Patent Publication Number: US-2013237386-A1

Title: Pedal exerciser

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates to a sport exerciser, and more particularly to a pedal exerciser. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a conventional pedal exerciser allowing a user to pedal with the user&#39;s legs for exercise is shown to include a support frame  1 , a pedal unit  2 , and a resistance adjusting member  3 . 
     The support frame  1  includes an inverted V-shaped support rod  101 , an axial tube  102  mounted on the support rod  101 , and two foot rods  103  connected respectively to opposite ends of the support rod  101 . The pedal unit  2  includes a crank member  201  disposed in the axial tube  102 , and two pedals  202  connected respectively to opposite ends of the crank member  201 . The resistance adjusting member  3  is mounted on the axial tube  102 , and is operable to adjust rotation resistance on the crank member  201  of the pedal unit  2 . 
     In such a configuration, the conventional pedal exerciser has a relatively large size, thereby resulting in higher packaging costs, and inconvenience during transport or storage. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a pedal exerciser that has a foldable support frame, and that can overcome the aforesaid drawbacks of the prior art. 
     According to the present invention, a pedal exerciser comprises a support frame, an axial tube, a pedal unit, and two positioning units. 
     The support frame is operable between an expanded state and a folded state, and includes a main rod and two stands. The main rod has two pivot end portions opposite to each other in a first direction, and an arc-shaped intermediate portion interconnecting the pivot end portions. The two stands are connected pivotally and respectively to the pivot end portions of the main rod such that the stands are rotatable relative to the main rod. When the support frame is in the expanded state, each of the stands is moved away from the other one of the stands to a supporting position. When the support frame is in the folded state, each of the stands is moved toward the other one of the stands to a retracted position such that the stands are placed under the arc-shaped intermediate portion of the main rod and between the pivot end portions of the main rod, and overlap each other. The axial tube is mounted on the arc-shaped intermediate portion of the main rod of the support frame and extends in an axial direction transverse to the first direction. 
     The pedal unit includes a crank member and two pedals. The crank member is disposed pivotally in the axial tube and has opposite ends extending outward of the axial tube. The two pedals are connected respectively to the ends of the crank member. 
     Each of the positioning units is disposed in said support frame for positioning a corresponding one of the stands in the supporting position. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic side view showing a conventional pedal exerciser; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view showing the preferred embodiment of a pedal exerciser according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a partially exploded perspective view showing the preferred embodiment; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic sectional view showing the preferred embodiment when a support frame is in an expanded state; and 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic sectional view showing the preferred embodiment when the support frame is in a folded state. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to  FIGS. 2 to 5 , the preferred embodiment of a pedal exerciser of the present invention is shown to include a support frame  10 , an axial tube  40 , a pedal unit  20 , two positioning units, and a resistance adjusting member  30 . 
     The support frame  10  is operable between an expanded state and a folded state, and includes a main rod  11  and two stands  12 . 
     The main rod  11  has two pivot end portions  111  opposite to each other in a first direction (Y), and an arc-shaped intermediate portion  112  interconnecting the pivot end portions  111 . In this embodiment, each of the pivot end portions  111  is tubular and is formed with a notch  113  extending toward the intermediate portion  112  of the main rod  11 . 
     The stands  12  are connected pivotally and respectively to the pivot end portions  111  of the main rod  11  such that the stands  12  are rotatable relative to the main rod  11 . When the support frame  10  is in the expanded state, as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 4 , each stand  12  is moved away from the other stand  12  to a supporting position. When the support frame  10  is in the folded state, as shown in  FIG. 5 , each stand  12  is moved toward the other stand  12  to a retracted position such that the stands  12  are placed under the arc-shaped intermediate portion  112  of the main rod  11  and between the pivot end portions  111  of the main rod  11 , and overlap each other. 
     In this embodiment, each stand  12  includes a first support rod  122  extending in an axial direction (X) transverse to the first direction (Y), a tubular second support rod  121  transverse to the first support rod  122 , and two anti-slip blocks  123  connected rotatably and respectively to opposite ends of the first support rod  122 . For each stand  2 , the second support rod  121  has a first end  1211  connected to the first support rod  122 , and a second end  1212  opposite to the first end  1211  and inserted into and connected pivotally to a corresponding pivot end portion  111  of the main rod  11  by a pivot pin  114  that extends through two through holes  115  (only one shown in  FIG. 3 ) in the corresponding pivot end portion  111  of the main rod  11 , and two through holes  1213  in the second end  1212  of the second support rod  121 . As a result, the second support rod  121  of each stand  12  is rotatable about a pivot axis (a) (see  FIG. 2 ) parallel to the axial direction (X) relative to the main rod  11 . It is noted that the notch  113  in each pivot end portion  111  of the main rod  11  permits outward extension of the second end  1212  of the second support rod  121  therethrough when the corresponding stand  12  moves from the supporting position to the retracted position, as shown in  FIG. 5 . 
     The axial tube  40  is mounted on the arc-shaped intermediate portion  112  of the main rod  11  of the support frame  10 , and extends in the axial direction (X). 
     The pedal unit  20  includes a crank member  21  disposed pivotally in the axial tube  40  and having opposite ends  211  extending outward of the axial tube  40 , and two pedals  22  connected respectively to the ends  211  of the crank member  21 . 
     The resistance adjusting member  30  is mounted on and extends into the axial tube  40 . The resistance adjusting member  30  is operable to adjust rotation resistance on the crank member  21  of the pedal unit  20  in a known manner. 
     Each positioning unit is disposed in the support frame  10  for positioning a corresponding stand  12  in the supporting position. In this embodiment, each positioning unit includes a first positioning hole  1113 , a second positioning hole  1215 , and a spring-loaded positioning knob  51 . For each positioning unit, the first positioning hole  1113  is formed in a corresponding pivot end portion  111  of the main rod  11 , the second positioning hole  1215  is formed in the second end  1212  of the second support rod  121  of the corresponding stand  12 , and the spring-loaded positioning knob  51  is mounted in the second end  1212  of the second support rod  121  of the corresponding stand  12 , extends through the second positioning hole  1215 , and engages releasably the first positioning hole  1113  when the corresponding one of the stands  12  is in the supporting position. 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , when the support frame  10  is in the expanded state, each stand  12  is moved away from the other one of the stands  12  to a supporting position. Because each of the pivot end portions  111  of the main rod  11  is tubular to permit insertion of the second end  1212  of a corresponding one of the second support rods  121  of the stands  12  thereinto, the spring-loaded positioning knob  51  of the corresponding one of the positioning units extends outwardly from the corresponding first positioning hole  1113  such that the positioning unit positions a corresponding one of the stands  12  in the supporting position and such that the two corresponding anti-slip blocks  143  are rotatably and respectively connected to opposite ends of the first support rod  122  of a corresponding one of the stands  12 . As in  FIG. 5 , when the support frame  1  is in the folded state, each of the stands  12  is moved toward the other one of the stands  12  to a retracted position. Because each of the pivot end portions  111  of the main rod  11  is formed with a notch  113  extending toward the intermediate portion  112  of the main rod  11  to permit outward extension of the second end  1212  of the corresponding one of the second support rods  121  of the stands  12  therethrough, the spring-loaded positioning knob  51  of the corresponding one of the positioning units is released from the corresponding first positioning hole  1113  and extends outwardly from the corresponding second positioning hole  1215  such that the positioning unit positions the corresponding one of the stands  12  in the retracted position and such that the two corresponding anti-slip blocks  143  are rotatably and respectively connected to opposite ends of the first support rod  121  of the corresponding one of the stands  12 . 
     To sum up, when the support frame  10  is in the expanded state, a user can pedal the pedal exerciser of the present invention for exercise, as shown in  FIG. 4 . On the other hand, since the main rod  11  has the arc-shaped intermediate portion  112  and since the support frame  10  can be operated in the folded state, the pedal exerciser of the present invention can be folded to have a smaller size to thus facilitate storage and transport. In addition, packaging costs of the same can be reduced. Moreover, each positioning unit can be easily operated by pressing the positioning knob  51  with one hand or foot to disengage the first positioning hole  1113  in the corresponding pivot end portion  111  of the main rod  11 , thereby facilitating retraction of the stands  12 . 
     While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.