Application # 2005/0150532. Adjustable hiking stick having multiple sections and slide limit devices to prevent the sections from pulling entirely out of one another

United States Patent Application	*20050150532*
Kind Code	A1
Lin, Chi-Fu	July 14, 2005

Adjustable hiking stick having multiple sections and slide limit devices to prevent the sections from pulling entirely out of one another

Abstract

An adjustable hiking stick includes a telescopic tube having multiple interconnected sections. Adjacent sections connect at a joint, and the joint includes an end sleeve, a slide limit device, an inside section and an outside section. The outside section has an outside end and an interior surface. The inside section is slidably extended into the outside section and has an inside end and an exterior surface. The end sleeve is attached to the outside end of the outside section and has an annular lip. The slide limit device can be ribs, rings or the like that protruded from the exterior surface of the inside section and is formed adjacent to the inside end of the inside section. The slide limit device will abut the annular lip and keep the inside section from being pulled completely out of the outside section when the inside section is adjusted.

Inventors:	Lin, Chi-Fu; (Yungkang City, TW)
Correspondence Address:	DELLETT AND WALTERS P. O. BOX 2786 PORTLAND OR 97208-2786 US
Serial No.:	756055
Series Code:	10
Filed:	January 12, 2004

Current U.S. Class:	135/75
Class at Publication:	135/075
International Class:	A45B 009/00

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. An adjustable hiking stick comprising: a telescopic stick having a top end, a bottom end and multiple interconnected sections where adjacent sections are connected at a joint and the joint comprises a large outside section having an outside end and an interior surface; a smaller inside section slidably inserted into the outside section and having an inside end and an exterior surface; a locking mechanism mounted at the inside end of the inside section to lock the inside section with the outside section in position; an end sleeve attached around the outside end of the outside section and having a stop; and a slide limit device formed adjacent to the inside end of the inside section to abut the stop to keep the inside section from being pulled completely out of the outside section; and a grip attached to the top end of the telescopic tube.

2. The adjustable hiking stick as claimed in claim 1, wherein the stop is an annular lip formed and protruded inward relative to the interior surface of the outside section.

3. The adjustable hiking stick as claimed in claim 2, wherein the slide limit device comprises four ribs formed annularly on and protruded from the exterior surface adjacent to the inside end of the inside section.

4. The adjustable hiking stick as claimed in claim 2, wherein the slide limit device comprises a protruding ring formed on and protruded from the exterior surface adjacent to the inside end of the inside section.

5. The adjustable hiking stick as claimed in claim 2, wherein the locking mechanism comprises a stationary end plug attached to the inside end of the inside section and having a disk abutting the inside end of the inside section and having an edge flush with the exterior surface of the inside section; and the slide limit device comprises an extension ring formed on and extended from the edge of the disk of the stationary end plug.

6. The adjustable hiking stick as claimed in claim 5 further comprising a tip attached to the bottom end of the telescopic tube.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to an adjustable hiking stick, and more particularly to an adjustable hiking stick having multiple sections that cannot be completely pulled out of one another.

[0003] 2. Description of Related Art

[0004] Adjustable hiking sticks are popular and comprise multiple sections that slide into one another so that the adjustable hiking sticks can be lengthened, shortened or completely collapsed for temporary storage. Each of the sections of a hiking stick is substantially a short tube that slides into another short tube to make the hiking stick telescopic.

[0005] With reference to FIG. 5, adjacent sections of an adjustable hiking stick in accordance with prior art are connected at a joint. The joint comprises a large outside section (60), a smaller inside section (50), a locking mechanism (61) and an end sleeve (51). The outside section (60) has an outside end (not numbered) and an interior surface (not numbered). The end sleeve (51) is attached to the outside end of the outside section (60).

[0006] The inside section (50) has an inside end (not numbered). The inside end extends into the outside section (60) through the end sleeve (51) and the outside end of the outside section (60). The locking mechanism (61) is mounted at the inside end of the inside section (50) and comprises a stationary end plug (611), a threaded shaft (612) and a locking rotor (613). The stationary end plug (611) is fastened at the inside end of the inside section (50) and has a tapered protrusion (614). The tapered protrusion (614) is coaxially formed relative to the inside section (50) and has a top end (not shown). The threaded shaft (612) is coaxially mounted at the top end of the tapered protrusion (614). The locking rotor (613) is rotatably mounted on the threaded shaft (612) and has multiple spacer slots (615).

[0007] The inside section (50) can be pulled out of or retracted into the outside section (60) to change the length of the hiking stick. The locking mechanism (61) is used to lock the inside section (50) in position relative to the outside section (60) when the hiking stick is adjusted to a given length. The inside section (50) can be turned relative to the outside section (60) to rotate the locking rotor (613) to lock the locking mechanism (61). The rotated locking rotor (613) moves toward the inside end of the inside section (50) along the threaded shaft (612) so that the tapered protrusion (614) jams into the locking rotor (613). The spacer slots (615) permit the jammed locking rotor (613) to engage the interior surface of the outside section (60) and lock the two sections (50, 60) in position.

[0008] To adjust the locking inside section (50) relative to the outside section (60), the inside section (50) is turned relative to the outside section (60) to rotate the locking rotor (613). The locking rotor (613) moves upward along the threaded shaft (612) to disengage the interior surface of the outside section (60) so that the inside section (50) is adjustable.

