Abstract:
An exercise device includes a base, a seat assembly mounted on the base, a load mechanism attached to an upright and including a take-up assembly and a flywheel coaxially secured to the take-up assembly, a first rowing unit configured to activate the load mechanism by pulling a spring activated strap, and a second rowing unit configured to activate both the load mechanism and the first rowing unit by pulling the strap and pivotably rotating a handle via a cord which is operatively connected to a pivotal arm on the base.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The invention relates to exercise equipment and more particularly to an exercise device for simulating rowing motion by implementing a first exercise mode of operating a first rowing unit or a second exercise mode of operating a second rowing unit. 
         [0003]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0004]    Watercraft sports involving a person to propel a watercraft (e.g., small boat) through a river or lake are popular outdoor activities. Conventionally, an exerciser is designed to simulate a single rowing motion. This means that a user has to buy two different types of such exerciser for rowing training purpose. Thus, it is desirable of providing an exerciser for simulating two different types of rowing motion. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    It is therefore one object of the invention to provide an exercise device comprising a base, a seat assembly mounted on the base, a load mechanism, a first rowing unit configured to activate the load mechanism, and a second rowing unit configured to activate both the load mechanism and the first rowing unit wherein the base includes a longitudinal tube, a front upright, a support disposed rearward of the upright, an arm pivotably secured to a lower portion of the support and being perpendicular to the longitudinal tube, a plurality of roller elements mounted on the longitudinal tube, a plurality of roller members mounted in the support, and a plurality of rollers mounted in the arm; the seat assembly includes an upward inclined seat tube above the longitudinal tube, the seat tube having a front end mounted on an intermediate portion of the longitudinal tube, two spaced foot plates pivotably secured to two sides of the front end of the seat tube respectively, an inclined leg secured to a rear end of the seat tube, and a seat moveably mounted on the seat tube; the load mechanism is attached to the upright and includes a take-up assembly and a flywheel coaxially secured to the take-up assembly wherein the take-up assembly is configured to rotate the flywheel in one direction; the first rowing unit includes an strap having a first end disposed externally of the support, and a handlebar secured to the first end of the strap wherein the strap passes through the roller members, the rollers, and one of the roller elements secure to and roll on the take-up assembly; and the second rowing unit includes a cord, two spaced tunnel members, a handle, and a connection member wherein the cord has a first end attached to a top of the arm and a second end passing through the roller elements to attach to a first end of the connection member, a second end of the connection member frictionally puts on a portion of the handle between the tunnel members, and the handle includes a pivotal portion pivotably passing through the tunnel members, and two opposite grasping members disposed on two sides of the longitudinal tube respectively. 
         [0006]    The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an exercise device according to the invention; 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is another perspective view of the exercise device; 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  is a fragmentary view of the front portion of the exercise device; 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  is a schematic top view in part section of  FIG. 4 ; 
           [0011]      FIG. 5  is an enlarged view of the seat and adjacent components of the second rowing unit 
           [0012]      FIG. 6  is a side elevation of the exercise device of  FIG. 1 ; and 
           [0013]      FIGS. 7 and 8  are views similar to  FIG. 6  showing first and second exercise modes by operating the first and second rowing units respectively. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0014]    Referring to  FIGS. 1 to 8 , an exercise device in accordance with the invention comprises the following components as discussed in detail below. 
         [0015]    A base  1 , a seat assembly  2  mounted on the base  2 , a load mechanism  3 , a first rowing unit  4 , and a second rowing unit  5  are provided. The base  2  includes a legged, longitudinal tube  11 , a front upright  12 , a support  13  disposed rearward of the upright  12 , an arm  14  pivotably secured to a lower portion of the support  13  and being perpendicular to the tube  11  in an inoperative position, a plurality of rollers (as detailed later), and two hooks  131  mounted on an inclined upper portion of the support  13 . Each of the support  13  and the arm  14  has an n-shaped cross-section. The rollers includes first, second, and third roller elements  111 ,  112 , and  113  mounted on a top surface of the tube  11 ; first, second, third, and fourth roller members  132 ,  133 ,  134 , and  135  mounted in the support  13 ; and first, second, and third rollers  141 ,  142 , and  143 . The hooks  131  are disposed between the first roller member  132  and the second roller member  133 . 
         [0016]    The seat assembly  2  includes an upward inclined seat tube  21  above the tube  11  and having a front end mounted on an intermediate portion of the tube  11 , two spaced foot plates  221 ,  222  pivotably secured to two sides of the front end of the seat tube  21 , an inclined leg  23  secured to a rear end of the seat tube  12 , and a seat  24  moveably mounted on the seat tube  21 . The load mechanism  3  is attached to a rear surface of the upright  12  and includes a take-up assembly  31  and a flywheel  32  coaxially secured to the take-up assembly  31 . The take-up assembly  31  may rotate the flywheel  32  in only one direction. The flywheel  32  is either an electromagnetic flywheel or a damping flywheel both are known in the art. The take-up assembly  31  is a well known device and includes a housing  311 , a hollow projection  312  integrally formed with one side of the housing  311 , a volute spring  313  in the housing  311 , a bearing  314  in the hollow projection  312  and attached to the flywheel  32 , and an axle  315  in the housing  311  and passing into the bearing  314  so that the axle  315 , the bearing  314 , and the flywheel  32  may co-rotate. 
         [0017]    The first rowing unit  4  includes a handlebar  41  and an strap  42  passing through the first and second roller members  132 ,  133 , the first roller  141 , the third roller member  134 , the second roller  142 , the fourth roller member  135 , the third roller  143 , and the first roller element  111  to secure to and roll on the hollow projection  312 . An open end of the strap  42  is secured to an intermediate portion of the handlebar  41 . The flywheel  32  pulls the strap  42  so that the handlebar  41  is urged against the hooks  131  in an inoperative position. Further, the arm  14  is pulled to pivot to an upright position engaging intermediate and lower portions of the support  13 . The second rowing unit  5  includes a cord  51  made of steel, two spaced tunnel members  52  and  53 , a U-shaped handle  54 , and a connection member  55 . The cord  51  has one end attached to a top surface of the arm  14  and the other end passing through the first and third roller elements  112 ,  113  to attach to one end of the connection member  55  which has the other end loosely put on a portion of the handle  54  between the tunnel members  52  and  53 . The handle  54  includes a pivotal portion  541  pivotably passing through the tunnel members  52  and  53 , and two opposite grasping members  542 ,  543  disposed on two sides of the tube  11  respectively. Further, the grasping members  542 ,  543  are proximate to the foot plates  221 ,  222  respectively. 
         [0018]    An individual may sit on the seat  24  and have two feet resting upon the foot plates  221 ,  222  respectively prior to exercising. 
         [0019]    As shown in  FIG. 7  specifically, operating the first rowing unit  4  for exercise involves the following steps: The individual may unfasten the strap  42  and use two hands to hold two ends of the handlebar  41  respectively. Next, the Individual uses the feet to urge against the foot plates  221 ,  222  and pulls the strap  42  so that the seat  24  may move away from the foot plates  221  along the seat tube  2  (i.e., moving rearward). At the same time, the take-up assembly  31  is rotated by the pulling strap  42 . Thus, the hollow projection  312  rotates to cause the coils of the volute spring  313  to slide over each other, i.e., being compressed to store elastic energy. Also, the bearing  314  rotates to rotate the flywheel  32 . The Individual has to exert a great force to achieve above steps. The Individual may stop exerting the pulling force on the handlebar  41  when the pulling of the strap  42  reaches its limit. And in turn, the strap  42  pulls back to its inoperative position due to the release of the stored elastic force of the volute spring  313 . Thus, the strap  42  rolls on the hollow projection  312  until the handlebar  41  is stopped by the support  13  (i.e., returned to its inoperative position). The above pulling and drawing back steps of the strap  42  can be repeated a desired number of times by the Individual. As a result, the purpose of exercise is achieved. 
         [0020]    As shown in  FIG. 8  specifically, operating the second rowing unit  5  for exercise involves the following steps: The individual may use two hands to hold the grasping members  542 ,  543  respectively. Next, the Individual uses the feet to urge against the foot plates  221 ,  222  and clockwise pivots the grasping members  542 ,  543  so that the seat  24  may move away from the foot plates  221  along the seat tube  2  (i.e., moving rearward). At the same time, the pivotal portion  541  pivots about the tunnels members  52 ,  53 . Further, the connection member  55  moves rearward to pull the cord  51 . And in turn, the arm  14  may clockwise pivot about the support  13  to pull the strap  42 . The take-up assembly  31  is rotated by the pulling strap  42 . Thus, the hollow projection  312  rotates to cause the coils of the volute spring  313  to slide over each other, i.e., being compressed to store elastic energy. Also, the bearing  314  rotates to rotate the flywheel  32 . The Individual has to exert a great force to achieve above steps. The Individual may stop exerting the pivoting force on the grasping members  542 ,  543  when the pivotal movement of the grasping members  542 ,  543  reaches its limit. And in turn, the strap  42  pulls back to its inoperative position due to the release of the stored elastic force of the volute spring  313 . Thus, the strap  42  rolls on the hollow projection  312  until the arm  14  is stopped by the support  13  and the grasping members  542 ,  543  returns to its inoperative position. The above pivotal movement of the grasping members  542 ,  543 , and the pulling and drawing back steps of the strap  42  can be repeated a desired number of times by the Individual. As a result, the purpose of exercise is achieved. 
         [0021]    While the invention has been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced with modifications within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.