Motorized assist system for wheelchair exercise apparatus

Abstract

Motorized assist systems are provided which are operable to assist in initiating and ceasing the rotation of rollers of wheelchair treadmill systems, and to provide resistance to user-applied forces to facilitate effective exercise. In some embodiments, the motorized assist system includes a driving motor mechanically connected to one or more rollers of a wheelchair treadmill and a sensor. The sensor is configured to detect a rotational force or a rotational velocity of the roller(s) of the wheelchair treadmill. The driving motor is configured to exert a driving force on the roller in response to a detected rotational force on the roller or in response to a detected rotational velocity of the roller.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A wheelchair treadmill comprising:
 a platform for supporting a wheelchair;   one or more rollers associated with the platform and configured to support one or more driving wheels of the wheelchair; and   a motorized assist system comprising:
 a driving motor mechanically connected to the one or more rollers; and 
 a sensor configured to detect a rotational force on the one or more rollers. 
   
     
     
         2 . The wheelchair treadmill of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor is configured to detect a rotational force on the one or more rollers directly. 
     
     
         3 . The wheelchair treadmill of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor is configured to detect a rotational force on the one or more rollers indirectly. 
     
     
         4 . The wheelchair treadmill of  claim 1 , wherein the driving motor is configured to exert a driving force on the one or more rollers in response to the sensor detecting a rotational force on the one or more rollers that exceeds a threshold force. 
     
     
         5 . The wheelchair treadmill of  claim 4 , wherein the threshold force is a function of a rotational velocity of the one or more rollers. 
     
     
         6 . The wheelchair treadmill of  claim 4 , wherein the driving force is a function of a rotational velocity of the one or more rollers. 
     
     
         7 . The wheelchair treadmill of  claim 4 , wherein the driving motor exerts the driving force in the same direction as the rotational force detected by the sensor. 
     
     
         8 . The wheelchair treadmill of  claim 4 , wherein the driving motor exerts the driving force in a direction opposite the rotational force detected by the sensor. 
     
     
         9 . The wheelchair treadmill of  claim 1 , wherein the driving motor is controllable by a user-operated electronic control. 
     
     
         10 . The wheelchair treadmill of  claim 9 , wherein the user control is operable to activate the driving motor to exert a rotational force on the one or more rollers when the one or more rollers of the wheelchair treadmill are at rest. 
     
     
         11 . The wheelchair treadmill of  claim 9 , wherein the user control is operable to activate the driving motor to exert a rotational force on the one or more rollers that brings the one or more rollers to a halt when the one or more rollers of the wheelchair treadmill are initially rotating. 
     
     
         12 . The wheelchair treadmill of  claim 1 , wherein the driving motor is configured to exert a driving force on the one or more rollers in response to the sensor detecting that the rotational velocity of the one or more rollers reaches a threshold velocity. 
     
     
         13 . The wheelchair treadmill of  claim 12 , wherein threshold velocity is a function of the rotational velocity of the one or more rollers. 
     
     
         14 . The wheelchair treadmill of  claim 12 , wherein the driving motor exerts the driving force in the same direction as the rotational velocity detected by the sensor. 
     
     
         15 . The wheelchair treadmill of  claim 12 , wherein the driving motor exerts the driving force in a direction opposite the rotational velocity detected by the sensor. 
     
     
         16 . The wheelchair treadmill of  claim 1 , wherein the driving motor is controllable by a user-operated electronic control. 
     
     
         17 . The wheelchair treadmill of  claim 16 , wherein the user control is operable to activate the driving motor to exert a rotational force on the one or more rollers when the one or more rollers of the wheelchair treadmill are at rest. 
     
     
         18 . The wheelchair treadmill of  claim 16 , wherein the user control is operable to activate the driving motor to exert a rotational force on the one or more rollers that brings the one or more rollers to a halt when the one or more rollers of the wheelchair treadmill are initially rotating.