Patent Publication Number: US-2006019801-A1

Title: Structure of stepper

Description:
RELATED U.S. APPLICATIONS  
      Not applicable.  
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT  
      Not applicable.  
     REFERENCE TO MICROFICHE APPENDIX  
      Not applicable.  
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention relates generally to a stepper, and more particularly to a stepper that generates twisting motion that moves downward diagonally when the pedals are stepped down.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      The structure for the conventional stepper comprises right and left pedals that are pivoted on the base, and the front ends of the left and right pedals are pivoted on the lateral bar, which makes the ends of the pedals twist with the lateral bar, and coordinates with the resistance pressure bar on the bottom. By this structure, the users can step on its right and left pedals with both feet to make the stepping motion. However, problems are present in the structure of the conventional stepper in usage.  
      When the stepper moves, its left and right pedals move repeatedly in a simple up and down motion, even though it can achieve the purpose of exercising, as a result of this stiff and dull movement, the exercised body parts are limited, which makes it less effective. Moreover, because of this monotonous movement, the user soon loses the interest of using it, which greatly affects the practical value of this stepper.  
      Thus, to overcome the aforementioned problems of the prior art, it would be an advancement if the art to provide an improved stepper structure that can significantly improve the efficacy.  
      To this end, the inventor has provided the present invention of practicability after deliberate design and evaluation based on years of experience in the production, development and design of related products.  
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      Constructed through above, the improvements brought upon by the improved structure of the stepper are:  
      1. Providing a protruding prop that is pivoted in a revolvable position, and the triangular guide that is mounted on the base, and the sliding part placed by the movable ends of the two pedals are mounted pivotally on the oblique planes of the triangular guide. It is indeed the first seen in the industry that meets the requirement for the new patent.  
      2. With this special new design, when the pedals are stepped down, they generate the motion that not only moves up and down, but also twists left and right downward diagonally. Then the purpose of making it more interesting and more effective is achieved. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  shows an assembled perspective view of the present invention.  
       FIG. 2  shows a local exploded perspective view of the present invention.  
       FIG. 3  shows a preferred embodiment of the resistance device of the present invention.  
       FIG. 4  shows a plane vertical view of the stepper.  
       FIG. 5  shows a plane lateral view of the stepper.  
       FIG. 6  shows a plane vertical view of the first operating movement of the stepper.  
       FIG. 7  shows a plane lateral view of the first operating movement of the stepper.  
       FIG. 8  shows a plane vertical view of the second operating movement of the stepper.  
       FIG. 9  shows a plane lateral view of the second operating movement of the stepper.  
       FIG. 10  shows another structure of the sliding part of the pedals in the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
      The features and the advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood upon a thoughtful deliberation of the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.  
      As shown in  FIGS. 1-5 , a stepper with improved structure embodied in the present invention comprises:  
      a base  10 , two pedals  20  and the resistance device  30 ; whereas the front ends  21  of these two pedals  20  are pivoted respectively on the protruding prop  11  at the front of the base  10 , which becomes the movable ends  22  for the two pedals  20  that provides the twisting motion in up and down directions, and forms a force of resistance when stepping provided by the resistance device  30 ; the features lie in:  
      the bottom of the protruding prop  11  is mounted on the base  10  pivotally, which puts the prop  11  in a revolvable position;  
      a triangular guide  40  mounted on the base  10 , and its two oblique planes  41  sets correspondingly and relatively to the movable ends  22  of the two pedals  20 , and on the bottoms of the movable ends  22  of the pedals  20  are the sliding part  23  that are mounted pivotally on the oblique planes  41  of the triangular guides  40 .  
      Therefore, this structure generates twisting motion that moves downward diagonally following the oblique plane  41  when the pedals are stepped down.  
      The sliding part  23 B mounted on the pedals  20  is the block that protrudes downward, and the smooth and round bottom of that block is better.  
      As shown in  FIG. 10 , the sliding part  23 B placed on the two pedals  20  can also be an arch plate.  
      The resistance device  30  comprises a C plate  31  and a knob  32 , which forms an extended base  12  at the bottom of the protruding prop  11  in front of the base  10 , and binds the C plate  31  mentioned above to the outside of base. The knob is placed on the outside by the front of the base, and a screw is inserted in the screw hole by the ear by the opening of the C plate so as to adjust the tightness of the C plate as well as the resistant coefficient when stepping on the pedals.  
      Through the above structure and design, the operation of the stepper disclosed by the present invention is explained as shown in  FIGS. 6-9 . Different from the conventional stepper, its protruding prop  11  is pivoted in a revolvable position when the pedals  20  are stepped down, and the sliding part  23  placed by the pedals  20  are mounted pivotally on the oblique planes  41  of the triangular guides  40 , in the meantime it causes the pedals  20  to generate a motion that moves downward diagonally, that is, the operation of the stepper disclosed by the present invention can generate the motion that moves not only up and down, but also twists left to right.