Safety devices and methods for gymnastics and other activities

Abstract

An apparatus for protecting an individual from an unintended fall is provided. The apparatus includes: a retractable cover positioned where the individual is likely to fall and covering a safe area for the unintended fall; a sensor for detecting a likelihood of an occurrence of the unintended fall; and an actuation mechanism for removing the retractable cover to expose the safe area where the sensor detects the occurrence of the unintended fall is likely. The actuation mechanism can also remove the retractable cover to expose the safe area where an observer recognizes that an occurrence of the unintended fall is likely.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims the benefit of earlier filed provisional patent application, 60 / 492,456 filed Aug. 4, 2003, entitled “Safety Devices For Gymnastics and Pole Vaulting,” the contents of which are incorporated herein by its reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The present invention relates generally to safety devices, and more particularly, to safety devices and methods for use in gymnastics and other activities. [0004] 2. Prior Art [0005] Gymnastics is a dangerous sport. Every year, thousands of children and adults suffer injuries during gymnastics activities. These injuries occur mostly in training although injuries also occur during various national and international competitions. One of the most often occurring injuries in gymnastics is due to falls or improper landing after dismount from the parallel bars, high bars or rings. Most injuries occur during practice, even though in these sit...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0010] The system based on the aforementioned method may be equipped with one or more sensors to detect a dangerous fall or landing and trigger the activation of the injury prevention mechanism(s) of the system. The sensory device is preferably a vision system that tracks the athlete and based on the athlete trajectory, determines the probability of a dangerous situation emerging. Alternatively, a trained observer such as the coach may activate the injury prevention mechanism(s) of the system. Experienced and physically capable trainers are routinely used to prevent dangerous falls in younger, i.e., smaller and lighter, gymnasts with great success. However, preferably the input from more than one sensory system as well as from an experienced trainer are used to provide a redundant triggering signal for more safety and operational reliability.

[0011] The aforementioned method of using pits to provide for safe falls and improper landings can be used in two different situations. Firstly, the situation in which the gymnast is intended to land in the pit anyway, e.g., during the exercise. In this situation, once the gymnast has mounted the parallel bars, high bars or the rings, the hard floor (normally covered by a mat) is no longer needed and is therefore retracted. For the particular case of parallel bars, the space between the parallel bars is never used for dismount and this part of the pit covering can always be retracted following mounting, even in competitions. As a result, when the gymnast dismounts, he / she lands in the pit, thereby the probability of injury is minimized.

Problems solved by technology

Firstly, the situation in which the gymnast is intended to land in the pit anyway, e.g., during the exercise.

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