CANE

Abstract

A cane has a rectilinear, or approximately rectilinear, shaft, an upper end, including a handle for gripping and support, and a lower end provided with a ferrule having a non-slip function. The ferrule has a widening in the form of a disc that is coaxial with the cane and is intended to form a lever that is able to allow recovery when a pressure is applied. The shaft and handle are made of a lightweight material, and the ferrule contains a ballast so as to move the center of gravity of the cane as close as possible to the lower end, while the ferrule has a convex end wall.

Description

RELATED U.S. APPLICATIONS

Not applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

REFERENCE TO MICROFICHE APPENDIX

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a walking-aid apparatus, namely a cane.

A walking-aid apparatus such as a cane comprises a body with a rectilinear or substantially rectilinear shape, one end of which, the upper end, includes a gripping and supporting means, while the other end, the lower end, is provided with a ferrule having a non-slip function.

A cane has essentially two drawbacks, on the one hand that of requiring to bow down to the floor to pick it up when it has fallen, and on the other hand that of having to find a vertical surface to let it rest if one does not want it to fall on the floor.

2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98.

Canes are already known, the lower end ferrule of which is provided with a widening in the form of a disc coaxial to the cane and aimed at constituting a lever permitting, when the cane is on the floor and a substantially vertical pressure is exerted onto said disc, to cause the cane to be recovered.

Such a cane has however a drawback, that of requiring an important force, or control, during the whole operation, in order to cause the cane to be recovered, so that the raising of the cane is sudden and quick and that the user may not be able to catch it when it is raised, the more that the persons who generally need a cane have mobility difficulties.

Also known are self-raising canes provided with means permitting them to always remain vertical, this is the case of the cane described in EP 0 661 010. The lower end of this cane is provided with an element having at the lower side and the periphery a convex surface defining a point of rotation, while, because of a ballast, the centre of gravity of the cane is located below said point of rotation.

Though such a cane is indeed self-raising, and always remains vertical, it however proves, because of the size of its lower end, to be unpractical in use for its basic function, i.e. as a walk aid.

Also known are canes permitting to ensure some stability in use, and their maintaining in a vertical position without any support. All these canes, described for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,992,434, FR 2 668 690, DE 203 09 568 and WO 99/35930, include at their end a ferrule provided with a flat resting face, which extends in a plane perpendicular to the main axis of the cane.

Though the canes described in these documents include features, which permit them to ensure, on the one hand, some stability in use and, on the other hand, their maintaining in a vertical position without any support, they have nevertheless a drawback. Indeed, their flat sole requires, after an intent to raise the cane with the foot, or when positioning the latter vertically for its maintaining without any support, to operate with very precise actions, in order for said flat sole to be perfectly into contact with the floor, and to avoid oscillating movements likely to cause it to tilt.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is aimed at providing a cane permitting to cope with the various above-mentioned drawbacks.

The cane according to the invention includes a rectilinear or substantially rectilinear shaft, an upper end comprising a handle for gripping and support, and a lower end provided with a ferrule having an anti-slip function, and which has a widening in the form of a disc coaxial to the cane, aimed at constituting a lever capable of permitting the recovery when applying a pressure, and it is characterized in that said shaft and said handle are made of a lightweight material, and in that said ferrule contains a ballast, so as to bring the centre of gravity of said cane as close as possible to said lower end, while said ferrule has a convex end wall.

Positioning the center of gravity proximate the lower end, combined with the disc-like shape of the ferrule, permits to recover the cane by exerting a pressure on the edge of said ferrule, without this requiring neither an important force nor a particular control of this force.

The center of gravity is not low enough to permit an automatic recovery of the cane when it is laid on the floor, but it is low enough to assist recovering the cane, to ensure this recovery from a certain angle of inclination with respect to the horizontal line, and to ensure its stability when it is positioned vertically.

The convex shape of the end of the ferrule permits to dampen the recovery by providing a multiplicity of stable positions, in contrast to a flat sole, which provides only one that can sometimes be difficult to be found.

According to an additional feature of the cane according to the invention, the end wall of the ferrule is in the form of a spherical cap.

According to another additional feature of the cane according to the invention, the ferrule has a peripheral wall having a truncated shape, which is narrowing towards the end.

According to another additional feature of the cane according to the invention, the upper edge of the peripheral wall is connected to the shaft through a trumpet-shaped intermediate portion.

From the viewpoint of the manufacture, the shaft and the handle are made of composite material, namely plastic reinforced with fibres, for example polycarbonate reinforced with fibreglass.

The ferrule is made of cast iron, forming the ballast, covered with an elastomer, but in a preferred version and advantageously, the ballast consists of accumulators used for operating an electronic device carried on it, such as localisation and/or counting equipment.

The advantages and the features of the cane according to the invention will become clear from the following description, which relates to the attached drawing, which represents a non-restrictive embodiment of same.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 represents a schematic elevational view of a cane according to the invention.

FIG. 2 represents a schematic median longitudinal cross-sectional view of a portion of the same cane.

FIGS. 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d represent schematic elevational views of a portion of the same cane in different phases of use.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

When referring to FIG. 1, one can see a cane 1 according to the invention, which essentially includes a rectilinear or substantially rectilinear shaft 10, an upper end 11 consisting of a hook-shaped handle and, at its lower end 12, a ferrule 2.

The ferrule 2 is in the form of a disc coaxial to the shaft 10, and its diameter is much larger than that of the shaft 10, so as to create a peripheral widening likely to serve as a lever.

When referring to FIG. 2, one can see more in detail the lower end 12 of the cane 1 and the ferrule 2.

The ferrule 2 has a slightly curved end wall 20, in the form of a spherical cap with a large radius of curvature, and a peripheral wall 21 having a truncated shape, narrowing towards the end, i.e. the upper edge 23 of the wall 21 consists of a circle having a diameter larger than the one formed by the lower edge 24 of this wall.

Furthermore, the junction between the upper edge 23 of the wall 21 and the shaft 10 is made through a trumpet-shaped intermediate portion 25.

The ferrule 2 is essentially formed of a ballast 3 covered with a layer 22 of an elastomer material, which namely forms the walls 20 and 21.

The ballast 3 is aimed at lowering the centre of gravity of the cane 1 as close as possible to the lower end 12. It can consist of a metallic mass such as cast iron or, preferably, of accumulators aimed at supplying an electronic device it carries.

It is indeed possible to provide in a cane localization means, means for transmitting an alarm signal, or various measuring means, for example a pedometer.

When referring now to FIGS. 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d, one can see the usefulness of the features of the cane 1 according to the invention.

In these figures, one can see the lower end 12 of the cane 1, during three successive phases of its recovery when a pressure P is exerted, for example with the foot, onto the ferrule 2, using the latter as a lever.

In these figures is represented the centre of gravity G of the cane 1, located at the level of the shaft 10 proximate the lower end 12. The position of the centre of gravity G depends of course on the length of the shaft 10, on the kind of material the shaft 10 and the handle 11 are made of, as well as the dimensions and the nature of the ballast 3, not visible.

In FIG. 3a, the cane 1 rests on the floor S, between its upper end 11, not visible, and the ferrule 2, or more specifically at a point of the arris formed by the edge 23.

In FIG. 3b, one can see that by exerting a pressure P onto the top of the ferrule 2, at the level of the edge 23 in an area diametrically opposite the one into contact with the floor S, the shaft 10 is caused, through a lever effect, to raise.

The recovery is obtained through the pivoting of the ferrule 2 according to the edge 23 until, in a first phase, the ferrule 2 rests on the floor S through its peripheral wall 21.

In FIG. 3c, one can see that by extending the pressure P, the shaft 10 is caused to continue to raise, through pivoting according to the arris formed by the edge 24, until the wall 20 is into contact with the floor S, as can be seen in FIG. 3d.

Positioning of the centre of gravity G proximate the ferrule 2 permits an easy manipulation of the cane 1, the pressure to be exerted is minimum, it reduces the cantilever effect and favours the control of the raising.

It should be noted that the trumpet-like shape of the intermediate portion 25 provides a certain comfort of use for applying the pressure P with the foot.

Furthermore, the cane 1 can remain in a vertical position without requiring any resting against any surface, because of the positioning of the centre of gravity G, and of the large radius of curvature of the wall 20.

The convex shape of the wall 20 permits the cane 1 to be stabilised in a position of balance, which does not compulsorily correspond to the verticality of the shaft 10.

Thus, with some training the user can be able to recover a cane 1 according to the invention that has fallen on the floor, in order to bring it into a vertical position, and to maintain it in this position, without it being necessary for him to use his hands.

Claims

1. Cane comprising:

a rectilinear or substantially rectilinear shaft;

an upper end comprising a handle for gripping and support; and

a lower end provided with a ferrule having an anti-slip function, said ferrule having a widening and forming a disc coaxial to said shaft, said ferrule forming a lever permitting recovery when applying a pressure wherein said shaft and said handle are comprised of a lightweight material, and wherein said ferrule is comprised of a ballast, having of gravity as close as possible to said lower end, while said ferrule has a convex end wall.

2. Cane according to claim 1, wherein the end wall of the ferrule is comprised of a spherical cap.

3. Cane according to claim 1, wherein said ferrule further comprises a peripheral wall having a truncated shape, narrowing towards an end thereof.

4. Cane according to claim 3, wherein said peripheral wall has an upper edge connected to the shaft through a trumpet-shaped intermediate portion.

5. Cane according to claim 1, wherein said shaft and the handle are comprised of a composite material.

6. Cane according to claim 1, wherein said ballast is comprised of cast iron covered with an elastomer.

7. Cane according to claim 1, wherein said ballast is comprised of accumulators.