U.S. patent application number 10/068867 was filed with the patent office on 2003-08-14 for electrical drive assembly for an exercise machine.
Invention is credited to Ho, Shou-Shan.
Application Number | 20030153436 10/068867 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 27659116 |
Filed Date | 2003-08-14 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030153436 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Ho, Shou-Shan |
August 14, 2003 |
Electrical drive assembly for an exercise machine
Abstract
An drive assembly for an exercise bike consists of an electrical
motor (10), a driven wheel (20), a unidirectional clutch (30), a
flywheel (40), a shaft (47) and a crank wheel (50). The shaft (47)
penetrates the driven wheel (20), the unidirectional clutch (30)
and the flywheel (40). The driven wheel (20) is driven by the
electrical motor (10) and then passes on the rotating momentum via
the clutch (30), the flywheel (40), the belt wheel and the crank
wheel (50) in sequence when the electrical motor (10) is switched
on. The exercise bike can rotate in an automatic way to make the
ordinary exercise bike into a physical therapy training bike.
Inventors: |
Ho, Shou-Shan; (Taichung
Hsien, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Jones, Tullar & Cooper, P.C.
Suite 1002
2001 Jefferson Davis Highway
Arlington
VA
22202
US
|
Family ID: |
27659116 |
Appl. No.: |
10/068867 |
Filed: |
February 11, 2002 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
482/63 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 21/0058 20130101;
A63B 21/0051 20130101; A63B 21/00178 20130101; A63B 22/0605
20130101; A63B 21/225 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
482/63 |
International
Class: |
A63B 022/06; A63B
069/16 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An electrical drive assembly adapted for use on an exercise
machine, and the drive assembly comprising: an electrical motor
assembly (10) having a toothed pinion (12) mounted on the
electrical motor (10) and rotating in a single direction; a driven
wheel (20) with two side faces having a shaft hole (21) axially
defined in the driven wheel (20) and rotating with the toothed
pinion (12) via a first driving belt (14) looping around the driven
wheel (20) and the toothed pinion (12) of the electrical motor; a
unidirectional clutch (30) firmly attaching on one side-face of the
driven wheel (20) and having a middle plate (31); a first insert
(32) attached to one side of the middle plate (31) to press into
the shaft hole (21) in the driven wheel (20); a second insert (33)
attached to the other side of the middle plate (31) opposite to the
first insert (31); and a unidirectional bearing (35) secured inside
the clutch (30) to make the clutch (30) rotate in one direction and
keep the driven wheel (20) from rotating in a direction opposite to
the single direction; a flywheel (40) driven by the clutch (30) and
having a central circular recess (43) defined in the flywheel (40)
and a belt wheel (45) firmly received inside the central circular
recess (43) to attach the flywheel (40); a shaft (47) rotatably
penetrating the driven wheel (20), the clutch (30), the flywheel
(40) and the belt wheel (45) and having two ends adapted to secure
on stationary places; and a crank wheel (50) rotating synchronously
with the belt wheel (45) via a second driving belt (54) looping
around the crank wheel (50) and the belt wheel (45).
2. The electrical drive assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
electrical motor (10) comprises a motor mount (13) and a direct
current motor (11) mounted on the motor mount (13) to rotate the
toothed pinion (12).
3. The electrical drive assembly as claimed in claim 1, in which a
lubricating sleeve (471) is mounted around the shaft (47) inside
the other elements mounted on the shaft (47).
4. The electrical drive assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
belt wheel (45) further has a bearing (453) mounted inside the
clutch (30) around the shaft (47) to reduce the friction between
the belt wheel (45) and the shaft (47).
5. The electrical drive assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein the
belt wheel (45) further has a bearing (453) mounted inside the
clutch (30) around the shaft (47) to reduce the friction between
the belt wheel (45) and the shaft (47).
6. The electrical drive assembly as claimed in claim 1, in which a
tension wheel (55) is mounted on a stationary piece and slightly
presses the second driving belt (54) to prevent the second driving
belt (54) from loosening from the belt wheel (45) and the crank
wheel (50).
7. The electrical drive assembly as claimed in claim 5, in which a
tension wheel (55) is mounted on a stationary piece and slightly
presses the second driving belt (54) to prevent the second driving
belt (54) from loosening from the belt wheel (45) and the crank
wheel (50).
8. The electrical drive assembly as claimed in claim 7, wherein the
belt wheel (45) further has a side wheel (452) attached to the belt
wheel (45) particularly to connect with the second driving belt
(54).
9. The electrical drive assembly as claimed in claim 1, the
flywheel (40) further has a magnetic attractable face (41)
surrounding the flywheel (40), wherein the magnetic attractable
face (41) is attracted by a magnetic device, which can adjust the
magnetic force on the magnetic attractable face (41) to impose
different effort levels required to rotate the flywheel (40).
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to an electrical drive
assembly, and more particularly to a drive assembly used in an
exercise machine, which allows the exercise machine to be used in
an active or passive way.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] Indoor sports and exercise have become much more popular in
modern urban societies because people do not have enough time or
space for outdoor sports. Thus the use of aerobic exercise machines
such as exercise bikes, steppers, treadmills and fitness flyers has
mushroomed, but the use of the individual exercise machines is
limited. Take the exercise bike as an example, the exercise bike is
a zero-impact exercise device and can be used by all people of
different ages to exercise. However, the exercise bike is only used
in a passive mode. That is to say, the exercise bike only works
when a user rotates the exercise bike pedals. Therefore, an injured
people who is unable to operate the exercise bike but needs
physical therapy to recover from an injury cannot use the exercise
bike for physical therapy.
[0005] Toward the objective of using an exercise bike to improve
the range of motion in and strength of a patient's legs, the
present invention provides a modified electrical drive assembly for
an exercise bike that allows the exercise bike to be operated in
either an automatic or passive mode.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The main objective of an electrical drive assembly for an
exercise machine in accordance with the present invention is to
allow the exercise machine to move automatically to provide
training for people who need physical therapy for their feet or
legs.
[0007] Other advantages and novel features of the invention will
become more apparent from the following detailed description when
taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an electrical
drive assembly for exercise machine in accordance with the present
invention;
[0009] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the electrical drive
assembly in FIG. 1;
[0010] FIG. 3 is a side plan view of the drive assembly in FIG.
2;
[0011] FIG. 4 is a top plan view in partial section of the drive
assembly along line 4-4 in FIG. 3;
[0012] FIG. 5 is an operational perspective view of the drive
assembly in FIG. 1 used on an exercise bike; and
[0013] FIG. 6 is an operational side plan view of an exercise bike
with the drive assembly in FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0014] With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 an electrical drive assembly
for exercise bike comprises an electrical motor assembly (10), a
driven wheel (20), a unidirectional clutch (30), a flywheel (40), a
shaft (47) and a crank wheel (50). The shaft (47) penetrates the
driven wheel (20), the unidirectional clutch (30) and the flywheel
(40) and has two distal ends respectively secured on two supporting
frames (56, 561).
[0015] The electrical motor assembly (10) includes a direct current
motor (11) and a motor mount (13) to mount the motor (11) on the
exercise machine. A toothed pinion (12) extends from and rotates
with the direct current motor (11). A first driving belt (14) is
mounted around the toothed pinion (12) and the driven wheel (20) to
make the toothed pinion (12) and the driven wheel (20) rotate
synchronously.
[0016] The driven wheel (20) has two circular side faces with a
center in each face. A shaft hole (21) is defined in the center of
the driven wheel (20), and multiple positioning holes (211) are
defined around the shaft hole (21).
[0017] With reference to FIGS. 1 and 4, the unidirectional clutch
(30) is securely mounted on one side-face of the driven wheel (20)
and has a middle plate (31), a first insert (32) and a second
insert (33). The first insert (32) is attached to one side of the
middle plate (31) toward the driven wheel (20) to press into the
shaft hole (21) in the driven wheel (20). Multiple positioning
holes (311) are defined in the middle plate (31) around the first
insert (32) to correspond to the positioning holes (211) in the
driven wheel (20). A bolt (not numbered) penetrates each pair of
aligned positioning holes (311, 211) to attach the clutch (30) to
the driven wheel (20). The second insert (33) is attached to the
other side of the middle plate (31) opposite to the first insert
(31). A bearing mount (34) is axially defined in the center of the
clutch (30) through the first insert (32) and the second insert
(33). A unidirectional bearing (35) is securely mounted inside the
bearing mount (34) to allow the clutch (30) to rotate in only one
direction.
[0018] With reference to FIGS. 1 and 3, the flywheel (40) is
mounted adjacent to the clutch (30) and comprises a magnetic
attractable face (41), a central shaft (42) and a belt wheel (45).
The magnetic attractable face (41) forms an outer periphery of the
flywheel (40) and serves to adjust a distance between a magnetic
device (57) and the magnetic attractable face (41). Thus, the
magnetic force on the magnetic attractable face (41) is adjustable
by controlling the distance to make the flywheel (40) have
different effort levels to operate the drive assembly. The central
shaft (42) formed on one side of the flywheel (40) is rotatably
inserted into the second insert (33) of the clutch (30). A through
hole (421) is axially defined in central shaft (42) and through the
flywheel (40). A central circular recess (43) is defined in the
other side of the flywheel (40) and the belt wheel (45) is firmly
received inside the central circular recess (43), wherein the belt
wheel (45) further has a side wheel (452) secured on a free side of
the belt wheel (45). A bearing (453) is mounted in the center of
the belt wheel (45) to prevent direct friction between the belt
wheel (45) and the shaft (47). Additionally, a lubricating sleeve
(472) is mounted around the shaft (47) inside the central shaft
(42) of the flywheel (40) to lubricate the joints of the shaft (47)
and the other elements (20, 30, 40) secured on the shaft (47).
[0019] The crank wheel (50) has a crankshaft (51) secured in the
center to drive the crank wheel (50). A second driving belt (54)
loops around the crank wheel (50) and the side wheel (452) on the
belt wheel (45) to make the two wheels (50, 452) rotate
synchronously. Additionally, a tension wheel (55) is rotatably
mounted on the supporting frame (56) near the belt wheel (45) to
slightly press the second driving belt (54) so that the second
driving belt (54) tightly loops around the crank wheel (50) and the
belt wheel (45) to avoid looseness.
[0020] With reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, the electrical drive wheel
assembly is mounted on an exercise machine such as a stationary
bike. The exercise bike comprises a housing (70), a base (60), a
seat (611) and an adjustable frame (62). The housing (70) has a
top, two side-faces and is mounted on the base (60) to receive the
electrical drive assembly inside. A seat post (61) with the seat
(611) is attached to the top of the housing (70). The erecting
frame (62) with two hand grips (621) is attached beside the
side-faces of the housing (70). In this embodiment of exercise
bike, the crankshaft (51) of the crank wheel (50) has two ends
extending oppositely and outwardly to emerge from the side-faces of
the housing (70). Each end has a foot pedal (53) attached to a
distal end of the crankshaft (51). Additionally, an auxiliary
housing (63) is constructed beside the housing (70) to particularly
receive the electrical motor assembly (10) inside.
[0021] When a normal user rides the exercise bike, the user can
impose stepping force to the pedals (53) to make the crank wheel
(50) drive, then the belt wheel (45) synchronously rotates and
drives the flywheel (40). However, the magnetically attractable
surface (41) is magnetically dragged by the magnetic device (57) so
that the user can exercise his or her legs by adjusting the
magnetic force of the magnetic device (57). When a patient needs
physical therapy for his or her legs, the electrical motor (11) is
switched on to rotate the driving wheel (12). The driven wheel (20)
synchronously rotates with the driving wheel (12) and drives the
flywheel (40) by the unidirectional clutch (30). Next, the belt
wheel (45) also rotates to drive the crank wheel (50) rotates so
that the pedals (53) are moved in a passive way and the patient can
exercise the legs slowly with the rotating exercise bike.
[0022] The electrical drive wheel assembly for an exercise bike in
accordance with the present invention has a simplified structure as
described. Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of
the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing
description, together with details of the structure and function of
the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may
be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and
arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the
full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in
which the appended claims are expressed.
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