Illuminated walking assistance apparatus

1. An illuminated walking assistance apparatus comprising:

an elongated staff having a ground-engaging tip portion at a first end and a handle at an opposing second end;

the staff providing a light pipe positioned proximal the tip portion and having light-emitting member disposed therein to selectively illuminate the ground proximal the tip portion;

the staff further providing a red nightlight which is always on so as to facilitate locating the apparatus in a dark environment.

2. The illuminated walking assistance apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the light-emitting member comprises an LED array including four LED chips supported on a substrate disposed internally of the light pipe.

3. The illuminated walking assistance apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a red filter on a sliding tube adjacent the light pipe for nighttime use to reduce the effects of REM sleep cycle interruption.

4. The illuminated walking assistance apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a source of electrical energy coupled through a control circuit to energize the light-emitting member.

5. The illuminated walking assistance apparatus of claim 4 , further comprising:

a high intensity white LED disposed in the handle coupled to the control circuit; and

a push button switch coupled to the control circuit to turn the white LED on to assist the user to find a desired item.

6. The illuminated walking assistance apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a push-on push-off switch coupled to the control circuit which when in the ON position will cause the light-emitting member to flash on and off repeatedly to attract attention.

7. The illuminated walking assistance apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the source of electrical energy is a rechargeable lithium battery.

8. The illuminated walking assistance apparatus of claim 7 , further comprising a USB port disposed at the handle for use in charging the battery.

9. The illuminated walking assistance apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the control circuit is disposed on a circuit board disposed in the handle.

10. The illuminated walking assistance apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the control circuit comprises a digital control circuit.

11. The illuminated walking assistance apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the control circuit comprises an analog control circuit.

12. The illuminated walking assistance apparatus of claim 4 , further comprising a motion sensor member coupled to the control circuit which automatically turns the light-emitting member on when the apparatus is in use.

13. The illuminated walking assistance apparatus of claim 4 , further comprising a time out sensor coupled to the control circuit which automatically turns the light-emitting member off when the apparatus is at rest for a predetermined amount of time.

14. The illuminated walking assistance apparatus of claim 4 , further comprising an ambient light detector coupled to the control circuit which prevents the light-emitting member from turning on when the ambient light is sufficient for the user to walk without light assistance.

15. An illuminated walking assistance apparatus comprising:

an elongated staff having a ground-engaging tip portion at a first end and a handle at an opposing second end;

the staff providing a light pipe positioned proximal the tip portion and having a light-emitting member disposed therein to selectively illuminate the ground proximal the tip portion; and

a red filter slidably engaged with the light pipe for selectively covering the light-emitting member, thereby reducing the effects of REM sleep cycle interruption during use of the apparatus at night.