U.S. patent application number 11/902753 was filed with the patent office on 2008-03-27 for prolong-tracked elliptical exercise machine.
Invention is credited to Su-Jung Fon.
Application Number | 20080076639 11/902753 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38643308 |
Filed Date | 2008-03-27 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080076639 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Fon; Su-Jung |
March 27, 2008 |
Prolong-tracked elliptical exercise machine
Abstract
A prolong-tracked elliptical exercise machine has a base, two
poles, two pedal assemblies and a wheel assembly. The pedal
assemblies are mounted oppositely beside the base and each pedal
assembly has a linking bar, a rail and a pedal. The linking bar is
pivotally mounted between the corresponding pole and the wheel
assembly. The rail is mounted securely on the linking bar. The
pedal is mounted slidably on the rail and is synchronized to and
moved along the rail by a driving assembly driven by movement of
the wheel assembly. Accordingly, since pedals move relative to the
rail, a distance of pedal movement is increased to provide greater
exercise advantages at low cost.
Inventors: |
Fon; Su-Jung; (Taichung,
TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Hershkovitz & Associates, LLC
2845 Duke Street
Alexandria
VA
22314
US
|
Family ID: |
38643308 |
Appl. No.: |
11/902753 |
Filed: |
September 25, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
482/62 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 2022/067 20130101;
A63B 22/0664 20130101; A63B 22/001 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
482/62 |
International
Class: |
A63B 22/12 20060101
A63B022/12 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Sep 27, 2006 |
TW |
095217273 |
Claims
1. A prolong-tracked elliptical exercise machine comprising a base
having a front end, a rear end and two sides; two poles being
pivotally mounted oppositely on the two sides of the base near the
front end, each pole having a lower end; a wheel assembly being
mounted rotatably in the rear end of the base and providing
resistance and having an edge and two sides; two pedal assemblies
being mounted oppositely on the sides of the base, being connected
respectively to the poles and the sides of the wheel assembly, and
each pedal assembly comprising a linking bar being connected to the
lower end of a corresponding pole and the edge of the wheel
assembly and having a front end being connected pivotally to the
lower end of the corresponding pole; a rear end; a rear sleeve
being formed transversely in the rear end of the linking bar; and a
front sleeve being securely mounted transversely in the linking bar
near the rear end of the linking bar; a rail being mounted securely
on the linking bar near the front end of the linking bar; a sliding
member being covering and mounted slidably on the rail; and a pedal
being mounted securely on the sliding member; and two driving
assemblies being respectively connected to the pedal assemblies and
connected to both sides of the wheel assembly at the edge of the
wheel assembly, and each driving assembly comprising a driving gear
having a securing shaft protruding concentrically from the driving
gear; wherein the securing shafts of the driving assemblies are
diametrically mounted securely in the edge of the wheel assembly;
and a mounting shaft concentrically protruding from the driving
gear opposite to the securing shaft and being mounted rotatably in
the rear sleeve of the linking bar; a transmission gear engaging
the driving gear and having a driving shaft being formed
concentrically on and protruding from the transmission gear and
being mounted rotatably through the front sleeve of the linking bar
and having a distal end; a linking element having a drive end being
mounted securely on the distal end of the driving shaft of the
transmission gear; and a pedal end; an actuating element being
connected to the pedal end of the linking element and the sliding
member.
2. The prolong-tracked elliptical exercise machine as claimed in
claim 1, wherein the rail further comprises a top panel being
substantially U-shaped in cross section and having a bottom surface
and two side edges; two clamping panels being longitudinally formed
parallelly on the bottom surface of the top panel to clamp the
linking bar, corresponding to and securing the rail on the linking
bar; and two tracks being formed respectively on and protruding
transversely from the side edges of the top panel and extending
toward the clamping panels; the sliding member further comprises a
main panel being shorter than the rail and having two side edges, a
top surface and multiple pinholes; two wheel mounts being
substantially U-shaped and formed longitudinally along the side
edges of the main panel and comprising a connected side being
formed on and protruding form the main panel; and an open side
being parallel and opposite to the connected side; and multiple
wheels being mounted rotatably on the open sides of the wheel
mounts, and being mounted slidably on the track of the rail.
3. The prolong-tracked elliptical exercise machine as claimed in
claim 1, wherein the driving assembly further comprises a rear
bearing assembly being mounted in the pedal end of the linking
element; and a front bearing assembly being mounted in the sliding
member; and the actuating element is further connected between and
mounted pivotally on the front and rear bearing assemblies.
