Abstract:
A multifunctional linked fitness equipment has an elongated bottom, a seat stand, a front support frame seat pivotally mounted on a front end of the elongated bottom, a rear support frame seat pivotally mounted on a rear end of the seat stand, a link pivotally mounted between the front support frame seat and the rear support frame seat, a front support frame pivotally mounted on the elongated bottom and the front support frame seat, a rear support frame pivotally mounted on the elongated bottom and the rear support frame seat, and at least one resilient member mounted between the rear support frame seat and the elongated bottom. By combining or detaching the front support frame, the rear support frame or the seat stand with or from positioning pins, the fitness equipment can be utilized to selectively exercise the abdominal muscles and the legs based on the users&#39; demand.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to a linked fitness equipment, and more particularly to a multi-functional linked fitness equipment capable of selectively exercising abdominal muscles. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    Sit-up is a strength training exercise that targets at building abdominal muscles, and can be performed in a small space no matter where you are by lying directly on the floor or using a mat. However, many researches point out that despite a standard site-up movement, an arched back caused by the stretched gluteal muscles and the abdominal muscles may injure spine and lumbar intervertebral discs. 
         [0005]    Although many fitness equipments for exercising abdominal muscles are available in the market to avoid or reduce the exercise injury when the equipment is used to exercise abdominal muscles, most of such fitness equipment is unifunctional and fails to exercise other parts of muscles. Therefore, a variety of fitness equipment is needed to train the muscles of other parts of the body, making fitness not only costly but also space demanding in terms of accommodating various fitness equipments. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    An objective of the present invention is to provide a multifunctional linked fitness equipment capable of selectively exercising abdominal muscles without causing exercise injury. 
         [0007]    To achieve the foregoing objective, the multifunctional linked fitness equipment has a base, a link, at least one resilient member, a seat, a front support frame and a rear support frame. 
         [0008]    The base has an elongated bottom, a seat stand, a front support frame seat and a rear support frame seat. 
         [0009]    The elongated bottom is adapted to rest on a floor and has a front end and a rear end. The seat stand is mounted on the elongated bottom, and has a front, a rear, a seat locking hole, two back alignment plates and two back positioning holes. The seat locking hole is formed through the seat stand. The back alignment plates are mounted on the rear of the seat stand. The back positioning holes are respectively formed through the back alignment plates. The front support frame seat is pivotally mounted on the front of the seat stand and has two pivot wings, a bottom end and a positioning hole formed through the front support frame. One end of each pivot wing is pivotally mounted on the front end of the elongated bottom. The rear support frame seat is pivotally mounted on the rear of the seat stand, and has a positioning hole formed through the rear support frame seat and a bottom end. 
         [0010]    The link has a front end pivotally mounted between the free ends of the two pivot wings and a rear end pivotally mounted on the rear of the seat stand. 
         [0011]    One end of each one of the at least one resilient member is securely connected with the rear end of the elongated bottom, and the other end is pivotally mounted on the rear end of the link. 
         [0012]    The seat is mounted on the seat stand and has a seat positioning hole and a seat positioning pin. The seat positioning hole is formed in a side of the seat facing the seat stand and corresponding to the seat locking hole on the seat stand. The seat positioning pin is detachably mounted through the seat positioning hole and the seat locking hole. 
         [0013]    The front support frame is pivotally mounted on the front support frame seat and has a post positioning hole and a front positioning pin. The post positioning hole is formed through the front support frame and corresponds to the positioning holes of the front support frame seat. The front positioning pin is detachably mounted through the positioning hole of the front support frame and the positioning hole of the front support frame seat. 
         [0014]    The rear support frame is pivotally mounted on the rear support seat of the seat stand, and has a bottom, an alignment sector, a positioning hole and a rear positioning pin. The alignment sector is formed on the bottom of the rear support frame and has multiple alignment holes formed through the alignment sector and spaced apart from each other. The positioning hole is formed through the rear support frame and corresponds to the positioning hole of the rear support frame seat. The rear positioning pin is detachably mounted through the positioning hole of the rear support frame, the positioning hole of the rear support frame seat, and one of the alignment holes of the alignment sector. 
         [0015]    The front positioning pin and the rear positioning pin are employed to combine or detach the front support frame or the rear support frame so that the a combination of the front support frame and the rear support frame can be driven to exercise the upper abdominal muscles or the lower abdominal muscles or both. The seat positioning pin is used to fasten the seat and the seat stand so that the exercise injury does not occur when a user exercises the abdomen and sways the seat. 
         [0016]    Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0017]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a multi-functional linked fitness equipment in accordance with the present invention; 
           [0018]      FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the multi-functional linked fitness equipment in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0019]      FIG. 3  is a side view of the multi-functional linked fitness equipment in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0020]      FIG. 4  is a first operational side view of the multi-functional linked fitness equipment in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0021]      FIG. 5  is a second operational side view of the multi-functional linked fitness equipment in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0022]      FIG. 6  is a third operational side view of the multi-functional linked fitness equipment in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0023]      FIG. 7  is another side view of the multi-functional linked fitness equipment in  FIG. 1 ; and 
           [0024]      FIG. 8  is an operational top view of the multi-functional linked fitness equipment in  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0025]    With reference to  FIGS. 1 to 3 , a multi-functional linked fitness equipment in accordance with the present invention has a base  10 , a link  20 , at least one resilient member  30 , a seat  40 , a front support frame  50  and a rear support frame  60 . 
         [0026]    The base  10  has an elongated bottom, a seat stand  11 , a front pivot bracket  101 , a front support frame seat  12 , a rear pivot bracket  115 , a rear support frame seat  13  and two handles  14 . 
         [0027]    The elongated bottom is rested on a floor. The seat stand  11  is mounted on the elongated bottom, is T-shaped, and has a horizontal segment, a rotary joint  111 , a seat locking hole  112 , two back alignment plates  113  and two back positioning holes  114 . The horizontal segment has a rectangular section. The rotary joint  111  is mounted in a front end of the horizontal segment of the seat stand  11  and has a bearing mounted in the rotary joint  111 . The seat locking hole  112  is vertically formed through the top and the bottom near a rear end of the horizontal segment of the seat stand  11 . The back alignment plates  113  are mounted on the top at the rear end of the horizontal segment of the seat stand  11  and has a gap defined between the back alignment plates  113 . The two back positioning holes  114  are respectively formed through the two back alignment plates  113  and correspond to and align with each other. 
         [0028]    The front pivot bracket  101  is mounted on and protrudes upwardly from a top of a front end of the elongated bottom and is U-shaped. 
         [0029]    The front support frame seat  12  has a tubular post holder  123 , two footrest positioning holes  121  and two pivot wings  122 . The post holder  123  is curved in cross section and has an opening longitudinally formed through a front portion of a periphery of the arced tube  123 . The two footrest positioning holes  121  are oppositely formed through a top end of the periphery of the post holder  123 . One end of each pivot wing  122  is pivotally mounted on a bottom end of the periphery of the post holder  123  and on the front pivot bracket  101 . The two pivot wings  122  are parallel with each other and have a gap defined between the pivot wings  122 . 
         [0030]    The rear pivot bracket  115  has two plates mounted on and protruding rearwardly from two sides of the rear end of the horizontal segment of the seat stand  11 . 
         [0031]    The rear support frame seat  13  has two pivot elbows  131 . Each pivot elbow  131  has two segments and a rear frame positioning hole  132 . The segments are obliquely and integrally formed together. A junction of the two segments of each pivot elbow  131  is pivotally mounted on an inner side of one of the plates of the rear pivot bracket  115 . The rear frame positioning hole  132  is formed through the top of the pivot elbow  131 . 
         [0032]    One end of each handle  14  is securely mounted on one side of the horizontal segment of the seat stand  11 . 
         [0033]    The link  20  has a front pivot portion  21  and a rear pivot portion  22 . The front pivot portion  21  is formed on a front end of the link  20 , and is pivotally mounted between the free ends of the two pivot wings  122 . The rear pivot portion  22  is pivotally mounted between bottom ends of the two pivot elbows  131  of the rear support frame seat  13  by a pivot pin  23 . 
         [0034]    Each one of the at least one resilient member  30  may be a spring. One end of each one of the at least one resilient member  30  is securely connected with a rear end of the elongated bottom of the base  10 , and the other end is pivotally connected to the link  20  and is mounted between the pivot elbows  131  of the rear support frame seat  13  and around the pivot pin  23 . In the present embodiment, three resilient members  30  are mounted between the base  10  and the link  20 . 
         [0035]    The seat  40  is mounted on the seat stand  11 , and has a positioning plate and a rotation shaft  41 . The positioning plate is mounted on a bottom of the seat  40  and protrudes beyond the seat  40 . The rotation shaft  41  is formed on and protrudes downwardly from the bottom of the seat  40 , and is mounted through the bearing of the rotary joint  111  so that the seat  40  can be rotatable on the seat stand  11 . The positioning plate has a seat positioning hole  401  formed through a portion of the positioning plate, separated from the rotation shaft  41  and corresponding to the seat locking hole  112  on the seat stand  11 . A seat positioning pin  42  is detachably mounted through the seat positioning hole  401  and the seat locking hole  112  so that the seat  40  can be securely fastened on the seat stand  11  without being rotatable. 
         [0036]    The front support frame  50  has a front support post  51 , a footrest  52 , and a front positioning pin  53 . A bottom of the front support post  51  is pivotally mounted between bottoms of the pivot wings  122 . The front support post  51  is telescopic and can be pivoted so that a bottom portion of the front support post  51  is received within the post holder  123  through the opening. The front support post  51  has a front post positioning hole  511  formed through the front support post  51  and corresponding to the footrest positioning holes  121  of the front support frame seat  12 . The footrest  52  is mounted on a top of the front support post  51  and has at least one front shock absorption pad  521  mounted on one side of the footrest  52 . The front positioning pin  53  is detachably mounted through the front post positioning hole  511  and the footrest positioning holes  121  to hold the front support frame  50  at position relative to the front support frame seat  12 . 
         [0037]    The rear support frame  60  has a rear support post  61 , a headrest  62 , a backrest  63 , a waistrest  64 , a rear positioning pin  65  and an alignment sector  66 . The rear support post  61  is telescopic. A bottom of the rear support post  61  is pivotally between the rear pivot brackets  115  and the pivot elbows  131 . The rear support post  61  has a rear post positioning holes  612  formed through the rear support post  61  and corresponding to and aligning with the rear frame positioning holes  132  of the pivot elbows  131 . The headrest  62 , the backrest  63  and the waistrest  64  are sequentially mounted on the rear support post  61  in a downward direction. The rear positioning pin  65  is detachably mounted through the rear post positioning hole  612  and the rear frame positioning holes  132  of the pivot elbows  131  to hold the rear support post  61  at position relative to the rear support seat  13 . The rear support post  61  is pivotable with respect to the rear support seat  13  after the rear positioning pin  65  is removed from the rear post positioning hole  612 . The rear support post  61  further has a rear shock absorption pad  611  mounted on a side of the rear support post  61  opposite to the backrest  63 . The alignment sector  66  is formed on and protrudes forwardly from a bottom portion of a periphery of the rear support post  61 , is mounted between the back alignment plates  113  of the seat stand  11  and has multiple alignment holes  661  formed through the alignment sector  66  and spaced apart from each other. When the rear support frame  60  is pivoted relative to the rear pivot brackets  115 , the alignment sector  66  is moved within the two back alignment plates  113 . The rear positioning pin  65  can be mounted through the back positioning holes  114  of the back alignment plates  113  and one of the alignment holes  661  of the alignment sector  66  so that the rear support frame  60  is mounted on the seat stand  11  at an angle relative to the seat stand  11 . 
