FR2959422A1 - VIBRATING AND / OR OSCILLATING PLATE REHABILITATION APPARATUS WITH ELECTROMAGNETIC JACKS. - Google Patents

Abstract

Rehabilitation apparatus comprising a vibrating and / or oscillating plate (12) on which the user places himself, vibration and / or oscillation means adapted to vibrate or oscillate the plate, a computer (30) having a touch screen (32) and a keyboard (34) adapted to input the operating programs of the apparatus and a control unit adapted to transform the parameters defined by a program recorded in the computer into control signals of the vibration means and / or oscillation. This apparatus is characterized in that the vibration and / or oscillation means consist of at least three electromagnetic actuators fixed to the base of the apparatus and adapted to lift the plate, each of the jacks being controlled independently of the others by means of electrical signals received from the control unit so as to oscillate and / or vibrate the plate.

Description

The present invention relates to devices used for functional rehabilitation, devices used for proprioception and postural as well as fitness devices used in gyms among others. It relates in particular to a vibration plate reeducation apparatus and / or oscillating equipped with electromagnetic cylinders. In gyms or fitness rooms, there are now devices with a vibrating plate that generate vertical unidirectional vibrations. When an individual is positioned on the vibrating plate in operation, his body undergoes a slight imbalance. The brain receives information in return, it then sends a signal to the muscles to cause reflex muscle contractions in order to rebalance. Some vibrating plate devices are damped by springs or plates of elastic material. But this type of damping does not allow to have an optimal adjustment and adapted to the weight of the user. The patent application WO 2005/0001888 describes an apparatus of this type in which it is possible to modify the thickness of the elastic material. However, on the one hand it is not easy to make this change for each user and, secondly, the limited possibilities offered does not adjust the damping according to the exact weight of the user. There are also vibrating plate devices whose damping is achieved by means of air suspensions such as air cushions. This type of damping overcomes the disadvantages mentioned above but has a major disadvantage. Indeed, in addition to the fact that the cushions deflate over time, the temperature has caused the expansion of the air contained, resulting in an undesirable pressure variation.

In addition, current vibrating plate devices with air cushions such as the vibrating plate apparatus described in PCT FR2008 / 000258 are suitable for users requiring muscle toning or recruitment. The major disadvantage of these air bag devices is the response time or significant response of the air bags when they receive a command to increase or decrease the air pressure. In addition, they do not present opportunities for adaptation to the needs of the elderly or very young or with pathologies of the musculoskeletal system. A vibrating and / or oscillating plate apparatus having damping obtained by means of air cushions associated with cylinders is described in the French patent application 09/05855. In this apparatus, a cylinder is disposed between the base of the apparatus and each of the air cushions, each cylinder being connected to a sensor-controller connected to a control unit. Each sensor-controller is adapted to continuously sense the air pressure in the air cushion associated with the jack and to control a reciprocating movement of the jack according to this pressure according to a frequency determined under the control of the control unit. so as to obtain an oscillating and rotating movement of the vibrating and / or oscillating plate.

Unfortunately, the apparatus described in this patent application has the same disadvantage as other air cushion devices, namely a significant response time to any solicitation. In addition, the use of superimposed cylinders and air cushions greatly increases the height of the plate, which poses a problem for the elderly to stand on the plate. This is why the main object of the invention is to provide a vibration plate and / or oscillating plate rehabilitation device provided with electromagnetic cylinders having a very short response time and therefore particularly suitable for functional rehabilitation. The object of the invention is therefore a rehabilitation apparatus comprising a vibrating plate and / or oscillating on which is placed the user, vibration and / or oscillation means adapted to vibrate the plate, a computer having a touch screen and a keyboard adapted to enter the operating programs of the apparatus and a control unit adapted to transform the parameters defined by a program recorded in the computer into control signals of the vibration means. This apparatus is characterized in that the vibration means consist of at least three electromagnetic cylinders fixed to the base of the apparatus and adapted to lift the plate, each of the jacks being controlled independently of the others by electrical signals received from the control unit so as to oscillate and / or vibrate the plate. The objects, objects and features of the invention will appear more clearly on reading the following description with reference to the drawings, in which: FIG. 1 represents a rehabilitation device according to the invention; Figure 2 schematically shows the vibrating plate and / or oscillating with two cylinders at different heights; Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the arrangement of the elements of the rehabilitation apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the invention; Figure 4 is a diagram of displacements out of phase of the three jacks when subjected to an oscillation allowing a rotary oscillating movement of the plate; and FIG. 5 is a diagram of the displacement of a jack subjected simultaneously to a vibration movement and an oscillation movement.

