Patent Application
20240009511
The present disclosure relates to a steering device for indoor cycle training, e.g., a stationary exercise bicycle, preferably provided with a cycling training system and a software application.
Being healthy is one of the important parts of a human's life. With a growing awareness of living healthily, practising regular physical activity has gained much attention. Not only does physical activity or exercise improve health and reduce the risk of developing diseases, it also increases muscle strength.
One of the earliest forms of exercise is cycling. There have been several publications referring to the advantages of cycling such as decreased risks of stroke, heart attack, some cancers, depression, diabetes and obesity. Furthermore, riding a bike is perceived as a fun way of exercising and it allows an adjustable intensity and time. Therefore, cycling appeals to a wide range of age groups.
Despite many advantages of outdoor cycling, the accessibility of riding a bike outside relies on other factors such as outdoor conditions. Bad weather conditions, infrastructure of roads and safety are some of the determining factors when cycling outdoors. Furthermore, due to increasing demands on people's lives in regards to work and family, it may be difficult to find time to exercise regularly.
In order to fulfil the needs for more accessible training conditions, the landscape of cycling has been changing during recent decades. Training bikes and indoor cycling offer a greater flexibility and practicality than outdoor cycling. One appealing factor of using exercise bikes is the possibility of tailoring a workout routine according to a daily schedule. Especially for those who own an exercise bike, the flexibility and practicality that an exercise bike offers is even greater. Additionally, exercise bikes avoid distractions such as bad weather conditions, road conditions, cars and so on, offering a safe exercising environment.
Together with this growing interest towards exercise bikes, many developments in the field have happened. With recent developments, stationary bikes are connected to software applications and virtual reality simulation technology, which makes indoor cycling a more immersive and an interactive experience.
Simulating the feeling and flow of a traditional outdoor bicycle in an exercise bike is challenging. Most of the exercise bikes are stationary and have limited functions for simulating an outdoor cycling experience. The current technology provides a limited sense of realism because an operator of a stationary exercise bike, typically having a stationary handlebar, cannot turn the handlebar of the stationary bike during the course of a turn in a virtual digital environment. A further challenge is to provide a precise and an accessible monitoring of the virtual environment. These challenges prevent the exercise bikes from offering a convenient and a realistic cycling experience.
In a first aspect, the present disclosure relates to a (virtual) steering apparatus for an exercise bike comprising:
One advantage of the present invention is that the presently disclosed virtual steering apparatus can be attached to either a freestanding indoor bicycle, e.g. mounted in a cycle trainer, or in a stationary exercise bike. The steering configuration can be provided without the need for steering the exercise bike itself, thus the steering apparatus can be an add-on to existing exercise bikes of various kinds.
A further advantage of the disclosed steering apparatus is that the steering configuration can be established efficiently and instantaneously. For example, when the operator initiates an external force, such as gently pushing or pulling the steering apparatus, the steering configuration can be activated. This foresees that a steering action may not require a demanding effort from the operator. Typically a user on an exercise bike is participating in a digital cycling game via feedback from the exercise into the digital cycling game, such that the physical activity of the user on the exercise bike is directly associated with speed and position of the corresponding digital bicycle in the digital cycling game, the user is typically also associated with a digital user avatar in the cycling game. Typically the user is not steering the user's corresponding bicycle in the digital cycling game, the digital bicycle is normally automatically following the digital road in the digital environment such that the user can concentrate on turning the pedals on the exercise bike. However, with the presently disclosed steering apparatus the user is provided with an option of further engagement in the digital cycling game, because with the presently disclosed steering apparatus the user can follow a different, and possibly more optimal, route through a curve in the digital road, the user can better navigate the digital user avatar through a digital peloton in the digital cycling game and possibly obtain a better position in the peloton and/or lane shifting can be provided on the digital road. As soon as the user let go of the steering apparatus, preferably the steady state configuration is resumed and the digital user avatar on the digital bicycle can again be automatically controlled in the digital environment.
Additionally, the virtual steering apparatus is advantageously configured to return to its reference configuration, i.e. the configuration without steering, as soon as the external force is removed. I.e. the user of the exercise bike, typically engaged in demanding physical activity on the exercise bike, does not need to perform an extra action or apply extra force to return the steering apparatus to the starting point. Thus, the presently disclosed steering apparatus provides a user-friendly mechanism that can be enjoyed by people of all ages, from young children to older adults and people of various physical conditions.
The present disclosure further relates to a cycling exercise system comprising the presently disclosed steering apparatus and a computer program having instructions, which, when executed by a processing unit, cause the processing unit to:
In order to have an entertaining and engaging virtual reality cycling experience, it may be desirable to have a system, which provides an experience as close as possible to the real cycling experience. The disclosed exercise system may therefore be provided with a screen or a monitor installed in front of the operator and a computer program/software application simulating a digital cycling environment, and/or a digital cycling game.
Advantageously, the software of virtual cycling application or a game can be executed on a remote processing device, which is attached to the steering apparatus or merely wirelessly connected. Consequently, tilting the steering apparatus would affect the orientation of the remote operating device such that instantaneous tilting data can be received and processed for steering the virtual bike. The tilting data may be steering data or turning data. Furthermore, the operator can initiate a series of bicycle riding movements such as left turning, right turning and changing lane in a digital cycling environment.
Yet a further aspect relates to an exercise bike comprising the cycling exercise system, wherein the presently disclosed steering apparatus is secured to the handlebar of the exercise bike, i.e. such that the handlebar of the exercise bike can be or remain stationary during tilting of the steering apparatus.
Initiating a series of bicycle riding movements usually occurs while pedalling on the exercise bike. When cycling at high pace at varying resistance levels and encountering various obstacles while performing multiple turns and shifting lanes in the virtual environment, the operator needs a cycling training system that provides an efficient steering apparatus while ensuring a close-to-reality cycling experience.
Consequently, it is a further advantage that the presently disclosed invention relates to a stable platform for simulating a cycling environment where the operator experiences three-dimensional motion and pedalling similar to that of riding a real bicycle outdoors while permitting tilting of the virtual steering apparatus.
In the following the invention will be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings:
The presently disclosed virtual steering apparatus is intended for, but not exclusive to, mounting to an exercise bike for steering an associated digital bicycle in a digital cycling environment. The apparatus comprises at least two main parts; namely, a connection part and a holding part. In a preferred embodiment, the connection part may be adapted to be secured to the exercise bike, while the holding part may be connected to the connection part.
In an embodiment, the connection part is configured for attachment to the exercise bike such that the movement of the connection part is constrained whereas the holding part is free to rotate around a rotation axis defined by the rotation of the holding part relative to the connection part.
In the preferred embodiment, the virtual steering apparatus is configured to have a steady state configuration. Preferably, in the steady state configuration the connection part and the holding part define a first orientation relative to each other. This steady state configuration may also be referred to as a reference configuration. In an embodiment, when an external force is applied to the holding part, the holding part can rotate around the rotation axis. As a result, a second orientation of the holding part and the connection part may define a steering configuration. The steering configuration may be defined by means of steering, tilting or turning of the steering apparatus.
Hence, the first orientation may be the orientation that the apparatus maintains when there is no external force. In a further preferred embodiment, the virtual steering apparatus is configured to rotate back to the steady state configuration when the external force is removed. This foresees that the apparatus may go back to the reference configuration without an external force.
It is an advantage of the disclosed apparatus that the steering configuration can be obtained based on an external input and when the input is removed, the apparatus can return to the reference orientation and maintains the steady state configuration until another external force is applied. Thus, in an embodiment, the steady state configuration is maintained when there is no external force.
A further advantage of the presently disclosed apparatus is that, the apparatus may comprise at least one magnetic configuration to influence the function of rotating back to the first configuration and maintain the steering apparatus in the steady state configuration. In an embodiment, at least one magnet is provided in the steering apparatus and configured to effect the rotate back function, i.e. a function of rotating back is obtained. When the external force is removed, the pulling forces introduced by the magnetic configuration can rotate the apparatus to the reference orientation.
In an embodiment, the connection part and the holding part are magnetically joined. It was previously stated that the holding part can be configured to rotate relative to the connection part around a rotation axis and that the connection part can be secured to the exercise bike. Thus, providing a magnetic joint between the connection part and the holding part may have an advantage of securing the function of rotating back of the holding part around the rotation axis to go back to the first orientation, when the force on the holding part is removed.
In an embodiment, the rotation axis between the connection part and the holding part is defined by a shaft and a hole engagement. The shaft may be a part of the holding part and the hole may be a part of the connection part—or vice versa. Thus, when an external force is applied on the holding part, the shaft of the holding part can rotate within the hole of the connection part.
Thus, an advantage of the presently disclosed invention is that the connection part and the holding part can be joined mechanically by means of a shaft-hole engagement and magnetically by means of magnet(s). Joining of the connection part and the holding part may be arranged such that the rotation axis may be parallel to the pulling direction of the magnetic joint when the apparatus is at the steady state configuration. Thereby the connection part and the holding part can be easily assembled and disassembled, provide for easy rotation around the rotation axis and provides a slight resistance to the user while operating the steering apparatus and can also ensure that the steering apparatus automatically swings back to the steady state configuration.
