Abstract:
An apparatus for multi-joint lower limb exercise disclosed, which comprises: a first supporting part; a second supporting part, rotatably connected to the first supporting part; a driving device, connected to the second supporting part, for providing a driving force to push the second supporting part to rotate about the first supporting part while simultaneously providing a resistance exerting on the second supporting part for damping the rotation of the same. As a user is fitted with the aforesaid apparatus to perform a lower limb exercise, such as exercising its knee joint or ankle joint, a comparatively better exercise effect can be achieved as the driving force of the driving device is able to reinforce the lower limb exercise performed by the user no matter it is actively performed by the user or is passively driven by the driving device.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to an apparatus for multi-joint lower limb exercise, and more particularly, to an exercise apparatus fitted to a lower limb of a user, capable of enabling the joints of the moving lower limb to perform an active or a passive exercise by controlling a specific driving device to push the moving limb to exercise at a constant velocity or to exert a torque resistance upon the moving limb.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Generally, most of the movements of human upper limb are to enable a person to complete a certain operation for controlling one&#39;s ambient environment while the lower limb movements are to enable the person to move around. That is, different limb movements are structured specifically with respect to complete different human activities. Therefore, the feature of most human upper limb movements is that they are structured to complete an operation is free space, and on the other hand, most lower limb movements are structured with a stable connection to the ground. It is known that intense and repetitive activities usually are the cause of physical injuries involving damage to bones and/or muscle tissues. It is also known that healing physical injuries such as fractures, exposed to an active exercise with permissible weight bearing stress while controlling the movement of the joints relating to the exercise to move correctly and properly, often heal more predictably and more rapidly than fractures which are not exposed-to any limb exercise. This is probably also true for preventing such physical injuries.  
         [0003]     It is known that muscles are strengthened and their mass increased by repetitive contraction of the muscles actively under tension. When the muscle contracts, however, it shortens, thereby causing joint motion via the connective tendons which can stress the ligaments connecting the bony joint segments. However, a passive exercise is contrary to the aforesaid active exercise, that muscles are exercised without the contraction thereof and thus can not train the relating joints to exercise by the contraction of muscles. Conventionally, resistance training increases muscle strength by putting the muscles against an external pressure while contracting actively and repetitively, such as a weight training using dumbbell, sand bag, elastic rope or other weighting equipments. Although, the external pressure of such resistance training can be adjusted by the instruction of a professional coach, it lacks the ability of providing integrated trainings, such as walking. Recently, there are equipment designed for providing isokinetic training that allows the athlete to develop maximal muscle contraction throughout a given range of the movement and develops strength at variable speeds, i.e. it can detect when a muscle is speeding up, and increases the load to slow it down again. Nevertheless, those currently available equipments for isokinetic training are all too bulky and can not simulate actual human movements for training relating muscles and joints under such actual human movement. It is noted that there is an idea of employing robotic arms as intellectual training tools. However, those specifically designed robotic arms are still under experiment and are not available for progressive training or household training. In addition, the training tools especially designed for lower limb exercise, such as treadmill, exercise bicycle, or stepper, are all to bulky and heavy to be carried around.  
         [0004]     The conventional lower limb exercises are either focused on excising knee joint or on ankle joint individually, which are not capable of exercising multiple joints relating to a lower limb movement, and are still employing traditional isotonic/isokinemic training mode while lacking a feedback mechanism for better controlling. Obviously, for the foregoing shortcomings, there is no available solution.  
         [0005]     Therefore, it is in need of an exercise apparatus fitted to a lower limb of a user, capable of enabling the joints of the moving lower limb to perform an active or a passive exercise by controlling a specific driving device to push the moving lower limb to exercise at a constant velocity, i.e. controlling the rotation speed of a motor driving the lower limb to move accordingly, or to exert a torque resistance upon the moving lower limb, and moreover, the apparatus for multi-joint lower limb exercise, comparing to those of prior art, is capable of providing a multi-degree-of-freedom motion of active exercise that is portable, light-weight, and ease to maintain.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     It is the primary object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for multi-joint lower limb exercise, capable of enabling the ankle and knee of a user to be exercised at the same time by a multi-degree-of-freedom motion of active exercise.  
         [0007]     It is another object of the present invention to provide a portable apparatus for multi-joint lower limb exercise, adapted for exercising the hip, the ankle and knee of a user.  
         [0008]     It is another object of the present invention to provide an active exercise apparatus for joints, which can be adapted to exercise a user&#39;s joints no matter the user is lying, sitting or standing. Moreover, it can be adapted for matching the difficulties of a progressive training as required.  
         [0009]     It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a motor with constant velocity control ability for pushing the lower limb to move at a constant velocity controlled by the adjustable rotation speed of the motor so as to enable the lower limb to be exercised passively.  
         [0010]     It is further another object of the present invention to provide a motor capable of issuing an adjustable torque resistance exerting upon the moving lower limb so as to enable the lower limb to be exercised actively.  
         [0011]     To achieve the above objects, the present invention provides an apparatus for multi-joint lower limb exercise, which comprises: a first supporting part; a second supporting part, rotatably connected to the first supporting part; and a driving device, connected to the second supporting part, for providing a driving force to push the second supporting part to rotate about the first supporting part.  
         [0012]     Preferably, the first supporting part is further comprised of a rotatable frame and a supporting frame with adjustable length, having an end thereof connected to the rotatable frame. The second supporting part is further comprised of a rotatable plate. The driving device is further comprised of: at least a rotor wheel; a motor, for providing a driving force; and a steering booster, connect to the motor and each rotor wheel for controlling the rotation direction of each rotor wheel. Moreover, the motor can be constant-speed motor or a variable-speed motor.  
         [0013]     Preferably, the apparatus for multi-joint lower limb exercise further comprises a third supporting part, rotatably connected to the second supporting part. The third supporting part further is comprised of a rotatable frame and a supporting frame with adjustable length, having an end thereof connected to the rotatable frame.  
         [0014]     In a preferred embodiment of the invention, another apparatus for multi-joint lower limb exercise is provided, which comprises: a first supporting part; a second supporting part, rotatably connected to the first supporting part; and a driving device, connected to the second supporting part, for proving a resistance exerting on the second supporting part for damping the rotation of the same.  
         [0015]     Preferably, the first supporting part is further comprised of a rotatable frame and a supporting frame with adjustable length, having an end thereof connected to the rotatable frame. The second supporting part is further comprised of a rotatable plate. The driving device is further comprised of: at least a rotor wheel; a motor, for providing an adjustable torque resistance; a steering booster, connected to the motor and each rotor wheel for controlling the rotation direction of each rotor wheel; and at least a force detector, each being arranged on a corresponding rotor wheel, for detecting and measuring the magnitude of a pushing force exerting on the second supporting part by the lower limb.  
         [0016]     Preferably, the apparatus for multi-joint lower limb exercise further comprises a third supporting part, rotatably connected to the second supporting part. The third supporting part further is comprised of a rotatable frame and a supporting frame with adjustable length, having an end thereof connected to the rotatable frame.  
         [0017]     Preferably, each force detector further comprises: a rotation shaft, an elastic member, a rotation angle sensor, a coupling, and a shaft sleeve; wherein the rotation shaft is connected to the rotor wheel by a bearing; the elastic member is arranged to ensheathe the rotation shaft; the rotation angle sensor is enabled to detect and measure the relative displacement angle between the rotor wheel and the rotation shaft; the coupling is connected to the rotation shaft and the rotation angle sensor; and the shaft sleeve is arranged to ensheathe the rotation shaft, the elastic member, and the coupling.  
         [0018]     Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the present invention.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0019]      FIG. 1  is a schematic view of an apparatus for multi-joint lower limb exercise according to a first preferred embodiment of the invention.  
         [0020]      FIG. 2  is a schematic view of a driving device arranged in the exercise apparatus of the first preferred embodiment of the invention.  
         [0021]      FIG. 3  is a schematic view of an apparatus for multi-joint lower limb exercise according to a second preferred embodiment of the invention.  
         [0022]      FIG. 4  is a schematic view of a driving device arranged in the exercise apparatus of the second preferred embodiment of the invention.  
         [0023]      FIG. 5  is an exploded view of a force detector arranged in the exercise apparatus of the second preferred embodiment of the invention.  
         [0024]      FIG. 6  is a schematic view of the force detector arranged in the exercise apparatus of the second preferred embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0025]     For your esteemed members of reviewing committee to further understand and recognize the fulfilled functions and structural characteristics of the invention, several preferable embodiments cooperating with detailed description are presented as the follows.  
         [0026]     Please refer to  FIG. 1 , which is a schematic view of an apparatus for multi-joint lower limb exercise according to a first preferred embodiment of the invention. The apparatus of  FIG. 1  can be adapted to fit on a lower limb of a user for proving a driving force to the moving joints of the lower limb as the lower limb is subjected to a passive exercise. The apparatus for multi-joint lower limb exercise comprises a first support part  11 , a second support part  12 , a third support part  13 , and a driving device  14 .  
         [0027]     The first supporting part  11  is comprised of a supporting frame  111  and a rotatable frame  112 , that both are fitted to the outside of the shank of the user and are fixed thereto by a strap. The length of the first supporting part  11  can be adjusted to match with the length of the shank, that is, the supporting frame  1 . 11  of the first supporting part  11  is a device of retractable mechanism composed of guiding chutes and sliding rod which is connected to the rotatable frame  112  in a retractable manner for enabling the length of the first supporting part  11  to match the length of the shank.  
         [0028]     The second supporting part  12  includes a rotatable plate  121 , which has an upright panel  122  fixed thereon, whereas the upright panel  122  is pivotally connected to the rotatable frame  111  by a rotation axis  15 , such that the rotatable, frame,  1   11  and the rotatable plate  121  will rotate about the rotation axis  15  as the ankle of the user is rotated. It is noted that a foot of the user can be placed on the rotatable plate  121  and is fixed thereto by a strap.  
         [0029]     Similarly, The third-supporting part  13  is comprised of a supporting frame  131  and a rotatable frame  132 , that both are fitted to the outside of the thigh of the user and are fixed thereto by a strap. Similarly, The length of the second supporting part  13  can also be adjusted to match with the length of the thigh, that is, the supporting frame  131  of the second supporting part  13  is a device of retractable mechanism composed of guiding chutes and sliding rod which is connected to the rotatable frame  132  in a retractable manner for enabling the length of the second supporting part  13  to match the length of the thigh. As the knee of the user is rotated, the rotatable frame  112  and the rotatable frame  132  will rotate about the rotation axis  16 .  
         [0030]     The driving device  14  is connected to the second supporting part  12  for providing a driving force to push the second supporting part  12  to rotate about the first supporting part  11 . As seen in  FIG. 1 , the driving device  14  comprises a motor  141 , a steering booster  142 , and two rotor wheels  143 ,  144 . Wherein, the motor  141  is acted as the power source of the driving device  14 ; the steering booster  142  is connected to the motor  141  and the two rotor wheels  143 ,  144  and is used for controlling the rotation direction of the two rotor wheels  143 ,  144 . As the motor  141 , placed underneath the rotatable plate  121 , is operating, both the two rotor wheels  143 ,  144  are driven to rotate that brings along the rotatable plate  121  to rotate about the rotation axis  15 . Moreover, since the foot, the shank, and the thigh of the lower limb are respectively fixed to the second supporting part  12 , the first supporting part  11  and the third supporting part  13  by straps, the ankle, the knee and the hip are all being brought along to rotate by the lower limb exercise apparatus of  FIG. 1 , that is, the lower limb of the user is enabled to perform a passive exercise. Furthermore, the motor  141  can be a device selected from the group consisting of a constant-speed motor and a variable-speed motor, with respect to actual requirement of the user, such that the rotatable plate  121  can be controlled to rotated at a constant velocity or at varying speeds, for subjecting the user to various passive exercises of different strength.  
         [0031]     Please refer to  FIG. 2 , which is a schematic view of a driving device arranged in the exercise apparatus of the first preferred embodiment of the invention. For facilitating a user to carry the lower limb exercise of the invention easily, an additional bottom panel  145  is arranged in the driving device  14  whereas the steering booster  142  is attached to the bottom of the bottom panel  145 . By attaching the bottom panel  145  to the rotatable plate  121 , the driving device  14  is fixedly connected to the structure of the lower limb exercise apparatus of  FIG. 1 . It is noted that the lower limb exercise apparatus can perform well by itself without the driving device  14 , that the driving device  14  can be detached from the lower limb exercise apparatus easily by detaching the bottom panel  145  from the rotatable plate  121 . The driving force provided by the motor  141  is transmitted to the two transmission shafts  146 ,  147  by the steering booster  142  which bring along the two rotor wheels  143 ,  144  to rotate, and further bring the bottom panel  145  and the rotatable plate  121  to rotate as well. Therefore, by the operation of the driving device  14 , the joints of the lower limb of a user can be exercise effortlessly since it is brought to move by the driving device  14 .  
         [0032]     Please refer to  FIG. 3 , which is a schematic view of an apparatus for multi-joint lower limb exercise according to a second preferred embodiment of the invention. The apparatus of the second embodiment is adapted to fit on a lower limb of a user for proving a resistance to the moving joints of the lower limb as the lower limb is subjected to an active exercise. The apparatus for multi-joint lower limb exercise comprises a first support part  31 , a second support part  32 , a third support part  33 , and a driving device  34 .  
         [0033]     The first supporting part  31  is comprised of a supporting frame  311  and a rotatable frame  312 , that both are fitted to the outside of the shank of the user and are fixed thereto by a strap. The length of the first supporting part  31  can be adjusted to match with the length of the shank, that is, the supporting frame  311  of the first supporting part  31  is a device of retractable mechanism composed of guiding chutes and sliding rod which is connected to the rotatable frame  312  in a retractable manner for enabling the length of the first supporting part  31  to match the length of the shank.  
         [0034]     The second supporting part  32  includes a rotatable plate  321 , which has an upright panel  322  fixed thereon, whereas the upright panel  322  is pivotally connected to the rotatable frame  311  by a rotation axis  35 , such that the rotatable frame  311  and the rotatable plate  321  will rotate about the rotation axis  35  as the ankle of the user is rotated. It is noted that a foot of the user can be placed on the rotatable plate  321  and is fixed thereto by a strap.  
         [0035]     Similarly, The third supporting part  33  is comprised of a supporting frame  331  and a rotatable frame  332 , that both are fitted to the outside of the thigh of the user and are fixed thereto by a strap. Similarly, The length of the second supporting part  33  can also be adjusted to match with the length of the thigh, that is, the supporting frame  331  of the second supporting part  33  is a device of retractable mechanism composed of guiding chutes and sliding rod which is connected to the rotatable frame  332  in a retractable manner for enabling the length of the second supporting part  33  to match the length of the thigh. As the knee of the user is rotated, the rotatable frame  312  and the rotatable frame  332  will rotate about the rotation axis  36 .  
         [0036]     The driving device  34  is connected to the second supporting part  32  for providing a resistance exerting on the second supporting part  32  for damping the rotation of the same. As seen in  FIG. 3 , the driving device  34  comprises a motor  341 , a steering booster  342 , two rotor wheels  343 ,  344 , and two force detectors  345 ,  346 . Wherein, the motor  341  is acted as the power source of the driving device  34 ; the steering booster  342  is connected to the motor  341  and the two rotor wheels  343 ,  344  and is used for controlling the rotation direction of the two rotor wheels  343 ,  344 ; the two force detectors  345 ,  346  are respectively arranged at the two rotor wheels  343 ,  344  for detecting and measuring the magnitude of a pushing force exerting on the second supporting part by the lower limb. As the motor  341  is capable of issuing a torque resistance for resisting the rotation of the motor shaft, the user must exercise his lower limb to exert a pushing force upon the rotatable plate  321  that is large enough to overcome the torque resistance so as to force the motor  241  to rotate and thus drive the two rotor wheels  343 ,  344 , such that the lower limb of the user is enabled to perform an active exercise. Furthermore, the motor  141  can be a capable of issuing a torque resistance that is adjustable with respect to actual requirement of the user, such that the user must exercise his lower limb to exert a pushing force corresponding to the adjustable torque resistance of the motor so as to bring along the two rotor wheels  343 ,  344  to rotate as well. That is, the user is subjected to various active exercises of different strength.  
         [0037]     Please refer to  FIG. 4 , which is a schematic view of a driving device arranged in the exercise apparatus of the second preferred embodiment of the invention. For facilitating a user to carry the lower limb exercise of the invention easily, an additional bottom panel  347  is arranged in the driving device  34  whereas the steering booster  342  is attached to the bottom of the bottom panel  347 . By attaching the bottom panel  347  to the rotatable plate  321 , the driving device  34  is fixedly connected to the structure of the lower limb exercise apparatus of  FIG. 3 . It is noted that the lower limb exercise apparatus can perform well by itself without the driving device  34 , that the driving device  34  can be detached from the lower limb exercise apparatus easily by detaching the bottom panel  347  from the rotatable plate  321 . As the user is exercising his lower limb to exert a pushing force on the bottom panel  347  and the rotatable plate  321 , the two force detectors  345 ,  346  are capable of detecting and measuring the strength of the pushing force. As the detected strength reaches a specific value, that is, the pushing force is equal to the torque resistance defined by the motor  341 , the motor  241  is forced to rotate and thus drive the two rotor wheels  343 ,  344  to rotate as well. Therefore, by enabling a user to exert force upon the apparatus of multi-joint lower limb exercise of; the invention, the lower limb exercise apparatus is forced to operate and thus the joints of the lower limb of a user is exercised actively.  
         [0038]     Please refer to  FIG. 5 , which is an exploded view of a force detector arranged in the exercise apparatus of the second preferred embodiment of the invention. The force detector  51  comprises: a rotation shaft  511 , an elastic member, 512 , a rotation angle sensor  515 , a coupling  514 , and a shaft sleeve  513 . The assembling of the force detector  51 , the rotor wheel  52  and a bearing  53  forms a rotor wheel with force detection ability. While assembling, the rotation shaft  511  is connected to the rotor wheel  52  through the bearing  53  for enabling the rotor wheel  52  to rotate freely with respect to the rotation shaft  511 . The elastic member  512  is arranged between the rotation shaft  511  and the shaft sleeve  513  while fixing the shaft sleeve  513  onto the rotation shaft  511 , such that the two ends of the elastic member are respectively connected to the rotation shaft  511  and the shaft sleeve  513  for enabling the rotor wheel  52  to connect to the rotation shaft  511  flexibly, and thus the relative displacement angle between the rotor wheel  52  and the rotation shaft  511  can be detected by the rotation angle sensor  515  fixedly attached to the shaft sleeve  513 . The coupling  514  is used to connect the rotation angle sensor  515  to the rotation shaft  511 . As the rotation shaft  511  is connected to the power source and is driven to rotate thereby, the resistance acting on the rotating rotor wheel  52  can be obtained from the relative displace angle between the rotor wheel  52  and the rotation shaft  511  with respect to the characteristics of the elastic member  512 . As seen in  FIG. 6 , the assembling of the aforesaid rotor wheel, rotation shaft, elastic member, rotation angle sensor, coupling, and shaft sleeve, a rotor wheel with force detection ability  60  can be formed.  
         [0039]     To sum up, the apparatus for multi-joint lower limb exercise employs a driving device as, a power source thereof, which is either used for providing an adjustable torque resistance to the moving lower limb, or for providing a driving force to drive the joints of the lower limb to move, such that a user fitted with the aforesaid apparatus either has to exert a force to overcome the torque resistance for performing the lower limb exercise actively or can be driven to exercise passively.  
         [0040]     While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been set forth for the purpose of disclosure, modifications of the disclosed embodiment of the invention as well as other embodiments thereof may occur to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to cover all embodiments which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention.