Abstract:
The present invention is a bicycle trainer that allows a person to utilize their own bicycle and simulates real and varied road conditions. The device includes the front forks of a bicycle mounted to a stand; the stand including a flexible support arm allowing the bicycle to rock back and forth along a rocking arc; and the rear tire of the bicycle making contact with a roller face of a roller such that the roller is free to rotate in proportion to the rotation of the rear tire. Further, the roller is rotationally connected to a motor for selectively applying resistance and assistance to the rear tire rotation, for simulating real course conditions. Preferably it further includes a motor assembly which includes a frame for housing the roller and motor and rigidly connecting the motor assembly to the stand, the motor is pivotally mounted to the frame about its shaft, such that the motor and roller rotate in proportional unison with each other.

Description:
[0001]    This application is a continuation in part of U.S. Ser. No. 14/460,459 filed Aug. 15, 2014 by Gary Bauer, Konstantine Poukhov, and Nikolay Bakunin which application claims priority from regularly filed U.S. provisional application No. 61/872,942 filed Sep. 3, 2014 by Gary Bauer, Konstantine Poukhov, Nikolay Bakunin under the title BICYCLE TRAINER. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present concept relates to bicycle trainers and more particularly relates to a bicycle trainer that can simulate actual road conditions and utilize the riders own bicycle for the training exercise. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    There are numerous bicycle trainers which are known in the prior art some of which have been patented including U.S. Pat. No. 7,862,476 titled: Exercise Device, by David A. Blau et al. which was issued on Jan. 4, 2011. 
         [0004]    The exercise device described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,862,476 does not enable the person to utilize his or her own bicycle nor does it simulate real road conditions, in particular it does not simulate the freedom of movement available on a regular bicycle in real life conditions. 
         [0005]    Most of the bicycle training devices utilize a rigid stand and/or setup such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,862,476 in which the user will sit in a simulated environment and pedal a bicycle like machine which attempts to simulate real road conditions. 
         [0006]    There is a need for a bicycle training device which allows a user to utilize his own bicycle which the rider has become comfortable with and allow the freedom of movement that a real bicycle allows when pedaling on a normal road surface. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0007]    The present concept a bicycle trainer comprising:
       a) the front forks of a bicycle mounted to a stand;   b) the stand including a flexible support arm allowing the bicycle to rock back and forth along a rocking arc;   c) the rear tire of the bicycle making contact with a roller face of a roller such that the roller is free to rotate in proportion to the rotation of rear tire;   d) wherein the roller is rotationally connected to a motor for selectively applying resistance and assistance to the rear tire rotation, for simulating real course conditions.       
 
         [0012]    Preferably further comprising a motor assembly which includes a frame for housing the roller and motor and rigidly connecting the motor assembly to the stand, the motor is pivotally mounted to the frame about its shaft, such that the motor and roller rotate in proportional unison with each other. 
         [0013]    Preferably wherein the motor assembly further including a force sensor for measuring the tangential force between the roller and the bicycle. 
         [0014]    Preferably wherein the motor is rigidly mounted to a base plate which has a top side and bottom side which is free to pivot with the motor. 
         [0015]    Preferably wherein the motor assembly includes the force sensor in contact with one side of the plate, and a spring on the other side of the plate such that the force sensor and spring restrict the rotational deflection of the base plate and thereby measure the tangential force between the roller. 
         [0016]    Preferably where the force sensor and spring are opposing each other mounted on opposite sides of the plate, in order to maintain positive bias of force on the force sensor. 
         [0017]    Preferably wherein the force sensor is chosen from the group comprising piezo electric, and strain gauge and load cell and magneto elastic transducers. 
         [0018]    Preferably further including a controller which includes data sets for simulating real and imaginary road conditions. 
