Remote grasping device

A remote grasping device of simplified construction which requires little operator strength or manual dexterity. The device associated with a walking aid includes a pair of opposed jaw-like gripping members and a mechanism for selectively urging the members toward one another to an article grasping position or apart to an article release position. A reversible motor is operatively associated with the urging mechanism, and a remote switch is provided for activating the motor to operate the motor in a direction to effect urging of the members in a desired direction.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates in general to grasping devices, and more 
particularly to a grasping device which is associated with a walking aid 
and is remotely actuated from the handle of such aid. 
When a person is incapacitated due to illness, injury, or merely advanced 
age, it often occurs that such person is unable to perform certain menial 
tasks which are normally taken for granted. Of particular concern is the 
picking up, or grasping of articles of immediate necessity when no one 
else is arround to render aid or assistance. Moreover, simply being able 
to accomplish the pickup or grasping of desired articles for one's self 
enables that person to establish a certain degree of independence and 
self-esteem. This is highly beneficial for improving both the physical and 
mental health of such person. 
In an effort to provide the ability to pick up or grasp articles, various 
devices have been proposed. Typical of such devices is a mechanical 
claw-like mechanism where the jaws thereof are manually actuated from a 
remote location, by, for example, a complex extension linkage. However, 
such mechanical type mechanisms may require a degree of strength and/or 
dexterity that the operator is not capable of performing. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
This invention is directed to a remote grasping device associated with a 
walking aid of simplified construction which requires little operator 
strength or manual dexterity. The device includes a pair of opposed 
jaw-like gripping members and a mechanism for selectively urging the 
members toward one another to an article grasping position or apart to an 
article release position. A reversible motor is operatively associated 
with the urging mechanism, and a remote switch is provided for activating 
the motor to operate the motor in a direction to effect urging of the 
members in a desired direction. In a preferred embodiment according to 
this invention, the device is adapted to be removably associated with any 
suitable elongated member so as to remotely space the jaw-like members 
from the activating switch whereby articles otherwise out of the range of 
the operator can be reached. In another preferred embodiment according to 
this invention, the device is integrally formed with an elongated member 
such as a walking aid or cane for example. 
The invention, and its objects and advantages. will become more apparent in 
the detailed description of the preffered embodiments presented below.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring now to the accompanying drawings, FIG. 1 shows a preferred 
embodiment of the remote grasping device, designated by the numeral 10, 
according to this invention. The device 10 includes a grasping mechanism 
12 and a remote activator 14 for such mechanism. The grasping mechanism 12 
and the activator 14 are adapted to be removably attachable to a walking 
air 16, such as a cane for example. Of course, it is within the scope of 
this invention that the mechanism and activator could be adapted to be 
integrally mounted on a tubular member of any suitable cross-sectional 
configuration, and such tubular member could be used as a walking aid. 
The walking aid 16 comprises a hand engageable portion H, an elongated 
portion E, and a walking surface engaging portion W. The grasping 
mechanism 12 (as best shown in FIGS. 3-5) is removably attached to the 
portion E adjacent to the walking surface engaging portion W. The 
mechanism 12 includes a pair of opposed jaw-like members 18. Such jaw-like 
members may be formed with a magnetic material adjacent to the gripping 
surface thereof in order to attract magnetizable articles to such members. 
Also a hook-type implememnt (not shown) may be attached to the mechanism 
12 to facilitate article retrieval. 
The members 18 each have a pair of projections 18a extending therefrom. The 
projections 18a of the respective members 18 are mounted on pivot shafts 
20a, 20b carried by a support 22. The support 22 has a slot 22a defined 
therein, and in which a block 24 is captured for slidable movement along 
the longitudinal axis of the slot. In order to effect such slidable 
movement, the block 24 has a threaded bore 24a which is mated with a 
compilmentary threaded output shaft of a reversible motor 28 mounted on 
the support 22 (see FIG. 2). 
Pairs of arms 30, 32 are interconnected between the block 24 and respective 
members 18. The arms are provided to transmit longitudinal movement of the 
block, along the shaft 26, into pivotal movement of the members about the 
pivot shafts 20a, 20b. In order to accomplish this pivoting action, the 
pairs of arms 30, 32 are pivotally mounted adjacent to one respective end 
on a pivot pin 34 extending from the block 24. The opposite respective 
ends of the pairs of arms are pivotally connected by pins 36a, 36b and 
38a, 38b to the projections 18a of the members 18. The respective 
locations of the pins 36a, 36b and 38a, 38b are selected so that 
longitudinal movement of the block 24 results in a corresponding pivot 
action of the members 18 about their respective pivot shafts 20a, 20b. As 
shown in FIG. 4, when the block 24 moves in a direction toward the motor 
28, the members 18 are pivoted toward one another into an article grasping 
relation. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5 when the block 24 moves 
away from the motor, the members 18 are pivoted away from one another to 
effect an article release relation. 
The longitudinal movement of the block 24 in the guide slot 22a of the 
support 22 for pivoting of the members 18 in the desired direction, is 
effected by rotation of the output shaft 26 of the reversible motor 28. 
That is, when the motor rotates the shaft in a first direction, the pitch 
of the threads of the shaft in the mating threaded bore 24a of the block 
cause the block to move in a direction away from the motor. Conversely, 
when the motor rotates in the opposite direction, the pitch of the threads 
of the shaft in the mating threaded bore 24a of the block cause the block 
to move in a direction toward the motor. 
The remote activator 14 for the grasping mechanism 12 includes a switch 40. 
The switch 40 is of any well known double throw type which is located in 
the path between a source of motive power (such as a battery for example) 
and the motor 28. Accordingly, the switch can be manually accessed to 
selectively activate the reversible motor for rotation of the output shaft 
26 thereof in either direction. A housing 42, removably connectable to the 
hand engaging portion H of the walking aid 16, is adapted to contain the 
switch 40 (and the power source). The switch is therefore readily 
accessible to the user for selective operation to effect grasping and 
releasing of an article as desired. 
By this invention, there is provided a device of simple construction which 
is removably attachable to a walking aid, and which is remotely activated 
so that the user of the walking aid can easily grasp and release articles 
without requiring substantial strength or manual dexterity. 
The invention has been described in detail with particular reference to 
preferred embodiments thereof, but it will be understood that variations 
and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the 
invention.