JP2002119498A - Sporting goods with health care function - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To develop a new health care tool in sporting capable of accurately grasping the relation between a physical fatigue feeling and an excised amount by a person oneself, dispensing with a battery replacement and a stop of an operation during use. SOLUTION: Electronic components provided in sneakers 2 are operated by a capacitor B, and the capacitor B is characterized in being charged by the feed from an external non-contact power feed means capable of transmitting the energy between a passive element 15 provided in the sneakers 2 and an active element 55 provided in a charger 5 in a non-contact state so as to exclude the troublesome in changing the batteries and to drastically reduce the running cost. The capacitor B can be sealed so as to avoid the short circuit and corrosion due to water and dampness.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to, for example, when an elderly person exercises, grasps the correlation between the amount of exercise and the degree of physical fatigue to determine whether or not the exercise is appropriate for the person. Regarding the management device.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In recent years, sudden death during sports has become a problem as the elderly sports population has increased. This is probably because when the elderly, who are not very active, suddenly exercise vigorously, their functions cannot keep up with the amount of exercise and the body is overwhelmed. To prevent this, it is necessary to individually grasp the relationship between the amount of exercise and the degree of physical fatigue, and to avoid exercises that cause excessive fatigue.

On the other hand, recently, with the development of IC, sensor technology, etc., information such as body temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, and sweating amount can be easily measured with a device as small as a wristwatch. Therefore, if these devices are used, the degree of physical fatigue during exercise can be predicted.

[0004] However, such a device alone can only express, for example, "how many heart rates in one hour of jogging", and the amount of exercise cannot be objectively grasped.
Particularly in the case of exercise of elderly people, since the physical strength varies greatly between individuals, there is often a large difference in the amount of exercise even with the same one-hour jog, and it is not possible to grasp the exact amount of exercise with the exercise time, the number of steps, etc. . In addition, it is not only for the elderly but also for athletes that it is necessary to accurately grasp the relationship between the degree of physical fatigue and the amount of exercise.

[0005] Against this background, the present applicant has developed an apparatus which can easily and in real time grasp the correlation between the amount of exercise required for health management or sports management and the degree of physical fatigue. JP-A-6-548237
No. "Health management device during exercise" has been applied for a patent. This is equipped with a physical fatigue sensor, impact sensor, notification means, etc., to enable the exerciser to accurately grasp the relationship between his physical fatigue degree and exercise amount, In addition to the need to replace the battery that powers the electronic components such as sensors, if the battery runs out during use, the exerciser will not be able to grasp the relationship between his or her physical fatigue and the amount of exercise. There was room for improvement in that.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such a background, and enables an exerciser to accurately grasp the relationship between his / her own physical fatigue and exercise amount. Another object of the present invention is to develop a new exercise management tool during exercise, which does not require battery replacement and can further prevent operation stoppage during use.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an exercise apparatus having a health management function, comprising an impact amount sensor during exercise and a signal transmitting unit, a physical fatigue degree sensor during exercise, A processing unit for processing information obtained from the impact amount sensor and the physical fatigue degree sensor, wherein the processing device comprises a device main body provided with a signal receiving unit, and the exercise tool or any of the device main bodies. Notification means for outputting the result of the arithmetic processing, wherein the impact amount sensor is a sports equipment with a health management function using a conductive gel as a pressure-sensitive conductive element,
The operation of the electronic components included in the exercise equipment is performed by an external non-contact power supply means capable of transmitting energy in a non-contact state between a passive element included in the exercise equipment and an active element included in the charger. It is characterized in that it is performed by a storage battery that is charged by power supply. According to the present invention, since the power of the battery charged by the external non-contact power supply unit is used, the trouble of replacing the battery can be eliminated, and the running cost can be significantly reduced. In addition, since the battery is charged by the external non-contact power supply means, the terminal may become dirty when a charging method using a terminal that mechanically contacts the battery is adopted.
No charging failure due to wear or the like occurs. In addition to the arithmetic processing unit, the signal transmission unit, and the passive element, it is possible to enclose a storage device serving as a power source for these components, so that short-circuiting, corrosion, and the like due to water and moisture can be avoided.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above requirements, the exercise equipment with a health management function is characterized in that the power supply to the battery is performed by a piezoelectric element unit in addition to the external non-contact power supply means. It is. According to the present invention, electric power generated in the piezoelectric element due to vibration and impact applied to the exercise equipment can be supplied to the battery, so that it is possible to avoid an operation stop during use due to insufficient power of the battery.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the requirement of the second aspect, the exercise device with a health management function is characterized in that the piezoelectric element unit is of a cantilever type or a ball impact type. It consists of According to the present invention, it is possible to efficiently convert vibration and impact generated by the motion of the exerciser into electric power.

