JP7108958B1 - walking cane - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] Many conventional canes support the vicinity of the foot when stopped, and the cane had to be moved first when moving. In addition, it was difficult to use a cane with high load-bearing immunity for a long time. In addition, forward propulsion relied on the force of the arm pushing the cane. To provide a cane that solves the three problems at the same time.
A walking cane is provided with an upright portion and an inclined portion so that the elasticity of the material of the walking cane can be effectively utilized. Further, the distance L1 between the point where the inclined portion touches the ground and the point where the extension line of the upright portion intersects with the ground is one foot long, and the position where the upright portion is held with the hand and the connection point A between the upright portion and the inclined portion. Make the distance L2 one foot long. By doing so, it becomes possible to use the walking cane with less burden on the body, and it becomes possible to effectively utilize the elastic energy of the walking cane when the walking cane leaves the ground.
[Selection drawing] Fig. 1

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a walking cane suitable for assisting walking.

When holding a walking cane, the angle of the grip determines the load-bearing exemption capacity of the cane and how to use it. The types of grips can be roughly divided into three types based on their angles. There are three types of grips: "parallel", "diagonal", and "perpendicular" to the ground.

There is a crutch as a typical cane whose grip is parallel to the ground. Since the weight is supported by holding it under the armpits, the load-bearing immunity is high. The shape of the T-shaped cane is similar to that of a crutch without the part that is sandwiched between the sides. In addition, sticks that are fixed to the arm like Lofstrand Clutch, and sticks that improve the stability of the contact surface of the stick like multi-legged sticks often have grips that are parallel to the ground. Patent Literature 1 discloses a cane with enhanced load-bearing exemption that is used by holding it under one's armpit. In addition, Patent Document 2 discloses a multi-legged cane with improved safety that can be stably used even if it is thrust obliquely.

Canes with slanted grips are often designed to reduce the burden on the wrist. Patent Literature 3 discloses a walking aid whose grip angle can be changed. Patent Literature 4 discloses a cane for walking in which a grip portion and a lower shaft portion are bent with respect to an upper shaft portion, and the tip of the lower shaft portion is located in front of the tip of the grip portion. .

As a cane whose grip is perpendicular to the ground, there are single canes, walking poles, trekking poles, and the like. There are also products that have a strap that can be adjusted in length attached to the grip part to make it easier to apply a load, and products that reduce weight by devising materials and split the pole to improve portability. .

Mechanisms for absorbing impact during use have been proposed for each grip-shaped cane. For example, in Patent Document 5, a plate spring is attached to the tip of the loft strand clutch. Patent Literature 6 discloses a walking aid in which a leaf spring is attached to the tip of a pole to provide impact reduction and propulsive force. Patent document 7 proposes a pole having a tip spring mechanism.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2021-112548 Cane sandwiched between armpits JP 2020-092773 A multi-legged cane that can be used diagonally 5-501964 A walking aid with a variable grip angle Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2010-184107 Walking cane with inclined grip and lower shaft JP 2019-195392 A Lofstrand clutch with a plate spring attached to the tip JP 2019-98178 A walking aid with a leaf spring at the tip Special table 2018-511357 Pole with tip spring mechanism

SINANO Co., Ltd. Homepage How to use a cane

As the aging society advances, more and more people tend to stay indoors due to the reality that walking is difficult, even though they want to walk on their own. I want to lead such people outside as much as possible. I think there are many people who feel that way too. We want to provide a walking cane that gives hope to people who want to walk outside and want to be able to walk.

For that purpose, it is necessary to create a staff that satisfies the following three points at the same time. There are three points: "a cane that can be used with peace of mind", "a cane that can be used for a long time", and "a cane that produces propulsive force".

For example, crutches may be safe to use, but they are difficult to use for long periods of time. No one wants to use crutches to gain propulsion and move lightly. T-canes are easier to use than crutches, but have lower load-bearing immunity. Also, it is never easy for people with weak muscles to put the tip of the cane in the proper position. Lofstrand clutches and multi-legged canes may be safer than T-canes, but they are not suitable for long-term use. Also, walking poles and trekking poles are made to last for a long time, but rely on the force of your arms pushing against the ground for propulsion. The present invention has been made to solve these problems at the same time.

