Patent Publication Number: US-2019175092-A1

Title: Dynamometer

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present disclosure relates generally to a dynamometer and particularly to a dynamometer that may detect and indicate pressure or force applied by a hand or foot or by individual portions of the hand or foot such as fingers. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Handgrip dynamometers are instruments for measuring the maximum isometric contraction strength of the hand and forearm muscles. Handgrip dynamometers are used for testing handgrip strength of patients suffering from conditions that impair hand strength and for tracking improvements during rehabilitation. They are also used by athletes involved in strength training or participating in sports in which the hands are used for catching, throwing or lifting such as gymnasts, tennis players and rock climbers. 
     Prior art handgrip dynamometers, however, are limited in that they may only measure strength of the whole hand. Prior art handgrip dynamometers are also limited in that they measure only contraction strength. In many cases, whole hand or contraction strength measurements alone are not adequate. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The dynamometers disclosed herein may measure strength at a more granular level by measuring and providing feedback regarding pressure applied by individual portions of the hand or foot, not just the hand as a whole. For example, in one embodiment, a dynamometer may display a representation of pressure applied by individual fingers. In another embodiment, a dynamometer may display a representation of force applied by individual fingers during expansion or spreading of the hand. The dynamometers disclosed herein may also measure strength other than just merely contraction strength such as wrist (i.e., twisting strength) and push/pull strength. These embodiments represent improvements over the limitations of the prior art and may help patients and athletes by providing additional measures of conditioning or improvements. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a perspective view of an exemplary dynamometer and corresponding prompting device. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a perspective view of the exemplary dynamometer of  FIG. 1  and the corresponding prompting device. 
         FIG. 3A  illustrates a perspective view of an exemplary dynamometer. 
         FIG. 3B  illustrates a perspective view of another exemplary dynamometer. 
         FIG. 4A  illustrates a perspective of another exemplary dynamometer. 
         FIG. 4B  illustrates a magnified view of the exemplary dynamometer of  FIG. 4A . 
         FIGS. 5A-5C  illustrate perspective and schematic views of another exemplary dynamometer. 
         FIGS. 6A and 6B  illustrate schematic diagrams of an exemplary dynamometer. 
         FIG. 7  illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary dynamometer. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  illustrates on the left a perspective view of an exemplary dynamometer  1 . The dynamometer  1  may include a pad  3  that has a distributed sensor. The pad  3  is wrapped around to resemble a cylinder  5 . Although for purposes of illustration, the pad  3  is disclosed herein as wrapped around to resemble a cylinder, the pad  3  is not so limited and may be wrapped to resemble any shape (e.g., prism, cone, sphere, oval, etc.) that a human hand may grip. Also, more than one piece of pad  3  may be disposed (e.g., on opposite or substantially opposite sides of a cylinder, prism, cone, sphere, oval, disc, etc.) for gripping by a human hand such that grip strength of particular elements of the human hand may be sensed by the sensor or plurality of sensors distributed within the pad or fabric. 
     As shown in  FIG. 7 , the dynamometer  1  may also include a controller  51  and a prompting device  52 .  FIG. 1  illustrates on the right the prompting device  52 , in this case a display on a screen of a computer monitor that displays the sensed compression or contraction force the person&#39;s hand H applies to the cylinder  5 . The display is in the form of a “weather map” in which darker colors indicate higher force while lighter colors indicate lower force. Notice that the illustration shows that, in this example, almost all of the force is being applied by the tip of the fingers F1-F4. 
     The controller  51  may reside within the cylinder  5  of the dynamometer  1  or external to the cylinder  5 . The distributed sensor  3  senses force applied by the hand H or fingers F1-F4. The controller  51  is operatively coupled to the distributed sensor  3  and the prompting device  52  and controls the distributed sensor  3  and prompting device  52  when the dynamometer  1  is in use. The dynamometer  1  may, for example, include a connector or I/O port  54  (e.g., USB or micro USB) to connect the dynamometer  1  to an external controller  51  or prompting device  52  or the dynamometer  1  may include a wireless (e.g., Bluetooth) interface  56  to connect the dynamometer  1  to the external controller  51  or the prompting device  52 . 
