U.S. patent application number 12/572869 was filed with the patent office on 2011-04-07 for exercising.
This patent application is currently assigned to Concept II, Inc.. Invention is credited to Dick Dreissigacker, Peter D. Dreissigacker.
Application Number | 20110082015 12/572869 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 43823629 |
Filed Date | 2011-04-07 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110082015 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Dreissigacker; Dick ; et
al. |
April 7, 2011 |
Exercising
Abstract
Among other things, a rowing exercise method includes enabling a
combination of a force applied to a movable handle and a force
applied to a movable foot rest to work against a resistance device
and to permit relative motion of the footrest and the resistance
device.
Inventors: |
Dreissigacker; Dick;
(Morrisville, VT) ; Dreissigacker; Peter D.;
(Stowe, VT) |
Assignee: |
Concept II, Inc.
|
Family ID: |
43823629 |
Appl. No.: |
12/572869 |
Filed: |
October 2, 2009 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
482/72 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 21/0088 20130101;
A63B 22/0089 20130101; A63B 21/0414 20130101; A63B 22/0087
20130101; A63B 69/06 20130101; A63B 2022/0079 20130101; A63B 22/203
20130101; A63B 22/0076 20130101; A63B 21/157 20130101; A63B
21/00069 20130101; A63B 21/0552 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
482/72 |
International
Class: |
A63B 69/06 20060101
A63B069/06 |
Claims
1. A rowing exercise machine comprising a frame, a foot support on
the frame, a seat mounted to move along the frame, a resistance
device fixed on the frame, a handle, a force transmitting element
connecting the handle to the foot support, and a transfer mechanism
connecting the force transmitting element to the resistance device,
the foot support being movable along the frame relative to the
resistance device and relative to the handle.
2. The machine of claim 1 in which the force transmitting element
comprises a flexible line.
3. The machine of claim 2 in which the flexible line comprises one
of a cable, a chain, or a rope.
4. The machine of claim 1 in which the force transmitting element
is non-resilient.
5. The machine of claim 1 also comprising a restraining or
centering mechanism that urges the seat toward a central
location.
6. (canceled)
7. The machine of claim 1 in which the foot support is mounted to
move along the frame.
8. The machine of claim 1 in which the transfer mechanism comprises
a flexible line.
9. The machine of claim 8 in which the flexible line include one
fixed end and one free end.
10. The machine of claim 9 in which the free end is connected to a
slack take-up mechanism.
11. The machine of claim 1 in which the resistance device includes
a one-way clutching mechanism coupled to the transfer
mechanism.
12. The machine of claim 1 in which the force transmitting element
comprises a force transmitting line and the transfer mechanism
comprises a first slidable coupling for the force transmitting
line.
13. The machine of claim 12 in which the first slidable coupling
comprises a first pulley.
14. The machine of claim 13 in which the transfer mechanism
comprises a transfer line and the transfer mechanism includes a
second slidable coupling for the transfer line.
15. The machine of claim 13 in which the transfer mechanism
includes a pulley in which the force transmitting element
rides.
16. (canceled)
17. (canceled)
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] Exercising is frequently done on an exercise machine in
which motion of the exerciser's arms or legs is resisted by a
resistance device such as a rotating fan. In some rowing machines,
for example, as a user simulates a rowing cycle, a seat holding the
user glides back and forth along the frame in response to the user
applying force to a handle and a foot rest. In some rowing
machines, the resistance device moves back and forth on the frame
in response to the forces.
SUMMARY
[0002] In general, in an aspect, a rowing exercise machine includes
a frame, a foot support on the frame, a seat on the frame, a
resistance device on the frame, a handle, a force transmitting
element connecting the handle to the foot support, and a transfer
mechanism connecting the force transmitting element to the
resistance device, the foot support being movable relative to the
resistance device.
[0003] Implementations may include one or more of the following
features. The force transmitting element includes a flexible line.