Referring to Figure 1, a rehabilitation device according to the invention comprises a base 10 supporting a vibrating plate and / or oscillating 12 in a horizontal position on which rises the user who is usually a patient.

Although the plate may have any dimensions, it is preferable that it has a minimum length of about 1m and a width of about 60cm so that a user of large body can be placed on supine without problem .

The user who is standing on the plate 12 is held in this position by holding the handles 14 and 16 of a steering wheel attached to the amount 18 itself fixed to the base 10. As we will see, the cylinders which are under underlying the plate 12 and thus not visible in the figure, allow the lifting of the plate vertically with an amplitude preferably between 50 mm and 100 mm. The cylinders used in the invention are electromagnetic cylinders. They are linear motors in vertical position whose linear displacements are made without using mechanical gearboxes and therefore without wearing part. The motor consists of two parts, the moving part (slider) and the fixed part (stator). The moving part comprises magnets mounted in a tube. The fixed part comprises the motor windings, the moving part guide and an integrated microprocessor providing position and switching functions. This type of jacks has the advantage of not having a mechanical part to accommodate the longitudinal forces that are solely due to magnetic fields. In addition, they provide significant accelerations (a few tens of g), which allows a very short response time when a command is received. Note that the plate 12 comprises mainly a steel plate with a thickness between 1cm and 1.5cm sufficient to prevent its deformation when subjected to significant accelerations as mentioned above. The plate 12 preferably comprises a top layer of flexible plastic material intended to provide damping beneficial to the user, and a rigid lower layer also of plastic of the same type but having ribs to increase its rigidity. According to a preferred embodiment, 3 jacks are used. In this case, they form an isosceles triangle whose one side connects two jacks placed at the front of the plate 12. It goes without saying that a number of cylinders greater than 3 could be used. It is thus possible to use 4 cylinders arranged according to a rectangle. The position of the two cylinders at the front of the plate is schematically illustrated in FIG. 2. The cylinder 20 has its mobile part (slider) plus its fixed part (stator) that the cylinder 22, which makes it possible to obtain an inclined position of the plate 12. The control of the displacement of the mobile part outside and then inside the fixed part of the jack 20 at a certain frequency, for example 30 hertz, makes it possible to vibrate the plate 12 to This frequency A block diagram of the apparatus according to the invention is illustrated in Figure 3. A computer 30 having a touch screen 32 and a keyboard 34 is available to the operator who can be a physiotherapist. Note that the operator can control the operation of the computer using a remote control. The computer 30 is connected to a control unit 36. This transforms the signals that it receives from the computer 30 into electrical signals which are transmitted to the 3 rams 20, 22 and 24. These electrical signals, by controlling the moving the moving parts of the cylinders at predetermined frequencies, allow the lifting of the plate 12 so as to obtain oscillation and / or vibration of the plate as will be seen later. Note that the computer 30 allows multiple functions, in particular to select the different usable frequencies, the duration of each exercise, the break time between two exercises. It also makes it possible to change the frequencies or the amplitudes during exercise. As mentioned above, the essential feature of the invention is the use of electromagnetic cylinders. This type of jacks makes it possible to obtain a lifting of the plate 12 of a determined amplitude and according to a determined frequency. In addition, each cylinder being controlled independently of the others, it is possible to obtain any vibration or oscillation movement of the plate 12. In general, each jack can be controlled so as to lift the plate in the purpose of obtaining a swinging motion of the plate. This movement is defined as a lifting movement of the plate followed by its lowering at a very low frequency of less than 1 Hz. For example, with a frequency equal to 1/3, each jack lifts and then drops in 3 seconds. . In this case, if the movement of each cylinder is out of phase by 120 ° with respect to the movement of each of the other two, the plate has a rotary oscillation movement of a period of 3 seconds. The movements of the cylinders are illustrated in Figure 4 by the 3 sinusoids A, B and C. Note that the lifting amplitude of the cylinders is between 50mm and 100 mm and preferably equal to 70 mm.

