Abstract:
A storage device to be attached to a crane or crutch is presented. The storage device is specifically designed to hold a water bottle along the shaft of crane or crutch such that it is easily accessed and securely fastened.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This is a Continuation-in-Part of application Ser. No. 12/165,920, currently co-pending. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    This invention relates to the area of human mobility support devices, especially canes, crutches, supports, and the like. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Injured people who need walking support are often issued crutches by emergency rooms and hospitals to support them when they walk on an injured leg. The crutch or cane has no means to carry other items or store things. 
         [0004]    Article holders that are attached to artificial devices used to assist a user in walking are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,985,148 to Cadman describes an attachment to a crutch having a compartment with a flat side and an opposite hinged side. 
         [0005]    In U.S. Pat. No. 4,146,045 to Grant a crutch carrying attachment has outwardly opening grooves which engage the side rails of the crutch to secure the attachment. The patent (U.S. Pat. No. 5,056,545) to Spaeth describes a walking can with a resilient clip for holding a water bottle. 
         [0006]    In the invention to Sigsworth (U.S. Pat. No. 5,526,836) a bag is attached to a crutch by straps which fit around the crutch&#39;s handgrips. The present invention relates to a removable cup holder attachment used with a crutch that can easily be removed by turning a hand operated nut as more further set forth in this specification. A patent to Nipper, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,327, discloses a crutch cup holder. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    The present invention is a plastic device that holds a water bottle and attaches to a crutch or cane to allow users to have access to water without impeding their ambulating. The invention is recycle-able, light weight and made of polypropylene plastic. 
         [0008]    The invention is comprised of two parts that allow a 500 ml. water bottle to be securely attached to a cane or crutch. The two separate parts are made of polyurethane in the preferred embodiment, allowing the user the flexibility to apply pressure to secure the devices on a cane or crutch using a simple wing nut and screw. 
         [0009]    The upper clamp controls the water bottle around the neck using a snipping-in effect requiring a small amount of force to secure it in position. The circular lower clamp gives the water bottle additional support at the base. The lower clamp is designed to allow the water bottle to rest inside of the circle with enough support to prevent the water bottle from swinging. 
         [0010]    The invention was made to fit a standard ¾″ diameter shaft cane. Standard crutches are ⅝″; so accommodate this difference, a 1/16″ thick insert is provided. The insert in the preferred embodiment it is a clear plastic, and it wraps around the crutch or cane to add to a crutch&#39;s diameter. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]      FIG. 1 . is a top view of the upper clamp 
           [0012]      FIG. 2 . is a perspective view of the upper clamp 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a side cross-section view of the upper clamp 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is a edge on view of the upper clamp 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  is top view of the bottom clamp 
           [0016]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the bottom clamp 
           [0017]      FIG. 7  is a cross section view of the bottom clamp 
           [0018]      FIG. 8  is a edge on view of the bottom clamp 
           [0019]      FIG. 9  is a top view of the spacer 
           [0020]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view of the spacer 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0021]    The invention is comprised of an upper clamp  101 , a bottom clamp  110 , and an insert  103 . As in  FIG. 5 through 8 , the upper clamp  101  is a solid piece of plastic material with a grasping opening  104 , an attachment opening  105 , a body  106 , and two attachment holes  107 . 
         [0022]    The upper clamp  101  is designed to be attached to the shaft of a cane or crutch. The upper clamp  101  attaches to a cane or crutch shaft by means of wrapping the attachment opening  105  around the shaft and passing a standard screw  116  through the two attachment holes  107  and tightening a standard wing  115  nut on the end of the screw. The flexible attachment opening  104  is made to grip the shaft by means of screw pressure. 
         [0023]    As in  FIG. 1 through 4 , The lower clamp  110  is a solid piece of plastic material with a bottle support  111 , an attachment opening  112 , a body  113 , and two attachment holes  114 . 
         [0024]    The lower clamp  110  is designed to be attached to the shaft of a cane or crutch. The lower clamp  110  attaches to a cane or crutch shaft by means of wrapping the attachment opening  112  around the shaft and passing a standard screw  116  through the two attachment holes  114  and tightening a standard wing nut  115  on the end of the screw. The flexible attachment opening  112  is made to grip the shaft by means of screw pressure. 
         [0025]    The invention is used by positioning the upper clamp  101  and lower clamp  110  along the shaft of a cane or crutch in such a manner that an industry-standard 500 ml water bottle can he held between them. The bottom of the bottle will rest inside the circular bottle support  111  and the neck of the water bottle will be held by the grasping opening  104  by means of friction on the neck of the bottle as it is inserted into the grasping opening  104 . 
         [0026]    Because cane shafts can be approximately 1/16″ thicker than crutch shafts, the invention also includes a thin, 1/16″ sheet of plastic to use as an insert  103  around a crutch shaft, so that the upper clamp attachment opening  105  and the lower clamp attachment opening  112  will grip the shaft more tightly. A typical insert is shown in  FIGS. 9 and 10 . 
         [0027]    In the preferred embodiment, the plastic material comprising the upper  101  and lower clamps  110  is polyurethane. The insert  103  is a flexible, clear plastic. 
         [0028]    While the foregoing describes a preferred mode and an alternate embodiment, variation on this design and equivalent methods may be resorted to in the scope and spirit of the claimed invention.