U.S. patent application number 10/863486 was filed with the patent office on 2005-12-15 for rowing exercising apparatus.
Invention is credited to Lat, Shu-Chtung.
Application Number | 20050277521 10/863486 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 35461237 |
Filed Date | 2005-12-15 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050277521 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lat, Shu-Chtung |
December 15, 2005 |
Rowing exercising apparatus
Abstract
A rowing exercising apparatus includes a frame, a seat member
mounted slidably on the frame, a wheel assembly including a
resistance flywheel and a transmission wheel cooperatively mounted
on the frame, a pull cord connected to the transmission wheel and
having a manual operation end, and a restoring unit including an
elastic rope having a fixed end mounted to the frame and a moving
end connected to the transmission wheel.
Inventors: |
Lat, Shu-Chtung; (Taichung
City, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
EITAN, PEARL, LATZER & COHEN ZEDEK LLP
10 ROCKEFELLER PLAZA, SUITE 1001
NEW YORK
NY
10020
US
|
Family ID: |
35461237 |
Appl. No.: |
10/863486 |
Filed: |
June 9, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
482/72 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 22/0076 20130101;
A63B 22/0089 20130101; A63B 21/227 20130101; A63B 21/154 20130101;
A63B 2022/0079 20130101; A63B 21/068 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
482/072 |
International
Class: |
A63B 069/16; A63B
022/06; A63B 069/06 |
Claims
I claim:
1. A rowing exercising apparatus comprising: a frame; a seat member
mounted slidably on said frame; a wheel assembly including a
resistance flywheel and a transmission wheel cooperatively mounted
on said frame; a pull cord connected to said transmission wheel and
having a manual operation end; and a restoring unit including an
elastic rope having a fixed end mounted to said frame and a moving
end connected to said transmission wheel.
2. The rowing exercising apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein
said frame includes an elongated bar having front and rear ends,
and two foot plates mounted respectively on left and right sides of
said elongated bar, said seat member being mounted on said
elongated bar.
3. The rowing exercising apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein
said resistance flywheel is disposed on said elongated bar adjacent
to said front end, said transmission wheel being disposed
rearwardly of said resistance flywheel.
4. The rowing exercising apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein
said wheel assembly further includes a transmission belt extending
over and interconnecting said flywheel and said transmission wheel,
said pull cord being wound around said transmission wheel
independently of said transmission belt.
5. The rowing exercising apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein
said transmission wheel has coaxially arranged first, second and
third annular grooves, said first annular groove receiving said
transmission belt therein, said second annular groove receiving
said pull cord therein, said third annular groove receiving said
elastic rope therein.
6. The rowing exercising apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein
said frame further includes an upright supporting unit which
includes left and right upright supports extending upwardly on the
left and right sides of said elongated bar, and a connecting
portion connected to top ends of said left and right supports, said
wheel assembly being mounted on said upright supports.
7. The rowing exercising apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein
said restoring unit further includes a first pulley mounted on said
elongated bar proximate to said front end, and a second pulley
mounted on said elongated bar and disposed rearwardly of said first
pulley, said elastic rope passing over said first and second
pulleys between said fixed end and said moving end.
8. The rowing exercising apparatus as claimed in claim 6, further
comprising a handle bar, said operation end of said pull cord being
connected to said handle bar.
9. The rowing exercising apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein
said wheel assembly further includes a guide roller mounted on said
connecting portion, said pull cord passing over said guide roller
between said transmission wheel and said handle bar.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The invention relates to an exercising apparatus, more
particularly to a rowing exercising apparatus.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a conventional rowing exercising
apparatus 1 is shown to comprise a supporting frame 11, a wheel
assembly 12, and a restoring unit 13.
[0005] The supporting frame 11 includes an elongated bar 111 having
front and rear ends, front and rear supporting legs 112, 113
disposed respectively on the front and rear ends of the supporting
frame 11, a seat member 114 mounted slidably on the elongated bar
111 and located between the front and rear supporting legs 112,
113, two foot plates 115 mounted respectively on left and right
sides of the front end of the elongated bar 111, and a handle bar
116 mounted movably on the front end of the elongated bar 111.
[0006] The wheel assembly 12 includes a resistance wheel 121
mounted on the front supporting leg 112, a transmission wheel 122
mounted on the front supporting leg 112 and spaced apart from the
resistance wheel 121, a guide roller 123 mounted on the front
supporting leg 112 and disposed proximate to the handle bar 116, a
transmission belt 124 interconnecting the resistance wheel 121 and
the transmission wheel 122, and a pull cord 125 wound around the
transmission wheel 122 and having one end extending over the guide
roller 123 and connected to the handle bar 116.
