U.S. patent application number 09/791166 was filed with the patent office on 2002-02-21 for bi-lateral body weight support system.
Invention is credited to Borsheim, John T..
Application Number | 20020022554 09/791166 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 26879839 |
Filed Date | 2002-02-21 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020022554 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Borsheim, John T. |
February 21, 2002 |
Bi-lateral body weight support system
Abstract
An exercise and therapeutic device having a patient support
suspended upon a pneumatic spring. The pneumatic spring is
extendable and retractable over an operative extension range during
a patient treatment session. The operative extension range includes
a low level oscillation range such as occurs when a patient runs on
a treadmill and a high level oscillation range such as when a
patient performs knee-bends, squats, hops and jumps. The pneumatic
spring is adapted to impart continuous upward force upon the
patient support during a treatment session in a manner so that the
upward force has a substantially hyperbolic magnitude across both
the low level oscillation range and the high level oscillation
range. The pneumatic spring includes a piston reciprocatingly and
sealingly engaged within a cylinder. The piston divides the
cylinder into two variable chambers. An accumulator is in fluid
communication with one of the variable volume chambers of the
cylinder for increasing the effective air volume of the cylinder
within which the piston operates. The accumulator forms an
enveloping sleeve about the cylinder. A pressure gauge is placed in
fluid communication with the pneumatic spring and is calibrated to
display the magnitude of the upward force being applied to the
patient support by the pneumatic spring. The cylinder has one or
more direct port(s) to the accumulator for facilitating the
exchange of air between the cylinder and the accumulator. The
direct port has a diameter of at least three-eights of an inch
which serves to minimize damping effects caused by the direct
port's narrowed passage between the cylinder and the
accumulator.
Inventors: |
Borsheim, John T.; (Austin,
TX) |
Correspondence
Address: |
TRACY W. DRUCE
KILPATRICK STOCKTON LLP
11130 SUNRISE VALLEY DRIVE
SUITE 300
RESTON
VA
20191-4329
US
|
Family ID: |
26879839 |
Appl. No.: |
09/791166 |
Filed: |
February 22, 2001 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60184134 |
Feb 22, 2000 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
482/54 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61H 3/008 20130101;
A63B 22/02 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
482/54 |
International
Class: |
A63B 022/02 |
Claims
What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is as
follow:
1. A body weight support apparatus comprising: a frame comprising:
a base adapted to extend under a treadmill; two fixed members and
two movable angle members adapted together to extend from the base
over the treadmill; a hoist subsystem attached to said frame and
operable for positioning a subject on the treadmill; a pneumatic
spring support subsystem attached to said frame and operable for
providing resilient support to a subject on said treadmill; and an
angled members orientation control subsystem attached to said frame
and adapted to control the distance between the terminal ends of
said movable angled members.
Description
RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS
[0001] This patent application claims priority to U.S. Provisional
Application No. 60/184,134 filed Feb. 22, 2000. Said application in
its entirety is hereby expressly incorporated by reference into the
present application.
DESCRIPTION
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
[0002] The present invention relates to exercise and therapeutic
equipment; and more particularly, to exercise and therapeutic
devices that support all or a portion of a person's weight for
permitting therapeutic and training sessions that would otherwise
be difficult or impossible for the subject to perform, if subject
were required to support his or her entire weight.
BACKGROUND ART
[0003] Apparatus for supporting all or a portion of a subject's
body weight during therapy are known. Reference is made to the
WOODWAY Loko System.RTM. illustrated in FIG. 1. The WOODWAY system
employs a single pair of cable assemblies 100 supported by fixed
support arms 110 which extend over a treadmill 120. The support
arms 110 maintain the cable assemblies 100 at a fixed distance
apart. The ability to tailor the distance between the cables 100 to
the particular subject 140 is not provided. Each cable assembly 100
incorporates a winch 130 for assisting in initial positioning of
the subject 140 and a scale 150 for estimating the subject's 140
weight. Hoisting the subject 140 into position requires coordinated
operation of the manual winches 130 by an operator 160. Determining
the weight of the subject 140 requires that the subject 140 remain
still over the period of time required to consult both scales 150.
The illustrated system provides only a hard limit support at the
full extension of the scales 150 and employs the scales 150 in a
support role not typically intended for commercially available
scales of the type illustrated. As illustrated it is apparent that
the therapist(s) 160 will typically attend the subject 140 during
use of the equipment. In order to control either the treadmill 120
or the support apparatus, a therapist/operator 160 would have to
divert their attention away from the subject 140.
