Abstract
The invention relates to a pole handle (1), in particular for trekking poles, Nordic walking poles, Alpine ski poles, or cross-country ski poles, comprising a handle head (2), a handle body (3), and a hook-like device (4) for securing a handling device. A movable, pivotal, or rotatable latching means (5) is arranged in the region of the hook-like device such that a loop-, ring-, or eye-shaped device, which is provided on the handling device and inserted into the hook-like device substantially from above, is fixed in the hook-like device in a self-latching manner. The latching means is designed in the form of a retaining lug which defines a constrained region (7) for the loop-, ring-, or eye-shaped device towards the bottom in the braced position. Additionally, a recess (8) is provided in the handle head and/or handle body from above, wherein a movably and/or rotatably mounted securing block (9) on or in which the engaging means is arranged is arranged in the recess.
Claims
1. A pole handle for poles, that is attachable to a hand-retaining device, in the form of a hand strap or a glove having thereon a strap-shaped, ring-shaped or eyelet-shaped device, the pole handle comprising: a handle head, a handle body, and a hooking device for fastening to the hand-retaining device, wherein a displaceable, pivotable or rotatable latching means is arranged in a region of the hooking device in such a manner that the strap-shaped, ring-shaped or eyelet-shaped device of the hand-retaining device, which is inserted substantially from above into the hooking device, is fixed in a self-locking manner by the latching means in the hooking device, wherein the hooking device is arranged on the pole handle on a hand side in a top region or in the handle head, wherein the hooking device includes a holding mandrel or holding pin which is arranged offset to the hand side from the handle body, thereby forming an insertion slot or arranged as an incision in the handle body, wherein the latching means is a retaining lug which, in a braced position defines in a downward direction, with the holding mandrel or holding pin, a restricted region for the strap-shaped, ring-shaped or eyelet-shaped device, wherein a recess is provided from above in the handle head and/or handle body, in which recess a displaceably and/or rotatably mounted locking block is arranged, on or in which the latching means is arranged, wherein on its upper side, the locking block comprises an actuating region which forms the handle head at least in part and which, on the hand side, in a rear handle head region, engages over a top of the insertion slot at least in part without closing access to the insertion slot, wherein the actuating region, in the rear handle head region, on the hand side, comprises an extension which extends substantially transversely to the pole handle longitudinal axis along a horizontal direction and which engages over the insertion slot at least in part, and wherein the insertion slot is engaged over at least in part by the extension of the actuating region both in the braced position, in which the latching means is braced against the hooking device, and in a release position in which the latching means releases the insertion slot.
2. The pole handle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the actuating region forms an upper closure of the handle head, wherein the actuating region engages over a top of a side wall, or a top of both lateral side walls, of the handle head.
3. The pole handle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the extension comprises on its hand-side end an upwardly beveled flank which extends upward forming an angle of between 95 and 120 degrees to a plane which is spanned by the pole handle longitudinal axis and rotational axis.
4. The pole handle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the actuating region at its widest point comprises an almost identically large or an at least identically large or larger width than a width of the handle head at its widest point.
5. The pole handle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the actuating region extends further in the front handle head region in the direction of movement than the handle head in the front handle head region.
6. The pole handle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the locking block is mounted on the handle head so as to be rotatable about a horizontal rotational axis which is arranged perpendicularly to the pole handle longitudinal axis.
7. The pole handle as claimed in claim 6, wherein a bottom edge of the actuating region which adjoins a side wall of the handle head, and also the side wall at that location, forms at least in regions an arc about the rotational axis of the locking block, defining a circle with a circle radius of between 0.5 and 3.5 cm or between 0.5 and 1.8 cm.
8. The pole handle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the locking block is realized in one piece with the actuating region or wherein the actuating region is integrally formed on the locking block.
9. The pole handle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the actuating region is realized in a convex manner in relation to a plane which is spanned by the pole handle longitudinal axis and the direction of movement, and can also be realized in a convex manner in relation to a plane which extends perpendicularly to the pole handle longitudinal axis.
10. The pole handle as claimed in claim 1, wherein on its upper side, the actuating region comprises a structuring, including a ribbing, which is suitable for preventing a user finger from slipping, wherein the structuring can be arranged both in a rear hand-side handle head region as well as in a front handle head region.
11. The pole handle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the actuating region is realized in a downwardly arched manner in the front handle head region and can also be realized in an arched manner in the hand-side rear handle head region.
12. The pole handle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the actuating region is realized in a converging manner in the direction of movement in the front handle head region and/or in the hand-side rear handle head region.
