This application claims priority from Italian patent application No. TO2007A000123, filed on Feb. 21, 2007, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to devices for executing cardiopulmonary tests under strain.
The applicant COSMED Engineering S.r.l. constitutes the design and development centre of COSMED S.r.l., which has produced and sold devices adapted to measure the oxygen consumption of a user for some time (see for example US 2006/0005836 A1). Devices of this type are also used for executing tests under strain, with the combined use of physical exercise equipment, typically of the “cycle ergometer” type, that are relatively cumbersome, not transportable and expensive.
It is an object of the present invention to allow the possibility to carry out cardiopulmonary tests under strain with extremely simple means, of reduced dimensions and reduced pure cost, in order to make it possible for the individual user to undergo such tests, with extreme ease and convenience, without the need to provide sophisticated equipment in special places.
In order to achieve this aim, the object of this invention is a portable kit comprising:
said portable kit also comprising:
Thanks to the above-mentioned characteristics, the invention allows the user to have an extremely simple and transportable structure with ease in any place, that allows the execution of cardiopulmonary tests under strain with the use of a normal bicycle.
In the case of sport cyclists, professionals or amateurs, the invention hence allows the cyclist the advantage of being able to carry out the necessary tests under strain not with a machine, but with the same bicycle then to be used for competitions.
In any case, thanks to the invention, a user can undergo the test with ease and convenience, once a normal bicycle is available, using the portable training tool and the portable measuring device. The portable training tool can be created, in a known manner, as a conventional tool for the use of a normal bicycle in a stationary position. Tools of this type have been sold and used for some time. In a typical embodiment, the portable training tool comprises a frame, folding or dismountable in a configuration of reduced dimensions, for ease of transport. Such frame is provided to support the bicycle in use position, leaving the rear wheel the possibility to turn. The tool also comprises a controllable braking device, borne by said frame, and adapted to make friction contact with the tyre of said bicycle wheel for applying a braking force to it.
According to the invention, the actuator means with which the portable training tool is provided for regulating the braking force on the bicycle wheel are operatively connected to the electronic control unit which is also operatively connected to the measuring means of the user's cardiopulmonary activity. The electronic control unit is arranged to send a command signal to said actuator means for controlling the application of a required value of the braking force and is also arranged to receive a feedback signal from said actuator means, indicative of the braking force applied by it. Based on the data set by the user, the electronic control unit can therefore control said actuator means of applying the braking force according to a closed ring logic.
The electronic control unit is associated with a display and/or printing unit of the measuring results of the cardiopulmonary parameters, including the oxygen consumption.
In a preferred embodiment, the above-mentioned electronic control unit, with said display and/or printing unit, and the above-mentioned interface unit are both associated with the measuring device. In such an embodiment, the device comprises a case carrying a keyboard and a display, as well as a printing unit for printing a report concerning the test results.
A fundamental characteristic of the invention lies in its portability. Such a characteristic is obtained thanks to the fact that both the measuring device and the training tool, thanks to its foldable and/or dismountable nature, are portable. The key idea for obtaining such an advantage lies in the fact that the physical exercise equipment used in combination with the measuring device of the respiratory activity is not constituted of a complete dedicated machine, but a portable tool, to be used in combination with a normal bicycle.
Thanks to the above-mentioned characteristics, the user can take the kit with them according to the invention, constituted of the training tool and the measuring device, with convenience and ease, in order to be able to carry out the cardiopulmonary test under strain, at any time and anywhere, once there is any normal bicycle available.
Furthermore, in the case of a sports cyclist, professional or amateur, it will hence be possible to carry out the cardiopulmonary test on one's own bicycle, so as to make the test more indicative compared to that which can be carried out with a cycle ergometer type machine.
According to a further preferred characteristic, the kit also comprises a measuring device of the cardiac activity, electrically connectable or with wireless communication with the above-mentioned electronic control unit.
Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will be clear from the following description with reference to the attached drawings, provided by way of a non-limitative example, in which:
With reference to
The device 3 also comprises electrically controlled actuator means 9 of any known type, that is activated by pressing a roller 9a freely pivotable against the tread of the tyre of the rear wheel 2a, in order to exert a braking force on the wheel. Such a braking force can be modified by varying the electrical signal 10 that is sent to the actuator means 9 by an electronic control unit 11 (
In the case of the example depicted in
In the case of the example shown in
As a further alternative, the second unit 16 can be eliminated and the control unit 11 can be in direct communication with the actuator means 9.
Furthermore, the kit for executing the test also comprises measuring means 20 of the user's cardiac activity, also connectable to the electronic control unit 11 of the measuring device, and including, in a known manner, sensor means 21 associable with the user's chest and receiver means 22 for receiving the signals coming from the sensor means 21, for example via wireless communication.
The embodiment details of the measuring device 4 and the relative control unit are not shown here, as they can be carried out in any known manner, and given that they, per se, are not part of the invention. The elimination of these details from the drawings also makes the latter clearer and easier to understand. As indicated, an example of a device of this type is provided by the document US 2006/0005836.
In use, the user can set, for example using the keyboard 19 of the second control module 16, or directly using the keyboard 13 of the device 4 in case the unit 16 is not provided, a desired value or a desired programmed variation in the braking force to be applied to the bicycle wheel, after which the test can begin, with the measuring device 4 that carries out the detection of the user's cardiopulmonary activity during the exercise.
As already indicated above, the fundamental characteristic of the invention is that of allowing the user to carry out a cardiopulmonary test under strain with ease and convenience anywhere, with the aid of portable equipment. This result is obtained as the measuring unit 4 is of a portable type and is used not in combination with a whole machine dedicated to that aim, but using the simple portable equipment 3 that can be used in combination with any normal bicycle.
Naturally, various modifications to the construction details and the embodiments can be possible without departing from the principle of the invention, referring to that which is described and shown by way of example.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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TO2007A000123 | Feb 2007 | IT | national |