US20080214366A1 - Therapeutic exercise apparatus - Google Patents
Therapeutic exercise apparatus Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20080214366A1 US20080214366A1 US12/019,018 US1901808A US2008214366A1 US 20080214366 A1 US20080214366 A1 US 20080214366A1 US 1901808 A US1901808 A US 1901808A US 2008214366 A1 US2008214366 A1 US 2008214366A1
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- foot
- pedal
- restraining member
- exercise apparatus
- support portion
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
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Classifications
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
- A63B22/00—Exercising apparatus specially adapted for conditioning the cardio-vascular system, for training agility or co-ordination of movements
- A63B22/06—Exercising apparatus specially adapted for conditioning the cardio-vascular system, for training agility or co-ordination of movements with support elements performing a rotating cycling movement, i.e. a closed path movement
- A63B22/0605—Exercising apparatus specially adapted for conditioning the cardio-vascular system, for training agility or co-ordination of movements with support elements performing a rotating cycling movement, i.e. a closed path movement performing a circular movement, e.g. ergometers
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
- A63B21/00—Exercising apparatus for developing or strengthening the muscles or joints of the body by working against a counterforce, with or without measuring devices
- A63B21/40—Interfaces with the user related to strength training; Details thereof
- A63B21/4001—Arrangements for attaching the exercising apparatus to the user's body, e.g. belts, shoes or gloves specially adapted therefor
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
- A63B21/00—Exercising apparatus for developing or strengthening the muscles or joints of the body by working against a counterforce, with or without measuring devices
- A63B21/40—Interfaces with the user related to strength training; Details thereof
- A63B21/4001—Arrangements for attaching the exercising apparatus to the user's body, e.g. belts, shoes or gloves specially adapted therefor
- A63B21/4011—Arrangements for attaching the exercising apparatus to the user's body, e.g. belts, shoes or gloves specially adapted therefor to the lower limbs
- A63B21/4015—Arrangements for attaching the exercising apparatus to the user's body, e.g. belts, shoes or gloves specially adapted therefor to the lower limbs to the foot
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
- A63B22/00—Exercising apparatus specially adapted for conditioning the cardio-vascular system, for training agility or co-ordination of movements
- A63B22/0046—Details of the support elements or their connection to the exercising apparatus, e.g. adjustment of size or orientation
Landscapes
- Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
- General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
- Physical Education & Sports Medicine (AREA)
- Cardiology (AREA)
- Vascular Medicine (AREA)
- Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- Biophysics (AREA)
- Orthopedic Medicine & Surgery (AREA)
- Rehabilitation Tools (AREA)
Abstract
A therapeutic exercise apparatus enables a user to depress a pedal by his or her heel without his or her foot coming off the pedal. The apparatus includes a main body, a link having one end mounted through a rotation shaft on the main body so as to be rotatable around its one end by a predetermined angle, a pedal mounted on the other end of the link so as to be rotatable by a predetermined angle and adapted to be depressed by a user's foot thereby to rotate the link; and a foot restraining member provided on the pedal for restraining the foot. The foot restraining member has a base provided with a heel support portion for supporting a heel of the foot, and the heel support portion is disposed on the pedal such that the direction of a depression force of the foot passes through the rotation shaft.
Description
- 1. Field of the Invention
- The present invention relates to a therapeutic exercise apparatus having a pedal rotatably mounted on an end of a rotatable link.
- 2. Description of the Related Art
- In general, therapeutic exercise apparatuses are widely used as apparatuses which enable people to easily perform exercises for enhancement of physical strength, health promotion, and prevention of adult diseases. In addition, they are also used for therapeutic exercises that sports players under injury, patients after orthopedic surgery, cerebrovascular disease patients, etc., do for the purposes of muscular strength recovery, muscular strength reinforcement, and gait training.
- In the past, there has been known a therapeutic exercise apparatus including a main body, a link that has one end thereof mounted on the main body for rotation relative thereto, and a pedal that is rotatably mounted on the other end of the link and is adapted to be depressed or pushed down by a foot of a user to rotate the link (see, for example, a first patent document: Japanese patent application laid-open No. 2006-137399).
