Inferior limb muscle force training apparatus

[0001] The present invention relates to an inferior limb muscle force training apparatus for physically building up the muscle force of a person to recover or improve his/her standing and walking ability.

[0002] Training apparatuses for building up the muscle force of a leg or an arm of a person by reciprocating an arm of the training apparatus by his/her foot or arm in his/her seating attitude to ascend and descend a balancing weight connected to the arm thereof via a rope are disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2730882 and Japanese Patent No. 2892985, and the like. Further, a training apparatus where a person lies up on a bed, whereby his/her feet hook the arms of the apparatus, and he/she flexes and extends are described in Japanese Patent Application Disclosure No. 2003-175085 and Japanese Patent Application Disclosure No. 2004-209076, and the like. An apparatus for training an inferior limb function of a patient, who has difficulty walking by lifting him/her up on a roller utilizing wires and causing him/her to walk thereon is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Disclosure No. 2002-336374.

[0003] Now, for example, there are many persons who lose their physical muscle forces due to a continuation of a bedridden state for medical treatment, to become unable to walk and are confined to a wheelchair. However, since the above conventional training apparatus is constituted such that a person does his/her exercise in such a state that he/she is sitting on a seat, he/she lies on his/her bed, or he/she is lifted up by wires, there is such a problem that his/her muscles required when he/she stands up or sits down cannot be trained properly. Therefore, there is such a problem that it is difficult to recover muscle forces of his/her left and right legs which are required for standing up or walking with an excellent balance, a long period is required for rehabilitation, and much burden is imparted to a helper because it is difficult to achieve a sufficient training effect.

[0004] In view of these circumstances, the present invention has been made and an object thereof is to provide an inferior limb muscle force training apparatus which can train inferior limb muscle forces of an user effectively in conformity with his/her aspect and can recover or increase his/her standing-up, walking or athletic ability securely.

[0005] An inferior limb muscle force training apparatus comprising: a supporting strut standing vertically, a seat body provided so as to be capable of ascending/descending along the supporting strut, and a weight balancing mechanism for applying a lift force to the seat body, the seat body is provided with a saddle type seat portion, and the weight balancing mechanism is constituted to be capable of adjusting the lift force applied to the seat body properly.

[0006] The inferior limb muscle force training apparatus, where the seat body is provided with a pair of shoulder pads.

[0007] The inferior limb muscle force training apparatus, wherein the weight balancing mechanism is constructed such that a rope is wound on a pulley provided on an upper portion of the supporting strut, one end of the rope is linked to the seat body, and the other end of the rope is linked to a weight placing stand provided on a back side of the supporting strut to be capable of ascending/descending.

[0008] The inferior limb muscle force training apparatus, wherein the weight balancing mechanism is constructed such that a weight holding frame is fixed to a rear side of the supporting strut, a plurality of rod-shaped balancing weights are inserted into the weight holding frame vertically and a weight locking means which can be set so as to enable or disable ascending/descending movement of each balancing weight is provided on the weight holding frame, and only a load of the balancing weight set to enable ascending/descending movement by the weight locking means is applied to the weight placing stand.

[0009] According to the present invention the muscles of an inferior limb, a hip, arms, and a chest of a person and the like required when he/she stands up or sits down can be trained comprehensively. Therefore, the standing-up or walking ability can be recovered promptly.

[0010] A user flexes and extends his legs in a state that his/her both shoulders have been loaded so that a load on his/her inferior limb muscle can be increased. The seat body can be balanced easily regarding its weight.

[0011] Since setting can be made possible so as to correspond to a weight or a muscle force of a user or his/her intended use, a secure training can be conducted reasonably regardless of a person unable to walk or an able-bodied person.

