Abstract:
Left and right rails are supported on a frame and movable up and down with respect thereto. Left and right skates are supported on respective rails and movable back and forth with respect thereto. As a result, each skate is movable through a variety of paths within a respective vertical plane. Each rail is a leaf spring and provides its own, inherent reactionary force in response to upward and downward movement thereof.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to exercise methods and apparatus and more particularly, to exercise equipment which facilitates exercise through a variable path of motion.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Exercise equipment has been designed to facilitate a variety of discrete exercise motions. For example, treadmills allow a person to walk or run in place; stepper machines allow a person to climb in place; bicycle machines allow a person to pedal in place; and other machines allow a person to skate and/or stride in place. Yet another exercise apparatus, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,290,211 to Stearns, has been designed to facilitate several different exercise motions, including free form paths of foot movement and controlled paths of foot movement comparable to walking, running, stepping, cycling, striding, skiing, and/or elliptical paths of travel. In particular, the exercise apparatus has foot platforms which move relative to intermediate supports which, in turn, move relative to a frame. As a result of such an arrangement, the foot platforms enjoy two degrees of freedom relative to the frame. In other words, each foot platform is free to move through all sorts of paths within its respective vertical plane.  
           [0003]    The Stearns patent discloses foot platforms which are configured to move in reciprocal fashion and foot platforms which are configured to move independently of one another. In the latter configuration, a return mechanism is desirable to overcome the force of gravity acting on the foot platforms. In other words, once a user provides the force necessary to move a foot platform downward, the apparatus provides the force necessary to return the foot platform back upward in the absence of user supplied force (either downward on the platform or upward on a toe strap). In the reciprocating configuration, the foot platforms are constrained to move in generally opposite directions, and thus, no such discrete return mechanism is required because the user provides the return force.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0004]    The present invention may be seen to provide an exercise apparatus having left and right rails supported on a frame and movable up and down relative thereto, and left and right foot platforms supported on respective rails and movable back and forth relative thereto. Unlike the embodiments shown in the Stearns patent, however, the rails on the present invention are flexible and resilient and function as leaf springs in response to vertical movement.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING  
       [0005]    With reference to the Figures of the Drawing, wherein like numerals represent like parts and assemblies throughout the several views,  
         [0006]    [0006]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exercise apparatus constructed according to the principles of the present invention;  
         [0007]    [0007]FIG. 2 is a side view of the exercise apparatus of FIG. 1;  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 3 is a top view of the exercise apparatus of FIG. 1; and  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 4 is an end view of the exercise apparatus of FIG. 1.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0010]    A preferred embodiment exercise apparatus constructed according to the principles of the present invention is designated as  100  in FIGS.  1 - 4 . The exercise apparatus  100  generally includes a frame  120 , left and right foot supports  180   a  and  180   b  movably mounted on the frame  120 , and left and right handles  190   a  and  190   b  movably mounted on the frame  120 . The foot supports  180   a  and  180   b  are movable up and down relative to the frame  120 , back and forth relative to the frame  120 , and through various curved paths of motion having variable vertical and horizontal components. The handles  190   a  and  190   b  are independently movable through an arcuate path relative to the frame  120 .  
         [0011]    The frame  120  includes a generally I-shaped base  122  which is designed to rest upon a horizontal floor surface  99 . The base  122  includes a forward transverse member  124 , a rearward transverse member  126 , and a longitudinal member  127  extending perpendicularly therebetween. A forward stanchion  130  extends upward from the base  122 , proximate the forward end. A laterally extending support  132  is mounted on top of the stanchion  130 , and a trunnion  136  extends rearward from the stanchion  130 . A rearward stanchion  140  extends upward from the base  122 , proximate the rearward end. A laterally extending support  142  is mounted on top of the stanchion  140 . An intermediate stanchion  150  extends upward from the base  122 , just in front of the rearward stanchion  140 . A laterally extending support  152  is mounted on the stanchion  150  and supports left and right brackets  155   a  and  155   b  which cooperate with the support  152  to provide laterally extending left and right slots.  
         [0012]    Left and right rails or guide members  160   a  and  160   b  are interconnected between the forward support  132  and the intermediate support  152 . In particular, a rearward end of each rail  160   a  and  160   b  is inserted through a respective slot on the intermediate support  150 , and a forward end of each rail  160   a  and  160   b  is connected to the forward support  132  by means of a bolt assembly  135   a  and  135   b . The slots and the bolts  135   a  and  135   b  cooperate to allow deflection of the rails  160   a  and  160   b  while also maintaining them in parallel alignment relative to one another and the base  122 .  
         [0013]    Each rail  160   a  and  160   b  is made from flexible and resilient steel and may be described as a leaf spring. The rails  160   a  and  160   b  deflect downward in response to a downward force and deflect back upward in the absence of a downward force. The rails  160   a  and  160   b  are depicted in a relatively curved or deflected configuration to emphasize this feature of the invention. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the rails  160   a  and  160   b  may be made of other suitable materials, such as fiberglass and/or graphite composites, without departing from the scope of the present invention.  
         [0014]    Each foot support  180   a  and  180   b  is rollably mounted on a respective rail  170   a  or  170   b  in a manner known in the art. Rollers engage both sides of each rail  170   a  and  170   b  to maintain the respective foot supports  180   a  or  180   b  in proximity thereto.  
         [0015]    A flywheel  170  is rotatably mounted to the trunnion  136  and interconnected with the foot supports  180   a  and  180   b  by means of flexible members or timing belts  178   a  and  178   b  In particular, each timing belt  178   a  and  178   b  is formed into a closed loop and disposed about a respective pulley on the rearward support  142  and about a respective pulley and one-way clutch combination on the shaft which supports the flywheel  170 . Each foot support  180   a  and  180   b  is connected to the lower stretch of a respective timing belt  178   a  or  178   b . The arrangement is such that rearward movement of either foot support  180   a  or  180   b  causes counter-clockwise rotation of the flywheel  170  (as viewed from the left side of the machine  100  and indicated by arrows in FIG. 1). The right foot support  180   b  is also connected to the upper stretch of the left timing belt  178   a , by means of bracket  188 , thereby constraining the two foot supports  180   a  and  180   b  to move in reciprocal fashion. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the left pulley and one-way clutch combination freewheels relative to the flywheel  170  during rearward movement of the right foot support  180   b . Those skilled in the art will also recognize that a coil spring may be placed in series between the bracket  188  and the left timing belt  178   a  to keep the belt  178   a  taut and allow sufficient freedom of movement during operation.  
         [0016]    Since the foot supports  180   a  and  180   b  are movable relative to the rails  160   a  and  160   b , and in turn, the rails  160   a  and  160   b  are movable relative to the frame  120 , the foot supports  180   a  and  180   b  are movable in a variety of manners relative to the frame  120 . For example, the foot supports  180   a  and  180   b  may simply move up and down (together with the rails  160   a  and  160   b ) relative to the frame  120 ; or the foot supports  180   a  and  180   b  may simply move back and forth along the rails  160   a  and  160   b ; or the foot supports  180   a  and  180   b  may move through a path that combines the two preceding motions, such as downward and backward and then upward and forward. In addition to facilitating a greater variety of exercise movements, the flexible and resilient rails  160   a  and  160   b  also inherently tend to absorb shock during downward exercise movement.  
         [0017]    A lower end  184  of each handle  190   a  and  190   b  is rotatably mounted to a respective side of the support  124 , and each handle  190   a  and  190   b  rotates relative to the frame  120  subject to friction disc resistance, all in a manner already known in the art. Resistance to rotation may be adjusted by rotating knobs  186  relative to the respective handles  190   a  and  190   b . An upper end  182  of each handle  190   a  and  190   b  is sized and configured for grasping by a person standing on the foot supports  180   a  and  180   b . A flange  128  extends downward from each end of the support  124  to engage the floor surface  99  and provide clearance for rotation of the handles  190   a  and  190   b.    
         [0018]    Those skilled in the art will recognize additional embodiments, modifications, and/or applications which differ from those described herein yet nonetheless fall within the scope of the present invention. For example, other types of inertia altering and/or resistance devices, such as a band brake or a motor, could be added to or substituted for the flywheel arrangement without departing from the scope of the present invention. Furthermore, the size, configuration, and/or arrangement of the components of the preferred embodiment may be modified as a matter of design choice. Recognizing that, for reasons of practicality, the foregoing description sets forth only some of the numerous possible modifications and variations, the scope of the present invention is to be limited only to the extent of the claims which follow.