- In general, a person puts his or her foot down on the ground from his or her heel as he or she walks, so when a therapeutic exercise apparatus is used for gait training, it is necessary for the person to depress or push down a pedal by his or her heel.
- In this case, however, there is the following problem. That is, when the person depresses or push down the pedal by means of his or her heel, the heel, being not held by the pedal, might come or slip off from the pedal.
- The present invention is intended to obviate the problem as referred to above, and has for its object to provide a therapeutic exercise apparatus which enable a person to depress or push down a pedal by his or her heel without his or her foot coming off or slipping off from the pedal.
- Bearing the above object in mind, a therapeutic exercise apparatus according to the present invention includes: a main body; a link that has one end portion thereof rotatably mounted on the main body; a pedal that is mounted through a rotation shaft on the other end portion of the link for rotation relative thereto and is adapted to be depressed by a foot of a user thereby to rotate the link; and a foot restraining member that is provided on the pedal for restraining the foot. The foot restraining member has a base provided with a heel support portion for supporting a heel of the foot. The heel support portion can be disposed on the pedal in such a manner that the direction of a force, which is generated by depression of the foot and has its base point on a bottom of the heel, passes through the rotation shaft.
- According to the therapeutic exercise apparatus of the present invention, the foot restraining member provided on the pedal serves to restrain a foot of a user, so the user's foot can be prevented from coming off or slipping off from the pedal. In addition, the heel support portion of the foot restraining member can be disposed on the pedal in such a manner that the direction of a force, which is generated by depression of the foot and has its base point on the bottom or sole of a heel of the user, passes through the rotation shaft. Thus, it is possible to depress or push down the pedal by the heel of the user.
- The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the present invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
-
FIG. 1 is a partial side elevational view of a therapeutic exercise apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. -
FIG. 2 is a partial side elevational view of a therapeutic exercise apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. -
FIG. 3 is a side elevational view showing a concave portion of a pedal and a convex portion of a foot restraining member. -
FIG. 4 is a partial side elevational view of a therapeutic exercise apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention. - Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail while referring to the accompanying drawings.
- Now, referring to the drawings and first to
FIG. 1 , there is shown, in a partial side view, a therapeutic exercise apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. - The therapeutic exercise apparatus according to this embodiment includes a
main body 1, a bar-shaped link 2 that has one end portion thereof mounted on themain body 1 in such a manner as to be rotatable relative to themain body 1 only within a predetermined angular range, apedal 3 of a flat plate shape that is mounted on the other end portion of thelink 2 through arotation shaft 3 a in such a manner as to be rotatable relative to thelink 2 only within a predetermined angular range, and afoot restraining member 5 that is formed on thepedal 3 for restraining a foot orleg 4 of a user. - The
foot restraining member 5 has abase 5 c that supports the user'sfoot 4, anankle band 5 a that surrounds the vicinity of anankle 4 a of thefoot 4 in cooperation with thebase 5 c, and atiptoe band 5 b that surrounds the vicinity oftiptoe 4 d of thefoot 4 in cooperation with thebase 5 c. - Since a tip end side of the
foot 4 from theankle 4 a is restrained to thefoot restraining member 5 by means of thebase 5 c, theankle band 5 a and thetiptoe band 5 b, thefoot 4 is avoided from coming off or slipping off from thepedal 3. Accordingly, the user can freely perform a plantar flexion movement or a dorsal flexion movement of his or her ankle joint with his or herfoot 4 being restrained to thefoot restraining member 5. - The
base 5 c of thefoot restraining member 5 has aheel support portion 6 a that supports aheel 4 b of the user'sfoot 4, anarch support portion 6 b that supports anarch 4 c of thefoot 4, and atiptoe support portion 6 c that supports thetiptoe 4 d of thefoot 4. Thefoot restraining member 5 is fixedly secured to thepedal 3 in such a manner that therotation shaft 3 a of thepedal 3 is disposed right under theheel support portion 6 a. As a result, the direction of a force, which is generated by depression or stepping down of thefoot 4 and has its base point on the bottom or sole of theheel 4 b, passes through therotation shaft 3 a of thepedal 3, so the user can depress or push down thepedal 3 by means of theheel 4 b. - When the user depresses or steps down the
pedal 3 with the tip end side of the user'sfoot 4 from theankle 4 a being restrained by thefoot restraining member 5, thelink 2 is caused to rotate in one direction by means of the user's pedal depressing force. At this time, the direction of the user's pedal depressing force passes through therotation shaft 3 a of thepedal 3. - Since it is possible for the ankle joint of the user's
foot 4 to perform a plantar flexion movement or a dorsal flexion movement, the user has to put strength so as to fix the rotational angle of the ankle joint when depressing thepedal 3. - According to the therapeutic exercise apparatus of this embodiment, the
foot restraining member 5 for restraining thefoot 4 is fixed to thepedal 3 in such a manner that therotation shaft 3 a of thepedal 3 is disposed right under theheel support portion 6 a. With such an arrangement, the user can push down or depress thepedal 3 by his or herheel 4 b without his or herfoot 4 coming off or slipping off from thepedal 3. As a result, it is possible to make the user requiring gait training easily catch a sense of stepping down from theheel 4 b, which is needed for walking. - In addition, since the
foot restraining member 5 has thebase 5 c, theankle band 5 a and thetiptoe band 5 b, and serves to restrain the tip end side of thefoot 4 of the user from theankle 4 a, the ankle joint of the user'sfoot 4 is made possible to perform a plantar flexion movement or a dorsal flexion movement, and the user has to put strength so as to fix the rotational angle of the ankle joint when depressing or stepping down thepedal 3, as a consequence of which the user is able to train muscular strength around the ankle joint. -
FIG. 2 is a partial side elevational view of a therapeutic exercise apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.FIG. 3 is a side elevational view that showsconcave portions 3 b of apedal 3 and convexportions 5 f (though only one is illustrated) of afoot restraining member 5, which are based onFIG. 2 of Japanese patent application laid-open No. H5-131968. - The
pedal 3 is provided on its opposite sides with theconcave portions 3 b that act as engagement portions for engaging thefoot restraining member 5. Theconvex portions 5 f, which act as engaged portions that are adapted to be selectively fitted into theconcave portions 3 b of thepedal 3, are formed on a surface of abase 5 c of thefoot restraining member 5 facing in opposition to thepedal 3 at three locations including aheel support portion 6 a, anarch support portion 6 b and atiptoe support portion 6 c. - An attachable and detachable unit, which serves to attach the
foot restraining member 5 to thepedal 3 in a detachable manner, is composed of theconcave portions 3 b of thepedal 3 and theconvex portions 5 f of thebase 5 c. With this attachable and detachable unit, thefoot restraining member 5 can be detached from thepedal 3 when it is not necessary to restrain thefoot 4. - In addition, in case where the user depresses or steps down the
pedal 3 by means of thefoot 4 in the vicinity of anarch 4 c thereof, he or she is able to place thepedal 3 right under thearch support portion 6 b by fitting theconvex portion 5 f of thearch support portion 6 b into theconcave portions 3 b of thepedal 3. As a result, the user can do an exercise in which thepedal 3 is depressed or stepped down by thearch 4 c of thefoot 4. - Further, in case where the user depresses or steps down the
pedal 3 by means of thefoot 4 in the vicinity oftiptoe 4 d thereof he or she is able to place thepedal 3 right under thetiptoe support portion 6 c by fitting theconvex portion 5 f of thetiptoe support portion 6 c into theconcave portions 3 b of thepedal 3. As a result, the user can do an exercise in which thepedal 3 is depressed or stepped down by thetiptoe 4 d of thefoot 4, thus making it possible to enhance the effect of training muscular strength around an ankle joint. - The construction of this second embodiment other than the above is similar to that of the first embodiment.
- According to the therapeutic exercise apparatus of this second embodiment, the
foot restraining member 5 is attachable and detachable with respect to thepedal 3, so by detaching thefoot restraining member 5 from thepedal 3, a user who wants to depress or step down thepedal 3 for example by means of thearch 4 c of thefoot 4 is also able to use the therapeutic exercise apparatus by directly depressing thepedal 3. - In addition, the
pedal 3 is provided with theconcave portions 3 b, and thebase 5 c of thefoot restraining member 5 is formed with theconvex portions 5 f, which are adapted to be selectively fitted into theconcave portions 3 b of thepedal 3, at the three locations including theheel support portion 6 a, thearch support portion 6 b and thetiptoe support portion 6 c. With such arrangements, a user can depress or step down thepedal 3 for example by means of thearch 4 c of thefoot 4, and in addition, the user can also depress or step down thepedal 3 by means of thetiptoe 4 d of thefoot 4. -
FIG. 4 is a partial side elevational view of a therapeutic exercise apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention. - In the therapeutic exercise apparatus according to this third embodiment, a
foot restraining member 5 has a lowerthigh support portion 5 d that supports alower thigh 4 e of aleg 4 of a user, and alower thigh band 5 e that surrounds the circumference of thelower thigh 4 e in cooperation with the lowerthigh support portion 5 d, wherein thelower thigh 4 e is restrained by the lowerthigh support portion 5 d and thelower thigh band 5 e. - The lower
thigh support portion 5 d is formed integrally with abase 5 c, and when the lowerthigh support portion 5 d and thelower thigh band 5 e cooperate to each other to restrain thelower thigh 4 e, an ankle joint of the user's leg orfoot 4 is fixed to a predetermined angle. - The construction of this third embodiment other than the above is similar to that of the first embodiment.
- Here, note that the
foot restraining member 5 and thepedal 3 may be formed in a mutually attachable and detachable relation with respect to each other, as in the case of the therapeutic exercise apparatus according to the second embodiment. In this case, either one of thefoot restraining member 5 of the therapeutic exercise apparatus according to the second embodiment and thefoot restraining member 5 of the therapeutic exercise apparatus according to the third embodiment can be appropriately selected according to the degree of muscular strength recovery of a user. - When the user depresses or steps down the
pedal 3 with the user'sfoot 4 being restrained by thefoot restraining member 5, alink 2 is caused to rotate in one direction under the action of this depressing force. At this time, the user need not fix the rotational angle of the ankle joint by his or her own force because the ankle joint of the user'sfoot 4 is fixed to the predetermined angle. As a result, for example, even in case where a user whose muscular strength has not yet been recovered can not fix his or her ankle joint in an appropriate manner, he or she is able to rotate thelink 2 in the one direction by depressing or stepping down thepedal 3. - According to the therapeutic exercise apparatus of this third embodiment, the
foot restraining member 5 has the lowerthigh support portion 5 d that serves to support thelower thigh 4 e of theleg 4 of a user, and thelower thigh band 5 e that surrounds the circumference of thelower thigh 4 e in cooperation with the lowerthigh support portion 5 d. With such a construction, for example, even in case where the user can not fix his or her ankle joint by his or her own force, he or she is able to rotate thelink 2 in one direction by depressing or stepping down thepedal 3. - Although in the above-mentioned second embodiment, reference has been made to the therapeutic exercise apparatus in which the
concave portions 3 b are formed on thepedal 3, and theconvex portions 5 f, which are adapted to be selectively fitted into theconcave portions 3 b of thepedal 3, are formed on thebase 5 c, the present invention is not of course limited to such one, but can also be applied to a therapeutic exercise apparatus in which convex portions are formed on the opposite sides of thepedal 3, respectively, and concave portions adapted to be selectively engaged with the convex portions are formed on thebase 5 c. In addition, the present invention may be applied to a therapeutic exercise apparatus that has a different type of attachable and detachable unit such as for example a hook and loop fastener, etc., which is mounted or formed on opposed surfaces of thepedal 3 and thebase 5 c facing in opposition to each other. - Moreover, although in the above-mentioned respective embodiments, reference has been made to the therapeutic exercise apparatuses each of which includes the
link 2 and thepedal 3 which are rotatable only within the predetermined angular ranges, respectively, the present invention is not of course limited to such ones, but may be applied, for example, to a therapeutic exercise apparatus that has a link and a pedal which are rotatable through an angle of 360 degrees or more, as in the case of a crank and a pedal of a bicycle. - While the invention has been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced with modifications within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
Claims (5)
1. A therapeutic exercise apparatus comprising:
a main body;
a link that has a first end portion rotatably mounted on said main body;
a pedal that is mounted through a rotation shaft on a second end portion of said link for rotation relative to said link and, upon depression by a foot of a user, rotates said link; and
a foot restraining member located on said pedal for restraining the foot, wherein
said foot restraining member has a base including a heel support portion for supporting a heel of the foot; and
said heel support portion can be disposed on said pedal in such a manner that direction of a force, which is generated by depression pedal by the foot and has a base point on a bottom of the heel, passes through said rotation shaft.