13. The pole handle as claimed in claim 1, wherein in the front handle head region, the actuating region comprises an extension which overlaps the handle head in the direction of movement, wherein it overlaps by between 1 and 3.5 cm, or by between 1.5 and 2.8 cm.
14. The pole handle as claimed in claim 1, wherein in a front handle head region, the actuating region comprises a substantially straight portion which extends in the direction of movement substantially horizontally to the pole handle longitudinal axis, over a length of between 1.0 and 3.5 cm, or between 1.5 and 3.5 cm, or between 2 and 3 cm, and, in the front handle head region, the actuating region comprises an end, which connects to the straight portion and is bent downward.
15. The pole handle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the locking means is realized in the form of a retaining lug, which can be arranged on or in the locking block or is realized in one piece with the locking block and, in a position braced against the hooking device, defines downward a restricted region for the strap-shaped, ring-shaped or eyelet-shaped device.
16. The pole handle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the locking block is braced by means of a spring, or by means of a leaf spring, against the hooking device which is arranged on the hand side, wherein the spring can be arranged in a recess of the locking block, wherein the recess can be arranged in a front region of the locking block, said front region being directed away from the hooking device in the direction of movement, and wherein the spring can be braced against an inside wall of the handle head in the recess of the handle head.
17. The pole handle as claimed in claim 16, wherein the locking block is tiltable against the force of the spring about the rotational axis from the outside by means of the actuating region, thereby releasing the self-locking.
18. A combination comprising a pole that is attachable to a hand-retaining device, in the form of a hand strap or a glove having thereon a strap-shaped, ring-shaped or eyelet-shaped device having a pole handle as claimed in claim 1.
19. The pole handle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the extension comprises on its hand-side end an upwardly beveled flank which extends upward forming an angle of between 100 and 105 degrees, to a plane which is spanned by the pole handle longitudinal axis and the rotational axis.
20. The pole handle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the actuating region forms an upper closure of the handle head, wherein the actuating region engages over a top of a side wall, or a top of both lateral side walls, of the handle head, and covers a downwardly beveled flank of the handle head in a front handle head region.
21. The pole handle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the actuating region at its widest point comprises an almost identically large or an at least identically large or larger width than a width of the handle head at its widest point, wherein the actuating region at its widest point comprises a width of between 0.7 and 2.5 cm, or of between 1 and 2 cm.
22. The pole handle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the locking block is mounted on the handle head so as to be rotatable about a horizontal rotational axis which is arranged perpendicularly to the pole handle longitudinal axis and transversely to the direction of movement.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
(1) Preferred embodiments of the invention are described below by way of the drawings which simply serve for explanation and are not to be interpreted as restricting. The drawings are as follows:
(2) FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of a side view of a pole handle according to a first preferred embodiment, FIG. 1a showing the pole handle in a rest position (or rather in a position braced against the hook-like device) and FIG. 1b showing the pole handle in a release position;
(3) FIG. 2 shows a sectional representation of the pole handle from FIG. 1, FIG. 2a showing a view from below of a sectional representation along the axis B-B of FIG. 1a and FIG. 2b showing a view from below of a sectional representation along the axis D-D of FIG. 1b;
(4) FIG. 3 shows a schematic representation of the pole handle of FIG. 1 when seen in a view from behind, i.e. from one hand side;
(5) FIG. 4 shows a schematic representation of the pole handle of FIG. 1 when seen in a view from the front, i.e. from the direction of movement;
(6) FIG. 5 shows a perspective schematic representation of the pole handle of FIG. 1;
(7) FIG. 6 shows two sectional representations of the handle of FIG. 1 along the axis A-A of FIG. 4; FIG. 6a showing a sectional representation of the pole handle of FIG. 1a and FIG. 6b showing analogously a sectional representation of the pole handle of FIG. 1b along the axis A-A, but in the release position;
(8) FIG. 7 shows a schematic view of the pole handle of FIG. 1 from above; FIG. 7a showing the pole handle in a rest position and FIG. 7b showing the pole handle in a release position;
(9) FIG. 8 shows a schematic representation of a side view of a pole handle according to a second preferred embodiment;
(10) FIG. 9 shows a perspective schematic representation of the pole handle of FIG. 8;
(11) FIG. 10 shows a view from below of a sectional representation of the pole handle of FIG. 8 along the axis F-F in the rest position;
