U.S. patent application number 11/088819 was filed with the patent office on 2006-09-28 for horseback riding fitness machine.
This patent application is currently assigned to Hsin Lung Accessories Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Hsueh - Sen Liao.
Application Number | 20060217238 11/088819 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37035931 |
Filed Date | 2006-09-28 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060217238 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Liao; Hsueh - Sen |
September 28, 2006 |
Horseback riding fitness machine
Abstract
The present invention describes a fitness machine that comes
with a seat installed on a base for a user to sit on, an arm, a
swinging member pivotally coupled to a rear end of the arm, a
handle disposed on the swinging member at a section above the
pivotal connection point for the user to grab with both hands, a
pedal disposed at a section below the pivotal connection point for
the user to press by both feet, and at least one force balancing
member installed between the swinging member and the arm, such that
a user can work out as if the user is riding a horse.
Inventors: |
Liao; Hsueh - Sen; (Hsin-Chu
Hsien, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
TROXELL LAW OFFICE PLLC
SUITE 1404
5205 LEESBURG PIKE
FALLS CHURCH
VA
22041
US
|
Assignee: |
Hsin Lung Accessories Co.,
Ltd.
|
Family ID: |
37035931 |
Appl. No.: |
11/088819 |
Filed: |
March 25, 2005 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
482/72 ;
482/121 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 23/03583 20130101;
A63B 69/04 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
482/072 ;
482/121 |
International
Class: |
A63B 69/06 20060101
A63B069/06; A63B 21/02 20060101 A63B021/02 |
Claims
1. A horseback riding fitness machine, comprising: a base, being a
main mechanical construction of said horseback riding fitness
machine and placed on a floor for maintaining a basic stable
gravitational effect; a seat, installed on said base for a user to
sit on; an arm, installed on said base at a position corresponding
to a middle section of said seat; a swinging member, pivotally
coupled to a rear end of said arm, and having a handle disposed at
a section above its corresponding pivotal connection point for said
user to grab with both hands and a pedal disposed at a section
below said pivotal connection point for users to step on with both
feet; and at least one force balancing member, for balancing a
force applied by said user while said swinging member is
swinging.
2. The horseback riding fitness machine of claim 1, wherein said
base comprises a joint pipe disposed at the central position of
said base and slanted backward for installing said seat, and a lock
knob disposed at a position where said joint pipe and said seat are
installed for adjusting the height of said seat.
3. The horseback riding fitness machine of claim 2, wherein said
arm has a base section coupled to a side of said joint pipe, such
that a rear end of said arm is extended to a predetermined length
towards a front end of said base.
4. The horseback riding fitness machine of claim 1, wherein said
handle is coupled with said swinging member through a folding
rod.
5. The horseback riding fitness machine of claim 4, wherein said
folding rod and said swinging member are pivotally coupled with a
rear end of said arm concurrently by a pivot, such that said
folding rod has an effect of being folded towards said seat with
said pivot as the center or being folded towards the front of said
base, and a movable pin is installed at an overlapped position of
said folding rod that is folded towards the front of said base to
be inserted between said folding rod and said swinging member, and
a stop rod is installed on said swinging member at a position
corresponding to a front side of said overlapped position for
restricting the.movement of said folding rod and facilitating an
insertion of said movable pin between said folding rod and said
swinging member.
6. The horseback riding fitness machine of claim 1, wherein said
force balancing member is comprised of a resilient member, and an
end of said force balancing member is directly and pivotally
coupled with said arm, and the other end is pivotally coupled with
said swinging member through a link rod.
7. The horseback riding fitness machine of claim 1, wherein said
force balancing member is produced by pivotally coupling both ends
of force balancing member with said arm and a hydraulic cylinder of
said swinging member respectively.
8. The horseback riding fitness machine of claim 1, wherein said
swinging member and said arm have a set of dray accessories
disposed at a pivotal connection position of said swinging member
and said arm for adjusting the mobility between said swinging
member and said arm and achieve an effect of changing the level of
applying force for exercises.
9. The horseback riding fitness machine of claim 8, wherein said
drag accessory is comprised of a drag wheel linked to said swinging
member, said drag wheel has a flexible binder disposed around the
periphery of said drag wheel, and one end of said flexible binder
is fixed directly to said arm and the other end is coupled with
said arm through a rigid slab, and said rigid slab has an adjusting
bolt disposed on said rigid slab at a section proximate to said
flexible binder for adjusting the level of attachment between said
flexible binder and said drag wheel on said arm to generate the
binding capability of said binder to said drag wheel and achieve
the effect of adjusting the level of applying force for exercises.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention generally relates to fitness
equipments, and more particularly to a horseback riding fitness
machine that effectively simulates a horseback riding sport and the
machine can be folded to an appropriate extent.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] In general, working people usually cannot spare much time
for outdoor activities and sports in their busy life, and thus they
usually make use of their time during break, lunch, or after work
to do some simple exercises or stretches of their body, or work out
with related fitness equipments indoors to improve the metabolism
of their bodies. Therefore, indoor equipments should have the basic
functions for simulating related sports to meet the exerciser's
requirements, and the indoor equipment should also be folded
appropriately to save its storage space, when the equipment is not
in use.
[0005] Indoor fitness equipments are designed preferably with a
function of simulating outdoor sports such as boating and horseback
riding, of which ordinary people can do regularly, so as to enhance
the add-on value of the equipments and fulfill user's satisfaction
with better fun. Among these equipments, the horseback riding
machine has a smaller size, a simpler structure, and thus is
extensively accepted by consumers. However, the conventional
horseback riding fitness machine has a handle protruded from the
front of the machine, and the protruded handle constitutes a
hindrance to people walking around, when the machine is not in
use.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The horseback riding fitness machine in accordance with the
present invention comes with a seat installed on a base for a user
to sit on it, an arm extended to a predetermined distance from the
base at a position corresponding to the middle section of the seat,
a swinging member pivotally coupled to the rear end of the arm, a
handle disposed above the swinging member in a section
corresponding to the pivotal connection point for a user to grab
with both hands, and a pedal disposed in a section below the
pivotal connection point for the user to step on.
[0007] At least one force balancing member is installed between the
swinging member and the arm, such that when the user steps on the
pedal with both feet and sits on the seat while grabbing the handle
with both hands, the user has to drive the force balancing member
by pulling both hands backward and pressing both legs forward to
move the pedal. If the user releases both hands or both legs, or
both hands push forward, the force balancing member as well as the
pedal are pulled backward and get ready for the user to repeat the
movement of pulling both hands backward and pressing both legs
forward, so as to constitute a simulated horseback riding.
[0008] Particularly, a folding rod connects the handle and the
swinging member, so that when the horseback riding fitness machine
is not in use, the handle can be folded backward in a direction
towards the seat to greatly reduce the hindrance to the people
around and improve the convenience of its storage.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an operating horseback
riding fitness machine in accordance with the present
invention;
[0010] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an operating horseback
riding fitness machine when the handle is folded in accordance with
the present invention;
[0011] FIG. 3 is a schematic view of adjusting the height for a
seat and a handle according to the present invention;
[0012] FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the movements of a force
balancing member according to another preferred embodiment of the
present invention;
[0013] FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the operation of the present
invention;
[0014] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an operating horseback
riding fitness machine in accordance with another preferred
embodiment of the present invention; and
[0015] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the structure a drag
accessory according to the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0016] To make it easier for our examiner to understand the present
invention, the following detailed description with reference to the
accompanying drawings of an embodiment are given for example, but
such preferred embodiment is not intended to limit the scope of the
present invention.
[0017] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a basic structure of the
accessories in a horseback riding fitness machine in accordance
with the present invention is illustrated. The horseback riding
fitness machine of the invention comprises a base 10, a seat 20
installed on the base 10, an arm 30, a swinging member 40, and at
least one force balancing member 50.
[0018] The base 10 is the main mechanical structure of the whole
horseback riding fitness machine, which is placed on a floor to
maintain a basic stable gravitational effect. The base 10 has a
joint pipe 11 disposed at the central position of the base and
slanted backward for installing the seat 20, and a lock knob 12
disposed at a position where the joint pipe 11 and the seat 20 are
installed for adjusting the height of the seat 20 as shown in FIG.
3.
[0019] The arm 30 is installed on the base 10 at a position
corresponding to a middle section of the seat 20. In this
embodiment, a base section of the arm 30 is coupled to a side of
the joint pipe 11, such that a rear end of the arm 30 is extended
to a predetermined length towards the front end of the base 10. The
swinging member 40 is pivotally coupled to the rear end of the arm
30, and the swinging member 40 has a handle 41 disposed at a
section above its corresponding pivotal connection point for a user
to grab with both hands and a pedal 42 disposed at a section below
said pivotal connection point for the user to step on with both
feet, and the force balancing member 50 is installed between the
swinging member 40 and the arm 30.
[0020] In a practical application of this embodiment, the force
balance member 50 is comprised of a resilient member, and an end of
the force balancing member 50 is directly and pivotally coupled
with the arm 30, and the other end is pivotally coupled with the
swinging member 40 through a link rod 43, such that the handle 41
in front of the swinging member 40 is swung to the front of the
base 10 under normal conditions. The swinging member 40 produces an
effect of balancing the force applied by the user (which is
regarded as an effect of slowing down the speed of the swinging
member 40) while the swinging member 40 is swinging. Of course,
both ends of the force balancing member 50 as shown in FIG. 4 could
be pivotally coupled to the arm 30 and a hydraulic cylinder of the
swinging member 40 respectively to achieve the same effect as
described above for balancing the force applied by the user while
the swinging member 40 is swinging.
[0021] Referring to FIG. 5 for a user stepping on the pedal 42 with
both feet and grabbing the handle 41 with both hands while sitting
on the seat 20, the user has to pull both hands back and press both
feet forward to drive the force balancing member 50 to move, so
that the pedal 42 can move forward. If the user releases the force
of both hands or both legs, or push both hands forward, the force
balancing member 50 as well as the pedal 42 will be pulled backward
to get ready for the user to pull both hands or press both feet
forward again, so as to work out as if the user is riding a
horse.
[0022] Further, the handle 41 provided for the user to grab by both
hands is connected to the swinging member 40 through a folding rod
44, and the folding rod 44 and the swinging member 40 are pivotally
coupled with a rear end of the arm 30 concurrently by a pivot 45,
such that the folding rod 44 has an effect of being folded in a
direction towards the seat 20 with the pivot 45 as the center (as
shown in FIG. 2) or being folded towards the front of the base 10
(as shown in FIG. 1). A movable pin 46 is installed at an
overlapped position where the folding rod 44 is folded towards the
front of the base 10 and inserted between the folding rod 44 and
the swinging member 40, and a stop rod 47 is installed on the
swinging member 40 at a position corresponding to a front side of
the overlapped position for restricting the movement of the folding
rod 44 and facilitating an insertion of the movable pin 46 between
the folding rod 44 and the swinging member 40. Therefore, the
folding rod 44 can be folded towards the front of the base 10 and
fixed in position, and thus achieving the effect of linking the
handle 41 and the swinging member 40.
[0023] On the other hand, if the horseback riding fitness machine
is not in use, the user just needs to pull out the movable pin 46,
so that the handle 41 can be folded in a direction towards the seat
20 as shown in FIG. 2 to greatly reduce the hindrance to the people
around and improve the convenience of the storage of the fitness
machine.
[0024] Similarly, the folding rod 44 can be in the form of a joint
pipe as shown in FIG. 3, so as to facilitate the installation of
the main body of the handle 41. A lock knob 12 is installed at an
overlapped position of the main body of the handle 41 and the
folding rod 44, such that the whole horseback riding fitness
machine has the function of adjusting the height of the handle
41.
[0025] Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, the present invention further
comprises a set of drag accessories 60 pivotally coupled at a
position where the swinging member 40 and the arm are pivotally
coupled for appropriately adjusting the mobility between the
swinging member 40 and the arm 30 and further achieving the effect
of adjusting the level of applying force for exercises.
[0026] In a practical application of this embodiment, the drag
accessory 60 has a main body comprised of a drag wheel 61 linked to
the swinging member 40, and the drag wheel 61 has a flexible binder
62 disposed around the periphery of the drag wheel 61. One end of
the flexible binder 62 is fixed directly to the arm 30 and the
other end is coupled with the arm 30 through a rigid slab 63. The
rigid slab 63 has an adjusting bolt 64 disposed on the rigid slab
63 at a section proximate to the flexible binder 62 for adjusting
the level of attachment between the rigid slab 63 and the arm 30 to
drag the binding capability of the rigid slab 63 to the drag wheel
61. Thus, the invention achieves the effect of adjusting the level
of applying force for exercises as well as enhancing the functions
and add-on values of the whole horseback riding fitness
machine.
[0027] In summation of the description above, the present invention
provides an operable horseback riding fitness machine that complies
with the patent application requirements. The description and its
accompanied drawings are used for describing preferred embodiments
of the present invention, and it is to be understood that the
invention is not limited thereto. To the contrary, it is intended
to cover various modifications and similar arrangements and
procedures, and the scope of the appended claims therefore should
be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such
modifications and similar arrangements and procedures.
* * * * *