Abstract:
The invention relates to a cane handle comprising a hand strap attached to the top end of the handle. Said strap forms a loop which has an adjustable length and can be fixed by means of a clamping device placed in the top end of the handle. Said clamping device comprises a clamping element which is placed in the top end of the handle and encircled by the loop. In order to adjust the hand strip more easily and to reduce the number of components required, the clamping element with the encircling section of the loop is set between an upper and a lower bearing surface, is placed in such a way that it pivots around an approximately horizontal axis, and has a clamping area which is eccentric in relation to the swivelling axis.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to a cane handle having a hand loop maintained in the area of the upper handle end piece, which is formed by a loop strip and whose loop length can be changed and which can be fixed in place by means of a clamping device arranged in the handle end piece, having a clamping element, which is arranged in the handle end piece, and around which the loop strip is wrapped. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   In connection with such a cane handle, known from DE 196 32 718 C2, the clamping element of the clamping device is axially indirectly movable via a rotatably seated arresting member, wherein the arresting member is movable by means of a rotatable actuating member, and is therefor axially movable by means of a screw thread. Therefore the clamping of the hand loop takes place between the arresting member, the clamping element and the bottom of the recess in the cane handle which contains the clamping device. 
   With this construction, wherein the clamping force is substantially continuously adjustable, once the clamping has been set it remains constant, regardless of whether the loop is pulled upward or downward in relation to the cane handle. The transition from the clamping position to the adjusting position and vice versa must be accomplished by rotating the actuating member, which under certain circumstances can be somewhat cumbersome, particularly when wearing heavy gloves. In regard to manufacturing techniques it is necessary in connection with the known clamping device to connect a number of individual parts with each other and to mount them on the cane handle. Moreover, one end of the loop strip must be longitudinally slit for the length of the displacement capability. 
   It is therefore the object of the present invention to produce a cane handle of the type mentioned at the outset, wherein the adjustment of the size of the hand loop can be performed in a simpler manner and by using a reduced number of components. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   To attain this object, the clamping element with the wrap section of the loop strip is arranged between an upper and a lower contact surface, is maintained pivotable around an approximately horizontal shaft and is provided with a clamping area which is eccentric in relation to the pivot shaft. 
   By means of the steps in accordance with the invention it is achieved that the transition from one to the other position (i.e. adjustment or clamping) is exclusively achieved by the pivot position of the clamping element. In turn, this pivot position depends on whether the hand loop is pulled downward, or horizontally, or upward in relation to the cane handle of the cane. In this way the clamping position is always present, or set, in the customary position of use (downward pull on the hand loop), so that in the meantime an unintentional displacement is not possible. An adjustment position, i.e. increasing or decreasing the loop, is possible only if the hand loop is purposely used in the horizontal or obliquely upward pulled position. This has the further advantage that when the cane is caught on an object in an unintended way, the said pull on the hand loop upward in relation to the cane handle results in a change from the clamped position to the adjusting position, so that the hand loop can be extended, which can result in the hand slipping out of the loop, and therefore in a kind of safety release. With this cane handle the separate displacement of the clamping device is not necessary, which results in a simpler manipulation and a reduced outlay for components. Moreover, the loop strip can be produced in a cost-effective manner. 
   A structurally robust a rapidly and easily mountable construction results when the characteristics in accordance with the present invention are provided. 
   A sufficient and structurally simple release of the clamping results from the characteristics in accordance with the present invention. A reinforcement of the clamping is achieved when taking the characteristics of the present invention into consideration. 
   A simplification of the assembly results when the characteristics of the present invention are used. 