[0010] According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above requirements, the exercise equipment with health management function is characterized in that the exercise equipment is athletic shoes. According to the invention, mud,
Athletic shoes that frequently come into contact with water or the like can be in a state in which the electronic components are incorporated in a sealed state, and can be used continuously without causing damage to the electronic components. The problem is solved by using the configuration of the invention described in each of the claims.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below based on the illustrated embodiments. Reference numeral 1 denotes a health management device according to the present invention, which comprises a sports shoe 2 and a device main body 3 used by being attached to an arm belt 3a. Charger 5 for charging
It comprises. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the athletic shoe 2 includes a shock absorbing portion 7 in a midsole 6, and the shock absorbing portion 7 includes an absorber 8 that performs a shock absorbing action, a shock amount sensor 9, It comprises. The absorber 8 is formed by enclosing a silicone gel 8b as a shock absorbing material in a film 8a. On the other hand, the shock amount sensor 9 has electrodes above and below a conductive silicone gel 9b containing a conductive filler in the film 9a. The foil is attached and sealed. The impact amount sensor 9 can detect and measure an instantaneous impact, and can also detect and measure an impact at a slow speed, that is, a pressing force. In addition, the sports shoes 2 may be provided with an appropriate temperature sensor or humidity sensor in addition to the above.

Here, the silicone gel 8b and the conductive silicone gel 9b will be described.
Is, for example, the stock solution serving diorganopolysiloxane silicone gel 8b represented by the following formula (1) (hereinafter referred to as component A): RR ¹ ₂ SiO- and _{^{(R 2 2 SiO) nSiR 1}} 2 R ... (1), 25 The viscosity at ℃ is 5000 cSt or less,
An organohydrogenpolysiloxane (component B), which is a stock solution of a silicone gel 8b having hydrogen atoms directly bonded to at least two Si atoms in one molecule,
The ratio (molar ratio) of the total amount of alkenyl groups contained in component A to the total amount of hydrogen atoms directly bonded to Si atoms in component B is adjusted to be 0.1 to 2.0. Is an addition reaction type silicone copolymer obtained by curing the obtained mixture.

The conductive silicone gel 9b is obtained by adding a conductive filler to impart conductivity to the silicone gel. Examples of conductive fillers include carbon black, carbon fiber, graphite, metal powder, metal oxides, metal flakes, metal fibers, and the like, as well as conductive substances, as well as nickel, cobalt, gold, and insulating organic and inorganic fine particles. Some are plated or coated with a conductive material such as silver. These are generally spherical, scaly,
It has an arbitrary shape such as a fibrous shape, and any of the conductive fillers can be used. However, when the conductive silicone gel 9b is finished, the amount of compressive displacement is plotted on the horizontal axis, and the electric resistance value is measured. A relatively easy-to-use conductive silicone that improves the conductive state in proportion to the pressing force by applying a single type of fibrous filler or a mixture of multiple types of fibrous fillers, whose conductivity curve on the vertical axis decreases to the right. A gel 9b can be obtained.

The conductive silicone gel 9b not only functions as the impact sensor 9, but also has a cushioning and vibration proof function of the silicone gel itself. Can be relaxed. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is not always necessary to separately provide the silicone gel 8b, and a structure in which the conductive silicone gel 9b is incorporated in the silicone gel 8b may be adopted.

An arithmetic processing unit 10 is provided in the midsole 6, and an impact sensor 9 and a battery B are connected to the arithmetic processing unit 10. The arithmetic processing unit 1
0 is appropriately protected by a hard resin plate or the like (not shown) so as not to apply loads from above and below. A signal transmission unit 11 is provided on the rear side of the athletic shoe 2 and is connected to the battery B. The signal transmission unit 11 converts the information on the impact amount and the number of impacts detected by the impact amount sensor 9 and processed by the arithmetic processing unit 10 into a transmission signal, and transmits the transmission antenna 12 provided at the rear end of the athletic shoe 2. And radiates a radio wave as a carrier toward the device body 3. In this embodiment, information is transmitted from the athletic shoe 2 to the device body 3 by wireless communication using radio waves as a carrier. However, infrared rays or the like may be used as a carrier, or wired communication may be used.

