U.S. patent application number 14/098985 was filed with the patent office on 2014-06-12 for resistance regulating balance board.
The applicant listed for this patent is CHIH-HUNG CHENG. Invention is credited to CHIH-HUNG CHENG.
Application Number | 20140162859 14/098985 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 50029860 |
Filed Date | 2014-06-12 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140162859 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
CHENG; CHIH-HUNG |
June 12, 2014 |
RESISTANCE REGULATING BALANCE BOARD
Abstract
A resistance regulating balance board includes a disc body
disposed onto a semispherical base. A resistance member is disposed
inside the semispherical base. An elastic component and a locking
member are disposed inside a containing chamber within the
resistance member. A screw rod passes through the disc body, the
semispherical base and the elastic component to engage with the
locking member so that a user can rotate the screw rod to regulate
a resistance value generated between the resistance member and the
semispherical base to change the magnitude of motion resistance of
the balance board, thereby achieving optimum exercise and balancing
effects.
Inventors: |
CHENG; CHIH-HUNG; (Taichung
City, TW) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
CHENG; CHIH-HUNG |
Taichung City |
|
TW |
|
|
Family ID: |
50029860 |
Appl. No.: |
14/098985 |
Filed: |
December 6, 2013 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
482/142 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 21/05 20130101;
A63B 21/068 20130101; A63B 2208/0204 20130101; A63B 26/003
20130101; A63B 22/16 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
482/142 |
International
Class: |
A63B 26/00 20060101
A63B026/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 7, 2012 |
TW |
101146053 |
Claims
1. A resistance regulating balance board comprising: a disc body, a
bottom surface of the disc body defining a first lower arc cavity,
a central axis of the disc body having a through hole; a base, a
top semispherical surface of an upper portion of the base inserted
into and corresponding to the first lower arc cavity of the disc
body, a second lower arc cavity having a concave semispherical
shape formed in a central portion of the base, a pivot hole formed
in the second lower arc cavity; a regulating rotary lid, a lodging
hole formed in an inner central surface of a lid body of the
regulating rotary lid, the lodging hole configured to combine with
a screw rod; a resistance member having a semispherical portion and
a hollow tube body extending from an upper end of the resistance
member, a surface of the semispherical portion corresponding to the
second lower arc cavity of the base, a containing chamber formed
inside a central portion of the resistance member, the hollow tube
body passing through the pivot hole of the base when the
semispherical portion is inserted into the second lower arc cavity;
and a locking member disposed in the containing chamber of the
resistance member and accepting the screw rod, an end of the screw
rod extending through the hollow tube body from the through hole of
the disc body to engage with the locking member, thereby fastening
together the disc body, the base and the resistance member.
2. The resistance regulating balance board of claim 1, wherein the
lodging hole of the regulating rotary lid has a hexagonal shape
configured to engage with a hexagonal head of the screw rod.
3. The resistance regulating balance board of claim 1, wherein the
screw rod is molded into the lodging hole of the regulating rotary
lid.
4. The resistance regulating balance board of claim 1, wherein the
through hole of the disc body has a cross shape, and a top end of
the hollow tube body of the resistance member includes a lodging
portion having a structure corresponding to the cross shape to
engage with the through hole.
5. The resistance regulating balance board of claim 1, wherein the
resistance member comprises a flexible material, and when the screw
rod engages with the locking member to fasten the resistance member
with the base, a friction coefficient between the resistance member
and the second lower arc cavity is controlled through rotation of
the regulating rotary lid to adjust a fastening tightness degree of
the screw rod so as to regulate a magnitude of motion
resistance.
6. The resistance regulating balance board of claim 1, wherein the
containing chamber of the base includes a first chamber and a
second chamber, the first chamber disposed in the hollow tube body
and the second chamber disposed below the first chamber, an elastic
component is disposed in the second chamber, the screw rod
extending past the elastic component, and when the screw rod
engages with the locking member, the elastic component is driven to
press the resistance member, and a magnitude of motion resistance
is regulated by adjusting a friction coefficient between the
resistance member and the second lower arc cavity by using the
regulating rotary lid to rotate the screw rod.
