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Physical training and activity center for children

Physical training and activity center for children description/claims

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application 60/900,373, filed on Feb. 8, 2007, and incorporated herein by reference.

Not Applicable.

This invention relates to physical training devices, and more particularly to a training device for teaching walking and providing physical therapy to those with muscular deficiencies.

There are numerous devices in this field to promote toddler walking and learning development. However, many of them have a limited continuum of safe walking development, or simply do not meet all walking and learning developmental needs, Typical of these is traditional child activity centers (or entertainment devices) that have limited movement capability that provides the child upright walking support. The child activity centers have waist level trays and seats that allow the child to have foot and surface contact with limited capability to promote walking and standing.

In addition, traditional child activity centers have spring devices. The spring devices allow the child to press downward with their legs, which promotes bouncing but not walking. Also, the activity centers provide weight support for the child but do not provide a safe active environment for a continuous walking development

Other activity training developmental devices meet specific needs rather than a variety of needs a child may have. Most training developmental and rehabilitative equipment require total hands on assistance and do not have an optional electric, battery activated or sensor movement mechanism to initiate a continuum of stepping reflex development that encourages the child to walk and learn at the same time.

Activity centers for children are well known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,715,826 B2 to Bellows et al. on Apr. 6, 2004 teaches a child activity center. Such devices are made to provide children developmental stimulation. However, despite the creation of different types of activity centers for children, these devices do not adequately meet the needs of children with physical and cognitive developmental limitations, especially walking and learning developmental needs.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,715,826 B2 to Bellows et al. on Apr. 6, 2004 teaches an activity center that surrounds the child. Toys and stimulating devices are placed on a tray surrounding the child. This arrangement allows a child to easily access and interact with a variety of stimulating devices. However, such an activity center does not adequately stimulate the physical development of a child with muscular limitations. Thus, a device is needed that not only provides mental stimulation to a child but also provides physical stimulation, especially to the lower body.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,688,211 to Myers on Nov. 18, 1997 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,407,246 to Meeker et al. on Apr. 18, 1995 teach child exercise devices. These devices provide entertainment and exercise for a child. Entertainment is provided by adding toys to the device. Exercise is provided by creating devices that allow a child to rock or bounce. Though these exercises are helpful to development, these devices do not teach a device that stimulates the important child development of continuous walking. U.S. Pat. No. 5,934,747 to Garland on Aug. 10, 1999 even teaches away from a walking device as the Garland patent cites a trend in activity centers to restrict the movement of a child seated in the activity center for safety reasons. Therefore, a device is needed that can combine the benefits of both mental stimulation to a child with the physical stimulation of continuous walking development.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,494,815 B1 to Welsh, Jr. on Dec. 17, 2002 discloses a device that teaches a walker that permits walking development. However, the Welsh, Jr. device teaches using a brake to constantly apply friction to inhibit the speed of the walker. Such a device may be appropriate for a child with strong walking capabilities, but the Welsh, Jr. device is not appropriate for children with weak walking ability. Therefore, a device is needed that promotes and stimulates walking development for children with developmental needs.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,287,768 to Myers et al. on Oct. 30, 2007 discloses a combined walker and activity center. The Myers et al. device teaches a device that promotes the benefit of stimulating a child's continuous walking development. However, the Myers et al. device teaches a device for walking around a room. Having a child walking around a room is not always safe or convenient, especially when the goal is to provide structured walking development for children with developmental needs. Therefore, a device is needed that stimulates walking development yet the device itself can remain stationary for reasons of safety and convenience. In addition to the device remaining stationary, a device is needed that provides the advantages of both self-initiated walking as well as the advantage of a device that initiates walking stimulation to improve walking skills.

Therefore, there is a need for a child activity center that provides both mental stimulation and physical stimulation, especially to the lower body. The needed device would stimulate continuous walking development, in particular the walking development of children having developmental needs. Further, the needed device would stimulate walking development yet remain stationary for reasons of safety and convenience. In addition, the needed device would provide the option of user-initiated walking as well as the option of device-initiated walking to improve walking skills. Such functionality would be connected with the activity center to provide the benefits of both mental and physical development together. The present invention accomplishes these objectives.

The present invention is a physical training device for a person and relates to developmental activity centers with treadmills. The physical training device includes a treadmill base, an activity center, and a control means. The invention has an optional stationary or portable feature and is more effective in permitting safe and controlled walking development. In addition, the physical training device includes a variety of stimulating devices that improves both physical skills (such as for persons with cerebral palsy, developmental delay, muscular dystrophy) and cognitive skills (such as for persons with Down syndrome, mental retardation, learning disabilities) by use of the invention.

The treadmill base has a floor support means, an enclosure, and a top surface. A treadmill mechanism is housed within the enclosure and includes an electric motor and a power means. The treadmill mechanism further includes at least two rollers having substantially parallel longitudinal axes with at least one roller being mechanically and rotationally coupled to the electric motor. A treadmill belt is engaged with each roller such that the electric motor may cause the treadmill belt to rotate around the rollers with at least a portion of the treadmill belt traversing the top surface of the treadmill base.

The activity center includes an activity center supporting means adapted to support an activity tray above the treadmill base. A seat means has a seat adapted for suspending the person over the treadmill belt through a central aperture in the activity tray. The supporting means includes a height adjustment means for adjusting the height of the seat over the treadmill belt. The activity tray further includes at least one activity mount adapted for selective removable attachment of one of a plurality of activity toys. In one more embodiment, the activity tray includes a walking support rail, fixed substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of each of the plurality of rollers.

• Provisional Patent
• Utility Patent

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