(12) FIG. 11 shows a schematic view of the pole handle of FIG. 8 from above in the rest positon;
(13) FIG. 12 shows a schematic representation of the pole handle of FIG. 8 when seen in a view from behind, i.e. from one hand side;
(14) FIG. 13 shows a schematic representation of the pole handle of FIG. 8 when seen in a view from the front, i.e. from the direction of movement;
(15) FIG. 14 shows a sectional representation of the pole handle from FIG. 8, along the axis E-E of FIG. 13.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
(16) FIGS. 1a-7b show a pole handle according to a first preferred embodiment of the invention. This is suitable, in particular, for the sport of cross-country or Nordic walking. In this case, the hand side H is the rear side of the pole handle, from which the user engages the pole handle 1 and from which the hand-retaining device is coupled to the pole handle 1. The direction of movement L is directed forward V when viewed by the user. The pole handle 1 shown, which is suitable for receiving a pole tube, comprises a handle body 3 and a handle head 2 which connects to the top of the handle body. For accommodating the pole tube, the pole handle 1 comprises an insertion opening 20, which can be seen in FIG. 4, and a recess 21, or rather a cavity or a blind hole, which can be seen in FIGS. 6a, 6b. The handle head 2 comprises a hand-side or rather rear handle head region 2a which extends in a direction R opposite a direction of movement L, and comprises a front handle head region 2b which is aligned in the direction of movement L when the pole is in use. The handle head 2 is realized in its front handle head region 2b with a downwardly beveled flank 15. A recess 8, which is provided for receiving a locking block 9, is arranged from above in the handle head 2. Said recess 8 is delimited downward, that is to say is realized to a certain extent as a blind hole. The locking block 9 is mounted in said recess 8 in the handle head 2 so as to be rotatable or rather tiltable or pivotable about a rotational axis 11, which is arranged perpendicularly to the pole handle longitudinal axis S. The rotational axis 11 is realized by a transverse pin which projects through the side walls 18 of the handle head 2 and the locking block 9. The tilting of the locking block 9 is achieved as a result of actuating an actuating region 10 in the direction of rotation D toward the hand side H. Said actuating region 10 forms the top surface or rather the top closure of the handle head 2, or rather covers the side walls 18 and the beveled flank 15 of the handle head 2. In addition, the actuating region 10 comprises a greater thickness d in the rear handle head region 2a than in the front handle head region 2b. In the present exemplary example, the actuating region 10 overlaps the side walls 18 of the handle head 2 in a direction transversely to the pole handle longitudinal axis S. This means that the actuating region 10 comprises a greater width at its widest point b1 than the width of the handle head 2 at its widest point below the actuating region 10 or rather than the maximum spacing between the two side walls 18 of the handle head 2 which come to rest under the actuating region 10. The actuating region 10, in this case, comprises its widest point b1 for instance in a region which is located above the rotational axis 11 on the handle head top surface when viewed along the pole handle longitudinal axis S. This can be seen, in particular, in FIGS. 4, 7a and 7b. In addition, the actuating region 10 is shown in a converging manner in the front handle head region 2b and in the rear handle head region 2a.
(17) When seen from the side, that is to say in a plane E1 which is spanned by the direction of movement L and the pole longitudinal axis S, the actuating region 10 comprises an arched or rather curved design. Said convexly curved design when seen from the side is important, as mentioned above, for the option of actuation both with the thumb (from behind) and with the index finger (from the front) with the same hand. To illustrate said curvature, a circle K1 with a radius r1 is added in FIG. 1b, part of the circle K1 being described by part of the handle head top edge and consequently also of the bottom edge 19 of the actuating region 10. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the actuating region 10 also comprises a curved realization in a plane E2 which extends perpendicularly to the pole handle longitudinal axis S and through the direction of movement L and the rotational axis 11, which, however, cannot easily be seen in the figures. In addition, the pole handle 1 according to the invention comprises a hook-like device 4 which forms a component part of the handle body 3. It is realized by means of a slot 6 in the handle head 2 or rather in the top portion of the handle body 3. Said insertion slot 6 is suitable for receiving a strap-shaped, ring-shaped or eyelet-shaped device on a user hand-retaining device.
(18) In the rear or rather hand-side handle head region 2a, the actuating region 10 comprises an extension 10c which engages over the insertion slot 6, this being accessible from the hand side H. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the extension 10c comprises a flank 17 which is beveled/angled upward at an angle a of approximately 105 degrees with respect to the pole longitudinal axis S, measured in a plane E1 which is spanned by the pole handle longitudinal axis S and the direction of movement L.
(19) FIG. 1a or rather the sectional representation in FIG. 6a shows the pole handle 1 in a rest position. This means that the latching means 5, i.e. the retaining lug or rather latching lug, is braced against the hook-like device 4 and either a strap-shaped, ring-shaped or eyelet-shaped device of the user hand-retaining device is held captive in a restricted region 7, or that no hand-retaining device is coupled to the pole handle 1. The hand-retaining device can be inserted into the insertion slot 6 in the rest position and can be fixed in a self-locking manner on the pole handle 1 without actuating the actuating region 10.
(20) FIG. 1b or the sectional representation in FIG. 6b shows the pole handle 1 in a release position. Compared to the rest position in FIG. 1a, the actuating region 10 is displaced or rather tilted rearward toward the hand side with its bottom edge 19 along the side walls 18 of the handle head. The extension 10c consequently overlaps the holding mandrel 4 more than in the rest position. In the front handle head region, in this case, the top edge of the downwardly beveled flank 15 of the handle head 2 emerges slightly as a result of the displacement, even in the release position the actuating region 10 still covering the handle head 2 in a substantially complete manner. Said release position only exists temporarily, i.e. only during the uncoupling of the hand-retaining device from the pole handle 1. This is achieved by the user actuating the actuating region 10 against the force of a spring 12, as a result of which the locking block 9 is tilted and the retaining lug 5 which is integrally formed on the locking block 9 is removed out of the insertion slot 6, or rather is pivoted out of the slot 6 into the recess 8 of the handle head. As a result, the latching means 5 releases the latching region, or rather the restricted or rather enclosed region 7 and the strap-shaped, ring-shaped or eyelet-shaped device which is latched in the restricted region 7 can be removed, or rather can be unlooped over the holding mandrel 4. A longitudinal section through the pole handle 1 of FIG. 1a is shown in FIG. 6a. The leaf spring 12, which is provided for bracing the locking block 9, is visibly represented there in a corresponding front recess 13 in the locking block 9. Said spring is loaded rearwardly or rather toward the hand side H against the retaining lug 5, and toward a front side V against the front inside wall 14 of the handle body 2 in the recess 8.
(21) The extension 10c on the actuating region 10 and the path of the movement of the actuating region 10 for the release movement is provided or set up in such a manner that access to the insertion slot 6 is ensured both in the rest position and in the release position, at least in a direction from the back to the front, or rather parallel to the direction of movement L.
(22) The actuating region 10 additionally comprises on its top surface, both in the rear handle head region 2a and in the front handle head region 2b, a structuring 16, or rather a ribbing, which provides the user with a grippier surface when releasing the latching mechanism. The structuring 16 is arranged at the back and at the front as the user is able to actuate the actuating region 10 in the direction of rotation D both with the thumb and with the index finger of the hand that is coupled to the pole handle 1 by means of a hand-retaining device (or with a finger of the other hand). It can be seen in FIGS. 6a and 6b that the structuring 16 is formed by extensions of a middle portion 9b of the locking block 9 which project through the actuating region 10. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the locking block 9 is realized with multiple parts, having a bottom portion 9a on which the locking block 9 is mounted in the handle head 2 by means of a transverse pin along the rotational axis 11, and which forms the retaining lug 5 and the recess 13 for receiving the leaf spring 12. The middle portion 9b, which connects to the bottom portion 9a at the top thereof, then forms, by means of extensions which serve as structuring, the connection between the bottom portion 9a and the actuating region 10, which, in turn, to a certain extent forms a top portion of the locking block 9. Said different portions 9a, 9b, 10, in this case, can be formed from the same or from different materials, wherein in case different materials are used, a softer material is suitable for the actuating region 10 which projects out of the handle head 2 than for the portions 9a, 9b of the locking block 9 which are sunk in the recess 8 of the handle head 2. The locking block 9, however, can also be realized in one piece, the actuating region 10 being realized either as the topmost portion of the locking block 9 or being integrally formed or fastened on the locking block.
(23) As can be seen from FIG. 2b, the holding mandrel 4 comprises a flattening 4b on the side facing the hand side H, when viewed in cross section. Consequently, the holding mandrel is to a certain extent D-shaped, the straight region facing the hand side. Said design of the cross-sectional form of the holding mandrel can be used for the purpose of avoiding or even entirely preventing a rotation of the strap or eyelet 24, which is shown schematically in FIGS. 1a and b at the bottom end of the slot (once caught in the restricted region 7 in FIG. 1a, and once not caught and to a certain extent prepared to be guided out of the slot in FIG. 1b). This is as a result of said strap or eyelet also being realized to a certain extent in a D-shaped manner and thus the two straight regions being able to move to abut against one another and prevent rotation. Such a design of the strap or rather eyelet on the hand-holding device can be realized in a simple manner by the fastening region of the strap or rather eyelet being realized in a rigid and flat manner, which can be ensured, for example, possibly even just on account of the fastening, but can also be supported by additional plastics material elements or strips.
