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Description  |
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FIELD OF INVENTION
This invention relates in general to exercise machines, and relates in
particular to stationary cycle exercisers.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Cycle exercise machines, sometimes also known as "stationary bicycles",
have been known for some time. These exercise machines typically include a
seat much like a bicycle seat, for supporting a person sitting upright on
the machine, and a foot-powered crank arrangement mounted below the seat.
This crank arrangement in prior-art cycle exercisers includes a pair of
crank arms extending outwardly from a rotatable shaft, with foot pedals
mounted at the free ends of the crank arms. The crank arrangement is
mounted for receiving the feet of a person seated on the exercise machine.
A drive chain or belt transfers the rotary motion of the crank arrangement
to an energy-absorbing device such as a flywheel or rotor, which provides
a load force against which the exerciser expends energy while pedaling the
crank mechanism. One such cycle exerciser is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.
4,188,030 to Hooper.
Because cycle exercisers of the prior art use a crank mechanism which the
user pedals while doing work on the machine, these exercise machines
cannot provide a constant transfer of power from the user to the load
throughout the entire stroke of each pedal. Crank pedal mechanisms have a
null at the top and bottom of each stroke, where the effective length of
the pedal crank arms diminishes to zero length as the crank mechanism
passes through the dead center position. The effective lever arm of the
pedals then increases sinusoidally to the maximum effective length as the
pedal crank arms pass through the 90.degree. position, i.e., half-way
between the top to the bottom of each stroke. Because this effective lever
arm constantly changes, the rate at which the exerciser can effectively
expend energy doing work on the load device likewise changes throughout
each stroke of the pedal. This variation lessens the possible maximum
efficiency of cycle exercisers, as the rate of energy transfer for each
stroke is maximized only momentarily during each stroke.
Another disadvantage of existing cycle exercisers, and in particular the
crank mechanism used with those exercisers, pertains to the length of
stroke. The stroke length is determined by the length of the crank arms
used in the crank mechanism, and this length is not readily changeable.
Changing the effective stroke length requires either replacing the entire
crank assembly, or providing crank arms having variable positions for
attaching the pedals on the crank arms. In either case, these alternatives
are expensive and require the service of a technician to modify the length
of the crank arms for users having significantly different lengths of
stroke, namely, shorter or longer legs, or those of substantially
different athletic ability.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an
improved cycle exercise machine.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a cycle exercise
machine which does not require a conventional rotary crank arrangement.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an exercise
machine wherein the rate of energy transfer by the exerciser is
substantially constant throughout each stroke.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a cycle exercise
machine in which the length of each stroke by the exerciser may be
shortened without affecting the structure or utility of the machine.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more
apparent from the following description.
Stated in general terms, the present invention utilizes a pair of
foot-operated treadles or pedals in place of the rotary pedal arrangement
found in conventional exercise machines. These treadles receive the
operating force of the user in back-and-forth fashion as the user's feet
alternately press the treadles, and couple that back-and-forth movement to
an energy absorbing device for applying a mechanical load to the treadles,
and for dissipating the energy expended in moving the treadles. A pair of
hand-operated levers is also coupled to the energy dissipating device.
Stated somewhat more specifically, each foot treadle is reciprocable along
a path, and the treadles are coupled together so that depressing one
treadle automatically raises the other treadle, and vice versa. The
treadles are mounted either for movement along an arcuate path, or
alternatively are mounted for movement along a linear path. The
reciprocating movement is coupled to drive a load dissipating mechanism,
preferably a rotary device as disclosed below.
Stated with greater specificity, the treadles are interconnected by a
flexible tension element which passes over a pulley arrangement for
reversing the direction of web travel attached to each treadle. The
treadle-driven tension element also drives at least one-way clutch, which
in turn drives a rotor when the treadle-driven tension element moves in a
particular direction. The one-way clutch freewheels during the return
movement or stroke of the treadle, allowing the rotor to continue turning
without affecting the return movement of that treadle. The entire downward
stroke of each treadle is useful in expending energy at a substantially
constant rate, because the treadle arrangement lacks the null zone
associated with the dead-center position of the conventional crank arm
arrangement.
The load device driven by the treadle mechanism can be of any suitable
kind. One such load device is a flywheel equipped with radial vanes
pitched to cause maximum drag as the vaned wheel rotates in response to
movement of the treadles. An alternative arrangement is a rotor
peripherally engaged by a friction brake device. The brake device may
incorporate a torque sensor for measuring and transmitting a signal
corresponding to foot-pounds of torque applied to the rotor.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows a pictorial view of an exercise machine according to a first
embodiment of the present invention, with certain parts omitted for
clarity of illustration.
FIG. 2 shows a side elevation view taken from the right side of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a fragmentary pictorial view showing the drive mechanism of the
embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
FIG. 4 is a partial side elevation view showing a second embodiment of the
present invention.
FIG. 5 is a detail elevation view of the brake band mechanism in the
embodiment of FIG. 4.
FIG. 6 is an enlarged section view showing the force transducer used in the
embodiment of FIGS. 4 and 5.
FIG. 7 is a side elevation view showing a third embodiment of the present
invention.
FIG. 8 is a section view taken along line 8--8 in FIG. 7.
FIG. 9 is a fragmentary pictorial view showing the drive mechanism of the
embodiment in FIGS. 7 and 8.
FIG. 10 is a fragmentary side elevation view showing an alternative drive
arrangement for the embodiment of FIGS. 7-9.
FIG. 11 is a side elevation view, partially broken away for illustration,
showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 12 is a sectioned side elevation view of the embodiment shown in FIG.
11.
FIG. 13 is a section view taken on line 13--13 of FIG. 11, with some
elements omitted for clarity.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Turning first to FIG. 1, there is shown generally at 10 an exercise machine
according to a first embodiment of the present invention. This exercise
machine 10 includes a support frame having a base 11 suitable for support
on a floor surface, and a pair of upright members 12 and 13 extending
upwardly from the front and from an intermediate location on the base. The
base 11 is attached to a plate 11a at the front which rests on a floor,
and to a back plate 11b supporting a pair of adjustable leveling feet 16
which engage the floor. The front plate 11a and feet 16 support the base
11 slightly elevated above the floor. A seat support pedestal 14 extends
upwardly from the base 11, at a location behind the intermediate upright
member 13. The seat support pedestal 14 is thus considered as being behind
the upright members 12 and 13. The seat support pedestal is preferably
adjustable in the base slot 17 over a front-to-back range of movement.
A seat 15 is supported at the upper end of the seat support pedestal 14.
This seat 15 supports the user of the exercise machine 10, and the seat in
the present embodiment has the general shape and nature of a conventional
bicycle seat or the like. To accommodate exercisers of differing heights
and leg lengths, the seat 15 is vertically adjustable with respect to the
base 11, and in the disclosed embodiment this adjustment is provided by
the post 18 telescopically received in the hollow upper end 19 of the seat
support pedestal 14. The desired vertical adjustment of the post 18 at the
upper end 19 is maintained by any suitable device such as a screw clamp
20, as is known in the art of mounting bicycle seats or the like.
A pair of foot treadles 22 and 23 is attached to the base 11, with each
treadle flanking the opposite outer sides of the seat support pedestal 14
and the upright member 13. Each treadle 22 and 23 is sufficiently wide to
readily accommodate a foot of a person occupying the seat 15; treadle
widths on the order of 4-5 inches are appropriate, although by no means
limiting. The treadles 22 and 23 at their back ends 24 are connected t
corresponding hinges 25 adjacent the back end 27 of the exercise machine
base 11. Each treadle 22 and 23 extends forwardly from its respective
hinge 25, terminating at a forward end 28 near the forward end 29 of the
base 11, in the disclosed embodiment.
