WO2000076593A1

WO2000076593A1 - Device for controlling equipment, for example exercise equipment

Info

Publication number: WO2000076593A1
Application number: PCT/EP2000/004759
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hans-Hermann Spohr; Manfred Wittenstein
Original assignee: Wittenstein Gmbh & Co. Kg
Priority date: 1999-06-11
Filing date: 2000-05-25
Publication date: 2000-12-21
Also published as: ES2207559T3; JP2003501227A; EP1185341B1; DE50004261D1; EP1185341A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for controlling equipment (1), especially exercise equipment, equipment for physical therapy or the like. Said device is provided with an operating element (2) which is displaced about and/or along an axis. According to the invention, the at least one operating element (2) can be driven in order to simulate an active load.

Description

Device for controlling a device, such as fitness equipment

The invention relates to a device for controlling a device, in particular fitness devices, devices for movement therapy or the like. With at least one actuating device which can be moved about and / or along an axis.

Devices of this type are known and customary on the market in a wide variety of forms and designs. They are known in the field of exercise therapy as well as in the fitness area. For example, fitness devices are known in which the load can be simulated, but which must be set manually. With appropriate training devices, the loads are often changed manually or during operation, which is undesirable.

In addition, the patient or the user often does not have the opportunity to have a permanent influence on their training process, especially when they are treated again.

In particular, it is very time-consuming and costly to record a training program that has taken place and to modify or adapt it to a future training program or therapy. This requires a lot of staff, which is also undesirable.

The present invention has for its object to provide a device for controlling a device such as fitness equipment, devices for exercise therapy, with which the above. Disadvantages are eliminated and which enables therapy, in particular movement therapy and also fitness training, and which can be easily adapted individually during operation and also for subsequent therapies.

In addition, costs and personnel costs for the modification of therapies, in particular movement therapies, are to be saved.

To achieve this object, the at least one actuating device can be driven to simulate an active load.

In the present invention, a device is created in which an actuating device for Simulation of an active load for performing a translatory and / or rotary movement is electrically drivable for a user.

In this case, a drive, in particular an electric motor, is used to move the actuating device rotationally and / or translationally, as is described, for example, in German utility model DE 299 17 818.8. On the content of the above Utility model is expressly referred to, it should be part of the present invention.

A device for controlling a device, such as an aircraft, flight simulator, robot or the like, is described there, wherein a handle can be moved about two axes A and B which are perpendicular to one another. For simulation purposes, the handle can be swiveled around the axes using appropriate drives. However, it is also conceivable to move the handle linearly and / or rotationally. The movement of the actuating device or the handle is positively controlled via the drive.

For movement therapy in particular, this force-controlled movement can be counteracted, for example by means of a hand, in order to carry out a specific therapy process.

In this case, the force, measured at any distance, can be freely selected, in particular programmed, which is to be applied to the actuating device in each case.

Furthermore, the facility, in particular the

Actuator a sensor, in particular a

Force sensor assigned, which exactly the manually applied force when operating the actuating device from the outside measures. A difference or a target / actual comparison can be carried out via this force, it being ascertained whether the force is sufficient to carry out the therapy process or whether the force is too low or decreases over time during therapy or during training , so that the active load can be adapted to the changing manually applied force.

The parameters, such as pulse and / or blood pressure, can be included in the training or therapy process.

It is also advantageous in the present invention that all therapies or training sequences are stored with a measurement recording system, and can optionally be removed using a chip card, so that they are available again when the training sequence or therapy is repeated. Thereby, therapy or a training process can be optimized and influenced in a program-controlled manner.

For example, the simulation of the active load on the actuating device can be influenced in a program-controlled manner. Likewise, the parameters of the speed of the actuating device and correspondingly traveled distances of the actuating device can be influenced in a program-controlled manner. This electrically operated actuation device or active load is therefore suitable in such a way that no complex apparatus, fitness equipment with weights or the like are necessary to carry out a specific movement sequence.

These weights can be omitted, any number of intermediate sizes, different forces for different movements on different ones Distances are set, which is not easily possible with mechanical fitness equipment. Every training or therapy process can be saved completely, which is also an advantage.

In addition, there is an absolutely controlled movement training and / or therapy training as well as exact process monitoring, which is advantageous.

Further advantages, features and details of the invention result from the following description of preferred exemplary embodiments and from the drawing; this shows in

Figure 1 is a schematic plan view of a device for controlling a device;

Figure 2 is a schematic view of the device according to Figure 1 with a plurality of connectable elements.

According to FIG. 1, a device Ri according to the invention for controlling a device 1, such as fitness equipment, devices for movement therapy or the like, has an actuating device 2 which rotates about the axes X, Y and Z and / or along the axes X, Y and Z is movable, as shown in the coordinate systems.

The actuating device can be, for example, a joystick, a lever, a pedal or the like. There is no limit to the invention here. The actuating device can be actuated manually, for example, by means of a hand or a foot, an arm or a leg of a human body or with the human body itself.