(24) As mentioned in the introduction, the axis 25 of the holding mandrel 4 can be arranged parallel to the pole handle longitudinal axis S. As shown in FIG. 1b, and this is the preferred design for certain applications, the axis 25 of the holding mandrel 4 can also be realized, however, in a slightly rearwardly inclined manner, at an angle which extends in a positive manner anti-clockwise in the representation according to FIG. 1b. Said slight rearward inclination, which is typically within the range of approximately 10, leads to better introduction of force in particular when used in sport.
(25) FIGS. 8-14 show a second preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Said pole handle 1, which is particularly suitable, among other things, for the biathlon sport, is realized as regards the latching mechanism in an identical manner to the pole handle previously described and shown in FIGS. 1-7b. Correspondingly, the same references have been chosen for the same elements. The second exemplary embodiment differs from the first substantially only in the design of the actuating region 10. In the second preferred exemplary embodiment of FIGS. 8-14, in addition to the extension 10c in the rear handle head region 2a, the actuating region 10 additionally comprises an extension 10d in the front handle head region 2b. The actuating region 10 is realized on its top surface by a straight portion 10a, which connects to the rear extension 10c in the direction of movement L and comprises a length a within the range of between 1.5 and 3.5 cm, in particular in a preferred manner between 2 and 3 cm, and terminates in a downwardly curved front end 10b. The protrusion beyond the handle head 2, in this case, is between 1 and 2.5 cm. The bottom edge 23 of the front extension 10d comprises an arched portion of a circle K2 with a radius r2 in the front handle head region 2b, also in part on the bottom surface of the portion 10a that is straight on the top surface, the circle circumference of the circle K2 corresponding at least to the circumference of an index finger of a user hand. The front extension 10d consequently serves as a stop catch for the index finger of a user hand which has engaged the pole handle in just a loose manner and allows it then to slip downward down though the inside surface of the hand until the index finger finds a stop on the stop catch and consequently the hand has reached the correct position for coupling the hand-retaining device on the pole handle. Consequently, the user is able to latch-in the strap-shaped, ring-shaped or eyelet-shaped device to a certain extent in a blind manner. In addition, the user, when his index finger comes to rest on the bottom edge 23 of the extension 10d, is able to actuate the release mechanism upward as a result of exerting pressure in the axial direction, and not only with the thumb as a result of a rotational movement of the actuating region 10 on the top surface thereof. In addition, the front extension 10d comprises material cutouts or recesses 22 on its sides and on the top surface.
(26) TABLE-US-00001 LIST OF REFERENCES 1 Pole handle 2 Handle head 2a Hand-side, rear handle head region 2b Front handle head region 3 Handle body 4 Hook-like device, holding mandrel 4a Flattening on the holding mandrel 5 Latching means, retaining lug 6 Insertion slot 7 Restricted region 8 Recess in 2 9 Locking block 9a Bottom portion of 9 9b middle portion of 9 10 Actuating region, top portion of 9 10a Straight portion of 10 10b Front end of 10 10c Rear extension of 10 10d Front extension of 10 11 Rotational axis of 9 12 Spring, leaf spring 13 Recess at 9 or 9a 14 Front inside wall of 2 15 Flank of 2 16 Structuring at 10 17 Flank of 10c 18 Side wall of 2 19 Bottom edge of 10 20 Insertion opening in 3 for pole tube 21 Recess in 3 for pole tube 22 Material cutout in 10 23 Bottom edge of 10d 24 Strap/eyelet 25 Axis of 4 a Length of 10a Angle of 17 Angle between S and 25 b1 Width of 10 at widest point d Thickness of 10c B1 Arc of K1 about 11 B2 Arc of K2 at 23 D Release movement E1 Plane through S and L E2 Plane perpendicular to S, through L and 11 E3 Plane through S and 11 H Rear side, hand side K1 Circle about 11 K2 Circle defined by 10b L Direction of movement r1 Circle radius about 11 r2 Circle radius R Opposite the direction of movement S Pole handle longitudinal axis V Front side
