EP0614684A1 - Device for training und -rehabilitation in water - Google Patents

Abstract

Device for sports training and/or the rehabilitation (reeducation) of people in water (an aquatic medium), characterised in that it comprises a pool (10), equipped with means (16) for circulating the water so as to create a current in a given direction, and a movable floor (12), equipped with means (14) for displacement in terms of height and for blocking this floor in any intermediate position, between a high position located at least in line with the lip (curb, coping) of the pool and a low position lying substantially flat at the bottom of the pool, these displacement and blocking means being arranged outside this pool. <IMAGE>

Description

The present invention relates to a device for training and / or rehabilitating a person in an aquatic environment as well as the associated reeducation method.

Rehabilitation swimming pools are well known in the medical community and more particularly for rehabilitation exercises.

Indeed, people working in water are relieved by Archimedes' push which reduces their own weight and provides them with uniform support on all parts of the body.

This has a beneficial effect on both the joints and the muscles.

However, these pools pose several problems.

These pools have a given depth, which generally corresponds to immersion up to the shoulders of a medium-sized person.

Also, people of lower height are bothered by the depth and people of tall size are not sufficiently submerged.

In large pools, the solution is to provide a sloping pool bottom.

In small pools, the solution is to provide an attached floor, movable in height, which forms a walking corridor.

Such corridors are suspended from an external arm secured to a screw-nut assembly resting on the peripheral edge of the pool, just like the boat launching devices.

The person goes back and forth on this walking corridor in order to practice.

This is described in US-A-4,712,788.

We understand that only certain parts of the body are used, which limits the effects of rehabilitation and the variety of exercises.

It is the same in French patent application FR-A-2 607 389 which describes a pool with a treadmill mounted on scissor-articulated arms to allow the height of the treadmill to be adjusted.

In addition to the bulk at the bottom of the conveyor belt and the lifting means which remain permanently in this basin, it can be seen that all of these mechanical elements are permanently submerged, which is contrary to hygiene rules.

Rehabilitation and / or training pools for athletes are becoming more and more limited, on the one hand to limit investments and operating costs and on the other hand to allow the number to be multiplied in order to vary applications even within the same establishment.

This is how swimming pools are more and more often provided with a counter-current installation allowing, despite the small size of the pool, high-level sports training and variants of rehabilitation exercises.

The power of the current is adjustable and even programmable with time-power cycles.

The water flows generated forming the currents have been improved and certain swimming pools are equipped with a closed-loop water circulation with an impeller placed in a casing at one of the ends of the basin which drives back to the at the other end, a laminar flow through a suitable opening and after passing under the pool bottom, more particularly in a double bottom provided for this purpose or by lateral channels formed laterally in the basin itself.

Such pools are sold in particular under the registered trademark "Swimex Pool".

In order to improve rehabilitation exercises, the present invention provides an improvement to swimming pools of the counter-current type by combining them with a movable floor, adjustable in height.

Indeed, with this floor people can remain static while working certain parts of the body only by exerting a resistant force against the current.

In this case, the person can also expose statically, his body in all orientations, face, side, profile and more thanks to the combined effect of the height adjustment, the targeted areas can be perfectly targeted.

Of course, this device retains the advantages of the movable floor because it allows a change from the apparent weight to the real weight or vice versa, this advantage being well known in balneotherapy.

In the case of the present invention, the resulting effect is even more advantageous since it makes it possible to vary an additional parameter which is the force generated by the current.

The device according to the invention also makes it possible to retain the advantages relating to the gradual launching or reduction of depth for short people, in particular children.

This is how the floor can come in line with the beach, thus ensuring surface continuity, which allows easy passage of wheelchairs, for example, directly from the beach to the mobile floor, without any lifting aid. .

The device according to the invention furthermore comprises very specific means of displacement in height of the floor which limit the space requirement. in height, which are simple to carry out, which offer all the guarantees of safety and which limit the space in the pool.

These means make it possible to move the floor over a height greater than the depth of the basin and to carry out a translational movement when necessary, as will be explained later.

The embodiment according to the invention makes it possible to comply very strictly with the hygiene rules.

The basin free of protruding element fixed on the bottom or on the walls is not subject to any accumulation of particles.

In addition, in the preferred embodiment of the invention, compulsory periodic cleaning is made easy by raising the floor to the maximum high position which gives access to the basin as a whole, without any disturbing element.

Thus the device according to the invention, for sports training and / or re-education of people in an aquatic environment is characterized in that it comprises a basin provided with means for circulating water so as to create a current in a given direction and a movable floor provided with means for moving in height and blocking this floor in any intermediate position between a high position located at least in line with the edge of the basin and a low position substantially flattened at the bottom of the basin , these displacement and blocking means being arranged outside this basin.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the device is characterized in that the current is a surface laminar current over a given height, oriented along the longitudinal axis of the basin.

The upper position of the floor is located above the coping so as to allow access to the entire basin.

