Abstract:
The present invention entails a cane having a finger assembly in the lower portion thereof and extendable from the cane for gripping objects. In particular, the finger assembly is biased toward an extended position. A locking mechanism enables the finger assembly to be locked in an infinite number of positions between a fully extended position and a fully retracted position such that objects of various sizes can be retrieved and held.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to canes and more particularly to canes having an extensible finger assembly for retrieving and holding objects. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Often times, through handicap or infirmity, a person is unable to perform simple motor tasks which others can easily do, or he himself was able to do before his physical condition became altered. Such physical alterations include the stiffening and impaired movement of the joints accompanying arthritis, diseases or conditions of the muscles, bones, tendons, or nerves which limit mobility, especially in the hands, and problems relating to the back or hips which impede one&#39;s ability to stoop or bend over. Such conditions occur in conjunction with or as a result of accident, illness, injury, a congenital condition or the so-called aging process. 
     At any rate, a person so impaired has many occasions daily to be frustrated by his inability to perform simple tasks, for example, picking up a dropped glove or other personal article, or gathering the morning paper, or picking up refuse along one&#39;s walk and depositing it in a waste can. 
     Being able to do such simple jobs for oneself rather than being helpless or having to always call on another individual, adds considerably to one&#39;s independence, self-esteem and indeed, happiness. 
     To date, the canes with extensible finger assemblies which have been developed, while easily operable by a physically normal person, could prove difficult for persons of limited flexibility and strength. 
     In addition, other cane apparatuses have no means of reliably locking the gripping fingers around an object. Thus, objects, especially weightier ones, are apt to drop from the cane as it is raised up. 
     The shortcomings of prior art canes with extending fingers is exemplified in the disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 3,093,402. In this patent, the user is required to depress a spring through a thumb button in order to extend the fingers as they are biased in a retracted position. The user must hold the thumb button down until an object is positioned between the gripping fingers, which is very fatiguing. Also, in this patent the expansive strength of the thumb button spring as the thumb button is released is what retracts the fingers and thusly, keeps them clamped around the object. Therefore, a spring which could be easily depressed by an impaired person would have only enough expansive strength to hold relatively light objects. 
     Further limitations of prior art canes are exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 3,763,872. This invention employs a telescoping post within the cane from which gripping fingers are biased outwardly. Manual pressure on the cane causes the post to telescope into the cane and draw the fingers inwardly toward the post and around the object. It is only the frictional engagement between the post and fingers and the cane tube that maintains their relative position as the cane is lifted. It can be seen that any significant weight, exerting a downward force, will pull the telescoping tube out of the cane and cause the object to fall, depending on how much pressure was exerted on the cane pursuant to retrieving the object. 
     SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is a cane having a finger assembly moveably mounted within the cane through use of which an impaired person might pick up and retrieve a variety of objects. 
     Broadly, the cane comprises a hollow column through the end of which the finger assembly moves from a retracted closed position to .an extended open position. A spring disposed within the cane body biases the finger assembly toward the extended open position. The finger assembly is retracted by pressing the cane toward the finger assembly while the fingers abut a surface such as the floor. As the finger assembly is retracted, it may be locked in any number of positions by a cam-type locking mechanism, which automatically assumes a locking position whenever pressure on the cane is relieved. 
     It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a cane with auxiliary gripping fingers which are capable of grasping and holding objects of various shapes, sizes, and weights. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a cane with an extensible finger assembly for gripping and holding objects which extends automatically from the cane and retracts within same. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a cane in which the extensible finger assembly is automatically lockable in any position between a fully extended, open position and a retracted, closed position. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a cane with an extensible finger assembly which allows a continuous range of positions between a fully extended, open position and a retracted, closed position. 
     It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a cane with an extensible finger assembly that can retrieve and hold objects of a variety of shapes, sizes, and weights. 
     It is also an object of the present invention to provide a cane whose extensible fingers are cushioned at their ends by cone-shaped tips which aid in retrieving fragile objects. 
     It is a further object of the present invention to devise a cane with extensible finger assembly which is easy for an infirm person to understand and use, and which requires very little manual dexterity and strength. 
     It is another object of the present invention to devise a cane with extensible finger assembly which does not even require a hand operation but may be extended by striking a release mechanism with one&#39;s foot or against a chair rail or the like. 
     It is still another object of the present invention to devise a can with extensible finger assembly which incorporates only simple mechanisms in its design such as springs, cams, and levers. 
     It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a dual-purpose device which is both an auxiliary gripping device and a cane or walking stick. 
     Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and obvious from a study of the following description and the accompanying drawings which are merely illustrative of such invention. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the cane with the gripping fingers slightly extended. 
     FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the cane of the present invention showing the release lever being struck and the finger assembly in an extended, open position. 
     FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the cane with the finger assembly in the fully retracted and locked position. 
     FIG. 4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the cane after the release lever has been pressed and the gripping fingers fully extended. 
     FIG. 5 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the cane showing the finger assembly being operated to pick up a desired object. 
     FIG. 6 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the cane with a desired object being clamped between gripping fingers and the release mechanism in a locked position. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     With further reference to the drawings, the cane of the present invention is shown therein and indicated generally by the numeral 10. As will be observed subsequently, the cane 10 includes an extensible finger assembly disposed in the bottom portion thereof. 
     Viewing the cane in detail, it is seen that the same includes a main pipe body 12 having a hollow opening 14 throughout its length. The cane body 12 has an open top 18 to receive a contoured hand grip 20. The hand grip may be made of any fairly rigid material such as wood, molded plastic or graphite, or bone. The cane body 12 has an open bottom 16 which is fitted with a bottom cap 22, in the bottom face of which are two distinct openings, 22a and 22b. 
     An extensible finger assembly is disposed within the lower portion of the cane body 12 and slideably engages the openings, 22a and 22b, in the bottom cap 22. 
     The finger assembly is viewed in longitudinal cross-section in FIGS. 3 through 6 and indicated generally by the numeral 24. 
     In FIG. 3, the gripping fingers 26 and 28 are in their fully retracted and locked position. The lowermost ends of fingers 26 and 28 are enveloped by cushioning cone-like tips 30. The lower end of finger 26 is double-bent in such a manner as to allow the sloped sides of the tips 30 to lie flush when the fingers 26 and 28 are fully retracted. 
     A bracket 34 is affixed to the upper end of finger 28. The other finger 26 is pivotally mounted by pivot pin 36 near the lower end of bracket 34 so that the finger 26 is able to swing away from the finger 28 in an arc-like motion. The arcing motion of finger 26 is accomplished by a small expansion spring 37 attached near the top of finger 26 and the bracket 34. When the finger assembly 24 is fully retracted, the spring 37 is stretched; when the finger assembly 24 is extended the spring 37 recoils, causing finger 26 to swing up and away from finger 28 around the pivot pin 36. 
     The two gripping fingers 26 and 28 project through the aforementioned openings, 22a and 22b respectively, in the end cap 22. The fingers are extendable until the bracket 34 comes in contact with the inside surface of bottom cap 22, whereupon the fingers are prevented from further travel. The arcing motion of the grasping finger 26 is restricted by the confinement of finger 26 in hole 22a. Note that hole 22a is widened to an oval shape to allow for the sideways movement of finger 26. 
     A link from the user to the extensible finger assembly is provided via an actuator rod 32, which extends longitudinally within the hollow body 12 of the cane from the bracket 34 towards the open top 18 of the cane. The upper section of the actuator rod 32 is slideably inserted in a sleeve 40 to guide its up and down action. The sleeve 40 is held in position by insertion into the handle 20 which is fitted into the top opening 28 of the cane body 12. 
     The up and down action of the actuator rod and therefore, extension of the finger assembly to which the actuator rod is connected, is accomplished by a biasing means 42. Just below the sleeve 40, the actuator rod 32 passes through a compression spring 44. The spring 44 is confined between the lower end of the sleeve 40 and a roll pin 38 inserted perpendicularly through the rod 32. When the finger assembly 24 is in its fully retracted position, the spring 44 is compressed. The finger assembly 24 is thus biased to the open, extended position. 
     Disposed about the lower portion of the cane 10 is a release and locking mechanism, indicated generally by the numeral 46. Illustrated also in FIGS. 1 and 2, the locking mechanism 46 communicates with the actuator rod of the finger assembly through an elongated opening 12a in the hollow body 12 of the cane. 
     The actuator rod 32 may be secured or released at any position relative to the can body 12 by the cam-type locking mechanism 46. The locking mechanism consists of a lever-operated cam surface 54 which projects inwardly through opening 12a into the interior of the cane body 12 and contacts the actuator rod 32. The cam surface 54 rotates around a pivot pin 50 which connects to either side of a handle flange 52 through which cam surface 54 projects. The handle flange 52 is in turn secured within the opening 12a in the cane body 12. 
     The actuator rod 32 is bent and re-bent below the roll pin 38 to place the lower portion of the rod against and parallel to the inside surface of the hollow cane body 12. In the closed position, the cam surface 54 is rotated around the pivot pin 50 so that the lower portion of the actuator rod 32 is squeezed tightly between the cam surface 54 and the inside surface of the hollow cane body 12. Cam action is stopped as the increasing cam radius prevents further rotation of the cam surface 54 against the actuator rod 32. 
     A small compression spring 56 at attached by one end to the handle flange 52 while its other end fits into a depression in the underneath side of the locking mechanism handle 48. The spring 56 rotatively exerts a force on the cam surface 54 to keep it biased against the actuator rod 32. 
     The operation and use of the cane with extensible finger assembly are illustrated in FIGS. 4 through 6. 
     In FIG. 4, the locking mechanism 46 is released by depressing the handle 48. FIG. 2 shows the mechanism being released by striking the handle against a chair rail or like surface. The ensuing rotation of the handle 48 around the pivot pin 50 causes the cam surface 54 to rotate away from the actuator rod 32. With the cam pressure relieved, compression spring 44 extends causing actuator rod 32 to travel toward bottom opening 16 of the cane. Meanwhile gripping finger 28 slides through hole 22b and finger 26 slides through hole 22a until the bracket 34, where the one finger is pivotally connected to the other, comes in contact with the inside surface of bottom tip 22. As the fingers 26 and 28 extend, the finger 26 is lifted upward and outward as a result of the recoil of the lifting spring 37. The hole 22a is oval-shaped and sloped to the outside somewhat to allow for this movement. 
     When the user wants to pick up an article, he places the cane with the grasping fingers extended so that the tip of the finger 28 is next to the desired object and in contact with the ground surface. 
     In FIG. 5, with the gripping finger 28 in position against the desired object, the user applies downward pressure on the handgrip 20. As the holes 22a and 22b in the bottom tip 22 slide down over the fingers 26 and 28, the edge of the hole 22a contacting the finger 26 draws that finger towards finger 28, closing the angle of the finger assembly. 
     Concurrently, the actuator rod 32 retracts upwardly relative to the locking mechanism 46. The upward motion of the actuator rod 32, overcoming the force exerted by spring 56, causes the cam surface 54 to roll back from, restrictive contact with the actuator rod 32. It should be, therefore, obvious that the locking mechanism 46 will, until handle 48 is depressed, prevent downward action of the actuator rod 32 relative to the cane body 12, but permits the actuator rod to slide upwardly past it. 
     Additionally, the upward motion of the actuator rod 32 causes compression of the spring 44. This compression has two effects. Firstly, a constant downward force is exerted on the actuator rod 32 so it will not slide readily upward thus accidentally disengaging the locking mechanism 46. Secondly, energy is stored to extend the fingers 26 and 28 when the locking mechanism 46 is purposefully released. 
     Finally, turning to FIG. 6, the gripping finger 26 has been brought sufficiently close to finger 28 that the desired object is clamped firmly between the cushioning tips 30. The user may now bring the object closer to himself or move it to another place as he desires. The object is released by depressing and releasing the locking mechanism 46, which will also put the finger assembly 24 in its fully extended position. The user may then pick up another object or fully retract the finger assembly by placing the tip of the finger 28 on a ground surface and pressing down on the hand grip 20 until the finger assembly assumes the position illustrated in FIG. 3.