EP3494947A1 - Device for stimulating the plantar venous pump - Google Patents

Abstract

Device for stimulating the plantar venous pump 1, comprising the sole 20 of a shoe as well as mobile means of exerting pressure 10 under the arch of the foot connected to said sole 20, motor means 6 connected to the means of exerting pressure 10, 21, 22 via a transmission system 7, 8, 9, as well as management means 5 for activating the motor means 6, and control means for these management means 5. It comprises means 24 for detecting a foot on the sole 20 capable of activating the management means 5 for the activation of the motor means 6.

Description

The present invention is in the field of paramedical systems, and more specifically relates to devices that act at the level of the arch to provide blood flow back to the heart despite gravity. It is in fact the stimulation of the plantar venous pump, the need of which is particularly felt in people who, for example professionally, often occupy standing or more generally immobile.

The mechanism of stimulation is based on the presence, in the foot, at the level of the arch and at distinct depths, of a venous network which, when compressed at the moments of pressure contact, especially with the ground during walking helps to send the blood back to the heart. During the exercise of the walk, the blood flow in the venous apparatus, the one whose function is to return the blood to the heart, is ensured mainly by the arch and by the muscular contraction of the calves which, by compressing the veins, propel the blood towards the heart.

When the operation is not done properly, causing a lack of blood flow in the veins, the circulation becomes insufficient in the legs and can cause pathologies of the varicose type, and / or swelling of the ankles, and more generally still symptoms fatigue in the legs.

This is the reason why devices have been developed to artificially promote the stimulation of the plantar arch and prevent the body from settling into intermediate states that can degenerate and cause pathologies potentially very damaging for the body. It is therefore not an invention that deals with a pathology, but an innovation adapted to prevention.

The present applicant has in particular already worked on the question, and holds a right on a purely mechanical stimulation device, miniaturized to be incorporated in the heel of a shoe without being visible and based on a button of the soleplate actuated in response to the pressures resulting from the contacts of said soleplate on the ground. According to a configuration of this system, the potentially pressing button on the ground cooperates with a jack consisting of a cylinder and a piston. The button is provided to push the piston, which in turn presses a lever which has at one end a cushion for exerting pressure on the arch.

The limitations of these devices lie mainly in the fact that they are operated only when the user is in motion. The previously expressed need for arch stimulation during standing or motionless is therefore not satisfied.

There are also electrified devices capable of providing an answer to this need, but they are often expensive and unsightly, and generally of a complex and very cumbersome design. Because of these disadvantages, these devices actually encounter a very limited commercial success, corresponding to the low degree of practicality they present.

Moreover, all these devices are provided for healthy people, who are able to start their operation. People with reduced mobility or disabilities, who can not walk, are not able to use most of the devices on offer.

The present invention aims to remedy all these shortcomings, by providing a device for stimulating the plantar venous pump for use in all circumstances, and which also concerns for example disabled people unable to walk, including those with at least one lower limb is plastered. The invention is no longer dependent on a ground support to trigger a stimulation of the arch. It is also designed to facilitate as much as possible the management of stimulation, immediately and conveniently, including remote control. When there is remote management, the invention does not finally require the acquisition and permanent port of a specific control module, but it uses on the contrary, the electronic devices that accompany us on a daily basis in our time.

Thus, in general, the device for stimulating the plantar venous pump of the invention, conventionally comprising the sole of a shoe as well as moving means for exerting pressure under the arch of the foot connected to said sole, motor means connected to the means for exerting a pressure via a transmission system, as well as means for managing the activation of the motor means, and control means for these management means, is such that it comprises means for detecting a foot on the soleplate capable of activating the means for managing the activation of the driving means.

The unit benefits from a miniaturization and a robust design that guarantee optimal operation at the moment of stimulation, moreover automated and easily adjustable according to the needs of the user.

Preferably, even if it is not an absolute condition, the control means are arranged outside the soleplate, and connected to the means for managing the activation of the motor means by means of communications wireless. More preferably, these control means may take the form of a mobile phone or a mobile tablet equipped with a dedicated application. The idea is always to facilitate as much as possible the operation of the device by allowing its control and control via a "tool" that most people nowadays always wear on them, and which is handled conveniently.

