1. A system for assisting the motion of or supporting a body of a mammal, such system comprising:
(a) a pressure-tight suit worn over at least one part of the mammal’s body having at least one opening for inserting the body part into the suit;
(b) means for providing a pressure-tight seal connected adjacent to the opening of the suit for operative engagement of the body part surface of the mammal;
(c) inlet means in the suit for introduction of at least one source of positive pressure or vacuum to the interior of the suit between the mammal body and the suit to create a differential pressure condition therein;
(d) support means connected to the suit for counteracting a downwards force applied to the suit when it is placed under the differential pressure condition;
(e) whereby the differential pressure condition contained inside the suit exerts an upwards force upon the body part to offload a portion of the weight of the body to the support means.
2. The assisted motion system of claim 1, wherein the body suit is worn by the mammal during exercise or training.
3. The assisted motion system of claim 1, wherein the body suit is worn by the mammal during rehabilitation of an injury.
4. The assisted motion system of claim 1, wherein the body suit is worn by the mammal to reduce weight on the muscle skeletal structure of the mammal.
5. The assisted motion system of claim 1, wherein the body suit is worn by the mammal to maintain proper posture of the muscle skeletal structure of the mammal.
6. The assisted motion system of claim 1, wherein the at least one source of positive pressure is provided by a pressurized gas.
7. The assisted motion system of claim 6, wherein the pressurized gas comprises air.
8. The assisted motion system of claim 6, wherein the pressurized gas comprises nitrogen.
9. The assisted motion system of claim 6, wherein the pressurized gas comprises carbon dioxide.
10. The assisted motion system of claim 6, wherein-the pressurized gas comprises argon.
11. The assisted motion system of claim 1, wherein the at least one source of vacuum is provided by a vacuum pump.
12. The assisted motion system of claim 1, wherein the source of positive pressure or vacuum is portable.
13. The assisted motion system of claim 1, wherein the body suit covers the feet of the mammal, and a first positive pressure condition is introduced to a leg portion of the body suit covering the foot that is in contact with a hard surface, while a second positive pressure condition less than the first positive pressure condition is introduced to a leg portion of the body suit covering the foot that is removed from the hard surface, further comprising a controller for regulating the cycling between the first and second positive pressure conditions introduced to the body suit.
14. The assisted motion system of claim 13, wherein the body suit further comprises at least one sensor positioned below the foot of the mammal for detecting the relative contact position of the foot with respect to the hard surface, such’sensor providing a signal to the controller to regulate the cycled first and second positive pressure conditions delivered to the body suit.
15. The assisted motion system of claim 1, wherein the at least one source of positive pressure is produced by energy expended by the mammal.
16. The assisted motion system of claim 1, wherein the at least one source of positive pressure is produced by a foot-driven air pump operatively connected to a foot of the mammal.
17. The assisted motion system of claim 1 further comprising means within the body suit for regulating the air temperature within the body suit.
18. The assisted motion system of claim 1 further comprising means within the body suit for regulating the humidity level within the body suit.
19. The assisted motion system of claim 1, wherein the body suit closely fits the mammal’s body.
20. The assisted motion system of claim 1, wherein the body suit loosely fits the mammal’s body.
21. The assisted motion system of claim 1, wherein the body suit comprises multiple layers of material.
22. The assisted motion system of claim 21, wherein at least one layer comprises an inner vent layer.
23. The assisted motion system of claim 21, wherein at least one layer comprises an air pressure resistant layer.
24. The assisted motion system of claim 21, wherein at least one layer comprises a layer for restraining the force applied by the positive pressure source to the body suit.
25. The assisted motion system of claim 24, wherein the restraining layer constrains the application of circumferential force to the body suit.
26. The assisted motion system of claim 24, wherein the restraining layer constrains the application of longitudinal force to the body suit.
27. The assisted motion system of claim 1, wherein at least one layer of material within the body suit is extensible along a first axis, and non-extensible along a second axis perpendicular to the first axis.
28. The assisted motion system of claim 20, wherein the loose-fitting body suit comprises at least one joint for encompassing a joint within the muscle skeletal structure of the mammal.
29. The assisted motion system of claim 28, wherein the body suit joint is a constant-volume joint.
30. The assisted motion system of claim 1, wherein the pressure-tight sealing means comprises an airproof elastic sleeve.
31. The assisted motion system of claim 1, wherein the pressure-tight sealing means comprises an airproof band.
32. The assisted motion system of claim 1, wherein the pressure-tight sealing means comprises an airproof pair of shorts attached to the interior of the body suit adjacent to the sealing location.
33. The assisted motion system of claim 1, wherein the pressure-tight sealing means comprises an inflatable air tube seal.
34. The assisted motion system of claim 1, wherein the pressure-tight sealing means comprises an air bladder.
35. The assisted motion system of claim 1, wherein the pressure-tight suit is sealed around the waist of the mammal, and extends down the lower body to cover the feet of the mammal.
36. The assisted motion system of claim 1, wherein the pressure-tight suit is sealed around the waist of the mammal, and extends down the lower body to seal around the ankles of the mammal.
37. The assisted motion system of claim 1, wherein the pressure-tight suit is sealed around the waist of the mammal, and extends down the lower body to seal around the knees of the mammal.
38. The assisted motion system of claim 1, wherein the pressure-tight suit comprises separate leg units, each leg unit being sealed around a thigh of the mammal, and extending down the lower body to seal around an ankle of the mammal.
39. The assisted motion system of claim 1, wherein the pressure-tight suit comprises separate leg units, each leg unit being sealed around a thigh of the mammal, and extending down the lower body to seal around a knee of the mammal.
40. The assisted motion system of claim 1, wherein the pressure-tight suit is sealed around the chest of the mammal, and extends down the lower body to cover the feet of the mammal.
41. The assisted motion system of claim 1, wherein the pressure-tight suit covers the upper body of the mammal.
42. The assisted motion system of claim 41, wherein the pressure-tight suit covering the upper body of the mammal is sealed above the waist and adjacent to the neck and arms of the mammal.
43. The assisted motion system of claim 1, wherein the pressurized suit is operative connected to a rigid band on the support means for encircling the waist of the mammal wearing the suit.
44. The assisted motion system of claim 1, wherein the support means is movable.
45. The assisted motion system of claim 44, wherein the support means comprises at least two wheels.
46. The assisted motion system of claim 45, wherein support means comprises a wheel substantially ahead of the mammal, and a wheel substantially behind the mammal.
47. The assisted motion system of claim 45, wherein support means comprises a cart.
48. The assisted motion system of claim 46 further comprising means for steering or braking the support means.
49. The assisted motion system of claim 1, wherein support means comprises a stationary frame.
50. The assisted motion system of claim 49, wherein stationary frame support means enables a mammal wearing the pressurized suit to use a treadmill, stair-master, orbital trainer, cross-country ski trainer, or other exercise apparatus.
51. The assisted motion system of claim 49, wherein stationary frame support means accommodates lateral or longitudinal movement of the mammal wearing the pressurized suit.
52. The assisted motion system of claim 49, wherein stationary frame support means accommodates vertical movement of the mammal wearing the pressurized suit.
53. The assisted motion system of claim 52, wherein stationary frame support means comprises means for providing a constant force to support the vertical downwards loads applied by the pressurized suit connected to the support means, while accommodating the vertical movement of the mammal’s body.
54. The assisted motion system of claim 1, wherein the pressurized suit comprises at least one tubular leg unit, and the support means comprises a column of pressurized air.
55. The assisted motion system of claim 1, wherein the tubular leg unit comprises at least one separate, smaller pressurized tubular unit for supporting the downwards load produced by the pressurized suit.
56. The assisted motion system of claim 1, wherein the support means comprises an exoskeleton attached to the exterior of the pressure-tight suit.
57. The assisted motion system of claim 1, wherein the external support means comprises an exoskeleton embedded within the pressure-tight suit
58. The assisted motion system of claim 1, wherein the mammal is a human.
59. The assisted motion system of claim 1, wherein the mammal is four-legged animal.
60. A system for assisting the motion of or supporting a body of a mammal, such system comprising:
(a) a suit formed from fabric or elastic material wound around at least one part of the mammal’s body circumferentially kept under tension for creating an inwardly-directed radial force upon the body part;
(b) support means connected to the suit for counteracting a downwards force applied to the suit when it is placed under tension;
(c) whereby the tension condition contained inside the suit exerts an upwards force upon the body part to offload a portion of the weight of the body to the support means.
61. The assisted motion system of claim 60 further comprising an air bladder positioned under a portion of the wound material for creating further tension upon the body part inside the suit.
62. The assisted motion system of claim 60, wherein the wound material comprises a shaped memory alloy or shaped memory polymer.
63. A method for reducing groin numbness in a human riding a bicycle, comprising:
(a) a pressure-tight suit worn over at least the lower body of the mammal having at least one opening for inserting a lower body part into the suit;
(b) means for providing a pressure-tight seal connected adjacent to the opening of the suit for operative engagement of the body part surface of the mammal;
(c) inlet means in the suit for introduction of at least one source of positive pressure or vacuum to the interior of the suit between the mammal body and the suit to create a differential pressure condition therein;
(d) support means extending from the bicycle and connected to the suit for counteracting a downwards force applied to the suit when it is placed under the differential pressure condition;
(e) whereby the differential pressure condition contained inside the suit exerts an upwards force upon the lower body to offload a portion of the weight of the body to the support means and bicycle to create separation between the groin of the mammal and the bicycle.
64. The method of claim 63, wherein the support means comprises a rigid exoskeleton.
65. The assisted motion system of claim 1 further comprising a bladder attached to the interior of the pressure-tight suit positioned between the suit and the body part, wherein the positive pressure introduced into the interior of the suit is contained within the bladder.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A method of distributing communications established by radio-communication terminals, within a geographic cell of a radio-communication network, said geographic cell being sub-divided into at least two geographic sectors, the improvement comprising:
synchronously rotating an orientation of all of said at least two geographic sectors if
a total transmission rate of one of said at least two geographic sectors is greater than a predetermined total transmission rate, or
a number of links established in one of said at least two geographic sectors is greater than a predetermined number of links.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said step of synchronously rotating comprises one of:
mechanically rotating at least one of a transmission antennae and a reception antennae associated with said at least two geographic sectors; and
reconfiguring a beam of a smart antennae associated with said at least two geographic sectors.
3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said step of synchronously rotating comprises one of:
synchronously rotating only if a total transmission rate of another of said at least two geographic sectors is less than said predetermined total transmission rate; and
synchronously rotating only if a number of links established in another of said at least two geographic sectors is less than said predetermined number of links.
4. The method according to claim 1, wherein said step of synchronously rotating comprises:
detecting one or more sectors having one of a total transmission rate greater than a predetermined total transmission rate and a number of established links greater than a predetermined number of links;
selecting one of the one or more sectors in accordance with a predetermined prioritization strategy;
identifying a sector adjacent to said selected sector in accordance with a predetermined selection strategy;
synchronously rotating an orientation of said all of said at least two sectors through a predetermined angle to rebalance a load between said selected sector and said identified sector and to create at least two re-oriented sectors; and
determining if any of the at least two re-oriented sectors satisfy at least one tracking criterion; and
repeating said step of synchronously rotating if no re-oriented sector satisfies said at least one tracking criterion.
5. The method according to claim 4, wherein
said predetermined prioritization strategy comprises selecting a sector for which at least one of the total transmission rate and the number of established links is the greatest,
said predetermined selection strategy comprises determining a sector adjacent to said selected sector for which at least one of the total transmission rate and the number of established links is the least, and
said at least one tracking criterion comprises one of
a total transmission rate of a re-oriented sector is greater than or equal to a total transmission rate of said selected sector, and
a number of links established in a re-oriented sector is greater than or equal to a number of links established in said selected sector.
6. The method according to claim 2, wherein, when said cell is sub-divided into three sectors, said synchronous rotation step is not implemented if two of said three sectors have at least one of an identical total transmission rate and an identical number of established links.
7. The method according to claim 1, wherein said step of synchronously rotating comprises:
matching a sector rotation speed to a time for carrying out a transfer of communication from one sector to another.
8. A device for the distribution of communications established by radio-communication terminals, within a cell of a radio-communications network, comprising:
means for synchronously rotating an orientation of all sectors in said cell according to any one of steps of claims 1\u20137.
9. A base station for a cell of a radio-communication network, comprising:
means for rebalancing a communications load among sectors in a cell according to any one of the steps of claims 1\u20137.
10. A method of distributing communications established by radio-communication terminals, within a geographic cell of a radio-communication network, said geographic cell being sub-divided into at least two geographic sectors, the improvement comprising:
rotating an orientation of at least one of said at least two geographic sectors if
a total transmission rate of one of said at least two geographic sectors is greater than a predetermined total transmission rate, or
a number of links established in one of said at least two geographic sectors is greater than a predetermined number of links, wherein said step of rotating includes:
detecting one or more sectors having one of a total transmission rate greater than a predetermined total transmission rate and a number of established links greater than a predetermined number of links;
selecting one of the one or more sectors in accordance with a predetermined prioritization strategy;
identifying a sector adjacent to said selected sector in accordance with a predetermined selection strategy;
rotating an orientation of a subset of said at least two sectors through a predetermined angle from said selected sector toward said identified adjacent sector so as to create one or more new sectors within said cell; and
detecting at least one of the one or more new sectors satisfying at least one tracking criterion; and repeating said step of rotating an orientation of a subset if no new sector has been detected during said step of detecting at least one of the one or more new sectors, until a new sector is detected.
11. A base station for a cell of a radio-communication network, comprising:
means for distributing communications among sectors in a cell according to the method of claim 10.
12. A method of distributing communications established by radio-communication terminals, within a geographic cell of a radio-communication network, said geographic cell being sub-divided into at least two geographic sectors, the improvement comprising:
mechanically rotating an orientation of at least one of said at least two geographic sectors if
a total transmission rate of one of said at least two geographic sectors is greater than a predetermined total transmission rate, or
a number of links established in one of said at least two geographic sectors is greater than a predetermined number of links.
13. The method according to claim 1, wherein said step of mechanically rotating comprises:
mechanically rotating at least one of a transmission antennae and a reception antennae associated with said at least one of said at least two geographic sectors.
14. A base station for a cell of a radio-communication network, comprising:
means for distributing communications among sectors in a cell according any one of claims 12\u201313.