As the battery B, an appropriate small-sized and large-capacity secondary battery and various capacitors, such as nickel cadmium, nickel hydrogen, nickel zinc, silver zinc oxide, and lithium ion, are applied. The battery B is configured to be charged by power supply from external non-contact power supply means capable of transmitting energy in a non-contact state. The non-contact power supply means is provided in the athletic shoe 2. It comprises a passive element 15 and an active element 55 provided in the charger 5. Such an external non-contact power supply means can take various forms, such as one using electromagnetic coupling, one using electrostatic coupling, one using a photovoltaic element, and one using electromagnetic waves.

First, as shown in FIG. 4, a core 16c made of a magnetic material is used as a passive element 15 using electromagnetic coupling.
And a coil 56 in which a conductor connected to an AC power supply AC is wound on a core 56c made of a loop-shaped magnetic material having a gap G as the active element 55. 56 is used. And coil 1
When an alternating current flows through the coil 56 with the core 16c of the coil 6 positioned in the gap G of the coil 56, the magnetic flux passing through the core 56c and the core 16c
An alternating current flows through it.

In this embodiment, two hollow protrusions 5a are formed in the charger 5 and the coil 56 is positioned so that the gap G is located between the protrusions 5a. On the other hand, the concave portion 6a is formed at two places on the bottom of the sports shoe 2 and the coil 16 is located between the concave portions 6a, so that the convex portion 5a and the concave portion 6a, the core 16c of the coil 16 as the passive element 15 is connected to the coil 5 as the active element 55.
The sixth core 56c is configured to be located within the gap G. Although not shown, the coil 16 may be provided on the charger 5, while the coil 56 may be provided on the side of the athletic shoe 2.

As shown in FIG. 5, the external non-contact power supply means utilizing the capacitive coupling uses capacitive plates 17 and 57 for both the passive element 15 and the active element 55, When power is supplied from the AC to the capacitive electrode plate 57, a potential is generated in the opposing capacitive electrode plate 17. In this embodiment, the charger 5 is provided with a capacitive plate 57 as an active element 55, while a capacitive plate 17 as a passive element 15 is provided at the bottom of the athletic shoe 2. Is placed on the charger 5 so that the capacitive electrode plate 17 and the capacitive electrode plate 57 are positioned to face each other.

The external non-contact power supply means using the photovoltaic element uses the photovoltaic element 18 as the passive element 15 and the light source 58 as the active element 55 as shown in FIG.
And an electromotive force is generated in the photovoltaic element 18 that receives the light emitted from the light source 58. In this embodiment, the charger 5 is provided with a light source 58, which is an active element 55, while a photovoltaic element 18, which is a passive element 15, is provided at the bottom of the shoe 2 so that the shoe 5 can be charged. 5, the photovoltaic element 18 and the light source 58 were configured to face each other.

Then, as shown in FIG.
A rectifier 19 is provided on the output side of the battery, and charging is performed by supplying a DC current to the battery B. The power supply to the battery B is performed by the piezoelectric element unit 20 in addition to the external non-contact power supply means. In this embodiment, the cantilever type piezoelectric element unit 20A or the ball impact type piezoelectric element unit 20A is used. Element unit 2
0B is adopted. Note that between the battery B and the arithmetic processing unit 10 and the signal transmission unit 11 to which power is supplied,
By providing the stabilizer 13, the voltage is stabilized.

First, the cantilever type piezoelectric element unit 20A will be described. As shown in FIG. 7, the unit comprises a substrate 21 having elasticity and a piezoelectric element 22 provided on the substrate 21. 21 has one end as a fixed end, the other end as a free end, and a weight 23 at the free end. A voltage is generated when the substrate 21 bends due to vibration or shock and the piezoelectric element 22 is distorted. The substrate 21 is made of stainless steel, copper,
The piezoelectric element 22 is made of piezoelectric ceramics such as barium titanate and lead zirconate titanate, polyvinylidene fluoride, polyvinylidene fluoride-based copolymer, vinylidene cyanide and the like. It is made of a piezoelectric synthetic resin or the like.

In the ball impact type piezoelectric element unit 20B, as shown in FIG. 8, a spherical path 26 is formed by dividing the inside of a rectangular casing 25 with ribs, and the piezoelectric elements 22 are arranged at both ends of the spherical path 26. The piezoelectric element 22 is distorted by the collision of the metal sphere 27 having moved in the ball path 26 with the piezoelectric element 22 to generate a voltage.

Next, the device body 3 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, the arm belt 3a and the main body 30 are provided.
It is almost in the form of a wristwatch comprising: The main body 30 includes a receiving antenna 3 serving as a signal receiving unit on the left shoulder.
1 is provided, and a display unit 32, which is one form of notification means, is provided on the upper surface. A physical fatigue sensor 33 is provided on the back surface of the main body 30.
3 detects body temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, and perspiration, and these information are stored in the arithmetic processing unit 35 in the main body 30.
To be sent to

It should be noted that information on the amount of impact and the number of impacts detected by the impact amount sensor 9 provided on the athletic shoe 2 and information on the temperature and humidity inside the shoe when the temperature sensor and the humidity sensor inside the athletic shoe 2 are provided. Is also transmitted from the transmission antenna 12 to the reception antenna 31 provided in the device main body 3 and sent to the arithmetic processing unit 35. In this case, a method of transmitting such information as transient information at that time and a method of transmitting the information as continuous or continuous information can be selected.

The information gathered in the arithmetic processing unit 35 is temporarily stored in the storage unit 36, and each information is appropriately displayed by operating the four buttons 3b as necessary, as shown in FIG. A liquid crystal display can be performed in the section 32. In addition, the display unit 32 displays the date and time, and various weather information sensors are provided in the device main body 3 to display information such as temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, and weather detected by the sensors. You can also.

In the arithmetic processing unit 35, a storage device 36
Various calculations can be performed based on the information stored in the memory. For example, the amount of impact per unit time is integrated to convert the amount of momentum into an index, and the change over time of the index is shown in FIG. The bar graph 37 can be displayed on the display unit 32. Incidentally, such a bar graph 37 is a good pacemaker when the user keeps exercising while maintaining the same amount of exercise, and can be used for practicing a marathon.

Further, the relationship between the above-mentioned index value of the amount of exercise and the heart rate representing the degree of physical fatigue is represented on the display section 32 by a line graph 38 plotted at regular intervals as shown in FIG. 9B. You can also. Incidentally, by looking at such a line graph 38, for example, when the heart rate is increasing abnormally even if there is no change in the amount of exercise, it can be determined that an excessive load is exerted on the body. Actions such as reduction can be taken immediately.

In addition, the arithmetic processing unit 35 counts the number of impacts and multiplies the number of impacts by a previously input stride to calculate the total travel distance, or calculates the average speed from the required time. The data may be displayed on the display unit 32. Further, in the arithmetic processing unit 35,
Information obtained by the impact amount sensor 9 and the physical fatigue degree sensor 33 can be simply displayed on the display unit 32, or arithmetic processing for alternately displaying both can be performed.

In the present embodiment, the display on the display unit 32 is used as the notifying means. However, the notifying means for outputting the result of the arithmetic processing may be other than voice output, print output, or electric shock. Stimulation of the body may be used. In short, any means that can be recognized by the athlete or his or her monitor by visual, auditory, or other senses can be used. In the case of voice, it is preferable that the exerciser wears an earphone, a receiver, and the like, because it is agile.

Next, variations of the health management device 1 of the present invention will be described. First, in the above-described embodiment, the display unit 32, the arithmetic processing unit 35, and the storage device 36 are incorporated in the device main body 3, but they may be provided on the athletic shoe 2 side. As shown in FIG. 10, the device main body 3 according to the above-described embodiment is provided on a base base 39 such as a room or a car, and the transmission base 12 of the athletic shoe 2 is connected to the base base 39.
The information may be transmitted to the user, and the physical fatigue level and the exercise amount of the person exercising may be managed. In some cases, an appropriate command may be transmitted from the base base 39 to the exerciser. Further, a method of transmitting information over a long distance using a telephone line, the Internet, or the like and centrally managing the information may be adopted.

The above is an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to the athletic shoes 2. By calculating and displaying the amount of exercise based on the amount of impact and the number of times of landing, the athlete can exercise his or her own physical fatigue and exercise. This makes it possible to accurately grasp the relationship with. Before and after use, by setting the sports shoe 2 on the charger 5, energy can be transmitted in a non-contact state between the passive element 15 provided on the sports shoe 2 and the active element 55 provided on the charger 5. The battery B can be charged by power supplied from the external non-contact power supply means.
For this reason, it is not necessary to replace the battery, so that the user is not bothered. In addition, the battery cost is not required, so that the running cost can be significantly reduced. Furthermore, during exercise, power is continuously supplied to the battery B by the piezoelectric element unit 20 due to an impact at the time of landing or the like, so that the operation stop during use can be avoided.

[0033]

According to the present invention, by calculating and displaying the exercise amount from the impact amount and the number of times of landing, the exerciser can accurately grasp the relationship between his / her physical fatigue degree and the exercise amount. Possible health management devices can be used at extremely low running cost, and can be used without any inconvenience because battery replacement is not required.Furthermore, during exercise, power is continuously supplied by the piezoelectric element unit. Since the operation is performed, the operation stop during use can be avoided and the device can be used in a stable state.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a use state of a health management device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the inside of the rear part of the athletic shoe and the charger in a see-through manner.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electric circuit of the health management device.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing an athletic shoe and a charger employing external non-contact power supply means using electromagnetic coupling.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a sports shoe and a charger employing external non-contact power supply means using electrostatic coupling.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a sports shoe and a charger adopting external non-contact power supply means using a photovoltaic element.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a cantilever type piezoelectric element unit.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a ball impact type piezoelectric element unit.

FIG. 9 is a front view showing two types of display modes of a display unit of the device main body.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing another embodiment in which the installation mode of the device main body is changed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Health management apparatus 2 Athletic shoes 3 Equipment main body 3a Arm belt 3b Button 5 Charger 5a Convex part 6 Midsole 6a Concave part 7 Shock absorption part 8 Absorber 8a Film 8b Silicone gel 9 Impact amount sensor 9a Film 9b Conductive silicone gel 10 Arithmetic processing unit 11 Signal transmission unit 12 Transmission antenna 13 Stabilizer 15 Passive element 16 Coil 16a Core 17 Capacitive electrode 18 Photovoltaic element 19 Rectifier 20 Piezoelectric element unit 20A Piezoelectric element unit (cantilever type) 20B Piezoelectric element unit (ball impact) Type) 21 Substrate 22 Piezoelectric element 23 Weight 25 Casing 26 Ball path 27 Metal ball 30 Main unit 31 Receiving antenna 32 Display unit 33 Physical fatigue degree sensor 35 Arithmetic processing unit 36 Storage device 37 Bar graph 38 Line graph 39 Base base 55 Dynamic element 56 coil 56a core 57 capacitive electrode 58 source AC AC power supply B condenser G gap

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) A63B 71/06 A63B 71/06 T G01L 5/00 G01L 5/00 F H01M 10/46 H01M 10/46 H02J 7/00 301 H02J 7/00 301D 303 303A 17/00 17/00 B

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An exercise device comprising an impact amount sensor during exercise and a signal transmission unit, and a device main body comprising a physical fatigue degree sensor during exercise and a signal reception unit, and said exercise device. And any one of the device main bodies includes an arithmetic processing unit that arithmetically processes information obtained from the impact amount sensor and the physical fatigue degree sensor, and a notifying unit that outputs a result of the arithmetic processing, The impact sensor is a sports equipment with a health management function using a conductive gel as a pressure-sensitive conductive element, wherein the operation of the electronic components included in the sports equipment includes a passive element included in the sports equipment and an active element included in the charger. An exercise tool with a health management function, wherein the exercise is performed by a battery that is charged by power supply from external non-contact power supply means capable of transmitting energy in a non-contact state between the two. 2. The exercise equipment with a health management function according to claim 1, wherein the power supply to the electric storage device is performed by a piezoelectric element unit in addition to the external non-contact power supply means. 3. The exercise management device according to claim 2, wherein the piezoelectric element unit is of a cantilever type or a ball impact type. 4. The health management device during exercise according to claim 1, wherein the exercise equipment is athletic shoes.