The flexible line includes at least one of a cable, a chain, or a
rope. The force transmitting element is non-resilient. The seat is
mounted to move along the frame. The resistance device is fixed on
the frame. The foot support is mounted to move along the frame. The
transfer mechanism includes a flexible line. The flexible line
includes one end that is fixed and one free end. The free end is
connected to a slack take-up mechanism. The resistance device
includes a one-way clutching mechanism coupled to the transfer
mechanism. The force transmitting element includes a force
transmitting line and the transfer mechanism includes a first
slidable coupling for the force transmitting line. The first
slidable coupling includes a first pulley. The transfer mechanism
includes a transfer line and the transfer mechanism includes a
second slidable coupling for the transfer line. The transfer
mechanism includes a pulley in which the force transmitting element
rides.
[0004] In general, in an aspect, a rowing exercise machine includes
a handle connected by a cable to a footrest that is movable along a
frame of the machine; a second cable couples a pulley, in which the
first cable rides, to a rotational resistance device that is fixed
on the frame.
[0005] In general, in an aspect, in a rowing exercise method, a
force applied to a movable handle and a force applied to a movable
foot rest combine to work against a resistance device and to permit
relative motion of the footrest and the resistance device.
[0006] These and other aspects and features, and combinations of
them may also be expressed in other ways, for example, as methods,
systems, apparatus, means for performing functions or steps,
business methods, components, and in other ways.
[0007] Other features, objects, and advantages of the invention
will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the
claims.
DESCRIPTION
[0008] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exercise machine,
partially exploded.
[0009] FIG. 2 is a side view (partially broken away) and FIG. 4 a
schematic side view of exercise machines.
[0010] FIGS. 3A-3D are illustrations of phases of a rowing
cycle.
[0011] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, in some implementations, a
rowing exercise machine 100 can be arranged to simulate for a user
the rowing of a shell (or other rowing platform) through water (in
a river, for example), while achieving other advantages, including
reducing the effort required by the user to overcome inertia of his
body during different stages of a rowing cycle, and offering the
possibility of achieving compact size and weight and economical
cost of the machine. These and other benefits can be achieved, for
example, by connecting a non-resilient flexible cable 104 (for
example, one that has a tensile strength to resist stretching when
pulling forces are applied to its ends) through pulleys between an
exercise handle 102 and a movable foot rest 112. Then the combined
force 121 corresponding to a force 117 applied to the handle and a
force 119 applied to the foot rest at various times during a rowing
cycle can be coupled through a pulley assembly 115 and a chain 116
to work against and drive a fan or other resistance device 132
(which in the example shown is fixed to the frame). In the example,
the force at the resistance device will be half of the combined
force 121 because of the configuration of the pulleys.
[0012] As a result, as the user sitting on a movable seat 118 works
through a rowing cycle--during parts of which he or she pulls on
and lets up on the handle and pushes or pulls or lets up on the
foot rest--the handle, the foot rest, and the seat can move back
and forth 140, 152, 153 along a rail 126 that is part of a frame
129 of the machine, to provide a more realistic rowing experience,
among other benefits.
[0013] The rowing machine 100 simulates, for example, the effect
that motion of a shell underneath a rower--as the shell glides
through the water--has on the motion of the rower's feet relative
to his torso, among other things. Among other things, because the
foot rest 112 can move along the main rail 126 as the user applies
force to the foot rest and the handle, the exercise machine 100
simulates the inertia, resistance, and motion experienced by a
rower when he rows a shell on water.
[0014] In some implementations, the resistance device 132 is
attached in a fixed position along the length of the main rail 126
of the exercise machine, which allows the frame to be shorter,
lighter weight, and less expensive to make, than if the resistance
device were arranged to move along the rail. In some
implementations, some motion of the resistance device relative to
the frame could be permitted.
[0015] In some examples, the resistance device 132 includes an air
resistance fan, for example, of the kind shown in U.S. Pat. No.
6,561,955, incorporated here by reference. In some implementations,
the resistance device can be an electrical device or a friction
device, for example.
[0016] In some implementations that use an air resistance fan, the
fan rotates on a central spindle 139. In some examples, a driving
sprocket wheel 134 is attached by a one-way clutch (not shown) to
the spindle. The one-way clutch enables the sprocket wheel to
rotate the fan when the sprocket wheel is driven in one rotational
direction 135 and allows the sprocket wheel to rotate freely
relative to the fan when the sprocket wheel is driven in the
opposite rotational direction 136. A wide variety of other drive
arrangements could be used for the fan.
