Rotary rehabilitation apparatus and method
OwnerKenneth W. Johnsoninventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A rotary rehabilitation apparatus for rehabilitation of a person's extremity, including the joints and assorted muscles, tendons, ligaments, that can be tailored to the person's needs based upon their physical size, type of injury, and plan for recovery. The apparatus facilitates the adjustment of the range of motion of the user's extremity in a cycling action by offsetting a moveable lever from a fixed lever at a plurality of angles. As the user's extremity moves in a circular path, the extremity engages in extension and flexion to cause movements in the articulations formed at the user's joints.
Claims7
An apparatus providing an adjustable range of motion for an extremity of a user, comprising:
- a support including an arm extending therefrom;
- a flywheel rotatably mounted on the arm for rotation about a first axis, the first axis being at least substantially perpendicular to the arm, the flywheel having a first plurality of horizontally aligned bores disposed along a diameter thereof;
- a first lever configured for being releasably mounted in one of the bores of the first plurality of bores on a side of the flywheel, such that releasably mounting the first lever in a different bore of the plurality of bores changes the path of motion of the user's extremity positioned on the first lever thereby altering the range of motion of the articulation forming the user's joints on the respective extremity of the user;
- a seat positioned rearward of the flywheel, the seat at substantially the same elevation as the flywheel, such that a user seated on the seat may place one of their extremities on the first lever to rotate the flywheel;
- a hub in operative communication with the support, the hub including a rotatable member for imparting rotational motion to the flywheel, about a second axis, the second axis being at least substantially coaxial with the first axis;
- and,
- a crank in operative communication with the rotatable member of the hub, the crank being positioned on a side of the flywheel opposite of the first lever.
A method for selectively adjusting the range of motion of articulations formed from the joints of an extremity of a user engaging in a cycling action, comprising the steps of:
- providing a seat whereon a user may sit;
- providing a support including an arm extending therefrom;
- providing a flywheel rotatably mounted on the arm, the flywheel positioned forward from the seat, the flywheel configured for rotation about a first axis, the first axis being substantially perpendicular to the arm, and the flywheel having a first plurality of bores extending in a direction parallel to the axis of rotation and disposed along a diameter of the flywheel;
- positioning the seat such that the seat is at least at substantially the same elevation as the flywheel:
- providing a lever configured for releasably mounting with one of the bores of the flywheel;
- providing a hub in operative communication with the support, the hub including a rotatable member for imparting rotational motion to the flywheel about a second axis, the second axis being at least substantially coaxial with the first axis;
- providing a crank in operative communication with the rotatable member of the hub, the crank being positioned on a side of the flywheel opposite of the first lever;
- mounting the lever with one particular bore of the flywheel to select the desired articulating motion of the user's joints on the respective extremity of the user when the user's extremity is placed on to lever and a force is applied thereto;
- and,
- creating a force on the crank to activate the hub and impart rotational motion to the flywheel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.