Chair and lower limb movement system

Abstract

The invention relates to a chair and a lower limb movement system. The chair comprises two hip bone supporting saccules, two hip bone supporting saccules and two hip bone supporting saccules, wherein the two hip bone supporting saccules respectively support two hip bones; and a sacrum support balloon that supports one of the sacrum and the tailbone. The two hip bone supporting balloons are configured to swing relative to the sacrum supporting balloon. In this configuration, mobility of sacroiliac joints between two hip bones and sacrum is improved, thus suppressing mechanical stresses on waist region joints that increase loads in order to compensate for insufficient mobility of sacroiliac joints, thereby relieving lumbago.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a chair and a lower limb exercise system. Background Art

[0002] It's said that 97% of chronic low back pain is caused by mechanical factors, and 80% is nonspecific. For this type of pain, a clear diagnosis based on imaging is difficult, and appropriate treatment remains unavailable. Patients with this type of low back pain often undergo orthopedic surgery, receive painkillers and regular massages, and plan several months of rehabilitation through exercise therapy. It's well known that continuous pelvic floor exercises to improve mobility can alleviate low back pain. However, these exercises take a long time (e.g., several months) to produce results. When it's difficult to see any real results, it can be difficult to maintain motivation and continue visiting the hospital.

[0003] It is well known that, based on rigorous examinations, the majority of nonspecific chronic low back pain that is not clearly diagnosed by imaging during many orthopedic surgeries falls into three categories: sacrococcygeal pain, myofascial pain, and facet joint pain. These three types of low back pain are caused by mechanical stress on the lower back. One contributing factor is prolonged sitting. Sitting in the same position all day can lead to lower back or hip pain, or lower limb swelling. Problems with a fixed sitting posture have been identified, such as muscle fatigue and circulatory impairment caused by muscle contraction, nutritional disorders of the intervertebral discs, and circulatory impairment caused by pressure from supporting surfaces.

[0004] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2023-005485 discloses a chair in which the seat is configured to rock, thereby tilting in conjunction with the user's leg movements (e.g., pedaling). This creates a kinematic chain in which the user's foot movements are propagated throughout the body as leg movements and waist movements, achieving a high degree of exercise. This results in a healthy chair that overcomes the problem of insufficient exercise even when sitting. Summary of the Invention

[0005] Meanwhile, there is a great need for a chair that can relieve low back pain and has a high health effect.

[0006] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a chair that can relieve lumbago and has a high health effect.

[0007] A chair includes two first support sections, each supporting two hip bones; and a second support section supporting one of the sacrum and coccyx. The two first support sections are configured to rock relative to the second support section. This configuration improves the mobility of the sacroiliac joints between the two hip bones and the sacrum, thereby suppressing mechanical stress on the lumbar region joints that would otherwise increase loads to compensate for the lack of mobility of the sacroiliac joints, thereby alleviating low back pain.

[0008] The two first support parts can be configured to be able to swing relative to each other. In this configuration, the swinging of the two first support parts relative to the second support part is promoted, thereby enhancing the effect of alleviating low back pain.

[0009] The chair may further include a chair body; and two elastic couplings, each coupling the two first support portions to the chair body, wherein the two first support portions are configured to be able to swing in a pitch direction and a roll direction due to elastic deformation of the two elastic couplings. In this configuration, a simple structure allows the two first support portions to swing in the pitch direction and the roll direction.

[0010] At least one of the two first support portions and the second support portion may be configured so that a position of at least one of the two first support portions and the second support portion can be adjusted according to the user's physical constitution. In this configuration, the position of at least one of the two first support portions and the second support portion can be adjusted according to the user's physical constitution.

[0011] A lower limb exercise system is provided, comprising the above-mentioned chair and a lower limb exercise device, wherein the user performs lower limb exercises using the lower limb exercise device while sitting on the chair. With this configuration, a lower limb exercise system having advantages in alleviating low back pain is realized.