The two treadles 22 and 23 are interconnected so that one treadle rises
when the other treadle is depressed downwardly, and vice versa. This
alternative reciprocable movement of the treadles 22 and 23 is provided by
the main drive belt 32, the ends of which are connected to each treadle at
a point adjacent to the forward end 28 of the treadles. The main drive
belt 32 is a toothed belt in the disclosed embodiment, and extends
upwardly from one treadle 22 to pass over the toothed pulley 33R, and
thence extends forwardly to engage the lower toothed pulley 34 of the
timing pulley stack 35. The pulley 34 is connected to the upper toothed
pulley 53 of the timing stack 35, as described below. The stacked pulleys
34 and 53 rotate together on an upright support shaft. The main drive belt
turns approximately 180.degree. around the pulley 34 and from there moves
back to engage the toothed pulley 33L (FIG. 3) and turn downwardly for
connection to the left treadle 23. It should now be understood that as a
person using the exercise machine 10 presses downwardly on one treadle,
that downward movement is translated to upward movement of the other
treadle by the main drive belt 32 acting around the pulleys 33R, 34, and
33L.
A horizontal support 37 extends between the upper ends of the upright
members 12 and 13, and the horizontal support mounts a vertical flywheel
39 entirely enclosed within the safety housing 35 (omitted in FIG. 1). A
number of radial vanes 40 extend on the flywheel 39, and these rotor vanes
have substantial frontal area on a plane transverse to the vertical plane
of the rotor. These rotor vanes 40 dissipate energy to the air as the
rotor 39 turns, as pointed out below in greater detail.
The rotor 39 is attached to an axial shaft 41, and the two ends of the
shaft are received in the corresponding output elements of two
free-wheeling clutches 44 and 45, also commonly known as one-way clutches.
These clutches 44 and 45 each have an input element to which the
respective pulleys 33R and 33L are attached. With free-wheeling clutches
of this type, the input element is rotatable in either direction by a
driving force, but the clutch transmits force to the output element in
response only to input rotation in one direction. When that input force
ceases or reverses, the input element simply free-wheels with respect to
the output element. Details of such clutches are well known and thus are
not repeated herein.
A pair of exercise levers 54 and 55, intended for exercising the arms and
shoulders of a user on the seat 15, are pivotably attached adjacent the
forward end of the base 11. These exercise levers 54 and 55 extend
upwardly from a pivot bar 57 at the base 11, passing within the forward
runs of the drive belt 32 and terminating at their upper ends in
horizontal handles 56 (FIG. 2) extending outwardly from the exercise
levers and designed for grasping by the user. The handles thus are
reciprocable in push-pull fashion along a predetermined maximum arc of
movement. The pivot bar 57 can be mounted for an extent of backward and
forward movement along the base 11, thereby selectively varying the
position of the handles 56 relative to the seat 15.
The exercise handles 54 and 55 are connected to respective links 51 and 52,
which attach to the hand lever toothed drive belt 58. This drive belt
passes over the idler pulleys 50 mounted on posts extending above the back
end of the horizontal support 37, and extends forwardly on both sides of
the rotor 39 to engage the upper toothed pulley 53 of the
previously-discussed timing pulley stack 35. The upper pulley 53 and the
lower pulley 34 of the stack 35 are interconnected, so that rotation of
the lower pulley by the main drive belt 32 drives the upper pulley and the
handle drive belt 58, and vice versa.
The operation of the exercise machine as thus described in FIGS. 1-3 is now
considered. A user sits on the seat 15 after the height of the seat post
18 suitably adjusted, and the user's feet rest naturally on the two foot
treadles 22 and 23. If desired, the user also grasps the handles 56 of the
two exercise levers 54 and 55. The user now depresses first one foot
treadle 22 and then the other treadle 23, with an alternating up-down
reciprocating movement of the foot treadles. The main drive belt 32,
interconnecting the foot treadles 22 and 23 across the toothed pulley 33R,
the lower toothed pulley 34, and the toothed pulley 33L, insures that
depressing one foot treadle simultaneously raises the other foot treadle
in a linked up-down reciprocating fashion.
