JPWO2009122543A1 - Exercise assistance device - Google Patents

Abstract

An exercise assisting device 1 having a weight adjusting means 3 for enabling the sinking of the footrest 2 on which a person's foot is placed and making the sinking weight of the footrest 2 variable according to the stepping action of the person. is there. The sinking weight of the footrest can be adjusted according to the physical strength and preference of the user.

Description

  The present invention relates to an exercise assisting device that allows a user to perform other dynamic exercises by moving a footrest.

  Conventionally, various types of training machines have been developed for the purpose of maintaining health, and generally known as a training apparatus for strengthening the body, particularly leg strength, is mainly composed of a stepping exercise.

  Further, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-58733, the user places his / her foot on the footrest and sits on the seat, and swings the seat in this state, so that the user steps on the footrest. A device that imparts exercises to the lower limbs by causing the movement to be performed is known. This exercise assisting device is attracting attention in terms of imparting exercise to the lower limbs of a user who has a disease in the knee and cannot bend the knee. However, in conventional exercise equipment that performs stepping, there is an extreme burden on the knees and lower back, which is desired to be used without difficulty for people who have a disease in the knees.

The present invention has been invented in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and the problem is that an exercise assisting device capable of adjusting the sinking weight of the footrest according to the physical strength and preference of the user. It is to provide.
The exercise assisting device according to the present invention enables the footrest 2 on which a person's foot is placed to be depressed, and weight adjustment means for making the sinking weight of the footrest 2 variable according to the stepping action of the person. 3 is provided.

  By setting it as such a structure, a load acts on a user's leg force through the footrest 2, and this works as a sinking weight. The weight adjusting means 3 can change the sinking weight of the footrest 2 in consideration of the load on the user's knee according to the person. Consideration that can be used without any problems becomes possible. Furthermore, leg strength training can be performed in an optimum environment according to each case, such as when there is a disease in the knee or in the case of a healthy person.

  The weight adjusting means 3 preferably changes the weight change of the footrest 2 in a non-linear manner with respect to the sinking amount of the footrest 2. In this case, when the footrest 2 is stepped on, The resistance can be suddenly increased. Therefore, not only a passive movement, but also an active movement (automatic movement) that becomes a stepping action spontaneously can be performed.

  The weight adjusting means 3 preferably changes the sinking weight of the footrest 2 in accordance with a preset operation mode. In this case, for example, a power mode in which the load on both feet is increased is used. When selected, the left and right legs can be further trained. On the other hand, when the priority mode in which the load on one leg increases is selected, the load adjustment on either the left or right leg can be performed.

  The weight adjusting means 3 preferably changes the sinking weight of the footrest 2 in accordance with the stepping force. In this case, the more the pedal is depressed, the more the sinking weight is increased. That is, by increasing the repulsive force of the footrest 2, it is possible to train the leg according to the stepping force.

  The weight adjusting means 3 preferably changes the sinking weight of the footrest 2 in accordance with the change in the center of gravity of the person. In this case, when the ideal center of gravity movement is performed. When the sinking weight (load) of the footrest 2 is increased and the ideal center of gravity movement is not performed, the sinking weight (load) is decreased to correspond to the position of the user's center of gravity. The leg can be exercised properly.

It is a schematic block diagram relevant to the weight adjustment means of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view of the standing-type exercise assistance apparatus provided with the same weight adjustment means. It is explanatory drawing at the time of arranging the airbag which is an example of a weight adjustment means same as the above under a footrest. It is explanatory drawing at the time of arrange | positioning the spring which is another example of the weight adjustment means same as the bottom of a footrest. (A) is an example at the time of arrange | positioning the spring same as the bottom of a footrest, (b) is a graph which shows the relationship between the fall amount of the footrest of (a), and a load amount. (A) is explanatory drawing at the time of distribute | arranging 3 types of springs under a footrest, (b) is a graph which shows the relationship between the fall amount of the footrest of (a), and a load amount. (A) is explanatory drawing at the time of adjusting the natural length of a spring long, (b) is explanatory drawing at the time of adjusting the natural length of a spring shorter than (a). It is explanatory drawing in the case of using the air cylinder which is another example of the weight adjustment means same as the above. It is a graph explaining an example in the case of making the load (sinking weight) of a footrest same as the above differ in the case where the burden to a knee is small and large. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the load (sinking weight) of the footrest same as the above, and the depression amount. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the load (sinking weight) and stepping force of a footrest same as the above. (A) is a figure explaining the distance from an ideal center-of-gravity position to the present center-of-gravity position, (b) is the load with respect to the distance from an ideal center-of-gravity position in a straight line, a curve, and stepwise (non-linear). It is a graph explaining the case where it increases. It is a graph which compares a normal mode and power mode same as the above. It is a graph explaining the emphasis mode which increases left and right load same as the above.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of a sitting-type exercise assisting apparatus 1 including a seat 4 on which a person sits and a footrest 2 on which a person's feet are placed.