In a further embodiment, the rotation axis is located in the centre of the apparatus. The location of the rotation axis may be configured such that the centre of mass of the apparatus is on the rotation axis. As a result, the apparatus can be subjected to the forces of similar magnitudes from each side of the rotation axis. In a further advantageous embodiment, the rotation axis may coincide a handlebar of the exercise bike. This foresees that the rotation axis may be parallel to the main horizontal frame of the exercise bike and the rotation axis may follow an axis similar to the axis defined by the front and end of the exercise bike.
In an embodiment, the connection part comprises at least one elongated steering member extending transversally from the rotation axis such that the steering configuration can be activated from many positions along a handlebar of the exercise bike.
In one embodiment, at least two elongated steering members can extend from the rotation axis such that at least one member may be accessible from one side, such as left side, of the handlebar while at least one member may be accessible from another side, such as right side, of the handlebar. This may indicate that the elongated members are parallel to or in a close-to-parallel configuration relative to the handlebar of an exercise bike, preferably below the handlebar.
In an embodiment, the apparatus comprises one, two or more sets of magnetically engaging elements facing each other in the steady state configuration. Based on various parameters such as the properties of the magnetic set(s), the length of the handlebar, applied force etcetera, the number of magnetic sets can be arranged.
In a further embodiment, the set(s) of magnetically engaging elements is located close to the rotation axis. This implies that the external force may be smaller compared to an external force that would be needed if the set(s) of magnetically engaging elements would be located further away from the rotation axis.
Additionally, the holding part is arranged to hold an electronic sensor unit. In an embodiment, the electronic sensor unit is a smartphone, mobile device, tablet, accelerometer or an electronic device adaptable to detect a direction of movement. An advantage of the present disclosure is that, when the steering apparatus is subjected to a force, the electronic sensor senses the steering configuration compared to the reference configuration. The relative steering configuration may be an indication of a steering direction for a virtual steering action.
In a further embodiment, the disclosed invention relates to a cycling exercise system. The system comprises the virtual steering apparatus and a computer program/software application. The software application can be executable on a remote processing device having a display unit. Preferably, the display unit can be a part of the electronic sensor unit. This foresees that the remote processing device is at least a part of the electronic sensor unit or vice versa.
In an embodiment, the display unit may be an external display or a screen or can be a part of a tablet or a mobile phone. This implies that the remote processing device can be connected to an external screen. Alternatively, the remote processing device comprises a display. Advantageously, a mobile phone or a tablet may comprise an electronic sensor for sensing the steady state and the steering configurations, and a display unit for displaying, and a processing device for executing a software application. Hence, the electronic sensor unit arranged on the holding part, the remote processing unit, the smartphone, and the display unit may be one and the same unit located on the steering apparatus just in front of the user. However, as also described in here, it may be several units.
In an embodiment, when the virtual steering apparatus is in the steering configuration, the software application can receive a tilting data from the electronic sensor unit attached to the holding unit of the apparatus. The tilting data may comprise the data related to the steering configuration of the virtual steering apparatus. The software application, aka the computer program, can process the tilting data by means of the remote processing device on which the software is executed. Furthermore, the software application can provide real-time steering data representing steering of a virtual bicycle in a virtual cycling game.
Thus, when an external force is applied on the virtual steering apparatus, the electronic sensor can sense the steering configuration and the software application can receive and identify the data related to the steering configuration. Advantageously, the data related to the steering configuration of the apparatus can determine the steering of a virtual bike in a virtual environment.
A further advantage of the disclosed cycling exercise system is that the system can display virtual track-based location information of the digital bicycle in real time on the display unit. In an embodiment, the virtual location information comprises a position information on the digital track of the digital bicycle generated in a digital space of the digital cycling game. The digital bicycle can follow a digital track in a digital environment of a digital cycling game or a digital cycling exercise.
The position information of the digital bicycle may be subjected to change. Based on a virtual location information of the digital bicycle, steering of the digital bicycle may be necessary. This implies that in an embodiment, the disclosed cycling exercise system can be configured to control steering of the digital bicycle based on the positional information of the digital bicycle.
In an advantageous embodiment, the disclosed system can be configured for receiving, processing and transmitting the real-time steering data of the digital bicycle. Preferably, the steering of the digital bicycle in the digital cycling game may be associated with the tilting data received by the electronic sensor unit. While the tilting data may be imposed on the electronic sensor unit or to the application by an input, one of the main aspects of the disclosed invention is to relate an actual tilting or turning action with a digital steering action.
Thus, in a further preferred embodiment, steering of the digital bicycle riding on the digital track may be based on an external force applied on the holding part.
Furthermore, it is foreseen that in a preferred embodiment, an operator or a user of the system can apply an external force on the elongated member of the holding part of the virtual steering apparatus.
Advantageously, the operator can involve in a decision-making process because the action of tilting or turning the holding part can be initiated by the operator if there is a need for a steering action in the digital game. Furthermore, the steering action of the holding part is similar to what the operator would do in a real cycling exercise or a game. As a result, the operator may have an enhanced feeling of participating in an actual cycling activity.
Furthermore, it is foreseen that in a preferred embodiment, when the holding part tilts (rotates, turns), the virtual bicycle in communication with the electronic sensor unit can turn to the detected direction of the tilt.
This may imply that the holding part may be approached from at least one direction and can be tilted to at least one direction. Preferably, the tilting direction of the holding part may correspond to the steering direction of the virtual bicycle. More preferably, the clockwise steering of the holding part may correspond to a right turn while the left turn may be indicated by turning the holding part counter-clockwise when looking from the user's point of view.
Steering of the presently disclosed steering apparatus can also be associated with lane shifting in the digital cycling game, i.e. when the holding part tilts (or turns or rotates). E.g. a short activation of the steering apparatus may be associated with a shift of lane position in the digital cycling game, e.g. gaining a new position of the digital bicycle in a a peloton in the digital cycling game. By means of the same steering apparatus, both steering and lane shifting functions can be defined. Therefore, the disclosed invention provides a user-friendly and compact design serving for at least both steering and the lane shifting actions at various directions in digital cycling games.
In an embodiment, a virtual cyclist can ride on the virtual bicycle. This feature may enhance the reality of the game and improve the joy and engagement of the operator while using the disclosed system.
In another embodiment, an exercise bike comprising the disclosed cycling exercise system may have the virtual steering apparatus secured to the handlebar of the exercise bike such that the handlebar of the exercise bike can be stationary during tilting and tilting back of the holding part. A great advantage of this feature is that the steering action of the virtual bike can be defined by an actual tilting or turning action while keeping the exercise bike stationary. Thus, the disclosed cycling exercise system can be suitable for various stationary exercise bikes.
Furthermore, it is foreseen that in a preferred embodiment, the user or the operator of the exercise bike, or a stationary exercise bike, can apply an external force on the holding part, preferably on the elongated member, of the virtual steering apparatus. Advantageously, an operator of the exercise bike can access the elongated member while operating the exercise bike. The operator may reach to the steering members while holding the handlebar of the exercise bike. Thus, the operator can have a better control of the steering apparatus.
Consequently, the force applied on the steering apparatus may be a result of an action of touching the elongated steering member of the apparatus. Thus, the presently disclosed exercise bicycle can be configured to effectively turn or steer the virtual bike or change the lane of the virtual bike while performing a demanding real life situation such as riding in wind, uphill, downhill, etcetera.
The present disclosure will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying exemplary embodiments shown in the drawings, when applicable.
However, it is to be noted that the invention may be embodied in various forms. The hereby provided embodiments are to guide a thorough and complete disclosure.
Hence, embodiments set forth herein should not be interpreted as limiting but be construed as a tool for delivering the scope of the invention to those who are skilled in the art. The same reference numbers refer to the same element throughout the document.
Furthermore, the holding part 2 extends along the rotation axis 23, defining a main body 8.
In a steady state configuration as shown in
The steering apparatus can be secured to the exercise bike by means of one or more circular openings 7a, 7b on the connection part 3. The circular openings 7a, 7b are holes on a surface extending away from a rotation axis 23 of the holding part 2. The circular openings 7a, 7b extend from each side of the connection part 3, and face each other and are configured such that a handlebar of a bicycle (not shown) passing through the circular holes 7a, 7b can be held, thereby securing the steering apparatus to the handlebar.
In an embodiment, the magnetic elements 15a, 15b embedded in the connection part 3′ face the magnetic elements 25a, 25b embedded in the holding part 2′ approximately 5-25 mm away from the rotation axis of the steering apparatus.
In one embodiment of the virtual steering apparatus, shown in
Virtual steering apparatus is configured to provide a steering configuration wherein an external force applied to the holding part 2 rotates the holding part 2 around the rotation axis of the virtual steering apparatus. The direction of the force applied to the steering member for steering the holding part 2 towards left and right may be as shown with dotted lines in
Items
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21164969.4 | Mar 2021 | EP | regional |
This application is a Continuation of prior International Application PCT/EP2022/057970 filed 25 Mar. 2022, which claims priority to European Application No. EP 21164969.4 filed 25 Mar. 2021, the entire disclosure of each being hereby incorporated by reference herein.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/EP2022/057970 | Mar 2022 | US |
| Child | 18372275 | US |