     The distributed sensor  3  is uniformly distributed on the dynamometer  1 . The pad in which the distributed sensor  3  is embedded may have at least 91 cm 2  surface area to accommodate a person&#39;s hand and the distributed sensor  3  may be configured to sense force applied throughout the surface area. The pad  3  may, for example, correspond to fabric produced by BeBop Sensors of Berkeley, Calif. The distributed sensor  3  senses the force throughout the surface area, including sensing if more pressure is applied to one area vs another as shown in the “weather map” on the right side of  FIG. 1 . The distributed sensor  3  may operate in accordance with the operational details disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 9,076,419 hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Upon sensing the force applied, the distributed sensor  3  transmits a signal including the sensed compression force to the controller  51 . 
     The controller  51  (e.g., a microprocessor, a central processing unit of a computing device, or an integrated chip) is operatively connected to the distributed sensor  3  and the prompting device  52 . The controller  51  receives the sensed force from the distributed sensor  3 . The controller  51 , in turn, calculates and produces a signal to be sent to the prompting device  52  for displaying the feedback. The controller  51  may also compare the sensed force to predefined values and provide feedback as to whether such sensed force is above or below the predefined values. 
     Although the dynamometer  1  of the present application is described above in the context of measuring force exerted by a hand H, the dynamometer  1  of the present application may just as well be used for measuring force exerted by a person&#39;s foot. The disclosure herein is fully applicable to such an embodiment in which force exerted by a person&#39;s foot is measured. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates on the left a perspective view of the exemplary dynamometer  1 , in this embodiment gripped by two hands H1, H2 of the user.  FIG. 2  illustrates on the left a prompting device  52 , in this case a display on a screen of a computer monitor that displays the sensed force the person&#39;s hands H1, H2 applied to the cylinder  5 . The display is in the form of a “weather map” in which darker colors indicate higher force while lighter colors indicate lower force. Unlike prior art dynamometers that were limited to sensing grip force of one hand at a time, the dynamometer  1  of this embodiment may sense grip force of portions of both hands H1, H2 at the same time. This may potentially reduce testing time in half, a significant improvement over the prior art. This feature may also make comparison of strength of left versus right hand easier. 
       FIG. 3A  illustrates a perspective view of an exemplary dynamometer  1 . In the embodiment of  FIG. 3A , the dynamometer  1  has the outline  7  of a hand drawn on the pad  3  or the cylinder  5  to show hand/finger placement during testing. A user would know where to place her hand H or how to grab the cylinder  5  based on the drawn outline  7  which resembles a hand. In one embodiment, the dynamometer  1  has the outline of a foot drawn on the pad  3  or the cylinder  5  to show foot/toe placement during testing. A user would know where to place her foot based on the drawn outline which resembles a foot. In the embodiment of  FIG. 3A , the dynamometer  1  may also include a localized prompting device  52  in the form of five columns of five LED located towards the top end of the dynamometer  1 . The columns are labeled T (thumb), 1, 2, 3, and 4 indicating the finger with which each column is associated. The five LED within a column light up in a “fuel gauge” fashion in which a higher number of LED indicates higher sensed force while a lower number of LED indicates lower sensed force for the corresponding finger. 
       FIG. 3B  illustrates a perspective view of another exemplary dynamometer  1 . In the embodiment of  FIG. 3B , the dynamometer  1  is similar to that of  FIG. 3A  except that the localized prompting device  52  in the form of five columns of five LED is located at the end of the cylinder  5 . The columns are again labeled T (thumb), 1, 2, 3, and 4 indicating the finger with which each column is associated. The five LED within a column light up in a “fuel gauge” fashion in which a higher number of LED indicates higher force while a lower number of LED indicates lower force for the corresponding finger. 
     The prompting device  52 , remote or local, may also include an audio device (e.g., a speaker) in which a louder sound indicates higher force while a lower sound indicates lower force, for example. 
