Assisted Lower Back Exercise Apparatus with Dynamic Actuator Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing exercise apparatuses for lower back muscles often exacerbate injuries due to hyperextension and fail to provide progressive intensity without increasing blood flow effectively, especially for individuals with pre-existing injuries or poor conditioning.
Innovation Solution
A support structure with a pivotable pendulum and actuators that assist and resist leg movement, allowing controlled exercise without hyperextension, using pneumatic, hydraulic, or electric actuators to adjust resistance and assistance, ensuring progressive intensity and increased blood flow.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If static weight additions are used to increase exercise intensity, then workout intensity increases, but hyperextension of lower back muscles increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the traditional mechanical weight-based resistance system with an active control system using actuators (pneumatic, hydraulic, or electric) that can dynamically adjust assistance and resistance forces. This substitution allows for precise control of exercise intensity without the need for static weight additions, thereby avoiding hyperextension while maintaining progressive workout intensity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from static weight resistance to dynamic, actively controlled resistance and assistance forces. The actuators can real-time adjust the magnitude and direction of forces applied to the pendulum, enabling the system to adapt to the user's instantaneous needs and provide optimal resistance or assistance without causing harmful hyperextension.
2Strength
If rigorous exercise is performed to strengthen lower back muscles, then muscle conditioning improves, but risk of hyperextension and injury aggravation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates active control mechanisms that can sense the user's performance and adjust the assistance and resistance forces accordingly. This feedback loop allows the apparatus to monitor the user's capability and modify the exercise intensity in real-time, ensuring that muscle strengthening occurs within safe limits and preventing hyperextension injuries.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical parameters of the exercise system by using actuators to dynamically modify the forces applied during exercise. This allows for precise control over resistance and assistance levels, enabling progressive muscle conditioning while maintaining safety for users with injuries or poor conditioning by adjusting parameters such as force magnitude and rate of change.
3Ease of operation
If assistance is provided to users with poor conditioning, then exercise performance improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs a multi-functional apparatus where the same actuator system provides both assistance and resistance functions. The pendulum mechanism serves multiple purposes: it provides the exercise motion, the control system delivers both assistive and resistive forces, and the single platform accommodates various exercise intensities. This universality reduces overall device complexity compared to having separate mechanisms for each function.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The apparatus safely conditions lower back muscles and increases blood circulation without hyperextension, enabling effective workouts for users with injuries or poor conditioning, promoting healing and strengthening while avoiding injury aggravation.
Implementation Method 1
A pendulum is pivotably connected to the support structure and hangs down therefrom. Thus the pendulum has a vertical plane of movement with respect to the support structure.
Implementation Method 2
The actuators may be pneumatic, hydraulic, or electric, or some combination thereof.
Implementation Method 3
The actuators may be pneumatic, hydraulic, or electric, or some combination thereof.
Implementation Method 4
The actuators may be pneumatic, hydraulic, or electric, or some combination thereof.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for lower back exercise has a support structure, a body support platform and a pendulum pivotably connected to the support structure below the body support platform for engaging the legs of a user. Actuators cause the pendulum to move upwardly or downwardly to either assist the movement of the legs of a user engaging the pendulum, or to resist motions of the pendulum initiated by the user. The body support platform may be tilted by an actuator to provide ease of mounting and dismounting the apparatus. Controls for the actuators are provided to allow a practitioner to monitor and adjust the assistance or resistance provided by the apparatus to the user. The apparatus thus avoids hyperextension of the back while providing strength conditioning with progressive intensity of work outs, especially for users injured or otherwise in poor condition.