  First, from a mechanical point of view, the exercise assisting apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 2 has a seat 4 on which a user sits and a rising portion that rises from the rear portion of the base portion 5, which is a seat portion provided with a backrest 20. A main body 1A disposed at the upper end of the base 21, a support 22 rising from the front end of the base portion 5 of the main body 1A, an operation panel 23 disposed at the upper end of the support 22, and left and right upper portions of the support 22 Handles 24, 24, a pair of left and right footrests 2 that can be placed on the upper surface of the base portion 5 so that the left and right feet of the user sitting on the seat 4 can be individually placed, and the rising portion 21. A drive unit (not shown) for swinging and driving the seat 4 is housed in the rising portion 21 of the main body 1A. In addition, the bar 25 arranged on the rising portion 21 of the main body 1A is a bar-shaped one here so that left and right feet can be put on both left and right ends thereof. However, the heel 25 shown in FIG. 2 is in a state in which a user sitting on the seat 4 has retracted his / her foot to a position where it does not get in the way when the pedestal 2 is placed. 25 is moved upward. In addition, the support body 22 is attached so as to be rotatable back and forth within a predetermined angle range. Of course, the support body 22 may be set at a predetermined angular position. Further, the left and right footrests 2 are arranged so as to be positioned in front of the rising portion 21 on the upper surface of the base portion 5 and in front of the support 22. The left and right footrests 2 can be moved up and down by a motor (not shown) as a drive source provided in the main body 1A. In addition, in order to accurately perform the alternate stepping motion of the left and right feet, interlocking means for raising the other footrest 2 by lowering one footrest 2 by stepping on the left and right footrest 2 (not shown) Z)).

  The main body 1A having a grounding portion on the lower surface of the base portion 5 is provided with weight adjusting means 3 for making the sinking weight of the footrest 2 variable. As shown in FIG. 1, the weight adjusting unit 3 adjusts the amount of adjustment based on an operation signal from the input unit 6 provided on the operation panel 23 and a detection signal from the sensor unit 7 provided on the footrest 2. An adjustment amount is determined by the determination unit 8, and the sinking weight of the footrest 2 is made variable by an elastic body 9 (for example, a viscoelastic body) to be described later according to the determined adjustment amount.

  The input unit 6 selects an operation mode in advance. For example, as shown in FIG. 13, a normal mode and a power mode in which the load on both feet [K / m (N · m / s)] is increased. It can be selected. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 14, a priority mode for individually increasing the left and right loads can be selected and input.

  The sensor unit 7 shown in FIG. 1 includes, for example, a pressure sensor 7a that measures a stepping force and a load cell. In addition to the stepping force, for example, a distance sensor 7b that measures the amount of stepping, or a center of gravity detection sensor that detects the position of the center of gravity as described later may be used.

  The adjustment amount determination unit 8 determines the sinking weight in consideration of the load on the user's knee. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, in the case of an elderly person (women) who has pain in the knee Is set so that the load on the knee is small, so that the knee can be used safely. On the other hand, in the case of a young (male) with no pain in the knee, the load on the knee is set large. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 10, the sinking weight of the footrest 2 is adjusted according to the depression amount [mm]. In this case, the load with respect to the depression amount [mm] may be increased in a straight line, a curve, or stepwise (non-linear). Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the sinking weight may be adjusted according to the stepping force [N]. In this case, the load on the stepping force [N] is expressed by a straight line, a curve, or a stepwise (non-linear). ) May be increased.

  Next, an example of the elastic body 9 constituting the weight adjusting means 3 is shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, an airbag 9 a that constantly urges the footrest 2 upward is disposed between the footrest 2 and the base portion 5, and when the user steps on the footrest 2 with the feet 11, the airbag The repulsive force (load) by 9a is applied to the foot 11 as a sinking weight. The pressure of the airbag 9a is changed by the compressor 10 so that the load determined by the adjustment amount determination unit 8 is obtained on the footrest 2.

  Accordingly, the user sits on the seat 4 of the exercise assisting device 1 having the above-described configuration, and grips the handle 24 provided on the support body 22 to the left and right footrests 2 provided with the weight adjusting means 3. Place 11 each, and perform an active stepping exercise. At this time, when the sensor unit 7 is provided with a pressure sensor 7a for measuring the stepping amount [mm] (or stepping force [N]), according to the stepping amount (or stepping force) detected by the pressure sensor 7a. The hardness of the airbag 9a is changed. The more the user steps on the footrest 2, the more the foot is depressed, that is, the stepping force is adjusted by adjusting the hardness of the airbag 9 a so that the repulsive force of the footrest 2 is increased. The leg can be trained according to the situation. Therefore, in the case of a user who has a disease in the knee and suffers from pain in knee flexion and extension, or in the case of a user who wants to exercise strongly, leg training according to the individual can be performed. In addition, when the priority mode in which the load on one foot increases is selected, it is possible to adjust the load on either the left or right leg. Thus, there is an advantage that training can be performed in an optimum environment according to the physical strength and preference of the user.

  Further, when the sensor unit 7 is provided with a center of gravity detection sensor (pressure sensor) that measures a change in the center of gravity of a person, the center of gravity detection sensor detects the body center of gravity movement, It becomes possible to change the repulsive force of the pedestal 2. That is, by calculating the change in the center of gravity, the distance [mm] from the ideal center of gravity position to the current center of gravity position is obtained, and as shown in FIG. 12, the distance from the ideal center of gravity position to the current center of gravity position [mm] is obtained. The sinking weight may be adjusted accordingly. In this case, the load with respect to the distance [mm] from the ideal position of the center of gravity is increased in a straight line, a curved line, and stepwise (non-linear). As a result, when the ideal ideal center of gravity movement is performed, the sinking weight (load) of the footrest 2 is increased, and when the center of gravity movement is not correct, the sinking weight of the footrest 2 is increased. By reducing the length (load), the leg can be appropriately exercised according to the position of the center of gravity of the user.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, when the top surface 2a of the footrest 2 is tilted in a forwardly lowered posture that goes downward as it goes forward, the toe of the foot 11 becomes lower than the heel when depressing, so that the ankle joint Can effectively perform dorsiflexion exercises. On the contrary, it is good also as a front rise which goes up so that the footrest 2 may go ahead, and in this case, the toe of the foot 11 becomes higher than the heel when depressing, so that the plantar flexion movement of the ankle joint Can be done effectively.

  4 to 7 are other embodiments of the weight adjusting means 3.

  In FIG. 4, a plurality of coiled springs 9 b are arranged between the footrest 2 and the base portion 5, one end of each spring 9 b is supported on the lower surface of the footrest 2, and the other end is spring support 12. The number of effective springs 9b acting on the footrest 2 can be arbitrarily adjusted by sliding the spring support 12 by hand so that the load on the footrest 2 can be stepped. It can be increased or decreased objectively (non-linearly). In the figure, reference numeral 50 denotes an outline of a link mechanism for performing a step operation.

  In FIG. 5, slopes 13 a and 13 b that face each other are provided on the lower surface of the footrest 2 and the upper surface of the base portion 5, and a plurality of (three in this example) are provided downward from the lower surface of the slope 13 a on the footrest 2 side. By projecting the spring 9b with the same length and horizontally sliding the base part 5, the effective number of the springs 9b contacting the inclined surface 13b of the base part 5 is increased or decreased stepwise (non-linearly). Yes, the spring reaction force of the footrest 2 can be adjusted only by sliding the base 5. Note that line a in FIG. 5B is a case where the number of effective springs is one, line b is two, and line c is three.

