Exercise devices – Having specific electrical feature – Monitors exercise parameter
Reexamination Certificate
2000-12-13
2002-09-03
Richman, Glenn E. (Department: 3764)
Exercise devices
Having specific electrical feature
Monitors exercise parameter
C482S001000, C482S900000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06443873
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an exercise therapy device capable of recovering the exercise function of and maintaining the physical strength of a physically handicapped person or an aged person by auxiliarily and passively assisting a rotational movement of each pedal when the person undergoes an exercise therapy.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 14
is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a conventional exercise therapy device disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. Hei 11-169484. In this figure, a pulley
201
is connected to pedals
202
, and a pulley
203
is provided between the pulley
201
and a motor
207
. A belt
204
is looped between the pulleys
201
and
203
, and a pulley
205
is provided in such a way as to be integrally joined to the pulley
203
. A belt
206
is looped between the pulley
205
and a motor
207
. Magnets
208
and
209
are mounted on the pulleys
201
and
205
, respectively. Hall elements
210
and
211
are disposed so as to cooperate with the magnets
208
and
209
, respectively, for generating signals each time they detect a corresponding one of the magnets
208
and
209
. A computer
212
receives the signals from the Hall elements
210
and
211
, for calculating the rotational speeds of the pulleys
201
and
205
. A load control device
213
controls the load on the motor
207
in accordance with the rotational speeds calculated by this computer
212
.
Next, an operation of this conventional exercise therapy device is described hereinbelow. The rotation of each of the pedals
202
is transmitted to and accelerated by the pulley
205
looped between the pulleys
201
and
203
, and then transmitted to the motor
207
by the belt
206
. A pulse is outputted from each of the Hall elements
210
and
211
at each rotation of a corresponding one of the pulleys
201
and
205
. Then, after calculating the number of the pulses, the computer
212
outputs the pulses to the load control device
213
. The load control device
213
determines the rotational speed of the motor
207
in accordance with the number of the pulses, and controls the load on the motor
207
.
Further, when different loads are imposed on the left and right legs, respectively, of an exerciser from the left and right pedals, the conventional exercise therapy device repeats an operation of alternately imposing a high load and a low load on the legs of the exerciser so that a phase angle corresponding to a position at which the high load is imposed on one of the legs differs by &pgr; from a phase angle corresponding to a position at which the low load is imposed on the other leg. That is, now assuming that the high load is imposed on the right leg at an easiest-to-push position when the right pedal is pushed by the right foot, and that a low load is imposed on the left leg at a position (namely, an easiest-to-push position when the left pedal is pushed by the left foot) corresponding to a phase angle, which is changed by &pgr; from the phase angle corresponding to the easiest-to-push position for the right foot, the load imposed on the right leg is higher than the load imposed on the left leg. This is effective especially in the case where an exerciser wishes to train the right leg.
With the conventional exercise therapy device as constructed above, when the pedal
202
is positioned within a range of rotation angles other than the top dead center and the bottom dead center, a rotational load on the pedal is not reduced. Therefore, when a cerebrally handicapped person or an aged person, whose muscular strength (of, for instance, femoral quadriceps and coxal extensor group) has declined and whose motor nerves are numb, undergoes exercise therapy in a range of rotation angles other than the top dead center and the bottom dead center of the pedal
202
, he cannot continuously perform a pedaling exercise at all rotation angles. Further, when a frictional load is generated in a low speed rotation region, a high load is caused by the pedaling exercise, so that an exerciser cannot continuously perform a pedaling exercise at all rotation angles. Thus, there has been a problem in that a physically handicapped person or an aged person can neither recover an exercise function nor maintain physical strength in a satisfactory manner by using an exercise therapy device, such as an ergonomic bicycle.
Thus, to eliminate the above drawback, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. Hei 11-169484 proposed an exercise therapy device enabling a physically handicapped person or an aged person to smoothly and continuously perform a pedaling exercise to recover exercise function and maintain physical strength.
This exercise therapy device is able to turn a pedal shaft pulley and an intermediate pulley by an assist drive mechanism when the rotational speed of the pedal shaft pulley is reduced to a preset speed or less by an assist motor.
Further, when the assist motor rotates at a preset speed only in one direction at all times and the assist motor is rotated only in one direction by a one-way clutch fixed onto the motor shaft of this assist motor in the assist drive mechanism, a pulley rotatably attached to the motor shaft is rotated together with the motor shaft. Conversely, when the assist motor rotates in the other direction, the pulley is idled with respect to the motor shaft. The assist motor is connected to the pulley by a secondary assist pulley provided on the rotation shaft of the intermediate pulley through an assist belt. The assist motor is connected to the pedal shaft pulley by a primary assist pulley provided on the rotation shaft of the intermediate pulley through a primary belt.
With such a configuration, a physically handicapped person or an aged person can continuously perform a pedaling exercise at all angles when the person undergoes an-exercise therapy, to recover his exercise function and maintain his physical strength.
Further, the exercise therapy device has a one-way clutch for releasing transmission of rotation movement from: a load motor to a pedal shaft pulley. The assist motor is rotated by a load reduction drive mechanism so that the load motor is rotated to reduce a load in a low speed rotation region.
Furthermore, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 10-179660 discloses an exercise load adjusting device in which an AC generator is used in an exercise load generating portion. The generator is switched to a side, at which the generator is controlled and used as a DC brushless servo motor control, when a set exercise load is equal to or less than a mechanical loss, and the generator is switched to another side, at which a load control is performed on an output of the generator, when the set exercise. load is equal to or more than the mechanical loss. Although this exercise load adjusting device uses only one generator, this generator is used mainly for adjusting an exercise load. when the exercise load is equal to or less than the mechanical loss, the generator serves only to compensate for the mechanical loss. The generator does not act to positively give an exerciser an exercise assisting force.
Among the aforementioned conventional devices, the exercise therapy device described in Japanese Patent Application No. 9-345619 employs two motors, that is, a load for generating a load motor, and an assist motor for generating an assisting force. Therefore, this exercise therapy device needs two power transmission systems for transmitting power from a corresponding one of the motors to a corresponding one of the pedals. Thus, this conventional. exercise therapy device has drawbacks in that the construction thereof is complicated; the number of parts is large; and it is difficult to reduce the size, weight, and cost thereof.
Further, the conventional exercise therapy device described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 10-179660 does not positively give an exerciser an exercise assisting force. Thus, this conventional exer
Leydig , Voit & Mayer, Ltd.
Mitsubishi Electric Engineering Co. Ltd.
Richman Glenn E.
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