Walking aid

Abstract

A walking aid includes a vertical shaft, a housing member disposed at a bottom of the shaft, a plurality of vertical leg members extending downwardly relative to the housing member, an electrical component on the walking aid, and control circuitry for the electrical component disposed on the housing member.

1 . A walking aid, comprising: 
 a vertical shaft;    a housing member disposed at a bottom of the shaft;    a plurality of vertical leg members extending downwardly from the housing member;    an electrical component on the walking aid; and    control circuitry for the electrical component disposed on the housing member.    
   
   
       2 . The walking aid as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein the electrical component comprises at least one of a light, an alarm, a monitor, a sensor, a communication device, and a display.  
   
   
       3 . The walking aid as set forth in  claim 2 , wherein the monitor is adapted to monitor a characteristic of a user's health.  
   
   
       4 . The walking aid as set forth in  claim 2 , comprising a handle disposed at a top end of the shaft, wherein a sensor is disposed proximate an end of the handle.  
   
   
       5 . The walking aid as set forth in  claim 4 , wherein the sensor is disposed inside the handle.  
   
   
       6 . The walking aid as set forth in  claim 4 , wherein the sensor functions together with a heart rate monitor.  
   
   
       7 . The walking aid as set forth in  claim 6 , wherein the monitor is a heart rate and oximetry monitor.  
   
   
       8 . The walking aid as set forth in  claim 2 , wherein the sensor comprises a level sensor adapted to sense when the shaft is misaligned from a vertical orientation.  
   
   
       9 . The walking aid as set forth in  claim 8 , wherein the sensor is associated with a timer and an alarm that broadcasts an alarm message when the shaft is misaligned from the vertical orientation beyond a predetermined period of time.  
   
   
       10 . The walking aid as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein the control circuitry includes a battery.  
   
   
       11 . The walking aid as set forth in  claim 1 , comprising at least one switch for operating the electrical component.  
   
   
       12 . The walking aid as set forth in  claim 11 , comprising a handle disposed at a top end of the shaft, wherein the at least one switch is disposed sufficiently proximate the handle so that a user can operate the at least one switch while the user's hand remains on the handle.  
   
   
       13 . The walking aid as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein the electrical component includes a plurality of lights, at least one light being mounted for illuminating an area approximately 1-4 meters ahead of the walking aid, and at least one light being mounted for illuminating an area directly in front of the walking aid.  
   
   
       14 . The walking aid as set forth in  claim 1 , comprising a sleeve attachable around the shaft, the sleeve having a different appearance than the shaft.  
   
   
       15 . The walking aid as set forth in  claim 1 , comprising a storage compartment.  
   
   
       16 . The walking aid as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein the walking aid is a cane.  
   
   
       17 . (canceled)  
   
   
       18 . The walking aid as set forth in  claim 12 , wherein the electrical component comprises at least one of a light, an alarm, a monitor, a sensor, a communication device, and a display.  
   
   
       19 . The walking aid as set forth in  claim 12 , wherein the electrical component includes a plurality of lights, at least one light being mounted for illuminating an area approximately 1-4 meters ahead of the walking aid, and at least one light being mounted for illuminating an area directly in front of the walking aid.  
   
   
       20 . A walking aid, comprising: 
 a vertical shaft;    a handle disposed at a top end of the shaft;    a health monitor including a sensor disposed sufficiently proximate the handle so that a user's hand can contact the sensor while the user's hand also remains on the handle wherein the health monitor comprises a heart rate/oximetry monitor.    
   
   
       21 . The walking aid as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein the housing comprises substantially horizontal top and bottom portions connected by substantially vertical wall portions.  
   
   
       22 . The walking aid as set forth in  claim 21 , wherein the horizontal bottom portion has a greater horizontal area than the horizontal top portion.  
   
   
       23 . The walking aid as se forth in  claim 1 , wherein the control circuitry comprises a microprocessor.  
   
   
       24 . The walking aid as set forth in  claim 23 , wherein the microprocessor stores an onboard program in nonvolatile memory and executes code on power-up.