This invention concerns walking aids, and in particular walking sticks, sticks for the blind and crutches.

When using walking aids such as walking sticks or crutches, it is often difficult for a user to see the ground upon which they are placing the walking aid. With sticks for the blind these are used by a person to determine their route, and also to seek out any obstructions. When such sticks are used, it can though be hazardous for adjacent third parties, and especially in low light conditions, to ensure that they are not hit by such a stick in use.

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a walking aid assembly, the walking aid comprising a handle part with a support part extending therefrom, and a lighting arrangement, the lighting arrangement being configured when operating to illuminate at least a portion of the support part.

The walking aid may be configured such that the lighting arrangement just illuminates a lower part in use of the support part. The support part may be elongate and may be foldable such that in a folded condition adjacent sections of the support part can be located alongside one another.

The support part may comprise a plurality of sections foldable together when in an out of use condition, and coaxially mountable together in an in use condition.

The support part sections may be configured to provide an electrical connection therebetween when mounted together. The support part sections may have respective inner and outer parts which are insulated from each other and provide respective positive and negative electrical connections between adjacent sections.

In an alternative arrangement a resilient power cable may extend through the support part.

A line means may be provided extending through the support part sections for retaining the sections together when in an out of use condition.

In one arrangement at least part of the support part is hollow and made of a translucent or transparent material, and the lighting arrangement illuminates the interior of the hollow part.

In one configuration the lighting arrangement may be provided in the handle part and may shine light down the interior of the support part.

In a further configuration the lighting arrangement may comprise one or more lighting elements located within the hollow part. The lighting elements may be in the form of LEDs or fibre optics. The lighting elements may be spaced around and along the length of the hollow part.

In a further arrangement the lighting arrangement includes lighting elements around the outside of at least part of the support part, and the lighting elements may comprise a light string or fibre optics.

The lighting arrangement may be configured to selectively provide a flashing light. The lighting arrangement may be configured to selectively provide different colour lights.

The walking aid may include a rechargeable battery which may be a lithium battery and may be located in the handle part. A connection, which may be a USB port, may be provided on the handle to permit charging of the rechargeable battery, and/or charging of other items.

Indication means may be provided to indicate that the battery is being charged and/or to indicate the charging state of the battery.

A solar panel may be provided on the walking aid to enable charging of the battery.

A connection unit for providing wireless connection to a communication device such as a mobile phone, may be provided on the walking aid to permit communication therethrough. A speaker and/or a microphone may be provided on the walking aid for use with the connection unit.

The connection unit may operate by a wireless technology such as BLUETOOTH®.

A camera, which may be a video camera, may be provided on the walking aid. The camera may connect to the connection unit, such that the camera can connect to a communication device such as a mobile phone.

An input to connect to a data storage means may be provided, and a slot for a memory card such as a micro SD card may be provided on the handle part.

The walking aid may include a GPS unit, which may connect to a communication device such as a mobile phone.

A torch arrangement may be provided on the walking aid and may be provided on the handle part. A lazer arrangement may be provided on the walking aid, which may project an image on the ground in front of the walking aid.

A near field communication microchip may be provided in the handle part.

A light reflective part may be provided on the walking aid and may be provided on the support part. The light reflective part may be provided on the support part adjacent to, or towards the handle. The light reflective part may comprise a mirror.

The support part may be made of a plastics material and may be made of acrylic or fibreglass. Alternatively, the support part may be made of metal. The support part may be removably mounted on the handle part, and the handle part may be selectively mountable on other items for use therewith.

Engageable screw threads may be provided on the support part and handle part.

A switch arrangement may be provided on the handle part for controlling the lighting arrangement and any other components of the walking aid. A light may be provided on the handle part.

A heating arrangement may be provided within the handle part, such that the handle part can operate as a hand warmer.

A movable ground engageable part may be provided on the support part, with the walking aid configured such that movement of the movable part recharges the battery. The ground engageable movable part may comprise a rotatable part of the lower end in use of the support part. The rotatable part may be in the form of a ball, or a roller.

Alternatively, the ground engageable movable part may be in the form of a reciprocally movable lower end in use on the support part. The reciprocally movable part may provide shock absorbing for a user of the walking aid.

The walking aid may include a speech unit which can relay audible messages to a user. The walking aid may include a translator unit which can translate messages into different languages, and provide an audible message in a required language.

