Methods and Apparatus for Testing Abdominal Strength and Exercising Abdominal Muscles

• US 20080214372A1
• Filed: 07/19/2006
• Published: 09/04/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/19/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Shaun A. Karp
• Original Assignee: Shaun A. Karp
• Inventors: Karp, Shaun A.
• Granted Patent: US 7,833,142 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 482/140
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/224 Measuring muscular strength
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2071/0625 Emitting sound, noise or music
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2071/0627 when used improperly, e.g. by giving a warning
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 21/4037 Exercise mats for personal use, with or without hand-grips or foot-grips, e.g. for Yoga or supine floor exercises mats for absorbing shocks A63B6/00
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 21/4039 contoured to fit to specific body parts, e.g. back, knee or neck support arrangements for attaching exercising apparatus to the user's body A63B21/4001; handles, pedals, bars or platforms A63B21/4033
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2102/22 Field hockey
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2210/50 Size reducing arrangements for stowing or transport
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/51 Force
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2225/50 Wireless data transmission, e.g. by radio transmitters or telemetry
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2225/62 Inflatable
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 23/0233 Muscles of the back, e.g. by an extension of the body against a resistance, reverse crunch
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 71/06 Indicating or scoring devices for games or players , or for other sports activities

Abstract

An abdominal mat has a raised section which may be positioned to support the lumbar region of the user'"'"'s back. At least one sensor is associated with the raised section for producing a signal in response to force applied to the raised section by the user. A feedback device is coupled to the sensor for providing feedback to the user based on the force applied to the raised section. A user may use the device to test the strength of his or her abdominal muscles, and/or to monitor the force applied to the raised section of the mat when the user is exercising his or her abdominal muscles. The raised section may comprise an inflatable bladder connected to be automatically inflated and deflated by an electronic pump to accommodate different body types, therefore establishing a consistent starting point.

Claims

1. An abdominal exercising and strength testing device comprising:

a support having a raised section for supporting a lumbar portion of a user'"'"'s back, the raised section comprising an inflatable bladder;

a sensor associated with the raised section of the support for producing a signal representative of a magnitude of a force applied to the raised section;

a pump in fluid communication with the bladder, the pump connected to receive the signal from the sensor and automatically pressurize the bladder to a desired pressure based on the signal; and

a feedback device adapted to receive the signal from the sensor for providing the user with feedback based on the magnitude of the force applied to the raised section, the feedback comprising a strength level measured on a non-linear scale.

2. A device according to claim 1 wherein the feedback device comprises a user interface comprising a control operable for selecting one of a plurality of scales for measuring the strength level.

3. A device according to claim 2 wherein each of the plurality of scales comprises a normalized scale based on a population of users having similar fitness levels.

4. A device according to claim 3 wherein the strength levels on each of the plurality of scales correspond to percentile ranks within the population for that scale.

7. A device according to claim 1 wherein the feedback device comprises an audible indicator for providing the user with audible feedback and wherein the feedback device causes the audible indicator to emit a distinctive sound when the force applied to the raised section exceeds a first threshold.

8. A device according to claim 7 wherein the feedback device causes the audible indicator to emit a distinctive sound when the force applied to the raised section exceeds a second threshold which is lower than the first threshold.

9. A device according to claim 8 wherein the feedback device comprises a visual indicator for providing the user with visible feedback.

10. A device according to claim 9 wherein the visual indicator comprises a representation of the non-linear scale and an indicia indicating the strength level.

11. A device according to claim 9 wherein the visual indicator is locatable in a position viewable by the user when lying on the support.

13. A device according to claim 2 wherein the feedback device comprises a processor coupled to the sensor and the user interface and wherein the feedback device comprises a memory coupled to the processor for storing one or more previously measured strength levels for a user.

14. A device according to claim 2 wherein the feedback device comprises a processor coupled to the sensor and the user interface and wherein the feedback device comprises a memory coupled to the processor, the memory containing computer-readable instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to operate in one of a threshold mode and a target mode under control of the user interface, wherein in the threshold mode the processor causes the feedback device to provide feedback when the force applied to the raised section exceeds a threshold, and in the target mode the processor causes the feedback device to provide feedback when the force applied to the raised section is outside of a target range.

16. A device according to claim 1 wherein the sensor comprises a pressure sensor in fluid communication with the inflatable bladder.

19. A device according to claim 1 wherein the desired pressure is about 60 mmHg.

20. A device according to claim 1 wherein a strength level of zero on the non-linear scale corresponds to a non-zero pressure.

21. A device according to claim 20 wherein, in the non-linear scale, the following pressures correspond to the following strength levels:

Pressure (mmHg) Strength Level 60 0 65 1 75 2 85 3 95 4 110 5 125 6 140 7 155 8 180 9 210 10

22. A device according to claim 20 wherein, in the non-linear scale, the following pressures correspond to the following strength levels:

Pressure (mmHg) Strength Level 60 0 70 1 80 2 90 3 100 4 120 5 140 6 160 7 185 8 215 9 245 10

23. A device according to claim 1 further comprising a hose in fluid communication with the inflatable bladder, wherein the sensor comprises a pressure sensor coupled to the hose.

25. A device according to claim 1 wherein the sensor comprises a pressure sensor embedded in the raised section.

26. A device according to claim 1 wherein the sensor comprises a pressure sensor coupled to a transmitter and a power source embedded in the raised section, and wherein the transmitter provides the signal to the feedback device by means of a wireless communication link.

27. A device according to claim 1 wherein the support comprises a mat.

28. A device according to claim 27 wherein the mat comprises a plurality of fold lines along which the mat can be folded.

39. A device according to claim 1 wherein the pump is configured to automatically inflate or deflate the bladder to fit the contour of a user.

40. A method according to claim 9 wherein the visual indicator comprises a bar graph indicative of the applied force.

5. (canceled)

6. (canceled)

12. (canceled)

15. (canceled)

17. (canceled)

18. (canceled)

24. (canceled)

29. (canceled)

30. A method of testing a user'"'"'s abdominal muscle strength, the method comprising:

providing a support having a raised section for supporting a lumbar portion of a user'"'"'s back;

determining a force dependent value indicative of a force applied to the raised section; and

providing feedback to the user indicative of the force applied to the raised section, the feedback comprising a strength level measured on a non-linear scale.

31. A method according to claim 30 comprising receiving a user-selected non-linear scale from a plurality of non-linear scales.

32. A method according to claim 30 comprising automatically selecting one of a plurality of non-linear scales for providing feedback based on characteristics of the user.

33. A method according to claim 30 wherein providing feedback comprises providing audible feedback.

34. A method according to claim 30 wherein providing feedback comprises providing visual feedback.

35. A method according to claim 30 wherein the raised section comprises an inflatable bladder filled with a fluid, the method comprising automatically inflating or deflating the inflatable bladder to a desired pressure.

36. A method of testing a user'"'"'s abdominal muscle strength and exercising the user'"'"'s abdominal muscles, the method comprising:

providing a support having a raised section for supporting a lumbar portion of a user'"'"'s back;

receiving a user-selected operation mode, the operation mode comprising one of a threshold mode and a target mode;

if the user-selected operation mode is the threshold mode;

receiving a user-selected force threshold;

determining a force dependent value indicative of a force applied to the raised section; and

providing feedback to the user if the force dependent value indicates that the force applied to the raised section is at least as strong as the user-selected threshold; and

if the user-selected operation mode is the target mode;

receiving a user-selected target force range;

determining the force dependent value indicative of the force applied to the raised section; and

providing feedback to the user if the force dependent value indicates that the force applied to the raised section is outside the user-selected target force range.

37. A method according to claim 36 wherein providing feedback comprises providing audible feedback.

38. A method according to claim 36 wherein providing feedback comprises providing visual feedback.