Attachment to a ski stick

An attachment including a timepiece having a function of a stop watch is attached onto the top of a ski stick in order to allow a skier to learn the current time, elapsed time and other time information while skiing, thus more enjoying skiing. By incorporating a thermometer, a barometer, and/or a speed meter in the attachment, the safety of skiing can be heightened.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
This invention relates to an attachment to a ski stick, capable of more 
enhancing enjoyment of skiing and playing safe skiing. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
Various skiing accessories have been so far to expand the pleasure of 
skiing all the more. Skiing can also be enjoyed visually by looking at 
showily designed ski suits which skiers wear. Though a beginner of skiing 
occasionally tends to ski in a senior ski course, he is in danger of 
colliding with another skier when a ski slope is crowded. 
When doing a time trial race to find more delight in skiing, a ski player 
cannot easily look at his wrist watch and surely operate the switches of 
the wrist watch because he wears gloves. Even if the ski player has a stop 
watch hanging from his neck, it will be difficult for him to turn on and 
off the switch of the stop watch, and an accurate measurement of elapsed 
time in skiing cannot be taken because the ski player must operate the 
stop watch by himself, resulting in time lags in switching on the stop 
watch when making a start and switching off the stop watch when reaching 
the goal in skiing. Furthermore, the stop watch hanging from the neck of 
the ski player disadvantageously swings and hinders the ski player in 
skiing. Although the measurement of the elapsed time in skiing can be 
taken by depending on a timekeeper other than the ski player, it will be 
awkward that the ski player cannot independently measure the elapsed time 
by himself without anyone. Thus, the pleasure of the time trial race will 
be diminished. 
The skier is apt to forget time during skiing, as a consequence of which he 
possibly fails to catch the last ski lift or ropeway at times, for 
example. If the skier sometimes attempts getting a look at his wrist watch 
in order for remedying such trouble, he finds difficulty in looking at the 
wrist watch owing to the ski suit which he wears. Similarly, the skier 
participating in cross-country skiing will suffer a disadvantage such that 
he cannot easily consult his wrist watch to learn the time every a certain 
fixed time while skiing. 
In the meantime, there is no measure of effectively preventing skiers from 
colliding with each other on a ski slope, excepting arousing skiers' 
attention verbally. However, the way of verbally calling the skiers' 
attention is not sufficient to completely obviate the danger of collision. 
In alpine skiing, it is disadvantageous in that mountains frequently 
undergo an abrupt change in weather and the inclemency of the weather 
cannot be forecasted with ease. 
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION 
This invention is made to obviate troubles as described above and has an 
object to provide an attachment to a ski stick, which allows a skier to 
know time with ease in spite of a ski suit which the skier wears. 
Another object of this invention is to provide a device capable of easily 
measuring time or other measuring information with accuracy without 
depending on a person other than the skier and more expanding the pleasure 
of skiing. 
Still another object of this invention is to provide a device capable of 
realizing joyful and safe skiing. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
To attain the objects described above according to this invention, there is 
provided an attachment to a ski stick, which comprises an adapter fixed 
onto the top of the ski stick, an instrument unit to be attached to the 
adapter, and engaging means for detachably fixing the instrument unit onto 
the adapter. 
The instrument unit mentioned above may comprise a measuring device and a 
warning device. The measuring device includes a timepiece, a thermometer, 
a barometer, and a speed meter. The measuring device has a switch 
operating unit. The engaging means mentioned above is formed of a pair of 
coupling members which are detachably joined to each other. 
The adapter may be formed independent of the ski stick or integrated with 
the ski stick. In the case of the adapter formed independent of the ski 
stick, a screw for fixing a grip and/or wrist strap onto the top of the 
ski stick may be used for securing the adapter onto the ski stick, thereby 
to decrease the number of the components of the ski stick. Otherwise, a 
suitable adhesive agent or other fixing means including another screw may 
be used therefor. The timepiece mentioned above may be a stop watch, or 
include a watch having functions of measuring, recording and indicating 
time, and giving an alarm and a warning device. The switch operating unit 
may be formed of push button switches or a flat panel switch unit of a 
pressure sensitive type. The warning device noted above may be formed of 
warning means capable of issuing a warning sound and/or giving forth 
warning light. 
Since the adapter can be used for fixing the instrument unit including the 
measuring device and the warning device, there is no necessity for 
individually mounting the measuring device and the warning device on the 
ski stick, thus decreasing the number of the components. 
According to this invention, since the timepiece and other instruments 
mounted in the attachment can be easily handled while holding the ski 
stick, it becomes possible to take measurement of time with ease and give 
various warning signals. 
Other and further objects of this invention will become obvious upon an 
understanding of the illustrative embodiments about to be described or 
will be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages not 
referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employment of 
the invention in practice.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed 
description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are 
given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the 
present invention. 
Referring to FIG. 1, an adapter 3 is detachably fixed onto the top of a 
grip 2 of a ski stick 1 by a screw 4 which is generally used for fixing 
the grip 2 to the shaft of the ski stick. 
The adapter 3 is formed of a plastic plate in an elliptical shape 
conforming to the shape in plan of the top of the grip 2 as shown in FIG. 
2 through FIG. 4. The adapter 3 is provided in the substantially center 
thereof with a hole 31 for a screw 4, so as to be fixed on the top of the 
grip by thrusting the screw 4 into a hole 21 bored in the grip 2 through 
the hole 31 in the adapter 3. Thus, the screw 4 secures not only the grip 
2 but also a wrist strap 22 (FIG. 10) to the ski stick. 
The adapter 3 is provided on its upper surface with a pair of slide rails 
32 forming one of coupling members constituting the engaging means. The 
slide rails 32 extend in parallel in the longitudinal direction of the 
adapter 3 so as to define a groove 33 therebetween, respectively. Each 
slide rail 32 is generally shaped in section in the letter of L, forming a 
space 34 thereunder. The slide rails 32 are in connection with each other 
through a connection member 35 at their left sides in FIG. 2. The 
connection member 35 has stoppers 36 and an opening 37 connecting with the 
groove 33. Further, the adapter 3 has a pair of positioning protrusions 38 
on the upper surface of the left side thereof in FIG. 2. 
On the upper surface of the adapter 3, an instrument unit including a 
timepiece 5 is mounted. The timepiece 5 shown in FIGS. 5 to 8 has an time 
operating unit 60 having the functions of a stop watch, a timer and an 
alarm. The timepiece 5 is contained in a watch case 51 whose front portion 
is defined by a substantially spherical surface for lessening the 
resistance of wind. The watch case 51 is identical with the adapter 3 in 
plane shape. The upper central portion of the watch case 51 of the 
timepiece is inclined downward toward the right in FIG. 6, on which a time 
indicating unit 52 is disposed so as to indicate the current time and 
other time information in digital representation. On the rear part of the 
upper surface of the watch case 51, there is disposed a switch operating 
unit having a setting switch button 53 for switching on and off the 
timepiece, a mode selecting switch button 54, and a reset switch button 
55. A skier can readily operate these switch buttons with the thumb of his 
hand while holding the grip of the ski stick. 
On the lower surface of the watch case 51, there are formed a pair of slide 
retainers 56 serving as a counterpart coupling member which constitutes 
the engaging means in conjunction with the aforementioned slide rails 32. 
The slide retainers 56 extending in the longitudinal direction are disposed 
one on either side of the groove 57 formed in the central portion of the 
lower surface of the case 51. The slide retainers 56 are shaped in the 
letter of L in section so as to be movably fitted into the slide rails 32 
of the adapter 3. Since the ends 56a of the slide retainers 56 collide 
with the stoppers 36, the slide retainers 56 are prevented from moving 
forward beyond the stoppers. In addition, in the lower surface of the case 
51, positioning dents 58 are formed so as to receive the positioning 
protrusions 38 on the upper surface of the adapter 3. In the groove 57 of 
the case 51, a sounding hole 59 is bored for expelling outside a warning 
sound therethrough. Reference numeral 51a denotes a lid for a battery. 
The manner of engaging the adapter 3 with the watch case 51 will be 
explained hereinafter with reference to FIG. 9 and FIG. 10. 
First of all, the slide retainers 56 of the watch case 51 are inserted into 
the slide rails 32 of the adapter 5 from the right side in FIG. 10 until 
the ends 56a of the retainers 56 collide with the stoppers 36. At that 
time, since the positioning protrusions 38 of the adapter 3 are fitted 
into the positioning dents 58, the engagement of the watch case 51 and the 
adapter 3 are securely retained in position. In this engaged state of the 
watch case 51 and the adapter 3, the sounding hole 59 agrees with the 
opening 37 across the grooves 33 and 57 so as to permit the warning sound 
to pass outside the case through the opening 37. 
One example of the manner of attaching the timepiece 5 to the ski stick 1 
will be described. The adapter 3 is beforehand fixed onto the top of the 
grip 2 of the ski stick with the screw 4. Then, the slide retainers 56 of 
the watch case 51 for the timepiece 5 are inserted along the slide rails 
32 of the adapter 3 in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 1 
until the ends 56a of the slide retainers collide with the stoppers 36. 
When the ends 56a collide with the stoppers 36, the positioning 
protrusions 38 fall into the positioning dents 58, thus securing the 
timepiece onto the grip 2 of the ski stick in position. 
In a case of doing a time trial race on a ski slope, the mode selecting 
switch button 54 is operated in advance to select the mode of a stop 
watch. Then, the skier stands on the start line and pushes the setting 
switch button with his thumb while holding the grip of the ski stick, to 
start taking time count at the time of starting skiing. When the skier 
reaches the goal, the setting switch button is again pushed to stop time 
counting. Consequently, the elapsed time is measured and indicated on the 
time indicating unit 52. 
Thus, a skiing technique may be possibly improved and, enjoyment of skiing 
can be more enhanced by use of the attachment according to this invention. 
In FIG. 11, another embodiment incorporating an warning device 6 in the 
instrument unit is shown. In this embodiment, a case 61 accommodating the 
time operating unit 60 is substantially equal in shape to the aforenoted 
watch case 51, and a sounding hole 62 is formed in the case at the same 
position as the aforementioned sounding hole 59. The case 61 is provided 
on its rear portion with three switch buttons 63, 64 and 65. Each time 
these switch buttons are pushed, a warning sound is issued, and at the 
same time, a warning light is emitted from light source means 66 such as 
LED disposed on the front part of the case 61. 
As a matter of example, the warning device may work so as to issue a short 
electrical sound when pushing the switch button 63, a sequence of 
electrical sound pulses when pushing the center switch button 64, and a 
buzzer sound when pushing the switch button 65. Thus, by selectively 
pushing one of the switch buttons 63-65, the corresponding warning sound 
is expelled from the sounding hole 62 with emitting light. 
The structure of the engaging means for uniting the warning device 6 and 
the adapter 3 is substantially equivalent to that for the aforementioned 
timepiece 5. 
The use of the warning device 6 attached to the ski stick will be 
described. This contrivance serves to ensure the safety of skiing. The 
warning device 6 can be attached to the grip of ski stick in the same 
manner of attaching the timepiece 51 to the grip as mentioned above. 
In a case when a skier is in danger of collision with another skiers in 
skiing, one of the switch buttons 63-65 may be pushed to serve a warning 
by the warning sound and the on-and-off flashing light emitted from the 
light source means 66. 
Otherwise, the device of this invention may be used in such a manner that 
the timepiece 5 is attached to one of a pair of ski sticks, and the 
warning device 6 is attached to the other ski stick. 
By the engaging means constituted by the aforenoted slide rails and slide 
retainers, the case 51 or 61 can be securely fixed onto the ski stick 
without coming out of place even when handling the ski stick violently. 
However, the engaging means is not specifically limited to the structure 
described above and may be constructed by, for instance, a bayonet type 
locking mechanism as shown in FIG. 12 and FIG. 13. In the embodiment 
illustrated, the case 51 is provided on the lower surface thereof with two 
pins 7, and the adapter 3 is provided on the outer surface thereof with 
protrusions 8. The lower surface of the protrusion 8 is inclined at a 
prescribed angle .alpha. in the circumferential direction, so that the 
case 51 is firmly united with the adapter 3 by turning the case 51 so as 
to move the pins 7 along the lower surfaces of the protrusions 8. 
The instrument unit may include a speed meter 9 as shown in FIG. 14. The 
speed meter 9 has an air duct 91 for permitting air to pass therethrough 
so as to cause a pressure anemometer to receive the air. Thus, the speed 
at which the skier skis can be measured by calculating the pressure of the 
air passing through the air duct 91 and visually indicated on a display 
92. In the drawing, reference numeral 93 denotes a switch operating unit, 
and numeral 96 denotes slide engaging means. 
If skiing in a senior ski course, for example, it is desirable to use a 
pair of ski sticks 1, one having the timepiece 5 and the warning device 6, 
and the other having the speed meter 9 with the display 92 capable of 
indicating the maximum descent speed and so on. The skier will take 
pleasure in looking at the speed displayed while skiing. 
The instrument unit may include either or a combination of a thermometer 
and a barometer, or incorporate these meters together with the timepiece 
as noted above. By use of the ski stick with the instrument unit having 
the barometer, weather can be forecasted with ease, and thus, even alpine 
skiing can be done in safety. 
According to this invention proposing an attachment to a ski stick as 
described above, since the instrument unit including the measuring device 
and the warning device can readily be attached onto the ski stick, a skier 
can easily learn the current time while skiing and enjoy safe skiing. 
Furthermore, it is advantageous to obtain various information including 
elapsed time in skiing. By incorporating the measuring device in the 
instrument unit of the attachment according to this invention, the skier 
can operate by himself the switch operating unit of the measuring device 
while holding the ski stick to measure time without depending on a 
timekeeper or another person, and an accurate measurement of the elapsed 
time in skiing can be taken with ease. With the instrument unit 
incorporating the timepiece, the skier can alone enjoy a time trial race. 
By fixing the adapter onto the ski stick by use of a screw for originally 
securing the grip onto the ski stick, no specific mounting means for 
attaching the adapter to the ski stick is necessary, and thus, the adapter 
can be readily retained onto the common ski stick. By using the warning 
device in the instrument unit, collision between skiers can be effectively 
prevented and more safe skiing can be enjoyed. Furthermore, by 
incorporating a measuring such as a thermometer and a barometer in the 
instrument unit, alpine skiing and so on can be enjoyed in safety, and by 
using a speed meter, the speed at which the skier skis can be learnt 
instantly. Thus, according to the attachment of the invention, the 
pleasure of skiing can be more expanded. 
Although the invention has been described in its preferred form with a 
certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present 
disclosure of the preferred form has been changed in the details of 
construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted 
to without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as 
hereinafter claimed.