Apparatus for cooling an exerciser while using a stationary exercise device
An apparatus is disclosed that cools an individual on an exercise device by supplying a cooling fluid such as cool air or cool water to an applicator at least attached to the exercise device, and by bringing the cooling fluid into cooling contact with the individual. The fluid source can include a cooler, and/or a drier, can supply fluid from a colder and/or drier region, can be attached to the exercise device, and/or can supply multiple exercise devices. Some cooling air embodiments supply dry air or air with mist, provide a flow directed onto the individual, and/or control and/or allow the individual to control the direction, speed, flow rate, divergence, volume, and/or temperature of the air. Other embodiments cool by direct conductive cooling through a seat, backrest, handgrip, etc or indirectly by conductive cooling of air. Some embodiments can also warm the individual in a similar manner using warming fluid.
The invention generally relates to stationary exercise devices, and more specifically to apparatus for cooling an individual while using an stationary exercise device.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONExercise is generally known to have many benefits for individuals of all ages. These benefits include improved cardiovascular health, reduced blood pressure, prevention of bone and muscle loss, maintenance of a healthy weight, improved psychological heath, and many others. Exercise is also used a means for monitoring the health of individuals through so-called “stress” tests. However, exercise is generally accompanied by a certain degree of discomfort, including overheating, sweating, fatigue, etc, and this leads to a significant reduction in the amount of exercise undertaken by many individuals, thereby reducing the health benefits derived from exercise and the diagnostic accuracy of stress tests.
Because of weather variability, convenience, and time constraints, exercise often takes place indoors using a stationary exercise machine such as a stepper, stationary bicycle, elliptical, treadmill, stress test machine, etc. Attempts are sometimes made to increase the comfort of exercising individuals in these environments by optimizing the surrounding temperature, but this can be largely unsatisfactory because exercisers generally require different degrees of cooling depending on individual physiology and on how long and how vigorously they have been exercising. If the surrounding air is warm enough to be comfortable for individuals just beginning an exercise session, it will be too warm for individuals well into a vigorous session. And if the surrounding air is cool enough to be comfortable for an individual who has been exercising vigorously for a significant amount of time, it will be too cold for individuals just beginning to exercise.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAn apparatus is disclosed for cooling an individual while using a stationary exercise device. The apparatus includes a cooling fluid source capable of supplying a flow of cooling fluid with a cooling ability that exceeds the cooling ability of the ambient air. The cooling fluid is supplied by the cooling fluid source to the stationary exercise device and a cooling fluid applicator that is connected to the cooling fluid source and is at least attached to the stationary exercise device (in preferred embodiments part of the device), brings the cooling fluid into thermal contact with the individual. In preferred embodiments, the cooling fluid is either cooling air or another cooling fluid such as cool water. In some preferred embodiments, the cooling fluid source includes a cooler that is able to cool a fluid before supplying it to the stationary exercise device.
In preferred embodiments where the cooling fluid is cooling air, the cooling air source includes a dehumidifier that is able to dry the cooling air before supplying it to the stationary exercise device, and/or a misting device that is able to add water droplets to the cooling air before supplying the cooling air to the stationary exercise device.
In further preferred embodiments where the cooling fluid is cooling air, the cooling fluid applicator is a cooling air blower that is able to direct a flow of cooling air onto the individual and/or supplies cooling air that is cooler and/or drier than the ambient air surrounding the exercise device. In some of these embodiments the cooling air blower supplies air from another region, such as from outdoors or from another room, where the ambient air is significantly cooler and/or drier than the ambient air surrounding the exercise device.
In some preferred embodiments where the cooling fluid is cooling air, the cooling air applicator is able to direct a flow of cooling air toward an individual using the exercise machine, and in some of these embodiments the flow of cooling air comes from the front, back, side, above, and/or below the individual. In still other of these embodiments, the apparatus includes a controller that is able to control at least one aspect of the cooling air, including the direction of flow, speed of flow, rate of flow, divergence of the flow, volume of the flow, the temperature of the cooling air, and/or the quantity of cooling mist carried by the flow, and in some of these embodiments the controller enables the individual to control some or all of these aspects. In some of these embodiments, the controller includes a fan, an electrostatic air mover, a directable vent, a louvered vent, and/or other air movement and directing devices.
