Mobile balancing prosthesis

• US 8,920,344 B2
• Filed: 04/10/2007
• Issued: 12/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Dizzycure GmbH
• Original Assignee: Arneborg Ernst, Dietmar Basta
• Inventors: Ernst, Arneborg, Basta, Dietmar
• Primary Examiner(s): Dougherty, Sean
• Assistant Examiner(s): Stout, Michael C
• Application Number:
  US12/296,619
• Publication Number:
  US 20090192416A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,821 Days
• Field of Search: 600/587, 600/592
• US Class Current: 600/595
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2503/10 Athletes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2505/09 Rehabilitation or training
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/046 in a matrix array
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1116 Determining posture transitions
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1124 Determining motor skills
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4023 Evaluating sense of balance
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6823 Trunk, e.g., chest, back, abdomen, hip
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6831 Straps, bands or harnesses

Abstract

The invention is directed to a mobile balancing device and the use of said balancing device for the balance training of a body; the invention is further directed to a method for mobile balance training, e.g. for athletes or patients.

Claims

1. A mobile balancing device comprising:

actuators configured to be placed on a body, and

at least one measurement and integration unit comprising two gyrometers that are configured to determine changes in body position three-dimensionally in space as changes in angular velocity of forward, backward and/or sideward movements of the body and wherein two of said two gyrometers provide signals representing an angular velocity determination, wherein said signals are proportional to an activity of said actuators and wherein activation of said actuators is suppressed when the values of the angular velocity are within limits that are based on a movement sequence, wherein said two gyrometers are disposed orthogonally to each other and are configured to acquire measurement data two-dimensionally and the mobile balancing device is configured so that the data of only two of said gyrometers that are disposed orthogonally is then converted to a three-dimensional spatial presentation.

2. The balancing device of claim 1,

wherein

one or both of said gyrometers are selected from a group comprising AD×

RS

150EB.

3. The balancing device of claim 1,

wherein

said actuators are balance-wheel motors.

4. The balancing device of claim 3,

wherein

a rotation speed of a said balance-wheel motor depends on a frequency of an outgoing pulse, said frequency of said pulse being given by

5. The balancing device of claim 1,

wherein

movements of the body are determined as displacement vectors by said gyrometers that are disposed orthogonally to each other.

6. The balancing device of claim 1,

further comprising a rubber strap, a rubber-fiber-containing fabric strap, a leather harness, a fabric harness or a synthetic leather harness to position it on and/or to attach it to the body.

7. The balancing device of claim 1 further comprising

a manually operable program switch for selecting a program.

8. The balancing device of claim 1, wherein

said balancing device comprises different programs, and wherein

a selection between said programs is effected by voice command and/or by analyzing an activity of the body'"'"'s musculature or of the body'"'"'s nervous system.

9. The balancing device of claim 7, wherein

an implementation of a program is effected by a set of electrical resistors that are connected to said program switch and said actuators.

10. The balancing device of claim 1, wherein

implementation of a program is effected via software that stores a set of attenuations of said signals in a microprocessor.

11. The balancing device of claim 1, wherein

said actuators are vibrational actuators, and said actuators are being actuated by electrical stimulation applied to a surface of the body, by electrical stimulation of motor nerves or of the body'"'"'s musculature and/or by electrical stimulation of sensory nerves or sense organs or portions of the latter.

12. The balancing device of claim 1, wherein

said changes in body position are calculated as follows for a third reference axis:

13. Method for balance training of a body comprising placing the balancing device of claim 1 on the body and balance training the body.

14. A method for the mobile balance training of a body, comprising

providing the mobile balancing device of claim 1

wherein the changes in angular velocity are determined via sensor(s), and wherein the signal generated by the sensors and representing the angular velocity measurements is attenuated.

15. The balancing device of claim 1,

wherein said balancing device is so configured that it can be worn directly on the body as a belt.

16. The balancing device of claim 15, wherein said belt is to be worn in the body'"'"'s hip region.

17. The balancing device of claim 1, wherein the limits that are based on a movement sequence are normal values of a spatial displacement vector for a specific movement sequence.

18. A mobile balancing device comprising

actuators configured to be placed on a body,

gyrometers configured to determine changes in a position of the body three dimensionally in space as change in angular velocity of forward, backward and/or sideward movements of the body to provide signals representing an angular velocity determination wherein said signals are proportional to an activity of said actuators and wherein the mobile balancing device is configured to (i) suppress activation of said actuators when the values of the angular velocity are within limits that are based on a movement sequence, (ii) detect movements of the body as changes in angular velocity, (iii) represent the movements as displacement vectors and (iv) determine displacement of the body'"'"'s center of gravity by a non-linear function from said displacement vectors, wherein the non-linear function is f(x)=ax², wherein x is the value of the displacement vector, in form of a=(x,y,z) when x>

y, when y>

x, the value of y is used in place of x, with x being the first, y the second and z the third spatial reference axis.

19. A mobile balancing device comprising

actuators configured to be placed on a body,

gyrometers configured to determine changes in a position of the body three dimensionally in space as change in angular velocity of forward, backward and/or sideward movements of the body to provide signals representing an angular velocity determination wherein said signals are proportional to an activity of said actuators and wherein the mobile balancing device is configured to (i) suppress activation of said actuators when the values of the angular velocity are within limits that are based on a movement sequence, (ii) detect movements of the body as changes in angular velocity, (iii) represent the movements as displacement vectors and (iv) determine displacement of the body'"'"'s center of gravity by a non-linear function from said displacement vectors wherein the non-linear function is: