Patent Application
20140080676
1. Fields of the Invention
The invention relates to a treadle assembly having spring leafs for an exercise apparatus, and more particularly, to a structure that employs metal spring leaves having a stronger resilience to achieve an optimal shock-absorbing and elastic feedback effects, thereby effectively reducing the exercise load.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 7,300,387 teaches a “TREADLE ASSEMBLY OF AN EXERCISE EQUIPMENT” in which an elastic restoring body made by rubber filler is provided against the torsion on the treadle. In this way, a cushioning and restoring effect is achieved when a torsion acts on the treadle.
However, a long-term service life of the rubber product is not ensured. The rubber product tends to be changed in quality due to the heat produced in the case especially when the repeated torsion force is applied to the rubber product. As a result, the performance is rapidly deteriorated. Moreover, the elastic performance with respect to the loadable torsion force varies with different loads by weight of the operators, thereby resulting in a mixed damping effect evaluation made by the different operators. This is required to be improved.
An object of the invention is to provide a treadle assembly having spring leafs for an exercise apparatus that employs metal spring leaves (which is strongly bendable) to enhance the load ability and to ensure the optimal shock-absorbing effect. Moreover, the energy-accumulating metal characteristic is used to provide a reactive force to both feet of the operator, thereby reducing the exercise load and improving the exercise comfort.
According to the invention, a treadle-connecting rod of the exercise apparatus is provided with a recessed portion in which a pair of shaft tubes are fixed to the center of the recessed portion. The shaft tubes are fitted at both sides with a roller holder, respectively. Two rollers are longitudinally and rotatably connected to the roller holder. The treadle includes a pair of connecting ears near the shaft tubes such that the treadle and the treadle-connecting rod can be movably connected by a pivot, and one end of the metal spring leaves is secured to a fixing base within the connecting ears while the other (free) end thereof is inserted between two rollers such that the metal spring leaves are movable between two rollers when the treadle is subject to an external force.
The accomplishment of this and other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following description and its accompanying drawings of which:
The present invention will now be described in more detail hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings that show various embodiments of the invention.
Referring to
As shown in
Moreover, the number of the metal spring leaves 20 can be determined in accordance with the preset load and the desirable feedback strength.
As shown in
The elliptical cross trainer 40 and the fitness bike 50 are conventional exercise apparatuses. The connection and the operation of the transmission components belong to the prior art so that no more descriptions thereto are given hereinafter.
Many changes and modifications in the above-described embodiments of the invention can, of course, be carried out without departing from the scope thereof. Accordingly, to promote the progress in science and the useful arts, the invention is disclosed and is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.