[0020] Next, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1 to FIG. 6, reference numeral 1 denotes a base frame arranged on a floor face stably, and reference numeral 2 denotes a supporting strut standing vertically on a central portion of the base frame. The base frame 1 is formed in a rectangular frame shape using pipes with a rectangular section. The supporting strut 2 is formed in a gate shape by arranging shape steels with a U-shaped cross section 3a to 3d on the base frame in an opposing manner and fixing a horizontal member 4 to upper portions of the shape steels. Reference numeral 5 denotes a seat body arranged on a front face of the supporting strut 2 so as to be capable of ascending/descending along the supporting strut. As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, in the seat body 5, rollers 7a and 7b projecting sideward are provided on back face structural members 6a and 6b of a seat frame 6, so that the respective rollers are slidable on inner faces of the shape steels 3a and 3b. Thereby, the seat frame is provided so as to be capable of ascending and descending along the supporting strut 2. A back plate 8 is provided on a front face of the seat frame via hinges 8a and 8b, a receiving portion 9 projecting forward is provided on a lower portion of the seat frame, and a saddle type seat portion 10 is horizontally provided on the receiving portion. Incidentally, surfaces of the back plate 8 and the saddle type seat portion 10 are covered with skins with cushioning property.

[0021] Reference numerals 11a and 11b denote a pair of shoulder pads provided on the seat body 5. The shoulder pads are each constituted by forming a lower face of elastic material such as foamed urethane rubber in a recessed shape in conformity with the rounding of a shoulder of a person and covering the elastic material with a skin. Stays 13a and 13b are supported by bearings 12a and 12b provided on both upper sides of the seat frame 6 to be capable of pivoting in a horizontal plane, shafts 14a and 14b are inserted into front ends of the stays and the shafts 14a 14b are fixed by thumb screws 15a and 15b in a vertically extending manner, and the shoulder pads 11a and 11b are fixed to a lower face of a mounting plate provided on lower ends of the respective shafts. Therefore, a distance between both the shoulder pads 11a and 11b can be adjusted in conformity with a shoulder length of a user by pivoting the stays 13a and 13b, and a distance between the shoulder pads and an upper face of the saddle type seat portion 10 can be adjusted in conformity with his/her seated height by loosing the thumb screws 15a and 15b.

[0022] Reference numeral 16 denotes a height adjusting mechanism which can set an initial set height of the seat body 5 properly in conformity with a lengths of the feet of a person. As shown in FIG. 3, the height adjusting mechanism is constituted such that rack teeth 17 are fixed on a back face of the shape steel 3a, a bearing 18 is provided on one side of a back face of the seat frame 6 to pivot one end of a link 19, an engaging shaft 20 is horizontally provided on a front end portion of the link, the engaging shaft 20 meshes with the rack teeth 17 due to a self-weight thereof, an operation lever 22 is provided to be operable for forward and backward movements by a thumb screw 21 screwed to one side of the seat frame 6, and a front end of the operation lever 22 is pivoted to the engaging shaft 20. Therefore, by loosing the thumb screw 21 to move the operation lever 22 forward or backward, the engaging shaft 20 is caused to mesh with the rack teeth 17 properly so that the seat body 5 can be fixed at a desired height.

[0023] Reference numerals 25a and 25b denote side frames formed of pipes with a rectangular cross section provided at both sides of the supporting strut 2, and reference numerals 26a and 26b denote a pair of handrails attached to the side frame to be adjustable in height. The handrails are each formed by bending a pipe with a circular cross section in an U-shape, cylindrical bodies 27a and 27b are provided on outer peripheries of the side frames so as to be vertically slidable, and the handrails are provided so as to expand forwardly and horizontally from the side frames by fixing base portions of the handrails to the cylindrical bodies. Gripping rods 28a and 28b, each formed of a linear pipe with a circular cross section, are provided at front end portions of the hand rails obliquely and forwardly in a standing manner. Reference numerals 29a and 29b denote thumb screws screwed to the cylindrical bodies 27a and 27b. The handrails 26a and 26b are made adjustable by loosing the thumb screws so that they can be set at a desired heights.

[0024] Reference numerals 30a and 30b denote foot boards on which a user can put his/her feet. The foot boards are provided at front end portions of a pair of extension frames 31a and 31b, each formed of a pipe with a circular cross section folded to an L-shape within a horizontal plane such that they are obliquely opposed to the seat body 5 in a plate-like manner, base portions of the respective extension frames are loosely fitted into front opening ends of the base frame 1 to be stretchable and retractable, and a distance from the seat body 5 can be adjusted properly in conformity with lengths of feet of a user by loosing the thumb screws 32a and 32b screwed near the opening ends.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 7, a plurality of pins 33 are provided on front faces of the back face structural members 6a and 6b in the seat frame 6, and block-like weights 34 can be attachably/detachably set to the pins. Incidentally, the weight(s) 34 is covered with the back plate 8 in an ordinary situation, and the back plate 8 is provided on the front face of the seat frame 6 so as to be capable of being opened and closed via hinges 8a and 8b. Therefore, by opening the back plate, as shown in FIG. 7, a plurality of weights 34 are attached to the pins according to need, so that a total weight of the seat body 5 can be increased or decreased.

