Pedal exercise signal detection device

A pedal exercise signal detection device includes a sleeve having an outer circumference having a pressure signal connection device and a pressure detection unit mounted thereon; a first bearing disposed in the sleeve; a stator having a positioning axle having an end formed with a fastening hole; a fastener element fastening the stator and the sleeve together; a pedal having an axle hole into which the sleeve is inserted to be positioned therein and a receiving trough including a through opening corresponding to the pressure signal connection device; and a control circuit board disposed in the receiving trough and including signal reader units that extend through the through opening and corresponding to the pressure signal connection device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to exercise detection equipment for bicycles, and in particular to a pedal exercise signal detection device that detects and measures force and motion trace of a pedal to provide as exercise reference to a rider.

2. The Related Arts

To overcome diseases of civilization caused by obesity resulting from overeating and over-nutrition, modern people often resort to exercise to regulate physiological functionality in order to meet the requirement of healthy. Bicycle exercise is good for improve cardiopulmonary function and also helps train back muscles and heaps and lower limbs and is very popular for exercise lovers.

Bicycle exercise requires constantly and continuously pedaling in order to achieve the desired result of exercise. Sports injuries may readily occur on the riders for pedaling for a long time, and riding performance may not be improved. Thus, various detection devices have been proposed and are available in the market to record exercise condition of each riding that a rider takes or to detect exercise force signals of left and right feet generated in the course of exercise to provide as exercising reference information for the rider so that the rider may base on such information to adjust exercise habit and improve riding performance.

An example is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,011,242 B2, which includes four detection elements arranged on each of two sides of a pedal axle stator to detect and analyze the magnitudes of the forces that a rider applies to the bicycle pedal and a force application condition of force distribution on a surface of the bicycle pedal so that the rider may get aware of continuous data related to a full turn of rotation for improving the rider's pedaling efficiency in order to achieve better performance of bicycle exercise. However, in the known device, the exercise signals detected by the detection elements are transmitted in a wired manner, through a connector, to an opposite terminal. The structure is complicated and wiring must be extended through the side where the pedal is coupled to the bicycle so that the wiring is exposed and may be potential to readily cause dangers. This is apparently not a perfect arrangement. Further, the known device includes four detectors (upper, lower, left and right) provided on two sides of the stator. When a rider depresses down the pedal, the pedal rotor may not be on the detectors, and may be at a location between two detectors, and consequently, the detectors may not correctly detect the pedaling force and the force detected is not the actual force applied. The accuracy of detection is poor.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To overcome such problems of the prior art, an objective of the present invention is to provide a bicycle exercise signal detection device that detects, simultaneously, an exercise signal and a motion trace.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a bicycle exercise signal detection device that is integrated with a bicycle pedal, provides high accuracy of signal detection, and is free of wiring exposure.

To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides a pedal exercise signal detection device, which comprises a sleeve, which has an outer circumference that is provided with at least one pressure signal connection device and at least one pressure detection unit; a first bearing, which is disposed in the sleeve; a stator, which has an end comprising a positioning axle, the positioning axle having a free end that is formed with a fastening hole; a fastener element, which fastens the stator and the sleeve together; a pedal, which comprises an axle hole and a receiving trough, the axle hole receiving the sleeve to insert therein so as to position the sleeve in the axle hole, the receiving trough comprising a through opening formed in a location corresponding to the pressure signal connection device of the sleeve; and a control circuit board, which is disposed in the receiving trough of the pedal, the control circuit board comprising a plurality of signal reader units that extend through the through opening of the receiving trough and corresponding to the pressure signal connection device. The pedal exercise signal detection device may acquire an exercise signal that is transmitted through a wireless transmission module to a display to present exercising reference information to the rider.

