JP5179164B2 - Exercise assistance device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention places the sole of the user on the mounting surface of the foot support base and displaces the seat portion by using the driving source in a state where the user's buttocks are supported by the seat portion. The present invention relates to a passive movement assist device that changes its own weight.

  Conventionally, the user's soles are placed on the mounting surface of the foot support base, and the seat portion is provided and the seat portion is displaced while the user's buttocks are supported by the contact surface, whereby the knee is almost bent and stretched. There has been proposed an exercise assisting device that tensions and relaxes the thigh muscle group without any problems (for example, see Patent Document 1). In this exercise assisting device, the weight of the leg portion is changed by displacing the position of the seat portion and changing the proportion of the weight of the user supported by the seat portion. Further, the knee bending angle is kept substantially constant by lowering the mounting surface of the foot support when the dead weight acting on the legs increases.

  Such an operation reduces the load compared to the case where the total weight acts on the user's leg and performs muscle contraction of the thigh with little bending and stretching of the knee. Also, users with knee pain can strengthen the thigh muscle group, and the thigh muscle group has a large volume, which contributes to the improvement of lifestyle-related diseases through glucose metabolism accompanying muscle contraction. Is expected to do. Further, by displacing the seat portion using the drive source, the user can move freely without spontaneously exerting muscular strength, so that the exercise ability is low in combination with the light load. It can be used even by a user or a user with a low motivation to exercise.

By the way, in order to give the exercise effect of the quadriceps muscles while reducing the load on the knee joint by the exercise assisting device having the above-described configuration, hamstrings (biceps femoris, meniscus muscle, semitendon like) It is important to reduce the shear force acting on the knee joint by simultaneously contracting the muscles) and the crus muscle group. For this reason, in the conventional device described in Patent Document 1, the foot support surface (upper surface) on which the sole is placed is inclined to the toe lowering (downward along the direction from the heel toward the toe). While the joint was bent down, it was guided to a state where more load was applied to the toe side. With such a configuration, the triceps surae (gastrocnemius, soleus) contracts, and the hamstrings, which are cooperating muscles, contract simultaneously, and the muscles around the knee can contract simultaneously.
JP 2007-181731 A

  However, just by inclining the mounting surface of the foot support base to the toe-down as in the above-described conventional example, the seat portion is displaced depending on how the user rides on the seat portion and individual differences in physique. In some cases, the load on the heel side was sometimes increased when the dead weight acting on the wing was increased. And when many loads are applied to the heel side rather than the toe side, there is a possibility that an excessive load is applied to the knee joint.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an exercise assisting device capable of forging muscles around the knee while preventing an excessive load from being applied to the knee joint. .

  In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention provides a foot support base for supporting a user's foot placed on the upper surface from below, and a user places the sole on the placement surface of the foot support base. A seat portion that supports the user's buttocks with a contact surface, and a seat drive portion that displaces the seat portion using a drive source so that the weight acting on the leg portion of the user changes. The support base includes a base portion installed at a fixed position, a placement portion on which the placement surface is inclined downward along a direction from the user's heel toward the toe, and a placement portion with respect to the base portion. A support mechanism portion that is supported in a state in which it can reciprocate in the vertical direction and is urged upward, and the support mechanism portion is provided on the rear side of the placement portion when the weight acting on the leg portion of the user increases. The part is moved relatively larger than the front part.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the weight acting on the leg of the user increases, the support mechanism moves the rear part of the mounting part relatively larger than the front part. Regardless of individual differences in how the person rides on the seat and the physique, more load can be applied to the toe side than the heel side. As a result, muscles around the knee can be trained while preventing an excessive load on the knee joint.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the detection unit for detecting the muscle activity of the leg of the user, and the placement unit by the support mechanism unit according to the detection result of the leg muscle activity by the detection unit And a control unit for controlling the amount of movement of the above.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to apply an appropriate load to the muscles around the knee by controlling the amount of movement of the placement unit according to the degree of muscle activity of the leg.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 2, wherein the detector is a hamstring or gastrocnemius muscle comprising the user's biceps, hemimembrane-like muscle, half-tendon-like muscle, or triceps surae comprising the soleus. Any one of the following muscle activities is detected.

