Patent ID: 7824315

Claim:
An exercise apparatus, comprising: a housing including a base and a cover; a pair of foot treadles mounted in spaced parallel relation on said housing, each of said treadles having a front end pivotably mounted to said housing and a rear end configured and arranged for receiving and supporting the foot of a user thereon; a pair of reciprocating bellows each having a bottom end and a top end, said bottom end of each of said bellows being coupled to the cover adjacent said rear ends of said foot treadles, said top end of each of said bellows being coupled to a bottom surface of a rear end of a respective one of said foot treadles, said bottom end of each of said bellows being attached to an upper surface of the cover, said bottom end of said bellows defining an integrally formed nozzle for insertion through the cover and into fluid communication with a sealed air system, each of said bellows having a central axis extending between said bottom end and said top end thereof; a pair of bellows supports integrally formed with the base, said bellows supports respectively positioned below said bellows, said bellows supports entirely positioned underneath the cover, said sealed air system positioned between the cover and the base including a conduit interconnecting said bottom ends of said pair of bellows for reciprocating transfer of air from bellow to bellow, said foot treadles each being configured and arranged for forceful actuation by force of a user's foot in a compressive direction for the air in the sealed air system to transfer air from one bellows to the other, each of said foot treadles being pivotably movable between upper and lower positions, each of said foot treadles having a resting position between said upper and lower positions, said resting position of said foot treadles defining a resting centerline position of said central axis of said bellows, and said upper and lower positions of said foot treadles respectively defining an elongated position and a compressed position of said central axis of said bellows. wherein said elongated position and said compressed position of said central axis of said bellows are each no more than 5 degrees off said resting centerline position during reciprocal movement of said foot treadles between said upper and lower positions thereby reducing stress on said bellows.