BICYCLE FOR EXERCISING THE UPPER PART OF THE BODY
The present invention relates to a bicycle for exercising the upper part of the body, which enables a user to exercise the upper part of the body while also exercising the lower part of the body, wherein exercising the lower part of the body is performed by pedaling, and in which a motion-converting unit has a simplified configuration and handles are provided with respective braking apparatuses. The bicycle for exercising the upper part of a body according to the present invention comprises a motion-converting unit (40) for transferring the motion of a rotating motion unit (30) provided with handles (31, 31′) to a driving force transferring unit (50), wherein the rotating motion unit (30) transfers the rotating driving force of the handles (31, 31′) to the driving force transferring unit (50) through an upper motion-converting means (41) comprising a pair of bevel gears (410, 411) and through a lower motion-converting means (42) comprising a pair of bevel gears (420, 421), and wherein the handles (31, 31′) are provided with respective braking levers (1, 1′) for operating respective brakes (111, 121) of the front and rear wheels (11, 12) of the bicycle. The present invention provides a bicycle for exercising the upper part of the body, which has a simple configuration, and which enables handles to perform a braking function, thereby achieving improved use convenience and operating safety.
The present invention relates to a bicycle for exercising the upper part of the body, and more particularly, to a bicycle for exercising the upper part of the body which enables a user to exercise the upper and lower parts of the body and build muscles through the exercise of the upper part of the body as well as through exercise of the lower part of the body by pedaling, wherein a motion-converting unit has a simplified configuration, and handles performing the exercise of the upper body function and steering function are provided with respective braking apparatuses.
BACKGROUND ARTTypically, a bicycle focuses on exercising the lower part of the body by pedaling, and does not provide the function of exercising the upper part of the body including arms and shoulders. In consideration of the foregoing, Korean Patent Publication No. 10-1990-9381 and Korean Patent No. 10-0579530 disclose a bicycle for exercising the upper part of the body providing the function of exercising the upper part of the body as well as the function of exercising the lower part of the body which is an inherent function of the bicycle.
With respect to the bicycle as above, the driving force of handles which are rotatable is transferred only to a front wheel, and is not effectively distributed when the bicycle climbs hills. The bicycle for exercising the upper part of the body as disclosed in Korean Patent Publication No. 10-1990-9381 has such a problem that a user's balance may be abruptly lost while riding a course, among others a curve course while reciprocating respective handles alternately in manipulating the handles.
Korean Patent Publication No. 10-1990-16989 discloses a bicycle which employs a gear driving method, instead of chain driving. However, this bicycle does not provide the function of exercising the upper part of the body and the driving force is transferred only from a pedal driving shaft in a direction of a rear wheel. Thus, the driving force is not effectively distributed.
The present applicant has invented a bicycle for exercising the upper part of the body which enables a user to exercise the upper and lower parts of the body and build muscles by exercising the upper part of the body together with the exercise of the lower part of the body by pedaling with a configuration for transferring the driving force of a rotating motion unit reciprocating back and forth or up and down to a rear wheel through a motion-converting unit and a driving force transferring unit (Korean Patent No. 10-0840262).
The bicycle for exercising the upper part of the body has a complicated configuration, wherein upper and lower handles of the upper motion-converting means are connected by a pair of spur gears to and coupled with a pair of rotating gears forming lower motion-converting means with a link bar and a rotating motion of the handles is transferred to a wheel through a chain sprocket. Also, the handles of the rotating motion unit is configured to reciprocate back and forth or up and down and does not stably perform a steering function.
The handles of the bicycle for exercising the upper part of the body are rotated and driven for exercising the upper part of the body and thus a braking lever for braking the bicycle while riding cannot be installed in the handles.
Normal bicycles have a braking lever installed in a steering handle to operate a brake mounted in front and rear wheel of the bicycles by pulling a cable connected to the brake so that the steering function including change in direction is performed and there is no problem in braking the bicycle.
However, the braking lever cannot be installed in the handles of the bicycle for exercising the upper part of the body to pull the cable of the brake since the handles are rotated and driven and perform the steering function. Thus, the braking lever should be installed separately from the handles. If the bicycle should be braked while riding, a user should get off his/her hands from the handles and manipulate the braking lever installed separately to brake the bicycle. Then, the braking operation is not performed accurately nor efficiently and promptly. This may cause serious problem such as safety accident while riding.
DISCLOSURE Technical ProblemThe present invention has been made to solve the problems and it is an object of the present invention to provide a bicycle for exercising the upper part of the body according to the present invention has been modified from the bicycle for exercising the upper part of the body (Korean Patent No. 10-0840262) and has a motion-converting unit with a simplified configuration to provide a smooth and stable steering function and provides a stable braking function by forming a braking apparatus in handles which are rotated and driven and perform a steering function for exercising the upper part of the body.
That is, the present invention provides a braking apparatus which includes a motion-converting unit with a simplified configuration, and a braking lever installed in handles rotating and performing a steering function for exercising the upper part of the body to thereby cause no obstruction to the rotation and steering function of the handles and enables a user to control a brake by manipulating the braking lever of the handles.
Technical SolutionIn order to achieve the object of the present invention, a bicycle for exercising the upper part of the body comprises a rotating motion unit that rotates a rotating shaft by rotational operation of handles provided in opposite sides of the rotating shaft and transfers the driving force to a pedal driving shaft through a driving force transferring unit, and a motion-converting unit which comprises upper and lower motion-converting means, moves together with the rotating motion unit and transfers the motion of the rotating motion unit to the driving force transferring unit, wherein the rotating motion unit is installed in a housing and mounted in a steering bar to rotate the rotating handles centering on the rotating shaft and transfers the driving force of the rotating handles to the driving force transferring unit through the upper and lower motion-converting means comprising a pair of bevel gears.
The handles which are connected to the rotating shaft of the rotating motion unit are provided with braking levers to operate brakes mounted in front and rear wheels of the bicycle.
Advantageous EffectAs described above, a bicycle for exercising the upper part of the body according to the present invention has a motion-converting unit with a simplified configuration that has been modified from the motion-converting unit of the bicycle for exercising the upper part of the body (Korean Patent No. 10-0840262), and has a compact configuration.
Also, the bicycle for exercising the upper part of the body has a braking lever installed in handles that rotate and perform a steering function for exercising the upper part of the body so that the handles which are used for exercising the upper part of the body and perform the steering function control brake. As the bicycle for exercising the upper part of the body is provided with a prompt and stable braking function, the braking apparatus is used and operates smoothly and conveniently and the safety of the bicycle for exercising the upper part of the body is improved.
Hereinafter, a bicycle for exercising the upper part of the body according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to accompanying drawings.
The bicycle for exercising the upper part of the body includes a supporter 20 which is mounted in a front side of a bicycle frame 10, a rotating motion unit 30 which is mounted in an upper end of the supporter 20, a motion-converting unit 40 which is coupled to the rotating motion unit 30 and a driving force transferring unit 50 which is connected to the motion-converting unit 40. Wheels 11 and 12 are mounted in front and rear sides of the frame 10, and the rear wheel 12 is connected to a pedal driving shaft 13 by chain to drive the bicycle by the rotational force of the pedal and the rotational force of the rotating motion unit 30.
The rotating motion unit 30 and the motion-converting unit 40 which will be described later are installed in a front side of the frame 10 in the supporter 20, more specifically, coupled to a steering bar 14 which is connected to the front wheel 11. The motion-converting unit 40 moves together with the rotating motion unit 30 provided in an upper side of the supporter 20 and transfers the motion of the rotating motion unit 30 to the driving force transferring unit 50. The motion-converting unit 40 includes upper motion-converting means 41 and lower motion-converting means 42.
The driving force transferring unit 50 connects the motion-converting unit 40 and the pedal driving shaft 13 and transfers the driving force from the rotating motion unit 30 to the rear wheel 12 through the motion-converting unit 40 and the pedal driving shaft 13.
The pedal driving shaft 13 includes a driving force transferring switch 60 to connect and disconnect the driving force between the driving force transferring unit 50 and the rear wheel 12.
The rotating motion unit 30 is mounted with handles 31 and 31′ which are provided in opposite sides of a rotating shaft 32 in an upper end of the supporter 20 and rotate the rotating shaft 32 by rotating motion and transfer the driving force to the pedal driving shaft 13 through the driving force transferring unit 50. The rotating shaft 32 transfers the driving force of the handles 31 and 31′ to the driving force transferring unit 50 through the upper and lower motion-converting means 41 and 42 of the motion-converting unit 40. The upper and lower motion-converting means 41 and 42 of the motion-converting unit 40 include a pair of bevel gears 410 and 411 and 420 and 421, respectively to transfer the driving force to the driving force transferring unit 50.
The upper and lower motion-converting means 41 and 42 of the motion-converting unit 40 and the driving force transferring shaft 43 are mounted in a housing 70.
Hereinafter, the motion-converting unit 40 of the rotating motion unit 30 will be described in more detail.
The rotating motion unit 30 rotates and performs a steering function as the rotating handles 31 and 31′ which are rotatable rotate are mounted in an upper end of the supporter 20. In the rotating motion unit 30, the rotating handles 31 and 31′ are coupled to opposite ends of the rotating shaft 32 and rotate and operate, centering on the rotating shaft 32. That is, the rotating handles 31 and 31′ are coupled to the opposite sides of the rotating shaft 32 to rotate and operate centering on the rotating shaft 32 of the pedal driving shaft 13.
The rotating shaft 32 transfers the driving force of the rotating handles 31 and 31′ to the driving force transferring unit 50 through the upper and lower motion-converting means 41 and 42 of the motion-converting unit 40.
The upper motion-converting means 41 of the motion-converting unit 40 include a pair of bevel gears 410 and 411 and linearly connects the rotating shaft 32 and the driving force transferring shaft 43, and transfers the rotating motion of the rotating shaft 32 by the rotating motion of the rotating handles 31 and 31′ to the driving force transferring shaft 43 through the bevel gears 410 and 411.
The lower motion-converting means 42 which is connected to the upper motion-converting means 41 through the driving force transferring shaft 43 includes a pair of bevel gears 420 and 421 linearly connecting a the driving force transferring shaft 43 and a driven shaft 44, and transfer the driving force of the driving force transferring shaft 43 to the driven shaft 44. The driven shaft 44 is connected to the driving force transferring unit 50 transferring the driving force to the pedal driving shaft 13 to transfer the driving force by the rotating handles 31 and 31′ of the rotating motion unit 30.
The upper and lower motion-converting means 41 and 42 and the driving force transferring shaft 43 of the motion-converting unit 40 are coupled to and installed in the housing 70 by bearing. The housing 70 is connected to the steering bar 14 so that the steering bar 14 is steered and manipulated by the rotating handles 31 and 31′ of the rotating motion unit 30.
According to the present invention, if the rotating handles 31 and 31′ are rotated, the rotating shaft 32 of the upper motion-converting means 41 coupled to the rotating handles 31 and 31′ is rotated and the driving force is transferred to the driving force transferring unit 50 through the upper and lower bevel gears 410 and 411 and 420 and 421. The driving force transferred to the driving force transferring unit 51 is supplied to the wheel 12 together with the pedal driving force of the pedal driving shaft 13.
According to the present invention, the handles 31 and 31′ connected to the driving force transferring shaft 43 of the motion-converting unit 40 with the foregoing configuration are installed with braking levers 1 and 1′ for operating brakes 111 and 121 braking the front and rear wheels 11 and 12 of the bicycle.
The braking levers 1 and 1′ installed in the handles 31 and 31′ pull cables 3 and 3′ and operate the brakes 111 and 121 mounted in the front and rear wheels 11 and 12 of the bicycle. The brakes 111 and 121 may employ various brakes which are operated by the cables 3 and 3′ such as caliper brakes, cantilever brakes and cable disk brakes.
According to the present invention, the brakes 111 and 121 which are operated by the cables 3 and 3′ as above are mounted in the front and rear wheels 11 and 12. The brakes 111 and 121 which are mounted in the front and rear wheels 11 and 12 are operated by the braking levers 1 and 1′ of the handles 31 and 31′ with the cables 3 and 3′ to thereby form the braking apparatus. Hereinafter, the configuration of the braking apparatus according to the present invention will be described in more detail.
An operator is installed in the rotating shaft 30 of the rotating motion unit 30 which transfers the driving force to the pedal driving shaft 13 through the driving force transferring unit 50 by rotating the rotating shaft 32 by the rotating motion of the handles 31 and 31′ provided in opposite ends of the rotating shaft 32 and pulls the cables 3 and 3′. The operator pulls the cables 3 and 3′ of the brakes 111 and 121 with the braking levers 1 and 1′ of the handles 31 and 31′ to thereby operate the brakes 111 and 121 mounted in the front and rear wheels 11 and 12 of the bicycle.
The operator connects moving parts 4 and 4′ to the rotating shaft 32 so that the moving parts 4 and 4′ move on the rotating shaft 32. The moving parts 4 and 4′ are elastically supported by springs 41 and 41′ at one side, and fixed to stoppers 6 and 6′ of the rotating shaft 32 at the other side and move within a certain range.
The moving parts 4 and 4′ may axially move on the rotating shaft 32 and rotate together with the rotating shaft 32. The moving parts 4 and 4′ are coupled with levers 5 and 5′ connected to the cables 3 and 3′ of the brakes 111 and 121 so that the moving parts 4 and 4′ freely rotate. The cables 3 and 3′ of the brakes 111 and 121 are supported and guided by brackets 80 and 80′ at a portion connected to the levers 5 and 5′.
The moving parts 4 and 4′ are coupled to the levers 5 and 5′ by bearings 7 and 7′ so that the moving parts 4 and 4′ may rotate. The moving parts 4 and 4′ are freely rotatable and rotatbly coupled to the levers 5 and 5′ connected to the cables 3 and 3′ of the brakes 111 and 121 mounted in the front and rear wheels 11 and 12. The levers 5 and 5′ rotates together with the rotating shaft 32 in a fixed state when the handles 31 and 31′ rotate. If the braking levers 1 and 1′ are pulled, the moving parts 4 and 4′ are pulled and the levers 5 an 5′ coupled to the moving parts 4 and 4′ by the bearings 7 and 7′ are pulled.
The moving parts 4 and 4′ rotating together with the rotating shaft 32 rotates together with the rotating shaft 32 by the rotation of the handles 31 and 31′ while the moving parts 4 and 4′ are coupled on the rotating shaft 32 to axially move. The levers 5 and 5′ rotatably coupled to the moving parts 4 and 4′ by the bearings 7 and 7′ maintain the fixed state not to rotate together with the moving parts 4 and 4′ and pull the cables 3 and 3′ connected to the front and rear brakes 111 and 121 of the bicycle by the pulling operation of the moving parts 4 and 4′ to thereby operate the brakes 111 and 121.
The moving parts 4 and 4′ rotatably coupled to the levers 5 and 5′ are connected to the braking levers 1 and 1′ coupled to the handles 31 and 31′ by pulling wires 8 and 8′ such as wires and pull the levers 5 and 5′ together with the moving parts 4 an 4′ as the braking levers 1 and 1′.
The pulling wires 8 and 8′ connecting the moving parts 4 and 4′ and the braking levers 1 and 1′ are connected to the braking levers 1 and 1′ of the handles 31 and 31′ along guide rollers 9 and 9′ arranged in accordance with the shape of the handles 31 and 31′. In the handles 31 and 31′, handle bars 2 and 2′ are idle-coupled to shafts 21 and 21′ and the pulling wires 8 and 8′ which are guided to the guide rollers 9 and 9′ on the handle bars 2 and 2′ are inserted into holes 22 and 22′ of the shafts 21 and 21′.
A one end of the pulling wires 8 an 8′ guided to the holes 22 and 22′ passes through the holes 22 and 22′ of the shafts 21 and 21′ and is connected to one end of the braking levers 1 and 1′ as connectors 23 and 23′. The braking levers 1 and 1′ are coupled to the shafts 21 and 21′ by shaft pins 24 and 24′ and pull the pulling wires 8 and 8′ connected to one end of the braking levers 1 and 1′ and pull the moving parts 4 and 4′ centering on the shaft pins 24 and 24′.
If the pulling wires 8 and 8′ are pulled by the operation of the braking levers 1 and 1′ installed in the handles 31 and 31′, the moving parts 4 and 4′ connected to the pulling wires 8 and 8′ compress the springs 41 and 41′ and are pulled. Accordingly, the levers 5 and 5′ coupled to the moving parts 4 and 4′ move along the rotating shaft 32 and are pulled to thereby pull the cables 3 and 3′ connected to the levers 5 and 5′.
Accordingly, the cables 3 and 3′ connected to the levers 5 and 5′ operate the brakes 111 and 121 mounted in the front and rear wheels 11 and 12 of the bicycle and brake the bicycle. If the braking levers 1 and 1′ are unbraked, the braking levers 1 and 1′ restore by the restoring force of the springs 41 and 41′. The braking force pulling the pulling wires 8 and 8′ is lost and the cables 3 and 3′ connected to the levers 5 and 5′ on the rotating shaft 32 restore and the braking state is released.
The brakes 111 and 121 mounted in the front and rear wheels 11 and 12 and operated by the cables 3 and 3′ as described above may employ various brakes, and the configuration of the brakes 111 and 121 is known an thus details will be omitted.
The housing 70 in which the driving force transferring shaft 43 connecting the upper and lower motion-converting means 41 and 42 of the motion-converting unit 40 as in
The driving force transferring shaft 43 positioned in a location for adjusting the angle of the housing 70 is connected by a universal joint so that the driving force transferring shaft 43 is adjusted in angle according to the change of the angle of the housing 70.
The housing 70 which is coupled to the pin shaft 71 by the fixing bolt 73 to adjust the angle of the upper motion-converting means 41 in which the handles 31 and 31′ are installed, centering on the lower motion-converting means 42 back and forth so that the distance of the handles 31 and 31′ may be adjusted according to the body conditions of a rider riding the bicycle.
A bicycle for exercising the upper part of the body according to the present invention transfers the driving force of the rotating motion unit to a rear wheel through the motion-converting unit and the driving force transferring unit so that the exercise of the upper part of the body as well as the exercise of the lower part of the body by pedaling is performed so that the exercise of the upper and lower parts of the body is ensured.
The motion-converting unit of the rotating motion unit which ensures the exercise of the upper part of the body has a simplified configuration, and the handles performing the function of exercising the upper part of the body by the rotation and performing the steering function are installed with the braking levers so that the handles may control the brakes.
That is, a bicycle for exercising the upper part of the body according to the present invention has a simplified motion-converting unit of a rotating motion unit mounted in a steering bar and performing the exercise of the upper part of the body by rotation and installs braking levers braking front and rear wheels of the bicycle for exercising the upper part of the body in handles performing the function of exercising the upper part of the body and the steering function to enable the handles to rotate for the exercise of the upper part of the body and perform the steering function for manipulating a direction and perform the braking function for braking the bicycle.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITYA bicycle for exercising the upper part of the body according to the present invention enables a user to exercise the upper and lower parts of the body by providing the driving force of the bicycle through the exercise of the lower part of the body according to the rotation of the pedal and through the exercise of the upper part of the body according to the rotation of the handles.
Claims
1. A bicycle for exercising the upper part of the body which comprises a rotating motion unit that rotates a rotating shaft by rotation of handles provided in opposite sides of the rotating shaft and transfers the driving force to a pedal driving shaft through a driving force transferring unit, and a motion-converting unit which comprises upper and lower motion-converting means, moves together with the rotating motion unit and transfers the motion of the rotating motion unit to the driving force transferring unit, wherein the rotating motion unit is installed in a housing and mounted in a steering bar to rotate the rotating handles centering on the rotating shaft and transfers the driving force of the rotating handles to the driving force transferring unit through the upper and lower motion-converting means, the upper motion-converting means comprises bevel gears and connects the rotating shaft and a driving force transferring shaft and transfers the rotation of the rotating shaft by the rotation of the rotating handles to the driving force transferring shaft through the bevel gears, the lower motion-converting means comprises bevel gears, connects the driving force transferring shaft connected to the motion-converting means and a driven shaft and transfers the driving force of the driving force transferring shaft to the driving force transferring unit through the driven shaft, and the handles connected to the rotating shaft of the rotating motion unit are provided with braking levers to operate brakes mounted in front and rear wheels of the bicycle.
2. A bicycle for exercising the upper part of the body which comprises a rotating motion unit that rotates a rotating shaft by rotation of handles provided in opposite sides of the rotating shaft and transfers the driving force to a pedal driving shaft through a driving force transferring unit, and a motion-converting unit which comprises upper and lower motion-converting means, moves together with the rotating motion unit and transfers the motion of the rotating motion unit to the driving force transferring unit, wherein the rotating motion unit is installed in a housing and mounted in a steering bar to rotate the rotating handles centering on the rotating shaft and transfers the driving force of the rotating handles to the driving force transferring unit through the upper and lower motion-converting means of the motion-converting unit, the upper motion-converting means comprises bevel gears and connects the rotating shaft and a driving force transferring shaft and transfers the rotation of the rotating shaft by the rotation of the rotating handles to the driving force transferring shaft through the bevel gears, and the lower motion-converting means comprises bevel gears, connects the driving force transferring shaft connected to the motion-converting means and a driven shaft and transfers the driving force of the driving force transferring shaft to the driving force transferring unit through the driven shaft.
3. A bicycle for exercising the upper part of the body which comprises a rotating motion unit that rotates a rotating shaft by rotation of opposite handles and transfers the driving force to a pedal driving shaft through a driving force transferring unit, and a motion-converting unit which comprises upper and lower motion-converting means, moves together with the rotating motion unit and transfers the motion of the rotating motion unit to the driving force transferring unit, wherein the rotating motion unit is installed in a housing and mounted in a steering bar to rotate the rotating handles centering on the rotating shaft, the rotating shaft transfers the driving force of the rotating handles to the driving force transferring unit through the upper and lower motion-converting means of the motion-converting unit, the upper motion-converting means comprises bevel gears and connects the rotating shaft and a driving force transferring shaft and transfers the rotation of the rotating shaft by the rotation of the rotating handles to the driving force transferring shaft through the bevel gears, the lower motion-converting means comprises bevel gears, connects the driving force transferring shaft connected to the upper motion-converting means and a driven shaft and transfers the driving force of the driving force transferring shaft to the driving force transferring unit through the driven shaft, and the handles connected to the rotating shaft of the rotating motion unit are provided with braking levers to operate brakes mounted in front and rear wheels of the bicycle.
4. The bicycle according to claim 1, wherein moving parts are coupled to the rotating shaft so that the moving parts axially move within a certain range on the rotating shaft and are elastically supported by springs at one side, and are coupled to levers connected to cables of the brakes to rotate freely, and are connected to braking levers of the handles by pulling wires so that the braking levers pull the moving parts and the levers and pull the cables connected to the levers to brake the brakes.
5. The bicycle according to claim 4, wherein the pulling wires connecting the moving parts and the braking levers are connected to one end of the braking levers through holes of shafts coupled to guide rollers and handle bars, and the braking levers are coupled to the shafts by shaft pins and pull the pulling wires connected to one end of the braking levers centering on the shaft pins, and pull the moving parts.
6. The bicycle according to claim 2, wherein moving parts are coupled to the rotating shaft so that the moving parts axially move within a certain range on the rotating shaft and are elastically supported by springs at one side, and are coupled to levers connected to cables of the brakes to rotate freely, and are connected to braking levers of the handles by pulling wires so that the braking levers pull the moving parts and the levers and pull the cables connected to the levers to brake the brakes.
7. The bicycle according to claim 6, wherein the pulling wires connecting the moving parts and the braking levers are connected to one end of the braking levers through holes of shafts coupled to guide rollers and handle bars, and the braking levers are coupled to the shafts by shaft pins and pull the pulling wires connected to one end of the braking levers centering on the shaft pins, and pull the moving parts.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 23, 2010
Publication Date: Jul 12, 2012
Inventor: Ki In An (Busan)
Application Number: 13/497,048
International Classification: A63B 22/12 (20060101);