FIG. 6 shows that the springs 9b ₁ , 9b ₂ , 9b ₃ having _three different lengths are erected upward on the upper surface of the base part 5 and lowered by stepping on the footrest 2 so that 1 Only the 9b _{1 of the} book applies a repulsive force (“weak level”) to the footrest 2, but the other springs 9 b ₂ , 9 b ₃ also sequentially exert a repulsive force (“medium level” → “strong level”) as they are stepped on. Therefore, the repulsive force applied to the footrest 2 by these three springs 9b ₁ , 9b ₂ , 9b ₃ changes stepwise (non-linearly) as a ′, b ′, c ′ in FIG. It is supposed to be.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, when the footrest 2 is stepped on, the resistance can be suddenly increased. For this reason, not only the passive movement but also the positive stepping-down operation becomes active. Movement (automatic movement) can be performed. Further, in FIG. 6, the range in which only the first type of spring b ₁ that strikes first in the sinking weight of the footrest 2 is used for the passive movement, and the other two types of springs 9 b ₂ , 9 b are used. The spring constants of the springs b ₁ , 9b ₂ , 9b ₃ and the spring load are applied to the footrest 2 so that the range in which the repulsive force ₃ is also applied to the footrest 2 can be used for automatic movement. If the range is set, a strong exercise load can be applied to the legs by actively stepping on the footrest 2 in addition to the passive movement. In the example of FIG. 6, three types of springs 9 b ₁ , 9 b ₂ , 9 b ₃ are used, but two or more types may be used.

  7, one end of the spring 9 b is attached to the lower surface of the footrest 2, the other end of the spring 9 b is attached to the head of the bolt 14, and the screw portion of the bolt 14 is screwed into the base portion 5. By adjusting the screwing amount of the bolt 14, the initial length of the spring 9b can be adjusted, so that the threshold of depression is changed in accordance with the weight f of the user on the footrest 2. It is. Reference numeral 15 in the figure denotes a switch circuit 15 for the switch SW to turn on a lamp provided on the operation panel 23 and to give a precise instruction to the user at the most depressed lower point.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, a spring is used as the weight adjusting unit 3. However, in addition to the spring, a configuration using viscosity can also be realized. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, an air cylinder (or gas cylinder) 26 is disposed between the footrest 2 and the base 5, a piston 27 that slides up and down is provided inside the cylinder 26, and the cylinder 26 The inside is filled with fluid (compressed air or liquid). Further, the air exhaust pipe 16 leading to the inside of the cylinder 26 is installed so that the load of the footrest 2 is applied. Reference numeral 28 in the figure denotes an operating spring that urges the footrest 2 in the upward direction. As the air pipe diameter of the air exhaust pipe 16 changes with the load of the user, the repulsive force of the footrest 2 is determined by the air exhaust amount a. That is, as the pedal is stepped on more strongly, the air exhaust amount a becomes smaller, and as a result, the repulsive force of the footrest 2 becomes larger, and the leg training according to the stepping force becomes possible. Further, if the air exhaust amount A is actively controlled, the load can be actively reduced.

  The present invention can be applied to the sitting-type exercise assisting device 1 including the seat 4 on which a person sits. Further, the seat 4 is not always necessary, and can be applied to a standing type exercise assisting device that does not include the seat 4.

Claims (5)

  An exercise assisting device characterized by comprising a weight adjusting means for enabling the sinking of the footrest to be sinkable and making the sinking weight of the footrest variable depending on the stepping motion of the person. .   2. The exercise assisting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the weight adjusting means changes a weight change of the footrest in a non-linear manner with respect to a sinking amount of the footrest.   2. The exercise assisting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the weight adjusting means changes a sinking weight of the footrest in accordance with a preset operation mode.   2. The exercise assisting device according to claim 1, wherein the weight adjusting means changes a sinking weight of the footrest according to a stepping force. 2. The exercise assisting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the weight adjusting means changes the sinking weight of the footrest according to a change in the center of gravity of the person.

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