[0017] In some cases, the cable 104 extends from the handle through
free-wheeling pulleys 106, 110, and 114 (which is part of the
pulley assembly 115) and is attached at its other end to a location
601 on a bracket 602 that is part of a foot rest assembly 603.
[0018] In some examples, a chain 116 drives the sprocket wheel as
the chain moves. One end of the chain can be attached at a fixed
point 137. The part of the chain between the fixed attachment point
137 and the sprocket wheel passes through a free running pulley 120
that is part of the pulley assembly 115. The other end of the chain
is connected by a coupling 206 to a resilient cord 202 the other
end of which is attached to a second fixed point 141.
[0019] When the pulley assembly 115 is pulled to the right in
response to the combined force 121, the pulley 120 pulls on the
cable 116 causing the cable to drive the sprocket wheel in the
direction 135. The coupling 206 moves to the left, and the cord
202, which passes through a free wheeling pulley 204, stretches.
The force needed to extend the cord is relatively small compared to
the force needed to drive the fan. When the combined force 121 on
the pulley assembly falls below the restoring force exerted by the
stretched cord, the stretched cord 202 contracts, pulling in the
slack of the chain.
[0020] During a rowing cycle, the user applies various forces to
the handle, the foot rest, and the seat, and the fan resists the
combined forces applied to the handle and the foot rest. At times
during the cycle, the user applies essentially no force on the
handle, and allows the cable 104 to be taken up by a force on the
foot rest or the restoring force of the cord, or both. At times
during the cycle, the user applies essentially no force 119 on the
foot rest and allows the foot rest to move to the left on FIG. 2,
or may pull the foot rest back using a foot strap (not shown).
Various combinations of such forces and motion may also occur. The
machine is arranged so that the forces applied and the motions of
the handle, foot rest, and seat will simulate rowing a shell
through water.
[0021] In general, the combine forces on the handle and the foot
rest are applied to perform work against the resistance device.
Essentially there is no net force acting on the user to move the
seat either to the left or to the right. As a result, there need
not be any motion of the seat 118 in either direction 153 during a
rowing cycle. Although motion of the seat is not necessary, a small
movement of the seat 153 may occur as the user shifts his upper
body mass from one portion of the rowing cycle to another portion.
Typically, the small motion of the seat will be in the direction
opposite to the motion of the user's torso. For example, as the
user pushes hard on the foot rest and pulls hard on the handle, he
will also tend to shift his body mass away from the foot rest,
causing the seat to move slightly towards the footrest.
[0022] As shown in FIG. 3A, when a user is about to begin a stroke
portion of a rowing cycle, the rower 101 may be crouched, with a
location 217 on the foot rest 112 at a position P1 (along the
length of the exercise machine) and a center location 219 of the
seat 118 at a position P2 so that the distance between P2 and P1 is
221.
[0023] As the user starts the rowing stroke, the user pulls back
117 on the handle 102 towards the user's torso, and at the same
time may push 119 on the foot rest. The resulting combined force
121 (e.g., the sum of the forces applied on the footrest and on the
handle) performs work through the chain 116 and the sprocket wheel
134 to drive the resistance device. The resistance device resists
the force, and the work performed by the user exercises the user's
muscles. In the example of FIG. 2, the force on the resistance
device is half the combined force 121, due to the arrangement of
the pulley 114. Other arrangements of pulleys can provide other
multiplications or divisions of force and distance traversed with
respect to the work performed by the user.
[0024] As shown in FIG. 3B, during the stroke, the user pushes hard
on the foot rest and pulls hard on the handle, which causes the
handle to move toward his torso and the foot rest to move away from
his torso. The combined forces on the handle and the foot rest
drive the fan. Although not required, the user's torso and the seat
also may move a small distance toward (or, depending on the way the
user chooses to shift his torso, away from) the handle and foot
rest as the user shifts his body mass.
[0025] As shown in FIG. 3C, at the end of the stroke portion of the
rowing cycle, the user has fully extended his legs and fully
extended the handle. The location 217 on the footrest is then at
position P3, which is a distance 229 from P1 that is substantially
larger than distance 221, yet the seat had moved very little if at
all.
