training. It is another object of the present invention to provide an elastic telescopic cane that can obtain the required reaction force and can adjust the stroke freely, and has excellent practicality.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an elastic telescopic cane used as a walking aid.

In order to achieve the above object, the elastic telescopic cane of the present invention is an elastic telescopic cane that is telescopic, and has an elastic mechanism and can be expanded and contracted, and a gripping part that is attached to the upper end of the cane body A canopy attached to the lower end of the cane body, the cane body being formed to be extendable and retractable by inserting an inner tube into the outer tube, and an air chamber that can be sealed as the elastic mechanism is formed. It is characterized by having.

The cane body may include a valve that communicates with the air chamber, and the air chamber may be opened to the atmosphere or sealed by opening and closing the valve.
Moreover, it can be set as the structure provided with the adjustment member which can adjust the length of the said cane body.

With the above configuration, a competitor such as ski can perform training to strengthen the muscles of the upper arm that presses the ground by walking using the elastic telescopic cane of the present invention.
In addition, since the air chamber is used as the elastic mechanism, the compression stroke can be freely changed by opening and closing the valve and changing the volume of the air chamber at atmospheric pressure. Even if the stroke is changed, the maximum reaction force according to the arm strength of each user can be obtained.

Also, by reducing the air chamber and shortening the stroke, it is possible to obtain an elastic elastic cane that is optimal as an auxiliary cane.

It is a schematic external view which shows an example of the elastic expansion-contraction cane of this invention. It is a partial cross section outline outline figure showing each member which constitutes a cane body. It is a partial cross section outline external view which shows an air chamber. It is explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between a valve | bulb, a plug member, and an air chamber. It is the schematic of the connection member which connects an outer tube and an inner tube. It is the schematic of the adjustment member which adjusts the length of a cane body. It is explanatory drawing regarding the basic length of an air chamber. It is explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between the volume of an air chamber, and reaction force. It is the schematic which shows the other example of an air chamber.

FIG. 1 is a schematic outline view of an elastic telescopic cane 1 which is an example of the present invention.
The elastic telescopic cane 1 includes a cane body 10, a grip portion 91, and a stone protrusion 92.

The cane body 10 includes an upper pipe 20, an intermediate pipe 30, and a lower pipe 40.
An upper side of the intermediate pipe 30 is inserted into the upper pipe 20 via a connecting member 70, and an air chamber 60 described later with reference to FIG. 3 is formed.
The upper side of the lower pipe 40 is inserted into the intermediate pipe 30 from the lower side, and the length of the cane body 10 can be adjusted by an adjusting member 80 described later with reference to FIG.

FIG. 2 shows a state in which the cane body 10 is disassembled, and shows the upper pipe 20, the intermediate pipe 30, and the lower pipe 40, respectively.

The upper pipe 20 is a member that functions as a cylinder that receives the piston member 31 of the intermediate pipe 30. A plug member 21 is provided inside, and a valve 50 is provided outside.
The plug member 21 is a member for closing the upper end portion of the upper pipe 20.
The valve 50 forms an air flow path together with the pipe member 51 and the plug member 21 so that the inside of the upper pipe 20 is opened to the atmosphere or sealed.

The upper pipe 20 includes an inner ring portion 71 of the connection member 70, and the intermediate pipe 30 includes an outer ring portion 72 of the connection member 70. With the connecting member 70, the upper pipe 20 and the intermediate pipe 30 can be connected to each other in a stretchable manner.

The intermediate pipe 30 includes a piston member 31 at the upper end, and is inserted into the upper pipe 20 to form an air chamber 60 (see FIG. 3) that can be sealed.
The stopper 73 constitutes the connecting member 70 together with the outer ring portion 72.
Note that a knob 93 is provided at the lower end of the intermediate pipe 30.

The lower pipe 40 includes an adjustment member 80 at the upper end, can be inserted from the lower side of the intermediate pipe 30, and can be fixed at an arbitrary position. Thereby, the length of the cane body 10 can be adjusted. A lower end portion is provided with a stone protrusion 92.

