Patent Application
20220095753
This is an original U.S. patent application.
The invention relates to walking sticks, walking aids and canes for assisting disabled individuals. More specifically, the invention relates to appliances having particular physical characteristics for aiding patients or disabled persons to walk about.
Individuals with balance, strength and bodily-configuration infirmities often rely on assistive devices to help them move about in environments that may be better suited to individuals unburdened by such physical challenges. Accessibility features provided by the environment (e.g., handrails and ramps) make it easier for disabled individuals to move around, but devices that such an individual can carry with her are nonetheless helpful—and may be critical in locations where handrails, ramps and the like have not been provided.
Canes, walking sticks, crutches and similar devices are old and well-known, but modern materials and manufacturing techniques allow the construction of new mobility devices with different configurations and usability features. These advanced devices may be of substantial value in this field.
A mobility assistive device according to an embodiment is in the nature of a traditional cane, but it has a bent or “dog-leg” configuration that provides improved performance and security for its user. Some devices also include a novel folding mechanism comprising rotating joints between adjacent segments, so that the cane can be folded into a shorter configuration for easier transport. Other features and characteristics of the inventive cane are described below.
An embodiment of this invention is a mobility assistive device in the nature of a cane or walking stick. Significant distinguishing features include an angled “dog-leg” shape and, in many embodiments, a collapsible feature where several segments of the cane may be folded at rotating joints to reduce the size of the cane for easier storage or transport.
The embodiment depicted in these Figures has a T-shaped handle 110 with a first knob 113 that may rest in the user's hand adjacent the thumb; and a second knob 116 that may rest in the user's palm and be grasped by the user's fingers. A T-shaped handle allows the user to apply torque to and through the embodiment, to orient the “knee” of the dog-leg in a way that facilitates its use, as described below. Of course, the handle must also be easily graspable by the user, and a user with impaired dexterity or an injured (or missing) hand may require a different interface. Thus, an embodiment may be constructed with a spherical (or other shaped) handle, or even with a mechanical apparatus suitable to complement the structure of a prosthetic hand or forearm, for a user with such a requirement.
Regarding Anthropometry
Embodiments of the invention are assistive devices that are heavily affected by the size, shape and configuration of the user's body—similarly to clothing. Thus, descriptions that rely on absolute lengths, angles and other measurements are not especially effective to convey the essential or significant characteristics of an embodiment; these values vary over as wide a range as the bodies of the users themselves. Consequently, the present disclosure will often provide descriptions in terms of self-referential ratios or proportions (e.g., the upper and lower subsections of an embodiment may have a length ratio from about 2.5:1 to about 3.5:1 [the lower segment is 2.5 to 3.5 times as long as the upper segment]).
However, it is also helpful to describe characteristics of an embodiment by reference to a size, shape, posture or movement of the user. For example, many users find a cane according to an embodiment which is from about 40% of the user's height, to about 55% of the user's height, to be comfortable and to have favorable handling characteristics. Therefore, characteristics of an embodiment may also be described by reference to measurements, ratios or proportions of the user thereof.
When a body size, shape, posture or movement is discussed, Applicants will base such comments on the extensive anthropometry data collected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (“NASA”) and published as the Human Integration Design Handbook (HIDH), NASA/SP-2010-3407/REV1, which is incorporated in its entirety by this reference. It is appreciated that the HIDH is not especially concerned with the non-standard body configurations that many users of assistive devices may exhibit, but for expository and explanatory purposes, the anthropometry of HIDH provides a well-known, consistent reference that should help avoid indefiniteness. Users of an embodiment will, of course, choose a device that is proportioned to suit their needs exactly, in the same manner that individuals choose clothes that fit them, rather than clothes that fit a hypothetical standard person of the same height and weight.
Side view 2A depicts a generic embodiment standing vertically on a ground plane 200. The cane is oriented as it would be used to walk from right to left. At an upper extremity of the embodiment is a handle 205. (An embodiment may have structure above the handle 205, such as a forearm brace 210, but the height of an embodiment will refer to the distance 215 of the handle 205 above the ground, 200.) Some distances and angles will be given with reference to a vertical axis 220 that is perpendicular to the ground 200.
An embodiment comprises an upper segment 225 and a lower segment 230 which meet at a knee 235. The upper segment 225 is angled forward (in the direction of travel) from the vertical 220 by an angle 240. The lower segment 230 is angled back from the knee 235 to a toe of the cane at 245. The toe 245 may rest on the ground normally either ahead or behind the vertical, as indicated at 250, although for many descriptions it is convenient to position the cane so that the midpoint of the handle 205, near the center of the user's palm when holding the cane, is directly over the toe 245.
This arrangement of elements leads to the center of gravity of the cane, 255, lying between the knee 235 and the vertical 220, at an angle 260 from the vertical. It is appreciated that the aforementioned elements can equivalently be specified in terms of lengths or ratios of lengths, distances or proportional distances above the ground and below the handle, or as angles between adjacent elements although the angles and other distances may not be specifically identified in this figure.
Turning to
This view shows how the knee 235 may be displaced laterally 275 from the vertical, and how the toe 245 may be located left or right 280 as it contacts the ground 200. As with the fore/aft arrangement in
Most embodiments of the invention comprise a forward displacement of the knee in the direction of travel, but some embodiments do not include any lateral displacement of the knee as shown in
With the foregoing terms and parameters in mind, we turn to
In a collapsible or foldable embodiment, it is preferable that each folding segment be approximately the same length, so that the folded embodiment is as short as possible. Embodiments may comprise a variety of number of segments, such as three (3), four (4) or five (5) segments, as shown in
A foldable embodiment thus has two stable configurations (securely locked open and ready for use; and weakly locked closed, in the fully folded condition); and a range of intermediate configurations where adjacent segments are in the process of being folded or unfolded. A foldable embodiment consists of n (an integer) segments connected together by (n−1) rotating joints, with a handle at one end and the toe of the cane at the other. The segments coupled by rotating joints form something like a chain, where each segment is a link, and the segments can be folded together at the joints or straightened out to form a straight or dog-leg cane.
It is appreciated that, although the segments of a folding embodiment are preferably the same length, they need not be the same weight (mass). Having segments of different weight allows the center of gravity of an embodiment to be moved up or down, forward or back, or even side to side (if the knee is displaced laterally from the direction of travel), to tune the proprioceptive feedback created by the cane during use. A heavier or lighter handle, or rotating joints of different weights, may similarly be used to adjust the position of the center of gravity.
After planting the toe of the cane, the user steps forward and the handle moves in an arc 640, providing a stable support for the user's perambulation. Finally, as the upper segment of the cane passes the normal to the ground 660 (and the lower segment is well past the normal, 650), the user begins a step with the other leg (she may carry another similar cane in the other hand and use them in alternation).
In addition to the peripheral visibility of the upper segment and the knee, it is believed that the shape of the cane and its center of gravity are effective to provide proprioceptive feedback to the user and improve her handling of the cane and enhance the level of trust in the support it provides. This improved handling and feedback may be especially valuable to users with reduced strength and/or balance difficulties.
The applications of the present invention have been described largely by reference to specific examples and in terms of distinct physical characteristics, which may be combined differently than shown here. Those of skill in the art will recognize that mobility assistive devices in the nature of canes can also be constructed with different combinations of the features discussed. Such variations are understood to be captured according to the following claims.