An operation theory of the present invention will be described as follows. Reference is now made toFIGS. 1-3,FIG. 1is a schematic view illustrating stress distribution on a pedal of a bicycle when the pedal is being treaded. When a rider treads the pedal at an angular position of 90 degrees as shown inFIG. 3, an upper surface of the pedal receives the largest tensile stress (as shown in the upper portion ofFIG. 2). When the pedal is treaded at an angular position of 0 degree as shown inFIG. 3, the stress is null. When the pedal is treaded at an angular position of 270 degrees as shown inFIG. 3, namely the pedal is treaded to the lowest position, the compression stress induced in the largest.

Referring toFIG. 4, when the rider treads the pedal from the upper side, the pedal works like a rocker arm coupled to a center of a flywheel and thus, if the rocker arm has a length L, under the application of a pedaling force F (the force F comprises an X-axis component and a Y-axis component), a torque generated is as follows:
Torque=Fcos θ=Fy×L

This invention provides that a sleeve and a stator coupled to each other and the sleeve is coupled to the pedal so as to integrate with the pedal. During exercise, detectors that are arranged on two sides of the sleeve are combined, in an integrated form, with the pedal so that a pedaling force is applied, from an axle of a stator, directly to the detectors of the sleeve, and the axle of the stator has an end that is mounted, through a bearing, to an end of the sleeve and the sleeve is set in threading engagement with a rotor and the detectors are arranged on two sides of the sleeve so that the pedaling force can be accurately detected.

Even more, the detectors that are provided on two sides of the sleeve are integrated with the pedal as a unitary arrangement and the control circuit board is disposed in the pedal, this also being an integrated unitary arrangement, so that stability can be improved.

Based on the above, the pedal exercise signal detection device according to the present invention is operable to simultaneously detect an exercise signal and a motion trace. Further, the present invention provides a control circuit board that is disposed in a receiving trough and comprises a trace detection unit and a pressure detection circuit to read, by means of a signal reader unit, a force application condition of a rider treading a pedal and an exercise signal concerning an angular position of the pedal in space, which are then processed by a signal processor unit so that the processed exercise signal is transmitted through a wireless transmission module to a display. As such, the present invention is totally free of concerns of wiring exposure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring toFIGS. 5-7, the present invention provides a pedal exercise signal detection device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, which generally comprises a stator1, a sleeve2, a pedal3, a control circuit board4, and a fastener element5. The stator1is coupled by the fastener element5to the sleeve2. The stator1has an end provided with a thread11for coupling with a pedal crank (not shown) of a bicycle. The stator1has another end that is opposite to the thread11and is extended to form a positioning axle12. The positioning axle12has a distal free end that is provided with an axially extending fastening hole121formed therein. An inner circumference of the fastening hole121and an outer circumference of the fastener unit5are provided with thread structures that correspond to and are engageable with each other.

Referring collectively toFIGS. 8-9, the pedal3comprises an axle hole31and a receiving trough32formed therein. The axle hole31is provided, in an interior thereof, with an internal thread311. When the sleeve2is inserted, with the end thereof that is provided with an external thread25, into the axle hole31, the external thread25of the sleeve2is screwed onto an internal thread311of the axle hole31.

The receiving trough32is formed in a bottom of the pedal3. The control circuit board4is received and fixed in the receiving trough32. The receiving trough32is provide with and communicating with a through opening321formed in a location that corresponds to a pressure signal connection device22.

Referring also toFIG. 10, the sleeve2has an end that is formed with a positioning hole27, and a first bearing21is arranged between the positioning hole27and the positioning axle12of the stator1. The first bearing21is arranged coaxial with respect to the positioning hole27to receive the positioning axle12to extend therethrough. The fastener element5is receivable into the sleeve2and is screwed into and fixed to the fastening hole121of the positioning axle12extending through the first bearing21and the positioning hole27so as to couple the stator1and the sleeve2to each other. Further, the end of the sleeve2into which the stator1is inserted has an outer circumference that is provided with an external thread25.

The open end of the sleeve2into which the stator1is inserted is provide with a second bearing21aarranged therein, and a first water-resistant rubber ring26is arranged between the stator1and the sleeve2. The sleeve2has a middle section having an outer circumferential surface on which at least one pressure signal connection device22is mounted and one or multiple pressure detection units23are provided on each of two opposite sides of the pressure signal connection device22. Each of the pressure detection units23is operable to detect an exercise signal that is transmitted through a transmission line24, a pressure signal connection device22, and a signal reader unit41to a control circuit board4.