FIG. 3 shows a state in which the upper pipe 20 and the intermediate pipe 30 are connected to each other by a connecting member 70 so that the air pipe 60 can be expanded and contracted. Show.
Hereinafter, in order to simplify the description regarding the air chamber 60, the upper pipe 20 will be described as the outer tube 11 and the intermediate pipe 30 will be described as the inner tube 12.

The air chamber 60 can be sealed by the plug member 21 and the piston member 31. When the grip 91 is gripped and the ground is pushed by the stone protrusion 92, the air chamber 60 is compressed and a reaction force is generated. That is, the inner tube 12 is inserted into the outer tube 11 so as to be stretchable and the air chamber 60 functions as an elastic mechanism.
Here, when the air chamber 60 is at atmospheric pressure, the length from the lower end of the plug member 21 to the upper end of the piston member 31 shown in FIG. 3 is referred to as a basic length L of the air chamber 60.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship among the valve 50, the plug member 21, and the air chamber 60.
The plug member 21 is a cylindrical plug body 22 provided with two O-

rings

23 and 23, and is fixed to the upper portion of the outer tube 11 by bonding or the like. A ventilation hole 25 communicating with the air chamber 60 is provided.

The valve 50 opens and closes the vent hole 55 when the valve element 57 approaches and separates from the valve seat 56. That is, by turning the knob 52, the end of the vent hole 55 can be opened and closed, and the end of the vent hole 55 can be closed by bringing the valve body 57 into close contact with the valve seat 56.

The pipe member 51 communicates the vent hole 55 and the vent hole 25 with airtightness maintained. Then, the valve body 57 is brought into close contact with the valve seat 56, whereby the air chamber 60 can be sealed. On the other hand, when the valve body 57 is separated from the valve seat 56, the vicinity of the valve seat 56 is open to the atmosphere.
Eventually, when the valve 50 is closed, the air chamber 60 is kept in a sealed state, and when the valve 50 is opened, the air chamber 60 is kept in an air-released state.

FIG. 5 shows the upper end portion of the inner tube 12.
A piston member 31 is attached to the upper end portion of the inner tube 12. The piston member 31 is a cylindrical piston main body 32 provided with two O-rings 33 and 33, and is fixed to the upper end portion of the inner tube 12.
When the inner tube 12 is inserted from the lower side of the outer tube 11, an air chamber 60 that can be sealed by the piston member 31 can be formed.

FIG. 5 shows a connecting member 70 that connects the outer tube 11 and the inner tube 12 in an extendable manner.
The inner ring portion 71 of the connection member 70 includes a male screw 75 and is attached to the lower end portion of the outer tube 11.
The outer ring portion 72 of the connection member 70 includes a female screw 76 and the inner tube 12 is inserted along with the stopper 73.

The outer tube 11 and the inner tube 12 are connected by screwing the male screw 75 and the female screw 76 together. The inner tube 12 is inserted into a shaft hole 77 provided in the outer ring portion 72 and can enter and exit the outer tube 11. For this reason, the outer tube 11 and the inner tube 12 are connected to be extendable. The stopper 73 prevents the piston member 31 from coming out of the shaft hole 77.

FIG. 6 shows an adjusting member 80 that adjusts the length at the connecting portion of the intermediate pipe 30 and the lower pipe 40. Since there is a similar description in Patent Document 2, it will be briefly described here.
A shaft member 41 having an inclined surface 42 is fixed to the upper end of the lower pipe 40, and the shaft member 41 includes a male screw. On the other hand, the braking member 81 including the slit 82 includes a female screw and is screwed with the male screw of the shaft member 41.

When the lower pipe 40 is inserted into the intermediate pipe 30 and rotated relative to each other, the braking member 81 rotates integrally with the intermediate pipe 30 and moves in the axial direction with respect to the shaft member 41.
When the braking member 81 approaches the lower pipe 40, the vicinity of the slit 82 is enlarged by the inclined surface 42, and the intermediate pipe 30 and the lower pipe 40 are fixed. On the contrary, when the braking member 81 is separated from the lower pipe 40, the vicinity of the slit 82 is reduced in diameter and the fixation is released.

Therefore, it is possible to fix the lower pipe 40 inserted into the intermediate pipe 30 at an arbitrary position by the adjusting member 80, whereby the length of the cane body 10 can be freely adjusted.