Let's take a conventional walking cane as an example and see how it works. FIG. 4 schematically shows the movements of the walking cane and the body, and FIG. 5 is a top view of the contact point between the foot and the cane when the movement shown in FIG. 4 is performed. The wand is held in the right hand by the user, moving from right to left in the figure. When starting to move, the right hand must first be moved to move the grounding point of the cane from P0 to P1. Next, the left foot is moved to the position of L1 to the left of P1. At that time, since the grip portion of the cane moves in an arc with P1 as a fulcrum, it is necessary to change the angle of the wrist and move the upper arm and shoulder accordingly. Next, the right foot is passed between the left foot and the cane and moved to R1, and the tip of the cane is lifted off the ground and moved to P2. Then, bring the left foot to L2 next to P2 and repeat the movement.

As for the action of placing the tip of the wand on the first P1, some users have concerns about placing it in the proper position. And the motion of moving the wrist, arm, and shoulder in accordance with the movement of the cane is by no means easy for the elderly or people with weak muscles. In addition, when propulsive force is required, it is also necessary to use a cane to push the ground backwards.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention aims to simultaneously solve the problems associated with such a configuration, and aims to realize a walking cane that can be used safely for a long time and that provides propulsion. It is.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a walking cane with an upright portion and an inclined portion so that the walking cane can be deformed within the elastic range for use. The distance between the point where the inclined portion touches the ground and the point where the extension of the upright portion intersects the ground is one foot long, and the position where the upright portion is held by hand and the connection point between the upright portion and the inclined portion The distance between the legs is one leg length.

The length of one foot refers to the size of the user's foot, and the standard is 25 cm, and the length is about 15 cm to 35 cm depending on the user's physical characteristics and usage conditions. Also, the ground means the surface on which the user is walking, and is not limited to the surface of the land.

The actions of the above problem-solving means are as follows. In other words, when you hold the upright part and hit the ground, there is no point in contact with the ground on the extension line of the upright part, so in addition to compressive force, shear force and bending moment act on the cane body, and it is within the range of elasticity. It can act as an elastic body.

In addition, since the tip of the walking cane of the present invention supports the ground in front of the walking stick one foot length when stopped, the user can take the first step with confidence. Furthermore, since the walking cane is deformed by the load, it is possible to move without the need to move the arm or shoulder greatly. Since the walking cane has elastic energy when the walking cane leaves the ground, the user can utilize the elastic energy of the walking cane as propulsive force.

Movements of the cane and the body when using this walking cane will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. FIG. 2 schematically shows the movement of the walking cane of the present invention and the movement of the body, and FIG. 3 is a top view of the contact point between the leg and the cane at that time. The wand is held in the right hand by the user, moving from right to left in the figure. Since the walking cane of the present invention supports the ground one foot length ahead when at rest, it can be started by advancing the left foot to position L1. As the left foot moves forward, the upper body also moves forward. At the same time, the cane starts to stand up with P1 as the fulcrum, but the pole is deformed by the downward load on the upright part and the reaction force from the ground on the inclined part, so the wrist can be kept at a constant height. I can. When the right leg is passed between the left leg and the cane and advanced to R1, the restoring force of the bent pole trying to return to its original shape becomes the driving force, and the tip of the cane is moved to P2 by slightly raising the forearm. position. The left foot is then advanced to position L2 and the movement is repeated.

Next, the optimum position for bending the shaft will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 shows the relationship between the position where the pole is bent and the position where the tip of the pole separates from the ground. The numbers 0, 25, 50 and 75 after A represent the distance in cm from the position 1a where the little finger rests on the grip indicating where the hand is held in the upright position. Thus, A0 schematically represents a walking cane bent just below the grip, and A25 a walking cane bent 25 cm below the grip. Also, when the tip of the cane leaves the ground, it is assumed that the slanted part of the cane is perpendicular to the ground. G0, G25, and G50, respectively. That is, G0 indicates the position of the upper end of the grip when the inclined portion of the cane bent at position A0 is vertical to the ground. Similarly, G25 and G50 represent the positions of the upper end of the grip when the inclined portion of the walking cane bent at positions A25 and A50 is perpendicular to the ground.

Subsequently, when a line BL is drawn through the point G at the upper end of the grip at the time of stop and parallel to the ground, it can be seen that G0 and G25 are above the line of BL. This means that if the point G0, G25 is lowered to the position BL, the walking cane has elastic energy when it leaves the ground. In contrast, since the G50 point is below the BL line, the walking cane has no elastic energy unless the arm is pushed downward. It can be seen that the walking cane bent at position A75 is not suitable for this use because the grip position is far forward when off the ground.

