Cane and Walking Stick Management System
The invention is a cane or walking stick system, which is comprised of four members that can be removably attached to a cane or walking stick, and a fifth member which can be separately attached to a wall or other vertical objects away and apart from the first four members. The present invention is comprised of the first and second members of the invention being removably attached to a cane or walking stick, and the third and fourth members of the invention being carried and stored on the first and second members of the invention until put to use. This provides a variety of means and methods to hang or store a cane or walking stick from a plurality of objects and surfaces, when not in use for walking or support.
The invention relates generally to devices or apparatus, which provide various methods and means to hang or store a cane or walking stick, when not in use for walking or support.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONHistorically canes and walking sticks when not in use for walking or support are laid on floors, across chairs, benches and car seats, on tables, stood in corners, and leaned against a wall or a piece of furniture, and often times must be hand held when not in use for walking or support. Canes having a crook for a handgrip are sometimes hung on the backs of chairs and coat racks, but this method usually ends up with the cane on the floor or out of easy reach of the user.
Various tabletop cane holders are known and have been in use, however most such devices such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,895,330 by Richard F. Anstead, Jan. 23, 1990 refer only to a cane holder for attaching and detaching a cane from a table top or other generally planar surface. In examination of this patent it is apparent that the device is rather bulky, and may have sharp edges making it risky to carry always attached to a cane. This means that the cane holder must be carried separately to the point of use, or be installed and carried on a cane or installed on a tabletop or other planar surface to be available for use.
Another cane holder being marketed by several retail stores, namely The American Drug Supply Store, The Vermont Country Store, and CaneMart, which are on the Internet, is another source of prior art. The cane holder described is for canes up to ⅞ in. diameter, attaches to the cane by means of compressive spring tension, and then the cane holder is placed on the edge of a table, desk, or other generally planar surface, which allows the cane to balance from the edge of the aforementioned surfaces.
One may also use the cane holder under the table: placing the cane tip on the ground, then pushing the cane holder up the shaft of the cane, until it meets the bottom of the table, thereby creating tension between the floor and the table, which enables the cane to remain in an upright position under the table. The patent status or number for this “cane holder” has not been able to be determined at this time. These and other prior art on the subject matter are generally restricted to a single method or purpose of hanging a cane from: planar surfaces like a tabletop or countertop.
SUMMARY OF PRESENT INVENTIONThe novelty of the present invention is that it provides a plurality of means and methods to perform the single purpose of hanging or storing a cane or walking stick, when its not in use for walking or support, from a plurality of objects and surfaces. The invention is comprised of five members: members one and two are removably attached to the cane or walking stick. Member three, the magnetic mount, is stored and carried on member two the moveable collar. Member four, the suction cup mount, is stored and carried on the vertical platform of member one a large inverted hook. Member five is a formed ferric metal plate that can be attached to vertical surfaces upon which member three, the magnetic mount, can be placed. This represents the most compact and readably accessible configuration of the present invention. The present invention provides two different methods and the means to hang or store a cane or walking stick from generally horizontal surfaces, rods, or rails such as: the back of a chair or wheelchair, a walker, clothes rod, coat rack, or handrail. This is accomplished by utilizing the inverted hooks of members one or two to engage and hang the cane or walking stick from the aforementioned objects. The invention also provides two different methods and the means to hang or store a cane or walking stick from a generally planar surface of varying thicknesses and textures such as: a conventional table, a wood grained or concrete picnic table, or a shelf or ledge. This is accomplished by utilizing the inverted hooks of members one or two of the invention to hang the cane or walking stick from the edge of said planar surface, or by using members one and two to capture said planar surface between members one and two. The present invention finally provides two methods and the means to hang or store a cane or walking stick from generally fixed vertical objects (ferric or non-ferric) such as: a wall, desk, stove, refrigerator, or motor vehicle. This is accomplished by means of utilizing the slotted portion of the inverted hook of member one to engage the head of a screw, nail, other suitably sized protrusions from said vertical objects, or the molded button portion of member three of the invention. Which is a removably attached magnetic member that can be placed on member five, a formed ferric metal plate, or independently of the ferric metal plate on any other ferric metal object.
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While the invention has been described by reference to a particular embodiment, there is no intent to limit the spirit and scope of the invention to the precise details so set forth except as defined in the following claims.
