Patent Application
20060046901
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an exercising machine and more specifically, to a linking mechanism for use in an exerciser.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various different exercising machines are commercially available. Among these commercially available exercising machines, there are some models such as motor-driven climbers, elliptical trainers, skiing exercisers, and etc. that allow the user to exercise the lower body and the upper body. These exercising machines use an internal mechanical mechanism to let the user's hands and legs be moved with respective movable parts of the machine, achieving a whole body exercising effect. In these exercising machines, either motor-driven or manually operated, the handlebars are alternatively moved back and forth subject to the action of the user's feet, i.e., the handlebars are moved when the user starts to move the legs. Therefore, the user has no choice to decide the operation of the handlebars. It is inconvenient and dangerous to a person who does not wish to operate the handlebars when using an exercising machine of this kind. Further, because the handlebars are respectively linked to the foot members for synchronous movement, the motion of the handlebars does not increase or reduce the load at the foot members.
The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is the main object of the present invention to provide a linking mechanism, which is practical for use in an exercising machine for one-way transmission of a rotary driving force.
To achieve this and other objects of the present invention, the linking mechanism comprises a base; a driving member pivotally mounted on the base and rotatable in one direction by an external force, the driving member comprising a coupling portion; a return member mounted on the base and connected to the driving member, and adapted to accumulate a return force upon rotation of the driving member by an external force and to reverse the driving member upon releasing of the accumulated return force; and an one-way actuator coupled to the coupling portion of the driving member and connectable to an external roller and adapted to transmit rotary driving force from the driving member to an external device upon rotation of the driving member in one direction by an external force.
Referring to FIGS. 1˜4, a linking mechanism in accordance with the present invention is shown comprised of a base 10, a driving member 20, a return member 30, an one-way actuator 40, and an axle bearing 50.
The base10 comprises a support 11 extended from one side thereof. The support 11 has two beveled grooves 12.
The driving member 20 is pivoted to the base 10 and rotatable in one direction by an external force. According to the present preferred embodiment, the driving member 20 is formed of a wheel 21 and a cover 22. The wheel 21 is rotatably mounted on the support 11, having an upright flange 23 perpendicularly extended from one side thereof around the border and a post 25. The upright flange 23 has a cut 24. The cover 22 is covered on the upright flange 23 and fixedly secured to the wheel 21, having a coupling portion 26 axially outwardly protruded from the outer side thereof at the center,
The return member 30 is mounted on the base 10 and connected with one end thereof to the driving member 20. The return member 30 accumulates a return force upon rotation of the driving member 20 in one direction. When the return member 30 is releasing the accumulated return force, it moves the driving member 20 in the reversed direction, thereby returning the driving member 20 to a former position. According to this embodiment of the present invention, the return member 30 is a spiral spring mounted inside the driving member 20 around the support 11, having one end hooked on the post 25 and the other end hooked in one beveled groove 12 of the support 11.
The one-way actuator 40 is coupled to the coupling portion 26 of the driving member 20 and adapted to transmit rotary driving force from the driving member 20 to an external mechanism. According to the present preferred embodiment, the one-way actuator 40 is an one-way bearing mounted in the coupling portion 26 of the driving member 20 for output of rotary driving force from the driving member 20.
The axle bearing 50 is mounted on the periphery of the coupling portion 26.
Referring to FIGS. 5˜7, when present invention was used in an exercising machine, for example, a treadmill 1, the one-way actuator of the linking mechanism is coupled to the roller 2 of the treadmill base of the treadmill 1, and a steel rope 3 is connected between one end of one handlebar 4 of the treadmill 1 and the cut of the driving member 20. When the user is walking on the tread belt upon rotary motion the roller 2, which moves the tread belt of the treadmill, the one-way actuator of the linking mechanism is synchronously rotated. Because the one-way actuator works only in one particular direction, it does not move the driving member upon movement of the tread belt of the treadmill 1. Therefore, the driving member of the linking mechanism does not move the handlebar 4 of the treadmill 1 during movement of the tread belt.
When the user moves the handlebar 4 with the hand, the steel rope 3 is driven to move the driving member of the linking mechanism forwards, thereby causing the one-way actuator of the linking mechanism to rotate the roller 2 of the treadmill 1, and therefore the tread belt of the treadmill 1 is rotated. Therefore, the user can drive the handlebar 4 to move the tread belt of the treadmill 1 with the hand without power supply when walking on the tread belt.
During forward biasing of the driving member of the linking mechanism, the spiral spring (return member) of the linking mechanism is turned to accumulate a return force. When the spiral spring releases the accumulated return force to move the driving member in the reversed direction, the one-way actuator of the linking mechanism does no work, i.e., the reversed rotation of the driving member does not drive the roller of the treadmill to move the tread belt in the reversed direction. Therefore, the user can select the operation mode of the exercising machine to exercise the whole body and a local part of the body as desired.
Further, the linking mechanism can also be used in a climber, skiing exerciser, or the like. Instead of spiral spring, the return member can be a torsional spring, compression spring, spring plate mounted on the outside of the driving member. Instead of one-way bearing, the one-way actuator can be a ratchet wheel or the like that works when rotated in one direction and does no work when rotated in the reversed direction.
A prototype of linking mechanism for exerciser has been constructed with the features of FIGS. 1˜7. The linking mechanism for exerciser functions smoothly to provide all of the features discussed earlier.
Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims
