Abstract:
According to the present invention, there is provided a cane including a handle, a hollow shaft, and a stand mechanism for standing the cane in an upright position upon its shaft. The stand mechanism is releasably retractable from within the hollow shaft through a hand grip mechanism manually operable by the user of the cane. Additionally, the present invention provides for an actuating mechanism extending from the handle, through the shaft and to stand mechanism for actuating the stand mechanism.

Description:
CROSSREFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. Section 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/209,021, filed Jun. 2, 2000, which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention generally relates to the field of ambulatory devices and specifically towards walking canes. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Walking canes are well known in the art. Canes are used by various disabled and elderly people who require aid and support during walking. There are various designs, styles and types of canes existing in the art. In addition to the standard cane, various attachments and designs have been created in aiding the user of the cane. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,810,466 to Young discloses a walking cane including an extending handle at an upper end for manipulating the cane and directionally controlling a flashlight in the handle to illuminate a travel path forwardly of the cane. 
     Most standard canes however, have an inherent problem when they are not being used—they cannot stand upright by themselves. Because canes generally are made of a single, narrow shaft, they must be held upright by a user or it must be leaned against a supporting structure such as a wall or a chair. Since it is nearly impossible to balance a cane in an upright position, the cane must be placed against or on a supporting structure or laid on the floor. Therefore, it is difficult for a user to store the cane when it is not being used. 
     There are existing inventions that have attempted to resolve this problem. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,091,828 to Jorgensen discloses a walking cane with a collapsible stand located adjacent to its tip. The stand is shiftable from an extended position wherein the stand supports the cane in an upright attitude to a collapsed position wherein the stand nests neatly along the body of the cane above the tip. Additionally, the cane includes a manually manipulable remote control lever located below the handle of the cane to permit selective locking of the stand in either its extended or collapsed position. This walking cane includes the stand support located externally from the cane shaft and includes a cumbersome mechanism to allow the cane to be rested in an upright attitude. Additionally, the stand support is operated through a locking lever inconveniently located below the handle of the cane. 
     Another cane apparatus is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,274,430 to Schaaf, et. al. This patent discloses a cane apparatus including a support structure having a foot support platform that is releasably mounted adjacent to the lower portion of the cane. As described therein, the support structure is used for assisting a person in walking up stairs, although it can be used to hold the cane upright. This support structure however, is conveniently maintained in a storage position, but cannot be conveniently released to an operable position. In order to release the support structure, the user must unlatch the support structure directly from the base of the cane apparatus, thus requiring the user to use his foot or the operator must bend over. 
     Accordingly, there is a need for a cane that can conveniently stand in an upright position by itself with only the aid of a conveniently operated support structure integrated into the aid thereof. Additionally, there is a need for a device that attaches to a cane that easily operates a supporting mechanism through a handle grip. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to the present invention, there is provided a cane including a handle, a hollow shaft, and a stand mechanism for standing the cane in an upright position upon its shaft. The stand mechanism is releasably retractable from within the hollow shaft through a hand grip mechanism manually operable by the user of the cane. Additionally, the present invention provides for an actuating mechanism extending from the handle, through the shaft and to stand mechanism for actuating the stand mechanism. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Other advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional, elevation view of an embodiment of the present invention including a support mechanism in an extended position engaged to a surface; 
     FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional, elevation view of another embodiment of the present invention including the support mechanism in an extended position engaged to a surface; 
     FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional, elevation view of another embodiment view of the present invention including the support mechanism in a retracted position within a hollow shaft of the cane; 
     FIG. 4 is a elevational view of an embodiment of the standing mechanism having a hand grip mechanism, optional reversing mechanism, and support mechanism; 
     FIG. 5 is an enlarged elevational view of a base of the cane of the present invention including the support mechanism in an extended position engaged to the surface; and 
     FIG. 6 is an enlarged bottom view of an embodiment of the present invention including the support mechanism having three legs in the extended position engaged to the surface. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Generally, the present invention provides for an improved cane that is free standing and self-supporting when it is not in use. The cane, generally shown at  10  in the Figures, includes a handle  12 , a hollow shaft  14 , and a stand mechanism  16 . The stand mechanism  16  further includes a support mechanism  18  and a hand grip mechanism  20  operatively connected through a cable  22 . 
     The cane  10  of the present invention can be constructed in a number of designs, styles and shapes. Generally, the cane  10  is made of materials including, but not limited to, metal, wood, ceramic, plastics, polymers, combinations thereof, and any other similar sturdy material known to those of skill in the art. Preferably, the cane&#39;s  10  hollow shaft  14  is substantially cylindrical in shape and is light-weight. Additionally, the cane  10  is either one continuous piece or is made of numerous pieces. The cane  10  must, however, have a handle  12  for the user to grip. The handle  12  is made of the same material as the cane  10  itself, or it can be made of materials including, but not limited to, rubber, cloth, foam, and any other similar gripping material known to those of skill in the art. The handle  12  can take on various shapes, each allowing for comfortable grip by the user. Finally, the base  24  of the cane  10  optionally includes a gripping surface  25 , such as rubber or the like, that permits the cane to easily grip a ground surface. 
     The stand mechanism  16  includes a support mechanism  18  located at the base  24  and a handgrip mechanism  20  mounted proximate to the handle  12 . Preferably, the hand grip mechanism  20  is operatively connected to the support mechanism  18  through a cable  22  that is made of materials including, but not limited to, metal, nylon, string, combinations thereof, and any other similar wire known to those of skill in the art. The handgrip mechanism  20  is for selectively releasing the support mechanism  18  from a retracted position in the shaft  14  to an extended position engaging the surface. In the retracted position, the support mechanism  18  can be located within the shaft  14  of the cane  10  or directly flush with the outer surface of the cane  10  at the base  24 . 
     The support mechanism  18  further includes at least one elongate support leg  28  and a connecting mechanism  19  that connects the legs  28  to the cable  22 . Although the support mechanism  18  can have a number of legs  28 , the embodiments described herein have only three legs  28  symmetrically placed around the circumference of the cane  10 . These legs  28 , along with the entire support mechanism  18 , are made of materials well known in the art. The legs  28  are made of materials including, but not limited to, metal, wood, ceramic, plastics, polymers, rubber, combinations thereof, and any other similar sturdy material known to those of skill in the art. In one embodiment of the present invention, the legs  28  extend through openings  30  located symmetrically around the circumference of the shaft  14  at the base  24  of the cane  10 . Alternatively, in another embodiment, the legs  28  constitute the outer shell or surface of the shaft  14  at the base  24  of the cane  10  itself. These legs  28  are concealed and nestled on the outer surface of shaft  14  at the base  24  of the cane  10 . Therefore, preferably, the legs  28  of the support mechanism  18  are not obvious when they are in their retracted position. 
     In an embodiment of the present invention, the stand mechanism  16  includes a reversing mechanism  26  for actively loosening the cable  22 . The loosening of the cable  22  causes the support mechanism  18  to retract within the hollow shaft  14  of the cane  10  or directly flush with the outer surface of the cane  10  at the base  24 . Alternatively, the reversing mechanism  26  actively tightens the cable  22  to cause the support mechanism  18  to retract within the hollow shaft  14  of the cane  10  or directly flush with the outer surface of the cane  10  at the base  24 . The reversing mechanism  26  can be a simple spring-loaded swivel, swivel latch, or any other similar mechanism known to those of skill in the art. This reversing mechanism  26  is operatively connected to the handgrip mechanism  20  and the support mechanism  18 . The handgrip mechanism  20  controls the reversing mechanism  26  by releasing or increasing the tension of the cable  22  and allowing the support mechanism  18  to return to the retracted position. 
     Another embodiment of the present invention does not have the reversing mechanism  26  and instead has the cable  22  operatively connecting the handgrip mechanism  20  directly to the support mechanism  18 . In this embodiment, application of pressure to the handgrip mechanism  20  tightens and provides tension to the cable  22 . When the cable  22  tightens, the cable  22  pulls the legs  28  of the support mechanism  18  into the shaft  14  of the cane  10  and maintains the entire support mechanism  18  in its retracted position. Alternatively, the cable  22  pulls the legs  28  directly onto the outer surface of the cane  10  at the base  24  so that the legs  28  are flush with the entire outer surface of the rest of the shaft  14 . Once pressure is released from the handgrip mechanism  20 , the cable  22  loosens and the support mechanism  18  is released from its retracted position to its extended position wherein the legs  28  of the support mechanism  18  engage the ground. 
     Although the embodiments described herein include a cable  22 , any type of actuating mechanism known to those of skill in the art can be utilized to actuate the stand mechanism  16 . The actuating mechanism extends from the handle, through the shaft  14 , and to the stand mechanism  16 . 
     Specifically, the handgrip mechanism  20  is a simple push-pull lever mechanism that is well known in the art. Such a lever mechanism includes, but is not limited to, a bicycle brake handle whereby the application of pressure by the user to the brake lever causes the cable connected thereto to tighten. There are additional mechanisms known to those of skill in the art. 
     In operation, users of the present invention would grasp the cane  10  by holding the handle  12  and applying pressure to a lever  21  of the handgrip mechanism  20  through their hands or fingers. When users do not require the cane  10 , they simply release pressure from the handgrip mechanism  20  by removing their hand or fingers from the lever  21  therefrom. The release of pressure from the lever  21  of the handgrip mechanism  20  causes the legs  28  of the support mechanism  18  to radially extend outward toward the ground surface. Thus, the legs  28  of the support mechanism  18  engage the ground surface and allow the cane  10  to remain in an upright position without the aid of any additional support. 
     Throughout this application, various publications, including United States patents, are referenced by author and year and patents by number. Full citations for the publications are listed below. The disclosures of these publications and patents in their entireties are hereby incorporated by reference into this application in order to more fully describe the state of the art to which this invention pertains. 
     The invention has been described in an illustrative manner, and it is to be understood that the terminology that has been used is intended to be in the nature of words of description rather than of limitation. 
     Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.