EP3407985B1

EP3407985B1 - Mobile support for physical exercise

Info

Publication number: EP3407985B1
Application number: EP17713429.3A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Gionata D'Alesio
Original assignee: Reaxing SRL
Current assignee: Reaxing SRL
Priority date: 2016-01-29
Filing date: 2017-01-27
Publication date: 2020-09-02
Anticipated expiration: 2037-01-27
Also published as: EP3407985A1; WO2017130150A1; ITUB20160369A1; ES2835501T3

Description

The present invention relates to a movable support for physical exercise. More in detail, the invention relates to a support provided with at least two supporting surfaces, movable between a position of balance and positions of imbalance, each of which can accommodate a person, sporting equipment, or both.
The invention falls within the sector of sporting equipment suitable to stimulate the reaction of the human body to so-called motor interferences, i.e. external stimuli that, during the performance of a movement, can generate a variation of the balance of a person.
WO 2015/024040 A1 discloses a support for physical exercise comprising a first supporting surface and a second supporting surface, each adapted to accommodate a person, said supporting surfaces being configured to tilt, rotating about at least one axis, between a respective position of balance and respective positions of imbalance, wherein the supporting surfaces are mutually interconnected so that rotation of one supporting surface influences rotation of the other supporting surface, and vice versa.
Usually, training of the muscles of the body involves the performance of free body exercises or exercises with equipment (movable equipment or stationary machines).
During the performance of these exercises, the person or the machine rests on a stable support, such as a floor, a fixed platform or the like.
According to this training method, the person contracts his/her muscles voluntarily to perform a given movement characteristic of the exercise that he/she is performing.
In practice, during the performance of an exercise, any variation of position, acceleration or speed of a part of the body, just as force exerted by given muscles, is known or in any case predictable by the person performing the exercise.
However, both in the practice of some sporting activities and in normal daily actions, our body is often subjected to external stimuli, predictable or unpredictable, that can interfere with a movement that is being performed or with a condition of stable balance,
For example, in a sporting activity, contact with an opponent or an unexpected change in direction can cause an imbalance that the athlete must compensate as rapidly as possible.
In other cases, these interferences can be generated, especially when running, by incorrect positioning of the foot on the ground, due to a coordination error of the athlete or to an unexpected variation of the ground underfoot.
An event of this kind can also occur during daily activities, such as walking, climbing stairs or in other more precarious conditions of balance.
Examples of motor interferences are also represented, for example, by losing one's grip on and dropping an object and trying to catch it.
In general, the greater the rapidity and unexpectedness of the interference that occurs, the more difficulty the body has in reacting correctly to re-establish the condition of movement, or of unperturbed balance.
In this regard, studies by Shumway-Cook A and Woollacott MH, Nasher LM, Mcllroy WE and Maki B, Shumway-Cook A and Horak FB show that this capacity of our body to react can be developed and increased with a training method in which motor interferences are suitable imparted to the person during the performance of physical exercises.
Today, this capacity is stimulated by means of equipment such as proprioceptive platforms and tables or the like.
Typically, these platforms comprise a rigid board supported by an unstable base, or are provided with supporting surfaces made of yielding or deformable materials.
In general, the person can be stationed on the platform with one or both limbs, lower or upper.
The instability of the surface on which the limbs of the person rest causes this latter to lose his/her balance and, consequently, to activate his/her muscles to re-establish said balance.
With this equipment, the imbalance is therefore determined by a previous movement, albeit slight, of the person.
As a function of his/her proprioceptive capacity, the person may therefore be able, or unable, to predict, and optionally prevent, said loss of balance.
Differently, the object of the present invention is to provide an instrument that allows the person to perform a physical exercise perturbed by unexpected and unknown motor interferences.
In particular, an object of the invention is to provide an instrument capable of generating motor interferences independent from the movements of the person during the performance of the exercise, or in any case also influenced by external factors that cannot be predicted by the person.
The purpose of this instrument is, therefore, that of reproducing motor interferences to which a person in daily life, or an athlete during the performance of a sporting activity, could be subjected.
A further object of the present invention is to propose a device that is inexpensive and simple to manufacture.
Another object of the present invention is to produce a versatile device that can be used for professional or amateur training, for various sporting disciplines or for rehabilitation.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a practical device that can also be used by beginners or inexperienced users.
These objects are achieved by a support comprising the features of claim 1. The support comprises at least two supporting surfaces configured to tilt between at least a position of balance and positions of imbalance. A person who is to perform a physical exercise can be stationed on each supporting surface. During the exercise, the movement of the person can cause a continuous variation of the tilt of the supporting surface between positions of balance and imbalance, or both. According to the invention, the supporting surfaces are interconnected so that the movement of one of them also influences the movement of the other, and vice versa. Therefore, the movement of each supporting surface depends partly on the movement of the person stationed thereon and partly on the movement of the person stationed on the other supporting surface.
This interaction between the supporting surfaces allows movements of the supporting surfaces to be generated that are unpredictable for the respective persons stationed thereon.
These movements are therefore comparable to motor interferences capable of simulating unexpected events that normally occur in sporting activity or in daily activities.
By subjecting the person to these unexpected disturbances, during the performance of a physical exercise or of a specific movement, it is possible to stimulate and train the respective reactions of the muscles of the body.
This stimulation is therefore achieved without the aid of motors, actuators or the like, making the device particularly simple and inexpensive.
In the description below, the term interconnection is intended as a physical connection or by means of any other device or means that allows the aforesaid interaction between the mutual movements of the supporting surfaces to develop.
The object of the invention is therefore a support for physical exercise comprising a first supporting surface and at least a second supporting surface, each adapted to accommodate at least one person and optionally also at least one piece of sporting equipment. Said supporting surfaces are tiltable, by rotation, about at least one axis, between at least respective positions of balance and of imbalance. The supporting surfaces are also mutually interconnected so that the movement of one supporting surface influences the movement of the other supporting surface, and vice versa.
To allow the person to perform a physical exercise, the supporting surfaces have a useful surface with an area preferably from 0.5 m² to 6 m². Typically, the surfaces can accommodate a person standing or also lying and optionally sporting equipment.
In an aspect of the invention, the movement of the supporting surfaces between said position of balance and said positions of imbalance is influenced by the movement of the person performing the exercise, by the movement of the sporting equipment, or by both.
In another aspect of the invention, the supporting surfaces can rotate about respective axes transverse to each other, or parallel to or coincident with each other.
In this latter case, the supporting surfaces are arranged consecutively along a common axis.
In another aspect of the invention, the supporting surfaces are joined to each other by connection means. Preferably, the connection means are of non rigid type. This allows only a partial, or in any case moderate, mutual influence of the movement of one surface on the other to be established.
Said connection means can comprise one or more of the following means, associated or combined with one another:

articulated joints;
hydraulic joints;
elastic means;
shock absorbers.

These connection means are preferably removable so that they can be removed or replaced. In this way, it is possible to choose the type of connection means to be used based on the need to obtain more or less interaction between the movements of the supporting surfaces.
In another aspect of the invention, the supporting surfaces can be equipped with magnetic means configured to generate mutual magnetic forces, attractive or repulsive, that interfere with the respective movements of the supporting surfaces.
For simplicity, embodiments with only two supporting surfaces will be described below. It is understood that the present invention can also be implemented in embodiments with three or more interconnected supporting surfaces. In these more complex variants, after having made the due changes, the same principles used for the support with only two supporting surfaces are applied.
According to of the invention, the support comprises at least a first board and at least a second board, on which said first and second supporting surface are respectively obtained. Said boards are connected, directly or indirectly, to at least one base resting on a stable supporting surface.
Preferably, said boards are arranged side by side and substantially at the same height by said stable supporting surface.
According to another variant, the boards can be connected to the base by means of an intermediate support. The intermediate support is preferably hinged to the base. The boards are in turn hinged to the intermediate support. The rotation axis of said intermediate support is preferably transverse to at least one rotation axis of one board.
In this variant the interaction between the two supporting surfaces is also provided by the intermediate support that acts as a rocker. The support can therefore be optionally provided with the aforesaid connection means.
In another aspect of the invention the support can comprise braking means adapted to reduce the speed of rotation of the boards. Said braking means can be adjustable, for example to vary the braking intensity, or non-adjustable.
In this latter embodiment, the support allows modulation of the reaction of the supporting surface (for example the speed and the acceleration of the rotation) to the movements of the person during the performance of the exercise.
In another variant of the invention, the support comprises at least one pair of tables on which the supporting surfaces are obtained. Said tables are supported by respective bases with a surface at least partly curved and convex positioned in the area in contact with the stable supporting surface.
Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the description of an example of a preferred, but not exclusive, embodiment of a movable support for physical exercise, as illustrated in the accompanying figures, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of the movable support according to a variant of the invention;
Fig. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the movable support according to another variant of the invention;
Fig. 3 is a schematic perspective view of the movable support according to another variant of the invention.

