EP0215177A1 - Device for carrying out exercising, physiological-test or medical-rehabilitation methods - Google Patents

Abstract

The novel device is a roller system as a supplement to the user's own customary cycle. It requires little space and has the possibility of supplying the data in question by way of reliable measurement values such that the device can be applied with precise dosage and is suitable not only for home exercising and for consistent training of the circulation, but also for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. A tube (5) is used for attachment of the cycle, the rear wheel of which drives rollers (7) which drive a brake disc (20) via gears (11, 13) by means of a toothed belt (12). Said brake disc, together with a magnet (24), forms an eddy current brake, the air gap width (a) of which is adjustable. A flywheel rim (21) on the brake disc (20) guarantees even running when the cycle pedals are pushed. Attached to the freely rotatable permanent magnet (24) is a weight (23) with which it forms a pendulum, the deflection of which is a measure for the braking moment. From the latter, the air gap width, the rotational speed, if necessary, or corresponding travelling speed and with correction by the friction losses in the device, the data required in each case are acquired and displayed. <IMAGE>

Description

The invention relates to a device for carrying out performance training, performance physiological tests or medical, in particular sports medicine or cardiological rehabilitation measures; the new device is correspondingly versatile and expandable.

Performance training with the help of a device can be carried out at home or in the quarters of a sports club, makes the athlete independent of the weather and has a time-saving effect; Above all, it can be precisely dosed according to intensity and duration, provided the device has suitable facilities for this and conveys measured values. Such a device is also called an exercise bike, and it has long been known that such a device can also be of value for general cardiovascular training for those not directly interested in sports, for which the term fitness training has been introduced.

Performance physiological tests are concerned with sports medical or cardiological diagnostics, rehabilitation measures are primarily concerned with the treatment of accident injuries or cardiac patients; for these purposes it is essential that the device provide a series of reliable measurement data. In many heart diseases, such as diseases of the coronary arteries, there is a clinically barely detectable correlation between the pathological-anatomical substrate and functional disorders when the patient is at rest, so that a so-called stress is usually required for an adequate functional assessment, as is the case in the relevant specialist literature deviating from the terms of technical mechanics, is called uniform.

Among many different exposure options, a so-called muscular workload is the best clinically established and tried and tested method. The degree of exposure must be measurable and so strong that it allows functional healthy people to be distinguished from sick people and the functional range of performance of the examined or patient to be measured. As a therapeutic measure, stress is in principle subject to the same principles of modern training theory as apply to the training of healthy people, and that a desired training effect requires a dose of stress of sufficient intensity, duration and frequency, only in the case of therapy the dosage is based on an exact one to choose more carefully, comprehensive diagnosis and reliable measured values and monitoring measures; but here, too, repeated measurement of the functional range provides the necessary information about any improvement in the patient's condition or about a possibly necessary change in the dosage of the stress therapy.

So-called bicycle ergometers have mainly been used for the above purposes, in which the user takes a seat on a kind of saddle and a handlebars dummy to be able to hold on, as well as pedals similar to those available on bicycles. It is a complex, heavy, space-consuming device, so that it can hardly be considered as an exercise bike, and it is perceived as a particular disadvantage that the sitting position and posture are significantly different than with a personal, familiar bicycle. This cannot be remedied in principle either, because the bicycles are so differently designed in this regard that it is impossible to generally imitate this in a bicycle ergometer. Last but not least, the so-called pedal comfort does not correspond to that of a bicycle, which is irritating and cumbersome when used, and in some embodiments, the evaluation of the data supplied is so critical or tedious that it requires a special operator and not for the sweating and panting user can still be expected, e.g. running mental arithmetic to multiply torques and speeds plus minus this or that correction.

Roller systems have also become known, in the holding device of which the user installs his own bicycle. These are bulky frames, which also fix the handlebar and the pivotable parts of the bicycle, and these roller systems do not allow metering or measuring the load on the user, so that they are more of a toy than a training device and for diagnostic purposes or completely unsuitable for therapeutic purposes. Since the drive (bicycle) is separate, beyond the influence of the manufacturer and a variable that cannot be influenced by him, there are further problems due to tires, rollers etc. - This is illustrated below - and it has been believed for many years that it is impossible to solve all of these problems until a roller system is suitable for the purposes mentioned. Instead, according to the one proposal of this kind, there is not even provision for braking of the rollers as minimum equipment, and insofar as such was considered, then similar to known bicycle ergometers in the form of a mechanical brake, which does not work consistently due to wear and soiling, that is to say brings uncontrollable errors in measurement results, and generates noise.

• a) Die Vorrichtung besitzt eine verstellbare Halterung für ein darauf zu befestigendes Fahrrad, welche so ausgebil­det ist, daß sie an dessen nicht mit seinem Lenker schwenkbaren Teil angreift;
• b) die Vorrichtung besitzt mindestens zwei drehbar gelagerte, unter dem Hinterrad des Fahrrades anzuordnende, von die­sem anzutreibende Rollen;
• c) mindestens eine der Rollen ist direkt oder über einen Rie­men und/oder über ein Getriebe mit einem Schwungrad ver­bunden;
• d) vom Schwungrad oder von einer mit ihm verbundenen Brems­scheibe aus metallischem Werkstoff um eine Luftspaltbreite getrennt, ist ein Magnet angeordnet, der hiermit eine bei Drehung der Rollen zur Wirkung gelangende Wirbelstrombrem­se bildet;
• e) der Luftspalt ist verstellbar;
• f) die Vorrichtung besitzt eine Meß- und Anzeigeeinrichtung zumindest für das von der Wirbelstrombremse ausgeübte Bremsmoment oder für einen hiervon abgeleiteten Wert.

In view of this prior art, the object of the invention was to remedy the shortcomings and disadvantages identified therein and, in particular, to create a device of the type mentioned at the outset which, with modest outlay and extremely small dimensions, has a basic design for controlled performance training and with some additions is also fully suitable for the demanding purposes of diagnostics and therapy. The invention achieves this by combining the following features:

• a) The device has an adjustable holder for a bicycle to be fastened thereon, which is designed so that it engages the part which cannot be pivoted with its handlebars;
• b) the device has at least two rotatably mounted rollers to be arranged under the rear wheel of the bicycle and to be driven by the latter;
• c) at least one of the rollers is connected to a flywheel directly or via a belt and / or via a transmission;
• d) separated from the flywheel or from a brake disk made of metallic material connected to it by an air gap width, a magnet is arranged which hereby forms an eddy current brake which is effective when the rollers rotate;
• e) the air gap is adjustable;
• f) the device has a measuring and display device at least for that exercised by the eddy current brake Braking torque or for a value derived therefrom.

Accordingly, the user uses his usual bike, so that the sitting position and posture are favorable for him and he can adjust his pedal frequency to the prevailing circumstances with a possible gear shift - just as usual, so that he adds physical and not unusual mental stress and he the body posture in which he is already more or less pre-trained, which in particular excludes a relative overuse of muscles not otherwise trained.

The new device can be made so small that it only extends below and close to the area of the rear wheel, hardly noticeable there and, in addition, only protrudes to the wheel hub on one side. This will include possible by mounting the bicycle, e.g. with an approximately quarter-circle bent tube, which can be pivoted, pulled out and locked in a sleeve attached to the bottom of the device and with its upper e.g. attacks the fork-shaped end on the saddle carrier, remains limited to this and does not also somehow guide, fix and clamp the part of the bicycle that can be pivoted with the handlebars and clamps it in a frame. It has been shown that this - contrary to previous opinion - is quite sufficient, even better and more pleasant for the user compared to rigid fixing of the handlebars and the front wheel, so that the advantage of a small footprint was not bought with a disadvantage.

Usually two wheels will be placed on which the rear wheel rests and which drives it; if a third roll is added, it must be stored resiliently. Instead of the inertia of the masses moved by bicycle on the street, the flywheel has the important function of providing pedaling comfort; it must be difficult for this or be brought up to high speed by a transmission gear. A powerful permanent magnet is suitable as a magnet for the eddy current brake, it makes it independent of the mains. The eddy current brake has the unique advantages for the present purpose, wear-free¸ unchangeable and silent to work and in the simplest way to be adjustable within wide limits over its air gap width as well as to deliver the minimum measurement value required for every serious application, which is based on the load of the Lets users close and their dosage allows.

This measured value can be the braking torque exerted by the eddy current brake, which can be determined in such a way that the magnet is rotatably mounted and is connected to a pendulum; This in turn can move a pointer over a scale - or a scale over a pointer - whereby it is advisable to calibrate the scale in a power quantity such as watts and to arrange it at least three times, for example with the three parameters 20, 30 and 40 km /Hours. Now one does not say out of the blue that this is wrong: a moment is measured, and even if the load on the user is an achievement, it is not simply a function of just the moment, but the product of this and the very different choosing speed. In fact, it is so that the simplest means for average home training can be used to obtain sufficiently precise values: The calibration of the three performance scales can be quite accurate for their speed parameters, and the user is capable of driving speed corresponding to his pedaling frequency and load, experience has shown that Sufficient purposes, to be reasonably estimated and roughly approximated to one of the parameter values. It should also be borne in mind that training under natural circumstances cannot usually be based on any such measurement values; and finally some cyclists have a speedometer on their bike. However, this would have to be an unusually pre be a short piece and exceptionally be calibrated to the given wheel diameter if it is to give more precise information than the cyclist's estimate. Moreover, for users who want to or need to know more precisely, a speedometer can also be provided as an optional extra for the new device.

It had not previously been recognized that the friction losses in the roller systems are considerable, which must be applied by the user, but cannot be determined simply by measuring the braking. Adopting the measurement methods known from bicycle ergometers would therefore have led to errors that would not be tolerable, at least for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. The proposal made here is therefore very important to design the measuring and display device in such a way that the measured values supplied by it can be corrected or achieved in accordance with the frictional losses in the device, so that the display at least approximates the performance provided by the user leaves. In this connection, the inventor made a further decisive contribution by the knowledge that the friction losses depend linearly and to a significant extent on the weight of the user, and by the idea that their correction accordingly should be made dependent thereon. This has created the prerequisite for uncompromising usability of such roller systems even when used for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.

The correction to take account of the frictional losses can be made, for example, by adjusting the air gap of the eddy current brake or the effective length of the pendulum or the angular position of its center of gravity - an additional weight on the pendulum can also be made adjustable, or in the display device, for example, by adjusting an associated pointer relative to the associated scale. In the latter case, however, the non-linearity of the scale must be taken into account and at the design of the adjustment must be taken into account, while when adjusting the pendulum or an additional weight on the pendulum the sine function of its deflection angle is automatically included in the correction value. If the display is made electrically, there are further obvious and known possibilities for this correction, even at the simplest level, for example with the aid of a corresponding non-linear potentiometer.

With these corrective measures, the weight of the user can be made adjustable by hand, but it can also be detected automatically by a scale provided in the device, e.g. with a pressure-dependent semiconductor under at least one of the roller bearings and inclusion of the associated circuit in an electrical display device of the aforementioned type, which then works "foolproof"; weight adjustment cannot be forgotten. In contrast to measures of this type, a correction table or a diagram to be used for this would be a rather uncomfortable remedy.

The problem solved in the context of the invention of the friction losses, which are heavily dependent on the weight of the user, does not exist in the case of bicycle ergometers because they do not bear this weight on rotating parts. The following numerical example illustrates the extent of this dependency in the case of roller scaffolds and thus the importance of correcting the friction loss, taking into account the user weight: For an example and a speed corresponding to a driving speed of 20 km / h. Friction losses increased by 30 watts when a user weighing 60 kg sat on the bike, and by 45 watts when a 90 kg user did it - which should perhaps be able to do 150 or 250 watts, which shows how big the importance of this correction is. The bicycle itself weighs much less, and the weights of different bicycles differ only slightly, which means that it would be an exaggeration to take these differences into account. Other ver Lusts arise from the flexing of the tires on the rollers, but you can provide defined values for these losses with the regulation of setting a certain tire pressure - for example 5 atmospheres - so that they can be taken into account in the correction. So-called balloon tires would not fit in with this concept and needed a special one, but they are hardly used today.

