Patent Application
20180146752
The present invention relates generally to the fields of mobility assistance devices, hiking accessories, sports equipment, canes, and detachable tool systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to a bow shaped attachment that can be combined with a cane, walker, or other walking aid, hiking staff or walking stick, ski pole or trekking pole, or detachable multi-tool system.
Walking sticks and hiking staffs have been around for millennia. As long as man has been mobile, he has sought more efficient ways to balance one's body in motion. Originally, hiking staffs were comprised of sticks found in nature. These makeshift devices were found in awkward lengths and suffered from defects that resulted in their breaking often and rotting easily. To compensate for these negative aspects, early hikers made stronger staffs carved from larger pieces of wood. Although, traditional carved wooden staffs proved more durable, and could be readily machined to any desirable length, they were heavy and insufficiently stable due to a single contact point design.
Recently, thin, lightweight hiking or trekking poles have grown in popularity among hiking and backpacking enthusiasts. These devices are made out of advanced materials, such as aluminum, look quite similar to ski poles, and are easier to carry than traditional hiking staffs. Traditional canes are also being updated with modern walking assistance devices, including walkers and rollators adopting more stable mechanisms for contacting ground surfaces in addition to lighter materials. For example, the popular four point cane tip and four contact point walker and rolling walker increase stability, however, these designs are bulky and difficult to operate. Additionally, four point tip walking assistance devices have no structure for providing continuous support and even distribution of weight throughout the full range of motion of a complete step. As a result, user movement is awkward, slow, and lacks the rhythm of a natural stride. As such, there is an immediate need for a device with a structure for balancing weight and supporting rhythmic motion over a wide range of movement.
Embodiments of the claimed subject matter combine the material advancements of state of the art ski and trekking poles with the increased stability of a multi-contact point, curved member to enhance movability by shifting weight evenly and maintaining contact with a ground surface throughout a wide range of motion. Traditional devices having a single contact point are relatively difficult to balance due to minimal surface area for interacting with ground surfaces and frequent instances of no ground surface contact. The curved member described herein enhances the stability of walking aids relative to single point alternatives by expanding the surface area for ground surface interactions to maintain ground contact for a longer period of the step or stride time. Moreover, the curved member has a more flexible bow shape for absorbing the force and vibrations of high stress impacts with the ground, which enhances comfort and performance.
In one embodiment, the curved member is attached to a walking aid to serve as a means for assisting balance and mobility of handicapped, injured, elderly, or other people with weak walking muscles or difficulty remaining balance while walking. In another embodiment, a walking or hiking staff includes the curved member or rib as a point of contact with the ground. This hiking staff design improves balance to avoid injury, and ensures efficient energy and forward momentum transfer during walking or hiking over flat, rocky, steep, or otherwise rugged hiking trails, streambeds, and untrampled wilderness. In other embodiments, the curved member is included in high-performance, lightweight sports accessories. Without adding additional weight, these devices are useful for pushing off ground or vertical surfaces, bracing the impact of a fall, jump, or sudden decrease in height, and balancing to avoid injury while traveling over challenging terrain. The present subject matter also includes a detachable multi-tool system, including a curved member. This device combines mobility assistance with tools for cutting, clearing, digging, holding, catching, and securing objects.
The middle staff portion extends from the top portion of the hiking staff to the lower connecting portion and forms the hiking staff's main body. Staff portion embodiments include short, thin staffs designed for children and lightweight applications such as rock climbing, ice climbing, mountaineering, spelunking, and other activities involving severe and sudden changes in altitude or slow climbing up or down steep rock or ice faces. Alternatively, staff portion embodiments for walking, hiking, and some multi-tool applications are tall enough to reach overhead objects and have stiff, thick staff portions for supporting full body weight and heavy tool attachments. The shape of the staff portion is also optimized according to hiking staff use. Uniform, straight staffs are designed for casual hiking and walking. Alternatively, staff embodiments for adventure sports, for example, trail running, rock climbing, mountaineering, and orienteering are extendable, retractable, hinged, bendable, curved, angled or some combination. Materials comprising staff region embodiments include combinations of wood, bamboo, and other natural products, metals and metallic alloys including stainless steel and other alloys made from iron, nickel, chromium, silicon, bronze, brass, aluminum, zinc, and iridium, carbon fiber, fiberglass, and other composites, as well as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and other plastics. To optimize the hiking staffs for lightweight and flexible uses, staff embodiments can be solid or hollow. Optionally, staff portions also contain threaded inserts as part of the bow attachment mechanism or internal reinforcement material for promoting at least one of staff rigidity, strength, durability, handling, or flexibility.