2. The therapeutic exercise apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , including an attachable and detachable unit located between said pedal and said foot restraining member detachably attaching said foot restraining member to said pedal.
3. The therapeutic exercise apparatus as set forth in claim 2 , wherein said attachable and detachable unit has
an engagement portion on said pedal, and
a plurality of engaged portions located on a surface of said base, facing in opposition to said pedal, selectively engaging said engagement portion.
4. The therapeutic exercise apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , wherein said foot restraining member further has an ankle band that surrounds a circumference of an ankle of the foot in cooperation with said base.
5. The therapeutic exercise apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , wherein said foot restraining member further has
a lower thigh support portion that is integral with said heel support portion and supports a lower thigh of a leg of the user, and
a lower thigh band for surrounding a circumference of the lower thigh in cooperation with said lower thigh support portion.
Applications Claiming Priority (4)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
JP2007014654 | 2007-01-25 | ||
JP2007-014654 | 2007-01-25 | ||
JP2008003155A JP2008200484A (en) | 2007-01-25 | 2008-01-10 | Exercise therapy device |
JP2008-003155 | 2008-01-10 |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20080214366A1 true US20080214366A1 (en) | 2008-09-04 |
Family
ID=39733537
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US12/019,018 Abandoned US20080214366A1 (en) | 2007-01-25 | 2008-01-24 | Therapeutic exercise apparatus |
Country Status (1)
Country | Link |
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US (1) | US20080214366A1 (en) |
Citations (6)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US2641249A (en) * | 1951-01-17 | 1953-06-09 | Healthomatic Corp | Adjustable foot support device for exercising machines |
US4815222A (en) * | 1987-01-09 | 1989-03-28 | Nike, Inc. | Cleated cycling shoe with support straps |
US5027794A (en) * | 1990-02-20 | 1991-07-02 | Pdlx Company | Exercise device |
US5251508A (en) * | 1990-09-18 | 1993-10-12 | 174805 Canada Inc. | Device for connecting a cycling shoe to the crank arm of a bicycle |
US6725742B2 (en) * | 2002-02-06 | 2004-04-27 | David Albert Bremer | Use of studs in a bicycle shoe and pedal system |
US6730003B1 (en) * | 2002-05-14 | 2004-05-04 | Joe H. Phillips | Pedal assembly for stationary bicycle |
-
2008
- 2008-01-24 US US12/019,018 patent/US20080214366A1/en not_active Abandoned
Patent Citations (6)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US2641249A (en) * | 1951-01-17 | 1953-06-09 | Healthomatic Corp | Adjustable foot support device for exercising machines |
US4815222A (en) * | 1987-01-09 | 1989-03-28 | Nike, Inc. | Cleated cycling shoe with support straps |
US5027794A (en) * | 1990-02-20 | 1991-07-02 | Pdlx Company | Exercise device |
US5251508A (en) * | 1990-09-18 | 1993-10-12 | 174805 Canada Inc. | Device for connecting a cycling shoe to the crank arm of a bicycle |
US6725742B2 (en) * | 2002-02-06 | 2004-04-27 | David Albert Bremer | Use of studs in a bicycle shoe and pedal system |
US6730003B1 (en) * | 2002-05-14 | 2004-05-04 | Joe H. Phillips | Pedal assembly for stationary bicycle |
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Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC ENGINEERING COMPANY, LIMITED, Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:HAYASHI, TAKUYA;REEL/FRAME:020620/0142 Effective date: 20080128 |
|
STCB | Information on status: application discontinuation |
Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION |