Foldable exercise bicycle

Abstract: A compact bicycle for indoor exercise characterised in that said bicycle comprises a folding frame having a central body (2) from which extend an upright saddle support (4) and a front downwarts leg support (5) both being solid with the central body, and two other articulated elements, one functioning as a handle upright (10) and pivoting around a bearing at the front end of the central body, the second functioning as rear legs support (11) and being pivotally connected to the rear part of the central body; the handle upright extending below the central body bearing to be pivotally connected at its end by a tie rod to a pivot on the central section of the rear leg element, so that a rearwards movement of the handle upright causes the forward rotation of the rear leg element in a folding movement.

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a foldable exercise bicycle which is provided with a folding frame in order to reduce the bicycle size. As is known there are already available exercise bicycles which conventionally comprise a frame thereon there is articulated a pedal assembly which, through a belt system, causes a flywheel to turn, the flywheel being usually arranged laterally of the pedals and at the rear thereof. A drawback of these prior bicycles is that they have a comparatively large size since the construction of she several elements of the bicycle does not provide the possibility of folding the bicycle frame to a compact stored condition. Actually, even if some foldable frame exercise bicycles have been designed, they have still a comparatively large size in their folded condition. The document US-A-3 578 800 discloses a foldable exercise bicycle having substantially the features of the pre-characterizing portion of the main claim. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the aim of the present invention is to overcome the above mentioned drawbacks by providing a compact foldable exercise bicycle including a bicycle folding frame which can be easily and quickly folded in order to provide the bicycle with a very compact size in a stored condition thereof. Within the scope of the above mentioned aim, a main object of the present invention is to provide such a bicycle construction which can be folded so as to reduce both its length and its height. Another object of the present invention is to provide such an exercise bicycle which can be easily transported on a pair of wheels and which is very reliable and safe in operation. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide such an exercise bicycle which can be easily made starting from easily available elements and materials and which, moreover, is very competitive from a mere economic standpoint. According to one aspect of the present invention, the above mentioned aim and objects, as well as yet other objects, which will become more apparent hereinafter, are achieved by a foldable exercise bicycle having the features of the characterizing portion of claim 1. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become more apparent thereinafter from the following detailed disclosure of a preferred, though not exclusive, embodiment thereof, which is illustrated, by way of an indicative, but not limitative example, in the figures of the accompanying drawings, where: Figure 1 is a side elevation view of the exercise bicycle according to the invention, in its use condition; Figure 2 is a further side elevation view of the exercise bicycle, in a not use or folded condition thereof; Figure 3 is a front view of the exercise bicycle according to the invention; and Figure 4 is a schematic perspective view illustrating the exercise bicycle according to the invention. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With reference to the above mentioned drawings, the compact foldable exercise bicycle according to the present invention, which has been generally indicated at the reference number 1, comprises a bicycle frame which includes a central body 2 which is advantageously constituted by two adjoining metal plates 3 which are connected to a saddle upright 4, advantageously made as a square cross-section tubular element, and a front bearing element, also constituted by square cross-section tubular elements. The upright 4 and front downward leg support 5 are rigidly connected to the bicycle frame and project from said frame at two opposite sides and are advantageously parallel to one another. More specifically, and as is shown, the front leg support 5 ends at the bottom thereof with a front cross element 6 which, preferably, is provided with wheels 7. To the central body 2 there is articulated, at the front portion thereof, a handle upright, indicated at 10, whereas to the rear end portion of the central body 2 there is pivoted a rear leg support 11. Advantageously, both the upright 10 and the rear leg support 11 are made of square cross-section tubular elements. Moreover, the rear bearing element ends with a rear cross element 12 which, at the end portions thereof, is provided with bearing pads 13. The handle upright 10 is interconnected with the rear leg support, through a tie-rod 20, which is articulated between an intermediate position of the rear leg support 11 and the bottom end of the upright 10 so as to cause, as the frame is folded, the rear leg support 11 and the upright 10 to simultaneously turn, thereby causing the upright 10 to move toward the upright 4 and the rear leg support 11 to move toward the front downward leg support 5. The driving gear of the room bicycle comprise pedal assemblies 40, to which there is connected a central pulley 41, and which are rotatably supported with respect to the central body 2. On the central pulley 41 there is entrained a driving or transmission belt 45 which further extends on a roller 46 coaxial and rigid with a flywheel 47. There is moreover provided a belt tension element indicated at the reference number 48. On the periphery of the flywheel 27 there is entrained a braking strip element 50, which has a fixed point at its rear end portion and, at its front end portion, is connected through the interposition of a spring 51 and a flexible tie-rod, provided for adjusting the friction in order to allow the pedalling force to be adjusted. The above mentioned flywheel 47 is supported by plates 55 which are rigid with the front bearing element 5. The bicycle further comprises a protecting casing generally indicated at the reference number 70. The bicycle saddle 41 is connected by means of a telescopic column 72 which allows the size of the bicycle to be further reduced, in its not use condition, since the telescopic column 72 can be fully withdrawn within the upright 4. Likewise, the handlebar 80 is connected, by means of a telescopic handlebar column 81, to the handlebar upright 10 so as to provide a desired height adjustment as well as to further reduce the bicycle size in its folded or collapsed condition. From the above disclosure it should be apparent that the invention fully achieves the intended aim and objects. While the invention has been disclosed and illustrated with reference to a preferred embodiment thereof, it should be apparent that the disclosed embodiment is susceptible to several modifications and variations all of which will come within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims: A foldable exercise bicycle comprising a folding frame having a central body (2) from which extend an upright saddle support (4),a front downward leg support (5),an upright handle support (10) and a rear downward leg support (11),said upright handle support being pivotally secured to said central body,characterized in that the saddle support (4) and the front leg support (5) are rigidly secured to the central body (2) and the rear leg support (1) is pivotally secured to the central body (2),and in that the handle support (10) and the rear leg support (11) are pivotally connected to one another by a tie rod (20),adapted to cause the handle support (10) to move towards the saddle support (4) and the rear leg support (11) to move towards the front leg support (5) as the folding frame is folded. A bicycle according to claim 1,wherein said central body (2) comprises a pair of plates (3) rigidly connected to said saddle support (4) and front downward leg support (5),which extend with a parallel relationship on opposite sides of said central body (2). A bicycle according to claim 1,wherein the front downward leg support (5) is connected to a front cross element (6) provided with wheels (7). A bicycle according to claim 1,wherein in said saddle support (4) there is telescopically engaged a saddle supporting column. A bicycle according to claim 1,wherein said tie rod (20) is connected to an intermediate portion of said rear leg support (11) and to a bottom end portion of said handle support (10). A bicycle according to claim 1,wherein said bicycle further comprises a telescopic handle column which is telescopically engaged in said handle support (10). A bicycle according to claim 1,wherein said rear leg support (11) ends with a rear cross element (12) provided with bearing pads (13). A bicycle according to claim 1,wherein said bicycle further comprises a pair of pedal assemblies (40) each associated with a central pulley (41) rotatably supported at a bottom portion of said central body (2),a driving belt being entrained on said pulley,said driving belt(45) being further entrained on a sprocket,rigid with a flywheel (47) arranged at a lower position with respect to said central pulley. A bicycle according to claim 8,wherein said bicycle further comprises a friction strip (50) entrained on a peripheral portion of said flywheel (47) and fixedly connected at one end and having the other end thereof coupled to a tie rod through the interposition of a spring (51),there being moreover provided adjustment means for adjusting a force provided by said tie rod and,accordingly,a friction of said friction strip (50). A bicycle according to claim 1,wherein said central body (2) is provided,at the rear portion thereof,with limit hook elements which c an be engaged with corresponding projections formed on said rear leg support (11),a clamping grip element being moreover provided for locking at a set position said real leg support (11).

Inventors: CARNIELLI TEODORO, CARNIELLI, TEODORO
Applicants: CARNIELLI & C TEODORO SPA, TEODORO CARNIELLI & C. S.P.A.
Application year: 1992
Main classification: A63B23
IPC codes: A63B21, A63B22