[0026] Pulleys 41a and 41b constituted of a pair of sprockets are provided on an upper portion of the supporting strut 2, ropes 42a and 42b constituted of chains are wound on the pulleys, and one ends of the ropes 42a and 42b are linked at upper end portions of the back face structural members 6a and 6b of the seat frame 6. Next, the weight balancing mechanism 40 provided on a rear side of the supporting strut 2 for applying a lift force to the seat body 5 will be explained. A weight placing stand frame 43 is disposed between the shape steels 3a and 3b on the back side of the support strut 2, rollers 44a and 44b are provided on both side edges of the weight placing stand frame 43, the weight placing stand frame 43 is provided so as to be capable of ascending and descending along the supporting strut 2 by sliding the rollers on inner faces of the shape steels 3c and 3d, and the other ends of the ropes 42a and 42b are linked to an upper end portion of the weight placing stand frame. A weight placing stand 45 projecting backward and horizontally is provided integrally on a lower portion of the weight placing stand frame 43. Reference numeral 46 denotes a weight holding frame which is constituted such that flat plates 46a and 46b are horizontally fixed on back faces of the shape steels 3c and 3d and whose both side edges are supported by side plates 49a and 49b. A plurality of circular through-holes 47a to 47i whose diameters are different from one another are formed in the flat plates 46a and 46b in a vertically penetrating manner, as shown in FIG. 6, and a plurality of rod-shaped balancing weights 48a to 48i which are different in thickness from one another are vertically inserted into the respective through-holes. Incidentally, reference numeral 49 denotes resin-made bushes provided on inner peripheries of the through-holes 47a to 47i such that the respective balancing weights can ascent and descent freely with small friction. Therefore, lower ends of the respective balancing weights 48a to 48j ride on the weight placing stand 45 and weights of the respective balancing weights 48a to 48i are loaded on the weight placing stand frame 43. Reference numeral 45a denotes a plate-like buffer member made of rubber provided on the weight placing stand 45 in an expanding manner in order to reduce impacts from lower end portions of respective balancing weights.

[0027] Weight locking means 50 which can set to enable or disable ascending/descending movement of the respective balancing weights are provided on the balancing weights. As shown in FIG. 4, the weight locking means are constituted such that lateral holes 51, 51, 51, . . . are formed in the respective balancing weights 48a to 48i in a through-hole manner and large and small rod-shaped wrenches 52a, 52b, 52c, . . . are provided so as be inserted into and pulled out of the lateral holes on the flat plate 46a. Since the balancing weight inserted with the wrench is supported on the flat plate 46a by the wrench, it is prevented from lowering so that a load thereof is not imparted on the weight placing stand 45, while only a load of the balancing weight which is not inserted with the wrench is imparted on the weight placing stand 45. Incidentally, weights of the balancing weights 48a and 48b are 10 kg, weights of the balancing weights 48c to 48e are 5 kg, a weight of the balancing weight 48f is 3 kg, a weight of the balancing weight 48g is 2 kg, a weight of the balancing weight 48h is 1 kg, and a weight of the balancing weight 48i is 0.5 kg. Therefore, by combining the plurality of balancing weights properly, a load applied to the weight placing stand 45 can be set to a range from 0.5 kg to 41.5 kg on 0.5 kg base. Further, reference numeral 53 denotes an locking plate which is formed on a rear end edge of the flat plate 46a in a standing manner and formed with U-shaped notches so as to lock the respective wrenches 52a, 52b, 52C. As shown in FIG. 4, the respective wrenches can be positioned by engagements thereof with the notches. Reference numeral 54 denotes a hydraulic damper for impact absorption fixed on an auxiliary strut 55 provided between the shape steels 3c and 3d in a standing manner so as to be opposed to an upper end face of the weight placing stand frame 43. Ascending of the weight placing stand frame 43 is stopped by collision of the weight placing stand frame 43 against the hydraulic damper. Reference numeral 56 denotes a thumb screw provided so as to allow change of a set height of the hydraulic damper.

