This invention relates to stilts.

Stilts are well known and are used to increase the height of an individual and to permit the individual to walk from one position to another at an elevated level. Stilts are worn by circus clowns and other entertainers, but specialist stilts may be worn by tradesmen or fruit-pickers who have to work in areas above normal arms-reach and where it is otherwise difficult to install platforms, ladders and the like.

In their simplest form, stilts comprise a pair of elongate members, each member supporting a block which provides a platform for a foot of the user. The lower end of each member engages the ground, while the upper end serves as a hand grip. In other versions, the members are strapped to the respective lower legs of the user. Such stilts have traditionally been fabricated from wood. However, various forms of improved stilts are disclosed in my International Patent Publication No. 091/11222.

While existing stilt designs may be adequate for simple walking, when slits have been used during sports, acrobatics or in performance arts difficulties have been encountered due to the increased forces which the stilts must bear. In traditional stilt design, the upper stilt member which extends upwardly from the foot support

platform is strapped to the outside of the calf of the user. Thus, the calf strap is subject to twisting forces or torques which may be uncomfortable to the user. Also, with this arrangement it is difficult to prevent relative movement between the upper stilt member and the leg. In W091/11222 I disclose a number or stilt configurations in which the upper stilt member extends up the front of the leg, to also act as a shin guard, but in use it has been found that, without very heavy construction, the upper stilt member is prone to flexing in response to torques, which creates an undesirable sensation of instability for the user.

This difficulty has been at least partially overcome in my stilt design as disclosed in International Patent Application No. GB92/02342 in which the stilt upper leg includes two side members each configured to resist torsional forces. The upper leg is secured to the user at a location to the front of the leg of the user. With such an arrangement the major forces applied to the leg of the user are simple pushing and pulling forces, which are more comfortably withstood than torsional forces

While such stilts are more stable than previous stilt designs, the foot mounting still allows for some degree of "rolling" when the stilt or the leg of the user is tilted to the side.

In addition, t has been found difficult to manufacture stilts in one-piece and such one-piece stilts

tend to be relatively expensive to transport and package because of their size.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide stilts having an improved foot mounting, to increase the stability of the user on the stilt

It is another object of the present invention to provide a pair of stilts where each stilt consists of two or more parts which can be readily assembled to form a working pair of stilts.

According to the present invention there is provided a pair of stilts, each stilt having: a user foot support coupled to an upper leg and to a lower leg, the upper leg including side members configured to resist torsional forces; means for securing the upper leg to the leg of a user; and an ankle strap for holding the foot of the user on the foot support, the strap for extending from locations adjacent each side of the heel of the user around the ankle of the user.

Such an arrangement has been found to provide the user with a high degree of stability, and thus increase the balance and confidence of the user.

Preferably, a heel stop is provided for use in conjunction with the ankle strap. Most preferably, the heel stop is arranged to permit release of the foot of the user, such that the user's foot may move backwards out of the foot support in the event of a blow to the front of the stilt to prevent hyperextension of the knee. The heel

stop may be formed of a resilient material which may flex to allow release of the foot. The ankle strap also facilitates release of the foot in the event of a fall, as the foot is not restrained from sliding backwards, out of the strap.

Preferably also, the ankle strap and heel stop are adjustable relative to the user foot support to maintain the correct centre of balance. Most preferably, the strap and stop are removably mounted on the foot support and are longitudinally adjustable thereon.

Preferably also, a knee pad is provided and is mounted to the upper leg. Most preferably, the knee pad is pivotally mounted to the upper leg to permit relative rotation therebetween in the event of the foot of the user coming out of the foot support. In normal use, the knee pad remains stationary relative to the upper leg. In a preferred arrangement, the knee pad is formed of resilient material and extends around the front and sides of the leg of the user. For stability, the knee pad may be strapped to the leg of the user at two spaced locations, both below the knee, thus allowing substantially unrestricted flexing of the knee. In one particular arrangement, the pivotal connection between the knee pad and stilt upper leg may be provided by a pair of pins mounted in respective slotted apertures, the apertures each having an access slot such that, with the pin in a position corresponding to the foot of the user having been pulled from the foot support, the

pin may pass through the slot and out of the aperture. This permits the leg of the user to be completely freed from the stilt in the event of a fall. In a preferred arrangement, the pins are provided on the knee pad and the slotted apertures are provided on the stilt upper leg.

Preferably also, the upper leg includes a front member extending upwardly from a front portion of the foot support. The front member serves to protect the shin of the user and also allows the bracing side members to extend upwardly from rear portions of the foot support to create a light but rigid triangular configuration of members. Most preferably, the lower leg has a similar, though inverted, triangular arrangement of members.

Preferably also, the side members are of a relatively thin section, and may be corrugated or ribbed to provide additional rigidity.