With reference to Fig. 1, the numeral 1 indicates as a whole a movable support for physical exercise. The movable support comprises at least a first board 10 and at least a second board 20.
Each board 10, 20 has an upper surface 11, 21, which defines a supporting surface 12, 22.
In the description below, the term supporting surface refers generically to an area of the board that allows at least one person to be stationed thereon with one or more parts of the body, in different positions, and to move to perform physical exercises.
Therefore, said supporting surfaces 12, 22 are typically, but not necessarily, flat.
According to the invention, the supporting surfaces 12, 22 can also accommodate, optionally, one or more pieces of exercise equipment (not illustrated in the figure), usable to perform the physical exercise.
Said equipment can be either sporting equipment, equipment for fitness or for professional training, or rehabilitation equipment.
This equipment can be fixed and typically bulky and heavy, such as weight lifting machines, multifunction machines, benches, treadmills, or movable equipment such as barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, ropes, elastic bands, strips, etc.
These latter can be positioned, removed or replaced directly by the person who wishes to use the platform.
More in general, the supporting surfaces 12,22 are configured to allow one or more people to perform any type of physical exercise, free body or with the aid of equipment, which involves a limited movement of the person on the supporting surface.
For this purpose, preferably the supporting surfaces 12, 22 have a useful surface that allows the exercise to be performed, with an area of at least 0.5 m². However, the surfaces 12, 22 can have a larger useful surface, for example of up to 6 m², suitable to accommodate at least one person and equipment.
The boards 10, 20 are connected to a base 30 suitably configured to be positioned on a stable surface, such as a floor.
Said base 30 can be shared, as in the example of Fig.1, or, alternatively, each board 10, 20 can be connected to a respective base, movable with respect to the other.
According to the invention, each supporting surface 12, 22 is configured to be able to tilt, with respect to the plane of the floor, about at least a respective axis X1, X2.
More in detail, the supporting surfaces 12, 22 can rotate between at least one position of balance, in which the supporting surface is substantially parallel to the floor, and positions of imbalance in which the supporting surface is tilted in one direction.
As a function of the type of exercise to be performed, or of the type of equipment used, each supporting surface 12, 22 can have a number of degrees of freedom, preferably from one to three.
In the example of Fig. 1, the two boards 10, 20 are placed side by side and are hinged to the base respectively at two axes X1, X2 parallel to each other.
According to the invention, the boards 10, 20 can also be connected to the base in alternative ways, such as with the hinge axes X1, X2 transverse to each other, for example perpendicular, or coincident.
According to a further variant, not illustrated, the boards 10, 20 can be connected to the base 30 by means of an articulated joint that allows the supporting surface to tilt in any direction.
The boards 10, 20 can be connected to the base 30 so as to give said supporting surfaces a balance of stable type, or of unstable type.
For this purpose, for example, the boards 10, 20 and the base 30 can be configured so that the centroid of each board is positioned under or over the respective axis X1, X2.
The two supporting surfaces 12, 22 according to the invention are mutually interconnected so that a rotation, or tilt, of one of these surfaces interferes with a rotation of the other supporting surface, influencing its balance.
In practice, the balance or imbalance of a supporting surface is determined both by the movement of the person who is on it and is performing the exercise, and by the movements of the other associated surface, which in turn depend on the movements of the other person.
According to the invention, the support can be used by two people performing a physical exercise independently.
Therefore, as one person does not know the movements of the other in advance, it is not possible to predict the movement of the other person supporting surface and consequently the stress to which the surface will be subjected.
Due to this configuration, the support according to the present invention will allow the generation of a continuous sequence of motor interferences generated by the respective movements of the two people on the support.
According to a preferred variant of the invention, the supporting surfaces 12, 22 are joined to each other by connection means 40.
Preferably, said connection means 40 are not rigid, so as to allow the supporting surfaces to rotate on their respective axes, when these are transverse or parallel to each other, or to rotate in an uncoordinated manner when said axes are coincident.
Preferred connection means 40, to connect the supporting surfaces, are for example articulated or flexible joints 41, hydraulic joints, elastic means 42, such as springs, elastomers or the like, or shock absorbers 43.
Said connection means 40 can comprise one or more of the aforesaid means, optionally mutually combined in a single element.
These connection means 40 can be connected on respective edges of the boards 10, 20, or in the lower area, so as not to impede the movements of the person.
According to the invention, the support can also comprise magnetic means 50, for example permanent magnets or electromagnets.
Said magnets 50 can therefore generate attractive or repulsive magnetic forces, with an intensity determined by the relative position (or distance) of the two supporting surfaces 12,22.
Said magnets 50 can be provided in association with the connection means 40, or alternatively to these means.
According to a preferred variant, the support is also provided with braking means, not illustrated in the figure.
The aim of the braking means is to reduce the speed of movement of the supporting surfaces between different positions of imbalance.
For example, said braking means can be associated with the joints that allow rotation of the boards 10, 20 with respect to the base 30.
According to a preferred variant, the braking means are adjustable so as to be able to modulate the speed and acceleration of rotation the board, as response to a given load applied to the supporting surface (which depends on the movement of the person).
Fig. 2 shows another variant of the invention in which the boards 10, 20 are connected to the base 30 by means of an intermediate support 60.
The intermediate support 60 is preferably hinged to the base at an axis Y substantially parallel to the stable supporting surface.
The boards 10, 20 are in turn hinged on the intermediate support. In the variant of Fig. 2, the boards 10, 20 are both hinged at an axis X substantially transverse to the axis Y. Therefore, said boards 10, 20 have two degrees of freedom of movement.
The intermediate support 60, acting as rocker, thus causes tilting of the boards 10, 20 about the axis X.
The interaction between the movements of the supporting surfaces 12, 22, in this variant, can therefore be implemented only by means of said intermediate support 60 or also with connection means 40 selected from those indicated above and also optionally, or alternatively, by means of the magnetic means 50.
The braking means, if provided, can also, or only, be applied between the base 30 and the intermediate support 60 to reduce the speed of movement of this latter.
Fig. 3 shows a further variant of the movable support 1. Said support comprises at least a first table 110 and at least a second table 120 on the respective upper surfaces 111, 121 of which the first supporting surface 112 and the second supporting surface 122 are defined.
In this variant, the tables 110, 120 are supported by respective unstable bases 113, 123. Preferably, said bases 113, 123 comprise a shell with a surface at least partly curved and convex, positioned in the area in contact with the stable supporting surface.
Said shell can be made of a rigid or flexible material.
The aforesaid shape of the bases 113, 123 allows the tables to tilt in one or more directions. In a preferred variant, the bases have an axial symmetrical profile that allows the tables 110, 120 to tilt in any direction.
Also in this variant the supporting surfaces 112, 122 are preferably joined by connection means 40 selected from those described above or, additionally, can be provided with magnetic means 50.
The invention has been described for illustrative and non-limiting purposes according to some preferred embodiments thereof. Those skilled in the art may find numerous other embodiments and variants, all falling within the scope of protection of the claims below.

Bibliograhy

Shumway-Cook A & Woollacott MH. Motor control: Theory and Practical Applications (2nd and). Philadelphia. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2001.
Nasher LM. Sensory, neuromuscular and biomechanical contribution to human balance. In Pw. Duncan And, Balance: Proceedings of the APTA forum. Virginia: American Physical Therapy, 1990.
McIlroy WE, Maki B. Age-related changes in compensatory stepping in response to unpredictable perturbations. J of Gerontology, 1996, 51A: 289-296.
Shumway-Cook A & Woollacott M. Attentional demands and postural control: the effects of sensory context. J of Gerontology, 2000, 55A:M10-16.
Shumway-Cook A & Horak FB. Assessing the influence of sensory interaction on balance. Physical Therapy. 1986, 66(10):1548-1550.

Claims

Support (1) adapted to accommodate at least one person performing a physical exercise comprising:
- at least a first board (10) and at least a second board (20), on which are obtained at least a first supporting surface (12, 112) and at least a second supporting surface (22, 122) respectively, each adapted to accommodate at least one person and also optionally at least one piece of sporting equipment in such a way that two persons can perform a physical exercise independently;

- at least one base (30) resting on a stable supporting surface; said boards (10, 20) being connected to the base (30) so that each supporting surface (12, 22, 112, 122) is able to tilt, or rotate with respect to the base about at least one respective axis (X1, X2), between at least one respective position of balance and respective positions of imbalance, the supporting surfaces (12, 22, 112, 122) being mutually interconnected so that the tilt or rotation of one supporting surface influences the tilt or rotation of the other supporting surface, and vice versa, so that said movements of the supporting surfaces are not predictable for the respective persons stationed thereon.
Support (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the movement of the supporting surfaces (12, 22, 112, 122) between said position of balance and said positions of imbalance is influenced by the movement of the person performing the exercise and/or the movement of the sporting equipment.
Support (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the rotation axes (X1, X2) of the supporting surfaces (12, 22) are transverse to each other, parallel to or coincident with each other.
Support (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the position of balance of the supporting surfaces (12, 22, 112, 122) is of stable or unstable type.
Support (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said supporting surfaces (12, 22, 112, 122) are joined by connection means (40), of non rigid type, so to allow the supporting surfaces to rotate about the respective axis (X1, X2), when these are transverse or parallel to each other, or rotate in an uncoordinated manner when said axes are coincident.
Support (1) according to claim 5, characterized in that said connection means (40) are selected from one or more of the following means, associated or combined with one another:
- articulated joints (41);

- hydraulic joints;

- elastic means (42);

- shock absorbers (43).
Support (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said supporting surfaces (12, 22, 112, 122) are provided with magnetic means (50) configured to generate mutual attractive or repulsive magnetic forces, adapted to interfere with the respective movements of the supporting surfaces (11, 12, 112, 122).
Support (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises an intermediate support (60) hinged on said base (30) at an axis substantially parallel to the stable supporting surface, the boards (10, 20) being hinged on the intermediate support (60).
Support (1) according to any one of the claims from 1 to 7, characterized in that the boards (10, 20) are placed side by side and hinged to the base (30) respectively at two axes (X1, X2) parallel, perpendicular or transversal to each other.
Support (1) according to any one of the claims from 1 to 7, characterized in that the boards (10, 20) are connected to said base (30) by means of an articulated joint that allows the supporting surface (10, 20) to tilt in any direction.
Support (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises braking means adapted to reduce the speed of rotation of the boards (10, 20), said braking means being adjustable or non-adjustable.
Support (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the boards (10, 20) and the base (30) are configured so that the centroid of each board is positioned under or over the respective axis X1, X2.
Support (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said supporting surfaces (12, 22) have a useful surface, for performing an exercise, with an area from 0.5 m² to 6 m².