[0004] Reference is also made to Applicant's pending application
for U.S. Pat. Ser. No. 09/021,554 for EXERCISE AND REHABILITATION
APPARATUS AND METHOD filed Feb. 10, 1998, which is hereby fully
incorporated by reference. In the referenced application, an
exercise and therapeutic device providing a subject with support
via a pneumatic spring assembly is disclosed. The pneumatic spring
assembly overcomes drawbacks of hard limit body weight support
devices such as the WOODW/kY device. The invention of the
referenced application also provides an operator with control of
pneumatic pressure, but as with control of the treadmill in the
WOODWAY system, a therapist operator would have to divert their
attention away from the subject.
[0005] In light of the characteristics of the background art
described above, there exists a need for a body weight support
apparatus which provides: improved ability to hoist the subject
into and out of position; improved weight measurement; variable
separation between support cables; and a degree of control of the
treadmill and support apparatus without a therapist/operator having
to divert attention away from the subject.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
[0006] In the disclosed embodiment, the present invention
alleviates the drawbacks described above with respect to the known
body weight support systems.
[0007] The body weight support apparatus of the current invention
consists of a frame; a hoist subsystem attached to the frame and
operable for positioning a subject on the treadmill; a two-cable
pneumatic spring support subsystem also attached to said frame and
operable for providing bilateral resilient support to a subject on
the treadmill; a frame orientation control subsystem attached to
the frame and adapted to control the distance between the support
cables.
[0008] The general beneficial effects described above apply
generally to each of the exemplary descriptions and
characterizations of the devices and mechanisms disclosed herein.
The specific structures through which these benefits are delivered
will be described in detail hereinbelow.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] In the following, the invention will be described in greater
detail by way of examples and with reference to the attached
drawings, in which:
[0010] FIG. 1 is an illustration of the Woodway background art
device.
[0011] FIG. 2 is an perspective view of the present invention.
[0012] FIG. 3 is an perspective view of the present invention.
[0013] FIG. 4 is a detailed view of the screw assembly and control
bar of the present invention.
[0014] FIG. 5 is a detailed view of the cable separation indicator
of the present invention.
[0015] FIG. 6 is a detailed view of the screw assembly of the
present invention.
[0016] FIG. 7 is a detailed view of the lower hoist rope pulley
with slave cylinder of the present invention.
[0017] FIG. 8 is a view of the interface panel of the voice control
of the present invention.
[0018] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of
the present invention.
[0019] FIG. 10 is a view of the attachment means for attaching the
struts to the frame.
MODE(S) FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
[0020] As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention
are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the
disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that
may be embodied in various and alternative forms. The figures are
not necessarily to scale; some features may be exaggerated or
minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore,
specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not
to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims
and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art
to variously employ the present invention.
[0021] Furthermore, elements may be recited as being "coupled";
this terminology's use contemplates elements being connected
together in such a way that there may be other components
interstitially located between the specified elements, and that the
elements so specified may be connected in fixed or movable relation
one to the other. Certain components may be described as being
"adjacent" to one another. In these instances, it is expected that
a relationship so characterized shall be interpreted to mean that
the components are located proximate to one another, but not
necessarily in contact with each other. Normally there will be an
absence of other components positioned therebetween, but this is
not a requirement. Still further, some structural relationships or
orientations may be designated with the word "substantially". In
those cases, it is meant that the relationship or orientation is as
described, with allowances for variations that do not effect the
cooperation of the so described component or components.
[0022] Referring to FIGS. 2 through 7, a preferred embodiment of
the bilateral body weight support 200 of the present invention is
shown. The illustrated embodiment consist of (1) a frame and (2) a
hoist, support, and control (HSC) assembly.
[0023] The frame consists of a base 210, two fixed members 220,
221; two movable angled members 230, 235, and accompanying struts
240, 241, 242, 243. The base 210 is a ladder frame adapted to
extend horizontally under a treadmill 120. The two (2) fixed
members 220, 221 are attached at opposite sides of the base 210
near one end of the base 210 and oriented substantially vertical.
Supplemental support to is provided by two (2) first struts 240,
241 each extending from the base 210 to a point on a corresponding
fixed member 220, 221. Each movable angled member 230, 235 consists
of a lower portion 231, 236 substantially coaxial with the axis of
a corresponding fixed member 220, 221 and an upper portion 232, 237
extending over the base 210. The movable angled members 230, 235
are adapted to be pivotable about the axis of the angled member's
230, 235 lower portion 231, 236. Two (2) second struts 242, 243
provide supplementary support to corresponding movable angled
members 230, 235 by extending from a point on a movable angled
member's 230, 235 upper portion 232, 237 to a point on that movable
angled members 230, 235 corresponding fixed member 220, 221.
[0024] The HSC assembly consists of an housing 340, a hoist
subsystem, a pneumatic spring support subsystem, and an angled
members orientation control subsystem. The operation of individual
support cables 300, 301 in conjunction with a pneumatic spring is
described in detail in Applicant's pending application for U.S.
Pat. Ser. No. 09/021,554. Generally, a pneumatic spring in
conjunction with support cables 300, 301, provides resilient
support to the subject 140 during use of a treadmill 120. The
pneumatic spring support subsystem of the current invention removes
the need for the spreader bar disclosed in the pending application
by using a pair of support cables 300, 301 connected to a pair of
independent pneumatic springs. In the present invention, the
pneumatic springs are deployed within the fixed members 220, 221 of
the frame. Each support cable 300, 301, in mechanical communication
with its corresponding pneumatic spring is threaded through its
corresponding fixed and angled frame members 220, 221, 230, 235
then over a support cable pulley 320, 321 disposed near the distal
end of the angled members 230, 235. Each support cable 300, 301 is
terminated with hardware suitable for attaching the support cable
to a harness to be worn by the subject 140. One pneumatic spring
support subsystem measurement device 330, 331, adapted to display a
measurement corresponding to the pressure in each pneumatic spring
interfaces with each pneumatic spring. The pneumatic spring support
subsystem measurement devices 330, 331 and associated interface
hardware are contained within the housing 340.
[0025] The hoist subsystem includes a pair of hoist ropes 350, 351,
a winch 380, a scale 380, three (3) sets of pulleys 306A, 360B,
361, 362 and associated interconnection hardware. In the
illustrated embodiment, a manually operated winch 370, mounted in
conjunction with the HSC housing 340, holds two (2) lengths of
hoist rope 350, 351 which are disposed around two double-channel
pulleys 361, 362 mounted at the interior face of the HSC housing
340. One of the double channel pulleys 361 is connected to a slave
cylinder in communication with the scale 380 for indicating the
tension applied to the hoist ropes 350, 351. The slave cylinder
arrangement is illustrated in FIG. 7. Each hoist rope 350, 351 is
further disposed around a separate single-channel pulley 360A, 360B
at the distal end of each movable angled members 230, 235. Each
hoist rope 350, 351 is terminated with hardware suitable for
attaching the hoist rope 350, 351 to a harness worn by the subject
140.
[0026] The angled members orientation control subsystem includes a
screw assembly 370, a control plate 371, and two (2) control struts
372, 373. The screw assembly 370 is mounted within the housing 340
and is in mechanical communication with the control plate 371 at
one end of the control plate 371. The control plate 371 is
pivotally affixed to a face of the housing 340 at a second end of
the control plate distal from the screw assembly 370. At the
control plate end adjacent the screw assembly 370, the control
plate 371 is captively engaged with the screw assembly 370 threads
so that as the screw is rotated in one direction the control plate
371 pivots counterclockwise about its distal pivot point; and as
the screw is rotated in an opposite direction the control plate 371
pivots clockwise about its distal pivot point. Two control struts
372, 373 are pivotally attached to the control plate 371. Each
control strut 372, 373 extends to the distal end of separate
movable angle members 230, 235 where it is pivotally attached so as
not to interfere with operation of the pulleys 320, 321, 360A, 360B
also attached at the distal end of that movable angled members 230,
235. As the control plate 371 pivots in a first direction, the
distal ends of the movable angled members 230, 236 are forced to
separate. As the control plate 371 pivots in a second opposite
direction, the distal ends of the movable angled members 230, 235
are forced to come closer to one another. The distance between the
distal ends of the movable angled members 230, 235 is free to
change because each movable angled members 230, 235 is rotatable
about the central axis of its lower portion 231, 236. In the
illustrated embodiment, a scale 380 is provided on the HSC housing
340 to indicate to approximate distance between the distal ends of
the movable angled members 230, 235.
[0027] Referring to FIG. 8, in another embodiment of the present
invention, voice control of the treadmill 120 and body weight
support apparatus is provided. Voice control may be of the type
which requires training of the voice control system, or of the type
which requires no training. In the instant embodiment, voice
control is implemented using an off-the-shelf voice control module
and attendant interface circuitry and hardware. Voice control has
been implemented in the current invention to provide both gross and
vernier adjustment of treadmill 120 speed, treadmill 120
inclination, support cable tension, and support cable deployed
length. Voice control of support cable tension and support cable
deployed length has been implemented in the instant invention for
individual support cables and jointly for the pair of support
cables.
[0028] Referring to FIG. 9, a separate embodiment of the current
invention is shown as a single pole body weight support
apparatus.
[0029] Although the present invention has been described and
illustrated in detail, it is to be clearly understood that the same
is by way of illustration and example only, and is not to be taken
as a limitation. The spirit and scope of the present invention are
to be limited only by the terms of any claims presented
hereafter.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
[0030] The present invention relates to exercise and therapeutic
equipment; and more particularly, to exercise and therapeutic
devices that support all or a portion of a person's weight for
permitting therapeutic and training sessions that would otherwise
be difficult or impossible for the subject to perform, if subject
were required to support his or her entire weight.
* * * * *