The lower connecting portion joins the middle staff portion to the bottom bow portion. The lower connecting portion attaches to the bow portion and comprises a jacket or socket for enclosing the staff region and a coupling mechanism for fixing the bow portion to the staff portion. The jacket's diameter and shape match the staff portion so that the jacket fits flush around the staff. For example, hiking staff embodiments with curved staffs have curved jackets and hiking staff embodiments with rectangular staffs have rectangular jackets. The top surface of the jacket is open to receive the staff region and two holes, optionally located near the top of the connecting portion, receive hardware for fixing the bow to the staff. Optionally, the holes line up with threaded cavities embedded in the staff near the terminal end. The bottom surface of the jacket is closed to prevent the jacket from sliding too far down the staff. The jacket connects to at least one of the support rods comprising the bow portion. Preferably, the central and two outer support rods are welded, threaded, nailed, or otherwise fixed to the side and bottom surfaces of the jacket. Alternatively, the jacket and bow portion may be printed, cast, molded, woven, or otherwise produced as a single piece construction. To attach the staff portion to the bow portion, the staff is inserted into the connecting portion jacket. Preferably, 1/12 to 1/16 of the staff is inserted into the jacket to secure the bow portion to the staff and allow the hiking staff to rotate along the bow's curved surface under moderate to heavy downward force without failing at or around the connecting portion. Connecting portion embodiments are comprised of metals and metallic alloys, wood, carbon fiber, and PVC and other plastics to achieve optimal weight and flexibility.
The bottom bow or rib portion comprises an arc shaped, curved member providing a large surface area for impacting a ground surface. The curved member stabilizes motion and enables efficient energy transfer during physical activity. A preferred method of using the hiking staff with curved member includes, as part of a stride forward, extending the hiking staff to a beginning position in which the upper portion of the staff is kept aft of the bottom portion and the curved member is advanced in the direction of motion with the rear most contact point impacting a ground surface. To continue a stride, the upper portion is rocked forward to a neutral position with the middle contact point impacting a ground surface. Continuing the upper part of the staff forward to an ending position with the foremost contact point impacting a ground surface completes the stride. A preferred method of placing the hiking staff in the beginning position includes angling the staff portion so that the lower, curved member or rib rests on a ground surface while the rear and center contact points penetrate a ground surface to stabilize the curved member. A preferred method of transitioning the hiking staff from the beginning position to the neutral position includes rotating the staff portion upright until roughly perpendicular to a ground surface, by pivoting the hiking staff on the center contact point until the center portion of the curved member rests on a ground surface and the center contact point penetrates the ground surface to stabilize the curved member or rib. A preferred method of moving the hiking staff from the neutral position to the ending position includes rotating the staff portion until the leading portion of the curved member rests on a ground surface and the foremost and center contact points penetrate the ground surface to stabilize the curved member or rib.
The bow's primary components include a plurality of rods extending out from the connecting portion, a curved surface fixed to the end of the rods, and at least one contact point protruding through the bottom surface of the curved portion. Preferably, the rods intersect and extend through the curved surface to form contact points along the bottom surface of the bow. Materials comprising staff region embodiments include wood, bamboo, and other natural products, metals and metallic alloys including stainless steel, and other alloys for example iron, nickel, chromium, bronze, brass, aluminum, zinc, and iridium, carbon fiber, silicon, fiberglass, and other composites, as well as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and other plastics. To optimize the bow portion for specific applications, the number of rods, number of contact points, angle between the rods and the connecting portion, length and diameter of the rods, degree of curvature of the curved portion, width of the curved portion, and thickness, texture, and sharpness of the curved portion edge are varied according to intended user, preferred use, and customization preferences. For example, hiking, backpacking, walking, brush clearing, and other applications favoring durable, sturdy hiking staffs require large embodiments made from stiff and solid materials such as wood and metals and metallic alloys, for example steel, nickel, chromium, iron, aluminum, bronze, and brass. Alternatively, rock climbing, ice climbing, skiing, mountaineering, trail running, orienteering and other uses favoring light weight, high flexibility hiking staffs require smaller embodiments made from high performance materials including bamboo, plastics, carbon fiber, fiberglass, glass and carbon infused polymers, titanium, steel, aluminum alloys, and combinations thereof.
The connecting portion further jacket 206 further comprises an attachment mechanism for joining the bow and staff portions. The attachment mechanism includes at least one hole 207 and hardware for attaching the bow to the staff portion. Optionally, the bow attachment mechanism comprises at least one threaded cavity embedded in the staff portion. Preferable, the at least one threaded cavity has the same diameter as—and is positioned to overlap with—the jacket hole 207 so that hardware, for example, a screw or bolt, can be threaded into the at least one staff portion cavity through the jacket hole 207 to secure the bow to the staff portion. Optionally, the jacket hole 207 is positioned close to the top surface of the jacket 211. In other hiking bow embodiments, the jacket hole 207 is positioned in the middle of the jacket or closer to the jacket's bottom surface 208. The jacket may further comprise machined-in or molded-in screw-like threads.
At least one support rod joins the connecting portion to the bow portion. In the example three rod embodiment, a central support rod 203 extends outwardly from the center of the jacket's bottom surface 208 and intersects the center of the curved portion 201. An outer support rod 205 extends outwardly from the left and right sides of the connecting portion jacket 206 and intersects the curved portion 201 close to the curved portion's outer end or terminal. Preferably, the central support rod 203 and outer support rods 205 are welded to the connecting portion jacket 206. The outer support rods 205 attach to the connecting portion jacket 206 at an angle theta (θ). Theta ranges from ten to fifteen degrees for short hiking bows up to ninety degrees for hiking bows with greater arc angles and arc lengths. In this example, arc angle refers to the angle of curvature of the curved portion and arc length refers to the length of the curved portion.
Bow portion embodiments of the invention are designed to incorporate arc lengths and arc angles that vary according to staff intended users, preferred uses, and customization preferences. For example, bow portions in hiking staff embodiments comprise modest arc angles and longer arc lengths to promote high surface area impacts with ground surfaces and enable smooth transfer of weight and energy throughout a complete stride forward. Alternatively, bow portions in mountaineering staff embodiments comprise steep arc angles and shorter arc lengths for absorbing high energy impacts with ground surfaces and delivering a spring effect to provide lift while ascending a rock face of mountain. In addition to the angle of intersection between the outer support rod 205 and connecting portion jacket 206, the length of the central support rod 203 and outer support rod 205 determine the arc length of the curved portion 201.
Preferably, the central support rod 203 and outer support rod 205 extend through the curved portion 201 at the point of intersection to form contact points that protrude through the bottom surface of the curved portion 201. The central contact point 202 extends through the curved portion or rib 201 at the intersection of the central support rod 203 and the curved portion 201. The outer contact points 204 protrude through the curved portion 201 at the intersection between the outer support rods 205 and the curved portion 201.
Optionally, the contact points are rounded off to a dull edge to promote device safety while increasing the surface area of, and reducing the debris collected by—the contact points. In outdoor embodiments, the contact points dig into the ground to support and stabilize the hiking staff as it is rocked from the beginning position (resting on the hind most contact point) to the neutral position (resting on the central contact point) to the ending position (resting on the forward most contact point) during forward movement. Preferably, the contact points in outdoor embodiments extend less than five millimeters beyond the curved portion 201. Longer contact points are not practical because they penetrate too deep into the ground causing the bow portion to get stuck thereby inhibiting smooth transitions between contact points while moving the hiking staff between its beginning, neutral, and ending positions.
In indoor embodiments, rubber jackets fit around the contact points to prevent the staff from sliding on- or scratching the surface of—indoor flooring while transitioning between contact points. Preferably, contact points for indoor embodiments extend up to three millimeters beyond the curved portion 201. Contact points for indoor embodiments must be shorter since they are not designed to dig into indoor flooring surfaces. Accordingly, preferred indoor contact points are very short and have a wide surface area. This shallow contact point design allows the hiking staff to smoothly transition between rubber tipped contact points without causing the bottom surface of the curved portion 201 to lose contact with the floor.
In addition to the length of the contact points, the height of the curved portion edges 210 influences how high the hiking staff sits off the ground. Sturdy outdoor embodiments have thick curved portion edges that can be up to forty millimeters wide. Optionally, at least one of the curved portion edges 210 may be machined into a sharp cutting edge or saw tooth blade transforming the bow portion into a multi-tool for clearing underbrush and dense vegetation. In alternative embodiments, a curved blade attachment is machined to fit over the curved portion 201. The curved blade attachment is secured to the hiking staff by threading fastening hardware through two holes on the curved portion 201, one between each outer contact point 204 and the central contact point 202.
The two rod bow does not contain a central support rod therefore is lighter and more flexible than the three rod design. Accordingly, two support rod hiking bow embodiments 400a, 400b comprise smaller hiking staffs for children as well as thin, light staff for casual walking and hiking applications. Variations of the two rod bow design are also ideal for applications favoring high performance, high flexibility bows for example rock climbing, ice climbing, mountaineering, trail running, skiing, rappelling, and spelunking. To optimize the two rod bow for specific applications, the weight and flexibility of the curved portion may be changed by modifying the length of the support rods, the angle of intersection between the support rods and the connecting jacket (0), the arc angle and arc length of the curved portion, the thickness and material of the curved portion, and the thickness, texture, and sharpness of the curved portion edge 403.
A preferred method of using the hiking staff to complete a stride forward comprises beginning the stride by angling the staff portion backward and extending the bow portion forward to place the hiking staff in the beginning position; continuing the stride by rotating the staff portion along the curved member until upright in the neutral position; and completing the stride by advancing the staff portion forward until the handle portion is ahead of the bow portion and the staff is in the ending position. Upon reaching the ending position, the stride is completed and the hiking staff can be repositioned for the next stride. A preferred method for repositioning the hiking staff for the next stride comprises lifting the bow portion up from the ground surface and extending the bow portion forward by rotating the handle portion back from the ending position, where the staff portion is angled forward, to the beginning position, where the staff portion is angled backwards.
