[DESCRIPTION]

[invention Title]

STICK HAVING SUPPORT FOOT [Technical Field] The present invention relates to a stick (a walking assistive device) , such as a staff or a crutch, for use in assisting walking, hiking, or the like, and more particularly, to a stick having an auxiliary support foot, which has a shock absorber which is spaced apart from a stick foot so as to absorb the shock upon being brought into contact with the ground, thereby preventing the stick from being released or slipping from a user's grip. [Background Art]

Generally, as a walking assistive device, a stick is widely used by a person who is doing outdoor activities such as hiking, walking, or the like, or by a person who is aged, sick, or disabled and who thereby finds it difficult to walk.

Such a conventional stick includes for example a grip portion, a stick body, and a support foot. A conventional crutch, another kind of conventional stick, includes an arm support, a grip portion, a crutch body, and a rubber buffer.

Here, according to the use thereof, the support foot may be formed acute so as to be set in the ground.

The walking assistive device, as illustrated in FIG. 1, is angled towards the direction in which a user walks, so that the support foot 20 which comes into contact with the ground and the grip portion 10 are both inclined at an angle.

Then, a user exerts a force onto the grip portion 10 perpendicular to the ground, such that upon walking, the user is required to apply stronger force than that which is applied while standing still. Thus, if the ground is slippery, or the applied force is weak, the stick is likely to slip, so that an accident may occur and the user falls down the ground.

To resolve the above problem, the present applicant proposed ^λ a stick having an auxiliary support foot' which was disclosed in Korean Utility Model Registration No. 20-0413503 (Laid-Open Date: April 7, 2006) .

In the document, the stick includes ^a grip portion which a user holds; a rod-type column member formed at a lower portion of the grip portion; and a leg member having a support foot extending from a lower portion of the column member and coming into contact with the ground, wherein the leg member is provided with an auxiliary foot extending from an upper portion thereof . Thus, when a user walks, the angle of the stick to the ground and the angle of a force applied by the user are adjusted so that the user can safely use the stick even with using less force.

However, in this technology, since the support foot and the auxiliary foot are simply separated by a distance, when the user moves his body in a standing state, the support foot and the auxiliary foot are simultaneously brought into contact with the ground and then the grip portion moves

following the user' s body, so that the support foot and the auxiliary foot serve as the different centers of rotation, respectively. That is, when the user moves forward, the center of rotation is transferred from the support foot to the auxiliary foot, so that a radius of the rotation increases by the distance that the support foot is separated from the ground. Since users are acquainted with a stick having only a single center of rotation, such different centers of rotation cause the hand holding the grip portion to rise up, making the user feel that the stick is bouncing, causing discomfort.

This is because impacts occurring upon subsequent contact of the support foot and the auxiliary foot with the ground are not prevented from being directly transferred to the user. Then, when the stick is used on slippery or steeply-inclined ground with greater force, the user's hand may slip from off of the stick, causing a safety accident.

Further, proposed was ^λ an auxiliary apparatus of a walking assistive device' which was disclosed in Korean Utility Model Registration No. 20-0373934 (Laid-Open Date: January 21, 2005) . The auxiliary apparatus is configured such that an engaging protrusion is formed on a lower outer circumferential face of a cylindrical body, a drill hole and a step for a drill head are provided on a lower inner circumferential face of the body, screw-threads, through which a wrench bolt is inserted, are formed on an upper

portion thereof, a drill to be inserted into the drill hole has a length long enough to protrude out of the body for a distance, and has the drill head to be engaged with the step; a spring is inserted into the drill body, and a stick support ring is inserted into an upper portion of the engaging protrusion. In this construction, a user walks with the drill protruding out of the body so as to be nailed into a snow-covered or icy road. However, the construction has problems in that the user needs to repetitively press the button so as to draw out the drill which was nailed into the road, and that it cannot be used on a normal surface road because of the occurrence of noise, breakage or the like. [Disclosure]

Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a stick having an auxiliary support foot, which assists a user in climbing an inclined surface while using less force, and further having a shock-absorber absorbing a shock transferred from the ground, thereby allowing the aged, the sick, and the like to use it while using less force.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a stick having an auxiliary support foot which is difficult to damage even after long-term use due to having a shock- absorber, and the construction is simple, removing some fear for the occurrence of its operational error.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a stick possibly having a plurality of auxiliary support feet and a minimized shock-absorber, thereby providing savings where manufacturing cost is concerned. In order to achieve the above objects, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a stick including: a grip portion provided on an upper portion thereof such that a user holds the same; a stick foot provided to extend from a lower portion of the grip portion with a lower end thereof brought into contact with the ground; an auxiliary support foot provided at a distance from the stick foot; and a fastening member fastening the auxiliary support foot to the stick foot, the fastening member being provided with a jointing section having an insertion hole, through which the auxiliary support foot is inserted, and a hinge hole, through which the auxiliary support foot is fixedly hinged to the stick foot, and a fixed section coming into close contact with the stick foot.

The stick may include a self-resilient shock-absorbing member which absorbs a shock occurring when the stick foot or the auxiliary support foot is brought into contact with the ground, and assists the stick foot or the auxiliary support foot to return to its original position when the same rises and returns to its original position. The shock-absorbing member may be composed of urethane rubber .

The stick foot may be provided with a returning spring which is located on a contact surface with the fixed section, allows the auxiliary support foot, which contacts the ground and then rises up, to return to its original position by a repulsive force of the shock-absorbing member, and adjusts the speed of the repulsive force.

The contact surface may be provided with a receiving hole in which the shock-absorber member is received.

The fastening member may be self-resilient, and may have an insertion hole, through which the auxiliary support foot is inserted, a coupling hole, through which the auxiliary support foot is fixed to the stick foot, and shock- absorbing members on its upper and lower portions such that they are fixed to the stick foot. [Description of Drawings]

The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a front view illustrating a conventional stick;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a stick according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a fastening member according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a fastening member according to another embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of Symbols of the Main Parts in the Drawings>

100: Stick 10: Grip Portion

20: Leg Member 30: Stick Foot

31: Contact Surface 32 : Receiving Hole

33: Insertion Groove 34: Fastening Bolt

40: Auxiliary Support Foot

50, 50' : Fastening Member

51: Jointing Section 51a: Insertion Hole

51b: Hinge Hole 52: Fixed Section

52a: Slide Groove 52b: Insertion Hole

53: Coupling Hole

60, 60' : Shock-Absorbing Member

70: Elastic Member

[Mode for Invention] Reference will now be made in greater detail to a preferred embodiment of the invention, an example of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the description, referring to FIG. 2, a portion where a stick foot or an auxiliary support foot is in contact with the ground, is denoted as a lower portion, and a portion for a user to grip at, i.e. a grip portion, is denoted as an

upper portion.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, a stick 100 according to the present invention includes a grip portion 10, which a user grips at an upper portion thereof, a leg member 20 provided to extend from a lower portion of the grip portion 10, a stick foot 30 provided in a lower end of the leg member 20, and an auxiliary support foot 40 provided separated from the leg member 20 by a distance and the stick foot 30 provided below the leg member 20. Here, a fastening member 50 is provided so as to fix the auxiliary support foot 40 to the stick foot 30. The fastening member 50 includes a jointing section 51 which is rotatably hinge-fixed to the stick foot 30, and a fixed section 52 which is brought into close contact with the stick foot 30.

The jointing section 51 has an insertion hole 51a, through which the auxiliary support foot 40 is inserted, and a hinge hole 51b, through which the auxiliary support foot is coupled to the stick foot such that it is hinged up and down about the stick foot 30.

The fixed section 52 has a slide groove 52a in the side of the auxiliary foot, which is brought into close contact with the stick foot, so as to be engaged with a contact surface 31 of the stick foot 30. The auxiliary support foot 40 rises up and returns to its original position about the hinge hole 51b by an impact

(pressure) occurring upon contacting the ground, and an elastic force (repulsive force) of a shock-absorbing member 60. Here, the returning speed of the shock-absorbing member 60 is adjusted by a returning spring 70 to be described later, so that an impact occurring when the stick is brought into contact with the ground is mitigated.

A distance that the auxiliary support foot moves up and down is determined by a rotation angle of the hinge hole 51b and a moving distance of the slide groove 52a. The operation of moving up and down mitigates the impact.

The shock-absorbing member 60 provided in the fixed section 52 is received in the receiving groove 32 of the stick foot 30 in such a way as to partially protrude outside. A portion of the protruding shock-absorbing member 60 is pressed against the slide groove 52a of the fixed section 52 of the fastening member 50.

That is, when the slide groove 52a moves up and down about the hinge hole, the elastic shock-absorbing member 60 absorbs an impact occurring in the auxiliary support foot 40, thereby providing less of an impact to a user.

The shock-absorbing member 60 is composed of an elastic body such as urethane rubber, for example. The urethane rubber has wear resistance, anti-oxidation, and oil resistance properties. Further, as compared to a coil spring, it has less repulsive force and excellent shock- absorption. Of course, the shock-absorbing member may be

composed of diverse kinds of elastic materials in addition to the urethane rubber without departing from the scope of the invention.

