Patent Publication Number: US-2015087480-A1

Title: Simple harmonic motion exercise device

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Fields of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to the structure of a simple harmonic motion exercise device, and more particularly to the exercise device that provides excellent inertial exercises and an adjustable resistance for the exercises to gain higher practical value. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     The so-called “simple harmonic motion” generally refers to a motion of swinging forward, backward, leftward or rightward to a certain extent based on circumferential curvature. Compared with a full circle exercise of a general fitness bike or bicycle, the simple harmonic motion exercise is very different, and the advantage of sports equipments of this kind is to reduce the risk of mechanical sports injuries, so that such equipments are more suitable for users of different ages (particularly for elderly users) or patients with physiological illness (particularly for users having difficulties with lower limb exercises or patients with lower limb joint diseases). 
     The inventor of the present invention has filed a patent application Ser. No. 13/853,026 entitled “Simple harmonic exercise device structure”, and such application relates to a basic design without an additional device of a general fitness equipment for providing exercise inertia and resistance, so that further improvements are made, in hope of providing a more practical and useful product. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Therefore, it is a primary objective of the present invention to add a passive flywheel, a pull string controlled and pulled by a pedal linkage rod and a pulley for rotating the flywheel and achieving the expected inertial effect of forward and reverse rotations. In addition, an electromagnetic damping generator is installed on a side of the flywheel and provided for a user to adjust an appropriate resistance for the exercise depending on the user&#39;s exercise requirements, so as to meet user requirements and gain higher practical value. 
     According to the invention, a simple harmonic motion exercise device includes a pivotally rotatable handle module installed at a front stand of a base front and proximate to the top of the front stand, two pedal linkage rods pivotally coupled to the swing linkage rod, two elastically stretchable members and a parallel four-linkage rod cushion module for electrically adjusting height and position. In addition, a pull string, a pulley, and a passive flywheel are provided for inertial exercises, and an electromagnetic damping generator is installed adjacent to the flywheel for adjusting the resistance of the exercises to provide a better simple harmonic motion exercise. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic planar view of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic view of a motion (including the adjustment of a cushion) of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic perspective view of the layout of a pull string and its related pulley of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic planar view of  FIG. 4 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     With reference to  FIGS. 1 and 2  for a simple harmonic motion exercise device of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the devices comprises a base  10 , a handle module  20 , two swing linkage rods  30 , two pedal linkage rods  40  and two stretch linkage rods  50 . 
     The base  10  includes a front stand  11 , a central stand  12 , two extension stands  13  and a rear stand  14 . 
     The handle module  20  includes a holding transverse rod  22 , and a transverse gear  21  installed at the bottom of a middle section of the transverse rod  22  and pivotally coupled to the top of the front stand  11  of the base  10 . 
     Two swing linkage rods  30  are respectively and pivotally coupled to pivot pins  111  at corresponding positions of both sides of the front stand  11 , and a longitudinal gear  31  is installed at the top of the swing linkage rod  30  and engaged with the transverse gear  21  to define a linkage relation 
     Two pedal linkage rods  40  are fixed to a pedal  41  and respectively and pivotally coupled to the swing linkage rod  30 , and a rear end of the pedal linkage rod  40  is pivotally coupled to a corresponding stretch linkage rod  50 . 
     Two stretch linkage rods  50  are pivotally coupled to a rear end of the pedal linkage rod  40 , and a rear end of the stretch linkage rod is pivotally coupled to the rear stand  14 , and an elastically stretchable member  60  is installed and coupled between the stretch linkage rod  50  and the extension stand  13 . 
     In addition, a passive flywheel  70  is installed at a rear end of the base  10  and freely and pivotally rotated in forward and reverse directions by forces, and a reel  71  is installed separately on both sides of the flywheel  70  and a pull string  72  is wound in a reverse direction around the reel  71 , and the other end of the pull string  72  is fixed to a fixed fulcrum  121  at the top of the central stand  12 . In  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the pull string  72  is wound around a first fixed pulley  122  installed at a position adjacent to the central stand  12 , and then wounded around a pedal pulley  42  installed at a position corresponding to the pedal linkage rod  40 , and finally wound around a second fixed pulley  123  fixed to a side of the central stand  12 . When one of the pedal linkage rods  40  is displaced by a force (particularly in a descending displacement), the pedal pulley  42  controls and pulls the pull string  72 , so that the flywheel reel  71  drives the flywheel  70  to rotate. Now, the other end of the pedal linkage rod  40  is ascended, and the pull string  72  is rewound. In short, the two pedal linkage rods  40  and their corresponding pull strings  72  are linked in opposite directions to define extending and retracting linkage relation, and the flywheel  70  rotates freely in forward and reverse directions according to a force direction, so as to achieve the effect of an inertial exercise. 
     With the aforementioned assembly and the pivotal connection and linkage of the components as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , after a force is exerted onto the pedal  41  or the handle module  20 , the longitudinal and transverse gears  31 ,  21  drive the handle module  20  to produce a rotation motion for an exerciser&#39;s left and right upper limbs. In the meantime, the pedal linkage rod  40  also produces a swing motion for the exerciser&#39;s lower limbs, and the elastically stretchable member  60  provides a timely appropriate restoring force, so that the exerciser can perform a simple harmonic motion of the four limbs synchronously. 
     When the two pedal linkage rods  40  perform the swing displacement, the two corresponding elastically stretchable members  60  are stretched and extended, so that the elastically stretchable member  60  can provide a natural restoring force all the time to return the two pedal linkage rods  40  to their original positions, and exercisers can determine their own exercise stroke and the swing amplitude, and such restoring force also serves as an auxiliary force to instantaneously change the exercise directions of the upper limbs and the alternate swings of the lower limbs to achieve smooth upper limbs rotation and lower limbs swing motion. 
     In order to provide an appropriate exercise resistance, an electromagnetic damping generator  80  can be installed onto the rear stand  14  and at a position adjacent to the flywheel  70  for adjusting the exercise resistance to meet the user requirement. The electromagnetic damping generator  80  of this sort is a common product widely used in the related industry, and its operating principle is a prior art, and thus will not be described in details. 
     In  FIGS. 2 and 3 , a parallel four-linkage rod cushion module  90  can be installed at a position proximate to the top of the rear stand  14  for electrically adjusting height and position, and an electric motor  93  with a lead screw  91  and an elevating pipe are provided for users to freely adjust the height of the cushion  94  to fit the users&#39; figure and height and improve the comfort of exercise. 
     Many changes and modifications in the above-described embodiments of the invention can, of course, be carried out without departing from the scope thereof. Accordingly, to promote the progress in science and the useful arts, the invention is disclosed and is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.