Preferably also, each stilt is of a plastics material, and the members are arranged such that the major structure of each stilt may be formed in a single moulding operation.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a pair of stilts, each stilt having separate upper and lower leg parts for mating together to form an assembled stilt, said upper and lower leg parts having a front and a rear support member, said respective front and rear members being connectable together and one of said upper and lower leg parts having a user foot support

extending between the front and rear of the stilt substantially at the bottom of the top leg portion or top of the bottom leg portion.

According to yet another aspect of the invention there is provided a pair of stilts, each stilt having, separate upper and lower leg parts for mating together to form an assembled stilt, said upper and lower leg parts each having side members configured to resist torsional forces, a user foot support coupled to one of said upper and said lower leg members.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view from the rear of a stilt in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a side view of the stilt of Figure 1 attached to the lower leg of a user and including a knee pad;

Figure 3 is a sectional view on line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a sectional view of an alternative arrangement for mounting a knee pad on a stilt;

Figure 5 is an exploded perspective view of a two-part stilt in accordance with an embodiment of a further aspect of the present invention;

Figure 6 is a view of the top part of the stilt taken in the direction of arrow 6;

Figure 7 is a view of the bottom part of the stilt taking in the direction of arrow 7; and

Figure 8 is an enlarged detailed side view of the middle of an assembled stilt depicting the connection of the upper and lower parts.

Reference is first made to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings which illustrates a stilt 10 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The stilt 10 includes a user foot support 12 coupled to an upper leg 14 and to a lower leg 16. The upper leg 14 includes two side members 18, 20 which extend upwardly from the rear sides of the foot support 12 to merge with a front member 22 which extends upwardly and rearwardly from the front of the support 12. The members 18, 20, 22 merge to provide an arcuate pad 24 for engaging the leg of a user, below the knee, as may be seen in Figure 2 of the drawings. The pad 24 has two opposed holes 25 which register with selected pairs of holes 27 in adjustable knee pad 29 so that the height of the pad can be adjusted by passing bolts (not shown) through the desired holes when the pad 29 is at the desired height. The knee pad 29 pivots on the bolts relative to pad 24 and thus allows the knee pad to accommodate and protect the knee of user's of different heights. The side members 18, 20 are intended to resist torsional forces which would otherwise tend to twist the pad 24 relative to the foot support 12. The front member 22 provides further rigidity and also acts as a shin

guard. The front of pad 24 has an arcuate support 31 projects in front of the knee pad slightly, as best seen in Figure 2, and which acts to spread load on the knee between the upper side members 18, 20 either in tension or compression.

The members 12, 22 are of relatively thin section, for lightness, and have a U-shaped cross-section to provide additional stiffness. The lower leg 16 is of generally similar configuration to the upper leg 14, comprising two side members 26, 28 and a front member 30. The members 26, 28, 30 merge at a box-section foot portion 32 which is provided with a resilient, replaceable pad 34.

The members are arranged such that the major structure of the stilt 10 may be formed of a single moulding of, for example, glass filled polypropylene, requiring minimum further assembly. Such further assembly may include the fitting of various stiffening braces, such as the brace 36 located below the heel portion of the foot support 12, or additional bracing in the foot portion.

Provided on the foot support 12 is a toe retainer, an ankle strap 38 and a heel stop 40. The toe retainer 39 is substantially conical, to receive the front part of the user's foot, and is formed of stiff but resilient material. The heel stop 40 is also of a stiff but resilient material such that on the application of a high force to the stop 40, the user's foot may be released, minimising the possibility of injury.

The ankle strap 38 extends around the ankle from mountings adjacent the user's heel, to hold the foot of the user securely on the foot support 12. It has been found that such an arrangement minimises the "rolling" experienced by the foot, when compared to a strap which extends around the foot of the user, such as disclosed in GB92/02342. Also, on release of the foot by the heel stop 40, the flexible strap 38 may pivot rearwardly to facilitate withdrawal of the foot from the foot support 12.

Reference is now also made to Figure 3 of the drawings, which illustrates the foot support 12, and the heel stop 40 in greater detail. The foot support comprises an elongate front portion 42 and a triangular rear portion 44, both having an inverted U-shaped cross-section. Mounted to the rear of the support 12 is a foot securing member 46 which includes the ankle strap 38 (not shown in Figure 3) and the heel stop 40 and also a triangular portion 48 which is secured to the foot support by bolts 50. The member 46 is formed of a single piece flexible material, such as polypropylene. The foot support 12 has three bolt receiving apertures at each bolt location, such that the member 48 may be adjusted, in direction A, to accommodate different foot sizes. The toe retainer 39 is also adjustable, to maintain the correct centre of balance.