  According to the present invention, muscles around the knee can be trained while preventing an excessive load from being applied to the knee joint.

(Embodiment 1)
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the present embodiment includes a base 10 that is placed at a fixed position such as a floor, and a sheet portion 21 that supports the buttocks of the user M is provided on the base 10. A seat support base 20 provided at the upper end portion and a handle post 30 provided with a handle 31 at the upper end portion, which is gripped by the user M as necessary, are provided. In the base 10, a foot support base 40 having an upper surface as a mounting surface 40 a is provided at a portion between the seat support base 20 and the handle post 30. The position of the foot is regulated by the user M placing his sole on the placement surface 40 a of the foot support 40.

  The seat support 20 is provided with a seat driving unit 50 that swings the seat unit 21, and an elevating mechanism unit 60 that raises and lowers the seat unit 21 and the seat driving unit 50 with respect to the base 10. That is, the elevating mechanism unit 60 moves the seat unit 21 and the sheet driving unit 50 up and down with respect to the base 10, thereby placing the heel portion on the contact surface 21 a of the seat unit 21 and the feet on the mounting surface 40 a of the foot support 40. The bending angle θ of the knee of the user M in a state where the back is placed can be adjusted.

  The seat driving unit 50 is configured so that the seat driving unit 50 causes the seat unit 21 to act on the user M in a state where the heel portion is placed on the contact surface 21 a of the seat portion 21 and the sole is placed on the placement surface 40 a of the foot support base 40. The weight of the user M acting on the leg of the user M is changed by changing the position of the buttocks. That is, in the state where the weight of the user M is distributed and supported between the buttocks and the legs, the weight of the user M supported by the buttocks is increased or decreased by changing the position of the buttocks, and the weight acting on the legs as a result. To change.

  Here, when the knee is bent by a predetermined angle, when the ratio of supporting the body weight by the seat portion 21 is reduced, the thigh of the user M is performed in the same manner as when the knee is bent by performing a squat exercise. The load acting on the thigh increases, and the thigh muscle group can be contracted. That is, when the seat portion 21 is swung by the seat driving portion 50, the muscle group of the thigh repeats tension and relaxation by a passive motion that is not the spontaneous motion of the user M. That is, when the seat driving unit 50 swings the seat unit 21, the muscle group of the thigh can mainly be exercised.

  The swinging direction of the seat portion 21 is desirably set so that no shearing force acts on the knee joint. In the state where the user M's buttocks are supported by the contact surface 21a of the seat portion 21, it is natural that the user's M feet have a toe side distance larger than the toe side distance as shown in FIG. The opening angle θ <b> 2 between both feet can be determined by the position where the foot is placed on the foot support base 40. Thus, the seat portion 21 is swung in a direction along the center line connecting the heel and toe of each foot when the foot is placed on the foot support base 40, thereby causing the knee joint to exercise without applying a shearing force. It becomes possible. That is, when the seat portion 21 moves forward from the rear end position in the swing range, a shearing force is applied to the knee joint by providing a period of moving diagonally right forward and a period of moving diagonally left forward. Thus, it is possible to apply the own weight to the thighs of the left and right legs without any problem.

  In the example shown in FIG. 2, the contact surface 21 a that is the upper surface of the seat portion 21 is a substantially horizontal plane, but the muscle contraction of the thigh muscle group by changing its own weight acting on the leg portion of the user M. Therefore, it is desirable that the contact surface 21a that contacts the buttocks of the user M is inclined downward toward the front in the direction in which the seat portion 21 swings. That is, the portion that supports the starboard portion of the user M at the front end portion of the seat portion 21 is inclined obliquely downward to the right and the portion that supports the port portion of the user M is inclined obliquely downward to the left front. It is desirable. With such a shape, when the seat portion 21 moves forward from the rear end position of the swinging range, it becomes easy to increase the own weight acting on the leg portion, and the exercise effect can be enhanced.

  Next, the structure of the foot support 40 which is the gist of the present invention will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the foot support base 40 is fixed to the base 10 to be installed at a fixed position, and along the direction from the user M's heel toward the toe (leftward in FIG. 1). A mounting portion 42 on which a mounting surface 40a inclined downward is formed, and a support mechanism portion 43 that supports the mounting portion 42 in a state in which the mounting portion 42 can reciprocate in the vertical direction and is biased upward with respect to the base 41. Have. The mounting part 42 is divided into two parts, ie, a front part 42b on the toe side and a rear part 42c on the heel side, at approximately the center in the front-rear direction, and is connected to be displaceable in the vertical direction by a connection mechanism not shown. Has been.

  The support mechanism unit 43 includes a first movable plate 430, a second movable plate 431, a first spring 432, and a second spring 433. The first movable plate 430 and the second movable plate 431 are formed in the same shape and the same size by a thin and long plate material, and the front end portion of the first movable plate 430 is the tip of the front portion 42b of the mounting portion 42. The rear end portion is pivotally supported by the rear end portion of the base portion 41 and is supported by a projecting portion projecting downward from the portion. On the other hand, the second movable plate 431 has a front end portion pivotally supported by a protrusion projecting upward from the tip portion of the base portion 41, and a rear end portion pivoted on the rear end portion of the rear portion 42 c of the mounting portion 42. The first movable plate 430 and the second movable plate 431 are supported by a pin 434 so as to be rotatable at a position closer to the front than the center in the longitudinal direction. The first spring 432 elastically urges the front portion 42b of the mounting portion 42 upward with respect to the base 41, and the second spring 433 elastically urges the rear portion 42c upward. However, the spring constant of the second spring 433 that elastically biases the rear portion 42c is set smaller than the spring constant of the first spring 432 that elastically biases the front portion 42b of the mounting portion 42.

  Therefore, when the dead weight applied to the leg portion increases with the sole placed on the placement surface 42 a of the placement portion 42, the front part 42 b that contacts the sole on the toe side becomes the spring force of the first spring 432. When it moves downward (downward), the first movable plate 430 rotates counterclockwise with the rear end portion pivotally supported by the base 41 as a fulcrum, and the first movable plate 434 is moved by the rotation. The second movable plate 431 connected to the plate 430 rotates clockwise with the front end portion pivotally supported by the base portion 41 as a fulcrum. At this time, the connecting portion (position of the pin 434) between the first movable plate 430 and the second movable plate 431 is located closer to the front than the center in the longitudinal direction of each movable plate 430, 431. The downward movement amount (falling amount) of the rear portion 42c is larger than the downward movement amount (falling amount).

  With this configuration, when the own weight applied to the leg portion of the user M increases with the sole placed on the placement surface 42a of the placement portion 42, the sole on the heel side is the rear portion 42c of the placement portion 42. The load is received only by the sole on the toe side in contact with the front portion 42b of the placement portion 42.

  Thus, according to the present embodiment, when the own weight acting on the leg portion of the user M increases, the rear portion 42c of the placement portion 42 is relatively lower than the front portion 42b by the support mechanism portion 43. Therefore, regardless of how the user M rides on the seat portion 21 and individual differences in physique, a greater load can be applied to the toe side relative to the heel side. As a result, muscles around the knee can be trained while preventing an excessive load on the knee joint.