Claims
1. An apparatus for use with a cane or walking stick, comprising five members of the apparatus, for use to hang and store a cane or walking stick from a plurality of objects and surfaces comprising:
- A first member comprising a platform, which is removably attached to a cane or walking stick by means of a portion of said platform, formed to partially encircle the shaft of a cane or walking stick, which can be attached or detached from a cane or walking stick by means of a resilient material such as polypropylene or a similar material, used in the construction of the first member, which provides a griping means of said shaft, and said first member of the apparatus having an inverted hook with a slotted portion at the exposed end of the inverted hook, and a raised portion on the topside of the inverted hook to receive a inverted hook of the second member of the apparatus;
- A second member comprising a movable collar encircling the shaft of a cane or walking stick, which is moveable up or down and rotatable on said shaft, and includes an inverted hook and a horizontally molded channel with a formed ferric metal plate attached within said channel;
- A third member comprising a molded plastic channel with a magnet contained within said channel and said channel sized to fit and to be magnetically attached within the channel of the second member and be removable from the channel of the second member, and having a molded button means to engage the slotted portion of the inverted hook of the first member;
- A fourth member comprising a suction cup with an arm extending therefrom with a molded button means on the exposed end of said arm to engage the slotted portion of the inverted hook of the first member;
- A fifth member comprising a formed ferric metal plate bent at the bottom at a 90 degree angle and two punched holes in said ferric metal plate as a means of attachment to an object;
2. An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein:
- Said first member comprising a platform, which is removably attached to a cane or walking stick and comprises an inverted hook as a means to hang a cane or walking stick;
- And said inverted hook further comprises a receiver on the topside of said inverted hook to receive a second inverted hook of a second member of the apparatus;
- And said inverted hook also comprises a slotted portion on the exposed end of said inverted hook as a means to engage a suitably sized protrusion or molded button as a means to hang a cane or walking therefrom;
3. An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein:
- Said second member comprising a movable collar which encircles the shaft of a cane or walking stick and is movable up and down and is rotatable on said shaft and further comprises an inverted hook, which can be raised to receive the strap or handle of an object, then lowered to capture and secure said handle or strap between said inverted hook of the second member, and the raised portion on the topside of the inverted hook of the first member, which receives the end portion of said inverted hook of the second member;
- And said second member being movable up and down and comprising an inverted hook which can be raised to accept a planar surface of varying thickness then lowered to capture said planar surface between said inverted hook of the second member and the inverted hook of the first member releasable clamping said planar surface to hang a cane or walking stick from said planar surface;
- And said second member being movable up and down and rotatable on the shaft of a cane or walking stick, and comprising an inverted hook, and said inverted hook raised above the receiver member of the inverted hook of the first member and rotated 90 degrees to one side or the other, allows the foot of the inverted hook of the second member to be placed near the edge of a planar surface to hang a cane or walking stick from said planar surface;
- And said second member comprising a movable collar on the shaft of a cane or walking stick and further comprising a molded channel with a ferric metal plate attached within said channel and said channel sized to hold and store a third member.
4. An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein:
- Said third member comprises a molded plastic channel sized to fit and to receive the slotted portion of the inverted hook of the first member and having a molded button means to engage said slotted portion of the first member, as a means to hang a cane or walking stick therefrom, and further comprising an opening on the backside of said channel, of the appropriate size to accommodate a circular or rectangular magnet to be secured in said opening;
- And the third member comprising a molded channel, a molded button means and a secured magnet within said molded channel to provide a means to magnetically attach said third member to any ferric metal surface or a formed ferric metal plate as described in claim 1, and sized to be magnetically attached and stored, when not in use, in the channel provided by said second member.