As for the means of displacement in height, they comprise two pairs of bent arms, articulated with respect to the edge of the pool at one of their ends and provided with support elements, provided to cooperate with the floor at the other end as well as lifting means arranged between a fixed support and the arms.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the lifting means comprise for each of the arms a jack whose body is articulated in rotation about a fixed axis perpendicular to the direction of movement of the piston of this jack, the free end of this piston being articulated to the corresponding arm.

Preferably the jacks are electric ball jacks.

There are also provided end-of-stroke indicators arranged on either side of the cylinder body so that they are actuated during the pivoting of the cylinder body around the fixed axis, at angles which correspond to the positions. high and low.

In addition, the device includes a third end-of-travel indicator which is actuated by the cylinder body when the high position indicator is disengaged, this third indicator corresponding to the position of the floor above the coping to allow access to the entire basin.

A particular arrangement of the floor provides that it is articulated on one side at the ends of the arms of one of the pairs with a translation lock and supported on the other side by the arms of the second pair with free movement in translation.

According to an autonomous embodiment of the device, there is also provided a support frame resting on a floor, in which are integrated the basin and its means for circulating the water, water treatment means, arms and the floor, the lifting means, the coping and the deck area, so as to facilitate the initial installation and any subsequent movements.

• la figure 1 représente une vue schématique en perspective du bassin selon l'invention, vide d'eau, équipé d'un générateur de courant, symbolisé en trait discontinu,
• les figures 2 et 3 représentent les deux positions haute et basse du plancher mobile,
• la figure 4 représente la position du plancher mobile au dessus de la margelle pour permettre l'accès à la totalité du bassin,
• les figures 5, 6 et 7 représentent les témoins de fin de course et les différentes positions de l'un des bras ainsi que du plancher par rapport au bord du bassin,
• la figure 8 représente une variante de réalisation qui prévoit une intégration de tous les éléments rattachés au bassin dans un châssis, de façon à rendre le dispositif autonome et,
• les figures 9 et 10 représentent deux étapes de mise en oeuvre du dispositif selon l'invention.

The invention is described below according to a particular embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

• FIG. 1 represents a schematic perspective view of the basin according to the invention, empty of water, equipped with a current generator, symbolized in broken lines,
• FIGS. 2 and 3 represent the two upper and lower positions of the movable floor,
• FIG. 4 represents the position of the movable floor above the coping to allow access to the entire basin,
• FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 show the end-of-travel indicators and the different positions of one of the arms and of the floor relative to the edge of the pool,
• FIG. 8 represents an alternative embodiment which provides for integration of all the elements attached to the basin in a chassis, so as to make the device autonomous and,
• Figures 9 and 10 show two stages of implementation of the device according to the invention.

In Figure 1, there is shown a basin 10 with a coping 11 and a track 13, equipped with a floor mobile 12 comprising means 14 for moving the height of this floor and means 16 for circulating the water so as to create a current of water.

The basin is of substantially rectangular shape to allow good circulation of the water, knowing that the direction of the current generated by the means for circulating the water is oriented along the longitudinal axis of this basin.

As shown diagrammatically in FIGS. 2 and 3, the means for circulating the water comprise an impeller 18, means 20 for pumping the water into the basin at one of the ends according to a flow laminar, and means 22 for drawing water from the opposite end.

Between the suction and discharge means, there are provided conduits 23 for the circulation of water.

Preferably, a double bottom is provided under the bottom of the basin, which allows circulation of the return flow without disturbing the outward flow.

Such basins exist commercially under the brand "Swimex pool" which generate a flow of laminar water over a given and limited height, of the order of 40 centimeters to give an idea, with a speed adjustable by the paddle wheel rotation speed from a few m / h up to 20 km / h.

Some are equipped with a programmer to record particular sequences with a pre-established sequence.

The circulation can also intervene by the sides laterally, in the basin, these circulation conduits then serve as lateral benches.

In the embodiment shown, the floor 12 comprises a plate 24 of dimensions substantially equal to the interior dimensions of the basin.

The height displacement means 14 comprise two pairs of arms 26, bent.

Each of these arms is articulated by one of its ends around an axis 28 in a yoke 29 secured to the edge of the basin while the other end supports the floor.

The ends of one of the pairs of arms are articulated directly on the floor, without the possibility of translation of these ends relative to the floor.

The ends of the arms of the other pair are connected by a transverse axis 30, which passes under the floor and which is equipped with rollers so as to allow the movements in translation of these ends of the arms relative to the floor.

The arms are arranged laterally and are housed between the edge of the pool and the edge of the floor.

Cylinders 32 are arranged between each of the arms and the edge of the basin.

Each of these jacks is an electric jack with a ball screw, this screw forming the piston 34 of the jack.

The body 36 of the jack is articulated around a transverse axis 38, fixed relative to the basin, so that the body pivots with variable angles as a function of the output of the piston of this jack, as can be seen in FIGS. 2 , 3 and 4.

In FIG. 2, the floor is in the low position, substantially pressed against the bottom.

