User-Paced Treadmill Control via Body Velocity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional exercise equipment, such as treadmills, fails to mimic natural walking motion due to fixed speed constraints, limiting its effectiveness in rehabilitation and training by minimizing stride-to-stride fluctuations in walking speed, stride length, and stride speed.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of user-paced exercise equipment with control circuitry that adjusts the velocity of the equipment based on the user's body velocity and leg swing velocity, allowing for more natural variability in stride time, stride length, and stride speed without the need for force plates or rods, enabling the user to freely move within a range.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the speed of exercise equipment is manually set and fixed, then the equipment structure is simple and easy to control, but it fails to mimic natural walking motion and limits rehabilitation effectiveness
Solution Approach 1:
The exercise equipment automatically adjusts its speed based on the user's natural gait patterns detected by sensors, eliminating the need for manual speed setting. The system serves itself by using the user's own motion to control the equipment speed, thereby mimicking natural walking without requiring complex external control inputs
Solution Approach 2:
Sensors detect the user's stride velocity and provide real-time feedback to the control system, which then adjusts the equipment speed accordingly. This closed-loop feedback mechanism enables the equipment to adapt to natural walking patterns while maintaining a relatively simple control architecture
2Ease of operation
If the equipment velocity is fixed, then the equipment is easier to manufacture and operate, but it minimizes stride-to-stride fluctuations in walking speed and stride length
Solution Approach 1:
The equipment transitions from a static fixed-speed mode to a dynamic variable-speed mode that automatically adjusts to the user's instantaneous gait characteristics. The speed varies dynamically with each stride based on detected motion patterns, preserving natural gait fluctuations while remaining easy to operate
Solution Approach 2:
The user's natural walking motion directly controls the equipment speed through automatic detection and response. The system requires no manual intervention to adjust speed, as it self-regulates based on the user's gait, thereby maintaining ease of operation while enabling natural movement patterns
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein are examples of user-paced exercise equipment, as well as related circuitry, methods, and computer-readable media. For example, disclosed herein is a user-paced treadmill, including a belt, a motor coupled to the belt, and control circuitry communicatively coupled to the motor. The control circuitry may be configured to change a velocity of the belt based at least in part on a body velocity and a leg swing velocity of a user of the user-paced treadmill.