         [0038]    The multifunctional linked fitness equipment can be operated in several ways as follows. 
         [0039]    With reference to  FIG. 4 , the front positioning pin  53  is mounted through the front post positioning hole  511  of the front support post  51  and the footrest positioning holes  121  of the front support frame seat  12 , the rear positioning pin  65  is mounted through the rear post positioning hole  612  of the rear support post  61  and the rear frame positioning hole  132  of the rear support frame seat  13 , and the seat positioning pin  42  is mounted through the seat positioning hole  401  of the seat  40  and the seat locking hole  112  of the seat stand  11 . A user can sit on the seat  40  with the legs resting on the footrest  52  of the front support frame  50 , the upper body leaning on the rear support frame  60  and both hands holding the handles  14 . The front support frame  50  and the rear support frame  60  are respectively pushed by the upper body and the legs, and the front support frame  50  and the rear support frame  60  are oppositely pivoted until the front support frame  50  and the rear support frame  60  align horizontally. Meanwhile, the front support frame seat  12  and the rear support frame seat  13  pivotally connected to the link  20  are also driven so that the at least one resilient member  30  connected to the front support frame seat  12  and the rear support frame seat  13  is extended. When the user stop pressing the front support frame  50  and the rear support frame  60 , the restoring elastic force of the at least one resilient member  30  pulls the link  20  to pivot the rear support frame  60  and the front support frame  50  upwardly so as to lift up the upper body and the legs to their original positions. Such operation aims to exercise the upper abdomen, the lower abdomen and the legs of a user. 
         [0040]    With reference to  FIG. 5 , the front positioning pin  53  mounted through the front post positioning hole  511  of the front support post  51  and the footrest positioning holes  121  of the front support frame seat  12  is removed and the front support frame  50  lies on the floor. A user can sit on the seat  40  with the hands holding the handles  14 , the legs stepping on the floor and the upper body pressing down the rear support frame  60  so that the rear support frame  60  can be pressed down to align horizontally. When the rear support frame  60  is pressed down, the link  20  is driven to pivot the front support frame seat  12  and the rear support frame seat  13  so that the at least one resilient member  30  is extended. Such operation aims to exercise the upper abdomen of a user. 
         [0041]    With reference to  FIG. 6 , the front positioning pin  53  is mounted through the front support frame seat  12  and the front support post  51 , and the rear positioning pin  65  mounted through the rear support post  61  and the rear support frame seat  13  is removed and is mounted through the back positioning holes  114  of the back alignment plates  113  and one of the alignment holes  661  of the alignment sector  66  so that the rear support frame  60  is not driven by the rear support frame seat  13 . A user can adjust an inclined angle of the rear support frame  60  based on personal demand and sit on the seat  40  with the upper body lying on the rear support frame  60 , the hands holding the handles  14  and the legs stepping on the footrest  52  of the front support frame  50 . The front support frame  50  is pressed down by the legs, and the front support frame  50  drives the front support frame seat  12 , the rear support frame seat  13  and the link  20  and simultaneously pulls the at least one resilient member  30 . Such operation aims to exercise the lower abdomen and the legs of a user. 
         [0042]    With reference to  FIG. 7 , the seat positioning pin  42  is removed from the seat positioning hole  401  of the seat  40  and the seat locking hole  112  of the seat stand  11 , the seat  40  can be rotatable relative to the rotary joint  111  of the seat stand  11 , and the front support frame  50  lies on the floor and the rear support frame  60  aligns horizontally. With reference to  FIG. 8 , a user can sit on the seat  40  and rotate the seat  40  with respect to the seat stand  11  so as to twist the waist and swing the hip. Such operation aims to exercise the side the abdominal muscle of a user. 
         [0043]    Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.