Each downward stroke of either foot treadle imparts rotary motion to the
flywheel 39 as the main drive belt 32 and the pulleys 33R, 33L drive the
one-way clutches 44. During the upward movement of each foot treadle, for
example, treadle 22, the main drive belt 32 drives the pulley 33R while
the one-way clutch 44 allows clockwise movement (as seen in FIG. 1) of the
pulley without interfering with the counterclockwise rotation of the
flywheel 39 powered by the previous downward movement of the other foot
treadle 23.
Each time one of the foot treadles 22 and 23 is depressed, this action also
forces the exercise levers 54 and 55 to change positions along their arcs
of travel. For example, as the foot treadle 22 moves downwardly and the
main drive belt 32 turns lower toothed pulley 34, the upper toothed pulley
53 pulls the hand lever drive belt 58 in the same direction as the main
drive belt. This movement of the drive belt 58, coupled through the links
51 and 52, pulls the exercise lever 54 back toward the user and pushes the
other exercise lever 55 forwardly away from the user. Subsequent downward
movement of the other foot treadle 23 reverses the foregoing reciprocable
movement of the exercise levers 54 and 55, returning those levers to the
position shown in FIG. 1. Likewise, the user can alternatively push and
pull the levers 54 and 55, and that effort is transmitted to the main
drive belt 32 to drive the flywheel 39.
The entire downward stroke of each foot treadle 22 and 23 applies force at
substantially the same rate to rotate the flywheel 39, as the main drive
belt 32 acts on the toothed pulleys 33R and 33L at a constant lever arm,
namely, the radius of each toothed pulley. This constant application of
work to drive the flywheel 39 contrasts with the pedaling action of a
typical exercise cycle having a bicycle crank arrangement, with a null or
dead zone at the top and bottom of each pedal stroke. The belt drive
arrangement of the present exercise machine avoids these null zones, and
the user does work (and expends energy) throughout each depression of the
foot treadles.
The same constant-force function also applies to the exercise levers 54 and
55, to the extent the user pulls or pushes the levers during the stroke of
each lever. The effective mechanical advantage through which each lever
applies work to the flywheel 39 is decreased by the smaller radius of the
upper pulley 53 relative to the lower pulley 34.
FIGS. 4-6 show another exercise machine 78 using the same treadle and drive
belt mechanism as in the exercise machine 10, and using the same numerals
to identify elements in common with the preceding embodiment. The exercise
machine 78 substitutes a frictional brake band mechanism 79 for the
flywheel 39 and rotor vanes 40 of the first embodiment, for an
energy-absorbing mechanism driven by the treadles 22, 23 and the exercise
levers 54, 55.
The brake band mechanism 79 includes a flywheel 80 having a smooth outer
peripheral surface 81, preferably slightly channelized to engage and
retain the sides of the brake band 82 which engages the peripheral
surface. The flywheel 80 should be sufficiently heavy to stabilize
variations in torque applied through the treadles and exercise levers.
The brake band 82 wraps around the flywheel 80, and around the relatively
small torque loading pulley 85 supported behind the flywheel at the upper
end of the upright member 13. The brake band 82 is connected neither to
the flywheel 80 nor to the torque loading pulley 85, in the disclosed
embodiment. Instead, both ends 84 and 86 of the brake band 82 are fastened
to the upper end of the torque frame 87 at a point above the flywheel 80.
The torque frame 87 is further described below. As will become apparent,
the torque loading pulley 85 and the brake band 82 undergo minimal
movement.
The torque loading pulley 85 is mounted on the bracket 91 at the upper end
of the tension lever 92 extending upwardly from the hinge 93 fastened to
the frame 11 immediately in front of the upright member 13. A torque load
adjusting knob 94 on the back side of the upright member 13 engages the
threaded stud 95 extending through that upright member, and a torque
tension spring 97 interconnects the stud to the tension lever 92. Manual
adjustment of the knob 94 thus increases the amount of spring tension
urging rearwardly the bracket 91 at the upper end of the tension lever 92
and the torque loading pulley 85 carried by that bracket.
The torque frame 87 restrains the brake band 82 from angular and sideways
movement on the flywheel 80, and transmits torque to the torque sensor 100
mounted on the base 11 near the lower end of the torque frame. The torque
frame 87 extends downwardly on the right and left sides of the flywheel
80, and the torque frame pivots freely on the support shaft 41 of the
flywheel. Because the ends 86 of the brake band 80 are affixed to the
torque frame 87, frictional engagement between the brake band and the
flywheel 80 rotating in the counterclockwise direction (as viewed in FIG.
5) urges the lower end of the torque frame forwardly, as indicated by the
arrow 101. The push rod 102 of the torque transducer 100 receives and
resists this mechanical force from the torque frame 87.
Details of the torque transducer 100 are shown in FIG. 6, although it
should be understood that a conventional pressure cell or spring-loaded
rheostat can be substituted for the air-operated transducer 100. The
torque transducer includes a housing 105 having an internal chamber 106
containing a diaphragm 107 suspended for limited movement within the
chamber. The push rod 102 is freely movable within a passage 108 at one
side of the housing 105, and the inner end 109 of the push rod seats on
the grommet 110 mounted in the center of the diaphragm 107. The grommet
110 has an axial passage 111 aligned with the axial bleed channel 112 in
the push rod 102.
The diaphragm 107 divides the chamber 106 into two parts, with the passage
111 in the diaphragm grommet 110 being the only communication between
those two parts. Contacting the grommet 110 on the side opposite the inner
end 109 of the push rod is the inner end 116 of the needle valve 117. The
needle valve has a main body 118 coaxial with the inner end 116 but of
greater diameter, and the main body is loosely received in the channel 119
coaxial with the main body. The channel 119 is connected to a source of
compressed air through the air supply line 120.
The inner end 116 of the needle valve 117 is loosely received in an inner
part of the channel 119, and a cross bore 123 connects that inner channel
to the air passage 124, which communicates with the right side 125 of the
diaphragm chamber 106 and with the air signal line 126. The air signal
line leads to a suitable air pressure transducer 127, which can be
calibrated in suitable units such a foot-pounds of torque or (if
associated with a timing mechanism) in power expended by the person using
the exercise machine.
Considering now the operation of the exercise machine 78 shown in FIG. 4-6,
the user expends energy by pumping the treadles 22, 23, by pulling and
pushing the exercise levers 54, 55, or both. This movement applies torque
to rotate the flywheel 80, in opposition to the frictional drag imposed by
the brake band 82 on the surface 81 of the flywheel. The extent of this
frictional drag is adjusted by the knob 94, which increases or decreases
the spring tension urging the torque loading pulley 85 away from the
flywheel 80. As the flywheel 80 rotates, the frictional force imparted to
the brake band 82 is applied to the torque frame 87 through the ends 84
and 86 of the brake band. The lower end of the torque frame 87 thus pushes
against the push rod 102 of the pressure transducer 100, moving the push
rod inwardly to contact the diaphragm 107 and moving that diaphragm into
contact with the inner end 116 of the needle valve 117.
This mechanical movement of the needle valve 117 unseats the beveled valve
surface 130 on the needle valve 117 between the main body 118 and the
inner end portion 116 thereof, allowing air from the air supply line 120
to enter the right side 125 of the diaphragm chamber 106. This increased
air pressure in the right side 125 acts on the diaphragm 106, urging the
diaphragm toward the push rod 102 until the diaphragm force overcomes the
torque-induced force on the push rod. The diaphragm 107 thus moves to the
left as seen in FIG. 6. Because the right end 131 of the valve body 118
has greater cross-sectional area than the valve surface 130 of the needle
valve, the increased air pressure within the needle valve chamber 119
urges the needle valve leftwardly and keeps the inner end 116 of the
needle valve in contact with the diaphragm grommet 110, thereby blocking
the passage 111 in the grommet. However, if the increased air pressure in
the right side 125 of the chamber 106 causes diaphragm movement beyond the
limited travel of the needle valve 117, determined when the valve surface
130 becomes seated, the passage 111 then opens and bleeds air pressure to
atmosphere through the bleed passage 112 in the push rod 102. The
transducer uses air from the supply line 120 only as needed to balance an
increased force acting on the push rod 102. The force on the push rod 102
then returns the diaphragm 107 to a position where the force by the air
pressure acting on the right side of the diaphragm balances the force
acting on the left side thereof by the push rod 102. Because the air
signal line 106 communicates with the air pressure required to produce
diaphragm balance, that balancing air pressure is a measure of the
torque-related force pressing the push rod 102 against the diaphragm. The
balancing air pressure in the signal line 126 is thus a function of the
force exerted on the exercise machine at any moment by the user. This
force-related air pressure in the signal line 126 is displayed by the
output device 127, which as mentioned previously may be calibrated in
work-or power-related terms meaningful to the user.
FIGS. 7-9 show an exercise machine 138 according to a third disclosed
embodiment of the present invention. The exercise machine 138 includes a
base 11 mounting a seat support 14 with a seat 15 thereon, as in the
preceding embodiments. However, the exercise machine 138 lacks the foot
treadles of the preceding embodiments, substituting pedals constrained to
slide back and forth along a defined path, in response to foot pressure.
As with the treadle operation of the preceding embodiment, the pedals of
the exercise machine 138 permit the user to exert work-producing force
uniformly along the entire pedal stroke. The right-side pedal for the
present machine is shown at 139R.
The exercise machine 138 uses a fan 140 mounted on the longitudinal fan 141
as a load against which the person using the machine does work. The fan
shaft 141 is supported at the front end of a drive mechanism indicated
generally at 142, and including the upright posts 143 and 144 spaced
longitudinally apart from each other along the base 11. A top bar 145
extends between the upper ends of the posts 143 and 144. Suitable side
panels are normally mounted on the posts 143, 144 and the top bar 145 to
conceal the moving parts within the drive mechanism, but those panels are
missing from FIG. 7 for illustrative purposes.
A pair of laterally-spaced front slide bars extends vertically down from
the top bar 145 to the base 11, and are positively fixed in place at both
upper and lower ends. Only the right front slide bar 149R is visible in
FIG. 7, the left front slide bar 149L appearing in FIG. 9. A pair of rear
slide bars 150R and 150L also extends between the top bar 145 and the base
11 on a vertical path. The spacing of these front and rear slide bars is
best seen in FIG. 8. Mounted on the fromt slide bars 149R, 149L and the
rear slide bars 150R, 150L are the right pedal block 152R and the left
pedal block 152L. The pedal blocks 152R and 152L are slidably mounted on
the slide bars by ball bushings of conventional design, so that the pedal
blocks are free to reciprocate up and down the slide bars with minimal
frictional resistance to sliding.
A front drive belt 154 and a rear drive belt 155 are mounted between the
pedal blocks 152R and 152L, and are connected to the pedal blocks. The
drive belts 154 and 155 preferably are toothed belts as described above,
and these belts engage the respective toothed pulleys 156 and 157 near the
upper end of the drive mechanism 142. The drive belts 154 and 155 also
pass over the optional idler pulleys collectively indicated 158, mounted
near the lower end of the drive mechanism 142 and helping maintain the
drive belts taut; these idler pulleys may be omitted, as the pedal block
interconnection maintains the proper movement of the drive belts.
FIG. 8 details the attachments of the front and rear drive belts to the
pedal blocks 152R and 152L. The left side 154L of the front drive belt is
attached to the inner side 162 of the left pedal block 152L. The right
side 154R of the front drive belt is attached to the inner side 163 of the
right pedal block 152R. Downward movement of the right pedal 139R, for
example, thus moves downwardly the right side 154R of the front drive belt
154 and concurrently raises the left side 154L of that drive belt, thereby
raising the left pedal block 152L and its associated pedal 139L.
The pedal blocks 152L and 152R each have extensions disposed along the
respective opposite sides of the rear drive belt 155. Thus, the left pedal
block 152L has an extension 164 secured to the right side 155R of the rear
drive belt. The right pedal block 152R likewise has an extension 165
secured to the left side 155L of the rear drive belt. It should now be
apparent that depressing one pedal, for example, pedal 139L, not only
moves the front drive belt 154 to raise the right pedal 139R as previously
described, but also moves the rear drive belt 155 in the direction
opposite that of the front drive belt. This movement of the rear drive
belt 155 is, in turn, coupled to the right pedal 139R through the
extension 155L and the right pedal block 152R.
The upper pulleys 156 and 157, engaged by the front drive belt 154 and the
rear drive belt 155, connect to the inputs of the respective one-way
clutches 168 and 169. The outputs of both clutches 168 and 169 are
connected to the main shaft 170, which extends longitudinally along the
upper end of the drive mechanism 142. The two one-way clutches 168, 169
drive the main shaft 170 in response to input rotation in the same
direction, clockwise (as viewed looking forwardly) in the disclosed
embodiment. Thus, pressing the right pedal 139R downwardly pulls the right
side 154R of the front drive belt 154, rotating clockwise the pulley 156
connected to the forward clutch 168. This clockwise movement is imparted
to the main shaft 170. As the right pedal 139R moves downwardly, the left
pedal 139L moves upwardly and the rear drive belt 155 moves in the
opposite direction, rotating counterclockwise the rear drive pulley 157.
The rear one-way clutch 169 freewheels in response to this
counterclockwise movement, which does not affect the clockwise rotation of
the main shaft 170. When the right pedal 139R reaches the bottom of its
movement and the user presses downwardly on the now-raised left pedal
139L, the extension 164 of the rear pedal moves downwardly the right side
155R of the rear drive belt, imparting clockwise rotation to the rear
drive pulley 157, and operating the rear one-way clutch 169 to turn the
main shaft 170 clockwise. Each downward stroke of the pedals 139R, 139L
thus drives the main shaft 170 in the same direction.
The main shaft 170 is supported by bearings within the drive mechanism 142.
The forward end of the main shaft 170 extends forwardly of the front post
144, terminating within the coupling 173. This coupling 173 contains a
bearing in which the main shaft 170 freely rotates; the coupling does not
transmit rotation of the main shaft. Immediately behind the coupling 173,
the main shaft 170 connects to a large pulley 174 driving a relatively
smaller pulley 175 through the drive belt 176. The smaller pulley 175, in
turn, drives the jack shaft 177 to rotate the relatively large pulley 178,
which in turn drives a relatively smaller pulley 179 through the belt 180.
The pulley sets 174, 175 and 178, 179 each have a 5:1 step-up ratio in a
specific embodiment of the present invention, although that ratio is not
considered critical.
The pulley 179 drives the previously-identified fan shaft 141 to rotate the
fan 140. The fan shaft 141 is coaxial with the main shaft 170, and the
back end of the fan shaft is supported within the coupling 173. The blades
183 of the fan 140 may be fixed or adjustably pitched to vary the air
resistance of the rotating fan, and to direct the air flow rearwardly
toward the user of the machine if desired. The frame 184, located on the
exercise machine 138 behind the fan 140, holds adjustable louvers or vanes
to limit air flow toward the user as desired.
The exercise machine 142 also includes handles 188 and 189 that the user
can grasp and manipulate, either while working the pedals or independently
of the pedals. The lower ends of these handles are pivoted at the frame
11, as with the corresponding handles of the previously-described
embodiments. Each handle 188, 189 is connected to a toothed belt 190 by
separate rigid drive links, one of which is shown at 191. The belt 190
passes over an idler pulley 192 mounted in a horizontal plane near the
upper end of the front post 144, extending rearwardly in a substantially
horizontal plane to the rear idler pulleys collectively designated 193,
mounted at the rear post 143 on vertical planes at either side of the
drive mechanism 142. The belt 190 proceeds downwardly from the rear idler
pulleys 193, passing over the pulley 194 connected to the shaft 195
rotatably mounted near the lower end of the rear post 143. The shaft 195
drives a relatively large pulley 196 supporting a belt 197, extending
upwardly to the realtively small pulley 201 connected to the sleeve 202
extending back from the input side of the rear one-way clutch 169. The
main shaft 170 extends within the sleeve 202 and the pulley 201 without
interfering with rotation of the pulley.
