U.S. patent application number 11/600214 was filed with the patent office on 2008-05-22 for exercise cycle.
Invention is credited to Huan-Yau Peng.
Application Number | 20080119334 11/600214 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39417603 |
Filed Date | 2008-05-22 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080119334 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Peng; Huan-Yau |
May 22, 2008 |
Exercise cycle
Abstract
An exercise cycle is disclosed as having a base member that
anchors and supports a vertical frame, a transmission mechanism, a
cam mechanism, a seat and seat support, and pedals. The vertical
frame includes a vertical supporting member mounted to the base
member, and a vertical support extending upwardly from the vertical
supporting member. The cam mechanism has two sides and one pedal is
connected to each side. When a user pushes on the pedals, the cam
mechanism rotates. The cam rotation surface conveys the motion to a
standing support pulley and yoke pulley causing it to rotate. The
yoke in turn conveys the motion to the seat support causing the
seat to move up and down. The cam mechanism serves to provide an
overall coordination and balance of the exercise cycle.
Inventors: |
Peng; Huan-Yau; (Hsin-Chu
City, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
NATH & ASSOCIATES PLLC
112 South West Street
Alexandria
VA
22314
US
|
Family ID: |
39417603 |
Appl. No.: |
11/600214 |
Filed: |
November 16, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
482/64 ;
482/57 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 2220/30 20130101;
A63B 22/0087 20130101; A63B 22/0605 20130101; A63B 21/0056
20130101; A63B 22/16 20130101; A63B 21/225 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
482/64 ;
482/57 |
International
Class: |
A63B 22/08 20060101
A63B022/08 |
Claims
1. An exercise cycle, which is comprised of a base member, a
vertical support, a seat mounted on the vertical support, a
transmission member, and at least one pedal, of which the vertical
support extends upwardly from the base member and is anchored
thereto and braced by a yoke; and a cam mechanism having two sides
and supported by a supporting member extending upwardly from the
base member, with the pedal extending outwardly from a
corresponding side of said cam mechanism, said cam member being
operationally connected by the transmission mechanism to said
vertical support such that a rotation of the pedal causes the cam
mechanism to rotate, and the cam mechanism in turn conveys motion
to the vertical support and seat to cause the seat to move up and
down.
2. The exercise cycle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the vertical
support and cam mechanism are connected through a pulley extended
down from the vertical support, which contacts with a cam rotation
surface of the cam mechanism.
3. The exercise cycle as claimed in claim 2, wherein with the
vertical support is divided into two parts, a lower part of the
vertical support is mounted to the base member, and the upper part
of the vertical support is inserted into the supporting support and
makes contact with the pulley.
4. The exercise cycle as claimed in claim 3, wherein with a
position pin and pin hole configured between the upper vertical
support and the base member, the position pin anchors the vertical
support and supporting support through the pin hole and also
configured between the inner coupling support and outer coupling
support, the position pin anchors the outer coupling support and
inner coupling support through the pin hole.
5. The exercise cycle as claimed in claim 2, wherein a connecting
piece is configured to the side of the pulley, the front of the
connecting piece is connected to a spring, and the other end of the
spring is connected to a spring mount extended from the side of the
supporting member.
6. The exercise cycle as claimed in claim 5, wherein the height of
the seat can be adjusted through an adjustment bolt and position
pin located between the seat and the inner coupling support.
7. The exercise cycle as claimed in claim 5, wherein with the inner
coupling support inserted into the outer coupling support, the
outer coupling support is mounted onto the base member, on which
there is strip-configured opening; and the lower part of the inner
coupling support is connected to the base mount pulley, where the
base mount pulley extends laterally through the opening of the
outer coupling support to carry out the up-down motions along the
direction of the hole opening.
8. The exercise cycle as claimed in claim 7, wherein there are two
openings on the outer coupling support which are located on two
sides corresponding to the outer coupling support, and two base
mount pulleys, which are extended through the two openings of the
outer coupling support, while the yoke's supporting element, a
forked structure, has the fork extended to anchor the two base
mount pulleys.