Referring toFIG. 11, the control circuit board4comprises a signal reader unit41, a signal processor unit42, a trace detection unit43, a trace detection circuit43′, a pressure detection circuit44, and a wireless transmission module45. The signal reader unit41comprises a structure of a probe having a top end projecting through the through opening321of the receiving trough32so as to contact with the pressure signal connection device22. The pressure detection circuit44reads, through the signal reader unit41and the pressure signal connection device22, at least one exercise force application signal detected by the pressure detection units23. The trace detection unit43and the trace detection circuit43′ are operable to detect at least one exercise trace signal of the pedal and transmit the exercise trace signal to the signal processor unit42. The trace detection unit43can be directly mounted to or formed on the control circuit board4or can alternatively be separate from and independent of the control circuit board4.

The receiving trough32receives and holds therein a power supply device322, which supplies electrical power necessary for the operations of the control circuit board4, the pressure signal connection device22, and the pressure detection units23. When the sleeve2is received in the axle hole31, an opening between the sleeve2and the axle hole31is provided with and closed by a second water-resistant rubber ring26ato protect the pressure signal connection device22and the pressure detection units23against malfunctioning caused by moisture.

When a rider rides the bicycle, the pedal exercise signal detection device of this invention is operable to detect variation of a position of the pedal3due to the rider treading the pedal3by means of the pressure signal connection device22so as to acquire a pedal angle signal concerning an angular position of the pedal3and is also operable to acquire an exercise force application signal concerning a force application condition of the rider treading the pedal3by means of detection carried out by the pressure detection units23. The exercise force application signal concerning the force application condition of the rider treading the pedal3detected by the pressure detection units23is transmitted through the transmission line24, the pressure signal connection device22, the signal reader unit41to the pressure detection circuit44, and then fed to the signal processor unit42. The trace detection unit43and the trace detection circuit43′ are operable to acquire the exercise trace signal concerning angular position variation of the pedal3in space. The signal processor unit42, after receiving the pedal angle signal, the exercise force application signal, and the exercise trace signal, may acquire a combined exercise signal, and transmits the exercise signal through the wireless transmission module45to a display61of a receiver device6to present as exercising reference information to the rider.

Referring toFIGS. 12-16, the present invention provides a pedal exercise signal detection device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The components of the instant embodiment are equivalent to those of the first embodiment and equivalent components are designated with the same reference numerals for consistency.

In the second embodiment of the represent invention, the pedal exercise signal detection device comprises a stator1, a sleeve2, a pedal3, a control circuit board4, and a fastener element5. The stator1is coupled by the fastener element5to the sleeve2. An outer circumference of the fastener unit5is provided with a sleeve-side external thread51that corresponds to and is engageable with an internal thread25aformed on a free end of the sleeve2that is opposite to the positioning hole31of the sleeve2. Further, the fastener element5is further provided with an end section external thread52that corresponds to and is engageable with an internal thread formed on the axle hole31of the pedal3. So, the sleeve2may be stably engaged with the stator1, preventing the pressure detection units23from unexpected deformation caused by assembled differences of the sleeve2.

A sleeve-side circuit board29is mounted on the sleeve2, arranged on a position corresponding to the signal reader unit41of the control circuit board4. A sleeve protection tube28is associated with the sleeve2to protect the pressure signal connection device22, the pressure detection units23and the sleeve-side circuit board29.

At least one trace detection unit43such as a magnetic element is positioned on an outer circumference near to the free end of the sleeve2. At least one trace detection circuit43′ such as a reed switch is arranged on the control circuit board4and corresponds to the trace detection unit43. The trace detection unit43and the trace detection circuit43′ are operable to detect at least one exercise trace signal of the pedal3and transmit the exercise trace signal to the control circuit board4.