Fitness wheel exercise system and method

Abstract

An exercise system and a method of using a motorized fitness wheel to perform an exercise on a generally vertical wall is provided. The exercise system includes an elongate wall protection device mounted to a generally vertical wall and the motorized fitness wheel. The fitness wheel includes a wheel configured to rotate about an axle with two handles that extend outward from respective sides of the wheel. In use, the user grasps the handles and presses the exercise wheel against a generally vertical surface, rolls the exercise wheel in a first direction, and then rolls the exercise wheel in a second direction to complete an exercise cycle. During movement of the exercise wheel, a motor coupled to the wheel generates, under control of a processor, torque in the forward or backward rotational directions based on the measured movement of the wheel to enhance the exercise for the user.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An exercise system for use in performing an exercise on a generally vertical wall using a motorized exercise wheel, comprising;
 an elongate wall protection device configured to be mounted to the wall and provide a generally vertical surface for the wheel to be rolled against during the exercise; and   a motorized exercise wheel for performing the exercise, the exercise having at least one cycle in which a user rolls the exercise wheel along the surface in a first direction from a first position to a second position and then rolls the exercise wheel along the surface in a second direction from the second position toward the first position thus forming an exercise cycle, the motorized exercise wheel including:
 a wheel assembly including a surface-contacting element, the surface-contacting element being configured to contact the surface and rotate in either a forward rotational direction or a backward rotational direction and thereby roll along the surface in either the first direction or the second direction, 
 a first and second handle configured to receive each hand of a user, the first and second handle extending outward from respective sides of the wheel assembly, 
 a motor coupled to the wheel assembly and configured to apply an output torque to the surface-contacting element in either the forward rotational direction or the backward rotational direction, 
 a microcontroller comprising one or more processors and being configured to control the output torque of the motor, 
 a first sensor in communication with the microcontroller and useable by the microcontroller to determine a movement variable of the exercise wheel in real-time throughout the exercise cycle, wherein the microcontroller is further configured to control the output torque of the motor over the exercise cycle dynamically as a function of the determined movement variable, and 
 a battery on-board the exercise wheel and configured to power the motor and the microcontroller. 
   
     
     
         2 . The exercise system of  claim 1 , wherein the wall protection device comprises an elongate flexible mat defining a front surface, and an opposing back surface configured to be mounted against the wall. 
     
     
         3 . The exercise system of  claim 2 , wherein the wall protection device further comprises a repositionable adhesive applied along lengthwise edges of the back surface for removeably adhering the wall protection device to the wall. 
     
     
         4 . The exercise system of  claim 3 , the mat being constructed of a material having a rigidity sufficient to resist stretching of the mat in a lengthwise direction when a torque output by the fitness wheel is exerted against the front surface in the lengthwise direction. 
     
     
         5 . The exercise system of  claim 4 , the front surface of the mat being constructed of a material having a coefficient of friction for providing a suitable amount friction between the front surface and the surface-contacting element when the torque output by the fitness wheel is exerted against the front surface. 
     
     
         6 . The exercise system of  claim 5 , wherein the material of the front surface is compressible when the surface-contacting element is forced against the front surface by a user and thereby increases a contact area between the front surface and the surface-contacting element. 
     
     
         7 . The exercise system of  claim 6 , wherein at least the front surface of the mat is constructed of a PVC foam material. 
     
     
         8 . The exercise system of  claim 7 , wherein a thickness of the mat is around 12 mm. 
     
     
         9 . The exercise system of  claim 2 , wherein a side profile of the surface protection device is arcuately shaped such that a top end and a bottom end of the mat protrude further away from the wall than a center section. 
     
     
         10 . The exercise system of  claim 1 , wherein the microcontroller is configured to control the output torque of the motor as a function of the vertical orientation of the surface that the exercise is being performed on. 
     
     
         11 . The exercise system of  claim 1 , wherein the motorized exercise wheel further comprises:
 a user interface in operative communication with the microcontroller and configured to receive a user input indicative of one or more of a plurality of exercise parameters,   a plurality of torque trajectory parameters stored in a storage medium accessible to the one or more processors; and   wherein the microcontroller is configured to, based on the user input, select a torque trajectory parameter from among the plurality of torque trajectory parameters and control the output torque of the motor according to the selected torque trajectory parameter.   
     
     
         12 . The exercise system of  claim 11 , wherein the plurality of exercise parameters includes a vertical exercise mode and a horizontal exercise mode, wherein in the vertical exercise mode the microcontroller is configured to control the output torque of the motor according to a first torque trajectory parameter adapted for an exercise performed against the generally vertical surface, and wherein in the horizontal exercise mode the microcontroller is configured to control the output torque of the motor according to a second torque trajectory parameter adapted for an exercise performed against a horizontal surface. 
     
     
         13 . The exercise system of  claim 10 , wherein the microcontroller is configured to execute a damped shutdown of the wheel in response to detecting the surface-contacting element slipping relative to the surface. 
     
     
         14 . A method of using a motorized exercise wheel to perform an exercise on a generally vertical surface, comprising;
 positioning, by a user, a surface-contacting element of the exercise wheel against the generally vertical surface, wherein the exercise wheel includes:
 a wheel assembly including the surface-contacting element, the surface-contacting element being configured to contact the surface and rotate in either a forward rotational direction or a backward rotational direction and thereby roll along the surface in either a first direction or a second direction, 
 a first and second handle configured to receive each hand of a user, the first and second handle extending outward from respective sides of the wheel assembly, 
 a motor coupled to the wheel assembly and configured to apply an output torque to the surface-contacting element in either the forward rotational direction or the backward rotational direction, 
 a microcontroller comprising one or more processors and being configured to control the output torque of the motor, 
 a first sensor in communication with the microcontroller and useable by the microcontroller to determine a movement variable of the exercise wheel in real-time throughout an exercise cycle, wherein the microcontroller is further configured to control the output torque of the motor over the exercise cycle dynamically as a function of the determined movement variable, and 
 a battery on-board the exercise wheel and configured to power the motor and the microcontroller; 
   rolling, by the user, the exercise wheel along the surface in the first direction from a first position to a second position while maintaining the surface-contacting element against the surface, wherein during movement of the exercise wheel in the first direction the microcontroller is configured to control the output torque to one or more of resist rotation of the surface-contacting element and assist rotation of the surface-contacting element;   rolling, by the user, the exercise wheel along the surface in the second direction, which is opposite the first direction, from the second position to the first position, wherein during movement of the exercise wheel in the first direction the microcontroller is configured to control the output torque to one or more of resist rotation of the surface-contacting element and assist rotation of the surface-contacting element.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 during the steps of positioning the surface-contacting element of the fitness wheel against the surface, rolling the exercise wheel along the surface in the first direction and rolling the exercise wheel along the surface in the second direction, pressing the surface-contacting element against the surface to increase friction between the surface-contacting element and the surface and counteract slippage of the surface-contacting element relative to the surface.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the microcontroller is configured to control the output torque of the motor as a function of the vertical orientation of the surface that the exercise is being performed on. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the motorized exercise wheel further comprises:
 a user interface in operative communication with the microcontroller and configured to receive a user input indicative of an exercise parameter,   a plurality of torque trajectory parameters stored in a storage medium accessible to the one or more processors; and   wherein the microcontroller is configured to, based on the user input, select a torque trajectory parameter from among the plurality of torque trajectory parameters and control the output torque of the motor according to the selected torque trajectory parameter.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the exercise parameter includes a vertical exercise mode and a horizontal exercise mode, the method further comprising:
 selecting by the user using the user interface one of the vertical exercise mode and the horizontal exercise mode, wherein in the vertical exercise mode the microcontroller is configured to control the output torque of the motor according to a first torque trajectory parameter adapted for an exercise performed against a generally vertical surface, and wherein in the horizontal exercise mode the microcontroller is configured to control the output torque of the motor according to a second torque trajectory parameter adapted for an exercise performed against a horizontal surface.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the microcontroller is configured to execute a damped shutdown of the wheel in response to the surface-contacting element rotating in a manner indicative of the surface contacting element slipping relative to the surface.