With reference to FIG. 7, the change of the stroke performed by changing the volume of the air chamber 60 will be described.
As described above, when the valve 50 is opened, the air chamber 60 is opened to the atmosphere. Here, when the inner tube 12 is moved with respect to the outer tube 11, the air in the air chamber 60 is released from the valve 50 to the atmosphere via the vent holes 25 and 55. On the contrary, when the inner tube 12 is moved in the direction in which the outer tube 11 is pulled out, air enters the air chamber 60 from the valve 50 through the vent holes 25 and 55.
For this reason, the outer tube 11 and the inner tube 12 can be freely expanded and contracted.

If the valve 50 is closed at an arbitrary position within the range in which the outer tube 11 and the inner tube 12 can expand and contract, the air chamber 60 can be sealed at atmospheric pressure at that position.
Therefore, the basic length L defined in FIG. 3 can be freely determined within this range.

As shown in FIG. 7 as

air chambers

60a, 60b, and 60c, the volume of the air chamber 60 can be freely changed and can be easily selected directly by the user. The air chamber 60a is a case where the inner tube 12 is positioned at the lowest position with respect to the outer tube 11, and the user can obtain the maximum stroke. When the stroke is large, a great effect can be obtained as a muscle strengthening cane. Further, when the stroke is reduced as in the air chamber 60c, a great effect can be obtained as an auxiliary wand.

The reaction force that the user receives on the arm will be described with reference to FIG.
First, in FIG. 3, the length of the sealed air chamber 60 when the inside is atmospheric pressure is referred to as a basic length L. FIG. 7 shows that the basic length L can be freely set.
A length shortened by the user's force with respect to the basic length L is defined as a stroke S. As a result, the pressure of the air chamber 60 is changed from 1 atm (atmospheric pressure) to (P + 1) atm.

At this time, the following relationship holds according to the laws of physics.
P + 1 = L / (LS)

That is, the value of P is determined only by the value of (S / L) regardless of the value of L.
FIG. 8 is a graph showing the relationship between S / L (%) and P (atm).
For example, it is 0 atm when S / L is 0%, 0.67 atm when 40%, 1 atm when 50%, and 1.5 atm when 60%.

Note that a value obtained by multiplying the value of P by the cross-sectional area of the air chamber 60 is a reaction force applied to the user's arm.
The cross-sectional area of the air chamber 60 can be about 1 to 5 cm ² .

The embodiment of the present invention has been described above with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and design changes that do not depart from the gist of the present invention can be applied to the present invention. included.

For example, a deformed elastic telescopic cane 1x described side by side with the elastic telescopic cane 1 in FIG. 9 is also included in the present invention.
In the elastic telescopic cane 1, the air chamber 60 is formed in the outer tube 11, but in the elastic telescopic cane 1 x, the air chamber 60 x is formed in the outer tube 11 and the inner tube 12.
A plug member 35x for closing the inside of the inner pipe 12 is provided, and a piston member 31x having a vent hole 36x is used. The outer tube 11 and the inner tube 12 are communicated with each other through the vent hole 36x.

Further, the valve 50 is not limited to the shape shown in FIG. 4, and any type of valve can be used as long as it can be sealed.

The elastic telescopic cane 1 of the present invention can freely select a stroke when the user pushes the ground. For this reason, it is highly practical and can be used as a muscle-strengthening cane used by athletes for upper arm training, and can also be used as an auxiliary walking stick for pedestrians.

Claims

An elastic telescopic cane
A cane body that has an elastic mechanism and can be expanded and contracted, a gripping part that is attached to the upper end part of the cane body, and a stone protrusion part that is attached to the lower end part of the cane body,
The cane body is formed of an inner tube inserted into an outer tube so that the cane can be expanded and contracted, and an air chamber that can be sealed as the elastic mechanism is formed.
The elastic telescopic cane according to claim 1, wherein the cane body includes a valve that communicates with the air chamber, and the air chamber is opened to the atmosphere or sealed by opening and closing the valve.
The elastic telescopic cane according to claim 1, further comprising an adjustment member capable of adjusting a length of the cane body.