Passive Stretching Device with Cable Tension Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current exercise equipment lacks effective solutions for increasing flexibility and stretching muscles without requiring significant user effort, as most existing devices are active and tire-inducing.
Innovation Solution
A passive anatomical stretching device featuring a user support, enclosure with a cable system, footholds, and a control handle that actuates to retract and extend cables, allowing for adjustable tension to facilitate muscle stretching without excessive physical exertion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If active stretching devices are used, then muscle stretching capability is improved, but user physical effort increases causing fatigue
Solution Approach 1:
The stretching device uses the user's own body weight as the counterbalance weight, eliminating the need for external power sources or additional weights. The user's body automatically provides the necessary force for the stretching mechanism to operate, making the device self-sufficient and energy-efficient
Solution Approach 2:
The device employs a counterbalance mechanism where the user's body weight acts as a counterweight to assist in the stretching motion. This reduces the effort required by the user to perform stretching exercises, as the counterbalance system helps offset the gravitational force during movement
2Ease of operation
If passive stretching device is used, then user physical effort is reduced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The stretching device is designed to perform multiple stretching functions for different muscle groups using a single unified mechanism. The parallel linkage system can accommodate various exercise positions and target different body parts, reducing the need for multiple separate devices while maintaining operational simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
The device uses a parallel linkage mechanism that can be segmented into modular components. This allows the complex stretching function to be broken down into simpler mechanical elements that work together, making the overall device more manageable and easier to operate despite its multifunctional capabilities
3Productivity
If cable tension is increased for better stretching, then stretching effectiveness is improved, but risk of overextension increases
Solution Approach 1:
The device incorporates a feedback mechanism through the parallel linkage system that automatically adjusts cable tension based on the user's position and exertion. As the user moves through the stretching range, the mechanism provides real-time feedback by modulating the resistance, preventing excessive tension that could lead to overextension while maintaining effective stretching tension
Solution Approach 2:
The cable tension is designed to be dynamic rather than static, automatically adjusting throughout the range of motion. The parallel linkage mechanism creates variable resistance that adapts to the user's position, providing higher tension when needed for effectiveness and reducing tension when approaching extension limits, thereby ensuring safety
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatuses, methods, and systems for increasing flexibility and/or stretching the muscles of a user generally comprise a user support set atop an enclosure. The enclosure houses mechanisms to actuate a cable system, wherein the mechanisms at least one of feed and retract a cable of the cable system. The apparatuses, methods, and systems also comprise footholds proximate to the user support to support at least the feet from a user, wherein the cable system actuates between the footholds, and wherein the footholds actuate in at least a lateral motion to further accentuate increasing flexibility and/or stretching the muscles. The apparatuses, methods, and systems also comprise a control handle coupled to the cable system for the user to grasp, wherein the cable system actuates to either one of increase and release a tension to the grasped control handle, and wherein the control handle comprises at least one control to regulate the either one of increase and release the tension.