This application claims priority to Taiwanese Invention Patent Application No. 112129558, filed on Aug. 7, 2023, and incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
The disclosure relates to an exercise machine, and more particularly to a bike trainer.
Referring to
When the user is seated on the bicycle and begins training, the user will pedal the bicycle, thereby causing the bicycle to slightly sway to the left or to the right. However, because the support frame 11 is directly fixed to the base seat 10, the support frame 11 will rigidly restrict the amount of sway of the bicycle, which may cause discomfort to the user. Additionally, under prolonged use an area of the base seat 10 where the support frame 11 connects to the base seat 10 is frequently under mechanical stress which may cause damage or deformation. Therefore the conventional bike trainer has the problem of short service life.
Therefore, an object of the disclosure is to provide a bike trainer that can alleviate at least one of the drawbacks of the prior art.
According to the disclosure, the bike trainer includes a base seat, a swing member, a shock absorber unit, and an accessory structure. The base seat unit includes a first seat body, a second seat body, and an axle member. The first seat body extends lengthwise in a left-right direction. The second seat body is connected to the first seat body in a front-rear direction that is perpendicular to the left-right direction. The axle member has two opposite ends, is disposed in the second seat body, extends away from the second seat body in the front-rear direction along an axis, and is rotatable relative to the second seat body in an anti-clockwise direction or a clockwise direction. The swing member includes a main body, a first wing portion, and a second wing portion. The main body is non-rotatably connected to one of the opposite ends of the axle member and is located in the first seat body at a position that is spaced apart from an inner surface of the first seat body in a top-bottom direction that is perpendicular to the left-right direction and the front-rear direction. The first wing portion is connects to the main body and extends away therefrom in the left-right direction, and is spaced apart from the inner surface of the first seat body in the top-bottom direction. The second wing portion connects to the main body and extends therefrom in the left-right direction away from the first wing portion, and is spaced apart from the inner surface of the first seat body in the top-bottom direction. The shock absorber unit includes a first elastic member, and a second elastic member. The first elastic member is located between the inner surface of the first seat body and the first wing portion. The second elastic member is located between the inner surface of the first seat body and the second wing portion. The accessory structure is connected to the other one of the opposite ends of the axle member that is away from the second seat body, is adapted to provide resistance to an exercise performed by the user. When the accessory structure sways, the axle member rotates alternately leftward and rightward, and the swing member swings between a left-leaning position and a right-leaning position relative to the first seat body. When the swing member is in the left-leaning position the first wing portion is closer to the inner surface of the first seat body than the second wing portion and the first wing portion compresses the first elastic member to generate a biasing force acting on the swing member in the clockwise direction. When the swing member is in the right-leaning position the second wing portion is closer to the inner surface of the first seat body than the first wing portion, and the second wing portion compresses the second elastic member to generate a biasing force acting on the swing member in the anti-clockwise direction.
Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiment(s) with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is noted that various features may not be drawn to scale.
Before the disclosure is described in greater detail, it should be noted that where considered appropriate, reference numerals or terminal portions of reference numerals have been repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements, which may optionally have similar characteristics.
It should be noted herein that for clarity of description, spatially relative terms such as “top,” “bottom,” “upper,” “lower,” “on,” “above,” “over,” “downwardly,” “upwardly” and the like may be used throughout the disclosure while making reference to the features as illustrated in the drawings. The features may be oriented differently (e.g., rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative terms used herein may be interpreted accordingly.
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The base seat unit 1 includes a main support board 10, a first seat body 11, a second seat body 12, a bushing unit 13, an axle member 14, and two support rods 15. The main support board 10 is disposed beneath and fixed to the first seat body 11 and the second seat body 12. The first seat body 11 extends lengthwise in a left-right direction (Y), and has a first tapped hole 111 in a top-bottom direction (Z) that is perpendicular to the left-right direction (Y), and two second tapped hole 112 in the top-bottom direction (Z) that are spaced apart from the first tapped hole 111 in the left-right direction (Y). The second seat body 12 is connected to the first seat body 11 in a front-rear direction (X) which is perpendicular to the left-right direction (Y) and the top-bottom direction (Z). In other words, the second seat body 12 is disposed in front of the first seat body 11. The second seat body 12 has a through hole 121 that has an inner surface 122 surrounding an axis (L) extending in the front-rear direction (X).
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The axle member 14 has two opposite ends, is disposed in the second seat body 12, extends away from the second seat body 12 in the front-rear direction (X) along the axis (L), and is rotatable relative to the second seat body 12 in an anti-clockwise direction (D1) or a clockwise direction (D2). The axle member 14 extends through the first sleeve portion 131 and the second sleeve portion 132 along the axis (L). The axle member 14 has an axle body portion 141 that is connected to the accessory structure 2, that is in rotatable contact with the first sleeve portion 131 and the second sleeve portion 132 of the bushing unit 13, an axle end portion 142 that connects a rear end of the axle body portion 141 above the first seat body 11, and a key 143 that radially protrudes from the axle end portion 142 and that extends in the front-rear direction (X).
The two support rods 15 are disposed on two opposite sides of the accessory structure 2, and each extend away from the first seat body 11. Furthermore, the support rods 15 have pivot ends 151 that are pivotally connected to two opposite sides of the second seat body 12 that are opposite to each other in the left-right direction (Y), and free ends 152 that are opposite to the pivot ends 151.
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The main body 31 has a roughly C-shaped pipe-like structure. The main body 31 of the swing member 3 has an axle hole 311, a key groove 313, a slit 314, and two adjustment screws 315. The axle hole 311 has an inner periphery surface 312 that surrounds the axis (L). The key groove 313 is indented from the inner periphery surface 312 of the axle hole 311 and extends in the front-rear direction (X). The slit 314 extends in the front-rear direction (X) and communicates with the axle hole 311. The two adjustment screws 315 are spaced apart from each other in the front-rear direction (X). Each of the adjustment screws 315, penetrates into the main body 31 and passes through the slit 314. The axle end portion 142 of the axle member 14 is press fitted to the axle hole 311 of the main body 31. The key 143 of the axle member 14 is engaged with the key groove 313 of the main body 31, to prevent rotation of the axle end portion 142 of the axle member 14 relative to the main body 31. The slit 314 and the axle hole 311 may be adjusted in size via screwing (tightening) the two adjustment screws 315 so that the axle end portion 142 of the axle member 14 may better fit the axle hole 311 of the main body 31. This allows the axle member 14 to swing more stably with the swing member 3.
The first wing portion 32 has a first hole 321 that passes through the first wing portion 32 in the top-bottom direction (Z) and that is aligned with the first tapped hole 111. The second wing portion 33 has two second holes 331 that pass through the second wing portion 33 in the top-bottom direction (Z) and that are respectively aligned with the second tapped holes 112. The shock absorber unit 4 is located above the first seat body 11 in the top-bottom direction (Z). The shock absorber unit 4 includes a first elastic member 41 that is located between the inner bottom surface of the first seat body 11 and the first wing portion 32, and two second elastic members 42 that are located between the inner bottom surface of the first seat body 11 and the second wing portion 33. The first seat body 11 is located below the first elastic member 41 and the second elastic member 42. The first elastic member 41 is fastened to the first wing portion 32 and the first seat body 11, and the second elastic member 42 are fastened to the second wing portion 33 and the first seat body 11. The first tapped hole 111 is opened toward the first elastic member 41 and the second tapped holes 112 are opened toward the second elastic member 42. The first elastic member 41 has a first elastic body 411, a first connecting section 412, and a first threaded rod portion 413. The first connecting section 412 is connected to the first elastic body 411 and abuts against the first wing portion 32. The first threaded rod portion 413 that is connected to a side of the first elastic body 411 opposite to the first wing portion 32, and that is threadedly secured to the first tapped hole 111. Each second elastic member 42 has a second elastic body 421, a second connecting section 422, and a second threaded portion 423. The second connecting section 422 is connected to the second elastic body 421, and abuts against the second wing portion 33. The second threaded portion 423 is connected to a side of the second elastic body 421 opposite to the second wing portion 33, and is threadedly secured to the second tapped hole 112. The first hole 321 of the first wing portion 32 faces the first connecting section 412. The second hole 331 of the second wing portion 33 faces the second connecting section 422. The first connecting section 412 and the second connecting section 422 are each formed with an internal thread. The shock absorber unit 4 includes two securing screws 43 that respectively pass through the first hole 321 and the second holes 331, and are respectively screwed into the first connecting section 412 and the second connecting section 422. In this embodiment, the first wing portion 32 has one first hole 321, the second wing portion 33 has two second holes 331, and the shock absorber unit 4 further includes three securing screws 43 that respectively pass through the first hole 321 and the second holes 331.
In this embodiment, the first elastic body 411 of the first elastic member 41 and the second elastic bodies 421 of the second elastic member 42 are both made of a shock absorbing rubber material. The first connecting section 412 and the first threaded rod portion 413 of the first elastic member 41 are both made of a metal material. The second connecting section 422 and the second threaded portion 423 of the second elastic member 42 are both made of a metal material.
It should be noted that, in this embodiment, there are two second elastic members 42, and one first elastic member 41. The number of second elastic members 42 is greater than the number of first elastic members 41. However, the number of the first and second elastic members 41, 42 are not limited to that disclosed. In some embodiments, the number of the first elastic members 41 may be equal to the number of the second elastic members 42. In some embodiments, there may be more than one first elastic member 41. It should be noted that the number of the first tapped hole 111 and the number of the first hole 321 of the first wing portion 32 may correspond to the number of the first elastic member 41, and the number of the second tapped hole 112 and the number of the second hole 331 of the second wing portion 33 may correspond to the number of the second elastic member 42.
The shell cover 5 covers the first and second seat bodies 11, 12, the swing member 3 and the shock absorber unit 4 and is secured to the second seat body 12 via screws.
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Therefore when the user on the bicycle 6 pedals, the user's pedaling motion may cause swaying in the accessory structure 2 of the bike trainer, and the first elastic member 41 and the second elastic member 42 may help to dampen the swaying by generating biasing forces to act on the swing member 3 in the clockwise direction (D2) or the anti-clockwise direction (D1) that opposes a left-leaning force or a right-leaning force caused by the user pedaling. This increases user comfort while pedaling and increases the user's workout efficiency. Additionally because stress between the bicycle 6 and the accessory structure 2 may be dissipated via the swing member 3 the likelihood of damage between the bike trainer and the bicycle 6 may be decreased. Furthermore, by having the axle body portion 141 of the axle member 14 being in rotatable contact with the first sleeve portion 131 and the second sleeve portion 132, the rotation of the axle member 14 may be smooth, stresses between joining parts of the base seat unit 1 and the mounting bar 21 are reduced and the service life of the bike trainer is increased.
In should be noted that, the structure of the first and second elastic members 41, 42 may be implemented differently and is not limited to the example disclosed above. In some embodiments, the first elastic member 41 and the second elastic member 42 may each be a compression spring or a leaf spring.
In summary of the above, in the bike trainer according to the present disclosure, by virtue of the swing member 3 and the shock absorber unit 4 being able to dampen swaying in the accessory structure 2, the user may pedal with more comfort on the bike trainer, and the bike trainer may have a longer service life.
In the description above, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details have been set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiment(s). It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that one or more other embodiments may be practiced without some of these specific details. It should also be appreciated that reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” an embodiment with an indication of an ordinal number and so forth means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic may be included in the practice of the disclosure. It should be further appreciated that in the description, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of various inventive aspects; such does not mean that every one of these features needs to be practiced with the presence of all the other features. In other words, in any described embodiment, when implementation of one or more features or specific details does not affect implementation of another one or more features or specific details, said one or more features may be singled out and practiced alone without said another one or more features or specific details. It should be further noted that one or more features or specific details from one embodiment may be practiced together with one or more features or specific details from another embodiment, where appropriate, in the practice of the disclosure.
While the disclosure has been described in connection with what is(are) considered the exemplary embodiment(s), it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiment(s) but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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112129558 | Aug 2023 | TW | national |