   Further advantageous embodiments ensue from the further dependent claims. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Further details of the invention can be taken from the following description, in which the invention is described in greater detail and explained by means of the exemplary embodiment represented in the drawings. Shown are in: 
       FIG. 1 , a longitudinal sectional representation of a cane handle with a hand loop clamping device in accordance with a preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention, 
       FIG. 2 , a representation corresponding to  FIG. 1 , but enlarged and broken off, in an adjusting position of the hand loop clamping device, 
       FIG. 3 , a section along the line III—III in  FIG. 1 , and 
       FIG. 4 , a section along the line IV—IV in FIG.  1 . 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   A cane handle  10 , which has a handle body  12  with an upper handle end element  13  is fixedly attached to a cane tube  11 , as is represented in the drawings. The handle body consists, for example, of an inner body of a hard plastic material, for example polyamide, to which then a layer H of an easy-grip material, for example natural caoutchouc, a cork-elastomer mixture, or the like, has been applied. 
   The handle body  12  has a recess  18 , which is laterally inserted above the end of a hollow chamber  17 , which is concentric in relation to the cane tube axis  16  for receiving the cane tube  11  and which, in cross section, has a substantially rectangular cross section in the transverse direction, and a substantially trapezoidal cross section in the longitudinal direction. The depth of the recess  18  is preferably approximately ¾ of the cane handle width, or of the cane handle diameter in this area. Starting at the cane handle front face  21 , a stepped bore  22 , which is concentric in respect to the axis  16 , has been cut, which penetrates through the recess  18  and terminates in the hollow chamber  17 . 
   The cane handle  10  is equipped with a hand loop  25  in such a way that the length of the hand loop can be adjusted. The hand loop  25  is made from a one-piece loop strip  26 , not shown in greater detail, which is narrower in the end areas  27 , or  29  maintained on the cane handle  10 , than in the actual intermediate area which forms the loop section, not represented. 
   A clamping device  30 , which in the exemplary embodiment can be fastened by snapping into recess  18  of the cane handle  10 , is provided for the adjustable holding of the hand loop  25  on the cane handle  10 . The clamping device  30  has a housing  31 , open at both ends, which is designed to be substantially rectangular in cross section in the transverse direction, and substantially trapezoidal in cross section in the longitudinal direction. Thus, the housing  31  has two parallel lateral walls  32  and  33 , as well as a bottom  34  and a cover wall  35  parallel with the latter. In an area located outside of the longitudinal center, the bottom  34  and the cover wall  35  have lugs  36 ,  37 , projecting vertically outward, which have a circular cross section and whose front  38 , or  39 , is slanted. The diameter of the lugs  36 ,  37  corresponds to the diameter of the area of a lesser diameter of the bore  22 . The area of the axial bore  22  of a greater diameter, which starts from the handle head front face  21 , is filled by a marker pin  53 . 
   The clamping device  30  has a wing-shaped clamping element  41 , which has a base area  42  and a wing area  43 , is of one piece with the former and of less thickness, but of the same width. A pivot shaft  44 , whose ends are provided with a slanted face  46  and which is seated in a bore  47  of the lateral walls  32 ,  33 , penetrates through the base area  42 , which is provided with an approximately semicircularly rounded rear facing away from the wing area  43 . The clamping element  41  can therefore be pivoted around the pivot shaft  44 . At the set-off-like transition between the base area  42  and the wing area  43  of the clamping element  41 , the clamping element  41  is provided on its underside facing the bottom  34  with a clamping edge  48  extending over the entire width of the clamping element  41 , which is at a defined radial distance from the pivot shaft  44 . The design of the ends of the pivot shaft  44  make it possible for the clamping element  41  to be snapped into the housing  31  which, as mentioned, itself can be snapped into the recess  18  of the cane handle  10 . Here in both cases the snap-in movement takes place in the direction toward the interior of the recess  18 , in which direction the slanted faces  38 ,  39 , or  46 , also extend, so that after snapping in, the housing  31  is snapped in place in the recess  18 , and the clamping element  41  in the housing in such a way that a reverse movement is no longer possible. 
   The end area  27  of the loop strip  26  of the hand loop  25 , which is provided in a stationary manner in the cane handle  10 , has been placed from the outside on the cover wall  35  of the housing  31  and is maintained on the respective lug  36  of the cover wall  35  by means of a bore  51 . This means that the clear height of the recess  18  approximately corresponds to the corresponding measurement between the outer surface of the bottom  34  and the outer surface of the end area  27  of the loop strip  26  resting on the cover wall  35 . Moreover, the upper lug  36  is higher by the amount of the thickness of the loop strip than the lower lug  37 . 