     The prompting device  52  may also indicate the sensed exerted force as a single number (e.g., pounds, pounds per square inch, etc.) for the whole hand or for individual portions (e.g., fingers F1-F4) of the hand. For example, the controller  51  may aggregate the information received from the distributed sensor  3  to calculate an equivalent location of the sensed, for example, compression force throughout the surface area by locating a center of mass of the exerted force over the surface area of the pad  3 . A center of mass is a defined term and may mean an arithmetic mean of all points weighted by a local density or specific weight. The controller  51  may determine the center of mass for the whole pad  3  or local centers of mass corresponding to the individual fingers F1-F4 and thumb T. With that information, the controller  51  may then output the measurement number (e.g., pounds, pounds per square inch, etc.) corresponding to the centers of mass. 
     In the example of  FIG. 1 , the controller  51  may output a single number (e.g., pounds, pounds per square inch, etc.) by aggregating the forced sensed for the whole pad  3 . But notice again that, in the example of  FIG. 1 , almost all of the force is being applied by the tip of the fingers F1-F4 and therefore five (four of them visible in  FIG. 1  and the thumb that is not visible) force centers are clearly discernible on the “weather map.” The controller  51  may output five numbers each corresponding to one of the force centers and, thus, a number per finger or thumb. 
     The controller  51  may provide the feedback information to the prompting device  52  and, instead or in addition, store the information in memory  58  or drive  59  for later use or provide the feedback information to a communications network (e.g., Internet) via I/O Ports  54  or wireless interfaces  56 . This information may then be sent remotely and studied/analyzed by medical personnel such as doctors or therapists. By reading the results from a computer, the doctor or therapist may easily monitor a patient&#39;s performance and does not need to notate the results because the data may automatically be stored in the computer. Such a system will keep accurate records and save time. The force information may also be used for other purposes such as, for example, entertainment. 
       FIGS. 4A and 4B  illustrate perspective and magnified views of another exemplary dynamometer  1 . In the illustrated embodiment, the dynamometer&#39;s cylinder  5  has five grooves  9  on the pad  3  near the top of the cylinder  5 . Each groove  9  is associated with a finger. Five strings  11  have one end wrapped around the grooves  9 , one string  11  per groove  9 . Each string  11  has a band  13  (e.g., ring, square, etc.) attached to the opposite end. This embodiment is capable of measuring expansion or spreading force of the hand&#39;s fingers F1-F4 and thumb T. The user would insert her fingers F1-F4 and thumb T in the bands  13  and open her hand. The expansion force of the fingers F1-F4 and thumb T would cause the string or strings  11  to squeeze the distributed sensor  3 . Since each groove  9  is associated with a finger, the measured force or pressure for the groove  9  would give an indication as to the expansion or spreading force of that finger and, cumulatively, the hand. Similar to the embodiments above, a prompting device  52  (e.g., whether map, fuel gauge) may be used to display feedback as to the force exerted by each finger or the total hand expansion force. Although in the illustrated embodiment five sets of strings  11  and bands  13  are shown, more or less than five sets of strings  11  and bands  13  may be used. 
       FIG. 4A  further illustrates a pinching dynamometer accessory  20  located attached to the bottom of the dynamometer  1 . The pinching dynamometer accessory  20  may include two pads  22  disposed back-to-back. Each pad  22  has a distributed sensor operatively connected to the controller  51  and the prompting device  52  as described above. A user would use a finger and thumb to pinch the pinching dynamometer accessory  20 . Since the accessory  20  includes back-to-back distributed sensors  22 , the dynamometer may measure pinching force applied based on the force sensed by each sensor  22 . The prompting device  52  may display the sensed pinching force applied to the accessory  20 . Similar to the embodiments above, the prompting device  52  (e.g., whether map, fuel gauge) may be used to display feedback as to the force exerted by each finger or the total pinching force. 