Next, referring to FIG. 7, the amount of deformation of the walking cane bent at positions A0 and A25 before it leaves the ground is observed.

The amount of deformation can be seen in the amount of deformation of a triangle formed by three points: the apex G of the grip, the grounding point P, and the connection point A between the upright portion and the inclined portion. The walking cane bent at A0 moves to ΔG0・P・A0 when it leaves the ground. Therefore, when the G0 point is lowered to the G0L point due to the load on the grip, A0 reaches A0H. Moving. Assuming that the curvature of the shaft is not considered here, ΔG0·P·A0 is transformed into ΔG0L·P·AOH. Similarly, the walking cane bent at A25 is deformed from ΔG25·P·A25 to ΔG25L·P·A25H by the load on the grip before leaving the ground.

When comparing the angle of the bending part of the walking cane bent at the A0 position and the A25 position, ∠G0・A0・P of the bending part created by the walking cane bent at the A0 position changes to ∠G0L・A0H・P. do. Also, ∠G25·A25·P of the bending portion formed by the walking cane bent at A25 changes to ∠G25L·A25H·P. It can be seen that the deformation of the bending part is smaller in the walking cane bent at the position A25 than in the walking cane bent at the position A0. It can be seen that bending around A25 is better than A0 in order to reduce the possibility that the bending portion will exceed the elastic region and enter the plastic region. Figure 1 is a model of a walking cane bent at A25.

Yield stress is defined as the stress that causes a permanent strain of 0.2% when the load is removed. need to do In addition, the Bauschinger effect may reduce the load that initiates plastic deformation, so it is necessary to warn users about service life and the like.

When a conventional walking cane begins to move, the cane must first be moved. Since the walking cane of the present invention supports the ground one foot ahead in advance in the stopped state, the user can take the first step without anxiety.

In addition, the walking cane of the present invention is held by the user with the arm bent, and since the holding position is close to the shoulder joint, it is easy to apply a load. Furthermore, since the walking cane is deformable within the range of elasticity, the arms and shoulders do not move more than necessary during movement, which reduces the burden on the body and allows long-term use.

Conventional walking sticks require the arm to push against the ground in order to generate propulsion. In the walking cane of the present invention, elastic energy is stored in the walking cane by the load applied by the user, and the energy can be used as propulsion force.

Since the walking cane of the present invention absorbs impact by bending as a whole, it is possible to reduce the impact during use without increasing the number of parts.

In the walking cane of the present invention, by changing the elastic characteristics of the shaft or by changing the elastic characteristics of the connecting part inserted between the upright part and the inclined part, it is possible to walk with difficulty due to old age or disease. It is possible to respond to a wide range of requests from users, from people to people who use it for sports.

Also, when going down stairs, etc., the front and back direction of the walking cane of the present invention is reversed, and then the upper end of the grip is held, and the tip of the inclined portion is placed on the tread surface two steps below the user's standing position. Placing it vertically allows you to go down stairs safer and faster.

1 is a side view of the walking cane of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 4 is a side view of arm and cane movement when walking using the walking cane of the present invention; FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the positions of feet during walking in FIG. 2 and grounding points of canes; FIG. 2 is a side view of arm and cane movement when walking using a conventional walking cane. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the positions of the feet during walking in FIG. 4 and the contact points of the cane; It is a figure showing the relationship between the position where the cane is bent and the position where the tip of the cane is separated from the ground. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the amount of deformation of the cane when the tip of the cane leaves the ground. FIG. 4 is a side view of the walking cane in which the tip of the inclined portion is bent in a direction perpendicular to the ground surface; Fig. 10 is a side view of a walking cane in which an upright portion and an inclined portion are connected by a connecting portion; This is an example of use when going down stairs.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1, 8, 9 and 10. FIG. In addition, this is an example of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to this.

As shown in FIG. 1, a grip portion 1 made of an appropriate material so as to absorb shock and sweat is integrated with an upper shaft a2 to form an upright portion. The grip part 1 is provided with a position 1a where the little finger rests when gripped, an undergrip 1b used when climbing stairs, etc., and a strap 9 whose length is adjustable. The distance L1 between the point where the pole end cap 8 at the tip of the inclined portion touches the ground and the point where the extension line of the upright portion intersects the ground is one foot long, and the position 1a where the little finger rests, and the upright portion and the slope. A bending portion 3 is provided at a position such that the distance from the connecting point A of the portion is one foot long. In addition, the inclined portion has a middle shaft a4 and a lower shaft a5 whose lengths can be adjusted so as to correspond to changes in the user's physical condition and usage conditions.

Here is an example of how to hold it. A hand is passed through the ring of the strap 9 from below, and the strap 9 and the grip part 1 are gripped together. By doing so, it becomes easier to apply the load to the grip. Squeeze your armpits lightly and adjust the shaft so that your forearms are parallel to the ground or slightly downward.

FIG. 8 shows a configuration in which the pole end cap 8 at the tip of the inclined portion in FIG. 1 is bent in a direction perpendicular to the ground. Bending in a direction perpendicular to the ground increases the frictional force at the point of contact, making pedestrians less likely to slip.

The walking cane shown in FIG. 9 has a structure in which a connecting portion 17 is inserted between the upright portion and the inclined portion. By preparing joints with different elastic properties and joints with different lengths and angles, it becomes possible to make a wide range of adjustments, and it is possible to provide a walking cane according to the usage conditions of the user.

In addition, when either or both of the upright portion and the inclined portion are provided with a cushioning mechanism, the elastic energy obtained by the cushioning mechanism can be used as a propulsion force.

FIG. 10 shows an example of use when going down stairs. The user reverses the front and back direction of the walking stick of the present invention, holds the upper end of the grip, and places the tip of the sloping part of the walking stick on the tread surface two steps below the current position so that the sloping part is vertical. is placed in By doing so, the user can put his/her foot down on the tread surface one step lower with confidence, and it becomes possible to go down the stairs more safely and quickly.

1 grip part 1a position where little finger rests 1b undergrip 2 upper shaft a
3 bending portion 4 middle shaft a
5 lower shaft a
6 Shaft end protector a
7 Shaft end protector b
8 Pole end cap 9 Strap A Connection point L1 Distance between the point where the tip of the inclined part touches the ground and the point where the extension line of the upright part intersects the ground L2 Position 1a on the upright part where the little finger rests, the upright part and the inclined part Distance from connection point A S Start position L1 Left foot first step R1 Right foot first step L2 Left foot second step L Position of shoulders and wrists when left foot is on the ground.
R Position of shoulders and wrists when the right foot is on the ground.
LS Position of shoulders and wrists when left foot and starting foot are on at the same time RL Position of shoulders and wrists when left and right feet are in L1 and R1 positions LR When left and right feet are in R1 and L2 positions P0 The grounding point of the walking cane when stopping when using a conventional walking cane P1 The grounding point of the walking cane when taking the first step with the left foot P2 When taking the second step with the left foot Grounding point of walking cane G Top of grip when stopped A0 Point 0 cm vertically below the position where the little finger of the grip rests A25 Point 25 cm vertically below the position where the little finger of the grip rests A50 Vertically below 50 cm from the position where the little finger of the grip rests Point A75 A point 75cm vertically below the position where the pinky finger rests on the grip. The top of the grip when the slope is perpendicular to the ground. A line parallel to G0L A point vertically below G0 on BL G25L A point vertically below G25 on BL 10 Upper shaft b
11 middle shaft b
12 lower shaft b
13 fixed lever a
14 fixed lever b
15 upper shaft c
16 middle shaft c
17 connecting part

Claims (6)

A walking cane consisting of an upright part and an inclined part, wherein the distance between the point where the inclined part touches the ground and the point where the extension line of the upright part intersects the ground is one foot long, and the upright part is held by hand , a walking cane characterized in that the distance between the connecting point of the upright part and the inclined part is one foot long. 2. The walking cane according to claim 1, wherein the upright portion and the inclined portion are made of elastic material. 2. The walking cane according to claim 1, wherein the ground-side tip of the inclined portion is bent in a direction perpendicular to the ground. 2. The walking cane of claim 1, wherein a connecting portion is attached between the upright portion and the inclined portion. 5. The walking cane according to claim 4, wherein said connecting parts are made of materials having different elastic properties. 6. The walking cane according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein either or both of the upright portion and the inclined portion are provided with a cushioning mechanism.

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