Another movement of the jack is a vibration movement which consists of raising and lowering the jack of a very small amplitude at a frequency between 20 Hz and 40 Hz, so that the plate is subjected to this same movement of vibration. This vibration movement can be combined with the previous oscillation motion. In this case, the movement of the jack for a vibration frequency of 30 Hz and an amplitude of 70 mm is illustrated in FIG. 5. A particularity of the electromagnetic jack used in the present invention is the fact that it has a sensor position allowing the control unit 36, not only to know at any time the position of the movable part of the cylinder, but also to determine the intensity of the current to be sent to the cylinder. Indeed, when a load is applied to a cylinder through the plate, for example when a patient climbs on the plate, the moving part tends to lower under the action of the force applied to the plate . But this lowering is infinitesimal thanks to the regulation involved in the fact that instantaneously the position sensor captures this infinitesimal variation of position and transmits it to the control unit 36 which instantly increases the intensity of the current supplied to the jack so the plate 12 does not lower. Note that the intensity of the current is proportional to the force applied to the cylinder. The operator, usually a physiotherapist, then adjusts the amplitude of movement and the vibration frequency of each jack independently depending on the work the user must do to correct his problem.

The amplitude of movement of each cylinder being thus adjusted, the cylinders are then raised and lowered under the control of the control unit 36 at a frequency determined by the operator according to the treatment to be applied so that the plate 12 performs a vibrating and / or oscillating movement. Thus, in the case of a patient with a diseased leg, 2 of the 3 cylinders remain immobile and the third cylinder above which the patient has placed his leg to be rehabilitated is subjected to a vibration of between 25 and 40 Hz.

In the case of a patient needing to reeducate his ankles, a jack remains stationary and the other 2 cylinders are subjected to an oscillation movement phase-shifted by 180 ° relative to each other.

Finally, in the case of proprioception work of a patient, the 3 jacks are subjected to the combination of an oscillation movement and a vibration movement so that the plate performs a rotary oscillating movement at the same time that she is subjected to a vibration.

Note that the damping of the plate is an important parameter in the implementation of the invention. Insofar as the response time of the actuator movement following a command is very low as mentioned above, this damping is achieved simply. It is sufficient that the control signals, generated by the control unit 36 and transmitted to the cylinders 20, 22 and 24, are sinusoidal, which is easy to obtain for the skilled person. According to the main characteristic of the invention, the apparatus which has just been described enables the functional rehabilitation of patients with problems of the musculoskeletal system. For this purpose, the operator, generally a physiotherapist, then regulates the movement of each cylinder, that is to say its amplitude and its frequency of movement, independently depending on the work that must perform the user to correct his problem. Thus, in the case of a patient with a diseased leg, it is important to control how the patient reports his weight on the valid leg. The means envisaged for observing this load transfer is to impose on the patient the position of the feet and to determine the position of the center of gravity of the "plate + patient" assembly. Indeed, if the patient carries his weight on one leg, he brings the center of gravity closer to it. It is therefore important to determine the position of the center of gravity. As the current required for a jack to maintain a load in position is proportional to the force that the cylinder deploys as mentioned above, each cylinder is able to "weigh" by measuring the current required to maintain the load. position. Therefore, by measuring the intensity of the current required by each cylinder to balance the load that is directly applied to it through the plate, it is easy to determine the instantaneous position of the center of gravity and therefore the way the patient transfers his weight from one leg to the other. The operator can immediately see on his screen that the center of gravity of the user is not in the center of the target. He can see the leg support force, and tell the user what leg to rehabilitate and on which he must make efforts to restore good support and bring the center of gravity to the center of the target. Note that when the plate 12 is actuated in a rotary oscillating movement, the user is unbalanced and must, by ~ the pressure of his legs, work in muscle contractions to remain balanced in the center of the plate while its center of gravity is deported somewhat because of its problem. Therefore, the inclination of the vibrating and / or oscillating plate can be precisely adjusted. It is also the speed of the rotary movement of the plate. Thus, a user early rehabilitation will support a very low inclination, with a low rotational speed. These data will be increased as the user's re-education progresses. Normally, at the end of treatment, if it has been effective, the user will easily stand in equilibrium on the plate, and the sensors will indicate a center of gravity returned to the center of the plate.