       FIGS. 5A-5C  illustrate perspective and schematic views of another exemplary dynamometer  1 . The dynamometer  1  may include a pad  3  that has a sensor or plurality of sensors distributed along the pad. In the embodiment of  FIG. 5A , the pad  3  is wrapped around a cylinder  5 , which has a longitudinal axis α. Although for purposes of illustration, the pad  3  is disclosed herein as wrapped around a cylinder, the pad  3  is not so limited and may be wrapped to resemble any shape (e.g., prism, cone, sphere, oval, etc.) that a human hand (or foot) may grip. 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 5B and 5C , the sensor or plurality of sensors of the pad  3  may detect force exerted by the human hand H (or foot) in directions radial (radial force Fr), tangential (tangential force Ft), and axial (axial force Fa) to the dynamometer  1 . The examples above mainly involve radial (i.e., compression) force Fr which may be useful to measure grip strength. Tangential force Ft may be useful to measure wrist strength of the human gripping the dynamometer  1 . Axial force Fa may be useful to measure pushing or pulling force of the human gripping the dynamometer  1 . The radial, tangential, and axial forces are perpendicular to each other and sums (or differences) between these forces may be measured as composite forces involving compression, twisting, pushing, and pulling components. 
     Returning to  FIG. 5A , the dynamometer  1  may include an anchoring portion  15  that connects the dynamometer  1  to a wall W or other device to anchor the dynamometer  1  and resist movement in the axial direction (i.e., pushing or pulling of the dynamometer  1  towards or away from the wall) and rotation (i.e., about the longitudinal axis α). A user may grip the dynamometer  1  with his hand H and attempt to twist his hand H while keeping his forearm stationery so that most of the tangential force Ft is exerted by the user&#39;s wrist. As shown in  FIG. 5A , the prompting device  52  may reflect the user&#39;s wrist strength as a force map. 
     Similar to the embodiment of  FIG. 2 , in one embodiment, the dynamometer  1  does not include the anchoring portion  15  and, therefore, is not connected to the wall W (i.e., the dynamometer  1  is not anchored). The user may grip the dynamometer  1  with both hands H1, H2 and attempt to twist hand H1 while keeping hand H2 stationery or vice versa. The user may also attempt to twist hand H1 and hand H2 in different directions. In this embodiment, the controller  51  may calculate the wrist strength as the difference between the tangential force Ft measured at the portion of the dynamometer  1  gripped by the hand H1 and the tangential force Ft measured at the portion gripped by the hand H2. The prompting device  52  may reflect the user&#39;s wrist strength as a force map. 
     Returning to  FIG. 5A , the user may grip the dynamometer  1  with his hand H (or his hands H1 and H2) and attempt to push or pull the dynamometer  1  towards or away from the wall W. The dynamometer  1  measures the axial force Fa and the prompting device  52  may reflect the user&#39;s push or pull strength as a force map. 
     The embodiment of  FIG. 5A-5C  may be used for medical purposes and may also be used for entertainment. 
     For example, a user may grip the dynamometer  1  with his hand H and attempt to twist his hand H while keeping his forearm stationery so that most of the tangential force Ft is exerted by the user&#39;s wrist. Or the user may grip the dynamometer  1  with both hands H1, H2 and attempt to twist hand H1 and hand H2 in different directions. The controller  51  may receive signals from the pad  3  and, based on that, determine the user&#39;s wrist strength. The controller  51  may have saved in storage (in memory  58  or drive  59 ) another person&#39;s wrist strength as a threshold. The other person could be a competitor of the first person or a prominent person such as a professional baseball player or golfer who, presumably, would have remarkable wrist strength. The person may use the dynamometer  1  to compare himself to others this way as a game or competition. 
     Similarly, a user may grip the dynamometer  1  with his hand H (or hands H1, H2) and attempt to pull the dynamometer  1  away from the wall W or the user may grip the dynamometer  1  with both hands H1, H2 and attempt to pull the portion gripped by hand H1 away from the portion gripped by hand H2. The controller  51  may receive signals from the pad  3  and, based on that, determine the user&#39;s pull strength. The controller  51  may have saved in storage another person&#39;s pull strength as a threshold. The other person could be a competitor of the first person or a prominent person such as a World&#39;s Strongest Man competitor or some other elite athlete who, presumably, would have remarkable pull strength. The person may use the dynamometer  1  to compare himself to others this way as a game or competition. 
     Based on the comparison between the current user and the information saved in storage, the controller  51  or the prompting device  52  may declare the person currently utilizing the dynamometer  1  superior to the other person in grip strength, wrist strength, or push/pull strength when the person&#39;s measured strength exceeds the threshold. 
     People&#39;s hands or grips come in different sizes.  FIGS. 6A and 6B  illustrate schematic drawings of a dynamometer  1  that is adjustable to more precisely fit the hand or grip of a user. 
     In  FIG. 6A  the pad  3  is wrapped around the cylinder  5  to form a dynamometer  1  of a certain size or diameter. Ends of the pad  3  abut to form a very narrow slit  3   a . Thus, in this example, the dynamometer  1  would be at its smallest size or diameter setting in  FIG. 6A . This smallest size or diameter of  FIG. 6A  accommodates a hand or grip of a certain size. 
       FIG. 6B  illustrates the same dynamometer  1  but this time it has been adjusted or expanded to a larger size or diameter. In  FIG. 6B  the pad  3  is wrapped around the cylinder  5  to form the dynamometer  1  of a size or diameter larger than the size or diameter shown in  FIG. 6A . In one embodiment, the cylinder  5  may be made of an elastic material (e.g., rubber, etc.) that expands and contracts and may be manufactured as a closed chamber connected to an air source. The cylinder  5  made of such elastic material may be filled with air to accomplish the size or diameter of  FIG. 6A  and filled with additional air to accomplish the larger size or diameter of  FIG. 6B . In  FIG. 6B , ends of the pad  3  no longer abut and, thus, they form a relatively wide slit  3   b . Thus, in this example, the dynamometer  1  would be a size or diameter setting larger than that of  FIG. 6A . This larger size or diameter of  FIG. 6B  accommodates a larger hand or grip than that of  FIG. 6A . 
     This embodiment of  FIGS. 6A and 6B  is merely illustrative and other embodiments are possible to increase and decrease the size or diameter of the dynamometer  1 . 
     As used herein, an “operable connection” or “operable coupling,” or a connection by which entities are “operably connected” or “operably coupled” is one in which the entities are connected in such a way that the entities may perform as intended. An operable connection may be a direct connection or an indirect connection in which an intermediate entity or entities cooperate or otherwise are part of the connection or are in between the operably connected entities. In the context of signals, an “operable connection,” or a connection by which entities are “operably connected,” is one in which signals, physical communications, or logical communications may be sent or received. Typically, an operable connection includes a physical interface, an electrical interface, or a data interface, but it is to be noted that an operable connection may include differing combinations of these or other types of connections sufficient to allow operable control. For example, two entities can be operably connected by being able to communicate signals to each other directly or through one or more intermediate entities like a processor, operating system, a logic, software, or other entity. Logical or physical communication channels can be used to create an operable connection. 
     While example systems, methods, and so on, have been illustrated by describing examples, and while the examples have been described in considerable detail, it is not the intention to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes of describing the systems, methods, and so on, described herein. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention is not limited to the specific details, and illustrative examples shown or described. Thus, this application is intended to embrace alterations, modifications, and variations that fall within the scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, the preceding description is not meant to limit the scope of the invention. Rather, the scope of the invention is to be determined by the appended claims and their equivalents. 
     To the extent that the term “includes” or “including” is employed in the detailed description or the claims, it is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as that term is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim. Furthermore, to the extent that the term “or” is employed in the detailed description or claims (e.g., A or B) it is intended to mean “A or B or both”. When the applicants intend to indicate “only A or B but not both” then the term “only A or B but not both” will be employed. Thus, use of the term “or” herein is the inclusive, and not the exclusive use. See, Bryan A. Garner, A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage 624 (3D. Ed. 1995).