U.S. patent application number 10/910940 was filed with the patent office on 2005-06-16 for safety devices and methods for gymnastics and other activities.
Invention is credited to Rastegar, Jahangir S., Spinelli, Thomas.
Application Number | 20050130803 10/910940 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34656924 |
Filed Date | 2005-06-16 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050130803 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Rastegar, Jahangir S. ; et
al. |
June 16, 2005 |
Safety devices and methods for gymnastics and other activities
Abstract
An apparatus for protecting an individual from an unintended
fall is provided. The apparatus includes: a retractable cover
positioned where the individual is likely to fall and covering a
safe area for the unintended fall; a sensor for detecting a
likelihood of an occurrence of the unintended fall; and an
actuation mechanism for removing the retractable cover to expose
the safe area where the sensor detects the occurrence of the
unintended fall is likely. The actuation mechanism can also remove
the retractable cover to expose the safe area where an observer
recognizes that an occurrence of the unintended fall is likely.
Inventors: |
Rastegar, Jahangir S.;
(Stony Brook, NY) ; Spinelli, Thomas; (E.
Northport, NY) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Thomas Spinelli
2 Sipala Court
East Northport
NY
11731
US
|
Family ID: |
34656924 |
Appl. No.: |
10/910940 |
Filed: |
August 4, 2004 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60492456 |
Aug 4, 2003 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
482/15 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 2208/12 20130101;
A63B 6/02 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
482/015 |
International
Class: |
A63B 005/00; A63K
003/04 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An apparatus for protecting an individual from an unintended
fall, the apparatus comprising: a retractable cover positioned
where the individual is likely to fall and covering a safe area for
the unintended fall; a sensor for detecting a likelihood of an
occurrence of the unintended fall; and an actuation mechanism for
removing the retractable cover to expose the safe area where the
sensor detects the occurrence of the unintended fall is likely.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the individual is a
gymnast.
3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the safe area is a pit having
a soft material disposed therein.
4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the soft material is foam.
5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensor is a computer
vision system.
6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the retractable cover
comprises two or more segments, each of which is movable to expose
the safe area where the sensor detects the occurrence of the
unintended fall is likely.
7. An apparatus for protecting an individual from an unintended
fall, the apparatus comprising: a retractable cover positioned
where the individual is likely to fall and covering a safe area for
the unintended fall; and an actuation mechanism for removing the
retractable cover to expose the safe area where an observer
recognizes that an occurrence of the unintended fall is likely.
8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the individual is a
gymnast.
9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the safe area is a pit having
a soft material disposed therein.
10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the soft material is
foam.
11. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the retractable cover
comprises two or more segments, each of which is movable to expose
the safe area where the sensor detects the occurrence of the
unintended fall is likely.
12. A method for protecting an individual from an unintended fall,
the method comprising: positioning a retractable cover where the
individual is likely to fall and covering a safe area for the
unintended fall; detecting a likelihood of an occurrence of the
unintended fall; and removing the retractable cover to expose the
safe area where the sensor detects the occurrence of the unintended
fall is likely.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of earlier filed
provisional patent application, 60/492,456 filed Aug. 4, 2003,
entitled "Safety Devices For Gymnastics and Pole Vaulting," the
contents of which are incorporated herein by its reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates generally to safety devices,
and more particularly, to safety devices and methods for use in
gymnastics and other activities.
[0004] 2. Prior Art
[0005] Gymnastics is a dangerous sport. Every year, thousands of
children and adults suffer injuries during gymnastics activities.
These injuries occur mostly in training although injuries also
occur during various national and international competitions. One
of the most often occurring injuries in gymnastics is due to falls
or improper landing after dismount from the parallel bars, high
bars or rings. Most injuries occur during practice, even though in
these situations mats with various thickness and degree of
softness, depending on the characteristics of the gymnast and
his/her degree of expertise and the type of exercise to be
performed, are commonly placed in the landing area to absorb the
shock during landing or in case of a fall. The most dangerous fall
is where an athlete falls on his/her head. Such falls can cause
serious spinal injury and may even be fatal. Falls on the shoulder,
side or the back are less dangerous, but may cause serious soft
tissue damage and/or bone fracture or joint dislocation.
Uncontrollable foot landing is usually least dangerous, with the
most probable short-term injuries being those of the knee or ankle
due to twisting of the foot and/or the knee joints. However, with
the current mats in use, particularly with the stiffer mats used
while practicing dismount and landing and in competitions, the high
level of repetitive impact loading of the limbs, particularly the
foot, ankle and the knee joints, and even the spinal structure can
cause serious long-term medical problems.
[0006] One suggestion has been to have the athlete wear a helmet. A
helmet would provide a certain amount of protection if landing is,
for example, on the back or on the side and the head is to hit a
hard surface or member. However, a helmet does not provide
protection from falls on or nearly on the head, which usually cause
the severest types of injuries. In addition, wearing of a helmet is
very cumbersome and interferes with the sport itself; therefore,
athletes generally avoid wearing them. In addition, helmets cannot
be worn in competitions and do not prevent injuries as the result
of falls on the side or feet on hard surfaces.
[0007] A schematic of a gymnast 100 dismounting from a high bar 101
with posts 102 is shown in FIG. 1. Most of the time during
practice, particularly while learning new routines, the routings
are performed in front of a landing pit 103 so that during
accidental falls and/or during improper landing, the possibility of
injury becomes negligible. The pit 103 is several feet deep and is
filled with relatively small, soft foam cubes 105 so that when the
gymnast falls into the pit, even with head first, it would bring
him to a stop relatively slowly with negligible impact loading.
When the gymnast has learned the routine well and is ready to
practice landing, mats 104 with various thickness and softness are
used to minimize impact loading during landing and to prevent
injury during less than perfect landings. A properly selected thick
and soft mat 104 does minimize impact and prevent serious injuries
when landing is not done well, for example, when it is not at a
proper angle or not balanced and the athlete eventually falls
forward or on his behind. However, the mats do minimize, but do not
prevent falls on the back or the side. The mats almost never can
protect the gymnast against falls on the head. For the case of very
young gymnast who is relatively lightweight, the trainer can
usually protect the gymnast from a fall by catching him/her in the
air. Such an option does not exist when the gymnast becomes a
taller and heavier. The option of using a pit, a thick and soft
mat, or the trainer protection is not generally available during
competitions. During competitions, much harder mats are required to
be used. Harder mats must also be used while practicing for
landing. Harder mats are generally used in the competitions. Harder
mats are needed during competition so that the gymnast can present
his landing skills without the excessive deformation of the mat,
which tend to make the athlete lose his/her control during
landing.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] A need therefore exists for methods and systems based on
those methods to prevent fall injuries in the sport of gymnastics.
Such systems should obviously be designed such that they would not
impede the athlete from performing in the sport. The objective of
the methods, systems and their components that are disclosed in
this invention is to provide systems for preventing fall injuries
in the sport of gymnastics.
[0009] A method of the present invention is based on providing
appropriate pits 103 with covers, which are "retractable" in case
of fall danger. In this method, by allowing the athlete to fall
into the pit 103, the possibility of injury is minimized. The
retractable cover also serves as a mat with the appropriate amount
of impact absorption and stiffness. The design and construction of
such pits and the pieces of sponge or foam materials to be used for
their filling are well known in the art and are commercially
available.
[0010] The system based on the aforementioned method may be
equipped with one or more sensors to detect a dangerous fall or
landing and trigger the activation of the injury prevention
mechanism(s) of the system. The sensory device is preferably a
vision system that tracks the athlete and based on the athlete
trajectory, determines the probability of a dangerous situation
emerging. Alternatively, a trained observer such as the coach may
activate the injury prevention mechanism(s) of the system.
Experienced and physically capable trainers are routinely used to
prevent dangerous falls in younger, i.e., smaller and lighter,
gymnasts with great success. However, preferably the input from
more than one sensory system as well as from an experienced trainer
are used to provide a redundant triggering signal for more safety
and operational reliability.
[0011] The aforementioned method of using pits to provide for safe
falls and improper landings can be used in two different
situations. Firstly, the situation in which the gymnast is intended
to land in the pit anyway, e.g., during the exercise. In this
situation, once the gymnast has mounted the parallel bars, high
bars or the rings, the hard floor (normally covered by a mat) is no
longer needed and is therefore retracted. For the particular case
of parallel bars, the space between the parallel bars is never used
for dismount and this part of the pit covering can always be
retracted following mounting, even in competitions. As a result,
when the gymnast dismounts, he/she lands in the pit, thereby the
probability of injury is minimized.
[0012] Accordingly, an apparatus for protecting an individual from
an unintended fall is provided. The apparatus comprising: a
retractable cover positioned where the individual is likely to fall
and covering a safe area for the unintended fall; a sensor for
detecting a likelihood of an occurrence of the unintended fall; and
an actuation mechanism for removing the retractable cover to expose
the safe area where the sensor detects the occurrence of the
unintended fall is likely.
[0013] The individual can be a gymnast. The safe area can be a pit
having a soft material disposed therein. The soft material can be
foam.
[0014] The sensor can be a computer vision system.
[0015] The retractable cover can comprises two or more segments,
each of which is movable to expose the safe area where the sensor
detects the occurrence of the unintended fall is likely.
[0016] Also provided is an apparatus for protecting an individual
from an unintended fall. The apparatus comprising: a retractable
cover positioned where the individual is likely to fall and
covering a safe area for the unintended fall; and an actuation
mechanism for removing the retractable cover to expose the safe
area where an observer recognizes that an occurrence of the
unintended fall is likely.
[0017] The individual can be a gymnast. The safe area can be a pit
having a soft material disposed therein. The soft material can be
foam.
[0018] The retractable cover can comprise two or more segments,
each of which is movable to expose the safe area where the sensor
detects the occurrence of the unintended fall is likely.
[0019] Still further provided is a method for protecting an
individual from an unintended fall. The method comprising:
positioning a retractable cover where the individual is likely to
fall and covering a safe area for the unintended fall; detecting a
likelihood of an occurrence of the unintended fall; and removing
the retractable cover to expose the safe area where the sensor
detects the occurrence of the unintended fall is likely.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0020] These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the
apparatus and methods of the present invention will become better
understood with regard to the following description, appended
claims, and accompanying drawings where:
[0021] FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic of a high bar apparatus of
the prior art.
[0022] FIG. 2 illustrates a side schematic view of a high bar
apparatus of an embodiment of the present invention.
[0023] FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic cross sectional view of the
apparatus of FIG. 2 as taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 2.
[0024] FIG. 4 illustrates a segmented retractable cover for use in
the apparatus of FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0025] Although this invention is applicable to numerous and
various types of activities, it has been found particularly useful
in the environment of gymnastics. Therefore, without limiting the
applicability of the invention to gymnastics, the invention will be
described in such environment.
[0026] Referring now to FIG. 2, the same illustrates a schematic
for a high bar gymnastics apparatus. Although FIG. 2 illustrates a
high bar apparatus, the same can also be used for parallel bars and
the rings. In FIG. 2, the pit system 103 is shown with the high bar
101 and its posts 102. The landing pit 103 is positioned under the
high bar and covers the entire area within which the gymnast may
land in the worst possible accidental fall or improper landing. The
landing pit 103 is filled with the aforementioned material 105. The
pit is covered with a retractable cover 106.
[0027] The retractable cover can be flexible such as a safety net
or a rigid or semi rigid surface. For example, the retractable top
can have a rigid bottom, which is covered with a softer top, such
as a foam safety mat.
[0028] The triggering mechanism and mechanism for retracting the
retractable cover can be any such mechanisms known in the art, such
as those disclosed in co-pending U.S. application Ser. No.
10/406,954, the contents of which is incorporated herein by its
reference in its entirety.
[0029] The cross-section 3-3 of the pit 103 and its retractable
cover 106 of FIG. 2 are shown in FIG. 3. The system is equipped
with a sensor 107, which can be a vision system, which tracks the
motion of the gymnast. The sensor 107 may be fixed relative to the
ground or movable such as mounted on a piece of equipment or on the
head or the shoulders of the gymnast. When the sensor 107 detects a
probability for the occurrence of a fall or dangerous landing, it
sends a triggering signal to the triggering and control unit 108,
which would in turn send an appropriate signal to the actuation
mechanism 109 to retract the retractable cover 106. The landing pit
103 is therefore exposed and the gymnast would safely land inside
the pit filled with the filling material 105. The triggering and
control unit 108 is preferably equipped with a programmable
microprocessor or a personal computer, which would allow for an
operator to program the unit or use one of the stored programs to
affect the desired operation of the system. For example, when the
objective is to land in the pit 103 from the start, the sensor
signal indicating that the gymnast has mounted the double bar, high
bar or the ring is used to trigger the triggering and control unit
108 to affect the retraction of the pit top 106 by the actuation
mechanism 109.
[0030] The sensory component 107 preferably contains redundancy to
minimize the chances for a faulty action, particularly, the faulty
action corresponding to not triggering the deployment mechanism
when a dangerous falling or landing situation has arisen. To
minimize the chances of such an event occurring, and since a
trainer, a coach or an observer is almost always required to be
present during training and competitions, a triggering signal that
is generated by the trained observer is preferably one of the
redundant sensory signals. The triggering mechanism is preferably
constructed with a processor that is readily programmed to accept
different sensory inputs and related parameters. The control unit
108 may also handle such processing requirements.
[0031] The sensor 107 is preferably a vision system with
appropriately developed software to detect the possibility of a
fall or dangerous landing. Such software is well known in the art
of computer vision and can include detecting an improper trajectory
of the gymnast or an improper orientation of the gymnast relative
to a model or range of models. Such software can calculate a
likelihood of a fall or dangerous landing (each or both of which is
referred to hereinafter as an unintended fall) and assign the same
a numerical value. The actuation mechanism 109 can be retracted in
the event that the numeral value is greater than a predetermined
threshold, signifying that the occurrence of an unintended fall is
likely. In another embodiment of the present invention, a trained
observer, such as a trainer or a coach can generate the triggering
signal.
[0032] The retractable pit top or cover 106 can be constructed with
one or more pieces of retractable pit cover components. The pit top
106 is preferably constructed with as many pieces as possible. The
main reasons for having several smaller covering pieces is to
achieve faster retraction. The covering pieces are also preferably
arranged such that during the retraction process, the uncovering is
initiated from around the region over which the gymnast would most
probably fall during an accidental fall or landing in a dangerous
manner, and proceed to complete the top cover retraction process.
Such a pit top cover 106 can be constructed with two or more pieces
that are retracted individually to minimize the required retraction
time. FIG. 4, illustrates a top view of a six-piece retracting pit
top cover where each individual piece is designated by reference
numeral 110. Each of the individual pieces 110 can retract in a
direction 111 that is away from where the gymnast is likely to
fall. Reference numeral 112 illustrates an individual piece 110 tat
has been retracted in the direction 111. Although, only one such
piece is shown retracted, it is assumed that all such pieces
retract to provide an opening sufficient for the gymnast to safely
fall into the pit 103.
[0033] In the case of a parallel bars apparatus, the retractable
cover 106 may be disposed in an area between the bars where the
gymnast would not land but is likely to fall if such a fall
occurred. Therefore, the retractable cover 106 may pulled away
immediately following a successful mounting by the gymnast. The pit
103 would therefore protect the gymnast from an unintended fall and
would not interfere with a landing since the gymnast would not land
in the area of the retractable cover. Of course, the retractable
cover 106 can be disposed in an area where the gymnast also lands
and is only retracted if an unintended fall was likely to occur
(either by detection from the sensor 107 or by a manual indication
from a third party observer).
[0034] The retractable cover 106 may be left open to expose the pit
103 during practice, therefore, there is no need to have a separate
pit. The retractable cover 106 can be telescopic, such that some
sections thereof fit within other sections when retracted. The
retractable cover 106 should open such that if the gymnast falls
while it is opening, it would still cushion the fall of the
gymnast.
[0035] A major advantage of the disclosed safety apparatus is that
it can be used for athletes of various skills, from beginners to
the highly skilled, noting that accidents also happen with the
highly skilled athletes. Unlike helmets, the deployed safety net
does not interfere with the athlete's routine, while protecting the
athlete from any type of dangerous fall situations.
[0036] While there has been shown and described what is considered
to be preferred embodiments of the invention, it will, of course,
be understood that various modifications and changes in form or
detail could readily be made without departing from the spirit of
the invention. It is therefore intended that the invention be not
limited to the exact forms described and illustrated, but should be
constructed to cover all modifications that may fall within the
scope of the appended claims.
* * * * *