4. The prolong-tracked elliptical exercise machine as claimed in
claim 1, wherein the driving gears and transmission gears have same
diameters and numbers of teeth.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a low impact fitness
facility, and more particularly to a prolong-tracked elliptical
exercise machine that raises a distance of pedal movement to
provide greater exercise advantages.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] Elliptical exercise machines are very popular low impact
fitness facilities, which allow a person to perform a full body
exercise at home whilst avoiding high impact activities, so are
especially useful for overweight, elderly, pregnant, unfit or
unmotivated people. With reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, an elliptical
exercise machine comprises a base (40), two poles (41), two linking
bars (43), two pedals (44) and a wheel assembly (42).
[0005] The base (40) has a front end, a rear end and two sides. The
poles (41) are mounted oppositely on the two sides of the base (40)
near the front end and are mounted pivotally and controllably on
the base (40). The linking bars (43) and the pedals (44) are
respectively mounted oppositely on the sides of the base (40, are
connected respectively to the poles (41) and perform a cyclic
movement.
[0006] The wheel assembly (42) is mounted in the rear end of the
base (40) and provides resistance to the pedals (44), thereby
forcing a person moves the poles (41) and pedals (44) to work
against the resistance to perform exercise.
[0007] However, the pedals (44) of a conventional elliptical
exercise machine are fixed to the linking bars (43). Therefore, a
length of the poles (41) and linking bars (43) limit a possible
length of pedal (44) movement. Therefore, tall people with a long
stride may find the elliptical exercise machine inadequate.
Moreover, advantages of the elliptical exercise machine are
proportional to stride length so prolonging pedal movement raises
user-experience and exercise benefits.
[0008] To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides
a prolong-tracked elliptical exercise machine to obviate or
mitigate the aforementioned problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] The main objective of the present invention is to provide a
prolong-tracked elliptical exercise machine that raises a distance
of pedal movement within present structures of elliptical exercise
machines, thereby to providing greater exercise advantages at low
cost since previous machine tools can be used.
[0010] To achieve the objective, the prolong-tracked elliptical
exercise machine in accordance with the present invention comprises
a base, two poles, two pedal assemblies and a wheel assembly.
[0011] The pedal assemblies are mounted oppositely beside the base
and each pedal assembly has a linking bar, a rail and a pedal. The
linking bar is pivotally mounted between the corresponding pole and
the wheel assembly. The rail is mounted securely on the linking
bar. The pedal is mounted slidably on the rail and is synchronized
to and moved along the rail by a driving assembly driven by
movement of the wheel assembly.
[0012] Accordingly, the pedal of each pedal assembly is able to
move forward or backward relative to the rail. So, when a person
steps on the pedals and forces the pedals to move along elliptical
tracks, the distance of pedal movement is increased to provide
greater exercise advantages.
[0013] Other objectives, 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
[0014] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a prolong-tracked elliptical
exercise machine in accordance with the present invention;
[0015] FIG. 2 is an enlarged, exploded perspective view of the
prolong-tracked elliptical exercise machine in FIG. 1;
[0016] FIG. 3 is an enlarged, front view in partial section of the
prolong-tracked elliptical exercise machine in FIG. 1;
[0017] FIG. 4 is a side view of the prolong-tracked elliptical
exercise machine in FIG. 1;
[0018] FIGS. 5A-C are operational side views of the prolong-tracked
elliptical exercise machine in FIG. 1;
[0019] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a conventional elliptical
exercise machine in accordance with prior art; and
[0020] FIG. 7 is an operational side view of the conventional
elliptical exercise machine in FIG. 6.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0021] With reference to FIG. 1, a prolong-tracked elliptical
exercise machine in accordance with the present invention comprises
a base (30), two poles (31), a wheel assembly (32), two pedal
assemblies (10) and two driving assemblies (20).
[0022] The base (30) has a front end, a rear end and two sides.
[0023] The poles (31) are pivotally mounted oppositely on two sides
of the base (30) near the front end, each pole (31) has a lower end
and pivots relative to the base (30).
[0024] The wheel assembly (32) is mounted rotatably in the rear end
of the base (30), provides resistance and has an edge and two
sides. The resistance may be provided by utilizing a belt,
electromagnetic or magnetic resistance, or other techniques well
known in the art.
[0025] With further reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the pedal
assemblies (10) are mounted oppositely on the sides of the base
(30), are connected respectively to the poles (31) and the sides of
the wheel assembly (32) and perform a cyclic movement. Each pedal
assembly (10) comprises a linking bar (11), a rail (15), a sliding
member (16) and a pedal (17).
[0026] The linking bar (11) is connected to the lower end of the
corresponding pole (31) and the edge of the wheel assembly (32),
has a front end being connected pivotally to the lower end of the
corresponding pole (31), a rear end, a mounting bracket (12), a
rear sleeve (13), a through hole (111) and a front sleeve (14). The
mounting bracket (12) is formed on the front end of the linking bar
(11) and has a pivoting hole (121) formed through the mounting
bracket (12). Each mounting bracket (12) is mounting pivotally on
the lower end of one of the corresponding pole (31). The rear
sleeve (13) is formed transversely in the rear end of the linking
bar (11). The through hole (111) is formed transversely through the
linking bar (11) near the rear end. The front sleeve (14) is
securely mounted transversely in the rear end of the linking bar
(11), may be through the through hole (111) of the linking bar
(11).
[0027] The rail (15) is mounted securely on the linking bar (11)
near the front end of the linking bar (11) and comprises a top
panel (151), two clamping panels (152) and two tracks (154). The
top panel (151) is substantially U-shaped in cross section, has a
bottom surface and two side edges. The clamping panels (152) are
longitudinally formed parallelly on the bottom surface of the top
panel (151), correspond to and clamp the linking bar (11), to
secure the rail (15) onto the linking bar (11). The tracks (154)
are formed respectively on and protrude transversely from the side
edges of the top panel (151) and extend toward the clamping panels
(152).
[0028] The sliding member (16) is mounted slidably on the rail (15)
and has a main panel (161), two wheel mounts (162) and multiple
wheels (165). The main panel (161) is shorter than the rail (15)
and has two side edges, a top surface and multiple pinholes. The
wheel mounts (162) are substantially U-shaped, and are formed
longitudinally along the side edges of the main panel (161) and
comprise a connected side (162) and an open side (163). The
connected side (162) is formed on and protrudes from the main panel
(161). The open side (163) is parallel and opposite to the
connected side and has multiple threaded holes (164) defined
separately in the open side (163). The wheels (165) are mounted
rotatably on the open sides (163) of the wheel mounts (162), may be
in the threaded holes (164) using multiple bolts, and are further
mounted slidably on the track (154) of the rail (15) to support the
sliding member (16) and allow the sliding member (16) to slide
along the rail (15).
[0029] The pedal (17) has a bottom surface and multiple pins
attached to the bottom surface, inserted in the pinholes of the
sliding member (16) and is mounted securely on the top surface of
the sliding member (16). The pedal (17) corresponds to and is
larger than people's feet thereby allowing various people of
different size to stand on the pedal (17) comfortably.
[0030] The driving assemblies (20) are respectively connected to
the pedal assemblies (10) and connected to both sides of the wheel
assembly (32) at the edge of the wheel assembly (32), and
separately drive the sliding members (16) along the rail (15). Each
driving assembly (20) comprises a driving gear (22), a transmission
gear (24), a linking element (25), a rear bearing assembly (26), a
front bearing assembly (28) and an actuating element (27).
[0031] The driving gear (22) has a securing shaft (212) and a
mounting shaft (211). The securing shaft (212) protrudes
concentrically from the driving gear (22) and is mounted securely
in the wheel assembly (32), wherein the securing shafts (212) of
each driving assembly (20) are diametrically mounted securely near
the edge of the wheel assembly (32). The mounting shaft (211) is
formed on and protrudes concentrically from the driving gear (22)
oppositely from the securing shaft (212) and is mounted rotatably
in the rear sleeve (13) of the linking bar (11). The transmission
gear (24) engages the driving gear (22) and has a driving shaft
(23). The driving shaft (23) is formed concentrically on and
protrudes from the transmission gear (24) and is mounted rotatably
through the front sleeve (14) of the linking bar (11) and has a
distal end.
[0032] In a first embodiment, the driving gears (22) and
transmission gears (24) have same diameters and numbers of teeth.
In a second embodiment, the driving gears (22) and transmission
gears (24) have different diameters and numbers of teeth.
[0033] The linking element (25) has a drive end and a pedal end.
The drive end is mounted securely on the distal end of the driving
shaft (23) of the transmission gear (24).
[0034] The rear bearing assembly (26) is mounted in the pedal end
of the linking element (25).
[0035] The front bearing assembly (28) is mounted in the sliding
member (16).
[0036] The actuating element (27) may be connected between and
mounted pivotally on the front and rear bearings assemblies (26,
28), and is connected to the pedal end of the linking element (25)
and the sliding member (16).
[0037] With further reference to FIGS. 4 to 5C, when a person steps
on the pedals (17) in turn, the wheel assembly (32) is driven to
rotate. Rotation of the wheel assembly (32) causes the driving
gears (22) to rotate relative to the transmission gears (24) and
driving the transmission gears (24) of the driving assemblies (20)
to rotate. Therefore the linking elements (25) rotate. Rotation of
the linking elements (25), forces rotation of the actuating
elements (27) that translate rotation alternatively into
longitudinal push or pull forces acting on the sliding member (16)
and make the sliding member (16) move forward or backward relative
to the rail (15).
[0038] Accordingly, moving distance of each pedal (17) is
prolonged. Therefore, the prolong-tracked elliptical exercise
machine in accordance with present invention provides greater
exercise advantages. Moreover, the present invention may be fitted
to previous designs without requiring large redesign and associated
retooling to limit costs
[0039] 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. 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.
* * * * *