The computer 30 can analyze the ability of the muscle to contract each user, to adjust exactly the vibration force needed according to the individual muscle responsiveness (biofeedback).

Thus, with a frequency of 35 hertz, the muscle of the thigh of an individual X will contract very strongly (it is then useless to increase the frequency under penalty of tetanization of the muscle), whereas for the same frequency, the muscle the thigh of another individual will shrink only slightly, hence the need to increase the frequency for him to obtain optimal work. The computer makes it possible to analyze the body mass of each user (bio-impedancemetry): fat mass, lean mass (the muscles), mass of water. This function allows the user to follow, as and when sessions, the progress it makes (loss of fat and muscle gain, etc.). Note that electromagnetic cylinders, for example two cylinders, such as those described above, could also be attached to the base of the device, but offset from the cylinders intended to vibrate and / or oscillate the plate ( 12) so as to vibrate and / or oscillate the upright 18 of the apparatus. The patient being at the handles 14 and 16, it will be subject to oscillations and / or vibrations through his hands in order to rehabilitate the upper body. In the same way as before, each cylinder will be controlled independently of the others. Electromagnetic cylinders, such as those described above, could also be adapted on a treadmill or a room bike, associated with a projection in 3D on a screen, to simulate, in virtual reality, the relief of the ground supposed to be traveled.

Claims (6)

Revendications1. Rehabilitation apparatus comprising a vibrating and / or oscillating plate (12) on which the user is placed, vibration means adapted to vibrate and / or oscillate said vibrating and / or oscillating plate, a computer (30) having a screen touch panel (32) and a keyboard (34) adapted to input the operating programs of said apparatus and a control unit adapted to transform the parameters defined by a program recorded in said computer into control signals of said vibration means and / or oscillation; said apparatus being characterized in that said vibration and / or oscillation means are constituted by at least three electromagnetic cylinders (20, 22, 24) fixed to the base of the apparatus and adapted to lift said plate, the position in height of each of said cylinders being controlled independently of the others by electrical signals received from said control unit so as to oscillate and / or vibrate said plate. 2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said electrical signals controlling each of said electromagnetic cylinders have the function of oscillating said plate (12) at a frequency less than 1 and / or vibrating said plate at a frequency between 20 Hz and 40 Hz. An apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein each of said electromagnetic cylinders (20, 22, 24) comprises a position sensor determining at all times the height position of each of said cylinders so as to continuously transmit it to said unit. control (36). An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the current supplied to each of said electromagnetic cylinders (20, 22, 24) is instantaneously increased by said control unit (36) when the load applied to said sensor via said vibrating plate (12) increases due to a greater load due to the patient on said plate. An apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the intensity of the current supplied to each of said electromagnetic cylinders (20, 22, 24) is proportional to the force applied to it to balance the load to which it is subjected via of said vibrating and / or oscillating plate (12) so that the intensities of the currents supplied to each of said electromagnetic cylinders makes it possible to determine the center of gravity of the charges applied to said plate by the patient so as to be able to determine the reeducation followed by the patient in order to return the center of gravity to the center of said plate. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein a target is displayed on the screen (32) of said computer (30) at the disposal of a physiotherapist, the center of said target representing the center of gravity of the charges applied to said plate vibrating and / or oscillating (12) by the patient thus allowing the physiotherapist to view the leg support force and to indicate to the patient on which leg he must make efforts to restore good support and bring the center of gravity back to center of the target.