[0009] However, the inside section (50) is easily pulled entirely out of the outside section (60) when adjusting the length of the hiking stick. The inside end of the inside section (50) must be reinserted into the outside section (60) if the inside section (50) is inadvertently pulled out. Therefore, the conventional adjustable hiking stick is inconvenient to use.

[0010] If the inside section (50) is pulled entirely out of the outside section (60), the locking mechanism (61) will be easy to access. Because the locking rotor (613) is generally made of plastic, the locking rotor (613) is easily inadvertently broken by children or improper operation. If the locking rotor (613) is damaged, the hiking stick is unusable.

[0011] To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides a slide limit device for adjacent sections of an adjustable hiking stick to prevent one section from being completely pulled out of another section to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0012] The main objective of the invention is to provide an adjustable hiking stick with multiple sections and a slide limit device for each pair of adjacent sections to prevent one section from being pulled completely out of another section so that the hiking stick is convenient to use.

[0013] To achieve the aforesaid objective, an adjustable hiking stick includes a telescopic tube having multiple interconnected sections. Adjacent sections connect at a joint, and the joint includes an inside section, an outside section, an end sleeve and a slide limit device. The outside section has an outside end. The inside section is slidably mounted in the outside section and has an inside end and an exterior surface. The end sleeve is attached to the outside end of the outside section and has an annular lip. The slide limit device can be ribs, rings or the like that are formed adjacent to the inside end of the inside section and may protrude from the exterior surface of the inside section. The slide limit device will engage the annular lip to keep the inside section from being pulled completely out of the outside section when the inside section is adjusted.

[0014] Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a slide limit device of an adjustable hiking stick in accordance with the present invention;

[0016] FIG. 2 is an operational side plan view in partial section of a joint between adjacent sections of the hiking stick in FIG. 1;

[0017] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a slide limit device in an adjustable hiking stick in accordance with the present invention;

[0018] FIG. 4 is an operational side plan view of a third embodiment of an slide limit device in an adjustable hiking stick in accordance with the present invention; and

[0019] FIG. 5 is an operational side plan view in partial section of a joint between adjacent sections of a conventional adjustable hiking stick in accordance with the prior art.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0020] With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, an adjustable hiking stick in accordance with the present invention comprises a telescopic stick (not numbered), a grip (12) and a tip (13). The telescopic stick has multiple interconnected sections, a top end (not numbered) and a bottom end (not numbered). The grip (12) and the tip (13) are attached respectively to the top end and the bottom end of the telescopic tube.

[0021] The telescopic stick generally has two or three sections. For convenience and illustrative purposes only, a single joint between adjacent sections of the preferred embodiment of the telescopic stick is described, which may include two or more sections. The sections connect sequentially to and slide into one another. Each of the sections may be made of an aluminum tube. Adjacent sections are connected at a joint that comprises a large outside section (10), a smaller inside section (21), a locking mechanism (61), an end sleeve (11) and a slide limit device (not numbered).

[0022] The outside section (10) has an outside end (not numbered) and an interior surface (not numbered). The inside section (20) is slidably mounted in the outside section (10) and has an inside end (not numbered) and an exterior surface (not numbered). The end sleeve (11) is attached around the outside end of the outside section (10) and has a stop, such as an annular lip (111). The lip (111) protrudes inward relative to the interior surface of the outside section (10).

[0023] The locking mechanism (61) is mounted at the inside end of the inside section (20) and comprises a stationary end plug (611). The stationary end plug (611) is connected to the inside end of the inside section (20) and has a disk (not numbered) with an edge (not numbered). The disk abuts the inside end of the inside section (20) and the edge is flush with the exterior surface of the inside section (20).

[0024] The slide limit device is formed adjacent to the inside end of the inside section (20) to abut the lip (111) to keep the inside section (20) from being pulled completely out of the outside section (10) and can be implemented with four ribs (211). The ribs (211) are formed on and protrudes from the exterior surface of the inside section (20) adjacent to the inside end and are arranged annularly. Therefore, when the inside section (20) is pulled out of the outside section (10), the ribs (211) will abut the lip (111) of the end sleeve (11) and keep the inside section (20) from being pulled out completely of the outside section (10).

[0025] With reference to FIG. 3, a second embodiment of the slide limit device is implemented with a protruding ring (212). The protruding ring (212) is formed on and protrudes from the exterior surface of the inside section (20) adjacent to the inside end. Therefore, when the inside section (20) is pulled out of the outside section (10), the protruding ring (212) will abut the lip (111) of the end sleeve (11) to keep the inside section (20) from being pulled completely out of the outside section (10).

[0026] With reference to FIG. 4, a third embodiment of the slide limit device is implemented with an extension ring (213) formed on and extending from the edge of the disk of the stationary end plug (611) at the inside end of the inside section (20). Therefore, the extension ring (213) will abut the lip (111) of the end sleeve (11) when the inside section (20) is pulled out of the outside section (10) and keep the inside section (20) from being pulled completely out of the outside section (10).

[0027] Therefore, the slide limit device may be ribs (211), a protruding ring (212) or an extension ring (213) and will abut the lip (111) of the end sleeve (11) at the outside end of the outside section (10) to prevent the inside section (20) from being pulled completely out as the inside section (20) is adjusted relative to the outside section (10) to lengthen or shorten the hiking stick. The hiking stick in accordance with the present invention is convenient to use and keeps the locking mechanism (61) from being damaged.

[0028] Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the scope of the appended claims.

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