[0012] In the present disclosure, the mobility of the sacroiliac joint between the two hip bones and the sacrum is improved, thereby suppressing the mechanical stress on the joints of the lumbar region that increases the load to compensate for the insufficient mobility of the sacroiliac joint, thereby alleviating low back pain. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Features, advantages, and technical and industrial significance of exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals represent like elements, and wherein:

[0014] Figure 1 It is a skeleton diagram of the pelvis;

[0015] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the lower limb motor system;

[0016] Figure 3 It is a side view of the chair;

[0017] Figure 4 This is the front view of the chair;

[0018] Figure 5 It is a side view used to describe the support of the chair on the pelvis;

[0019] Figure 6A is a side view of a hip support balloon coupling; and

[0020] Figure 6B It is a side view of the hip support balloon connection part. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] The present invention will be described below in terms of its implementation. The present invention according to the claims is not limited to the following embodiments. In addition, all of the configurations described in this embodiment are not essential as means for solving the problem. For clarity of description, omissions and simplifications may be made in the following description and drawings where appropriate. In the drawings, identical elements are represented by identical reference numerals, and repeated descriptions are omitted where necessary.

[0022] First, refer to Figure 1 Schematically describe the skeleton of the pelvis. Figure 1 As shown, the pelvis is made up of the sacrum, coccyx, and two hip bones. Furthermore, each hip bone is made up of the ilium, pubic bone, and ischium. Furthermore, the joint connecting the ilium and sacrum is called the sacroiliac joint.

[0023] Figure 2 FIG shows a side view of the lower limb movement system 1. Figure 2 As shown, the lower limb exercise system 1 includes a chair 2 and a pedal exercise device 3. The pedal exercise device 3 is a specific example of a lower limb exercise device. The pedal exercise device 3 is an exercise device for allowing a user sitting on the chair 2 to perform pedal exercises while sitting. The pedal exercise device 3 includes an exercise device body 3a and a pair of pedals 3b supported by the exercise device body 3a. Generally, the respective distal ends of the pedals 3b move along an elliptical orbit in a side view, and the respective rear ends of the pedals 3b move back and forth horizontally in a side view. The lower limb exercise device is not limited to the pedal exercise device 3, and may also be a stepping exercise device. The lower limb exercise device may be a lower limb exercise device that causes the foot to slide back and forth, or may be a thigh raising exercise device that causes the foot to move up and down.

[0024] Figure 3 The figure shows a side view of the chair 2 . Figure 4 2 shows a front view of the chair 2. Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the chair 2 includes a chair body 4 , two hip support balloons 5 , two hip support balloon coupling portions 6 , a sacrum support balloon 7 , a sacrum support balloon coupling portion 8 and a backrest 9 .

[0025] The chair body 4 is a frame structure supporting two hip support balloons 5, two hip support balloon connectors 6, sacrum support balloon 7, sacrum support balloon connector 8 and backrest 9. The chair body 4 includes a main frame 10, a position adjustment mechanism 11 and two armrests 12.

[0026] The main frame 10 includes two lower frames 20 extending in the front-rear direction, two upper frames 21 extending in the front-rear direction, two front vertical frames 22 extending vertically, and two rear vertical frames 23 extending vertically.

[0027] The two lower frames 20 are arranged to be spaced apart from each other in the left-right direction. The two upper frames 21 are arranged to be spaced apart from each other in the left-right direction. The two upper frames 21 are respectively arranged above the two lower frames 20.

[0028] The two front vertical frames 22 respectively connect the front ends of the two lower frames 20 and the front ends of the two upper frames 21. The two rear vertical frames 23 respectively connect the rear ends of the two lower frames 20 and the rear ends of the two upper frames 21.

[0029] The two handrails 12 are supported by two front vertical frames 22 and two rear vertical frames 23 .

[0030] The front-back direction and the left-right direction are defined based on the torso of the user sitting on the chair 2. The front-back direction is a direction perpendicular to the frontal plane. The left-right direction is a direction perpendicular to the sagittal plane.

