It has been proposed to form an elongate member, such as a cane for use by a blind person, from a plurality of relatively short tubular sections which can be telescopically interconnected. An elastic element, in the form of an elastic cord is provided which is connected to the two terminal tubular sections of the elongate member and which is threaded through the hollow interiors of the other tubular sections of the member. The elastic will be of such a length that it biasses the sections into the assembled state, with each section being telescopically connected to the adjacent section or sections. However, the elastic is of such a resilience that the sections can be separated from each other to enable the elongate member to be collapsed.

The elastic cord has a tendency to rub against the end parts of the sections, thus damaging the cord. Also, if the sections are folded up in a zig-zag or concertina fashion, the cord may be trapped, thus minimising the amount of cord that is available to expand resiliently as two interconnected sections are separated, thus damaging the elastic cord. If the cord should break, all of the sections that make up the elongate member will be separated, and may thus become lost.

The present invention seeks to provide an improved connector arrangement, and an improved elongate member incorporating such connectors.

According to this invention there is provided a connector for interconnecting two sections of an elongate member, each section terminating with an axially extending bore and having engagement means, the connector comprising two elements, each element having a portion defining at least one resilient finger carrying co-operating engagement means, said portion being dimensioned to be slidingly inserted into said axially extending bore of a respective section so that the co-operating engagement means engage said engagement means to retain the element in position, the elements having respective portions adapted to inter- engage, there being an element with resilient properties interconnecting the two elements to bias them together.

Preferably said engagement means comprise one or more apertures extending from the bore to the exterior of each section and the co-operating engagement means comprise a protrusion extending outwardly relative to the axis of the respective element carried adjacent the free end of the or each resilient finger.

Conveniently there are two resilient fingers on each of said two elements.

Preferably the respective portions of the elements that are adapted to inter-engage comprise a projection defined by one element, and a recess dimensioned to slidingly receive said projection defined by the other element.

Conveniently the element with resilient properties comprises an elastic cord.

Conveniently each end of the elastic cord is passed through a relatively small aperture defined in each element of the connector and the ends of the cords are knotted.

Preferably said two elements are formed of a resilient plastics material.

Advantageously said plastics material is nylon or acetal or polypropylene.

The invention also relates to a combination of a connector as described above with two sections connected together by the connector.

Conveniently the elements are tubular.

The invention further relates to an elongate member comprising a plurality of sections, each adjacent pair of sections being connected by a connector as described above.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood, and so that further features thereof may be appreciated, the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of a connector in accordance with the invention, together with parts of two sections of an elongate member that are to be interconnected by the connector.

Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the connector when connected to the sections, Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the sections when connected by the connector, and Figure 4 is a perspective view of an elongate member incorporating a plurality of connectors in accordance with the invention.

Referring initially to Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings a connector 1 comprises two rods 2,3 joined together by a flexible elastic element 4. The connector is for use in connecting two tubular sections 5,6 of an elongate member.

The rods 2,3 are each of elongate cylindrical form, and they are made of a plastics material having resilient properties, such as nylon, acetal or polypropylene.

The first rod 2 is provided, at one end 7, with an axially extending U-shaped slot 8. The slot separates two axially extending resilient fingers 9,10. A respective cylindrical protrusion 11,12, extending perpendicularly outwardly relative to the axis of the rod, is provided adjacent the free end of each finger 9.10.

A central section 13 of the rod 2 is of enlarged diameter. The central section is separated by distinct steps from the said one end 7 and the opposed end 14, which has an axially extending circular cross section cavity 15 extending axially from the end face thereof. At the base of the cavity, in the region of the central section 13 of the rod, there is a membrane that extends across the cavity, the membrane having a relatively small aperture.

The two end portions of the rod are of the same diameter.

The other rod 3 is also provided, at one end with an axially extending U-shaped slot 17. The slot separates two axially extending resilient fingers 18,19. A respective cylindrical protrusion 20,21, extending perpendicularly outwardly relative to the axis of the rod, is provided adjacent the free end of each finger. The diameter of this end of the second rod is the same as the diameter of the two end portions 7,14 of the first rod 2.

The other end portion 22 of the second rod 3 is of enlarged diameter, having a diameter equal to that of the central section 13 of the first rod 2, there being a step between the end portion 16 carrying the resilient fingers and the enlarged diameter portion 22.

The other end portion 22 has an axially extending cavity 23 of circular cross section extending from the free end thereof and having a diameter which is slightly greater than the external diameter of the end portion 14 of the first rod 2.

At the base of the cavity 23, there is a membrane that extends across the cavity, the membrane having a relatively small aperture.

The elastic connecting element 4 comprises an elastic cord. One end of the cord is knotted. The other end is passed between the resilient arms 9 and 10 and through the aperture in the adjacent membrane. The elastic cord 4 is then passed through the cavity 15, in the first rod, and then into the cavity 23 in the second rod, then passing through the small aperture in the membrane located adjacent the resilient fingers 19,20. The cord is pulled so that there is tension in the elastic cord, and then a knot is tied adjacent the membrane in the second rod. The tension in the elastic cord 4 biasses the rods together in a position in which the end portion 14 of the first rod is inserted into the cavity 23 defined within the end portion 22 of the second rod. However, the resilience of the elastic cord is such that the two rods can be separated with an appropriate manual pulling action.

The tubular sections 5 and 6 of the elongate member each have an exterior diameter substantially equal to that of the central part 13 of the first rod 2 and the end portion 22 of the second rod 3.

The hollow interior 24 of the section 5 is in the form of an axially extending bore dimensioned to receive, as a sliding fit, the end portion 7 of the first rod 2.

Two diametrically opposed apertures 25,26 are formed in the tubular section 5 extending from the bore to the exterior of the section. The distance between the apertures 25,26 and the adjacent end of the tubular section 5 is the same as the distance between the protrusions 11,12 and the step between the end portion 7 and the central section 13 of the first rod 2. The apertures 25,26 each have a diameter slightly greater than the diameter of the protrusions 11,12.

The hollow interior 27 of the section 6 is in the form of an axially extending bore dimensioned to receive, as a sliding fit, the end portion 16 of the second rod.

Two diametrically opposed apertures 28,29 are formed in the tubular section extending from the bore to the exterior of the section. This distance between the apertures 28,29 and the adjacent end of the tubular section 6 is the same as the distance between the projections 18,19 and the step between the end portion 16 and the end portion 22 of the second rod 3. The apertures 28, 29 each have a diameter slightly greater than the diameter of the protrusions 11,12.

The tubular sections 5,6 may be made of any appropriate material such as metal, plastic, fibre reinforced plastics such as carbon fibre or glass fibre reinforced epoxy resins, wood or cane.

The connector may be assembled with the sections of the elongate member in a straightforward manner. The end portion 7 of the first rod 2 is slidingly inserted into the hollow interior 24 of the section 5. The resilient fingers may need to be compressed inwardly by hand as they are introduced to the interior 24 of the section 5 to accommodate the protrusions 25,26, although the protrusions could be provided with inclined cam faces that will perform the same function.

The projections will be aligned with the apertures 25,26 and when the end portion 7 has been inserted fully into the interior 24 of the section 5 the protrusions 11 and 12 will be aligned with the apertures 25,26 and the resilience of the fingers 9,10 will cause the projections to be urged into the apertures. The apertures engage the projections, thus securely connecting the rod 3 to the section 5.

A similar technique is used to connect the rod 3 with the section 6.

The connection 1 will then have the form shown in Figure 2.

If the sections 5 and 6 are released the resilience of the elastic cord 4 will draw the rods 2 and 3 together, with the end portion 14 of the rod 2 being received, in a sliding telescopic manner, within the cavity 23 formed in the rod 3. The step between the central section 13 of the rod 2 and the end portion 14 is brought into abutment with the free end of the end portion 22 of the rod 3.

The connection will then have the configuration shown in Figure 3.

An elongate member 30 formed of a plurality of sections interconnected with connectors 1 as described above is shown in Figure 4. The elongate member comprises a cane for use by a blind or visually handicapped person.

Alternatively the member may comprise part of a framework, a fishing rod, a tent pole or any similar member.

The sections that are connected by a connector as described can easily be separated simply by pulling them apart with an axial pull, sufficient to overcome any friction between the engaged end portions 14 and 22 of the rods, and to overcome the resilient force applied by the elastic cord.

Since there is a separate elastic cord for each connector, the length of the cord and the resilience may be selected to enable the connector to function without applying an extreme tension to the cord.

Should a connector fail, the connector may be removed simply by pressing inwardly on the ends of the projections carried by the resilient arms which are accommodated with the apertures, while simultaneously pulling the rods from the sections. One rod at a time can easily be removed from its section and then the connector can be replaced with a new one. While the connector is removed the elongate member is separated into two parts, and so there will only be a minimal risk of one part becoming lost.

Whilst the invention has been described with reference to rods that have two resilient fingers in alternative embodiments each rod may have one finger or three or more fingers.