If the new device is provided with a tachometer, this can have a display calibrated in terms of speeds and / or corresponding driving speeds; however, it can also be set up in such a way that the use of its measured values takes place elsewhere, e.g. in a mechanical or electrical device known per se, which forms the product of the respective measured values of the braking torque and the speed. In so far as it has not already been carried out in connection with another measurement, a correction of at least one of these measurement values, instead of or additionally of the product, can be provided such that the product is at least approximately equal to the service provided by the user.

To increase the ease of use of the new device, a display device for the respectively set air gap width can be provided, which can then be preset to an at least approximate value based on experience or a diagram or a table. The air gap width can also be used in a possibly provided electronic device for the input and output of data. Further ease of use can be achieved by letting a control lamp light up for certain or preselectable values of this or that parameter, which saves the user from reading on a scale or a numerical display. This is not an exaggeration, although one only has to think of glasses wearers who are certainly happy and grateful if they do not have to wear glasses during this sweaty activity, just by scales or numbers to be able to read. One should also think of the nurse, who is usually present when the device is used for diagnosis or therapy and who has to read and write down data; this work is much easier and more pleasant for them if they do not have to go close to read and stick their heads between the sweaty patient's legs, but only have to watch the lights come on from a safe distance. It is also a general trend in today's technology to strive for ease of use and to understand "comfort" not as a luxury, but as a human obligation to improve the quality of life.

The new device can also, combined with a pulse rate monitor as an accessory, have a device which determines and displays its maximum oxygen absorption capacity from the power determined and the pulse rate of the user which occurs in the stationary state, taking into account his gender, age and body weight. Known microprocessors easily do this; The gender and age of the user can only be entered, and if his weight is not measured by the device, it must also be entered. In addition, an operating hours counter and a device can also be provided, which determines and displays the calorie consumption and the work performed by the user in training units or joules from the data available in this way. Such devices are known per se and therefore do not require a detailed description here.

Because the new device is located below and on one side next to the rear wheel of the bicycle, the user must occasionally turn to read it when the display device or a plurality thereof is mounted directly on it; instead, in order to save him this or the hardly less inconvenience of reading through a rearview mirror, he can look at the user Arrange the field and provide mechanical or electrical means known per se for the transmission of the measurement or display values (flexible shaft, cable, etc.).

The new device is explained below with reference to the accompanying drawing, which shows a simple embodiment in section through its eddy current brake.

On frame parts 1 and 2, on which a sleeve 4 is attached via a shoulder 3 and holds a tube 5 by means of a clamping screw 6, which with its upper part, not shown, is a bicycle, not shown, e.g. holds on the saddle carrier, a roller 7 located behind the cutting plane is mounted on a shaft 8 in a bearing 9 on a support 10; at the right end, not shown, the roller 7 is mounted similarly. In front of the cutting plane, therefore not visible, another roll is to be thought of as roll 7; the rear wheel of the bicycle is on the rollers.

A gearwheel 11 is fastened on the shaft 8, and a gearwheel that is the same as the gearwheel 11 can be thought of on the shaft of the second roller lying in front of the cutting plane. A toothed belt 12 runs over these two toothed wheels and via a toothed wheel 13 on the shaft of the eddy current brake.

The gear 13 is rotatably mounted on a bearing bush 14 and, for example, by means of indicated screws with a brake disc 20. made of aluminum, in which a permanent magnet 24 induces eddy currents when the brake disc rotates. A flywheel ring 21 made of a heavy metal is attached to the brake disc 20. The permanent magnet 24 is rotatably mounted on a bearing bush 26, and a weight 23 is attached to it via a web 22, whereby a pendulum is formed.

