TRAINING APPARATUS SIMULATING SKIING

Abstract

A training apparatus contains a base, a sliding unit, a cranking unit, and a linking unit. The sliding unit contains two connecting strips with treadles at the back ends. A first flexible link and a second flexible link are arranged in parallel and connected to the two connecting strips. The cranking unit contains a wheel supported axially by an end of a crank arm which rotates synchronously with the wheel. The linking unit contains a third flexible link connected between the other end of the crank arm and the front end of one of the connecting strips. By the resilience provided by the third flexible link, the lateral and reciprocal motions of the sliding unit are prevented from getting stuck at the dead spots.

Description

(a) TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to training apparatuses for fitness, and more particularly to a training apparatus providing the simulation of skiing.

(b) DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

Skiing machines are a type of training apparatus for exercising the muscles around a user's waist, hip, and legs. FIG. 1 shows such a training apparatus which is suggested by U.S. Pat. No. 6,849,032. The training apparatus contains a base 10 supporting a vertically erected frame 11 at an end of the base 10. Two elongated foot supporting means 13 are suspended between the frame 11 and the base 10 by two supporting means 12 respectively. At a back end of each foot supporting means 13, a treadle 14 is provided. A front end of each foot supporting means 13 is connected to an end of a crank arm 16 by a rigid link 17. The other end of the crank arm 16 is connected to an axle of a wheel 15. The wheel 15 is rotationally engaged by the crank arm 16 which is swung by the foot supporting means 13 via the links 17. The wheel 15 is chained to a fly wheel 20 by a belt 25 so as to provide resistance to the rotational movement of the wheel 15 for better exercising effect. An upright handle 18 is provided on top of the frame 11 which is pivotally connected to the axle of the wheel 15 by a connecting rod 19 and can be moved from side-to-side.

Most of the existing skiing machines have a similar mechanism as described above which, by the side-to-side movement of the foot supporting means 13, drives the wheel 15 to spin via the rigid links 17 and the crank arm 16. The most significant characteristic of these skiing machines is that they are engaged in lateral and reciprocal motions, in contrast to the vertical and rotational motions of conventional exercise bikes. These lateral and reciprocal motions inevitably involve dead spots at the two sides as shown in FIG. 2 and, therefore, the two foot supporting means 13 have to be pushed and pulled together in overcoming these dead sports.

However, as the foot supporting means 13, the rigid links 17, the crank arm 16, and the wheel 15 are all suspended, some discrepancy among them will develop after a period of usage. Therefore, during the exercise, the lateral and reciprocal motions might get stuck at the dead spots from time to time, causing unstable and staggering feeling to the user. The smoothness and safety of operating these skiing machines are thereby significantly impaired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to provide a training apparatus simulating the skiing which offers smooth and safe operation.

The training apparatus contains a base, a sliding unit, a cranking unit, and a linking unit where the sliding unit engages the resistance-providing cranking unit via the linking unit.

The base has a frame vertically positioned in the front where an upright rod with a handle at the top end is erected. Two pivots are interposed between the bottom edge of the frame and the base.

The sliding unit contains two connecting strips with treadles at the back ends. The two connecting strips are pin-joined to the two pivots respectively. A first flexible link and a second flexible link are arranged in parallel and connected to the two connecting strips.

The cranking unit contains a wheel supported axially by an end of a crank arm which rotates synchronously with the wheel.

The linking unit contains a third flexible link connected between the other end of the crank arm and the front end of one of the connecting strips.

By the resilience provided by the third flexible link, the lateral and reciprocal motions of the sliding unit are prevented from getting stuck at the dead spots.

The foregoing objective and summary provide only a brief introduction to the present invention. To fully appreciate these and other objects of the present invention as well as the invention itself, all of which will become apparent to those skilled in the art, the following detailed description of the invention and the claims should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Throughout the specification and drawings identical reference numerals refer to identical or similar parts.

Many other advantages and features of the present invention will become manifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to the detailed description and the accompanying sheets of drawings in which a preferred structural embodiment incorporating the principles of the present invention is shown by way of illustrative example.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a conventional skiing machine.

FIG. 2 is a schematic top view showing the lateral motion of the conventional skiing machine of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a training apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a top view showing the training apparatus of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing the training apparatus of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a profile view showing the training apparatus of FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 is a top view showing the training apparatus along the 7-7 plane of FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is a top view showing the training apparatus along the 8-8 plane of FIG. 5.

FIG. 9 is a top view showing the training apparatus along the 9-9 plane of FIG. 5.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged view showing the relationship between the crank arm, the fourth flexible link, and the erective stick of the training apparatus of FIG. 3.

FIGS. 11 to 15 are top views showing the training apparatus of FIG. 3 under various scenarios during exercise.

FIG. 16 is a top view showing the training apparatus according to another embodiment along the 7-7 plane of FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following descriptions are exemplary embodiments only, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the following description provides a convenient illustration for implementing exemplary embodiments of the invention. Various changes to the described embodiments may be made in the function and arrangement of the elements described without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

As shown in FIG. 3, a training apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention contains a base 50, a sliding unit 60, a cranking unit 70, and a linking unit 80. The basic operation principle of the machine is that the sliding unit 60 mounted on the base 50 engages the resistance-offering cranking unit 70 via the linking unit 80.

