Patent Application
20250128125
The invention generally relates to closed loop rope management systems for a resistance training machine.
Resistance training is a form of exercise undergone to build muscular strength and endurance by working against a weight or applied force. While some resistance training routines can be accomplished without external equipment, i.e., bodyweight exercises, many others require the use of specialized equipment, such as but not limited to free weights, weight machines, cable machines, resistance bands, and the like.
Traditional resistance training equipment is often specialized and, while each piece of equipment may offer distinct advantages, each may also suffer from drawbacks and inefficiencies. For example, free weights and weight machines are commonly employed for isotonic exercises, i.e., exercises requiring muscle activation against a constant force across a given range of motion. However, adjusting the weight or force for such exercises can be inconvenient, often requiring a user to add or remove plates, install clips, swap out dumbbells, etc. Furthermore, initiating an exercise with free weights and weight machines can create undue strain on a user's body, since the force applied by such equipment acts as a step function-jumping from zero to the full resistance. Perhaps more importantly, traditional resistance training equipment is usually designed for specific exercises or specific exercise modes only, requiring an individual to own a plurality of equipment in order to access a variety of well-rounded exercises.
More recently, ‘smart’ exercise machines have been developed that claim to offer a number of different exercises in a single machine. These machines commonly operate by providing resistive forces through electronic motors, which may be adjusted to the user's strength level. However, the exercise machines disclosed by the prior art have consistently failed to provide a range of exercise modes or can provide some modes but fail in others. Moreover, such machines tend to be limited in the amount of force they produce; they are usually unwieldy and difficult to install or transport; and many fail to provide adequate safety measures for the user. Finally, neither traditional resistance training equipment nor newer exercise machines offer feedback regarding both user form and user balance during workouts.
The resistance exercise machine uses motors and ropes or cables to provide its users a unique electronic weight and an isokinetic experience. Due to this unique modality, it creates risk of rope tension failure should the user fail to keep the rope tension when the motor is letting out rope. The present invention attempts to solve these problems, as well as others.
Provided herein are Closed-Loop Rope Systems for a Resistance Training Machines, Systems, and Methods of Use.
The methods, systems, and apparatuses are set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or can be learned by practice of the methods, apparatuses, and systems. The advantages of the methods, apparatuses, and systems will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the methods, apparatuses, and systems, as claimed.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention not to encompass within the invention any previously known product, process of making the product, or method of using the product such that Applicants reserve the right and hereby disclose a disclaimer of any previously known product, process, or method. It is further noted that the invention does not intend to encompass within the scope of the invention any product, process, or making of the product or method of using the product, which does not meet the written description and enablement requirements of the USPTO (35 U.S.C. § 112, first paragraph) or the EPO (Article 83 of the EPC), such that Applicants reserve the right and hereby disclose a disclaimer of any previously described product, process of making the product, or method of using the product. It may be advantageous in the practice of the invention to be in compliance with Art. 53 (c) EPC and Rule 28 (b) and (c) EPC. All rights to explicitly disclaim any embodiments that are the subject of any granted patent(s) of applicant in the lineage of this application or in any other lineage or in any prior filed application of any third party is explicitly reserved. Nothing herein is to be construed as a promise.
In the accompanying figures, like elements are identified by like reference numerals among the several preferred embodiments of the present invention.
The foregoing and other features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments, read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The detailed description and drawings are merely illustrative of the invention rather than limiting, the scope of the invention being defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.
Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the Figures, wherein like numerals reflect like elements throughout. The terminology used in the description presented herein is not intended to be interpreted in any limited or restrictive way, simply because it is being utilized in conjunction with detailed description of certain specific embodiments of the invention. Furthermore, embodiments of the invention may include several novel features, no single one of which is solely responsible for its desirable attributes, or which is essential to practicing the invention described herein.
The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and similar referents in the context of describing the invention are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” and/or “including,” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. The word “about,” when accompanying a numerical value, is to be construed as indicating a deviation of up to and inclusive of 10% from the stated numerical value. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (“e.g.,” or “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any nonclaimed element as essential to the practice of the invention.
References to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “example embodiment,” “various embodiments,” etc., may indicate that the embodiment(s) of the invention so described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment necessarily includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Further, repeated use of the phrase “in one embodiment,” or “in an exemplary embodiment,” do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, although they may.
As used herein the term “method” refers to manners, means, techniques and procedures for accomplishing a given task including, but not limited to, those manners, means, techniques and procedures either known to, or readily developed from known manners, means, techniques and procedures by practitioners of the mechanical, software, and electrical arts. Unless otherwise expressly stated, it is in no way intended that any method or aspect set forth herein be construed as requiring that its steps be performed in a specific order. Accordingly, where a method claim does not specifically state in the claims or descriptions that the steps are to be limited to a specific order, it is no way intended that an order be inferred, in any respect. This holds for any possible non-express basis for interpretation, including matters of logic with respect to arrangement of steps or operational flow, plain meaning derived from grammatical organization or punctuation, or the number or type of aspects described in the specification.
Referring now to the drawings and with specific reference to
As seen in
Furthermore, each cable 140 may extend from the pulley housing 205 and run through one or more workout pulleys, which further change a direction of movement and force of the cable 140, thereby enabling yet additional exercises which can be performed on the resistance training machine 100. It may be appreciated that, regardless of the exercise being performed, all force vectors ultimately terminate on the platform 102 and are transferred into the floor, a configuration which may enable larger weights to be safely handled by the machine 100. Indeed, in some embodiments, a combination of the left cable 255A and right cable 255B may be capable of exerting upwards of 800 to 1000 pounds of resistance during a workout.
In some embodiments, it may be understood that the ‘relative’ beginning and ‘relative’ end positions may be used merely to define a length of travel for the cable. For example, various exercises may be started from any cable position, and the difference between the calibrated beginning and end positions may be used to determine a length of travel until the end position of the exercise. It may further be appreciated that some or all exercises may require calibration of only one of or both of the left and right cables.
After an exercise and its parameters are selected, the user may then begin the exercise and move the cable to a beginning position, without resistance from the motors. More specifically, the user may enter a GO command into the HMI, after which a period of time is allocated for the user to freely move the cable to the desired beginning position, such as between about 1 and about 10 seconds and, more preferably, between 4 and 6 seconds. As previously discussed, this beginning position may then be used by the machine controller to define the end position of the exercise, based on the difference between the relative beginning and the relative end that was calibrated for the exercise.
Next, the motor may ramp up the cable to a constant velocity, e.g., for an isokinetic exercise, or ramp up the cable to a constant force, e.g., for an isotonic exercise. The user may then perform a repetition of the exercise at the constant velocity or force. Near the end position of the motion, the motor may ramp down the cable from the constant velocity to zero or a minimum velocity, e.g., for the isokinetic exercise; or ramp down the cable from the constant force to zero or a minimum force, e.g., for an isotonic exercise. Finally, steps may be repeated for a selected number of repetitions, and the workout completed. In various embodiments, specific ramp up and ramp down times may be selected by the user, set by the manufacturer, and/or changed according to the associated exercise; and may be set to between 0.5 and 3 seconds, and more preferably, between 1 and 2 seconds. Furthermore, additional smoothing, such as S-curve smoothing, may be applied to the motion profile of the cable during either ramp up or ramp down procedures.
In some embodiments, the machine may feature a Pull-in Slack mode that is designed to retract the cables when no longer in use. Accordingly, the method 600 may include the motor retracting the cable to the docking position at a minimum force or minimum velocity if/when certain conditions are met. According to an embodiment, the Pull-In Slack mode may be activated if/when the cable is not in the docking position and no resistance has been detected by the machine controller for between 5 and 15 seconds and, more preferably, between 8 and 12 seconds. In the same or other embodiments, the Pull-in Slack Mode may be deactivated (and the retraction ceased) if, during retraction, a resistance is detected in the cables. It may be understood that Pull-in Slack mode may also be activated in other circumstances and may be activated for a single cable at a time or both cables concurrently.