The stick foot 30 is provided with the returning spring 70, such as a compressed coil spring, on the contact surface 31 with the fixed section 52 of the fastening member 50. The contact surface 31 is provided with an insertion groove 33 through which the returning spring 70 is inserted in such a way as to partially protrude outside. Further, instead of the compressed coil spring, a leaf spring, a torsion spring, or other elastic member may be used.

The fixed section 52 of the fastening member 50 is provided with a corresponding insertion hole 52b through which the returning spring 70 is inserted.

The returning spring 70 presses against the fastening member 50 with the protruding portion thereof inserted into the corresponding insertion hole 52b of the fixed section 52 of the fastening member 50. The returning spring regulates the repulsive speed of the shock-absorbing member when the fastening member 50 moves up because of the pressure applied to the auxiliary support foot 40 upon contacting the ground, and then returns to its original position by elastic force of the shock-absorbing member. FIG. 4 illustrates a fastening member 50' according to another embodiment of the invention, wherein an auxiliary

support foot 40 is fixedly coupled to a lower portion thereof. The fastening member may comprise an elastic member, such as a leaf spring, which is movable up and down with the auxiliary support foot 40 coupled to the stick foot 30.

The fastening member 50' is provided with a coupling hole 53 through which it is coupled to the stick foot 30. The fastening member mitigates an impact occurring when the auxiliary support foot 40 fixedly coupled to the fastening member 50' is brought into contact with the ground while moving up and down about the coupling hole 53 as the center of rotation by the impact.

That is, the coupling hole 53 also serves as the hinge hole 51b, and the fastening member 50' mitigates the impact while moving up and down because it is self-resilient .

Further, the stick foot 30 is provided with a fastening bolt 34 which is inserted into the coupling hole 53 of the fastening member 50' when the fastening member 50' is coupled to the stick foot 30. The fastening bolt 34 is screwed to the leg member 20. Here, the coupling hole 53 is provided, on the upper and lower portions thereof contacting the fastening bolt 34, with shock-absorbing members 60', respectively.

The operation of the present invention will now be described.

First, when a user walks on an inclined hiking trail or

a surface road, the user previously sets forward the stick 100 in the direction in which he wants to go and moves his body accordingly. Here, when the stick 100 is brought into contact with the ground, the auxiliary support foot 40 contacting the ground moves up about the hinge hole 51b. Here, the shock-absorbing member 60 received in the receiving groove 32 of the stick foot 30 mitigates an impact transferred to the fastening member 50 having the hinge hole 51b. Next, when the user lifts the stick 100 from the ground in order to again advance the stick 100 after the user moves his body forward, the auxiliary support foot 40 returns to its original position while moving down about the hinge hole 51b by the repulsive force of the shock-absorbing member 60. Here, upon returning, the returning spring 70, which is provided in the insertion groove 33 of the stick foot 30 contacting the fixed section 52 of the fastening member 50, presses against the fastening member 50. Then, friction force occurring between the returning spring 70 and the fastening member 50 and the elastic force of the returning spring 70 can regulate the repulsive speed of the shock- absorbing member 60, such that an impact occurring by the repulsive force of the auxiliary support foot 40 is not transferred to the user. If necessary, the plurality of auxiliary support feet 40 may be provided in a radial arrangement. Here, the

fastening member 50 is provided with a plurality of radially- arranged insertion holes 51a, into which the auxiliary support feet 40 are respectively inserted.

Further, among the sticks for the aged or the sick, the present invention can also be adapted to allow for uses such as an elbow crutch, a gait training walker, or the like, in which a user holds the grip portion while leaning against it using his arm from his elbow to the end thereof, or otherwise, a user holds the grip portion using his both hands. In this case, the auxiliary support foot is being separated from the stick foot contacting the ground, and the shock-absorbing member is provided in the fastening member which couples the auxiliary support foot to the stick foot.

In the drawings and specification, typical exemplary embodiments of the invention have been disclosed, and although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and are not for the purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in the following claims. [industrial Applicability]

As set forth before, according to the stick of the invention, the stick is provided with a shock-absorbing member, which helps users to walk with less force, and which does not allow for direct transference of an impact occurring upon contact with the ground, reducing the user's fatigue even after long-term use, preventing the stick from sliding

on the ground and therefore reducing safety accidents, and simplifying the construction of a product and therefore saving manufacturing expenses, removing some fear for the occurrence of operational error, and providing for convenient maintenance.