In FIG. 3, the floor is in the high position, in line with the coping, so as to form a continuity between the deck and the floor.

In Figure 4, the floor is above the basin, allowing access to the entire basin.

In FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, an arm 26 is partially represented with a jack in the three extreme positions of the floor corresponding to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5.

Note the presence of limit switches 40, 42 and 44 which are arranged, the first on one side of the cylinder body and the other two on the other side.

The first indicator is activated when the cylinder has its piston in the retracted position, which corresponds to the floor pressed against the bottom.

The second indicator is activated when the jack has its piston partially extended, which corresponds to a position of the floor at the right of the coping 11 of the basin.

This second witness is disengaged.

The third indicator is activated when the piston of the jack is out in the extreme position, after the second indicator has been disengaged, which corresponds to the position of the floor above the edge of the basin.

In FIG. 8, an improvement of the device provides for a chassis which integrates all the elements, namely: the basin 10, the coping 11, the track 13, the arms 26, the floor 12, the jacks 32, the means 16 for placing circulating water and water treatment means 46.

A first known use of this device consists in adjusting the water depth according to the size of the individual, in particular if it is a child. This is interesting for learning to swim for example.

Another known use, also preserved with this device, is the gradual launching of a person as he becomes accustomed and as aquatic.

The new possibilities of rehabilitation which the original combination of a basin with an artificial current and a movable floor provides, are numerous.

If we refer to Figures 9 and 10, we can better understand these possibilities.

In FIG. 9, the current flows over a height h with a force F compatible with the physical capacities of this person.

In this case, the floor is in the low position, giving the basin its maximum water height.

The person is sub-immersed, so that his weight is an apparent weight, that is to say the weight of the person minus the buoyancy.

Given the strength of the current, the person is forced to bend over to resist what makes certain elements of the body work.

During this stage the person does not feel the weight of his body, which frees him to work in a specific way.

Furthermore, it can be seen that the current exerts its action at the height of the upper part of the bust, especially in the case of a laminar current, which locates the reaction efforts of the person well.

During the same exercise, the floor can be raised so as to modify, on the one hand the point of impact of the current and on the other hand to transfer the resistant efforts of the person into efforts to regain his own weight .

The method also provides for placing the person in front but also for orienting it relative to the direction of the current so as to make practically all the zones of the body.

This was impossible beforehand. In fact, only walking allowed a person to work sub-submerged. This posed a problem when the joints were not functioning properly for example.

In addition it was impossible to make the back muscles work with a resistant effort because walking backwards is difficult to conceive and in all cases the efforts developed are not sufficient.

The possibilities and variations of exercises are multiplied by the accessories available such as the guardrails or the moving mat, whether for rehabilitation or sports training.

It is noted that, in the position of the floor above the basin, cleaning is easy from the edges of the basin for maintenance personnel, in particular using a bottom vacuum cleaner.

Claims (10)

Device for sports training and / or re-education of people in an aquatic environment, characterized in that it comprises a basin (10) provided with means (16) for circulating water so as to create a current in a given direction and a movable floor (12) provided with means (14) for moving in height and blocking this floor in any intermediate position between a high position located at least in line with the edge of the basin and a substantially low position pressed against the bottom of the basin, these displacement and blocking means being arranged outside this basin. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the current is a laminar surface current over a given height, oriented along the longitudinal axis of the basin. Device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the upper position of the floor is located above the coping so as to allow access to the entire basin. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the means (14) for displacement in height comprise two pairs of bent arms (26) articulated with respect to the edge of the pool at one of their ends and provided with 'elements (30) supports, provided to cooperate with the floor (12) at the other end as well as means (32) elevators arranged between a fixed support and the arms. Device according to claim 4, characterized in that the lifting means comprise for each of the arms (26) a jack (32) whose body (36) is articulated in rotation about an axis (38) fixed perpendicular to the direction of movement of the piston of this jack, the free end of this piston being articulated to the corresponding arm. Device according to claim 4, characterized in that the jacks (32) are electric ball jacks. Device according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that it comprises limit switches (40, 42 and 44) arranged on either side of the body (36) of the jack so that they are actuated during pivoting of the cylinder body around the fixed axis (38), at angles which correspond to the high and low positions. Device according to claim 7, characterized in that it comprises a third end-of-travel indicator (44), which is actuated by the body (36) of the jack when the high position indicator is disengaged, this third indicator corresponding to the position of the floor above the coping for access to the entire pool. Device according to any one of Claims 4 to 8, characterized in that the floor (24) is articulated on one side at the ends of the arms of one of the pairs (26) with a blockage in translation and supported from the other side by the arms of the second pair with free movement in translation. Autonomous device for sports training and / or rehabilitation according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it further comprises a support frame resting on a floor, in which the basin (10) and its means are integrated. water circulation (16), water treatment means (46), the arms and the floor (24), the lifting means (26), the coping (11) and the beach (13) of the basin.

Images