The resistance training machine provides high torque, constant velocity, variable force in the Isokinetic mode and constant force, variable speed, lower torque in the Isotonic Mode. In order to switch between modes, the modes require that there are at least two gear trains for each unique mode. The resistance training machine uses motors and ropes or cables to provide its users a unique electronic weight and Isokinetic experience.
As shown in
In one embodiment, the closed loop rope system includes a movement error protocol used by an operating system to receive an event about movement error. The movement error protocol includes an invalid movement command, a can't start workout due to calibration is not set, an invalid state transition, a hall sensor triggered, and an unable to set movement data.
The movement error acknowledgment is used for sending acknowledge about receiving error from the first operating system to the second operating system. The sensor status protocol is used to receive events about hall sensor status change. The sensor status protocol includes a status of the left hall sensor, a status of right hall sensor, a status of motor safety circuit and whether it is enabled, or the safety is triggered.
In another embodiment, the closed loop rope system 370 is shown in
As shown in
In one embodiment, a training program module removes break/stop of the motor system from the closed loop rope system and sets proper actuator position. The training program module sends the start calibration mode or sets the movement data from a previous calibration, where the motor system module tracks the encoder and not allow the user to pull out more cable by placing the brake at the proper max/min. If calibration is needed, the motor drive module looks for the tension on the cables and if the user is resisting the cable, the drive system should stop pulling the cable in. The user then presses the sensor once it is at the right stop.
The programming framework comprises an independently implementing closed-loop Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) controller that is capable of independently tuning the drive system 1570 to operate at a constant current, operate at a constant position, operate at a constant velocity, and/or implement a specific motion profile. The motor system module moves the cable and provides tension by a control loop or the closed loop rope system. The motor system module may apply a stop value, a start value, current value or a speed value, depending on isotonic or isokinetic mode applied. The PID values instructions the motor on how smooth the motor will pull the cable and how much current will be applied to the motor to pull the cable or provide tension on the cable or a counter force. In the same or other embodiments, the motor system module may operatively supply instructions to the drive system with respect to the above parameters through a CAN bus, PWM signal, or similar protocol common to the art. When the exercise machine is off, the motor system module applies a brake or stop value to the right and left motor systems.
The PID controller 1540 updates all closed-loop modes every 1 ms (1000 Hz). While tuning the closed-loop, a tuner configuration may quickly change the gains between about 0.001 seconds and about 0.1 seconds. Once the PID loop is stable, the gain values are set in code. There are different tuning methods used to tune PID controller such as Ziegler-Nichol's method, manual tuning method and MATLAB tuning method.
In one embodiment, PID controller will pull closed-loop gain/setting information from a selected slot, where there are four slots to choose from for gain-scheduling, kF, kP, kI, and kD. The PID controller loop may be used for a velocity closed-loop, a current closed-loop, or a Velocity Feed Forward gain (kF). kF is the Feed Fwd gain for Closed loop. kP is the Proportional gain for closed loop, which is multiplied by closed loop error in sensor units. kI is the Integral gain for closed loop, which is multiplied by closed loop error in sensor units every PID Loop. kD is the Derivative gain for closed loop, which is multiplied by derivative error (sensor units per PID loop).
While the invention has been described in connection with various embodiments, it will be understood that the invention is capable of further modifications. This application is intended to cover any variations, uses or adaptations of the invention following, in general, the principles of the invention, and including such departures from the present disclosure as, within the known and customary practice within the art to which the invention pertains.
The present application claims priority to U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 63/592,445, filed Oct. 23, 2023, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63592445 | Oct 2023 | US |
