Safety cane

A safety can, comprising:

• an elongated tubular support structure having telescoping upper and lower sections and a handle at one end, a ground engaging tip at an other end, and a power source located therebetween;
• an ambient light sensing device substantially within the support structure and operatively connected to the power source for determining the ambient light level of an environment surrounding the cane;
• and
• a light emitting device positioned substantially within the lower section of the support structure, and operatively connected to the power source, to the ambient light sensing device and to a manually operable first switch in the vicinity of the handle so as to illuminate a path ahead of the cane when the first switch is activated and when the ambient light conditions are low, including a second switch in the vicinity of the handle operatively connected to the power source, an alarm circuit, and an audible alarm all located substantially within the support structure, so that activation of the second switch sounds the audible alarm, wherein the alarm circuit includes a declination detector and a first delay device for establishing a first delay period so that displacement of the cane from a substantially vertical position for the duration of the first delay period activates the audible alarm and return of the cane to the substantially vertical position before the first delay period expires disables the first delay device, whereby the audible alarm is activated when a disabling condition indicated by a fall having a duration greater than the first delay period is detected.

A safety cane, comprising:

• an elongated tubular support structure having a handle at one end, a ground engaging tip at an other end, and a power source located therebetween;
• a switch in the vicinity of the handle operatively connected to the power source, to an alarm circuit, and to an audible alarm all located substantially within the support structure so that activation of the switch sounds the audible alarm;
• and
• a declination detector and a first delay device operatively connected to the alarm circuit and power source for establishing a first delay period so that displacement of the cane from a substantially vertical position for the duration of the first delay period activates the audible alarm and return of the cane to the substantially vertical position before the first delay period expires disables the first delay device, whereby the audible alarm is activated when a disabling condition indicated by a fall having a duration greater than the first delay period is detected.