[0026] After reaching the end of the stroke, the user goes through
a recovery portion of the rowing cycle, illustrated in FIG. 3D, to
return to the original position shown in FIG. 3A. As shown in FIG.
3D, during recovery, the user stops pulling on the handle, allowing
it to withdraw to the right, may pull on the foot rest against a
typical foot strap, not shown, and retracts his legs. He may shift
his torso (and therefore the seat) a small distance, typically to
the left. These actions cause the combined force 121 to drop below
the small restoring force asserted by the stretched cord. So the
cable 104 relaxes, allowing the pulley assembly 115 to move to the
right and the slack in the chain to be taken up by the contracting
cord.
[0027] Therefore, in the examples being discussed, during the
stroke and recovery there is relatively large motion back and forth
of the handle and the foot rest, with work being done against fan
during the stroke. There can be some motion of the seat back and
forth, but the motion is relatively small. Rowing on water is
effectively simulated and, because the resistance device need not
move back and forth also, the machine can be compact.
[0028] In some implementations, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the rail
has a generally u-shaped cross-section 491 for strength and
accessibility. The u is open at the bottom and the bottom edges of
the sides 493, 495 of the u are connected to short extensions 497,
499 that project perpendicularly into and partially obstruct the
opening of the u at the bottom of the u-shaped cross-section. The
front end of the rail 126 is attached between a pair of vertical
posts 108. The pulley 106 is also supported between the two posts
108. The pulley 204 is mounted within the u-shaped cross-section
near the front of the rail 126. A monitor 199 with controls is
accessible to the user at one end of an arm 193. The other end of
the arm can pivot on one end of a main arm 192, the other end of
which is attached to the posts 108. The bottoms of the posts 108
are attached to a foot 131.
[0029] At its other end, the rail 126 is supported on an assembly
189. The assembly 189 includes a foot 133, a leg 235, and two
supports 237 that bear a pair of parallel cylindrical rails 1199,
1196 along which the seat can ride on four wheels 127 (not all
shown). Brackets 239 prevent the seat from being removed from the
assembly 189. The assembly also includes two structural pieces 241,
243.
[0030] In some implementations, the mounting of the seat can
include a restraining or centering mechanism that urges the seat
toward a central "home" location along its supporting rails. The
mechanism could be an elastic centering device that connects the
seat to the supporting assembly. In some examples, the rails can
have a slightly curved contour with a low point at the center of
travel.
[0031] The foot rest includes two plates 112 for the user's two
feet, each mounted on a vertical bracket 312. Each vertical bracket
bears a pair of upper wheels 113 that ride along the top of the
rail 126 and a bottom wheel 111 that rides along the bottom of the
rail 126. The wheels also keep the foot rest in place and prevent
it from being removed from the rail. The bracket 602 is mounted
between the two brackets 312. A hook 195 is mounted to project from
the foot rest assembly to receive the handle when not in use. A
wide variety of structures and components and their interaction can
be used to achieve the benefits described. These include a wide
variety of devices, including cables, chains, cords, straps, and
other schemes to transmit forces between the handle and the foot
rest. In some cases, there may be some resilience in the force
transmitting device to provide selected dynamic
characteristics.
[0032] A wide variety of transfer mechanisms can be used to
transfer the combined force on the cable to drive the resistance
device. Other pulley arrangements are possible, and the transfer
mechanism need not include pulleys. In some implementations in
which the element that transmits force between the handle and the
footrest is a line, like a cable or cord, for example, the force
transmitting mechanism needs to permit the line to slide back and
forth freely as forces change, while still transmitting the
combined force to the resistance device.
[0033] In some examples of an exercise machine 500, as shown in
FIG. 4, a pulley assembly includes a single pulley 402. A cable 504
is connected at one end to foot rest 112, passes through the single
pulley, and is connected at the other end to the handle 102. The
spindle of the pulley 402 is connected to the resistance device by
a chain 406. The other end of the chain is attached through a
coupling 414 to a resilient cord 412, the other end of which is
attached at a fixed location 407. In these examples, the combined
force is not halved by the pulley assembly and equals the force
applied to the resistance device.
[0034] Other embodiments are within the scope of the following
claims.
* * * * *