         [0019]    The present concept is a bicycle trainer for use with a bicycle with its front tire removed from the fork dropout comprising:
       a) a stand which includes a flexible connecting arm connected to a motor assembly at a tire end of the flexible connecting arm;   b) a fork end of the flexible connecting arm dimensioned to attach to the front fork dropout of a bicycle;   c) the motor assembly includes a roller with a roller face, wherein the rear tire of the bicycle making contact with a roller face of the roller such that the roller is free to rotate in proportion to the rotation of rear tire and further the tire is free to move in a lateral direction across a portion of the face of the roller;   d) a motor is rotationally connected to the roller for selectively applying resistance and assistance to the rear tire rotation, for simulating real course conditions.       
 
         [0024]    Preferably wherein the flexible connecting arm is dimensioned and selected to allow torsional flex of the flexible connecting arm such that the bicycle will rock back and forth along a rocking arc when the rider imparts torsional forces onto the stand. 
         [0025]    Preferably also comprising a motor assembly which includes a frame for housing the roller and motor and also for rigidly connecting the motor assembly to the stand, the motor is rotationally mounted about its shaft with limited pivotal movement to the frame, such that the motor and roller rotate in proportional unison with each other. 
         [0026]    Preferably wherein the motor assembly further includes a means for measuring force. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0027]    The concept will now be described by way of example only with reference to the following drawings in which: 
           [0028]      FIG. 1  is a schematic perspective view of a bicycle trainer which includes a bicycle mounted onto a stand and a motor assembly. 
           [0029]      FIG. 2  is a schematic partial elevational view of the motor assembly showing part of the rear tire and rear wheel of the bicycle, and the motor assembly. 
           [0030]      FIG. 3  is a flow diagram showing in schematic fashion the method of control of the motor. 
           [0031]      FIG. 4  is a schematic perspective view of a further embodiment of a bicycle trainer which includes a bicycle mounted onto a stand and a motor assembly. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0032]    The present concept a bicycle trainer shown generally as  100  in  FIG. 1  includes the following major components namely bicycle  102 , a stand  104 , and a motor assembly  106 . 
         [0033]    Bicycle  102  includes all of the normal components of a bicycle except for the front wheel which has been removed from the front fork  108 . 
         [0034]    Bicycle  102  therefore will include all of the normal components found in a bicycle including handle bars  110  attached to a bicycle frame  112 , including a seat  114 , pedals  116 , a set of front sprockets  118 , a rear wheel  120  having mounted thereon a rear tire  122 , a chain  124 , engaging with a set of rear sprockets  126 . 
         [0035]    Bicycle  102  will also include the normal front and rear gear changing device which normally is a front de-railer for selecting a front sprocket  118  and a rear gear selector for selecting one of the rear sprockets  126  thereby allowing the rider of the bicycle to choose the gear ratio. 
         [0036]    Stand  104  includes a fork support  130  onto which front fork  108  of bicycle  102  is mounted using fork nuts  133 . Fork support  130  is connected to a flexible support arm  132  which in turn is attached to connecting arm  134  and outriggers  136 . 
         [0037]    Connecting arm  134  is connected at 1 st  end  140  to outriggers  136  and flexible support arm  132  and at a 2 nd  end  142  to motor assembly  106 . 
         [0038]    Motor assembly  106  includes a frame  150  which houses a roller  152  which is connected with a common shaft  154  to a motor  156 . 
         [0039]    Referring now to  FIG. 2  which is a schematic side elevational view of the motor assembly  106  showing frame  150  connected to connecting arm  134  at a 2 nd  end  142 . 
         [0040]    The shaft  154  of motor  156  is mounted via bearings onto frame  150  using motor support  162 . 
         [0041]    Therefore motor  156  is free to rotate about shaft  154  except for the fact that the motor base plate is sandwiched between a force sensor  170  on the upper side  172  of motor base plate  164  and by spring  176  on the lower side  178  of motor base plate  164 . 
         [0042]    In other words the force sensor  170  and the spring  176  are the only elements which prevent or restrict motor  156  from rotating about shaft  154  when torque is being applied to the motor. Sensor  170  is mounted onto sensor flange  171  which in turn is mounted into frame  150 . 
         [0043]    The direction of bicycle forward or normal roller rotation is shown as  180  and the upward deflection direction of motor base plate  164  is shown as  182  and the downward deflection direction of motor base plate  164  is shown as  184 . 
         [0044]    Spring  176  is normally biased against motor base plate  164  therefore force sensor  170  normally sees a positive force even when motor  156  is stationary. 
         [0045]    As torque is applied to motor  156  the reaction force of this torque will be measured by force sensor  170  thereby being able to measure instantaneously at any point in time the force being generated by motor  156  against force sensor  170 . 
         [0046]    Rear tire  122  makes contact with roller face  151  thereby imparting rotational forces onto roller  152  which is attached to the common shaft  154  shared with motor  156 . Therefore as roller  152  rotates so does the rotor within motor  156 . 
         [0047]    Motor base plate  164  is sandwiched between the force sensor  170  and the spring  176 . Together force sensor  170  and spring  176  prevent the motor  156  from rotating about axis of rotation  190 . The pressure on force sensor  173  allows measuring of tangential force between the roller  150  and the bicycle tire  122 . 
         [0048]    Spring  176  provides the necessary positive force bias and allows the use of a single force sensor to measure tangential force on the roller  152  in both directions without resulting in a negative force on force sensor  170 . The force sensor may be a piezo electric, strain gauge, load cell, magneto elastic device or other commonly known force sensors or transducers. 
         [0049]    Referring now to  FIG. 3  a signal from the force sensor  170  shown as  202  is fed to a computer  204  which then receives and processes inputs from force censor  170  and from user inputs  206  to set the current motor speed via motor control signal  208  to create a motor speed adjustment  210 . Taking into account force value from the force sensor  170 , current motor speed  156  and input parameters such as current road grade, combined weight of cyclist and the bike and wind speed the system can then calculate instant changes to motor speed  156  according to physical model of cycling in order to simulate instant forces during pedaling as would be experienced by cyclist if he rode in real life under the same input conditions. One can impart resistive or assisting forces to rear tire  122 . The system easily takes into account macro factors such as headwinds, tailwinds and up or down hill slopes. More importantly the system is fast enough to simulate changes in pedal force such as changes that occur during the stroke of the pedal. 
         [0050]    The system recalculates and applies changes to assistive and resistive forces transmitted to the pedal at a rate of at least 100 times per second which allow real-time simulation of cycling conditions. 
         [0051]    User inputs  206  includes a controller which includes real time data or manufactured data and may include custom data sets and/or formulas describing any particular real or imaginary model of cycling allowing for a real-time simulation of cycling conditions. 
         [0052]    The user inputs may for example include real road condition data which has been previously collected. 
       In Use 
       [0053]    The user of bicycle trainer  100  is able to use the same bicycle  102  which they use in real life conditions. 
         [0054]    The front wheel of bicycle  102  is removed and the front forks  108  of bicycle  102  are connected to a flexible support arm  132  which allows the bicycle to rock freely side to side along rocking arc  131 . 
         [0055]    The reader will note that the rear tire  122  mounted to the rear wheel  120  is free to move and rock side to side due to the fact that the only contact point is on the roller face  151  of roller  152 . 
         [0056]    Therefore as the user rides bicycle  102  it is free to rock side to side wherein the degree of freedom of movement is dependent upon the flexibility of flexible support arm  132 . 
         [0057]    Roller  152  is directly connected via a common shaft  154  to motor  156  which in practice may be an induction motor however alternative designs may include an out runner type of motor where the motors outer shell may serve as a roller, thereby eliminating the need for a separate motor &amp; roller. 
         [0058]    The combination of the roller  152 , the motor  156  are free to rotate about the axis of rotation  190  due to the fact that the roller  152  and motor  156  are mounted onto bearings  160  which allow the motor to freely rotate about axis rotation  190 , with limited pivotal movement due to restriction of force sensor  170 . 
       Further Embodiment Described 
       [0059]    A further embodiment of the present concept a bicycle trainer shown generally as  300  includes a connecting arm  306  with a motor assembly  106  attached at one end thereof. 
         [0060]    Connecting arm  306  includes a longitudinal portion  308 , a support arm  310 , and a fork support  312 . Fork support  312  is located at a fork end  314  of connecting arm  306  and is dimensioned to adapt to connect to the front fork dropouts  316  of front fork  318  of bicycle  302 . 
