EP1704899A1

EP1704899A1 - Parallel bar apparatus for physical or physiotherapeutic exercise with adjustable bars

Info

Publication number: EP1704899A1
Application number: EP06110679A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Geremia Dal Forno; Marco Spizzamiglio
Original assignee: Chinesport SpA
Current assignee: Chinesport SpA
Priority date: 2005-03-24
Filing date: 2006-03-03
Publication date: 2006-09-27
Anticipated expiration: 2026-03-03
Also published as: EP1704899B1; ES2304044T3; ITPN20050012U1; DE602006000963D1; ATE392924T1

Abstract

Apparatus for physical or rehabilitative exercise, comprising at least a base platform (10), with or without steps, and at least two side bars or handrails (16, 36) connected to said platform through respective upright members (12, 14), control means (20) being provided to adjust the position of said bars or handrails. The upright members (12, 14) are hinged with an end portion thereof on to said side bars or handrails (16, 36) and, with the other end portion thereof, to said base platform (10), and said control means (20) for adjusting the side bars or handrails are operable concurrently with a single actuation member (19).
The apparatus is very simple in its construction and particularly convenient in use.

Description

The present invention refers to an adjustable apparatus for exerting bodily or rehabilitative exercise, such as for instance a system of parallel bars or physiotherapeutic stairs with adjustable handrails.
Apparatuses of the above-cited kind are used for both normal fitness and bodily training activities and the rehabilitation of people who underwent traumas or suffered ailments that led to a reduction in the motor abilities and abilities thereof.
Already widely known in the art there are apparatuses of this kind, which need to feature some adjustment capability in order to enable them to be each time adapted to the physical characteristics of the people using them. In particular, these apparatuses must be provided with means adapted to enable them to be adjusted in their height.
Usually, prior-art apparatuses of the above-cited kind are comprised of a plurality of component parts that are adjusted individually with the help of mechanical means.
The US patent publication No. 2,788,971 discloses a parallel-bar therapeutic apparatus, in which a single control means enables not only the distance of the parallel bars from each other, but also the height of said parallel bars to be independently adjusted on both sides. The adjustment means is comprised of a hand-operated crank, through which a worm gear can be driven, while the resulting motion is transmitted to the upright members of each bar via a shaft and a set of pairs of bevel gears. This solution, however, appears to be quite complicated from a construction point of view, owing to the need for a multiplicity of mechanical components to be used and assembled, as well as rather difficult to operate, owing to the need for a crank to be used on each side of the apparatus.
Described in US 3,697,066 is a parallel-bar apparatus similar to the one disclosed in the afore-cited publication US 2,788,971 , in which the adjustment of the parallel bars is however done by means of a reversible motor. Anyway, even this solution appears to be rather complex from a construction point of view, since it requires such mechanical means as chain drives and bevel gear pairs to be used.
It therefore is a main purpose of the present invention to provide an adjustable system, comprising at least a base platform and two side bars or handrails, for carrying out exercises of physical or physiotherapeutic activity, which is very simple in its construction and particularly convenient and ergonomic to use.
It is a further purpose of the present invention to provide such a system that enables the bars or handrails, as the case may be, to be simultaneously and accurately adjusted on both sides of the related apparatus, while maintaining them perfectly parallel relative to each other, with the help of a single adjustment control means that can be operated in a practically effortless manner, i.e. under just a minimum of effort.
Another purpose yet of the present invention is to provide a system provided with actuation and drive means that enable the position of the side bars, or handrails, to be adjusted in a continuous manner relative to the base platform.
According to the present invention, these aims, along with further ones that will become apparent from the following description, are reached in a system incorporating the characteristics as recited in the appended claims.
Anyway, features and advantages of the system according to the present invention may be more readily understood from the description that is given below by way of non-limiting example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a schematical perspective view of a parallel-bar apparatus for physical or physiotherapeutic exercise according to the present invention;
Figure 2 is a schematical perspective view of a stair apparatus for physical or physiotherapeutic exercise according to the present invention

