PULLEY FORCE DETECTION DEVICE FOR WEIGHT-TRAINING FITNESS EQUIPMENT
A pulley force detection device for a weight-training fitness equipment includes a measured element arranged on a stator portion of a pulley of the fitness equipment, and a detection module arranged on a rotor portion. The detection module includes at least one measuring element corresponding to the measured element to detect a motion stroke, a speed, and a power value during force application to a pulley body. Alternatively, the measured element is arrangeable on the rotor portion of the pulley, while the measuring element is arranged on the stator portion of the pulley. The pulley force detection device is further combinable with a weight measurement device for detecting a weight of the weight block.
The present invention relates to a device for detecting a force applied in exercise, and more particularly to a pulley force detection device of weight-training fitness equipment.
2. The Related ArtsAmong different types of exercise, different persons favor different items of exercise. Some sport lovers favor simple exercises, such as walking, hiking, jumping, jogging, and cycling, while other sport lovers love to do exercise with various types of fitness equipment.
When a sporter uses fitness equipment to do exercise, although it is possible to fulfill the purpose of exercising, yet it is not possible to know and measure the amount of exercise that has been taken. In the known designs of fitness equipment, it almost just involves one single purpose of simply exercising. A sporter, when using such equipment for doing exercise, cannot timely realize and correctly measure whether the amount of exercising is proper.
In order to help a sporter to understand the amount of exercise that has been taken when the sporter is doing exercise, a detection designed for detecting an exercise state that a person is taking was available. There are problems for such known detections in detecting the exercise state of a sporter. For example, taking a weight training apparatus as an example, a detection structure (such as a laser transmitting/receiving device, a separate optical coupler, and a reflection detection sensor) that is applied to measure the exercise state and the exercise amount of a sporter requires a sophisticated circuit design and a complicated mechanism to operate therewith. However, component costs are high, and assembly is difficult.
Further, considering the disadvantages of known fitness equipment that involves a pulley, the following shortcomings are known:
(1) Calculating a movement stroke of a sporter is not available.
(2) Separate arrangement (in which a measuring element and a measured element are arranged on different parts) makes assembly of such a separate arrangement difficult.
(3) Data errors are excessively large.
(4) Only reciprocating rounds or counts can be computed.
(5) No precise computation of stroke speed is available.
(6) No function of automatic wake-up and electricity consumption is available.
(7) No calculation of acceleration or deceleration of a sporter is available.
(8) No precise computation of force application time of a sporter is available.
(9) Measurements of stroke speed and weight of a weight block cannot be done on one device.
(10) Measurement of exercise power of a sporter cannot be done on the same device.
(11) The structure is complicated; the cost is high; and maintenance is difficult.
(12) There is no way to arrange as a stand-alone device.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn view of the above-discussed shortcomings of the known devices, the primary objective of the present invention is to provide a pulley force detection device that is suitable for use in and combination with a weight-training fitness equipment.
A technical solution adapted in the present invention comprises a measured element arranged on a stator portion of a pulley of fitness equipment, and a detection module arranged on a rotor portion. The detection module comprises at least one measuring element corresponding to the measured element to detect a motion stroke, a speed, and a power value during force application to a pulley body.
In the other embodiment of the present invention, the measured element is alternatively arranged on the rotor portion of the pulley, while the measuring element is arranged on the stator portion of the pulley.
Preferably, the pulley force detection device of the present invention is combinable with a weight measurement device for detecting a weight of a weight block connected to the weight measurement device, a movement detecting accelerometer for detecting at least one acceleration signal of the weight measurement device during movement, and at least one movement detecting element for detecting a movement of the weight measurement device during movement.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a pulley force detection device for a weight-training fitness equipment, comprising a pulley device including a stator portion fixed to a top frame of the weight-training fitness equipment and a rotor portion rotatably mounted to the stator portion. A pull cord extended around the rotor portion of the pulley device, having a mounting end and a free end. A weight measurement device connected between the mounting end of the pull cord and a weight block of the weight-training fitness equipment, such that the pull cord, upon being acted upon by a force applied to the free end thereof, drives the rotor portion to rotate so as to pull and move the weight block through the weight measurement device. The weight measurement device includes at least one strain gauge mounted on a side wall of the weight measurement device for detecting a weight of the weight block and correspondingly generates a weight signal to a detection module.