In preferred embodiments, the cooling fluid source is at least attached to the stationary exercise device, while in other embodiments it is not attached to the stationary exercise device and is connected to the cooling fluid applicator at least partly by a cooling fluid conduit. In some preferred embodiments, the cooling fluid source can supply cooling fluid to a plurality of stationary exercise devices.
In preferred embodiments, the cooling fluid applicator can bring the cooling fluid into thermal contact with the individual by conduction, which in some preferred embodiments is through a seat, a backrest, a hand grip, and/or other surfaces that come into thermal contact with the individual. In other embodiments, the cooling fluid cools a surface, air is brought into thermal contact with the surface, thereby cooling the air, and then the cooled air is brought into thermal contact with the individual.
In some preferred embodiments, the apparatus is able to warm the individual as well as cool the individual. In these embodiments, the apparatus also includes a warm fluid source capable of supplying warm fluid to the stationary exercise device and a warm fluid applicator that is at least attached to the stationary exercise device and is capable of bringing the warm fluid into thermal contact with the individual.
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Other modifications and implementations will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as claimed. Accordingly, the above description is not intended to limit the invention except as indicated in the following claims.
Claims
1. An apparatus for cooling an individual while using a stationary exercise device, the apparatus comprising:
- a cooling fluid source capable of supplying a flow of cooling fluid to the stationary exercise device, the cooling fluid having a cooling ability that exceeds the cooling ability of the ambient air surrounding the stationary exercise device; and
- a cooling fluid applicator at least attached to the stationary exercise device, connected to the cooling fluid source, and capable of bringing the cooling fluid into cooling contact with the individual.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cooling fluid source includes a cooler that is able to cool the cooling fluid before supplying it to the stationary exercise device.
3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cooling fluid source is a cooling air source that supplies cooling air, and the cooling air source includes a dehumidifier that is able to dry the cooling air before supplying it to the stationary exercise device.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cooling fluid source is a cooling air source, and the cooling air source includes a misting device that is able to add water droplets to the cooling air before supplying the cooling air to the stationary exercise device.
5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cooling fluid applicator is part of the stationary exercise device.
6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cooling fluid source is a source of cooling air, and wherein the cooling fluid applicator is a cooling air blower that is able to direct a flow of cooling air onto the individual.
7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the source of cooling air supplies cooling air that is at least one of cooler and drier than the ambient air surrounding the stationary exercise device.
8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the source of cooling air provides air to the stationary exercise device from a region where the ambient air is at least one of cooler and drier than the ambient air surrounding the stationary exercise device.
9. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the cooling air blower is able to direct a flow of cooling air toward the individual from at least one of the front of the individual, the back of the individual, the side of the individual, above the individual, and below the individual.
10. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the apparatus further comprises a controller capable of controlling at least one aspect of the cooling air from the cooling air blower, the aspects including:
- direction of flow;
- speed of flow;
- rate of divergence;
- volume of flow;
- temperature and
- quantity of cooling mist.
11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the controller enables the individual to control at least one aspect of the cooling air from the cooling air blower.
12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the controller includes at least one of a fan, an electrostatic air mover, a directable vent, a louvered vent, and other air movement and directing devices.
13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cooling fluid source is at least attached to the stationary exercise device.
14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cooling fluid source is not attached to the stationary exercise device and is connected to the cooling fluid applicator at least partly by a cooling fluid conduit.
15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cooling fluid source is able to supply cooling fluid to a plurality of stationary exercise devices.
16. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cooling fluid applicator is able to bring the cooling fluid into thermal contact with the individual by conduction.
17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the conduction is through at least one of a seat on which the individual sits, a backrest against which the individual places his back, hand grips that are grasped by the individual, and other surfaces that come into conductive thermal contact with the individual.
18. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cooling fluid applicator is able to bring the cooling fluid into thermal contact with the individual by cooling a surface with the fluid, cooling air by bringing it into contact with the surface, and then bringing the cooled air into thermal contact with the individual.
19. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is also able to warm an individual while using a stationary exercise device, the apparatus further comprising a warming fluid source capable of supplying warming fluid to the stationary exercise device and a warming fluid applicator at least attached to the stationary exercise device, connected to the warming fluid source, and capable of bringing the warming fluid into warming contact with the individual.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 7, 2007
Publication Date: Jun 11, 2009
Inventors: Richard Goldmann (Poughkeepsie, NY), Russ Weinzimmer (Milford, NH), Douglas P. Burum (Acton, MA)
Application Number: 12/001,003
International Classification: F25D 17/06 (20060101);