The operation of the handles 188, 189 should now become apparent. As the
user reciprocates the handles 188, 189 back and forth, the links 191
couple that movement to the belt 190 and, through the step-up drive
provided by the pulleys 194, 196, and 201, to the input of the clutch 169.
Every full reciprocation of the handles 188, 189 is thus transmitted
through the one-way clutch 169 to do work on the fan 140.
FIG. 10 shows an alternative arrangement for coupling movement of the
handles 188, 189 to rotate the main shaft 170. This alternative
arrangement avoids a drive belt 190 operating in several planes, and
substitutes the drive belt 190a extending rearwardly to engage the pulley
209 mounted in the horizontal plane on the rear post 143. The pulley 209
is connected to the bevel gear 210 facing upwardly to the main shaft 170.
The bevel gear 210 meshes with a second and relatively smaller bevel gear
211, connected to the input side of the rear one-way clutch 169,
immediately behind the pulley 157 associated with that clutch. The
relative diameters of the two bevel gears 210, 211 are chosen to provide
the desired speed step-up ratio between the handles 188, 189 and the main
shaft 170 driving the fan.
FIGS. 11-13 show an exercise machine 220 acording to a fourth embodiment of
the present invention. The exercise machine 220 includes a seat 221
preferably designed to support a user's body in partially reclining
attiude, and foot pedals 222 (only one of which is visible in FIG. 11)
supported for reciprocation along a path 223 diagonal relative to the base
224 of the exercise machine. The pedals are connected to drive the
flywheel 225, and the two exercise handles 226 are also coupled to drive
the flywheel. For safety reasons, it should be understood that the
flywheel 225 is contained within a suitable protective device such as a
shroud or the like, not shown in FIG. 11. The reclining-seat position of
the exercise machine 220, together with the angled path 223 of
reciprocation for the pedals 222, allows pedaling with force greater than
the user's body weight alone can produce, and thereby increases the
maximum rate of work a person can expend with this exercise machine.
A slide block 229 supports the pedal 222 on the right side of the exercise
machine, and the slide block travels along a pair of rails 230 mounted on
the outside of the housing 231 containing the drive mechanism coupling
movement of the pedals and exercise handles to the flywheel 225. An
elongated slot 232 extends through the housing 231 in parallel alignment
with the rails 230, and a post (the post for the left side is shown in
FIG. 12 at 233) is attached to the slide block 229 and extends through the
slot into the interior of the housing 231. It should be understood that
the pedal assembly including rails 230 and slot 232 are duplicated on the
left side of the exercise machine 220, and those elements are denoted by
common reference numerals in the present embodiment. The post 233 for the
slide block on the left side of the exercise machine 220 appears in FIG.
12 and is explained in more detail below.
Details of the drive mechanism for the exercise machine 220 are shown in
FIGS. 12 and 13. The flywheel 225 is supported on the flywheel axle 236,
and a pair of one-way clutches 237 are connected to drive the flywheel 225
in one direction, the one-way clutches being located on both sides of the
flywheel. The input of each clutch 237 includes a pulley 238 engaged by
the toothed belt 239. One end of the belt 239 extends rearwardly from the
pulley 238 on the left side of the flywheel 225, passes over the grooved
pulley 240 at the left rear side of the housing 231, and extends
downwardly to terminate at the belt end 242 secured to the
previously-mentioned post 233 extending within the slot 232 from the pedal
slide block 229 on the left side of the housing 231. The left-side pedal
block 229 is near the upper end of its diagonal stroke, in FIG. 12.
The belt 239 extends forwardly and downwardly from the pulley 238 on the
one-way clutch, passing around the grooved timing belt pulley 246 mounted
on the shaft 247, within the housing 231 and below and somewhat to the
left of the flywheel 225. A chain sprocket 248, also freely rotatable on
the shaft 247, is attached to the timing belt pulley 246. It will be
understood that the t | | |