Preferably, a movement detecting accelerometer is electrically connected to the detection module for detecting at least one acceleration signal of the weight measurement device and transmitting the at least one acceleration signal to the detection module. A magnet mounted on a vertical frame of a strength machine, and a magnetism detecting element is electrically connected to the detection module and mounted on the weight measurement device at a place corresponding to the at least one magnet at a distance therebetween.
Optionally, an optical transmitter is mounted on a vertical frame of a strength machine, and an optical receiver is electrically connected to the detection module and mounted on the weight measurement device at a place corresponding to the at least one optical transmitter at a distance therebetween.
Optionally, an optical reflector is mounted on a vertical frame of the weight-training fitness equipment, and an optical transceiver is electrically connected to the detection module and mounted on the weight measurement device at a place corresponding to the at least one optical reflector at a distance therebetween.
Optionally, a barcode is mounted on a vertical frame of the weight-training fitness equipment, and a barcode reader is electrically connected to the detection module and mounted on the weight measurement device at a place corresponding to the barcode at a distance therebetween.
Concerning efficacy, based on the arrangement provided in the present invention, precise and accurate measurements of a motion stroke, a speed, and a weight of the pulley body resulting from application of a force thereto can be made, and a value of power applied by the user can be accurately calculated. The present invention may also comprise a weight measurement device. The weight measurement device comprises an electronic control module. By means of the weight measurement device, a weight signal of the weight block can be measured.
Further, in application of the present invention, options of arrangement, including a stand-alone arrangement and an add-on arrangement, are available for mounting to or combining with various types of exercise and fitness equipment, allowing the user to get aware of force application rate, motion stroke or weight, and power that the user applies in doing exercises.
A technical measure adopted in the present invention will be further described with reference to embodiments provided below and the attached drawings.
Referring to
The rotor portion 1 is rotatably mounted, by means of the bearing 12, to the axle 21 of the stator portion 2. The pull cord 3, when receiving a force applied thereto, drives the pulley body 11 to rotate about a rotation center defined by the axle 21.
Referring jointly to
The detection module 6 comprises at least one measuring element 61a, 61b mounted on a sidewall of the rotor portion 1 and corresponded to the measured element 7. By means of a spatial arrangement relationship between the measuring element 61a, 61b and the measured element 7, the measuring element 61a, 61b may precisely measure at least one force signal that a force is applied to the pulley body 11 to cause rotation thereof. The force signal measured by the measuring element 61a, 61b is transmitted to a processing unit 68.
The detection module 6 further comprises a transmission module 62 that is connected to the processing unit 68. The transmission module 62 is operable to transmit out the force signal measured by the measuring element 61a, 61b in a wireless manner. The transmission module 62 can be a low-power wireless transmission module (such as Bluetooth, ANT+, and Wi-Fi) that comprises an operation unit (such as a microcontroller unit, MCU) to transmit the force signal measured by the measuring element 61a, 61b to an electronic device 69 (such as a smart phone or a smart personal wearable device) or a control station arranged on an exercise apparatus.
A power source 63 supplies electrical energy necessary for operation of the measuring element 61a, 61b and the transmission module 62. The power source 63 can be one of a permanent battery and a rechargeable battery.
The measured element 7 comprises at least one magnet or a ring magnet 71 of multiple poles arranged in a ring manner, which is embedded in or fixed to the stator portion 2 and corresponds to the measuring element 61a, 61b, so as to form a concentric arrangement to allow the measuring element 61a, 61b of the detection module 6 to make detection thereon for conversion and determination of a motion stroke. The magnet or the multiple-pole ring magnets 71 can be replaced by a barcode, in such a way that the barcode is attached to or printed on the stator portion 2 to correspond to the measuring element 61a, 61b, forming a concentric arrangement to allow the measuring element 61a, 61b of the detection module 6 to make detection thereon for conversion and determination of a motion stroke.
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the measuring element 61a, 61b may comprise at least one Hall effect element or a reed switch for measuring a state of variation of the magnetic poles of the magnet of the measured element 7. The measuring element 61a, 61b may alternatively or additionally comprise at least one opto-coupling diode assembly for detecting a state of variation of the barcode of the measured element 7.
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a housing 64 may be further included for fixing and protecting the measuring element 61a, 61b, the transmission module 62, and the power source 63 on the rotor portion 1.
Preferably, the detection module 6 may further comprise a display device 65 (such as an LED or LCD) to display a state of operation of the rotor portion 1.
Preferably, the detection module 6 may further comprise an automatic wake-up element 66, which can be for example a reed switch, a relay, a Hall effect element, or a vibration switch.
Preferably, the detection module 6 may further comprise a three-axial or more than three-axial accelerometer (G-sensor) 67 for measuring at least one acceleration signal of rotation or movement of the rotor portion 1.
Referring to
Further, the bottom of the support frame 22 of the stator portion 2 is connected to a first embodiment of a weight measurement device 8, and a bottom of the weight measurement device 8 is further connected, by means of a connection mechanism 4 to a weight block.
The weight measurement device 8 is formed with a pair of corresponding hollowed portions 81a, 81b. A pair of strain gauges 82a, 82b are mounted on side walls of the hollowed portions 81a, 81b respectively. The strain gauges 82a, 82b are electrically connected to the detection module 6a through signal lines 83.
One end of a pull cord 3 is positioned on a top frame 91 of the weight-training fitness equipment 9, and then extended around the pulley body 11 of the rotor portion 1 of the pulley force detection device 100a. The other end of the pull cord 3 is connected to a handle bar 84 of the weight-training fitness equipment 9, so that a user may apply a force to pull the handlebar 84 to pull the rotor portion 1 to rotate. The force applied by the user transmits through the pulley force detection device 100a, the weight measurement device 8, and the connection mechanism 4 to pull and move the weight block 5.
During this operation, the measuring element 61a, 61b of the detection module 6a measures and transmits the force signal that the pulley body 11 is acted upon by the force to rotate to the detection module 6a. Meanwhile, a weight of the weight block 5 is detected by the strain gauges 82a, 82b according to amounts of deformation of the hollowed portions 81a, 81b of the weight measurement device 8, and a weight signal is transmitted to the detection module 6a through the signal lines 83. The detection module 6a may be further electrically connected to a control station 85 of the weight-training fitness equipment 9.
As shown in
During exercise, the measuring element 61a, 61b of the detection module 6a measures and transmits the force signal that the pulley body 11 is acted upon by the force to rotate to the processing unit 68. A weight of the weight block 5 is detected by the strain gauges 82a, 82b according to amounts of deformation of the hollowed portions 81a, 81b, and a weight signal is transmitted to the processing unit 68. Meanwhile, the acceleration signal generated by the accelerometer 67 is transmitted to the processing unit 68. The acceleration signal generated by the movement detecting accelerometer 86 is transmitted to the processing unit 68. The movement signal generated by the magnetism detecting element 87b shown in
The force signal, the weight signal, the acceleration signals and the movement signal may be transmitted, in either a wired manner or a wireless manner, to the electronic device 69 (such as a smart phone or a smart personal wearable device) or the control station 85 arranged on the weight-training fitness equipment 9.
A pull cord 3 is extended around the rotor portion 1 of the pulley device 100b. A weight measurement device 8a is connected between a mounting end 31 of the pull cord 3 and a weight block 5 of the weight-training fitness equipment, such that the pull cord 3, upon being acted upon by a force applied to the free end 32 of the pull cord 3, drives the pulley body 11 of the rotor portion 1 to rotate, so as to pull and move the weight block 5 through the weight measurement device 8a.
The weight measurement device 8a is identical to that of the embodiment as shown in
A three-axial or more than three-axial movement detecting accelerometer 86 is mounted on a selected position of the weight measurement device 8a for measuring at least one acceleration signal of the weight measurement device 8a during movement and then transmitting the acceleration signal to the detection module 6b.
Based on the arrangement provided in the present invention, precise and accurate measurements of a motion stroke, a speed, and a weight of the pulley body resulting from application of a force thereto can be made, and a value of power applied by the user can be accurately calculated. Further, in application of the present invention, options of arrangement, including a stand-alone arrangement and an add-on arrangement, are available for mounting to or combining with various types of exercise and fitness equipment, allowing the user to get aware of force application rate, motion stroke or weight, and power that the user applies in doing exercises.
The embodiments described above are provided only for illustrating the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention that is defined in the claims. Equivalent modifications or substitutes that come in the inventive spirit disclosed in the present invention are considered falling within the scope defined by the claims.
Claims
1. A pulley force detection device for a weight-training fitness equipment, comprising:
- a stator portion including an axle and a support frame that supports the axle, a weight block being connected to a bottom of the support frame;
- a rotor portion including a pulley body and a bearing, the rotor portion being rotatably mounted, by means of the bearing, to the axle of the stator portion, the pulley body having an outer circumference in which a grooved track is formed in order to receive a pull cord in the grooved track, an end of the pull cord being connected to the weight block, such that the pull cord, upon being acted upon by a force applied thereto, drives the pulley body to rotate about a rotation center defined by the axle so as to pull and move the weight block;
- a measured element arranged on the stator portion; and
- a detection module including:
- at least one measuring element arranged on the rotor portion and corresponds to the measured element, wherein when the pulley body is caused to rotate by the force, the at least one measuring element generating at least one force signal through detecting the measured element;
- a transmission module connected to the at least one measuring element to receive the at least one force signal generated by the measuring element and transmit the at least one force signal in a wireless manner, and
- a power source for supplying an electrical energy to the at least one measuring element and the transmission module.
2. The pulley force detection device according to claim 1, wherein the measured element is selected from one of ring magnet and barcode, which is positioned on the stator portion in such a manner as being arranged in a concentric form around a center defined by the axle.
3. The pulley force detection device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one measuring element comprises one of a Hall effect element, a reed switch, and an opto-coupling diode.
4. The pulley force detection device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission module a low-power wireless transmission module, which comprises one of Bluetooth, ANT+ and Wi-Fi, for transmitting the force signal generated by the at least one measuring element to one of a control station, a smart phone, and a smart personal wearable device.
5. The pulley force detection device according to claim 1, wherein the detection module further comprises an automatic wake-up element, which comprises one of a reed switch, a relay, a Hall effect element, and a vibration switch.
6. The pulley force detection device according to claim 1, wherein the detection module further comprises one of three-axial or more than three-axial accelerometer that detects at least one acceleration signal of the rotor portion.
7. A pulley force detection device for a weight-training fitness equipment, comprising:
- a stator portion including an axle and a support frame that supports the axle, a weight block being connected to a bottom of the support frame;
- a rotor portion including a pulley body and a bearing, the rotor portion being rotatably mounted, by means of the bearing, to the axle of the stator portion, the pulley body having an outer circumference in which a grooved track is formed in order to receive a pull cord in the grooved track, an end of the pull cord being connected to the weight block, such that the pull cord, upon being acted upon by a force applied to a free end thereof, drives the pulley body to rotate about a rotation center defined by the axle so as to pull and move the weight block;
- a measured element arranged on the rotor portion; and
- a detection module including:
- at least one measuring element arranged on the stator portion and corresponds to the measured element, wherein when the pulley body is caused to rotate by the force, the at least one measuring element generating at least one force signal through detecting the measured element.
8. The pulley force detection device according to claim 7, wherein the measured element is selected from one of ring magnet and barcode, which is positioned on the rotor portion in such a manner as being arranged in a concentric form around a center defined by the axle.
9. The pulley force detection device according to claim 7, wherein the at least one measuring element comprises one of a Hall effect element, a reed switch, and an opto-coupling diode.
10. The pulley force detection device according to claim 7, wherein the detection module further comprises one of three-axial or more than three-axial accelerometer that detects at least one acceleration signal of the rotor portion.
11. The pulley force detection device according to claim 7, further comprising a weight measurement device connected between the bottom of the support frame and the weight block, the weight measurement device including at least one strain gauge electrically connected to the detection module for detecting a weight of the weight block and generates, in response thereto, a weight signal transmitted to the detection module.
12. The pulley force detection device according to claim 11, further comprising a three-axial or more than three-axial movement detecting accelerometer electrically connected to the detection module for detecting at least one acceleration signal of the weight measurement device and transmitting the at least one acceleration signal to the detection module.
13. The pulley force detection device according to claim 11, further comprising:
- at least one magnet mounted on a vertical frame of a strength machine; and
- at least one magnetism detecting element electrically connected to the detection module and mounted on the weight measurement device at a place corresponding to the at least one magnet at a distance therebetween.
14. The pulley force detection device according to claim 11, further comprising:
- at least one optical transmitter mounted on a vertical frame of a strength machine; and
- at least one optical receiver electrically connected to the detection module and mounted on the weight measurement device at a place corresponding to the at least one optical transmitter at a distance therebetween.
15. A pulley force detection device for a weight-training fitness equipment, comprising:
- a pulley device including a stator portion fixed to a top frame of the weight-training fitness equipment and a rotor portion rotatably mounted to the stator portion;
- a pull cord extended around the rotor portion of the pulley device, having a mounting end and a free end; and
- a weight measurement device connected between the mounting end of the pull cord and a weight block of the weight-training fitness equipment, such that the pull cord, upon being acted upon by a force applied to the free end thereof, drives the rotor portion to rotate so as to pull and move the weight block through the weight measurement device;
- wherein the weight measurement device includes at least one strain gauge mounted on a side wall of the weight measurement device for detecting a weight of the weight block and correspondingly generates a weight signal to a detection module.
16. The pulley force detection device according to claim 15, further comprising a three-axial or more than three-axial movement detecting accelerometer electrically connected to the detection module for detecting at least one acceleration signal of the weight measurement device and transmitting the at least one acceleration signal to the detection module.
17. The pulley force detection device according to claim 15, further comprising:
- at least one magnet mounted on a vertical frame of the weight-training fitness equipment; and
- at least one magnetism detecting element electrically connected to the detection module and mounted on the weight measurement device at a place corresponding to the at least one magnet at a distance therebetween.
18. The pulley force detection device according to claim 15, further comprising:
- at least one optical transmitter mounted on a vertical frame of the weight-training fitness equipment; and
- at least one optical receiver electrically connected to the detection module and mounted on the weight measurement device at a place corresponding to the at least one optical transmitter at a distance therebetween.
19. The pulley force detection device according to claim 15, further comprising:
- at least one optical reflector mounted on a vertical frame of the weight-training fitness equipment; and
- an optical transceiver electrically connected to the detection module and mounted on the weight measurement device at a place corresponding to the at least one optical reflector at a distance therebetween.
20. The pulley force detection device according to claim 15, further comprising:
- a barcode mounted on a vertical frame of the weight-training fitness equipment; and
- a barcode reader electrically connected to the detection module and mounted on the weight measurement device at a place corresponding to the barcode at a distance therebetween.
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 6, 2022
Publication Date: Jan 12, 2023
Inventor: YU-YU CHEN (TAIPEI CITY)
Application Number: 17/810,880