JP2001112886A - Equipment for aiding exercise - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate the use of an equipment for aiding exercise wherein a vessel receiving therein a part of the human body is pressurized or depressurized to activate a part of the human body or increase the activity thereof, thereby aiding the motion of the human body and to improve the safety of the equipment. SOLUTION: In the equipment for aiding exercise, a vessel 10 is divided into a front side section 11 and a rear side section 12, and both the sections are connected together after a user gets into the equipment.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention comprises a container which can be hermetically sealed therein, which accommodates the lower body of a human body, and which is accommodated while maintaining the interior of the container in a pressurized or negative pressure state. For exercise assist devices that assist the movement of the human body by supporting the activity of the human body part or increasing the activity load, particularly by increasing or decreasing the load on the lower limb, The present invention relates to an exercise assisting device suitable for rehabilitation and training.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an exercise assisting device of this kind, that is, a method of increasing the pressure in a container to reduce the weight, so as not to place a burden on the elderly or the like or to reduce the pressure in the container. As an exercise assisting device designed to increase the weight of a person and to exercise by applying a high load to a person such as a young person with a high physical strength, the inside as described in US Pat. No. 5,133,339 is added. 2. Description of the Related Art There has been proposed a container in which a container capable of holding a pressure or a negative pressure is formed as an integral structure, and a lower limb of a human body is inserted into the container.

In addition, as described in US Pat. No. 5,356,361, a container capable of holding the inside at a pressurized or negative pressure state is formed of a bellows type container made of a flexible material, and the upper part of the container is formed. There has also been proposed one in which the lower limb of the human body is inserted through the opening.

[0004]

By the way, in the case of the exercise assisting device described in the above-mentioned US Pat. No. 5,133,339, since the container has an integral structure, a person having a functional problem in the lower limb, There is a problem that the operation of moving to the seal portion of the container and the operation of inserting the seal portion become a heavy burden in elderly people with weak muscles or in patients after lower leg surgery.

Further, in the exercise assisting device described in US Pat. No. 5,356,361, the bellows portion can be pushed down to lower the bellows portion when the exercise assisting device is mounted, so that it is easy to enter the inside of the container. There is a problem in that an operation for straddling the peripheral edge is required, and it is not easy to mount the device with ease. Similarly, since the interior of the chamber is connected to a conduit and connected to a pneumatic pressure adjusting device in the above specification, the exercise assist device can be easily moved, freely fixed in a predetermined place, etc. However, matters that are problematic when actually used for rehabilitation have not been solved. Also, if means for pressurization and decompression are installed outside the container,
There is noise and it is expected that it will be a problem in a rehabilitation environment.

As described above, the conventional exercise assist device of this type has a problem that the exercise assist device cannot be used easily and easily, and a person who intends to use the exercise assist device can easily and easily use the exercise assist device. Such an exercise assisting device has been desired.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an exercise assisting device that allows a person who intends to use the device to easily and easily operate and wear the exercise assisting device.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention comprises a container which can be sealed in a sealed state, in which the lower body of a human body is housed and the inside of the container is added. In a movement assisting device which assists the movement of the human body by supporting the activity of the lower body of the human body stored or held under pressure or negative pressure, or by increasing the activity load, The device is a means for solving the first problem by providing a container configured so that a human body can enter and exit in a walking posture, and a seal member that can be worn on the human body.

Further, the container is constituted by a divided front side body and a rear side body, and the front side body and the rear side body are connected to each other after the lower body of the human body is housed therein, and the container is used. By doing so, it is a means for solving the second problem.

[0010] Further, the seal member is formed by sewing or molding a stretchable material into a tubular shape so as to prevent air leakage, and a flange portion as a fixing portion of the tubular portion to the container. By providing the member, it is a means for solving the third problem.

Further, a means for maintaining the inside of the container in a pressurized or negative pressure state and a pneumatic pressure adjusting means are arranged inside the container, thereby providing means for solving the fourth problem.

A fifth means is provided by providing means for adjusting the height of the seal member worn on the human body when the human body is stored in the container.

Finally, the container is formed of a soft material, an opening is provided for a person to walk in and out in a walking posture, and a fastener is attached to the opening to provide a means for solving the sixth problem.

According to the present invention, a space (space) is formed between the front side body and the rear side body so that a person can enter between the two side bodies in a walking posture. After putting a person in the space, move the rear side body,
The front end of the rear side body is brought into close contact with the rear end of the front side body.

Then, the rear side body and the front side body are connected to be assembled into a container of the exercise assisting device. Therefore, a person can easily and safely enter the container in the walking posture.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, a first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a side view showing a state in which a person who exercises exercise (hereinafter, referred to as a human body A) uses an exercise assisting device 1, and a container 1 in which the human body A is sealed.
0, the lower body is put in, and walking training is performed on an exercise tool 13 such as an endless belt provided at the bottom of the container. The container 10 is made of a suitably rigid material such as FRP (fiber reinforced resin), a metal plate, a resin molded product, or the like, or a soft material. When the container 10 is made of a soft material, it has a support frame (FIGS. 8 and 9) made of a rigid material.
The inside of the container can be sealed in an airtight state, and the container may be formed integrally, but has an appropriate structure such as being divided into two or more pieces. FIG. 1 shows a front side body 11 and a rear side body 12 divided into two parts. The front side body 11 has a front surface, a bottom surface, left and right side surfaces and a top surface integrally formed of a rigid or soft plate material. A semi-circular incision is formed on the upper surface to form an entrance / exit portion through which the human body A can enter / exit in a walking posture, and further form an opening 9 (a front half) for exposing the lower body of the human body A in a standing posture to the outside. Notches are provided.

The rear side body 12 is also integrally formed with a rear surface, a bottom surface, left and right side surfaces and an upper surface by a rigid or soft plate material such as a metal plate. The upper surface is provided with a semi-circular notch for forming the opening 9 (the rear half). A flange portion 22 of a seal member 20 described later is formed around the periphery of each semicircular notch of the front side body 11 and the rear side body 12.
Are provided in plural sets.

The bottom of the container 10 has a trolley structure, and a trolley 5 having a rectangular shape in a plan view is attached to the lower side, and can be easily moved in a room or the like and can be freely fixed at a predetermined position. The free roller 3 and the stopper -4 are attached to the four corners of the carriage 5, respectively. The rear end of the bogie 5 is extended rearward, and rails 6 are attached to both lateral edges of the extended portion, respectively.
, The rear side body 12 moves in the direction of the arrow, and the rear side body 12 can be connected to and detached from the front side body 11. For this purpose, the rear side body 12 is provided with a sliding portion that slidably engages with the rail 6.

First, the front side body 11 and the rear side body 1
2 is the state shown in FIG. 3, that is, the space (space) between the front side body 11 and the rear side body 12 in which the human body A can enter between the both side bodies 11 and 12 in the walking posture. After the human body A is put in this space, the rear side body 12 is moved rightward in the figure, and the front end of the rear side body 12 is attached to the rear end of the front side body 11. Adhere.

Then, the front side body 11 and the rear side body 12 are connected by hooking the hook 7a of the rear side body 12 on the metal fitting 7b of the front side body 11, thereby assembling the container 10 of the exercise assisting device (FIG. 1). Therefore, a person can easily and safely enter the container 10 in the walking posture.

In the above embodiment, the rear side body 12 is moved, but the front side body 11 is configured to be movable.
The space (space) that can enter between both side bodies 11, 12
May be formed so as to be openable and closable. Alternatively, a method may be used in which the front side body is divided into front and rear parts like the side body bodies 11 and 12, and swings around a predetermined point on one side body to be openable to one side.

Inside the container 10, an exercise tool (such as a treadmill) 13 is mounted on the bottom plate of the container 10. That is, the exercise equipment 13 has its front end supported by the fixed fulcrum 14 so that the rear end can swing right and left.
Further, a free roller 15 that can be rolled on the carriage 5 is attached to the lower surface of the rear end so that it can cope with the movement of the rear side body 12.

A means for maintaining the inside of the container in a pressurized or decompressed state at a position not in contact with the human body A inside the container 10, for example, an air pressure adjusting means 16 such as an air compressor or a blower
Is provided. Therefore, training using the exercise equipment 13 in the container 10 can be performed under pressure or under reduced pressure. Further, the container 10 can be easily moved to an arbitrary place by the four free rollers 3 and the stopper 4, and can be easily fixed to the place.

In FIGS. 5 and 6, reference numeral 20 denotes a seal member that can be mounted on the human body A. This sealing member 20
Is made of a material that has elasticity in the vertical and horizontal directions and has a good sealing property. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the sealing member 20 is formed in a tubular shape and is a soft tubular portion 21 that can be worn on the waist of a human body.
And a flange portion 22 for fixing the cylindrical portion 21 and a pressing member 23 for pressing the bulge of the cylindrical portion 21.

The soft cylindrical portion 21 is made of, for example, a material obtained by knitting a fabric having elasticity and woven with resin, or a material having good elasticity such as wet suit fabric and rubber. It can be used if it is sewn or molded. Rubber and the like also have drawbacks such as poor slippage with the human body and clothes, and therefore, materials that are already suitably used for wearing on the human body, such as wet suit cloth, are preferable. At a connection portion with the flange portion 22, the tube diameter is increased in a trumpet shape and the tube portion is attached to the flange portion 22.

The flange portion 22 includes an upper flange 221, a lower flange 222, and a packing 223, and includes a metal plate,
Packing 2 around the opening of container 10 with a plastic plate or the like
It is fixed by the fixing clamp 8 via 23. The fixed clamp 8 is attached with a one-touch clamp using a link and a lever, such as a commercially available downward holding type toggle clamp.

The lower flange 222 is
It has the same donut shape as 1 and adjusts the thickness of the lower flange 222 in order to adjust the height of the sealing member to be fixed so that the height of the sealing member 20 worn on the human body A is adjusted. Lower flange 22 suitable for human body A to be used
2 may be set.

Even if the flange portion 22 is fixed to the container 10, the human body A wearing the cylindrical portion 21 can freely walk, run, and so on in the container 10 due to the flexibility of the trumpet-shaped portion. Becomes possible.

The holding member 23 is for preventing the soft cylindrical portion 21 from expanding upward when pressure is applied from the inside, and is made of neoprene rubber (thickness 5 mm). , A plurality of notches are provided radially, the outer peripheral end is fixed to the flange portion 22, and a cord 24 for adjusting the size of the opening when the human body A is mounted near the opening is provided. And hole 2 for string passing through
5 are provided.

Since the opening at the center of the holding member 23 forms an opening having a gap along the outer peripheral shape of the human body A by the string 24 passed therethrough, the inside of the container 10 is pressurized and becomes high pressure. In this case, the seal member 20 that expands due to the internal pressure is pressed, and the portion of the seal member 20 that is not in contact with the human body A is prevented from swelling. ing.

As means for adjusting the height of the seal member, an exercise tool for enabling the height of the exercise tool to be adjusted is mounted on a lifter which can be moved up and down and whose height is adjustable. An installation method or a method of adjusting the thickness (height) of the flange for fixing the seal member is used.

At the time of training, the seal member 20 can be worn outside the container 10 in the manner of wearing ordinary pants. At this time, the user wears the tubular portion 21 so as to be located from the hips to the waist.

After the seal member 20 is worn in this manner, the front side body 11 in the divided state (the state of FIG. 3)
The rider rides on the upper surface of the exercise equipment 13 on the bottom plate of the front side body 11 in a walking posture from the opening 9 between the front side body 12 and the rear side body 12. Then, the rear side body 12 and the front side body 11 are connected to the hook 7a.
Then, the flange 22 is fixed to the container 10 by the fixing clamp 8. Thus, the preparation is completed (the state of FIG. 1).

In this way, a person can easily and easily insert the lower body of the human body into the container 10 and achieve the sealing of the container 10.

Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 shows a system in which the exercise equipment 13 installed inside the container 1 is fixed on a lifter 26, and the height of the lifter 26 can be freely adjusted by a driving device (not shown). . The height of the lifter 26 is adjusted, the height of the seal member 20 worn on the human body A is adjusted, and the height of the exercise equipment 13 and the human body A are harmonized.

When applied to a plurality of human bodies A having greatly different heights, the height can be adjusted by adjusting the height of the lifter 26 so that it can be applied comfortably.

The lifter 26 is a combination of a link mechanism and a linear motion actuator. The lower part of the link mechanism on the side of the front side body is supported by a fulcrum 2 fixed to the bottom of the side body.
7, the lower part of the other rear side body is provided with a roller 28 movably rotating at the bottom of the side body, and the height of the lifter can be adjusted by expansion and contraction of the actuator. Become.

Next, a third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. In the third embodiment, the container 30 is formed of a soft material (a soft sheet) and a rigid support frame 36, and an opening is formed in the sheet so that a person can enter and exit in a walking posture. At the same time, a fastener (waterproof fastener) 31 is attached to the opening.

Therefore, in the case of this embodiment, a person can enter and leave the container 30 by opening and closing the fastener 31. That is, when a person enters the container 30, the fastener 31 is opened, and after entering the container 30,
The fastener 31 is tightened so that the cylindrical portion 21 of the seal member 20 attached to the human body A can perform a sealing action.

Also in the third embodiment, a cart 35 is attached to the bottom of the container 30.
A free roller 33 and a stopper 34 are respectively attached to the four corners. The rear end of the carriage 35 extends rearward and extends over substantially the entire length of the container 30.

Further, the exercise equipment 31 is provided as in the case of the first embodiment. Needless to say, a pressurizing machine or a depressurizing machine (neither is shown) is connected to the container 30, and the container 30 can be easily moved to an arbitrary place by the four free rollers 33 and the stopper 34. Can be moved and easily fixed in place.

[0042]

As described above, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained. (1) For a person having a functional problem in the lower limb, an elderly person having a weakened muscle, or a patient after a lower limb operation, the operation of moving to the sealed portion of the container is facilitated. (2) Since the seal member can be worn outside the container in the same manner as wearing ordinary pants, the operation of inserting the seal portion becomes easy. (3) According to (1) and (2), the exercise assist device can be used safely and easily. (4) The exercise assisting device can be used comfortably in a predetermined place, a hospital room, a rehabilitation room, and the like, and can be favorably applied to a human body with a large difference in height.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of an exercise assisting device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the exercise assisting device according to the embodiment of FIG.

3A is a side view of the exercise assisting device according to the embodiment of FIG. 1 in an assembly stage, and FIG. 3B is a front view thereof.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a human body wearing a seal member of the exercise assistance device according to the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a seal member of the exercise assisting device according to the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 6A is a sectional side view of the same part, and FIG. 6B is an enlarged sectional view of the part A.

FIG. 7A is a side view showing a state where the lift member of the exercise assisting device according to the second embodiment of the present invention is at a low position,
(B) is a side view showing a state where the lift member is at a high position.

FIG. 8 is a side view of an exercise assisting device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a front view of FIG. 8;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Exercise assisting device 3 Free roller 4 Stopper 5 Dolly 6 Rail 7a Hook 7b Hardware 8 Bolt (fixed clamp) 9 Opening 10 Container 11 Front side body 12 Rear side body 13 Exercise tool 14 Fixed fulcrum 15 Free roller 20 Seal member 21 Tubular part 22 Flange part 23 Holding member 26 Lifter 30 Container 31 Fastener 32 Exercise equipment 33 Free roller 34 Stopper 35 Cart

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A container capable of sealing the inside thereof in a sealed state, wherein a lower body of a human body is housed in the container, and the lower body of the human body housed while holding the inside of the container in a pressurized or negative pressure state. In an exercise assisting device that assists the exercise of the human body by supporting an activity or increasing an activity load, the exercise assisting device is configured such that the human body can enter and exit in a walking posture. An exercise assisting device comprising: a container; and a seal member wearable on the human body. 2. The container according to claim 1, wherein the container comprises a divided front side body and a rear side body. After the lower body of the human body is stored, the front side body and the rear side body of the container are connected to each other. The exercise assisting device according to claim 1, comprising: 3. The tubular member, wherein the seal member is formed by sewing or molding a stretchable material into a tubular shape without air leakage.
The exercise assisting device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a flange portion as a fixing portion of the cylindrical portion to the container and a pressing member. 4. The container according to claim 1, wherein the means for maintaining the inside of the container at a pressurized or negative pressure state is arranged inside the container.
The exercise assisting device according to claim 3. 5. The exercise assisting device according to claim 1, further comprising means for adjusting the height of a seal member worn on the human body when the human body is stored inside the container. . 6. The container according to claim 1, wherein the container is formed of a soft material, and an opening is provided through which a human body can enter and exit in a walking posture, and a fastener is attached to the opening. An exercise assisting device according to any of the claims.