Walking Stick

Abstract

Disclosed is a walking stick made from a plurality of telescoping rigid tubular members. Locking joints at the juncture of adjacent tubular members allow the height of the walking stick to be adjusted. A resilient handle grip surrounds the upper surface of the top-most tubular member. A ball shaped top is fastened to the end of the top-most tubular member. The walking stick is capable of being used as an aid to help a person rise from a sitting position by placing the person's weight on the ball shaped top portion and using arm muscles to push up from the seated position to a standing position. In the preferred embodiment the ball shape is approximately three inches in diameter.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/669,840, filed on May 10, 2018. The disclosure of that application is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to the field of walking sticks and more specifically to an adjustable height walking stick that helps a person transition from a seated position to a standing position.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Walking sticks are used as an aid to help steady a person while walking on various types of terrain. Some walking sticks are made of a single long rigid material such as wood or aluminum. Other walking sticks are made from telescoping tubular sections so that the height of the stick can be adjusted. Walking sticks may include a handle portion that is made of resilient material and surrounds the upper portion of the top-most telescoping tube.

The very top portion of the handle of known walking sticks may provide the user with a small surface area to grasp the very top of the stick. This presents a difficulty if user tries to use the walking stick as an aid for rising from a seated position to a standing position by pushing downward on the stick while lifting themselves from the seat. The hand purchase provided by the small top portion of the handle makes it difficult to maintain stability and comfort during the push down action of the user's hands.

SUMMARY

The primary object of the disclosure is to provide a walking stick that can be adjusted in height and includes a ball shaped top portion to provide a surface area that can be pushed on by a user's hands and arms to help the person rise from a sitting position to a standing position.

Other objects and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following descriptions, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein, by way of illustration and example, an embodiment of the disclosure is presented.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment there is disclosed a walking stick comprising a plurality of telescoping rigid tubular members, one or more locking joints; a handle grip portion; and a ball shaped top portion, wherein adjacent ones of telescoping tubular members are slidably and concentrically arranged with each other, the sliding arrangement of the members determining the height of the walking stick; wherein said locking joints are positioned at junctures between adjacent ones of said telescoping tubular members, the locking members adjustable from an unlocked configuration where adjacent members can slide relative to one another, and a locked configuration where adjacent tubular members are fixed relative to one another, whereby said locking joints fix the height of said walking stick in the locked configuration; wherein said handle grip portion surrounds the upper surface of the top-most tubular member and forms a resilient surface over the top-most tubular member; and wherein said ball shaped top portion is fastened to the proximal end of said top-most tubular member.

According to a further embodiment, the walking stick is capable of being used as an aid to help a person rise from a sitting position to a standing position by placing said person's weight on said ball shaped top portion and using hand and arm muscles to push up from said seated position to a standing position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary embodiments to the disclosure, which may be embodied in various forms. It is to be understood that in some instances various aspects of the disclosure may be shown exaggerated or enlarged to facilitate an understanding of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a side view of an embodiment of the disclosure with tubes extended;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 with tubes compressed;

FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of the ball shaped top portion above the handle portion of the embodiment of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view of the removable rubber tip and secondary pointed tip for use on ice of the embodiment of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Detailed descriptions of the preferred embodiment are provided herein. It is to be understood, however, that the present invention may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but rather as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed system, structure or manner.

Referring now to FIG. 1 we see a side view of the walking stick 100 of the present disclosure. A plurality of telescoping tubes 4, 6, 8 are concentrically attached and locked into a desired length by locking rings 10, 12. The locking rings are threaded onto first ends of respective tubes. The first ends of the tubes are configured so that rotation of the ring in one direction causes the first end of the tube to grip the surface of an adjacent tube, locking the telescoping tubes relative to one another to lock the walking stick at a desired length. Alternatively, instead of locking rings, tubes 4, 6, 8 may have spring-loaded detents that engage with holes in adjacent tubes to lock the adjacent tubes in a configuration with a desired length.

At the bottom-most end of the walking stick is a resilient bottom tip 2. According to one embodiment, tip 2 is formed from a resilient rubber and includes one or more treads to provide traction to secure the stick 100 on a variety of relatively flat terrains. The tip 2 is removable to expose a sharp metal tip 20 as shown in FIG. 4 which can be used when using the walking stick 100 on slick surfaces such as ice.

A resilient handle portion 14 surrounds the upper end of top-most tube 8. Affixed to the top of tube 8 and continuous with handle portion 14 is ball portion 18. The walking stick is commonly held with the user's hand wrapped around the handle portion 14 during walking activity. Strap 16 can be wrapped around the user's wrist for additional control.

Ball portion 18 is designed to be grasped by the user when rising from a sitting position to a standing position. The ball portion 18 has a relatively large diameter compared with the size of the user's hand. According to one embodiment it is approximately three inches in diameter. This provides a large purchase for one or both of a person's hands to push down on in the process of using hands and arms to lift the person's upper body weight, for example, from a seated to a standing position.

FIG. 2 is a side view of stick 100 in its compressed position. According to one embodiment, in the compressed position, the height of the ball 18 is approximately thirty-three inches from the ground. In this position, the height of ball 18 above the floor is low enough to allow a person to place his or her hand or hands on the ball 18 while in a seated position, and to use the stick 100 and ball 18 as an aid to transition from a seated position to a standing position. When in the standing position, the user can then extend the tubes 6, 4 and lock them in their extended orientation to be used as a traditional walking stick.

FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view showing ball portion 18 as well as handle 14 and strap 16 in detail.

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view showing the lowermost portion of stick 100. According to one embodiment, rubber tip 2 is removeably connected with stick 100. When rubber tip 2 is removed, a metal tip 20 at the end of the stick 100 is exposed. The metal tip may include a sharpened point. This point can be used to provide stability when walking on slick surfaces such as ice.

While the invention has been described in connection with a preferred embodiment, it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to the particular form set forth, but on the contrary, it is intended to cover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A walking stick comprising:

a plurality of telescoping rigid tubular members;

one or more locking joints;

a handle grip portion; and

a ball shaped top portion;

wherein adjacent ones of telescoping tubular members are slidably and concentrically arranged with each other, the sliding arrangement of the members determining a height of the walking stick;

wherein said locking joints are positioned at junctures between adjacent ones of said telescoping tubular members, the locking members adjustable from an unlocked configuration where adjacent members can slide relative to one another, and a locked configuration where adjacent tubular members are fixed relative to one another, whereby said locking joints fix the height of said walking stick in the locked configuration;

wherein said handle grip portion surrounds an upper surface of a top-most tubular member of the plurality of tubular members and forms a resilient surface about at least a portion of the top-most tubular member; and

wherein said ball shaped top portion is fastened to a proximal end of said top-most tubular member.

2. The walking stick as claimed in claim 1 wherein said ball shaped top portion has a diameter selected to be grasped by one or two human hands.

3. The walking stick as claimed in claim 1, wherein said ball shaped portion has a diameter of approximately three inches.

4. The walking stick as claimed in claim 1, wherein said ball shaped portion is formed from a resilient material.

5. The walking stick as claimed in claim 1, wherein said ball shaped portion forms a contiguous surface with the handle grip portion.

6. The walking stick as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a strap connected with the top-most tubular member.

7. The walking stick as claimed in claim 6, wherein the strap forms a loop.

8. The walking stick as claimed in claim 1, wherein the locking joint comprises a locking ring.

9. The walking stick as claimed in claim 1, wherein the locking joint comprises a spring-loaded detent on one tubular member that engages with a selected hole of a plurality of holes on an adjacent tubular member.

10. The walking stick as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a traction member connected with a distal end of a bottom-most tubular member of the plurality of the tubular members, the traction member adapted to provide traction when the walking stick is in contact with a terrain surface.

11. The walking stick as claimed in claim 10, wherein the traction member comprises a sharpened tip.

12. The walking stick as claimed in claim 10, wherein the traction member comprises a foot portion.

13. The walking stick as claimed in claim 12, wherein a distal surface of the foot portion comprises treads.

14. The walking stick as claimed in claim 12, wherein the foot portion is removably connected with the distal end of the bottom-most tubular member and wherein a sharpened tip is provided at the distal end of the bottom-most tubular member, the sharpened tip being exposed when the foot portion is removed.

15. The walking stick as claimed in claim 12, wherein the foot portion is formed from a resilient material.

16. The walking stick as claimed in claim 11, wherein the sharpened tip is formed from a metal.