The walking aid may include a clock unit, which clock unit may be connected to the speech unit so as to provide an audible message telling the time.

A visual magnifier may be provided on the handle, which magnifier may be removable from the handle to permit use. A line means may extend from the visual magnifier to the handle, to prevent loss of the magnifier.

PIR sensors may be provided on the walking aid.

Low light sensors may be provided on the walking aid, and the walking aid may be configured such that the lighting arrangement operates automatically when low light is detected.

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

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a first walking aid according to the invention; Fig. 2 is a similar view to Fig. 1 but of a second walking aid according to the invention;

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic perspective view of part of the first walking aid;

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a third walking aid according to the invention; and

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic perspective exploded view of the third walking aid.

Fig. 1 shows a first walking aid in the form of a walking stick 10 with a handle part 12 from which a support part 14 in the form of a multipart elongate member extends. In this instance the support part 14 has four hollow sections 16 which can be selectively coaxially mounted together by their ends to provide an elongate member, but which include a flexible resilient member such that each part can be disattached from adjacent parts and folded about the resilient member.

The first three sections 16 of the elongate member extending from the handle part 12 are of an opaque material, whilst the lowermost section 16A of the elongate member is translucent. The handle part 12 may be selectively mounted on the support part 14 by respective screw threads (not shown), which may selectively permit the handle part 12 to be used with other items.

The handle part 12 is of a greater diameter than the support part 14, and may be made in any particular form or of any specific material so as to be comfortably held by a user.

A switch 18 is provided at the opposite end of the handle part to the support part and connects to a rechargeable lithium battery located in the handle part. A USB port 20 is provided to permit charging of the battery and an indication light 22 is provided adjacent the port 20 to indicate when the battery has been or is being charged, and also as required to provide an indication of the status of the battery charge.

A solar panel 24 is provided on the uppermost in use support part section 16 adjacent the handle part 12, to also enable charging of the battery when the support part 14 receives light. A mirrored band 26 is provided immediately adjacent to the solar panel to enable the walking aid to reflect light for example off a vehicle’s headlights, to aid the visibility of a user of the walking aid 10.

The lowermost section 16A of the support part is made of a translucent plastics material such as acrylic. The remainder of the support part 14 may be made of a similar material or could be made for example of metal. A plurality of lighting elements in the form of LEDs 28 are provided interconnected to each other and connected to the battery, and spaced longitudinally and diametrically throughout the lowermost section 16A of the support part 14. The walking aid 10 can be used in a conventional manner, and when required to increase a user’s visibility of for instance ground adjacent the lowermost section 16A of the support part 14, or when it is desired to make the user more visible, the lighting elements can be turned on.

A user may switch on the lighting elements 28 to increase their visibility of the ground, or to enhance their visibility to other persons. The assembly 10 may be configured such that the lighting elements 28 can flash if required or can operate with a choice of different colour lights.

A torch arrangement with any appropriate switching arrangement is provided on the handle part 12. A near field communication microchip is provided within the handle part 12. This microchip may be used to control features such as face recognition, opening of doors etc, which may be of particular use when the handle part 12 is used other than with the walking aid. Fig. 3 shows in more detail the ends of two of the sections 16. As can be seen the sections 16 include an outer part 40 which acts as a negative connection from the handle part 12 to the lighting elements 28. The outer part 40 is separated by an insulator layer 42 to a concentric inner part 44 which acts as a positive connection between the handle bar 12 and lighting elements 28. One end of the inner part 44 is in the form of a male formation beatable in a corresponding female formation in the inner part 44 of an adjacent section 16. A line means in the form of an elastic cord 46 extends through the sections 16 to retain the sections 16 together when folded up in an out of use condition.

Fig. 2 shows a second walking aid 30 in the form of a walking stick which is similar to the first walking aid 10 but is intended to be used as a walking stick and/or cane by a blind person. In this instance all four sections 32 of the support part 34 are made of an opaque material. A translucent rotatable ground engaging ball 36 is though provided at the lower end of the support part 34, and the ball 36 can be lit as described above to provide light, and more particularly to provide a visual indication to third parties of the location of the walking aid 30. The ball 36 is freely rotatable to ease movement thereof over the ground. A dynamo is also located in the ball 36 such that movement of the ball 36 drives the dynamo to recharge the battery.