7. The resistance regulating balance board of claim 1, wherein the
semispherical surface of the base comprises a plurality of trenches
to contain lubricant.
8. A resistance regulating balance board comprising: a disc body, a
bottom surface of the disc body comprising a first lower arc
cavity, a central axis of the disc body having a through hole; a
base comprising a semispherical surface configured for
corresponding insertion into the first lower arc cavity of the disc
body, the base further comprising a second lower arc cavity having
concave shape disposed in a central portion of the base, a pivot
hole formed through the second lower arc cavity; a resistance
member having a semispherical portion and a hollow tube body is
extending from the semispherical portion, an upper surface of the
semispherical portion corresponding to the second lower arc cavity
of the base, a containing chamber formed inside a central region of
the resistance member, the hollow tube body passing through the
pivot hole of the base when the semispherical portion is inserted
in the second lower arc cavity; and a locking member disposed in
the containing chamber of the resistance member and engaging with a
screw rod passing through the hollow tube body from the through
hole of the disc body so as to fasten together the disc body, the
base and the resistance member.
9. The resistance regulating balance board of claim 8, wherein the
resistance member is a flexible material, and a friction
coefficient between the resistance member and the second lower arc
cavity is controlled via rotation of the regulating rotary lid
controlling a tightness of the screw rod so as to regulate a
magnitude of motion resistance.
10. The resistance regulating balance board of claim 8, wherein the
containing chamber of the base comprises a first chamber and a
second chamber, the first chamber disposed in the hollow tube body
while the second chamber is disposed below the first chamber, an
elastic component disposed in the second chamber, the screw rod
extending past the elastic component the, and when the screw rod
engages with the locking member, the elastic component is driven to
press the resistance member, and rotation of the regulating rotary
lid causes rotation of the screw rod, a magnitude of motion
resistance being thereby regulated by controlling a friction
coefficient between the resistance member and the second lower arc
cavity.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The invention relates to exercise equipment, and more
particularly to a balance board that allows a user to stand on the
balance board to perform balance training exercises.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Balance boards are exercise equipment that help with balance
training. A conventional balance board 9, as shown in FIG. 8, is
composed of a stepping disc 91, in which a central bottom portion
thereof has a grounding base 92 with an arced spheroid shape. While
in use, the ground base 92 can stand on the ground, and a periphery
of the stepping disc 91 provides raised feature so that a user must
continuously regulate the state of their body and legs to achieve
balance while standing on the stepping disc 91.
[0005] However, the conventional balance board 9 still has the
following problems during use: the ground base 92 is fixedly
assembled or integrally formed at a bottom center position of the
stepping disc 91, and rolling friction resistance only exists
between the ground base 92 and the ground. Consequently, the
conventional design is unable to regulate its magnitude of
resistance, which may lead to inconvenience during use.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] Therefore, in view of the foregoing problems in the prior
art, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a
balance board capable of regulating the magnitude of motion
resistance. It provides not only easy operation but also reduces
abrasion to increase service life.
[0007] To achieve the foregoing objective, a resistance regulating
balance board according to an embodiment of the invention comprises
a disc body, wherein a top surface of the disc body has an upper
concave cavity while a bottom surface of the disc body has a first
lower arc cavity, and a through hole is disposed between the upper
concave cavity and the first lower arc cavity. The balance board
also includes a semispherical base, a top arc surface of which
corresponds to the first lower arc cavity of the disc body. A
bottom board outwardly protrudes from the bottom end of the
semispherical base, and central region of the semispherical base
includes a second lower arc cavity, with a through hole formed in
the second lower arc cavity. The balance board further includes a
regulating rotary lid, wherein a central inner edge of a lid body
of the regulating rotary lid includes a lodging hole having
hexagonal shape to accept a hexagonal head at one end of a screw
rod. The regulating rotary lid, the upper concave cavity of the
disc body and the through hole are in register with each other to
provide an insertion structure. Finally, a resistance member is
included, wherein the arc surface can be inserted with the second
lower arc cavity of the semispherical base, and a containing
chamber is disposed at central position. An elastic component is
disposed in the containing chamber of the resistance member and
passes by an end of the screw rod. A locking member is mounted in
the containing chamber of the resistance member and spirally locked
by an end of the screw rod. Accordingly, training balance equipment
is provided having a simple structure, and a magnitude of the
motion resistance of the balance board can be regulated by rotating
the regulating rotary lid, thereby achieving an optimum exercise
balance board.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] The detailed structure, operating principle and effects of
the present invention will now be described in more details
hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings that show
various embodiments of the invention as follows.