5. An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein:
- Said fourth member comprising a suction cup with a arm extending therefrom and having a molded button means on the exposed end of said arm to engage the slotted portion of the inverted hook of the first member;
- Said suction cup being applied by suction to a smooth planar surface with an arm extending therefrom, which is extended beyond the edge of said planar surface and having a molded button means on the exposed end of said arm to engage the slotted portion of the inverted hook of the first member, thereby providing a means to hang a cane or walking stick from a planar surface;
- And said fourth member comprising a suction cup means of attachment to a planar surface can use such means of attachment to carry and store said fourth member, when not in use, on the vertical planar surface of said platform of said first member;
6. An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein:
- Said fifth member comprising a formed ferric metal plate having a 90 degree bent portion at the bottom thereof and one or more holes as a means of attachment, from screws or other means, to a vertical or near vertical ferric or non-ferric surface;
- And said fifth member comprising a formed ferric metal plate having a 90 degree bend at the bottom of said ferric metal plate to be magnetically and removably attached to said third member and prevented from sliding downward while attached to said ferric metal plate by means of a 90 degree bend at the bottom of the formed ferric metal plate;
- And said ferric metal plate with the third member magnetically attached providing a molded button means to engage the slotted portion of the inverted hook of the first member providing a means to hang a cane or walking stick from a vertical or near vertical ferric or non-ferric surface.
7. A cane and walking stick management system for use with canes and walking sticks providing a plurality of methods and means to hang and store a cane or walking stick from a plurality of objects and surfaces comprising;
- A cane and walking stick management system comprised of claims 1 through claim 6 of the present invention, to provide a plurality of methods and means to hang and store a cane or walking stick from a plurality objects and surfaces;
- A cane and walking stick management system comprised of claims 1 through claim 6 of the present invention, which provides removable attachment of the first and second members of the present invention to a cane or walking stick, and provides removable attachment of the third and fourth members of the invention to the first and second members of the invention, to provide the most compact and accessible configuration of the present invention.
- And provides a fifth member of the invention, a formed ferric metal plate being attachable to other objects, apart from the cane or walking stick, and capable of receiving the third member of the invention by means of magnetic attachment.
8. An apparatus comprising a platform, which is removably attached to a cane or walking stick by means of a portion of said platform, formed to partially encircle the shaft of a cane or walking stick, which can be attached or detached from a cane or walking stick by means of a resilient material, such as polypropylene or a similar material used in the construction of the first member, to provide a griping means of said shaft. And said first member of the apparatus comprising an inverted hook with a slotted portion at the exposed end of the inverted hook and further comprising a raised portion on the topside of the inverted hook formed to provide a hooking means on the topside of the inverted hook.
9. An apparatus as in claim 8 wherein:
- Said apparatus comprising a platform, which is removably attached to a cane or walking stick and comprises an inverted hook as a means to hang a cane or walking stick.
10. An apparatus as in claim 8 wherein:
- Said apparatus comprising a platform, which is removably attached to a cane or walking stick and comprises an inverted hook with a slotted portion at the exposed end of the inverted hook to provide a means to engage a protruding head of a screw or molded button as a means to hang a cane or walking stick therefrom
11. An apparatus as in claim 8 wherein:
- Said apparatus comprises a platform, which is removably attached to a cane or walking stick and comprises an inverted hook and further comprises a hooking means on the topside of said inverted hook as a means to hang a object with straps or handles from said inverted hook of the apparatus.
12. An apparatus as in claim 8 wherein:
- Said apparatus comprises a platform which is removably attached to a cane or walking stick and comprises an inverted hook and further comprises a suction cup means of attachment to said platform within the crook of said inverted hook, and further provides an arm extending outward from said suction cup with a molded button means on the exposed end of said arm to engage the slotted portion of the inverted hook of the first member, when removed from its storage area within the crook of the inverted hook, to be attached by suction cup means to a smooth planar surface as a means to hang a cane or walking stick from a planar surface;
13. An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein:
- Said second member comprises a movable collar encircling the shaft of a cane or walking stick, which is movable up and down and rotatable on the said shaft. And comprises an inverted hook, and said movable collar and inverted hook being made of a resilient plastic material such as polypropylene or a material having a similar resilient character, to provide a snug fit on the shaft of a cane or walking stick, to provide only intentional movement of said collar and inverted hook up or down or be rotated on said shaft;
- And said collar with an inverted hook can be intentionally moved up or down or rotated on the shaft of a cane or walking stick to provide a means to hang a cane or walking stick;
- And said collar with an inverted hook can be rotated as suited to place the foot of the inverted hook near the edge of a planar surface, to balance a cane or walking stick from said planar surface.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 13, 2008
Publication Date: Jun 11, 2009
Inventor: John Roy Couper (Loveland, CO)
Application Number: 12/138,525
International Classification: A45B 3/00 (20060101);