[0007] The restoring unit 13 includes a hollow body 131 mounted on
one side of the transmission wheel 122, and a coil spring 132
disposed within the body 131. The coil spring 132 has a central end
connected to a bearing of the transmission wheel 122, and a
terminal end connected to the body 131.
[0008] The resistance wheel 121 is a magnetically controlled wheel,
and creates a resistance during rotation through magnetic force
attraction.
[0009] When the handle bar 116 is pulled, the pull cord 125 is
unwound from the transmission wheel 122, thereby causing the
transmission wheel 122 and the resistance wheel 121 to rotate
synchronously. The bearing of the transmission wheel 122, in turn,
causes the coil spring 132 to wind tightly so as to store a force.
When the handle bar 116 is released, the stored force of the coil
spring 132 permits restoration of the transmission wheel 122 to its
original position. The pull cord 125 is wound back on the
transmission wheel 122 at this time. By repeating the
abovementioned steps, a rowing exercise is effected.
[0010] However, since the coil spring 132 of the restoring unit 13
is made of steel, which is hard and which is less ductile, when the
handle bar 116 is suddenly pulled, the coil spring 132 is likely to
break easily. Moreover, when the handlebar 116 is released, because
of the strong returning force of the coil spring 132, the handle
bar 116 is restored swiftly to its original position so that the
handle bar 116 bumps into the supporting frame 11, which can damage
the latter.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide
a rowing exercising apparatus that is capable of overcoming the
aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art.
[0012] According to this invention, a rowing exercising apparatus
comprises a frame, a seat member mounted slidably on the frame, a
wheel assembly including a resistance flywheel and a transmission
wheel cooperatively mounted on the frame, a pull cord connected to
the transmission wheel and having a manual operation end, and a
restoring unit including an elastic rope having a fixed end mounted
to the frame and a moving end connected to the transmission
wheel.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] Other features and advantages of the present invention will
become apparent in the following detailed description of the
preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings,
of which:
[0014] FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a conventional rowing
exercising apparatus;
[0015] FIG. 2 is a fragmentary schematic view, illustrating a wheel
assembly and a restoring unit of the conventional rowing exercising
apparatus;
[0016] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of
a rowing exercising apparatus according to the present
invention;
[0017] FIG. 4 is a top schematic view taken along line IV-IV of
FIG. 3, illustrating a wheel assembly and a restoring unit of the
preferred embodiment;
[0018] FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line V-V
of FIG. 3, illustrating a transmission wheel of the wheel
assembly;
[0019] FIG. 6 is a fragmentary enlarged schematic view of the
restoring unit of the preferred embodiment;
[0020] FIG. 7 is a schematic side view of the preferred embodiment
in a state of use;
[0021] FIG. 8 illustrates how the wheel assembly and the restoring
unit work when a handle bar is pulled; and
[0022] FIG. 9 illustrates how the wheel assembly and the restoring
unit are restored to their original positions when the handle bar
is released.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0023] Referring to FIGS. 3 to 6, the preferred embodiment of a
rowing exercising apparatus according to the present invention is
shown to comprise a supporting frame, a seat member 6, a wheel
assembly 7, a pull cord 74, a handle bar 54, and a restoring unit
8.
[0024] The supporting frame, as shown in FIG. 3, includes an
elongated bar 2, a front supporting rod 3, a rear supporting plate
4, an upright supporting unit 5, and two foot plates 9. The
elongated bar 2 has a front end 21 and a rear end 22 opposite to
the front end 21. The front supporting rod 3 is fixed to an end
face of the front end 21 of the elongated bar 2. The rear
supporting plate 4 has one end mounted on the ground, and the other
end connected to the rear end 22 of the elongated bar 2. The
elongated bar 2 extends inclinedly and upwardly from the front end
21 toward the rear end 22.
[0025] The upright supporting unit 5 is mounted on the front end 21
of the elongated bar 2 adjacent to the front supporting rod 3, and
includes left and right upright supports 52, 51 extending upwardly
on left and right sides of the elongated bar 2, and a connecting
portion 53 connected to top ends of the left and right supports 52,
51. Each of the left and right supports 52, 51 has a front side
face 55 and a rear side face 56 opposite to the front side face 55,
and front and rear bracket plates 57, 57' connected respectively to
the front and rear side faces 55, 56.
[0026] The foot plates 9 are connected pivotally and respectively
to the left and right sides of the elongated bar 2.
[0027] The seat member 6 is mounted slidably on the elongated bar
2, and is located between the upright supporting unit 5 and the
rear end 22 of the elongated bar 2. The foot plates 9 are located
between the seat member 6 and the upright supporting unit 5.
[0028] The wheel assembly 7 is mounted on the upright supporting
unit 5, and includes a resistance flywheel 71, a transmission wheel
72, a guide roller 73, and a transmission belt 74.
[0029] The resistance flywheel 71 is a conventional magnetically
controlled wheel, and is disposed adjacent to the front end 21 of
the elongated bar 2 and between the left and right supports 52, 51.
An axle of the resistance flywheel 71 is mounted between the front
brackets 57 of the left and right supports 52, 51.
[0030] The transmission wheel 72 is disposed rearwardly of the
resistance flywheel 71. An axle of the transmission wheel 72 is
mounted between the rear brackets 57' of the left and right
supports 52, 51. The transmission wheel 72 has coaxially arranged
first, second and third annular grooves 721, 722, 723, as best
illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5.
[0031] The guide roller 73 (see FIG. 7) is mounted on the
connecting portion 53 of the upright supporting unit 5.
[0032] The transmission belt 74 extends over and interconnects the
resistance flywheel 71 and the transmission wheel 72, and is
received in the first annular groove 721.
[0033] The pull cord 75 is fixed to and wound around the
transmission wheel 72, and has a manual operation end 751. The pull
cord 75 is received in the second annular groove 722. The operation
end 751 of the pull cord 75 is connected to the handle bar 54 after
passing over the guide roller 73.
[0034] The restoring unit 8 includes a fixing element 81, a first
pulley 83, a second pulley 82, and an elastic rope 84. In this
embodiment, the fixing element 81 is a metallic pinch tube that is
fixed to one end of a rod 821, which in turn is mounted on the
elongated bar 2 proximate to the rear side faces 56 of the supports
51, 52 (see FIGS. 3, 6 and 8). Particularly, the rod 821 is mounted
to a bracket 822 on the elongated bar 2 to support the second
pulley 82. The first pulley 83 is mounted on the elongated bar 2
proximate to the front side faces 55 of the supports 51, 52. The
second pulley 82 is mounted on the bracket 822, and is disposed
rearwardly of the first pulley 83. The elastic rope 84 has a fixed
end 841 (see FIGS. 6 and 7) which is fixed within the pinch tube of
the fixing element 81, and a moving end 842 (see FIG. 8) connected
to the transmission wheel 72 after passing over the first and
second pulleys 83, 82. The elastic rope 84 is received in the third
annular groove 723 of the transmission wheel 72.
[0035] Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, when a user grips the handle bar
54 and applies a pulling force (F) thereon, the pull cord 75 is
unwound from the transmission wheel 72, thereby causing the
transmission wheel 72 to drive the resistance flywheel 71 to rotate
simultaneously in a first direction shown by an arrow "A". Since
the flywheel 71 is a magnetically controlled wheel, it creates a
resistance to rotation through magnetic force attraction in a known
manner. The elastic rope 84 winds around the third annular groove
723 at this time so that the elastic rope 84 is stretched and
stores energy.
[0036] Referring to FIG. 9, when the handle bar 54 is released, the
elastic rope 84 contracts, thereby causing the transmission wheel
72 to rotate in a second direction shown by an arrow "B" that is
opposite to the first direction "A". The pull cord 75 is thus wound
simultaneously back on the transmission wheel 72. Since the elastic
rope 84 passes over the first and second pulleys 83, 82, the
restoring force of the elastic rope 84 is less strong than that of
the coil spring 132 of the aforesaid conventional rowing exercising
apparatus 1. Therefore, the handle bar 54 is prevented from swiftly
bumping into the upright supporting unit 5, thereby avoiding
possible damage to the exercising apparatus.
[0037] It should be noted that since the elastic rope 84 has good
stretchability, it provides sufficient extendible length after
passing over the first and second pulleys 83, 82 to enable the user
to pull the pull cord 75, and it has a gentler restoring effect as
compared to the metallic coil spring 132 (see FIG. 2) of the
conventional rowing exercising apparatus 1 (see FIG. 1). In
addition, since the present invention utilizes the elastic rope 84
rather than the metallic coil spring 132, the problem of breakage
due to the elastic fatigue of the coil spring 132 can be
avoided.
[0038] While the present invention has been described in connection
with what is considered the most practical and preferred
embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to
the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various
arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest
interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and
equivalent arrangements.
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