[0009] FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of an embodiment of the
invention;
[0010] FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of an embodiment of the
invention;
[0011] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of
the invention;
[0012] FIG. 4 is cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the
invention;
[0013] FIG. 5 illustrates use according to an embodiment of the
invention;
[0014] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view along line a-a of FIG.
4;
[0015] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view according to a another
embodiment of the invention; and
[0016] FIG. 8 illustrates a prior art balance board.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0017] The technical content of the present invention will become
apparent by the detailed description of the following embodiments
and the illustrations of related drawings as follows.
[0018] With reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 7, a resistance regulating
balance board according to a first embodiment of the invention
comprises a disc body 1, a semispherical base 2, a regulating
rotary lid 3, a resistance member 4, an elastic component 5 and a
locking member 6. The disc body 1 has an upper concave cavity 11
thereon to accept the regulating rotary lid 3. A bottom surface of
the disc body 1 includes a first lower arc cavity 12 for accepting
the semispherical base 2. A through hole 13 is disposed between the
upper concave cavity 11 and the first lower arc cavity 12. The
through hole 13 is cross-shaped so that a lodging portion 421 of a
hollow tube body 42 of the resistance member 4 can engage with the
through hole 13. An upper surface of the disc body 1 includes a
plurality of bumps 14 and grooves 15 to provide an anti-skid
surface relative to the feet of a user. The lower surface of the
disc body 1 includes a plurality of rib sheets 15. The disc body 1
thus has the same structural strength but uses fewer materials.
[0019] A top arc surface 211 along an upper surface of the
semispherical base 2 can be exactly inserted into the first lower
arc cavity 12 of the disc body 1. A bottom end of the semispherical
base 2 includes a bottom board 22 that radially extends beyond the
semispherical surface of top arc surface 211. An external diameter
of the bottom board 22 is larger than the external diameter of the
top arc surface 211 of the semispherical base 2 to provide the
whole a steady and supportive effect for the embodiment balance
board. A central region of the semispherical base 2 includes a
second lower arc cavity 23 for accepting the resistance member 4,
and a pivot hole 24 having a larger movable space (e.g., sufficient
to allow desired angular movement of hollow tube body 42) extends
through the second lower arc cavity 23. The pivot hole 24 is
designed as an inverted cone, having a diameter that is greater at
the top arc surface 211 than at the lower arc cavity 23. The top
arc surface 211 of the semispherical base 2 includes a circular
arrangement of several trenches 222 angularly spaced at equal
intervals. Lubricant can be filled into the trenches 222 to provide
a lubrication effect for the first lower arc cavity 12 of the disc
body 1 and the top arc surface 211 of the semispherical base 2 when
in use, thereby increasing the service life of the balance board
according to an embodiment of the invention.
[0020] An inner surface of the central portion of a lid body 31 of
the regulating rotary lid 3 includes a lodging hole 311 having
hexagonal shape to accept a hexagonal head at one end of a screw
rod 32 to combine and fit the screw rod 32 with the lid body 31. Of
course, the screw rod 32 can also be integrally combined and
fastened to the lodging hole 311 of the regulating rotary lid 3 by
means of in-mold buried molding to allow the lid body 31 and the
screw rod 32 to be permanently coupled together.
[0021] The resistance member 4 has a hollow tube body 42 extending
from a top surface of a semispherical portion 41. A top of the
hollow body 42 includes a lodging portion 421 to allow the hollow
tube body 42 to pass through the pivot hole 24 of the semispherical
base 2 such that the lodging portion 421 can be lodged into the
through hole 13 using the cross shape of the disc body 1, while the
arc surface 43 of the semispherical portion 42 and the second lower
arc cavity 23 of the semispherical base 2 are set together as a
correspondingly inserted structure. At the same time, the hole
diameter of the pivot hole 24 is greater that the tube diameter of
the hollow tube body 42 to allow the hollow tube body 42 to
radially move within the pivot hole 24. The central region of the
resistance member 4 includes a containing chamber 44 composed of a
first chamber 441 and a second chamber 442. The first chamber 441
is disposed inside the hollow tube body 42 while the second chamber
442 is connected with and below the first chamber 441 to form a
hexagonal structure for accepting a locking member 6 having a
hexagonal shape so as to be fixed and incapable of rotation while
the locking member 6 is disposed therein so that the locking member
6 and the screw rod 32 are incorporated to lock the disc body 1,
the semispherical base 2 and the resistance member 4 together. In
other words, one end of the screw rod 32 passes through the first
chamber 441 from the through hole 13 of the disc body 1 to lock
with the locking member 6 in the second chamber 442, thereby
achieving the desired fastening purpose.
[0022] It should be noted that when locking the screw rod 32 with
the locking member 6, the resistance member 4 is pressed by the
second lower arc cavity 23 of the semispherical base 2 to generate
different friction coefficients so as to create more or less motion
resistance. Its resistance generation may have two modes. One type
is that the resistance member 4 is made of a relatively softer
material. When the screw rod 32 couples with the locking member 6
and fastens the resistance member 4 in the semispherical base 2,
the screw rod 32 can be rotated by the regulating rotary lid 3 to
regulate the degree of tightness. The friction coefficient between
the resistance member 4 and the second lower arc cavity 23 is thus
controlled to regulate the magnitude of the movement resistance
force (as shown in FIG. 7).
[0023] The second mode is that an elastic component 5 is disposed
in the second chamber 442, and the screw rod 32 passes through the
elastic component 5. When the screw rod 32 is screwed into the
locking member 6, the screw rod 32 is rotated by the regulating
rotary lid 3 to drive the elastic component 5 to press the
resistance member 4 so as to adjust the friction coefficient
between the resistance member 4 and the second lower arc cavity 23,
thereby regulating the magnitude of the resistance (as shown in
FIG. 4).
[0024] With reference to FIG. 5, an embodiment of the invention
uses the combination of components such as the regulating rotary
lid 3, the disc body 1, the semispherical base 2 and the resistance
member 4, and the magnitude of the friction force (i.e., the normal
force) between the resistance member 4 and the second lower arc
cavity 23 of the semispherical base 2 that is controlled by the
screw rod 32 driven by the regulating rotary lid 3 to achieve the
purpose of regulating torque so as to change and balance the
magnitude of the movement resistance. Therefore, with the forces
imposed by left and right legs, a user can stand on the disc body 1
of the balance board to make the disc body 1 capable of being
tilted around 360 degrees or retained at the horizontal position so
as to perform balance exercise training and fitness. The maximum
angle of tilting the disc body 1 is a half of the inverted cone
angle .theta. of the pivot hole 24. Normally, the inverted cone
angle .theta. is preferably at 40 to 45 degrees.
[0025] While using an embodiment of the invention, the lodging
portion 421 (as shown in FIG. 6) of the hollow tube body 42 of the
resistance member 4 is lodged into the cross-shaped through hole 13
of the disc body 1, and the resistance member 4 and the elastic
component 5 are locked and connected as a whole by using the
locking member 6 and the screw rod 32. Therefore, the disc body 1
and the resistance member 4 are co-linked when the user tilts. Only
the semispherical base 2 is retained on the ground without
movement. Further, the regulating rotary lid 3 includes a plurality
of circularly disposed holes 33 to facilitate extension of the
fingers of the user for rotation purposes. Accordingly, the screw
rod 32 can be driven 3 to vertically and spirally move by rotating
the regulating rotary lid 3, thereby regulating the magnitude of
the torque between the resistance member 4 and the second lower arc
cavity 23.
[0026] While the means of specific embodiments in the present
invention have been described with reference to the drawings,
numerous other modifications and variations could be made thereto
by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and
spirit of the invention set forth in the claims. The modifications
and variations should in no way be limited by the specification of
the present invention.
* * * * *