9. The exercise cycle as claimed in claim 7, wherein with position
pin and pin hole configured between the upper vertical support and
the base member, the position pin anchors the vertical support and
base member through the pin hole; at the same time, with position
pin and pin hole also configured between the inner coupling support
and outer coupling support, the position pin anchors the outer
coupling support and inner coupling support through the pin
hole.
10. The exercise cycle as claimed in claim 9, wherein a connecting
piece is configured between the base member and other telescoping
support, with its two ends anchoring separately onto the supporting
support and outer telescoping support.
11. The exercise cycle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the vertical
support contains a handle bar and display panel. Said display panel
is connected to a sensor.
12. The exercise cycle as claimed in claim 1, wherein a resistance
sheet serving to increase the exercise resistance can be added to
the transmission mechanism's flywheel, in which the resistance
sheet is connected to an adjustment device, where the adjustment
device serves to control the resistance of the flywheel to achieve
a varied degree in the resistance yield, or a resistance device in
other types of configuration mode can also be configured.
13. The exercise cycle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cam
mechanism's cam rotation surface is made to contact the yoke
pulley, which is configured to the tip of the yoke, a supporting
element on the other end of the yoke is made to anchor the inner
coupling support, and the top part of the inner coupling support is
connected to the seat.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The preferred embodiment of the invention pertains to an
exercise cycle, particularly pertaining to a cycling exercise
fitness equipment.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Fitness apparatuses are steadily gaining momentum in usage
and practicality amid improved quality of living, reduced leisure
time and limited access to nature. Consequently, more urbanites are
turning to gyms to exercise and are using fitness devices to get
their exercise. Most fitness devices have been designed along the
principle of imitating the mechanical movement principle and
combining it with the basic elements of certain exercise routines.
However they fail to take into account the actual scenarios of
outdoor exercising.
[0003] For example, conventional fitness devices that are designed
to imitate the bicycling sport often focus on exercising the leg
muscles but do not take into account body coordination and balance.
Under the treacherous conditions of bicycling these prior art
devices are unable to coordinate other body parts to exercise
concurrently other parts of the human body.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] An objective of the invention is to provide an exercise
cycle that has an additional element of a cam mechanism, which not
only offers tangible cycling functions to help achieve a body-wide
exercising yield, but also provides training of the leg and waist
muscles for coordinating the balance of all body parts and
achieving a body-wide exercise yield.
[0005] The present invention offers a body-wide exercise yield that
not only provides the user with adequate exercise but also helps to
achieve an overall bodily coordination and balance.
[0006] In addressing the need for achieving a maximum body-wide
exercise result, the invention aims to provide a fitness device
that bears a close facsimile to bicycling to satisfy the need of a
body-wide exercise.
[0007] The objective of the invention serves to devise an exercise
cycle, in which said exercise cycle attempts to reconfigure the
existing fitness devices by adding a cam mechanism, which not only
offers tangible cycling functions to help achieve a body-wide
exercising yield, but also provides training the leg and waist
muscles for coordinating the balance of all body parts.
[0008] The characteristics of the preferred embodiment the
invention proposes lies in that the exercise cycle's cam mechanism
is supported by the supporting member extended upward from the
base, with pedals connected to the two sides, where the pedals
convey the cam mechanism to rotate, and convey also the vertical
support and the seat in an up-down motion; with a pulley extended
downward from the lower part of the vertical support, the pulley is
made to contact the cam mechanism's cam rotation surface to rotate
alongside the cam rotation surface, which in turn drives the
vertical support to a up-down motion. At the same time, the cam
rotation surface is made to contact the yoke pulley, which is
located at the tip of the yoke, with the yoke anchored by the
supporting member extended from the base member, and the other side
of the yoke anchors the inner coupling support. While the inner
coupling support anchors the seat above, the cam mechanism's
rotation conveys the yoke to move, propelling the seat to move up
and down.
[0009] The invention operates on the premises of reconfiguring the
basic structure of a simulated cycling motion that not only
providing leg muscle exercising yield, but also combining the
actual state of cycling motions in instilling the exercise cycle to
offer up-down motions for achieving waist muscle and body-wide
exercising yield, as well as bodily coordination and balancing
yield.
[0010] The preferred embodiment the invention proposes is not only
easy to manufacture, requiring no complicated pars, but also
conserves the production cost, and highly maneuverable by the
user.
[0011] As an alternative, a resistance sheet may be added to the
transmission mechanism's flywheel to increase the exercise
resistance, where the resistance sheet is connected to the
adjusting device, which serves to control the flywheel's propensity
to achieve a varied degree of resistance increase yield, or other
forms of resistance may also be added. In short, the configuration
of the foresaid resistance sheet can be coordinated to a fully
magnetized or semi-magnetized electromechanical system, wherein the
configuration of the foresaid resistance sheet serves to provide
the user with the choice of a number of exercising volumes,
particularly for adjusting it at will when a user desires to
increase the exercise volume in order to achieve a desired
exercising volume, with options to adjust through the sensor for
monitoring the exercising speed and resistance, as well as
tabulating the amount of exercise and prompting the same on the
display panel to inform the user.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] FIG. 1 is a side and rear perspective view of an exercise
cycle according to the present invention; and
[0013] FIG. 2 is a partially exploded side and rear perspective
view of the exercise cycle of FIG. 1, with some parts removed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0014] As depicted in FIG. 1, the preferred embodiment the
invention pertains to an exercise cycle, which is comprised of the
components of a base member 6, vertical support 1, cam mechanism
55, seat 21, and pedal 31, wherein the supporting member 61, 62
extended upward from the base member 6 serve to anchor and brace
the transmission mechanism 55, vertical support 1, cam mechanism 3
and yoke 4.
[0015] The main structure of the exercise cycle serves to
reconfigure the pedals 31 connected to two sides of the cam
mechanism 3, where the pedals 31 convey the cam mechanism 3 to
rotate, and that the rotation of the cam mechanism 3 in turn
conveys the vertical support 1 and seat 21, which allows the
exercise cycle to train the leg muscles and provides physical
up-down motions to train the user's waist muscles, coordination and
balance.
[0016] Tangibly put, with the vertical support 1 divided into two
parts, the lower part of the vertical support pertains to the
supporting support 51, and the upper part of the vertical support
14 is inserted into the supporting support 51, and made to connect
with the pulley 15, where when the pulley is extended downward and
conveyed by the pedals, the cam rotation surface 32 on the came
mechanism 3 where the pulley 15 comes to contact will rotate
alongside the same to propel the vertical support 1 in up-down
motions; a cross piece 16 is configured to the side of the pulley
15, and a spring 17 is configured to the front of the cross piece
16, with the other end of the spring 17 connected to the spring
mount 52 extended from the side of the supporting member 62, where
as the pulley ascends as propelled by the cam would revert to its
previous position as pulled by the spring 17 to maintain a steady
contact with the cam.
[0017] With the seat up-down motions driven by the yoke 4, an inner
coupling support 2 is configured on the lower part of the seat 221,
wherein the seat 21 and the inner coupling support 2 can be
adjusted through the adjustment bolt 22 and position pin 23 to
determine the height of the seat 21, and the inner coupling support
2 is inserted into the outer coupling support 54; the outer
coupling support 54 is mounted onto the base member 6, with strip
opening 56 is configured on top of which, while the lower part of
the inner coupling support 2 is connected to the base mount pulley
24, which when extended laterally through the outer coupling
support 54's opening 56 serves to regulate the up-down movements
along the direction of the opening.
[0018] The yoke 4 is configured on the base member 6's supporting
member 63, with one end containing the yoke pulley 41, which when
driven by the pedal, the yoke pulley 41 makes contact with the cam
mechanism 3's cam rotation surface, and the center of the yoke 4 is
anchored onto the supporting member 63 with the position pin
inserted through the position pin hole 53. And the other end of the
yoke 4 is configured with a supporting elements 42, which is used
to anchor the inner coupling support 2's base mount pulley 42,
which when in motion, the cam pulley 3 rotates to convey the yoke
4, propelling the seat 21 to move in an up-down motion.
[0019] Two openings 56 on the outer coupling support 54 are
configured to the corresponding two sides of the outer coupling
support 54 to intercept with the two base mount cams 24, which are
extended through the two openings 56. As depicted in FIG. 2, the
yoke 4's supporting element 42 is in a forked configuration, where
the fork is made to anchor two base mount pulleys 24 to achieve a
stable supporting yield.
[0020] To increase the stability of the exercise cycle's anchoring
structure, particularly the stability of the vertical support 1 and
seat, a connecting piece 5 is configured between the supporting
support 512 and outer coupling support 54, and two ends of the
connecting piece 5 are anchored onto the supporting support 51 and
outer coupling support 54, respectively.
[0021] With a handle bar 11 and display panel 12 configured on top
of the vertical support, the handle bar 11 provides grip to the
user when exercising, and the display panel 12 is connected to a
sensor for detecting and tabulating the exercise speed and
magnitude of resistance, and prompting the figures through the
display screen to remind the user to moderate an adequate amount of
exercise.
[0022] With position pin 13 and matching pin hole configured
between the upper vertical support 14 and supporting support 51,
when the pulley 15 located in the lower part of the upper vertical
support is lifted to detach from the cam, the cam 15 will surpass
the upper vertical support 14 and supporting support 51 the
position pin 13 anchors. Concurrently, with position pin 23 and
matching pin hole also configured between the inner coupling
support 2 and outer coupling support 54, when the base mount cam 24
located in the lower part of the inner coupling support 2 is lifted
to detach from the yoke 4, the base mount cam 24 will surpass the
outer coupling support 54 and inner coupling support 2 anchored by
the position pin 23, which serve to disengage the up-down motions
conveyed by the cam, allowing the exercise cycle to provide what
conventional fitness devices do for exercising the leg muscles.
[0023] As an alternative in design, resistant sheet serving to
increase exercise resistance can be incorporated in the flywheel of
the transmission mechanism 55, where the resistant sheet is
connected to the adjustment device, which controls the flywheel's
propensity to achieve increasing a varied degree of resistance, or
resistance sheet of a different structural mode can be configured.
In short, by coordinating the foresaid resistance device containing
resistance sheet with a fully magnetized or semi-magnetized system,
the foresaid resistance device serves to provide the user with
chose of a number of exercise volumes, particularly in providing
adjustment according to circumstances when a user's desiring to
increase the exercise volume to achieve a desired exercising
yield.
[0024] When operating the movement cycle the invention proposes,
the user rides on the seat 21, with feet inserted into the pedals
31, and forcefully exert force onto the pedals 31 to convey the cam
to rotate, where the cam rotation surface 32 engages the pulley 15
and yoke pulley 41 to drive the vertical support 1 and seat 21 in a
up-down motion, allowing the exercise cycle to not only train the
leg muscles but also offer body-wide exercising yield. At the same
time, it also allows the user to achieve physical coordination and
anatomical balance. To undo the up-down motion, simply disengage
the vertical support and the seat from the transmission mechanism
and the came respectively to obtain a lateral cycling effect.
[0025] While the invention has been particularly shown and
described with reference to a particular embodiment, it will be
appreciated that various of the above-disclosed and other features
and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be desirably combined
into many other different systems or applications. Also that
various presently unforeseen and unanticipated alternatives,
modifications, variations, or improvements therein may be
subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also
intended to be encompassed by the following claims. Although the
invention has been described with reference to specific preferred
embodiments, it is not intended to be limited thereto, rather those
having ordinary skill in the art will recognize that variations and
modifications may be made therein which are within the spirit of
the invention and within the scope of the claims.
* * * * *