   The other adjustable end area  28  of the loop strip  26 , or of the hand loop  25 , has been placed around the wing-like clamping element  41  in such a way that this wrap section  28  is initially placed between the top of the clamping element  41  and the inside of the cover wall  35 , extends around the rounded rear surface of the base area  42  and between the underside of the base area  42  and the inner surface of the bottom  34 , and then exits through the recess  18 , so that the free end  29  of the loop strip  26  is located outside of the cane handle  10 . The free height of the housing  31  between the bottom  34  and the cover wall  35  substantially corresponds to the approximate dimension between the two outer surfaces of the loop strip  26  placed around the clamping element  41  in the base area  42 . It should be understood that, depending on the amount of force set in the course of setting or adjusting the size of the hand loop, it can be possible to provide a greater or lesser amount of frictionally connected resting of the loop strip  26  on the bottom  34 , or on the cover wall  35 . But generally the frictional connection achieved by the 180° of wrap of the loop strip  26  around the base area  42  is sufficient for preventing an unintentional adjustment. 
     FIGS. 1 and 2  show two different positions. The adjusting position in accordance with  FIG. 2 , which is used for adjusting the size of the hand loop  25 , shows an unstressed position of the hand loop  25 , in which, because of the horizontal extension of the wrap section  28  of the loop strip  26  around the clamping element  41 , the clamping element  41  itself is horizontally arranged. In this position a change of the size of the hand loop  25  is possible in that in a substantially horizontal direction in accordance with the arrow A, or A′, the upper part  28 ′ (for increasing the hand loop size), or the lower part  28 ″ (for reducing the hand loop size), of the wrap section  28  is pulled. Once the size of the hand loop  25  has been fixed in the desired manner, further adjustment is prevented in that the hand loop  25  is pulled obliquely downward in the direction C, for example after the hand of the user has been placed inside the loop. In this stressed position the clamping element  41  is pivoted around its pivot shaft  44  in the direction of the arrow B because of the direction of the upper part and lower part  28 ′,  28 ″, respectively, of the loop strip  26 . As can be seen in  FIG. 1 , the clamping edge  48  pushes on the oppositely located side of the wrap section  28  of the hand loop  25  and clamps it in place against the bottom  34  because the radial distance of the clamping edge  48  from the pivot shaft  44  is greater than the distance between the pivot shaft  44  and the inside of the respective section of the loop strip  26 . Corresponding clamping can also take place in this case in an upper area along a section of the rounded rear of the base area  42  in respect to the cover wall  35 . 
   Release from the clamping position and a change into the adjusting position results either when the hand loop  25  is no longer stressed in the direction mentioned toward the bottom, or when a stress is placed on the hand loop  25  in the reverse direction D, i.e, obliquely upward past the handle head front  21 . The clamping element  41  will also reach its adjustment position in the latter case with the result that, with an appropriate tensile strain, because of the complete release of the free end of the loop strip  26  out of the clamping device  30 , an increase in the size of the hand loop  25  as far as the opening of the hand loop  25  can occur. A safety triggering, or safety release of the cane handle  10  from the hand of the user is possible, or achieved in this way in case of an unintentional stress. 
   In accordance with a variation (dotted lines in FIG.  2 ), the bearing bores for the pivot shaft  44  in the lateral walls  32  and  33  are embodied as elongated hole bores extending inside the clamping device  30  in the direction of the tensile strain of the loop strip  26 . Because of this an increase in the clamping effect is possible when tensile strain is introduced which initiates the clamping position. In the course of this it can also be useful to let the elongated hole bores extend obliquely downward in the direction toward the bottom  34 . 
   The coaxial lugs  36  and  37  lie concentrically to the cane tube axis  16 , while the bearing bore for the pivot shaft  44  in the lateral walls of the housing  31  extends vertically in respect to the cane tube axis  16 , and is slightly offset in respect to the latter in the direction toward the inside of the recess  18 .