[0028] In the inferior limb muscle force training apparatus thus constituted, loads imparted to both ends of the ropes 42a and 42b are balanced, or the seat body 5 side is set to be heavier than the balancing weight load or the seat body 5 side is set to be lighter than the balancing weight load according to a user's intended use by pulling the wrench(es) regarding a proper number of balancing weights to apply a load of the weights on the weight placing stand 45. Incidentally, it is desirable for safety that the engaging shaft 20 is put in engagement with the rack teeth 17 during such a set adjusting operation so that the seat body 5 is prevented from ascending/descending unnecessarily. The number of balancing weights attachable within the seat frame 6 is increased/decreased according to need so that balance adjustment can be made possible in a wide range according to a user's intended use. By providing the plurality of balancing weights 48a to 48i whose weights are different from one another, fine setting can be made possible according to a user's weight or muscle force(s).

[0029] When training starts, after proper setting has been made according to a user's weight or muscle(s), or his/her intended use, he/she sits on the saddle type seating portion 10 so as to straddle the same, brings his/her back in close contact with the back plate 8, puts the shoulder pads 11a and 11b to his/her both shoulders, puts his/her both feet on the foot boards 30a and 30b, grasps the gripping rods 28a and 28b with his/her both hands, disengages the engaging shaft 20, and flexes and extends his/her both legs simultaneously so that he/she ascends and descends the seat body 5, as shown in FIG. 8. At that time, for example, if setting is made such that the weight placing stand 45 is approximately equal to a weight of a user, a lift force is applied to the seat body 5 and a body of the user is lifted up by the saddle type seat portion 10 like a gravity-free state, so that the seat body 5 ascends and descends lightly and the user can flex and extend his/her legs with a small load. At that time, since the degree of a load imparted to muscles of his/her both legs can be adjusted arbitrarily by setting of the balancing weights 48a to 48i, he/she increases a load gradually in conformity with his/her aspect so that he/she can work out in conformity with a personnel reasonably and securely. Accordingly, inferior limb muscles required when a person stands up, sits down, and walks is trained securely, so that a walking ability can be recovered early. The saddle type seat portion 10 is desirable, because a user can change his/her attitude from his/her seating state to his/her standing state smoothly without blocking his/her both legs from flexing and extending.

[0030] When the seat body 5 is set to be heavier than a balancing weight load by reducing the number of balancing weights placed on the weight placing stand 45 or adding the weight 34, the load of the seat body 5 is applied to both shoulders of a user in a standing position via the shoulder pads 11a and 11b. Therefore, a load applied to the user's inferior limb muscles increases so that effective training is made possible not only for the purpose of rehabilitation of a person having difficulty walking but also for the purpose of increasing inferior limb muscle forces of an able-bodied person.

[0031] In the weight balancing mechanism 40 described in the embodiment, since the plurality of rod-shaped balancing weights 48a to 48i are provided in the weight holding frame 46 provided above the weight placing stand 45 so as to penetrate the weight holding frame vertically and the respective balancing weights can be set to enable or disable ascending and descending movement by locking or unlocking the respective balancing weights with the weight locking means 50, weight adjustment applied to the weight placing stand 45 can be conducted by only operation of the weight engaging means, and a setting operation can be conducted very easily without requiring such a troublesome task as moving or loading and unloading heavy weights.

[0032] Incidentally, the weight balancing mechanism 40 shown in the embodiment is constituted such that a load applied to the weight placing stand can be adjusted properly by a proper combination of the balancing weights 48a to 48i, but, for example, such a constitution may be adopted that a hydraulic cylinder is provided instead of the balancing weights and a lift force applied to the seat body is properly adjusted by adjusting the fluid pressure in the hydraulic cylinder. For example, such a constitution may be employed that an electric motor is provided instead of the weight balancing mechanism and the lift force applied to the seat body 5 is adjusted by adjusting the rotational torque of the electric motor.