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Exercise assisting apparatus

Exercise assisting apparatus description/claims

The present invention relates to an exercise assisting apparatus which enables contracting of muscle of a user with regulating a burden due to own weight of the user acting on legs of the user under a state that buttocks of the user is sit on a seat, although it is relatively comfortable posture.

Generally, it is known that contraction of muscle occurs when stimulus of exercise due to external force is applied to a muscle of a user even if the user does not move a body voluntarily. In other words, although stimuli of exercise are caused by external force, when the muscle of the user repeats contraction, glucose is taken in the muscle, so that glucose metabolism rises, and thereby glucose will be consumed. Therefore, it may contribute to recover from diseases of adults such as diabetes, corpulence or hyperlipemia, as a result that hyperglycosemia, hyperinsulinemia are improved.

In order to perform the glucose metabolism due to contraction of muscle effectively, it is desirable to generate the contraction of muscle in a muscle having a large volume such as red muscle or slow muscle which contributes to aerobic exercise in particular. Thus, it is found to be effective for contracting muscles of femoral region or back. In a conventional exercise assisting apparatus for inducing contraction of muscle in the femoral region, for example, shown in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2005-58733, a support base is provided for supporting buttocks of a user at an upper end portion thereof while the user sits, and the support base is constituted to be tilted.

In the above conventional exercise assisting apparatus, it is constituted to tilt the support base, so that relatively wide space is needed to tilt the support base. Furthermore, a relatively large moment due to self weight of the user acts on a lower end portion of the support base, so that it is necessary to give relatively high strength to the support base. As a result, an occupation space necessary for establishment of the exercise assisting apparatus becomes wider, so that the position of establishment of the exercise assisting apparatus may be limited. Still furthermore, it is necessary to increase strength of a material of the support base or a member enabling to tilt the support base, so that the exercise assisting apparatus becomes expensive.

A purpose of the present invention is to provide an exercise assisting apparatus which enables to reduce restriction of installation location with diminishing necessary space at the point of use, and to reduce the strength of the material of the support base, in comparison with the configuration of the conventional exercise support apparatus.

For accomplishing the above-mentioned purpose, an exercise assisting apparatus in accordance with an aspect of the present invention comprises:

a seat on which buttocks of a user is sit;

a stationary support base for supporting the seat;

a burden regulator provided between the support base and the seat, and for regulating a ratio of self weight of the user which is supported by the seat so that a load due to the self weight of the user acting on leg portion of the user; and

a driving mechanism for driving the burden regulator so that the ratio of self weight of the user supported by the seat varies as time passes;

the burden regulator coupling the support base and the seat in a manner so that a portion of the seat to which the buttocks of the user is sit is tilted between a first state where the portion becomes horizontal and a second state where the portion is slanted downward toward the foot side in a plane including one of femoral regions and the buttocks of the user.

According to this constitution, the burden acting on the foot portion of the user is varied with varying slanting angle of the seat with respect to the support base, so that it is possible to stimulate the contraction of muscle of the foot of the user, mainly. Thus, muscle strength of foot can be strengthened, or glucose metabolism can be raised by uptake of glucose to muscle due to the contraction of muscle.

Furthermore, only the seat to which the buttocks of the user is sit is moved but the support base is not moved, so that a space necessary for movement of the apparatus becomes relatively smaller. Thus, the space necessary for establishment of the apparatus can be narrowed in comparison with the conventional constitution where the support base is slanted.

Still furthermore, the support base is stationary and the slanting angle of the seat with respect to the support base is varied, so that a moment due to self weight of the user acts on around of a portion coupling the support base and the seat. Thus, since the moment acting on around the lower end portion of the support base is largely reduced, the strength of the portion coupling the seat with the support base can be lowered than the strength of the portion which supports the lower end of the support base enabling to tilt in the conventional structure, and thereby cost down of the exercise assisting apparatus is enabled.

FIG. 1A is a side view showing a first state of an exercise assisting apparatus in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1B is a side view showing a second state of the exercise assisting apparatus in accordance with the first embodiment in.

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• Utility Patent

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