Reference is now made in particular to Figure 2, which illustrates the stilt 10 provided with a knee pad

52. Whereas the stilt 10 is formed of relatively rigid material, the pad 52 is more resilient and wraps around the front and sides of the user's leg, being held in place on the leg of the user by two releaseable straps 54, 56 which extend around the upper and lower calf. The pad 52 is secured to the stilt 10 by a pair of screws 58 which extend through corresponding apertures in flanges 60 at the upper ends of the stilts. The pad 52 is provided with flats 62 for abutting the inner faces of the flanges 60. In normal use, the pad 52 will remain stationary relative to the stilt 10 however, if the user's foot should be released from the foot support 12, the pad 52 may pivot to minimise the possibility of injury to the user. To facilitate such pivoting, the upper edge of the pad 24 is concave, and also defines a forwardly extending lip 64 to minimise the pressure applied to the front of the pad 52 by the upper edge of the pad 24.

In an alternative knee pad mounting arrangement, such as shown in Figure 4 of the drawings, the pad 52 is provided with a pair of pins 70 for location in corresponding apertures 72 in the flanges 60. Each pin 70 has a substantially rectangular section and, when in a particular orientation, may pass through a slot 74 in the aperture wall. Each pin and slot is arranged such that the pin will only be released when the user's foot has been pulled from the foot support 12 and the pad 52 has pivoted relative to the stilt 10.

The above described stilts are lightweight, strong, and provide the user with a sense of stability not found in conventional stilt designs. Also, the stilts may be manufactured relatively easily and inexpensively, with minimum assembly being required.

Reference is now made to Figure 5 of the drawings which depicts a two-part stilt, generally indicated by reference numeral 80, which consists of an upper part 82 and a lower part 84. The upper and lower parts 82, 84 have many features identical to those in the stilt shown in the embodiment in Figures 1 to 4 and to facilitate understanding like numerals will refer to like parts. It will also be understood that the stilt 80 may be provided with a toe retainer, heel stop and ankle strap as shown in Figures 1 to 3 although these are not shown in Figures 5 to 8 in the interests of clarity.

The upper part 82 will also be described with reference to Figure 6. It will be seen that the side members 18, 20 terminate in a cross-piece 86 which has an integral front plate 88 to provide rigidity. Figure 6 shows that the cross-piece 86 is generally U-shaped in section and side portions 90, 92 have apertures 94 for receiving a sleeved bolt 96 for coupling the upper section 82 to the lower section 84 as will be described. The sides portions 90, 92 mate with complementary portions on the low part 84 as will also be described. The front member 22 terminates in a free end 97 which has a rebated

surface 98 for mating with a complementary surface and the lower member 84, and a through aperture 100 to allow the member 22 to be coupled to the lower member 84.

The lower member 84 has side members 26, 28 and front member 30 which terminates in front-to-back cross-piece 102 having a generally tapering outline as best seen in Figure 7. The rear part 104 of section 102 joins the tops of side members 26, 28 to define mating elements 106, 108 for connecting to side portions 90, 92 on the upper member. The front of section 102 terminates in an upstanding rebated portion 110 mate with complementary side portions 90, 92 and and free end 96 respectively of the upper member 82.

Once the upper and lower parts are thus located they are secured together by passing a bolt 96 through aligned holes 93 and 114 in the upper and lower sections respectively, which is fitted with a sleeve 97 to maximise accuracy and by passing a bolt through apertures 100, 112 to secure the front member 22 to the upstanding portion 110. Figure 8 shows the middle part of an assembled stilt. It will be seen that the rear join between portions 90, 106 and between front members 22, 30, 100 provides smooth transitions similar to that shown in the embodiment in Figures 1 and 2. The bolt 96 provide bracing and resists spreading of the cross-piece 86 due to loading as does plate 88 and the sleeve 97 prevents compression of cross-piece 86.

It will be appreciated that various modifications may be made to the embodiment hereinbefore described without departing from the scope scope of the invention. For example, the foot support could be connected solely to the upper stilt or part of the foot support could be connected to the upper stilt and part connected to the lower stilt. Also the number and arrangement of side members could be varied within the requirement of resisting torsional faces. Also it will be understood that the lower part may be varied; lower parts of different heights could be joined to a top part for different applications, for example, if a particular high pair of stilts was desired or if a lower part with a different foot design was required.

It will be appreciated that the two-part stilts described above have a number of advantages. Firstly the stilt parts are easier to manufacture than a single stilt, and the parts can be nested together, making the stilts easier to package and transport. In addition because of the smaller packaging volume they occupy less storage space than a one-piece stilt which is more desirable for retailers. Also it will be understood that the lower part may be varied; lower parts of different heights could be joined to a top part for different applications, for example, if a particular high pair of stilts was desired or if a lower part with a different foot design was required.

It will be clear to those of skill in the art that the above described embodiments are merely exemplary of the present invention and that various other arrangements and configurations may be provided within the scope of the invention.