Figs. 4 and 5 show a third walking aid 50 in the form of a walking stick, again intended to be used as a walking stick and/or cane by a blind person, or a person with impaired visibility. The walking aid 50 has a hollow handle 52 which can locate a rechargeable power bank 54, which can be retained in the handle 52 by a removeable end cap 56 at the upper end.

The hollow handle 52 also includes a heating element 58 such that when required the heating element 58 can be powered from the power bank 54 to warm the handle 52 to act as a hand warmer. A light 60 is provided on the handle 52 towards the lower end thereof. The light 60 is in the form of an LED and can be used to help locate the aid 50, to provide a visual indication, and particularly to provide a visual indication when for instance the power bank 54 is fully charged. A USB socket (not visible) is provided on the handle 52 to facilitate charging of the power bank 54.

A support part 62 extends from the handle 52. The support part 62 is formed of three elongate sections 64 which are selectively coaxially engageable, and engageable with the handle 52 when in use, but can be separated from each other to enable folding of the aid 50. A cord 66 runs through the walking aid 50 to interconnect the sections 64 and handle 52. The upper two sections 68 of the support part 62 are in the form of lengths of aluminium tube, though other materials can be used if required, with respective male and female connections 70, and a similar connection 70 on the handle 52. A resilient power cable 72 extends from the power bank in the handle 52 to the lowest support part section 74. The cable 72 is in the form of a resilient cable such as a Roboden® cable.

The lowermost section 74 comprises an outer section 76 which locates a vinyl sleeve 78 through which extends a strip of LEDs 80 on a foam carrier 82. A roller 84 is provided at the lowermost end of the section 74, and can be connected to the power bank 54 to provide charging thereof as the roller 84 is moved.

There are thus described walking aids which enable the immediate area to be illuminated if required, and also can provide a visual indication of the presence of a user to third parties nearby.

It is to be realised that a wide range of other modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For instance, the walking aid may take a different form and may be in the form of a different walking stick. Alternatively, the walking aid could be in the form of an elbow or underarm crutch. The sections may be telescopically interconnected rather than selectively movable from each other, such that the length of the support part can be telescopically reduced in size when the walking aid is not in use. A similar electrical connection could be provided between the sections in such telescopic arrangement.

A different arrangement can be provided on the lower end of the walking aid, and for instance a reciprocally movable lower part may be provided perhaps in a telescopic configuration. The reciprocally movable lower part may provide for recharging of the battery. This part may also provide for shock absorbing as the walking aid engages against the ground.

Still other modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For instance, different lighting arrangements could be used other than the described LEDs. For example, a line of fibre optics could extend down inside of the support member. The support member may not be foldable, and more and perhaps all of the different parts of the support part may be illuminated.

In some arrangements the lighting elements are provided around the outside of the support member and may be in the form of fibre optics or light strings. In such an instance the support member need not be hollow. The light strings or fibre optics could for instance be wrapped around the support member. In a further alternative arrangement, a lighting arrangement could be provided in the handle part which shines down the support member.

The walking aid may include a connection unit to permit connection to a communication device such as a mobile phone using for instance BLUETOOTH® technology. A speaker and/or a microphone may be provided on the walking aid. A camera may be provided on the whip assembly which may be a video camera. The camera may connect to a communication device such as a mobile phone, for instance to record and/or transmit pictures. This could obviously be important in the event of any incidents or accidents. An input for a memory for the camera may be provided, for instance in the form of a slot for a micro SD memory card.

The walking aid may include a GPS unit which could connect to a communication device such as a mobile phone. A different switch arrangement could be provided. The handle may take any appropriate form.

The walking aid may include a speech unit which can relay audible messages to a user. The walking aid may include a translator unit which can translate messages into different languages, and provide an audible message in a required language.

The walking aid may include a clock unit, which clock unit may be connected to the speech unit so as to provide an audible message telling the time.

A visual magnifier may be provided on the handle, which handle may be removable from the handle to permit use. A line means may extend from the visual magnifier to the handle, to prevent loss of the magnifier.

PIR sensors may be provided on the walking aid. Low light sensors may be provided on the walking aid, and the walking aid may be configured such that the lighting arrangement operates automatically when low light is detected.

Whilst endeavouring in the foregoing specification to draw attention to those features of the invention believed to be of particular importance it should be understood that the Applicant claims protection in respect of any patentable feature or combination of features hereinbefore referred to and/or shown in the drawings whether or not particular emphasis has been placed thereon.