According to a possible configuration, the motor means consist of a servo-motor or an electric motor, easily miniaturizable, and which offers the advantage of providing an output sufficient mechanical energy with an input energy expenditure which is limited, surplus storable under electric form.

According to a first variant, the transmission system consists of a splined end of the cooperating motor shaft with a corresponding fluted opening of an organ means for exerting pressure under the arch.

In this case, according to one possible configuration, the means for exerting pressure under the arch can be constituted by a lever comprising a hub provided with the corrugated orifice and an arm developing radially from said hub. , and a thrust finger passing through the soleplate able to be deformed or displaced in the direction of the arch by contact with a free end of said lever. This push finger must withstand the mechanical stresses of the system and is ultimately used to distribute the effort under the soles of the feet.

According to another nonlimiting example of the invention, the transmission system may also consist of a toothed gear at the end of the shaft of the electric motor, cooperating with a rack that is movable in rectilinear translation in the sole plate, said movable rack being able to solicit the means of exerting pressure under the arch. More specifically, these means for exerting a pressure can in turn be constituted by a leaf spring whose one free end moves in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of the rack, and a membrane flexible sole or a pushing finger through the sole capable of being deformed or moved towards the arch by contact with said free end of the spring blade. It is actually this free end that provides pressure, for example in connection with a flexible portion of the wall of the sole which separates the mechanism placed in said sole of the interior volume of the shoe in which the foot takes place, and which can take the form of such a membrane.

According to one possibility, the rack is in practice linked to a pusher which urges the spring blade. The latter is in the form of a curved sheet whose base opposite said free end may for example be immobilized relative to the sole, the stress being made by pressure between the free end and the base, in the vicinity of this last. The leaf spring, pushed in the direction of movement of the rack and the pusher, is deformed elastically, the shape and installation of said blade being provided for the free end rises under the thrust.

Preferably, means for supplying electrical energy to the motor means are placed in the soleplate. In this hypothesis of integration in the soleplate, said power supply means may consist of a battery or a rechargeable battery connected to a connector accessible from outside the soleplate.

The motor is controlled, and therefore delivers a mechanical energy ultimately resulting in moving the leaf spring or the lever exerting pressure under the arch, according to operations organized according to, for example, predetermined cycles. The means for managing the activation of the motor means consist, for example and preferably in an electronic module placed on a printed circuit board, which is also inserted in the soleplate and further comprises a connector and a detection device, for example optical. This card, with its electronic module and more generally all the components it incorporates, is in fact an electronic engine management unit.

According to one possible configuration, the soleplate may comprise two distinct compartments, a first compartment comprising the means for storing energy and the means for managing the activation of the motor means, and a second compartment comprising the motor means, the control system. transmission and the spring blade or the lever. All the components of the system of the invention, mechanical and electronic, selected in particular according to their degree of miniaturization, is organized in such a way that everything can be integrated into the soleplate without prejudicing the displacements of the moving components.

This device is primarily intended for all persons having to respect standing long stations, and / or interspersed with small steps, or even trampling, such as merchants, factory staff forced to park in front of the machines, employees in the field of catering etc. Then, it is intended for all persons who can not move while walking, temporarily or more definitively.

It is therefore appropriate for sedentary people, confined to their apartments for various reasons, for example by physical disability such as the elderly or immobilized due to bodily injury. The simplicity of the device of the invention, inducing a low cost of production of shoes equipped with such a system, is a strong incentive for end-users and also contributes to considerably reducing public health expenditure by avoiding many pathologies and accidents. related to poor blood circulation from the lower limbs. It is adapted to disabled people by motor insufficiencies due to the automation provided by the detector of the presence of the foot in the shoe.

1. a. détection de la présence d'un pied sur la semelle ;
2. b. commande du moteur électrique pendant une durée prédéterminée d ou sur un secteur angulaire d'angle a prédéterminé selon un premier sens de rotation ;
3. c. arrêt du moteur pendant une durée allant de 0,5 à 2 s, de préférence 1,5 s ;
4. d. commande du moteur électrique pendant ladite durée prédéterminée d ou sur un secteur angulaire d'angle a en sens inverse, jusqu'à atteindre une position de repos ;
5. e. après une période p prédéterminée, comprise entre 10 et 20 s, de préférence de l'ordre de 12 s, et en l'absence de réception d'une commande de désactivation, reprise de l'étape b. ;
6. f. sinon, arrêt du dispositif.

The invention also relates to a method of stimulating the plantar arch by means of a stimulation device provided with an electric motor and a spring blade or a lever able to exert pressure under the arch by the intermediate membrane of the soleplate according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by the following steps

1. at. detection of the presence of a foot on the sole;
2. b. controlling the electric motor for a predetermined time d or on an angular sector of predetermined angle α in a first direction of rotation;
3. c. stopping the engine for a period ranging from 0.5 to 2 seconds, preferably 1.5 seconds;
4. d. controlling the electric motor during said predetermined time d or on an angular sector of angle α in the opposite direction, until reaching a rest position;
5. e. after a predetermined period p, between 10 and 20 s, preferably of the order of 12 s, and in the absence of reception of a deactivation command, resumption of step b. ;
6. f. otherwise, stop the device.

This is indeed the implementation of a cycle of preferably repetitive, but which can be stopped at any time, at a frequency and with predetermined times that can be chosen by the user, and which may depend on parameters particular morphological of the user. By implementing these cycles, it is a question of improving one's well-being and not of exercising a precise therapeutic treatment.

According to one possibility, which concerns rather the rotary lever variant, the motor stopping occurs when a pressure exerted by the lever, for example measured by a motor power supply current, reaches a predetermined threshold.

According to an example of an operating diagram, the rotation of the motor is 30 to 45 degrees of revolution for the rise of the thrust lever. The motor stops for example when the pressure of the push finger is 3 bars on the arch. This pressure is managed, as mentioned before, by the electronic card. The rotation of the motor is variable according to the rise of the lever which can vary according to the radius of curvature of the arch, which is also variable according to the individuals.

• la figure 1 représente une vue en perspective d'un dispositif selon l'invention ;
• la figure 2 en montre une vue de dessus ; et
• la figure 3 en est une vue en section selon un axe central longitudinal.
• La figure 4 montre, en vue perspective, une variante de la configuration montrée aux figures précédentes ; et
• La figure 5 montre une vue de côté d'une semelle équipée de ladite variante.

The advantages and characteristics of the device and the method according to the invention will emerge more clearly from the following description relating to the appended figures, for which:

• the figure 1 represents a perspective view of a device according to the invention;
• the figure 2 shows a view from above; and
• the figure 3 is a sectional view along a longitudinal central axis.
• The figure 4 shows, in perspective view, a variant of the configuration shown in the preceding figures; and
• The figure 5 shows a side view of a sole equipped with said variant.

With reference to the figure 1 , a possible example of stimulation device of the venous pump according to the invention, which is in no way limiting thereof, shows a housing 1 delimiting two compartments 2, 3, the assembly being intended to be mounted in a shoe sole (not shown). The first compartment 2 comprises an energy source in the form of a button battery 4 (which can be replaced by a rechargeable battery), which takes place next to a printed circuit board 5 comprising the electronic management components of the device . It is this card 5 which constitutes the automated processing unit of the operation of the system, emitting signals at the address of the electric motor 6 in particular following the reception and the analysis of input signals emanating from the control means. and to activate the triggering and stopping of the operating cycles. These input signals are preferably from a mobile device, in most cases a cellular telephone, or a tablet, endowed with a specific application to the control of the device placed in the sole, and which communicates with the central control unit for example according to the bluetooth standard or an equivalent wireless communication protocol.

A gear 7 placed at the end of the rotary shaft of the electric motor 6 cooperates with a rack 8 which is driven in rectilinear translation, guided for example by correspondence of shapes in the housing 1, during the rotation of the motor 6. This rack 8 is connected to a pusher 9 which it moves in the direction of its own displacement, and which is also guided, in the compartment 3, in rectilinear translation axis perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the motor 6. The pusher 9 requests a leaf spring 10 in a manner illustrated particularly in figure 3 the nose 11 of the pusher 9 acts close to the recess area of the spring blade 10, in this case in the form of a loop 12. Even a limited thrust in this zone results in a displacement of much greater amplitude. at the free end 13 of the spring blade 10, displacement which comprises a horizontal component and a vertical component, which is the one which interests us mainly in the context of the invention. Vertical movement of said end free 13 is used to realize the pressure under the soles of the feet for the stimulation of the venous pump.
The operation of this venous lift device is actually cyclic:
The cycle consists in the start-up by the patient, with a remote control (typically his mobile phone), which sends an initial command signal to the electronic card 5. The first instruction emanating from the electronic control unit has the function of rotating the rotary electric motor 6 in a first direction, after having checked that the rack 8 is in a neutral rest position. At the end of the motor shaft, a toothed wheel 7 rotates and actuates the rack 8, which consequently moves with the pusher 9 in the direction of the leaf spring 10. This pusher 9, while advancing, presses on an inner portion of the leaf spring 10, the free end 13 rises, substantially perpendicular to the direction of movement of the rack 8 and the pusher 9, a predetermined height, for example and preferably about 14 mm.
The spring blade 10, while rising, exerts upward pressure on the foot, via the upper sole of the shoe, at the precise location of the natural pumps, which are located under the arch. The exercise of this pressure has the effect of raising blood to the heart.
Still in this operating cycle, after a predetermined duration of rotation of the motor 6 sufficient for the leaf spring 10 to be in a position ensuring that its free edge 13 is at the desired height, the motor 6 is stopped by a signal from the card which controls and controls the realization of the cycle. The shutdown of the engine 6 lasts for example about 1 second, during which time the maximum pressure is under the arch. Then, the electronic unit restarts the motor 6 in a rotation in opposite direction, the toothed wheel 7 then actuating the rack 8 in the opposite direction to the first direction of movement. The leaf spring 10 is no longer constrained by the pusher 9, and can release its energy and resume progressively its initial shape, pushing the pusher 9 as the rack 8 moves away under the effect of the reverse rotation of the motor 6. This results in stopping the pressure on the arch, and leave free blood circulation, which resumes its natural cycle.
With the spring blade 10 down, a signal emanating from the electronic card stops the motor 6 and terminates the basic cycle. Then, after a pause that lasts for example 12 to 14 seconds, the electronic unit sends information to restart the engine to start a new cycle that obeys exactly the same logic and kinematics as the previous one, and so to after. The cycles follow one after the other, their repetition being stopped by the patient when he wishes, using the remote control.
The Figures 4 and 5 show a variant in which the device 1 is directly integrated in the lower part of the shoe having a heel and a sole 20 which exceeds a thrust finger 21 through said sole 20 (see Figure 6). A servo-motor 6 comprises at the output of the motor shaft a corrugated portion 23 fitted in a grooved orifice located in a hub 26 at a first end of a rotary lever 22 whose opposite end, free, is provided to actuate the finger thrust 21.
A detector 24 of the presence of a foot on the soleplate 20 is furthermore also connected to the electronic card 5, and connected and controlled by the electronic module of this card 5. This detector 24 is preferably based on an optical technology, for example a photoelectric cell which sends a differentiated signal according to whether the light reaches it or is hidden by the foot on the sole 20. The connector, for example recharging 25 of the battery 4 located in the rear compartment, is at the back of the sole 20, at the heel.
The examples of operation and the configuration of the device as illustrated in the figures are not exhaustive of the invention, which can instead encompass variants of shape and kinematics. So, the command can be wireless but on the contrary wire, if a connector equipping the electronic card is provided and accessible from outside the sole. It is the same for the replacement of the battery by a battery, which also requires connection means accessible from outside the sole for charging.
Finally, the design of the mechanical means, in particular of the rack chain 8 / pusher 9 / blade spring 10, or the splined shaft chain 23 / lever 22 are only two of many possibilities of making the pressure under the arch of the plant. motor means 6 controlled in successive cycles.

Claims (15)

Device for stimulating the plantar venous pump 1, comprising the sole 20 of a shoe as well as mobile means for exerting a pressure 10 under the arch plantar connected to said sole 20, motor means 6 connected to the means of exerting a pressure 10, 21, 22 via a transmission system 7, 8, 9, as well as management means 5 of the activation of the motor means 6, and control means of these management means 5, characterized in that it comprises detection means 24 of a foot on the sole 20 capable of activating the management means 5 of the activation of the driving means 6. Device for stimulating the plantar venous pump according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the control means are arranged outside the soleplate 20, and connected to the management means 5 of the activation of the drive means 6 by means wireless communications. Device for stimulating the plantar venous pump 1 according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the control means are a mobile phone or a mobile tablet equipped with a dedicated application. Device for stimulating the plantar venous pump 1 according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the motor means consist of a servomotor 6 or an electric motor 6. Device for stimulating the plantar venous pump 1 according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the transmission system consists of a splined end 23 of the motor shaft cooperating with a corresponding fluted opening of a member 22 of the means of exercising pressure under the arch. Device for stimulating the plantar venous pump 1 according to the preceding claim, characterized in that means for exerting pressure under the arch plantar are constituted by a lever 22 having a hub 26 with the grooved orifice and an arm developing radially from said hub 26, and a thrust finger 21 through the sole 20 adapted to be deformed or displaced in the direction of the arch by contact with a free end of the lever 22. Device for stimulating the plantar venous pump 1 according to claim 4, characterized in that the transmission system consists of a toothed wheel 7 at the end of the shaft of the electric motor 6 cooperating with a rack 8 which is movable in rectilinear translation in the sole, said movable rack 8 being able to stress the means for exerting pressure 10 under the arch. Device for stimulating the plantar venous pump 1 according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the means for exerting a pressure under the arch of the plantar arch consist of a leaf spring 10, a free end 13 of which moves in a direction d perpendicular to the direction of movement of the rack 8, and a flexible membrane of the sole or a pushing finger through the soleplate capable of being deformed or displaced in the direction of the arch by contact with said free end 13 of the spring blade 10. Device for stimulating the plantar venous pump 1 according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the rack 8 is connected to a pusher 9 which urges the leaf spring 10. Device for stimulating the plantar venous pump 1 according to one of claims 5 and 6, characterized in that the spring blade 10 is in the form of a bent sheet whose base 12 opposite to said free end is immobilized relative to the sole, the stress being made by pressure between the free end 13 and the base 12, in the vicinity of the latter. Device for stimulating the plantar venous pump 1 according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that means for supplying electrical energy 4 to the motor means 6 are placed in the soleplate 20. Device for stimulating the plantar venous pump 1 according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the energy supply means consist of a battery 4 or a rechargeable battery 4 connected to a connector 25 accessible from the outside the sole 20. Device for stimulating the plantar venous pump 1 according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the means for managing the activation of the motor means 6 consist of an electronic module placed on a printed circuit board 5 and comprising a connector And a detection device 24, preferably optical. A method of stimulating the plantar arch by means of a stimulation device 1 equipped with an electric motor 6 and a spring blade 10 or a lever 10 'able to exert pressure under the arch through a thrust finger passing through the soleplate 20 according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by the following steps: at. detecting the presence of a foot on the sole 20; b. controlling the electric motor 6 for a predetermined time d or on a predetermined angle angular sector in a first direction of rotation; c. stopping the engine 6 for a period ranging from 0.5 to 2 s, preferably 1.5 s; d. controlling the electric motor 6 during said predetermined time d or on an angular sector of angle in the opposite direction, until reaching a rest position; e. after a predetermined period p, between 10 and 20 s, preferably of the order of 12 s, and in the absence of reception of a deactivation command, resumption of step b. ; f. otherwise, stop the device 1. A method of stimulating the plantar arch by means of a stimulation device 1 according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the stopping of the motor 6 occurs when a pressure exerted by the lever 22, measured by a current intensity of supply of the motor 6, reaches a predetermined threshold.

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