[0031] The position adjustment mechanism 11 is arranged between the two lower frames 20 and supported by the two lower frames 20. The position adjustment mechanism 11 is configured to be able to adjust the positions of the two hip bone support balloons 5 in the front-back direction and the left-right direction. The position adjustment mechanism 11 includes a first position adjustment mechanism 11A for adjusting the position of one hip bone support balloon 5 and a second position adjustment mechanism 11B for adjusting the position of the other hip bone support balloon 5. The configurations of the first position adjustment mechanism 11A and the second position adjustment mechanism 11B are similar to each other. Therefore, the first position adjustment mechanism 11A will be described below, and the description of the second position adjustment mechanism 11B will be omitted.

[0032] The first position adjustment mechanism 11A includes two left-right adjustment frames 30 and a front-back adjustment frame 31 extending in the left-right direction. The two left-right adjustment frames 30 are arranged so as to be spaced apart from each other in the front-back direction. The two left-right adjustment frames 30 are arranged between and coupled to the two lower frames 20. The front-back adjustment frame 31 is arranged between and coupled to the two left-right adjustment frames 30. The front-back adjustment frame 31 is coupled to the two left-right adjustment frames 30 so that the position of the front-back adjustment frames 31 can be adjusted in the left-right direction. A hip support balloon 5 is coupled to the front-back adjustment frame 31 via a hip support balloon coupling 6. This allows the distance between the two hip support balloons 5 to be freely adjusted in the left-right direction. Furthermore, each hip support balloon coupling 6 is coupled to its corresponding front-back adjustment frame 31 so that the position of the hip support balloon coupling 6 can be adjusted in the front-back direction. This allows the position of each hip support balloon 5 to be freely adjusted in the front-back direction.

[0033] Each hip support balloon 5 is a specific example of the first support portion. Each hip support balloon 5 supports the corresponding hip of the user. Specifically, Figure 5 As shown, each hip support balloon 5 is arranged to face the ischium of the user's corresponding hip bone in a vertical direction. That is, each hip support balloon 5 includes an upwardly oriented support surface 5a. Typically, the hip support balloon 5 is made of polyvinyl chloride and has a certain degree of cushioning performance. The first support portion only needs to be configured to have a certain degree of cushioning performance and can be a cushioning member, such as open-cell or closed-cell polyurethane foam, rather than the hip support balloon 5.

[0034] Figure 6A and Figure 6B The hip support balloon coupling portion 6 is shown. The hip support balloon coupling portion 6 is a specific example of an elastic coupling portion. Figure 6A and Figure 6B As shown, each hip support balloon coupling portion 6 couples the corresponding hip support balloon 5 to the front-rear adjustment frame 31 , so that the corresponding hip support balloon 5 can swing in the roll direction and the pitch direction.

[0035] like Figure 6AAs shown, as an example, each hip support balloon connection portion 6 can be composed of a coil spring 40 and a universal joint 41. The universal joint 41 includes an upper link 41a extending from the hip support balloon 5, a lower link 41b extending from the front-rear adjustment frame 31, and a joint portion 41c connecting the upper link 41a and the lower link 41b. In this structure, when the corresponding hip support balloon 5 swings in the roll direction or the pitch direction, the coil spring 40 elastically deforms. By the elastic restoring force of the coil spring 40, the corresponding hip support balloon 5 elastically returns to the neutral position (reference position). The universal joint 41 can be excluded.

[0036] like Figure 6B As shown, as an example, each hip support balloon coupling portion 6 can be composed of a rubber rod 42. In this configuration, when the corresponding hip support balloon 5 swings in the roll direction or the pitch direction, the rubber rod 42 elastically deforms. Due to the elastic restoring force of the rubber rod 42, the corresponding hip support balloon 5 elastically returns to the neutral position (reference position).

[0037] Back to Figure 3 The sacrum support balloon 7 is a specific example of the second support portion. The sacrum support balloon 7 supports one of the user's sacrum and coccyx. The sacrum support balloon 7 supports one of the user's sacrum and coccyx to limit the movement of one of the user's sacrum and coccyx. In this embodiment, as Figure 5 As shown, the sacrum support balloon 7 supports the user's coccyx from a side that is tilted downward to limit the movement of the user's coccyx. In other words, the contact surface 7a of the sacrum support balloon 7 that contacts the user is oriented tilted upward. Therefore, it is expected that the user's pelvis will be tilted forward. However, instead, the sacrum support balloon 7 can support the user's sacrum from a side that is tilted upward to limit the movement of the user's sacrum. In this case, the contact surface 7a of the sacrum support balloon 7 that contacts the user extends horizontally or is oriented tilted downward. The sacrum and coccyx are fixed to each other. Therefore, when the movement of the sacrum is restricted, the movement of the coccyx is also restricted, and when the movement of the coccyx is restricted, the movement of the sacrum is also restricted. In this way, to limit the movement of the user's sacrum, the sacrum support balloon 7 can directly restrict the movement of the sacrum by facing the sacrum, or it can indirectly restrict the movement of the sacrum by facing the coccyx. Typically, the sacrum support balloon 7 is made of polyvinyl chloride and has a certain degree of cushioning properties. The second supporting portion only needs to be configured to have a certain degree of cushioning performance, and may be a cushioning member such as polyurethane foam having an open-cell structure or a closed-cell structure, instead of the sacrum supporting balloon 7 .

[0038] A balloon is a soft support member that contacts the body surface, supporting loads and deforming. The balloon is composed of a member containing gas or liquid, and the member expands and contracts.

[0039] Back to Figure 3 , the sacrum support balloon connecting portion 8 connects the sacrum support balloon 7 and the chair body 4. For example, the sacrum support balloon connecting portion 8 is composed of a coil spring and a universal joint, similar to the hip support balloon connecting portion 6. Thus, the sacrum support balloon 7 can swing from right to left or up and down relative to the chair body 4. However, as described above, the sacrum support balloon 7 is configured to limit the movement of the user's sacrum, and therefore, a structure in which the sacrum support balloon 7 can swing from right to left or up and down relative to the chair body 4 is not necessary. On the contrary, it is permissible to adopt a structure in which the sacrum support balloon 7 hardly swings or cannot swing relative to the chair body 4. In this case, the sacrum support balloon connecting portion 8 can be composed of a component that hardly deforms or cannot deform elastically. Thus, the sacrum support balloon connecting portion 8 connects the sacrum support balloon 7 to the chair body 4 so that the sacrum support balloon 7 hardly swings or cannot swing.

[0040] The position and posture of the sacrum support balloon 7 may be adjustable according to the physique of the user. In the present embodiment, the sacrum support balloon coupling portion 8 is constructed so that its position can be adjusted in the up and down direction relative to the chair body 4. In addition to this, the pitch angle of the sacrum support balloon coupling portion 8 in the longitudinal direction may be adjustable. Furthermore, the length of the sacrum support balloon coupling portion 8 may be adjustable. When the position and posture of the sacrum support balloon 7 can be adjusted in this manner, the position and posture of the sacrum support balloon 7 depending on the physique of the user is achieved. Furthermore, when the position and posture of the sacrum support balloon 7 can be adjusted in this manner, the sacrum support balloon 7 can support one of the user's sacrum and coccyx, thereby stably restricting the movement of one of the user's sacrum and coccyx, regardless of whether the pelvis of the user sitting on the chair 2 is tilted forward or backward.

[0041] Then, refer to Figure 3 , the backrest 9 is arranged above the sacrum support balloon 7. The backrest 9 can be excluded.

[0042] In this construction, when the user Figure 2 As shown, when the user sits on the chair 2, the ilium of the two hip bones faces the two hip bone support balloons 5 in the vertical direction, and the coccyx faces the sacrum support balloon 7 in the oblique direction. That is, the weight of the user's trunk is supported by the two hip bone support balloons 5 and the sacrum support balloon 7. In this state, the two hip bone support balloons 5 can swing relative to the sacrum support balloon 7, thereby improving the mobility of the sacroiliac joint. More specifically, the sacrum support balloon 7 is constructed to hardly swing or cannot swing, and the two hip bone support balloons 5 are constructed to be able to swing. As a result, the movement of the sacrum of the user sitting on the chair 2 is restricted, and the two ilium can move freely in the pitch direction and the roll direction.

[0043] In this state, when the user uses Figure 2 When the pedaling exercise device 3 shown in the figure is used for pedaling exercise, the two iliums move alternately mainly in the pitch direction along with the pedaling exercise of the legs. At this time, the movement of the sacrum is restricted. Figure 1 As shown, the joint movement of the sacroiliac joint connecting the sacrum and the ilium is significantly promoted, thereby improving the mobility of the sacroiliac joint. Using the above-mentioned chair 2, the following effects can be expected.

[0044] (1) First, when pedaling while sitting, the left and right hip bones rotate in the pitch direction through the pedaling movement, while the movement of the sacrum is restricted by the sacrum support balloon 7. Since the hip bones move while the movement of the sacrum is restricted, the mobility of the sacroiliac joint is improved. By restoring the mobility of the sacroiliac joint, the mechanical stress on the lumbar region joint, which has been loaded to compensate for the insufficient mobility of the sacroiliac joint, is reduced, thereby alleviating low back pain.

[0045] (2) Second, the chair 2 employs a structure that supports the left and right ischial bones and sacrum at three points. The support pillars move flexibly, thereby preventing the pelvis from remaining in the same position. This prevents the pelvis from maintaining the same posture while sitting, thereby preventing the muscles around the waist from being continuously used in the same position, thereby reducing muscle load. This reduces the risk of low back pain caused by maintaining the same posture for a long time. Because the pelvis is moved, the muscles around the pelvis are prevented from becoming stiff.

[0046] (3) Unlike ordinary fixed support surfaces, the movement of the pelvis is not constrained, so the pelvis moves in the front-back direction and the left-right direction through the pedaling movement of the lower limbs. The muscles work with the movement of the lower limbs and the movement of the pelvis. When the pedaling movement is performed unconsciously in a sitting state, the low back pain is relieved. Usually, it is necessary to go to the clinic regularly to continue to receive manual therapy. However, using the lower limb exercise system 1 in this embodiment, the effect of improving low back pain can be expected by training at home.

[0047] The preferred embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above. The above embodiments have the following features.

[0048] Chair 2 includes two hip support balloons 5 (first support portion) that support each hip bone, and a sacrum support balloon 7 (second support portion) that supports either the sacrum or the coccyx. The two hip support balloons 5 are configured to swing relative to the sacrum support balloon 7. This configuration improves the mobility of the sacroiliac joints between the hip bones and the sacrum. Consequently, mechanical stress on the lumbar region, which would otherwise increase the load to compensate for the lack of sacroiliac joint mobility, is suppressed, thereby alleviating low back pain.

[0049] The two hip support balloons 5 are configured to be able to rock relative to each other. In this configuration, the rocking of the two hip support balloons 5 relative to the sacrum support balloon 7 is promoted, thereby further increasing the mobility of the sacroiliac joint and enhancing the effect of alleviating low back pain.

[0050] The chair 2 further includes a chair body 4 and two hip support balloon couplings 6 (elastic couplings) that respectively couple two hip support balloons 5 to the chair body 4. The two hip support balloons 5 are configured to be able to rock in the pitch and roll directions due to elastic deformation of the two hip support balloon couplings 6. This simple configuration allows the two hip support balloons 5 to rock in the pitch and roll directions.

[0051] Furthermore, at least one of the two hip support balloons 5 and the sacrum support balloon 7 is configured so that its position can be adjusted according to the user's physique. In this configuration, the position of at least one of the two hip support balloons 5 and the sacrum support balloon 7 can be adjusted according to the user's physique, thereby maximizing the effect of using the chair 2 to increase the mobility of the sacroiliac joint.

[0052] Furthermore, the lower limb exercise system 1 includes the aforementioned chair 2 and a pedal exercise device 3 serving as a lower limb exercise device, and the user performs lower limb exercises using the pedal exercise device 3 while sitting on the chair 2. In this configuration, the swaying of the ilium in the pitch direction is achieved through a kinematic chain accompanying the pedal movement, thereby effectively improving the mobility of the sacroiliac joint.

[0053] For example, the above-described embodiment may be modified as follows.

[0054] A component can be added to chair 2 to hold a portion of the user's central abdomen while the user is seated in chair 2. This enhances the sense of integration between the user's pelvis and the two hip support balloons 5 and sacrum support balloons 7 of chair 2, further enhancing the effect of improving the mobility of the sacroiliac joint. The portion of the central abdomen refers to at least one of the epigastric fossa, the umbilicus, and the lower abdomen.

[0055] In the above embodiment, the two hip support balloons 5 can swing independently without interfering with each other. However, as an alternative, the two hip support balloons 5 can be coupled to each other and configured to be capable of performing pitch, roll, and yaw rotations as a whole. Even in this case, it is believed that the mobility of the sacroiliac joint can be increased to a certain extent.

[0056] Furthermore, a hand crank exercise device can be used instead of or in addition to the pedal exercise device 3. The descending kinematic chain along with the hand crank exercise further promotes the movement of the two hip bones, thus helping to improve the mobility of the sacroiliac joint.

[0057] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the positions of the two armrests 12 are fixed. However, as an alternative, the two armrests 12 may be moved alternately by an actuator not shown. Even in this case, it is considered that the movement of the two hip bones is further facilitated by the descending kinematic chain. As a way of moving the two armrests 12, first, the two handles 12 are moved so that the positions of the two armrests 12 in the pitch direction become positions different from each other. Second, the two armrests 12 are moved alternately back and forth so that the front-to-back direction positions of the two armrests 12 become positions different from each other. Third, the two armrests 12 are moved alternately up and down so that the height positions of the two armrests 12 become positions different from each other.

[0058] In addition, the pedaling exercise device 3 can be a device that the user uses to actively perform pedaling exercise, or it can be a device that the user uses to passively perform pedaling exercise. In the latter case, usually, the pedal 3b of the pedaling exercise device 3 may be driven by an actuator.

[0059] Furthermore, the backrest 9 can be configured to rotate about an axis extending in the longitudinal direction of the backrest 9. That is, the backrest 9 can be configured to perform a yaw rotation, causing the user's right and left shoulders to swing alternately back and forth. Thus, an upward kinematic chain associated with the movement of the lower limbs and a downward kinematic chain associated with the movement of the upper limbs are achieved at a higher level.

Claims

1. A chair comprising: two first supporting parts, each supporting two hip bones; as well as a second support portion supporting one of the sacrum and the coccyx, wherein The two first support portions are configured to be able to swing relative to the second support portion. 2 . The chair according to claim 1 , wherein the two first support portions are configured to be able to rock relative to each other.

3. The chair according to claim 1, further comprising: chair body; as well as Two elastic connecting parts, the two elastic connecting parts respectively connect the two first supporting parts to the chair body, wherein The two first support portions are configured to be able to rock in a pitch direction and a roll direction due to elastic deformation of the two elastic coupling portions. 4 . The chair according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the two first supporting portions and the second supporting portion is configured such that a position of the at least one of the two first supporting portions and the second supporting portion can be adjusted according to a physique of a user.

5. A lower limb exercise system comprising: The chair according to claim 1; as well as The lower limb exercise device is used by the user to perform lower limb exercise while the user is sitting on the chair.

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