Abstract:
A biomechanical stimulation device is presented. The biomechanical stimulation device comprises a base that supports an adjustable height arm and an easily removable drum connected to the arm. The drum is driven by a motor to provide an elliptical stimulation motion. An anti-rotation device prevents rotation, but allows orbital translation of drum. The drum may connect to the arm at a single attachment point. The arm  20  may be pivotally attached to the base and selectively movable to a desired position. A pair of struts may support the arm to assist in positioning the arm. The struts may be locked to prevent movement of the arm, or unlocked by a release button to allow selective positioning of the arm. The biomechanical stimulation device may further include a hand controller and other peripheral devices to provides a convenient interface for controlling the speed and run time of the biomechanical stimulation device.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/663,254 filed on Sep. 13, 2005 and related to European Foreign Patent Application 04022121.0 filed on Sep. 17, 2004 and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/216,126 filed on May 13, 2009, each of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. 
     
    
     FIELD OF ART 
       [0002]    The present invention is related to an improved device for biomechanical stimulation of muscles. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    Biomechanical stimulation was first developed in the former USSR in the 1970&#39;s by Prof. Nazarov for the field of competitive sports. Biomechanical stimulation (BMS) is a means whereby a device, such as the present device, provides an elliptical mechanical stimulation motion at controlled frequencies or speeds and at controlled amplitudes. The elliptical motion of the biomechanical stimulator is then transferred to the muscle and/or the soft tissue of the human body by the elliptical motion of the stimulation drum. 
         [0004]    The vibration therapy provided by biomechanical stimulation positively influences the muscles, soft tissue, circulation and lymphatic system of the human body. This mechanical stimulation provides a variety of anatomical and metabolic improvements or enhancements for the human body. These improvement and enhancements include, but not limited to, the warm-up of muscle groups before an athlete competes without expending energy to warm-up these muscle groups, increasing the range of motion when muscles have atrophied, and improved recovery of muscle groups for athletes after competition. For exercising or competing athletes, BMS aids improved recovery by stimulating or stretching muscle groups, and by increasing blood circulation that aids the body&#39;s recovery by carrying away waste products such as lactic acid. Recent studies indicate that sore muscles are the result of minute muscle fiber tears, biomechanical stimulation improves the recovery of these sore muscles caused by the tiny muscle tears following exercise. Again, by increasing the blood flow and oscillating the sore muscles with the elliptical stimulation motion of the biomechanical stimulation device, the muscles are able to recover faster thus helping the athlete prepare for peak performance in the next competition. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0005]    A biomechanical stimulation device is presented. The biomechanical stimulation device comprises a base that supports an arm and a drum connected to the arm. The drum is driven by a motor to provide a stimulation motion, such as an orbital stimulation motion. The drum may connect to the arm at a single attachment point. The arm  20  may be pivotally attached to the base and selectively movable to a desired position. One or more struts may support the arm to assist in positioning the arm. The strut or struts may be locked to prevent movement of the arm, or unlocked by a release button to allow selective positioning of the arm. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]    Objects and advantages together with the operation of the invention may be better understood by reference to the following detailed description taken in connection with the following illustrations, wherein: 
           [0007]      FIG. 1  illustrates a biomechanical stimulation device. 
           [0008]      FIG. 2A  illustrates a right view of a rotational motion drum. 
           [0009]      FIG. 2B  illustrates a left view of a rotational motion drum. 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  illustrates a drum assembly having a single mounting attachment and slidable surface. 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  illustrates an upper arm assembly. 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  illustrates an underside view of a biomechanical stimulation device having an extendable strut. 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  illustrates a cutaway view of a rotational motion drum showing the drive system. 
           [0014]      FIG. 7  illustrates a cutaway view of a rotational motion drum of a biomechanical stimulation device showing a mounting method. 
           [0015]      FIG. 8  illustrates the electrical and electronic components of a Lower Arm Assembly. 
           [0016]      FIG. 9  illustrates a hand controller user interface control. 
           [0017]      FIG. 10  illustrates a side view of an eccentric shaft. 
           [0018]      FIG. 11  illustrates a perspective view of an eccentric shaft. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0019]    Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural and functional changes may be made without departing from the respective scope of the present invention. 
         [0020]    A device for providing biomechanical stimulation of various parts of the human anatomy is presented. The device may be used with body parts such as muscles and soft tissue for performance enhancement or rehabilitation purposes. The device enhances user interaction with the biomechanical stimulation device (“biomechanical stimulator”) by providing additional options for biomechanical stimulation therapy and improved position adjustment options. 
         [0021]    With reference to  FIG. 1 , an embodiment of a biomechanical stimulator  5  is provided. The biomechanical stimulator device  5  includes a drum  10  attached to an upper arm  20 . The drum  10  provides a biomechanical stimulation motion, such as an orbital translation motion. The drum  10  may comprise a cylindrical unit, or other shape, that contains a drive motor. The drum  10  is constrained to carry out rigid body motion, without appreciable rotation, such as by translating through a defined circular or elliptical orbit. 
         [0022]    The upper arm  20  is pivotally attached by pivot interface bearings  55  to a pair of upright arm supports  50  that are attached to the base  40 . The position of the drum  10  may be adjusted by pivoting the arm  20  with respect to the base  40  to a desired position. For example, the upper arm  20  assembly may house a pivot release button  25 . When activated, the release button  25  may cause the arm  20  to release a clamping system of a pair of extension struts  45 . Releasing the extension struts  45  allows the drum  10  to pivot with respect to the arm supports  50  and be set at any desired position along the travel of the arm  20 . In an embodiment, the arm may travel up to 80 degrees. The 80 degrees of travel may allow the arm  20  to be positioned from a near horizontal position to a near vertical position, thus allowing for a comfortable position of the drum  10  for various body parts to be selected. The extension strut or struts  45  provide an upward force to push the drum  10  upward at a dampened velocity, thereby affording the user an easier position adjustment. The struts  45  may comprise modular locking gas springs. Once the upper arm  20  is in the desired position, the clamping system may reengage to prevent the arm  20  from moving. 
         [0023]    In an embodiment, a locking and unlocking mechanism is configured to release all locking gas springs at once. The locking and unlocking mechanism employs a pair of serially linked slider crank linkages to control the gas springs. This arrangement provides the necessary mechanical advantage, which can be adjusted by changing the position of a single fulcrum. 
         [0024]    The upper arm may be composed of hollow shells with thin-walled, generally C-shaped cross-sections. In an embodiment, the cross sections may be economically manufactured as aluminum castings that are joined together with fasteners to transfer shear load between the shells at their mating boundary and create dramatically higher torsional and bending stiffness in the resulting structure of the arm  20 . 
         [0025]    An electronic housing  30  may attach to the upper arm  20 . The electronic housing  30  provides a stiffening support for the upper arm  20 . Further, the lower arm-electronic housing  30  may house electrical components and electronic controls for the biomechanical stimulator  5 . In one embodiment, the arm is composed of conductive material or a conductively coated material. An electrically conductive gasket may be disposed between the structural components of the arm  20  to create a Faraday cage and effectively shield the internal electronics from creating or being affected by electro-magnetic interference (EMI). Further, the arm  20  may include thermally conductive structural components to act as a heat sink and thus reduce the size, cost, temperature, and failure rates of the electronics in the electronic housing  30 . 
         [0026]    The biomechanical stimulator  5  includes a drum  10 , as shown in  FIGS. 2A and 2B . The drum may be configured to translate in an orbiting motion with respect to the upper arm  20 . In one embodiment, the drum  10  may comprise a cylindrically shaped body and components to facilitate motion of the drum  10  housed inside the body of the drum  10 . In general, the drum  10  may be any ergonomic shape that readily affords transfer of biomechanical stimulation to a user&#39;s body parts. The drum  10  may be manufactured from a metal, plastic, composite, or other material conventionally used for such components. The outside of the drum  10  may be coated with a layer made from a soft material such as foam rubber. 
         [0027]    The drum  10  may be connected to the motor  70  by means of a ball bearing in such a manner that, during operation, the cylindrical basic body carries out a circular or elliptical movement about an axis that differs from the central axis of the drum cylinder and undergoes parallel displacement in the process. This movement has been described in the pending European patent applications No. 03028004.4 and No. 04000668.6, each of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. 
         [0028]    The drum  10  thus is driven to translate in a circular or elliptical orbit. The orbit may be uniform and consistently repeated instead of random. It has been shown that biomechanical muscle stimulation can be carried out in a considerably more effective manner in this way than if it is carried out using random and therefore non-uniform movements. The elliptical or circular movements of the drum  10  provide not only a vertical force but also a tensile force that can act in an essentially parallel manner on a device or body part placed on the drum  10 . This results in considerably improved biomechanical stimulation of that part of the body which is situated on the drum. 
         [0029]    In an embodiment, the movement of the drum may be translation in a circular orbit about an axis without appreciable rotation. As used herein, circular movement is understood as meaning a movement that differs from an ideal circular movement by no more than 5%. 
         [0030]    A drum weldment  85  may be positioned between the inner surface of the drum  10  and drum-shaft bearings  90 . The drum-shaft bearings  90  may be configured to hold a shaft within the drum  10 . The bearings  90  may include non-contacting seals and low friction lubrication that connect the drum-shaft to the non-moving portion of the drum  10  to measurably reduce power consumption. The drum weldment  85  connects the drum  10  to a rotational drive system, further illustrated in  FIG. 6  and described in further detail below. The rotational drive may consist of a motor  70 , a pulley system  75  and an eccentric drive shaft  65  positioned within the drum  10 . The eccentric drive shaft  65  is attached to an anti-rotation plate  80  and drum-shaft support bearing. The eccentric shaft  65  provides the amplitude of the elliptical stimulation motion. 
         [0031]    The anti-rotation mechanism employs a plurality of rubber elements or sandwich mounts to appreciably limit rotation of the drum  10 , while allowing translation of the drum  10  through the prescribed orbit characteristic of biomechanical stimulation. One end of each rubber element is attached to the non-orbiting drum base while the other end is attached to the orbiting portion of the drum  10 . Other embodiments of an anti-rotation mechanism are also possible. 
         [0032]    The drum  10  may connect to the arm  10  by way of a single attachment system. For example, the single attachment system includes a slidable mounting surface  12  of the drum  10  configured to mate with a similar slidable mounting surface  18  of the arm  20 . An alignment method may be provided to aid the docking and attachment of the drum  10  to the arm  20 . The drum alignment guides  13  direct the forks  19  of the arm  20  into the slidable mounting surface  12  of the drum  10 . An attachment bolt  14  of the drum may slide into the arm channel guide  17  of the arm  20  to provide an inner alignment. The attachment bolt  14  rests in an attachment bracket  16  of the arm, and a nut or fastener may be screwed onto the attachment bolt  14  to secure the drum  10  to the arm  20 . The drum  10  may be easily removed from the arm  20  or base by releasing the nut or fastener and disconnecting a single quick-disconnect plug. The quick-disconnect plug may be a blind-mate connector with a plurality of electrical contacts that automatically mates when the drum  10  is secured to the arm  20  or base  40  and provides electrical power and control signals to the motor. Other drums having different characteristics, such as shape, size, or eccentricity, may be interchanged with the drum  10  to increase the functionality, serviceability, and portability of the biomechanical stimulator  5 . 
         [0033]    The biomechanical stimulator  5  may include a base  40 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . The base  40  provides a leveling system to level and stabilize the biomechanical stimulator  5  on uneven floors and surfaces. The leveling system may consist of a top adjustable leveling screws  58  and leveling feet  59 . 
         [0034]    The biomechanical stimulator  5  may be positioned to interface a body part with the drum  10 . As an example of this interface for lower leg muscles, such as a calf muscle, a user may sit in a chair with their legs draped over the drum  10  for stimulation therapy. Another example of this interface might be where the drum  10  is raised to a 45 degree elevation allowing the user to stand leaning a quadricep muscle against the drum  10 . To assist in positioning the drum  10 , the extendable strut or struts  45  provide an upward lifting force capable of lifting the arm  20  and drum  10  automatically when the pivot activation button  25  is depressed. The depression of this activation button  25  simultaneously depresses the mechanical release linkage  47  of one or more extendable struts  45 , thus allowing for pivotal adjustment of the arm  20  and drum  10  to an upward position. Alternatively, upon depression of pivot activation button  25 , the arm  20  and drum  10  can be positioned to a lower position by applying a slight added downward force to the drum  10 . 
         [0035]    A motor  70  housed within the drum  10  generates rotational motion that is used to rotate the eccentric shaft  65  and translate the drum  10 . The rotational motion may be converted to elliptical motion for stimulation. As best illustrated in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the motor  70  is coupled to the eccentric drive shaft  65  by a pulley system  75 . The motor  70  may be an electric motor, or any other type of motor  70  or mechanical drive known in the art. The motor  70  may be a 3-phase AC motor or permanent magnet DC motor to reduce the number of conductors needed to power and control the motor  70 . The motor  70  may be ventilated to appreciably reduce operating temperature of motor  70 . The pulley system  75  includes a belt  77  that couples a first pulley wheel  78  to a second pulley wheel  79 . It will be appreciated, however, that other components, such as a gear train or a direct drive, may be used in place of the pulley system  75 . The motor  70  drives the first pulley wheel  78  to transfer torque from the motor  70  to the second pulley wheel  79  via the belt  77 . The second pulley wheel  79  is connected to the eccentric drive shaft  65  that rotates in response to rotational movement of the motor  70 . 
         [0036]    The motor  70  may be mounted to a rotatable mounting plate  71  that is rotatably connected to the drum  10 . The mounting plate may be connected by a first bolt  72  and be rotatable about the first bolt. A second bolt  73  may be inserted to fix the motor  70  in position. The fixed position may be configured as a position where tension is applied to the belt  77 . Moreover, both bolts may be removed to extract the mounting plate  71  and the motor  70  for replacement or servicing. 
         [0037]    The eccentric drive shaft  65  is support on the non-moving drum base  12  by two bearings  95 . The bearings may be pillow block bearing or any other type of bearings known in the art. The engagement between the bearings  95  and the eccentric drive shaft  65  may be configured to create elliptical stimulation motion of the drum  10 . The eccentric drive shaft  65  may create the amplitude of the elliptical stimulation motion. For example, the eccentric drive shaft  65  may create 2, 3, or 4 millimeters elliptical amplitude. However, it will be appreciated that the eccentric drive shaft  65  may be configured to achieve any amplitude. 
         [0038]    As illustrated in  FIGS. 10 and 11 , a pair of inner journals  66  may be positioned to support the eccentric drive shaft  65  on an axis concentric to the diameter of the drive shaft  65 . Further, a pair of outer journals  77  may be positioned parallel to, but offset from, the concentric axis by an eccentric distance. The eccentric journal radius may be smaller than the concentric journal radius by an amount at least as big as the eccentric distance. An indexing feature such as a flat  68  or keyway  69  may be configured to index rotational position of shaft during fabrication to ensure that the eccentric journals are on a common axis. Counter-balance weights may be mounted on the side of the shaft. For example, the counter balance weights may be mounted to be diametrically opposed to the direction of the eccentric distance. Further, an additional concentric axis may be configured for attaching a pulley or gear in order to transfer torque from the motor to this shaft. 
         [0039]    The eccentric drive shaft  65  may include adjustable counter-balance masses to allow for two-plane balance of the vibration drum. The counter-balance masses minimize load on bearings and minimize vibration transmitted to the arm  20  and base  40  Further, the counter-balance masses, which can be adjusted, allow for precise balance to be maintained even if auxiliary attachments are added to the drum  10 . 
         [0040]    In an embodiment, a non-rotating drive shaft is positioned approximately parallel to the eccentric shaft. The first end of the non-rotating shaft may be coupled to a moving portion of the drum  10  and the second end coupled to a non-moving portion of the drum base  12  by way of flexible couplings such as a universal joint, a constant velocity joint, a bellows coupling, or similar device that is rotationally stiff about the axis of the drive shaft but flexible in bending at each coupling thus allowing the moving part of the drum  10  to translate in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the eccentric shaft  65  but not rotate. 
         [0041]    In another embodiment, the drum  10  is mounted to a non-moving base by way of bearings and two identical parallel eccentric shafts which are driven in the same direction, effectively creating a 4-bar parallelogram linkage. Both parallel eccentric shafts must be driven to prevent the linkage from inverting when the four points of the linkage are all aligned. 
         [0042]    In an alternative embodiment, the drum is mounted to a non-moving base by way of bearings and three or more identical parallel eccentric shafts. The identical parallel eccentric shafts are positioned such that their axes are not located in a common plane. At least one of the shafts is driven. This configuration effectively creates three or more 4-bar parallelogram linkages such that at any instance at least one of the parallelogram linkages does not have all its pivot points collapsed into a line. 
         [0043]    Motor speed may be controlled by an electrically wired or wireless hand or foot controller  100  or by a computer. The hand controller  100  may provide additional motor control signals, such as a speed control signal. It will be appreciated, however, that the motor  70  may be controlled by means other than the hand controller  100 . 
         [0044]    The motion controller  37 , shown in  FIG. 8 , may be a programmable device. For example, the motion controller  37  may retain a firmware code for operating the biomechanical stimulator  5  in a memory. A plurality of speed versus time profiles for controlling the biomechanical stimulator  5  may be pre-programmed into the memory. The lower arm  30  may house additional electrical and electronic components used to control the stimulation motion of the biomechanical stimulator  5 . A power entry module  33  may provide for the interface attachment of an AC voltage plug and line cord to a typical outlet, for powering the biomechanical stimulator  5 . This power entry module  33  further may house an on-off switch, fusing, voltage and frequency selection adjustment, an EMI-RFI filtering module, and other electrical and electronic components. 
         [0045]    In an embodiment, the biomechanical stimulator  5  can be powered electrical power of multiple voltages typical throughout the world. 
         [0046]    Referring to  FIG. 9 , the hand controller  100  may be used to interface, control, and view operating parameters of the biomechanical stimulator  5 . The biomechanical stimulator  5  setup and current settings may be viewed by referencing the hand controller  100  displays. For example, the hand controller  100  may include display viewing areas, including a power indicator display  109 , a speed display  105 , and a runtime display  106  to provide the operating time for a stimulation therapy session. The time may be regulated by start/stop switches by either a start/stop switch  110  on the hand controller  100  or a foot start/stop switch  112 . 
         [0047]    In an embodiment, the hand controller  100  may include a rotating knob to control the speeds of the biomechanical stimulator by way of a potentiometer or encoder. The hand controller  100  may further include a momentary switch button which starts and stops biomechanical stimulator  5 . A 6-pin connector may provide the hand controller with supply voltage for the potentiometer, and return a speed control voltage, and an on/off control signal to the motor drive. The hand controller  100  may further include a communication port to communicate with devices such as a computer, PC, laptop, touch screen or PLC. 
         [0048]    In an embodiment, the speed and frequency adjust switches  107  may select speeds or frequency digitally from 5 Hertz to 36 Hertz. The user interface may allow a user to select any variety of pre-programmed, including on/off cycles; fixed or varying speed; fixed and varying time durations. 
         [0049]    In use, the biomechanical stimulator  5  may be placed in a warm-up cycle to allow for 6 on-off cycles by the activating of the start/stop switch  110  or the foot control start/stop switch  112 . The stimulation speed or frequency of the drum  10  may be adjusted using the speed-frequency switches  107 . A body part may then be positioned in contact with the drum  10 . The biomechanical stimulator  5  may begins the stimulation motion of the drum  10  once the start/stop switch  110  or the foot control start/stop switch  112  is activated. The biomechanical stimulator may continue its operation for a time period, such as 30 seconds, then pause for a time period, such as 6 seconds, to allowing for repositioning of another body part in direct contact with the drum  10  before restarting. This cycle will continue until a set number of cycles, such as 6 cycles, have been completed. 
         [0050]    The invention as described here will obviously upon the reading and understanding of this specification enlighten others to consider alterations and modifications. It is intended to include all such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalent thereof.