As shown in Figure 1, a parallel-bar apparatus for physical or physiotherapeutic exercise is substantially comprised of a base platform or footboard 10, from the sides of which there rise respective pairs of mutually opposing upright members 12, 14 sustaining parallel bars 16. These bars run parallel to each other along the sides of the base platform 10 and are normally adjustable in their height, so as to be able to be each time adapted to the bodily characteristics, i.e. the build of the people using the apparatus. In some cases, the bars 16 may also be adjustable in view of varying the distance of such bars from each other. Furthermore, the base platform is provided of ramps 18 aimed at facilitating access to people forced on a wheelchair.
According to the present invention, the upright members 12, 14 are hinged with an end portion thereof on to the side bars 16 and, with the other end portion thereof, to the base platform 10. Through this double hinging of the upright members, an articulated parallelogram is practically formed, which enables the height of the bars 16 to be adjusted, while keeping them constantly parallel relative to both each other and the base platform.
Again, according to the present invention such adjustment is performed with the use of a single adjustment control member 19, e.g. of the foot pedal type, which actuates continuously displacing drive means 20. These drive means 20 for the side bars, or handrails as the case may be, are operable simultaneously, e.g. through an actuation device 21 connecting the drive means 20 to the footboard transversally, thereby ensuring a maximum extent of adjustment accuracy and uniformity. The adjustment itself can be performed by the millimetres, i.e. in a very fine manner, and can further be made in a quick manner even during practicing a physiotherapeutic exercise. The drive means 20 are preferably comprised of gas springs connected between one of the upright members 12, 14 and the corresponding side edge of the platform 10, respectively. Each pair of mutually opposing upright members 12, 14 is connected by means of a pin 22 that is firmly joined to the upright members themselves for driving, i.e. displacing the bars or handrails concurrently.
The system can be embodied in a modular version through the assembly of basic modules in a variety of combinations in view of obtaining differently shaped and sized apparatuses.
Figure 2 illustrates a system of stairs for physical or physiotherapeutic exercise, embodied in accordance with the present invention. The system comprises a first plurality of stepped platforms 30 and a second plurality of stepped platforms 32, which jointly form ramps arranged at a 90°-angle relative to each other and join together into an elevated platform 34. As in the previously described case of the parallel bars, from the sides of said stepped ramps 30, 32 there are rising pairs of upright members 12, 14 that are hinged at different heights corresponding to the different inclinations of the stepped ramps. The system takes again the form of an articulated parallelogram. The pairs of upright members 12, 14 support respective side handrails 36 that are adjustable in their height, while keeping their parallelism and the same inclination as the corresponding stepped ramps.
Even in this embodiment, the upright members 12, 14 are operated by means of a single actuation member by means of control means 20, preferably gas springs, which link the upright members with the stepped ramps. The adjustment occurs in all cases concurrently, quickly and in a continuous manner, and is easily modified.

Claims

Apparatus for physical or rehabilitative exercise, comprising at least a base platform (10), with or without steps, and at least two side bars or handrails (16, 36) connected to said platform through respective upright members (12, 14), control means (20) being provided to adjust the position of said bars or handrails, characterized in that said upright members (12, 14) are hinged with an end portion thereof on to said side bars or handrails (16, 36) and, with the other end portion thereof, to said base platform (10), and in that said control means (20) for adjusting the side bars or handrails are operable concurrently with a single actuation member (19).
Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the member that actuates said control means (20) for adjusting the side bars or handrails is a foot-pedal operated continuous adjustment device (19).
Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the connection between the side bars or handrails (16, 36) and the base platform (10) forms an articulated parallelogram.
Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that said control means (20) for adjusting the side bars or handrails (16, 36) are comprised of a gas spring arranged on each side and connected between an upright member (12, 14) and the base platform (10).
Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a first plurality of stepped platforms (30) and a second plurality of stepped platforms (32), which join together into an elevated platform (34), the upright members of each such platform being hinged at different heights corresponding to the different inclinations of the platforms.