As also shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the base 50 has an I-like shape with a longer back beam and a shorter front beam arranged substantially in parallel at the two ends of a main beam respectively. A hollow frame 51 is erected vertically above the front beam. A rod 52 is in turn erected vertically from the center of the top edge of the frame 51. A handle 53 is then provided at the top end of the rod 52 for a user's holding during exercise. Two pivots 55 are positioned between the bottom edge of the frame 51 and the front beam of the base 50.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 7˜9, the sliding unit 60 contains two parallel connecting strips 61 pin-joined to the two pivots 55 respectively in the front sections of the connecting strips 61. In the back sections of the connecting strips 61, two treadles 62 are provided respectively for supporting the feet of the user. A first flexible link 65 and a second flexible link 66 are arranged in parallel and joined to the two connecting strips 61 after and before the pivots 55 respectively. The first and second links 65 and 66 can be steel cables, rubber ropes, or springs. Steel cables are used in the present embodiment so that the connecting strips 61 can be swung synchronously from side-to-side. FIG. 16 shows another embodiment where a flexible link is replace by two resilient elements (e.g. springs) connected between the main beam of the base 50 and the two connecting strips 61 respectively.

The cranking unit 70 contains a plate 71 which is extended towards the front from the center of the frame 51's bottom edge. A wheel 72 of the cranking unit 70 is laterally supported by its axle which is rotatably connected to the front end of the plate 71. Another damping wheel 74 of the cranking unit 70 is also laterally supported by its axle inside the frame 51. A belt 73 circles around the rim of the wheel 72 and the axle of the damping wheel 74, thereby linking the two wheels 72 and 74 together. A crank arm 75 of the cranking unit 70 is positioned laterally beneath the plate 71 and has one end fixedly joined to the axle to the wheel 72. When the crank arm 75 is swung to a side, the wheel 72 is rotated by the crank arm 75 and the damping wheel 74 provides resistance to the wheel 72's rotation so as to enhance the exercising effect.

The linking unit 80 contains a third flexible link 81 (e.g., a rubber rope or a spring) whose two ends are joined to the other end of the crank arm 75 and the front end of one of the connecting strips 61, respectively. Bearings can be used at the connections. The linking unit 80 further contains a fourth flexible link 86 whose two ends are connected to the other end of the crank arm 75 and an erective stick 85 on top of the main beam of the base 50 behind the frame 51, as shown in FIG. 10.

According to the foregoing description, the resilience provided by the third and fourth flexible links 81 and 86 prevents the lateral and reciprocal motions of the sliding unit 60 from getting stuck at the dead spots.

The operation of the training apparatus is described as follows, along with the drawings FIGS. 3 and 11˜15. The user stands on the training apparatus with his two feet resting on the treadles 62 of the sliding unit 60 and his two hands holding the handle 63. Then, by twisting the waist, hip, and legs, the user moves the connecting strips 61 from side-to-side. Due to the first and second flexible links 65 and 66, the connecting strips 61 are synchronized. In contrast to the rigid links of prior art, the present invention is able to allow some discrepancy between the connecting strips 61 to more conforming to the posture of the user during exercise.

When the connecting strips 61 are engaged into side-to-side motions, the crank arm 75 is rotated through the third flexible link 81. As the crank arm 75 is pushed to the dead spots, the push and pull forces resulted from the resilience of the third and fourth flexible links 81 and 86 return the crank arm 75 smoothly and effortlessly out of the dead spots. The user therefore will not suffer unstable and staggering feeling and the smoothness and safety of operating the training apparatus are significantly improved.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together may also find a useful application in other types of methods differing from the type described above.

While certain novel features of this invention have been shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claim, it is not intended to be limited to the details above, since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Claims

1. A training apparatus simulating skiing comprising:

a base having a hollow frame erected vertically above a front end of said base, a rod erected vertically from the top edge of said frame, a handle on the top end of said rod, and two pivots between the bottom edge of said frame and said base;

a sliding unit having two parallel connecting strips pin-joined to said two pivots respectively in the front sections of said connecting strips, two treadles at the back ends of said connecting strips respectively, a first flexible link and a second flexible link arranged in parallel and joined to said connecting strips after and before said pivots respectively;

a cranking unit having a wheel laterally supported by its axle in front of said frame and a crank arm whose one end is joined to the axle of said wheel so that said crank arm rotates synchronously with said wheel; and

a linking unit having a third flexible link whose two ends are joined to the other end of said crank arm and the front end of one of said connecting strips;

wherein, when said connecting strips are moved from side-to-side synchronously by said first and second flexible links, said crank arm is rotated through said third flexible link; and the resilience of said third flexible link prevents said crank arm from getting stuck at dead spots.

2. The training apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first and second flexible links are selected from the group consisting of steel cables, rubber ropes, and springs.

3. The training apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said first and second flexible links contains resilient elements provided between said base and said two connecting strips respectively.

4. The training apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a damping wheel is engaged by a belt circulating said damping wheel and said wheel so as to provide resistance to the rotation of said wheel.

5. The training apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said third flexible link is selected from the group consisting of a rubber rope and a spring.

6. The training apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the connections of said third flexible link to said crank arm and one of said connecting strips are achieved by using bearings.

7. The training apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a fourth flexible link has its two ends connected to the other end of said crank arm and an erective stick on said base respectively.