         [0061]    In order to mount bicycle  302  to the stand  304  the front tire of bicycle  302  is removed thereby exposing the front fork dropout  316  which then can be connected to fork support  312  as shown and depicted in  FIG. 4 . 
         [0062]    Connecting arm  306  is connected at tire end  320  to motor assembly  106 . Connecting arm  306  includes a collar  322  which attaches support arm  310  to a longitudinal portion  308  in addition to a slot  324  for adjusting the positioning of the collar  322  depending on the size of the bicycle. Support leg  326  supports connecting arm  306  slightly off of the floor or ground when bicycle trainer  300  is placed onto the floor. 
         [0063]    Connecting arm  306  is made of preselected flexible material and in particular the longitudinal portion  308  of connecting arm  306  is selected to ensure that there is enough torsional flex  328  as shown by the arrows in  FIG. 4  to allow for rocking motion of bicycle  302  along rocking arc  330  as shown in  FIG. 4 . The rider imparts torsional forces onto the stand  304  thereby causing connecting arm  306  and in particular the horizontal portion  308  to flex torsionally as shown as torsional flex  328  in  FIG. 4 . 
         [0064]    It has been found in practice that the use of 4130 alloy steel for the components of connecting arm  306  having an outside diameter of 1.25 inches and a wall thickness of 0.095 inches is adequate to provide for enough torsional flex  328  within longitudinal portion  308  of connecting arm  306  to provide for a rocking arc  330  of plus or minus 5 degrees for a total rocking arc of 10 degrees. 
         [0065]    It has also been found that using aluminium alloy 6061 having a diameter of 50 mm and a wall thickness of 10 mm will also provide adequate torsional flex  328  to provide for a rocking arc  330  plus or minus 10 degrees for heavy riders and more typically plus or minus 5 degrees for lightweight riders. 
         [0066]    The typical modern day bicycle depicted in  FIG. 4  has a length of anywhere from 34 to 44 inches measured from the centre of the front wheel hub to the centre of the rear wheel hub. A typical bicycle has a centre to centre wheel distance of approximately 39 inches plus or minus 3 inches. 
         [0067]    The length of longitudinal portion  308  as well as support arm  310  is dimensioned such that the tread of rear tire  122  makes contact with roller  152  as shown in  FIG. 4 . 
         [0068]    The collar  322  can be moved along longitudinal portion  308  to accommodate various sizes of bicycles and thereby ensure that the rear tire  122  makes contact with the top of roller face  151  of roller  152  as depicted in  FIG. 4 . Collar  322  is locked in any conventional means onto longitudinal portion  308 . 
         [0069]    Motor assembly  106  includes motor  156  which is connected to a common shaft  154  to roller  152  having a roller face  151 . 
         [0070]    The reader will note that rear tire  122  is allowed to move in the lateral direction  140  which will tend to happen during rocking of bicycle  302  along the rocking arc  330 . 
         [0071]    Typically the roller  152  has a width of approximately 5 to 9 inches and preferably approximately 6 to 7 inches which allows for lateral movement of rear tire  122  along the lateral direction  140  of approximately 2 to 3 inches in reaction to any disturbance and particularly as the bicycle is rocked along rocking arc  330 . This provides for simulation of real cycling conditions in which when the rider is standing on the pedals and is pedaling often the bicycle  302  will rock back and forth along rocking arc  330  during the pedaling motion and rear tire  122  will move laterally along the lateral direction  140  as a result. 
         [0072]    Motor  156  is rotationally attached to frame  150  at bearings  160  as depicted in  FIG. 2 . 
         [0073]    The rotation of motor  156  is limited to pivoting action due to the restriction created by the motor base plate  164  impinging upon force sensor  170  on the upper side  172  and a spring  176  on the lower side  178  of motor base plate  164 . 
         [0074]    It should be apparent to persons skilled in the arts that various modifications and adaptations of this structure describe above are possible without departure from the spirit of the invention the scope of which is defined in the appended claim.