It allows a specific movement along the axes X, Y, Z in a rotary and / or linear manner, it being of crucial importance in the present invention that the actuating device 2 can be driven in rotation and / or linearly by means of a drive 3 to simulate an active load .

The drive 3 is preferably designed as an electric motor, with a between the actuating device 2 and the drive 3 Transmission 4 can be interposed or arranged in between.

It is also of crucial importance in the present invention that a sensor 5, in particular a force sensor, is assigned to the device 1, in particular an actuating device 2, for the continuous and permanent detection, in particular measurement, of a manual force applied to the actuating device 2.

If a manual force is applied to the actuating device 2, the force sensor 5 determines this manually applied force.

Through the active simulation and movement of the actuating device 2 by means of the drive 3, which can be carried out under program control, wherein determinable and certain movement sequences are possible at a specific speed in certain distances or rotation angles, freely selectable movement sequences can be programmed and carried out.

For this purpose, for example, the patient can move the actuating device 2 via a so-called teach-in method, the movement being carried out by one person

Computer 6, see FIG. 2, is stored and the device 1 for simulating an active load then repeats this input movement, in particular this therapeutic movement of the actuating device 2 to be carried out via the drive 3, as often as desired.

The patient tracks this entire movement using his arm, for example. With this movement, the user can counteract a manually applied force F, which is only symbolically indicated in FIGS. 1 and 2. He can, for example, press the actuator 2 with a determinable force, the apparatus R, the device 1 especially _lt counteracts this force via the drive. 3

The force sensor 5 can be used to determine exactly how high the applied force is, and a control and influencing of the movement is possible by comparing the actual value and the target value after manual force has been applied to the actuating device 2.

If the manual force on the actuating device 2 is too low to move the device 1, in particular the actuating device 2 in the programmed movement sequence, the active load can be reduced in a program-controlled manner.

In this case, as is particularly shown in FIG. 2, in the case of a device R _2, a pulse sensor 7 or blood pressure sensor 8 can be connected to the personal computer 6 or to the device 1

Connection is established, be connected in order to influence the control of the active load or the simulation of the active load and in particular the active actuation of the actuating device 2 via the drive 3.

If the pulse and blood pressure rise to an undesirably high level, the active load is automatically reduced or increased in accordance with the desired and programmable sequence. It is also advantageous in the present invention that, for example, in a measurement recording system 9, in particular data carriers and, if appropriate, The individual training courses or therapy courses can be stored via an externally removable chip card 10.

The stored data can thus be used to influence a follow-up therapy or the follow-up training by increasing, decreasing or changing the active loads for the follow-up training or by adapting or changing the corresponding movements of the actuating devices 2. This should also be within the scope of the present invention.

Item number list

Claims

claims

1. Device for controlling a device (1), in particular fitness devices, devices for movement therapy or the like, with at least one actuating device (2) which can be moved about and / or along an axis,

characterized,

that the at least one actuating device (2) can be driven to simulate an active load.

2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the device (1), in particular for generating the active load, is assigned a drive (3), in particular an electric motor.

3. Device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a gear (4) is arranged between the device (1) and the drive (3).

4. The device according to at least one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that for continuous, permanent detection, in particular measurement of an externally to the device (1), in particular actuating device

(2) applied manual load, the device (1) and / or the actuating device (2) and / or the transmission (4) is assigned at least one sensor (5), in particular a force sensor.

5. The device according to at least one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that for the simulation of an active If the actuating device (2) can be moved around and / or along the at least one axis (X, Y, Z) with a permanently selectable and continuously adjustable, possibly changeable force (F) and changeable path (S).

6. The device according to at least one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that a simulation of an active load and a determinable movement of the actuating device (2) is carried out under program control.

7. The device according to at least one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that a simulation, in particular an active movement of the actuating device (2) is program-controlled, individual and user-specific.

8. The device according to at least one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that for actively moving and controlling the actuating device (2), in particular for simulating the active load, the manually applied load on the actuating device (2) can be determined and in the case of determinable differences between active load and manually created load, the active load or simulation is corrected automatically and program-controlled.

9. The device according to at least one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that a control of the actuating device (2), in particular a simulation of an active load, such as force, speed of the actuating device (2) and distance traveled, possibly via a signal from a pulse sensor (7) and / or signal of a blood pressure sensor (8) can be changed during operation.

10. The device according to at least one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the manual at the Actuator (2) applied load can be permanently stored on a data carrier, in particular chip card (9) or personal computer (6) and can be reused as reference values for a renewed training or renewed therapy to increase or modify and evaluate a therapy or a training.

11. The device according to at least one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that a comparison is made between the manual load to be actually applied to the actuating device (2) and the actually applied manual load to the actuating device (2) by means of the at least one sensor, where necessary, the active load is corrected automatically and under program control.