The bearing bush 14 has at its left end a flange which prevents axial displacement of the brake disc 20; at its end shown on the right, the bearing bush 14 is screwed through a cross member 17 'of the frame and secured in front of it by a lock nut 19 together with a washer. The minimum gear required 13 and the associated brake disc 20 and an insert 15 in the axial direction is adjusted by screwing the bearing bush 14 more or less into the cross member 17 '. Then screw a threaded bolt 16 in the drawing from the left into a cross member 17 connected to the frame and through a V-belt pulley 25 into the bearing bush 14 and secure it on the outside with a lock nut 18th

The bearing bush 26 is screwed into the V-belt pulley 25 up to the stop and, with a flange at its other end, ensures only minimal axial play of the permanent magnet 24. By rotating the V-belt pulley 25 on the threaded bolt 16, the permanent magnet 24 is approached or removed from the brake disk 20 , ie a desired air gap width a of the eddy current brake can hereby be set. A V-belt, not shown, connects the V-belt pulley 25 to a device, not shown, for adjusting the air gap width a. It can be seen that this is not changed in the event of a pendulum deflection of the parts 22 and 23 and thus a rotation of only the permanent magnet 24, not also the V-belt pulley 25.

A simple display device for the braking torque of the eddy current brake is also not shown; it can e.g. consist of a scale on the outer circumference of the permanent magnet 24 and a pointer attached to the frame.

Claims (10)

1. Device for carrying out performance training, performance physiological tests or medical, in particular sports medicine or cardiological rehabilitation measures,
characterized by the combination of the following features: a) The device has an adjustable holder (4-6) for a bicycle to be fastened thereon, which is designed so that it acts on the part which cannot be pivoted with its handlebar; b) the device has at least two rotatably mounted rollers (7) to be arranged under the rear wheel of the bicycle and to be driven by it; c) at least one of the rollers (7) is connected directly or via a belt (12) and / or via a gear (11, 13) to a flywheel (21); d) a magnet (24) is arranged from the flywheel (21) or from a brake disc (20) made of metallic material connected to it, by an air gap width (a), which hereby forms an eddy current brake which takes effect when the rollers (7) rotate; e) the air gap (a) is adjustable; f) the device has a measuring and display device at least for the braking torque exerted by the eddy current brake or for a value derived therefrom. 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the magnet (24) is rotatably mounted and connected to a pendulum (22, 23) so that its deflection is a measure of the braking torque. 3. Apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the measuring and display device is designed so that a correction of the measured values supplied by it takes place or is made possible in accordance with the friction losses in the device, such that the display at least approximately on the User achieves performance or agrees with it. 4. The device according to claim 3, characterized in that the correction is carried out depending on the weight of the user, and that for this purpose an adjustment of the air gap (a) of the eddy current brake or the effective length of the pendulum (22, 23) or the angular position of its center of gravity or an adjustment in the display device its associated pointer is provided relative to the associated scale. 5. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that it is equipped with a tachometer, which has a calibrated display in speeds and / or corresponding driving speeds, and / or that it is set up and arranged so that the utilization of its measured values takes place otherwise. 6. Apparatus according to claim 1 and 5 or 3 and 5, characterized in that it contains a mechanical or electrical device for determining and displaying the product from the respective measured values of the braking torque and the speed, with a correction of at least one of the measured values and / or of the product is provided in accordance with the frictional losses in the device such that the product is at least approximately equal to the performance provided by the user. 7) Device according to claim 1, characterized in that a display device is provided for the respectively set width (a) of the air gap. 8) Device according to claim 6, characterized in that it, combined with a pulse rate monitor as an accessory, has a device which is based on the power determined and in this case in the steady state pulse rate of the user determines and displays his maximum oxygen absorption capacity taking into account his gender, age and body weight. 9. The device according to claim 8, characterized in that it is additionally provided with an operating hours counter and has a device which determines and displays the calorie consumption and the work performed by the user in training units or joules from the data available thereby. 10. The device according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the display device or the plurality thereof is arranged in front of the user in his field of vision, and that known mechanical or electrical means are provided for the transmission of the measured or display values there.

Images