(Embodiment 2)
In the present embodiment, the detection unit 44 that detects the muscle activity of the leg of the user M, and the placement unit 42 (rear part 42c) by the support mechanism unit 43 according to the detection result of the muscle activity of the leg by the detection unit 44. And a control unit 46 for controlling the amount of movement). However, since the other configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and illustration and description thereof are omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the support mechanism 43 in the present embodiment includes a first spring 432 that supports the front portion 42 b of the mounting portion 42, which is movable in the vertical direction and elastically biased upward, and the mounting portion. And an actuator 435 that supports a rear portion 42c of 42 so as to be movable in the vertical direction.

  The detection unit 44 uses an electromyograph that electrically detects the active contraction activity of the muscle, a muscle hardness meter that mechanically detects the active contraction activity of the muscle, or near-infrared spectroscopy. Thus, it comprises a well-known means such as a measuring instrument for detecting oxygen consumption due to muscle contraction, and converts a detected value of muscle activity into an electric signal (detection signal) and outputs it to the control unit 46. In addition, the location where the detection unit 44 detects muscle activity is at least one of hamstrings (biceps femoris, semimembranous muscle, half tendon-like muscle) and triceps surae (gastrocnemius, soleus). It is desirable.

  The control unit 46 is an electric circuit having a microcomputer as a main component, and controls the actuator 435 in accordance with a detection signal (muscle activity detection value) received from the detection unit 44 to move the rear part 42c of the placement unit 42. Adjust the amount.

  As explained in the prior art, hamstrings (biceps femoris, meniscus-like muscles, half-tendon-like muscles) and lower legs are used to give quadriceps exercise effects while reducing the load on the knee joint. It is important to reduce the shear force acting on the knee joint by simultaneously contracting the muscle groups, and by applying more load to the toe side than the heel side while keeping the ankle joint bent down, the triceps surae muscle (Gastrocnemius muscle, soleus muscle) contracts, and at the same time, hamstrings, which are cooperating muscles, contract, and the muscles around the knee can contract simultaneously. Therefore, the detecting unit 44 detects hamstrings or triceps surae muscle activity, and the control unit 46 controls the actuator 435 so that the detected value becomes larger within a predetermined appropriate range. If the rear part 42c is moved downward, the muscles around the knee can be trained safely and effectively. The detection unit 44 detects both the muscle activity of the quadriceps muscle and the muscle activity of the hamstrings or the triceps surae muscle, and when the latter muscle activity is less than the former muscle activity, The amount of downward movement of the part 42c may be increased to induce the muscle activity of the hamstring or triceps muscle group to antagonize the muscle activity of the quadriceps.

(A), (b) is a schematic side view which shows the foot support stand in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a schematic side view same as the above. It is a schematic plan view same as the above. It is a block diagram of a control system in Embodiment 2 of the present invention. It is a schematic side view which shows the foot support stand in the same as the above.

Explanation of symbols

40 foot support base 41 base portion 42 placement portion 42a front portion 42b rear portion 43 support mechanism portion 430 first movable plate 431 second movable plate 432 first spring 433 second spring 434 pin

Claims (3)

A foot support that supports the user's foot placed on the upper surface from below, and a sheet that supports the user's buttocks with the contact surface while the user places the sole on the placement surface of the foot support. And a seat drive unit that displaces the seat unit using a drive source so that the weight acting on the leg of the user changes,
The foot support base includes a base portion installed at a fixed position, a placement portion on which the placement surface is inclined downward along a direction from the user's heel toward the toe, and a placement portion with respect to the base portion And a support mechanism portion that supports the reciprocating movement in the vertical direction and in a state of being biased upward,
The support mechanism unit moves the rear portion of the placement portion relatively larger than the front portion when the weight of the user acting on the leg portion of the user increases.   A detection unit that detects the muscle activity of the leg of the user, and a control unit that controls the amount of movement of the placement unit by the support mechanism unit according to the detection result of the muscle activity of the leg by the detection unit The exercise assisting device according to claim 1, wherein:   The detection unit detects a muscular activity of the user's biceps femoris, semimembranous muscle, half-tendon-like muscle, hamstrings or gastrocnemius, triceps surae muscle. The exercise assistance device according to claim 2.

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