CN120641185A

CN120641185A - Improvements in or relating to resistance training equipment

Info

Publication number: CN120641185A
Application number: CN202380088438.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 克雷格·蒙西; 詹姆斯·劳伦斯·范·奥斯滕; 迈克尔·威廉·卡斯韦尔; 阿什利·詹姆斯·科莱姆克; 西蒙·杰拉德·豪尔
Original assignee: F&p Technology Fitness Co ltd
Current assignee: F&p Technology Fitness Co ltd
Priority date: 2022-12-22
Filing date: 2023-12-22
Publication date: 2025-09-12
Also published as: EP4637937A1; WO2024134605A1

Abstract

A self-braking reel module for or used in a resistance exerciser includes a reel capable of having a cable wound thereon when rotated in a first rotational direction. The reel housing includes a sleeve surrounding the coiled cable. When the reel is rotated in a second rotational direction to unwind the cable from the reel and causes the reel to overrun, the cable spirals outwardly from the reel and contacts the sleeve, thereby applying a braking force to the reel due to friction between the sleeve, the reel, and the cable, thereby reducing the rotational speed of the reel in the second rotational direction.

Description

Improvements in or relating to resistance exercise machines

The present invention relates to improvements in or relating to resistance exercise machines. In particular, but not exclusively, the invention may be a resistance trainer for fitness training or exercise. In alternative embodiments, the invention may be specifically, but not exclusively, a resistance mechanism that may be incorporated into many different types of resistance exercise machines.

Background

There are many resistance trainers available for use by people. These resistance trains are commonly used to perform a variety of different exercises for fitness and training purposes. Typically, such resistance trains use weights and rely on gravity to provide load resistance to the user. Such devices are known by a number of names. Examples include a cable trainer, a smith machine, or a strength training frame. Such devices may include a set of selectively engageable weight plates and a cable that is typically routed around a pulley system that is capable of lifting a selected weight plate. A handle at the end of the cable allows the user to apply a load to the cable to lift a selected weight plate. Weight-based resistance trains are inexpensive to produce, but are cumbersome to transport and handle, and lack the functionality to help guide the user to ensure proper use of the device. For users who are unfamiliar with the method of using such resistance exercise machines, the user typically relies on instructions or personal coaches.

Such conventional weight-based resistance trainers have improved to provide a more portable solution. Resistance trainers that utilize a person's own weight or elastic bands are examples of lightweight trainers.

Resistance trains have been developed recently to provide real-time use feedback to the user to provide guidance during use of the device. Examples of such devices are described in our PCT patent applications WO2022/103278 and WO 2022/075864.

In WO'278, a resistance trainer is described which relies on an electrically driven resistance mechanism using a motor, a reel coupled to the motor, and a cable. The cable has a handle at one end that a user can grasp to apply a load to the cable. The other end of the cable is wound onto the reel, but can unwind when a user applies a load to the cable. The motor can be controlled to apply resistance to a load applied by a user via the cable as the cable is wound and unwound from the reel. In this way, the user may experience the same load as a weight-based resistance trainer, but without relying on a heavier weight plate to provide the load. Motor-based resistance trains as described in WO'278 may provide a number of additional advantages, such as providing performance feedback to the user. Load, motion and posture feedback may be provided to the user in real time as described in WO' 278.

The nature of the resistance mechanism that applies resistance during resistance training can affect the performance of the resistance trainer, including the comfort and safety experienced by the user of the trainer.

In motor-based resistance trains, the rotational inertia of the resistance mechanism may be a cause of poor performance, user discomfort, or injury. This is because inertia can overrun the cable reel as the cable is extended and retracted during operation. Overrun in the unwinding of the cable may in turn cause the cable to slacken temporarily, which in turn causes the user to experience a sudden jerk when the cable resumes the taut state again. In such motor-based resistance trainers that support providing real-time usage feedback to a user, overrunning and jerking may result in inaccuracy in the feedback provided.

The rotational inertia that may occur may be substantial. For motor-based resistance trains, the mass of the rotor and magnets may be large in order to ensure that sufficient resistance can be applied to the cable to achieve effective exercise. The speed at which the cable can be wound on the reel is also a factor in the design of the motor.

The user may also experience problems with tangling and jamming of the cable as it extends from and retracts to the reel. Overrun and jerk of the spool may be the cause of this problem, but there may be other causes. For example, in the event that the resistance trainer is powered down, the user may cause the cable to become tangled and stuck when attempting to manually rewind the cable.

To illustrate overrun of the reel, please refer to fig. 1A-1C, which illustrate a series of states of a prior art motor-based resistance trainer. H indicates a user grippable handle. C is a cable. The resistance mechanism in this prior art example includes a spool S and a motor M coupled to the spool using a belt drive B. This is similar to the configuration shown in figure 2B of WO' 278. T indicates motor torque, and R1 and R2 are motor output shaft and reel rotation direction, respectively. D indicates the direction of travel of the handle, and F is the load force applied to the handle by the user.

Fig. 1A shows a state during a load stroke in which the user pulls the handle upward in direction D1 to unwind the cable from the reel. The torque T of the motor exerts a resistance to this movement. The force F is able to overcome the resistance applied by the resistance mechanism when the cable is unwound from the reel. The user pulls the cable upward in direction D1 to rotate the motor rotor and reel against the resistance of the motor. The cable is kept in a taut state.

Fig. 1B shows a state when the user has reduced or completely released the load F and the cable may become loose. This may occur, for example, when the direction of movement of the handle is changed.

Fig. 1C shows a state in which the resistance mechanism tightens the slack cable as the cable travels downward in the direction D2.

In all conditions, the motor torque T is applied in the same direction to help ensure that the user experiences a steady (but optionally variable) resistance and to help ensure that the cable can be wound onto the reel. However, as can be appreciated from FIG. 1B, at the instant after the force F is released, the rotational inertia of the resistance mechanism may cause the reel to continue to rotate briefly in the same direction as in FIG. 1A. This rotational momentum is rapidly reduced by the motor but is not instantaneous when the force F is released and may overrun the reel which in turn slackens the cable. As the momentum of the rotor and reel is released, the motor force again dominates, returning the cable to a taut state, as shown in fig. 1C.

Overrun of the spool may prevent the cable from being properly rewound onto the spool. This may have an undesirable effect on the performance of the motor-based resistance exercise device. It may cause the cable to become stuck. It may also affect sensing accuracy, potentially providing inaccurate feedback to the user. When the motor tightens the slack cable, the reel overruns may also cause the cable and thus the user to exert a sudden jerk. The faster the user pulls the cable to unwind the cable from the reel, the greater the speed, the greater the rotational inertia created in the resistance mechanism, and the more pronounced the undesired overrun effect may be.

In this specification, where external sources of information are referred to (including patent specifications and other documents), this is generally for the purpose of providing a context for discussing the features of the invention. Unless otherwise indicated, reference to such sources of information in any jurisdiction should not be construed as an admission that such sources of information are prior art, or form part of the common general knowledge in the art.

For the purposes of this specification, the term "cable" is to be understood as a generic term meaning a broad range of flexible elongate members, such as wire ropes, synthetic fiber ropes, monofilaments, chains, webbing and belts (as examples).

Throughout the specification of the claims, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the term "handle" is intended to refer to a component, such as a wand, handle, strap, belt, or any other suitable piece of equipment that will be grasped and/or otherwise engaged by a user's hand, foot, or body, such as a person being able to apply tension via the user's hand, foot, or body to a cable attached to the component or "handle". Thus, such a handle or component may be described as a "user interface".

Throughout the specification and claims, the term "vertically extending" (or similar terms, such as extending vertically) is intended to mean that the cable extends in a direction having a significant or primarily vertical component (and may include a horizontal component), unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the specification and claims, where more than one controller (such as a motor controller and a system controller) is described, those skilled in the art will appreciate that more than one controller may be implemented by a single controller (such as a single electronic processor). Conversely, where a controller such as a system controller is described, such controller may be implemented by one or more controllers (such as two or more electronically communicating electronic processors). One or more controllers may be provided remotely.

Throughout the specification and claims, where one or more sensors provide one or more outputs, a value or parameter (such as an angle or position) may be determined from the one or more outputs, the one or more outputs being expressed as an indication of the value or parameter.

Throughout the specification and claims, terms such as "above" and "below" are used in a relative sense and are not intended to be limiting. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the arrangements or components described using such related terms may be reversed such that "above" is changed to "below" and vice versa.

For the purposes of this specification, where method steps are described in a sequential order, that order does not necessarily imply that the steps will be ordered in the temporal order of that order, unless other logical means of ordering is not explained.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improvement in or relating to an exercise device that overcomes or at least partially ameliorates at least some of the abovementioned disadvantages or at least provides the public with a useful choice.

Disclosure of Invention

In a first aspect, the invention may be said to broadly consist in a resistance trainer comprising:

a. a housing having a substantially horizontal platform upon which a user stands when the resistance trainer is in use,

B. a resistance mechanism mounted as a unit below the platform inside said housing and comprising:

a motor having a rotary output shaft,

A spool mounted for rotation relative to said housing about a spool axis coaxial with the output shaft and drivable by the motor in a first rotational direction,

C. A user interface, presented on the exterior of the housing, capable of undergoing movement of the user relative to the housing when the trainer is in use,

D. A cable extending between the user interface and the reel and having (i) a first end region at which the cable can be wound onto and unwound from the reel, and (ii) a second end region at which the cable is directly or indirectly coupled to the user interface,

Wherein the motor is capable of generating a force to (i) apply a resistance to the user via the cable and reel to resist said movement, and (ii) drive the reel to rotate in the first rotational direction of the reel to wind the cable onto the reel.

In another aspect, the invention may be said to broadly consist in a resistance trainer comprising:

a. The outer shell of the shell is provided with a plurality of grooves,

a motor having a rotary output shaft,

C. A user interface, presented on the exterior of the housing, capable of undergoing movement by a user relative to the housing when the trainer is in use,

In a second aspect, the invention may be expressed as a resistance trainer comprising:

a. The outer shell of the shell is provided with a plurality of grooves,

B. A resistance mechanism mounted to the housing and comprising:

a motor having a rotary output shaft,

A spool mounted for rotation about a spool axis and coupled directly or indirectly to the motor and drivable by the motor about the spool axis in a first rotational direction,

A sleeve positioned around the reel to define a limited gap around the reel, and within the sleeve the reel is rotatable around the reel shaft,

D. a cable extending between the user interface and the reel and having (i) a first end region at which the cable can be wound onto the reel in a tapered or spiral coiled configuration to be positioned in the restricted gap and to be unwound from the reel, and (ii) a second end region at which the cable is directly or indirectly coupled to the user interface,

Wherein the user is able to apply a pulling force to the cable to overcome the motor force to rotate the spool in a second rotational direction opposite to the first rotational direction to unwind the cable from the spool, and

Wherein when overrun of the reel occurs, a cable of coiled configuration on the reel can be caused to begin to spiral outwardly in the restricted gap to contact the sleeve, thereby applying a braking force to the reel by means of friction between the sleeve, reel and cable to reduce the rotational speed of the reel in the second rotational direction.

In another aspect, the invention may be expressed as a method of passively braking a reel having a cable wound thereon in a coiled configuration and capable of causing the cable to be wound onto the reel in a first rotational direction of the reel, the method for reducing reel overrun caused when the cable is pulled with sufficient force to rotate the reel in a second rotational direction to unwind the cable from the reel, the method comprising causing the cable wound on the reel to spiral outwardly from its coiled configuration in a restricted gap between the reel and a sleeve surrounding the reel to contact the sleeve, thereby applying a braking force to the reel by means of friction between the sleeve, reel and cable to reduce the rotational speed of the reel in the second rotational direction.

In yet another aspect, the invention may be expressed as a self-braking reel module comprising:

a. a reel capable of having a cable wound thereon in a coiled configuration, and biased to rotate in a first rotational direction to cause the cable to be wound thereon,

B. A reel housing for mounting the reel in a manner that rotates relative to the reel and having a sleeve surrounding the coiled cable, the sleeve being spaced outwardly from the coiled cable a sufficient distance so as not to contact the cable unless the cable is pulled with sufficient force to overcome the biasing force, causing the reel to rotate in a second rotational direction to unwind the cable from the reel and overrun the reel such that the cable wound on the reel spirals outwardly away from the reel into and into contact with the sleeve, thereby applying a braking force to the reel by means of friction between the sleeve, reel and cable to reduce the rotational speed of the reel in the second rotational direction.

In another aspect, the invention may be expressed as a self-braking reel module that includes a reel capable of having a coiled cable thereon that causes the cable to be coiled onto the reel when rotated in a first rotational direction. Preferably the reel housing is arranged to mount the reel in rotation relative to the reel and has a sleeve surrounding the coiled cable, the sleeve being spaced outwardly from the coiled cable a sufficient distance so as not to contact the cable unless the cable is pulled with sufficient force to overcome the biasing force to rotate the reel in a second rotational direction to unwind the cable from the reel and cause the reel to overrun such that the cable wound on the reel spirals outwardly away from the reel into and into contact with the sleeve to apply a braking force to the reel by means of friction between the sleeve, reel and cable to reduce the rotational speed of the reel in the second rotational direction.

a. a reel capable of having thereon a cable wound in a coiled configuration determined by a helical groove of the reel, the cable being capable of being seated in the helical groove,

B. A housing for mounting the reel in a rotatable manner relative to the reel and having a sleeve surrounding the coiled cable, the sleeve being spaced outwardly from the coiled cable a sufficient distance so as not to contact the coiled cable, but being capable of contacting the cable as the cable spirals outwardly from its coiled configuration.

In another aspect, the invention may be said to reside broadly in a resistance trainer comprising:

a. The outer shell of the shell is provided with a plurality of grooves,

B. A resistance mechanism mounted to the housing and comprising:

a motor having a rotary output shaft,

A spool mounted to rotate about the spool axis and relative to the housing,

D. A cable extending between the user interface and the reel and having (i) a first end region at which the cable can be wound onto the reel, and (ii) a second end region at which the cable is directly or indirectly coupled to the user interface,

Wherein the resistance mechanism further comprises a coupler positioned between the motor and the spool adapted and configured to couple the motor and the spool for common rotation in the same rotational direction while allowing the motor and the spool to rotationally disengage for rotation in opposite directions, and

Wherein the resistance mechanism is further configured to generate a driving force for the motor for both:

a) Driving the reel to rotate around the spool shaft in a first rotational direction to wind the cable onto the reel, and

B) User-driven rotation of the reel about the reel axis in a second rotational direction is resisted via the reel and cable.

a. The outer shell of the shell is provided with a plurality of grooves,

B. A resistance mechanism mounted to the housing and comprising:

a motor having a rotary output shaft,

A spool mounted to rotate about the spool axis and relative to the housing, an

A coupling between the motor and the reel,

D. a cable extending between the user interface and the reel and having (i) a first end region at which the cable is capable of being wound onto the reel in a coiled configuration, and (ii) a second end region at which the cable is directly or indirectly coupled to the user interface,

Wherein the resistance mechanism is configured to generate a driving force for the motor for both:

B) Resisting user-driven rotation of the reel about the reel axis in a second rotational direction via the reel and cable;

And wherein the user is able to apply a pulling force to the cable to overcome the resistive driving force of the motor such that both the reel and the motor rotate in the second rotational direction and the cable unwinds from the reel, and

Wherein the coupling is adapted and configured to allow the reel and motor to rotationally disengage once both rotate in the second rotational direction, such that rotation of the motor (due to inertia) can continue independent of rotation of the reel (if any).

In another aspect, the invention may be expressed as a resistance trainer comprising:

a. The outer shell of the shell is provided with a plurality of grooves,

B. A resistance mechanism mounted to the housing and comprising:

a motor having a rotary output shaft,

The self-braking reel module as described above, wherein the reel is mounted for rotation about a reel axis and is directly or indirectly coupled to the motor and drivable by the motor about the reel axis in a first rotational direction, and

D. A cable extending between the user interface and the reel and having (i) a first end region at which the cable can be wound onto the reel in a conical or helical coiled manner to be positioned in the restricted gap and to be unwound from the reel, and (ii) a second end region at which the cable is directly or indirectly coupled to the user interface,

Wherein the motor is capable of generating a motor force to (i) apply a resistance to the user via the cable and the reel to resist said movement of the user, and (ii) drive the reel to rotate about the reel axis in the first rotational direction of the reel to wind the cable onto the reel, and

Wherein the user is able to apply a pulling force to the cable to overcome the motor force to rotate the reel in a second rotational direction opposite to the first rotational direction to unwind the cable from the reel.

In yet another aspect, the invention may be expressed as a reel module as described herein (when used with a resistance trainer as described herein).

In another aspect, the invention may broadly be said to consist in a resistance trainer comprising:

a. The outer shell of the shell is provided with a plurality of grooves,

B. A resistance mechanism mounted to the housing and comprising:

a motor having a rotary output shaft,

A spool mounted to rotate about the spool axis and relative to the housing,

Wherein the resistance mechanism further comprises a coupler located between the motor and the spool, adapted and configured to:

(a) Allowing the reel and motor to be coupled together, whereby the motor is capable of driving the reel and rotating the reel about the reel axis in a first rotational direction corresponding to the first rotational direction of the motor to wind a cable onto the reel and apply resistance to the user via the cable and the reel to resist said movement of the user,

And

(B) The reel is allowed to disengage from the motor whereby the motor is able to rotate in a second rotational direction of the motor independent of the rotational direction of the reel (if any).

a. The outer shell of the shell is provided with a plurality of grooves,

B. A resistance mechanism mounted to the housing and comprising:

a motor having a rotary output shaft and capable of generating a rotary force,

A spool mounted to rotate about the spool axis and relative to the housing, an

A coupling between the motor and the reel,

Wherein via the coupling the rotational force of the motor is capable of (i) applying a resistance to the user via the reel and the cable to resist said movement of the user, and (ii) driving the reel to rotate about the reel axis in the first rotational direction of the reel corresponding to the first rotational direction of the motor to wind the cable onto the reel,

And wherein the user is able to apply a pulling force to the cable to overcome the motor force to rotate the reel in a second rotational direction and rotate the motor in the second rotational direction of the motor via the coupling to unwind the cable from the reel,

Wherein the coupler is adapted and configured to allow the reel and motor to disengage such that the motor, when rotated in the second rotational direction of the motor, is able to continue to rotate in the second rotational direction of the motor independent of the rotation of the reel (if any).

In another aspect, the invention may be expressed as a resistance mechanism for use in or with a resistance trainer utilizing a user interface capable of withstanding movement by a user and a cable acting between the user interface and the resistance mechanism to provide resistance to said movement, the resistance trainer comprising:

a motor having a rotary output shaft,

A spool mounted for rotation about a spool axis and drivable by the motor in a first rotational direction,

Preferably, the resistance trainer comprises a housing having a substantially horizontal platform upon which a user stands when the resistance trainer is in use, and the resistance mechanism is mounted as a unit beneath the platform within the housing.

In another aspect, the invention may be expressed as a resistance mechanism for a resistance trainer, as defined herein.

Preferably, the resistance mechanism is mounted as a unit within the housing, the spool and rotary output shaft being oriented substantially vertically when the exercise machine is in use.

Preferably, the reel is mounted by the reel housing in a manner allowing the reel to rotate about the reel axis, and the motor comprises a stator and a rotor rotatable relative to the stator about the rotation output shaft, wherein the stator is fixedly secured to the reel housing to allow the rotor and reel to rotate in a coaxial manner with each other and relative to the housing and the reel housing.

Preferably, the stator is fixedly secured to the reel housing and at least one of the stator and the reel housing is fixedly secured to the housing to mount the resistance mechanism to the housing as a unit.

Preferably, the spool is drivable by the motor to rotate in the first rotational direction so as to co-rotate with the motor about the spool shaft coaxial with the rotation output shaft.

Preferably, the motor comprises a stator and a rotor rotatable relative to the stator about the rotary output shaft, and the spool is drivable by the rotor to rotate in the first rotational direction so as to co-rotate with the rotor about the spool shaft coaxial with the rotary output shaft.

Preferably, a spindle is provided operable between the motor and the spool to co-rotate the spool with the motor in the first rotational direction.

Preferably, the spindle is mounted for rotation about the spool axis.

Preferably, the motor comprises a stator and a rotor rotatable relative to the stator about the rotation output shaft and the shaft is fixed to the stator for co-rotation with the rotor and to the reel for co-rotation with the reel.

Preferably, the rotary shaft is connected to the rotor at one end of the rotary shaft and to the reel at the other end of the rotary shaft.

Preferably, the cable guide is arranged intermediate the user interface and the reel.

Preferably, the cable guide is fixed to the housing.

Preferably, the cable guide is secured to the housing at an opening through the platform.

Preferably, the cable passes from the housing to the user interface via an opening in the platform and is extendable from and retractable towards the housing via said opening when the user interface is subjected to said movement, and wherein a cable guide is provided at the opening to guide a change in the trajectory of the cable as it extends from and retracts towards the housing, the change in trajectory being between a first trajectory between the cable guide and the reel to a variable trajectory determined by the position of the user interface relative to the platform.

Preferably, the first trajectory is a direct linear trajectory of the cable between the cable guide and the reel.

Preferably, the first trajectory is a trajectory in which a trajectory of the cable from the cable guide toward the reel coincides with a trajectory of the cable from the reel toward the cable guide.

Preferably, the trajectory of the cable from the reel is substantially horizontal.

Preferably, the cable guide comprises a main pulley mounted by the housing with an axis of rotation perpendicular to an imaginary plane in which the first trajectory of the cable lies.

Preferably, the imaginary plane coincides with a tangent to the reel.

Preferably, the trajectory of the cable from the reel to the cable guide is linear.

Preferably, the housing has a generally rectangular bottom profile.

Preferably, the cable guide may be located on the long symmetry axis of the rectangular bottom profile.

Preferably, the cable guide is positioned adjacent to the short side of the rectangular bottom profile.

Preferably, the main pulley may have an axis of rotation perpendicular to the long axis of symmetry such that the natural trajectory of the cable from the main pulley lies in a vertical plane extending along the long axis of symmetry.

Preferably there are two said resistance mechanisms, each mounted below the platform inside the housing, and there are two said user interfaces and two said cables for each respective said resistance mechanism and user interface, a first one of said cables extending from an opening in the platform at a first location and a second one of said cables extending from an opening in the platform at a second location spaced from the first location, and wherein the resistance mechanism is intermediate the first and second locations.

Preferably, the trajectory of the cable from one of the two resistance mechanisms to its respective cable guide extends in an imaginary plane in which the trajectory of the cable from the other resistance mechanism to its respective cable guide also extends.

Preferably, the track of the cable from one of the two resistance mechanisms extends in an imaginary plane in which the track of the cable from the other of the two resistance mechanisms also extends.

Preferably, the axis of rotation of a first one of the main pulleys lies in an imaginary plane that is parallel to an imaginary plane in which a second one of the main pulleys lies.

Preferably, the user is able to apply a pulling force to the cable to overcome the force of the motor to rotate the reel in a second rotational direction opposite to the first rotational direction to unwind the cable from the reel.

Preferably, the motor is capable of generating a motor force to (i) apply a resistance to the user via the cable and reel to resist said movement of the user, and (ii) drive the reel to rotate about the reel axis in the first rotational direction of the reel to wind the cable onto the reel.

Preferably, wherein overrun of the reel may occur when the pulling force is sufficient to rotate the reel in the second rotational direction to cause overrun of the reel.

Preferably, after the cable has been pulled with sufficient force to rotate the reel in the second rotational direction, a reel overrun may occur due to a reduction or stopping of the pulling force.

Preferably, the cable is made of a material having sufficient rigidity to facilitate outward spiraling of the cable in the event of overrun of the reel.

Preferably, the sleeve is provided by or as part of a reel housing having a slotted guide through which the cable passes as it is wound and unwound, the resistance trainer being configured to provide sufficient resistance to the cable passing through the slot to spiral the cable outwardly on the reel during overrun of the reel.

Preferably, the shape and configuration of the restricted gap ensures that the cable wound on the spool and in the coiled configuration does not contact the sleeve until overrun of the spool occurs.

Preferably, the shape and configuration of the restricted gap ensures that the cable wound on the reel and in the coiled configuration does not contact the sleeve before being released from its coiled configuration by spiraling outwards and contacting the sleeve.

Preferably, the shape and configuration of the sleeve defines a restricted gap around the spool, the restricted gap being of sufficient size to ensure that a cable wound on the spool does not contact the sleeve until overrun of the spool occurs.

Preferably, the reel is cylindrical in shape and the cable is wound onto the reel in a helical configuration.

Preferably, the reel is cylindrical in shape and has a helical groove to accommodate the cable wound onto the reel so that the cable is wound onto the reel in a helical configuration.

Preferably, when overrun of the reel has occurred, the cable bridging between the reel and the sleeve acts in a non-buckling compressive manner.

Preferably, the biasing force is provided by a motor coupled directly or indirectly to the spool to apply a rotational biasing force and capable of driving the spool in the first rotational direction, the braking force also directly or indirectly reducing the rotational speed of the motor in a direction commensurate with the second rotational direction.

Preferably, the reel can have thereon a cable wound in a coiled configuration, the coiled configuration being determined by a helical groove of the reel in which the cable can be seated.

Preferably, the depth of the groove in which the coiled cable is positioned is greater than the distance between the sleeve and the outer diameter of the coiled construction of the cable.

Preferably, the spool is biased to rotate in the first rotational direction.

Preferably the cable remains coiled unless the cable is pulled with sufficient force to overcome the biasing force, causing the reel to rotate in a second rotational direction to unwind the cable from the reel and cause the reel to overrun such that the cable wound on the reel spirals outwardly in the restricted gap away from the reel into and into contact with the sleeve, thereby applying a braking force to the reel by means of friction between the sleeve, reel and cable to reduce the rotational speed of the reel in the second rotational direction.

Preferably, the pitch of the grooves of the reel is substantially equal to the diameter of the cable.

Preferably, the groove allows the cable to be seated therein and prevents the coiled cable from migrating along the reel in a direction parallel to the reel axis.

Preferably, the depth of the groove is greater than the distance between the outer diameter of the coil of the cable and the sleeve.

Preferably, the depth of the groove is greater than the distance between the outer diameter of the coil of wire and the sleeve to help limit the wire from remaining in the groove, although the wire is not fully seated in the groove when the wire is spiraled outward during braking.

Preferably, the depth of the groove is greater than the distance between the outer diameter of the coil of wire and the sleeve to help prevent self-crossover of the wire in the restricted gap as the wire spirals outward during braking.

Preferably, the cable is capable of being wound on the reel in a single turn helical configuration.

Preferably, the cable cannot be wound onto the reel in a self-overlapping manner.

Preferably, the reel can be actively or passively braked to reduce its rotation and/or to stop its rotation in the second rotational direction.

Preferably, the resistance trainer utilizes the self-braking reel module as described herein.

Preferably, the coupling is adapted and configured to disengage the spool from the motor when the pulling force is sufficient to rotate the spool in the second rotational direction and cause the spool to overrun.

Preferably, the coupling is adapted and configured to disengage the spool from the motor to mitigate spool overrun when tension is reduced or stopped.

Preferably, a sleeve is positioned around the reel to define a restricted gap around the reel, and within the sleeve, the reel is rotatable around the reel shaft, and wherein the coupler is adapted and configured to disengage the reel from the motor when the pulling force is sufficient to rotate the reel in the second rotational direction to cause the reel to overrun, such that the coiled wire on the reel begins to spiral outwardly in the restricted gap to contact the sleeve, thereby applying a braking force to the reel by friction between the sleeve, reel and wire to reduce the rotational speed of the reel in the second rotational direction.

Preferably, the coupling comprises a sprag clutch or a sprag bearing for facilitating the disengagement of the motor and reel.

Preferably, the coupling comprises a torsion spring for facilitating the disengagement of the motor and reel.

Preferably, the torsion spring is constrained from radial contraction and is free to expand radially.

Preferably, the torsion spring is constrained from radial expansion and is free to radially contract.

Preferably, the coupling comprises a shaft comprising two coaxially positioned shaft portions, wherein the torsion spring is mounted around and coaxial with the shaft.

Preferably, each of the shaft portions is associated with one of the motor and the reel, respectively, and wherein the shaft portions are rotatable relative to each other.

Preferably, the torsion spring is tightly mounted around and coaxial with the rotation shaft.

Preferably, the torsion spring is mounted closely around and coaxial with the shaft and is fixed to a first one of the shaft portions at or near one end of the spring and to a second one of the shaft portions at or near the other end of the spring.

Preferably, the motor comprises a stator mounted in a fixed manner relative to the housing and a rotor mounted for rotation about the output shaft relative to the stator and the housing.

Preferably, the resistance mechanism is mounted inside the housing.

Preferably, the reel is drivable by the motor in a manner that does not involve an intermediate drive train (which may for example involve a gear or belt drive) so as to co-rotate with the motor about a reel shaft coaxial with the output shaft.

Preferably, the spool is directly drivable by the motor to rotate in the first rotational direction so as to co-rotate with the motor about the spool shaft coaxial with the rotational output shaft.

Preferably, the motor comprises a stator and a rotor rotatable relative to the stator about the rotary output shaft, and the spool is directly drivable by the rotor to rotate in the first rotational direction so as to co-rotate with the rotor about the spool shaft coaxial with the rotary output shaft.

Preferably, the reel is mounted inside the reel housing in a manner allowing the reel to rotate about the reel axis.

Preferably, the reel is mounted inside the reel housing in a manner allowing the reel to rotate about the reel axis and relative to the housing.

Preferably, at least one of the stator and the reel housing is fixedly secured to the housing to mount the resistance mechanism to the housing as a unit.

Preferably, the motor is capable of generating a motor force to (i) apply a resistance to the user via the cable and the reel to resist said movement of the user, and (ii) drive the reel around the reel shaft to rotate in the first rotational direction of the reel to wind the cable onto the reel, and wherein the user is capable of applying a pulling force to the cable to overcome the motor force to rotate the reel in a second rotational direction opposite to said first rotational direction to unwind the cable from the reel, and wherein when the pulling force is sufficient to rotate the reel in the second rotational direction to cause the reel to overrun, the cable in the coiled configuration on the reel is capable of starting to spiral outwardly in the constrained gap to contact the sleeve to apply a braking force to the reel by means of friction between the sleeve, reel and cable to reduce the rotational speed of the reel in the second rotational direction.

Preferably, the reel is mounted for rotation about a reel axis and is directly or indirectly coupled to the motor and drivable by the motor about the reel axis in a first rotational direction.

Preferably, the sleeve is positioned around the spool to define a restricted gap around the spool, and within the sleeve the spool is rotatable around the spool axis.

Preferably, a user can apply a pulling force to the cable to overcome the force of the motor to rotate the reel in a second rotational direction opposite to the first rotational direction to unwind the cable from the reel.

Preferably, the reel is biased to rotate in a first rotational direction to cause the cable to be wound onto the reel by the motor.

Preferably, a sleeve is provided around the coiled cable and spaced outwardly from the coiled cable a sufficient distance so as not to contact the cable unless the cable is pulled with sufficient force to overcome the biasing force, rotating the reel in a second rotational direction to unwind the cable from the reel and cause the reel to overrun such that the cable wound on the reel spirals outwardly in the limited gap out of the reel into and into contact with the sleeve to apply a braking force to the reel by friction between the sleeve, reel and cable to reduce the rotational speed of the reel in the second rotational direction.

Preferably, when the pulling force causes the reel to rotate in the second rotational direction to cause the reel to overrun, the cable will start to spiral outwardly from its coiled state and will contact the sleeve, thereby applying a braking force to the reel by means of friction between the sleeve, reel and cable to reduce the rotational speed of the reel in the second rotational direction.

Preferably, the cable is a metal cable.

Preferably, the cable as its first end region is made of metal.

Preferably, the cable is a steel cable.

Preferably, the minimum bending radius of the wire rope is 25mm.

Preferably, the diameter of the cable is between 3.8mm and 4.5mm, and preferably 4.2mm.

Preferably, there is a spacing of about 0.5mm between the outer diameter of the coiled cable and the sleeve.

Preferably, the restricted gap is about 4.7mm.

Preferably, the sensor is optionally pre-assembled inside the resistance mechanism.

Preferably, the resistance mechanism may include an encoder or other rotational position sensor.

Preferably, the encoder or other rotational position sensor may, for example, determine the direction in which the reel is rotated (i.e., whether the cable is extended or retracted) and the length of cable that has been wound onto or unwound from the reel (i.e., the distance and speed of travel the user's body travels at the user interface).

Preferably, the encoder or other rotational position sensor may be located, for example, in the reel housing or on the stator of the motor.

Other aspects of the invention will become apparent from the following description, given by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As used herein, the term "and/or" means "and", or ", or both.

As used herein, the term "plurality" preceding a noun refers to the plural and/or singular form of the noun.

The term "comprising" as used in this specification [ and claims ] means "consisting at least in part of. When interpreting statements in this specification [ and claims ] which include that term, the features preceding that term in each statement all need to be present, but other features can also be present. Related terms such as "comprising" and "including" will be interpreted in the same manner.

The entire disclosures of all applications, patents and publications (if any) cited above and below are hereby incorporated by reference.

The application may also be said broadly to consist in the parts, elements and features referred to or indicated in the specification of the application, individually or collectively, and any or all combinations of any two or more of said parts, elements or features, and where specific integers are mentioned herein which have known equivalents in the art to which the application relates, such known equivalents are deemed to be incorporated herein as if individually set forth.

Drawings

The invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

figures 1A to 1C illustrate the sequence of a prior art exercise device,

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the resistance exercise machine of the present invention,

Figure 3 shows the resistance trainer of the present invention with the platform removed,

Figure 4 is an exploded cross-sectional view of a preferred form of resistance mechanism of the present invention,

Figure 5 is a bottom perspective view of a preferred form of resistance mechanism of the present invention,

Figure 6 is a plan view of the resistance exercise machine with the platform removed,

Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view of a preferred form of resistance mechanism,

Figure 8 is a perspective cross-sectional view of the resistance mechanism,

Fig. 9 is a perspective cross-sectional view of the resistance mechanism, with certain components removed for clarity,

Fig. 10A-10B are cross-sections of plan views of reel arrangements, to illustrate the cable reel braking effect,

Figure 11 is a cross-sectional view of an alternative configuration of the resistance mechanism of the present invention,

Figures 12A to 12C show the sequence of the resistance trainer in use of the present invention,

Figure 13 is a cross-sectional view of an alternative configuration of the resistance mechanism of the present invention,

Figure 14 illustrates the resistance mechanism of the present invention in use as a resistance trainer,

Fig. 15 is a partial perspective view of an alternative drive train arrangement that may be used in an embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description

The present invention relates to improvements in or relating to resistance trainers that may be used by a person, for example, for exercise or for training, such as for sports, fitness or rehabilitation training. The present invention may be the resistance exercise machine itself, or may be as or in such a device, or in an assembly that may be used in or with a resistance exercise machine, and methods associated therewith.

An example of a resistance trainer 1 according to or using an embodiment of the invention is shown in fig. 2. In some embodiments, the invention may be embodied in a variety of different configurations. The "exercise bench" resistance trainer as shown in fig. 1 will be used herein as a primary example to describe aspects of the present invention.

The resistance trainer 1 may include a frame or housing 2 (hereinafter "housing"). The housing 2 can house or allow for the installation of some or all of the components of the resistance exercise machine 1.

The housing 2 may have a platform or stand 3 (hereinafter "platform") that may be supported at a height above a floor or ground surface capable of supporting the resistance trainer 1. The resistance trainer 1 may be supported on the floor by a plurality of legs 300 to stably support the resistance trainer 1. The height of the legs may be adjustable.

In the example shown, the platform 3 has a substantially rectangular planar shape. The platform is arranged to allow a user to stand on the resistance trainer 1 to perform an exercise or training exercise.

The resistance trainer 1 as shown in fig. 2 may comprise two user interfaces 4. Each user interface 4 may be, for example, a handle. Each handle 4 is connected to a respective flexible elongate member 5. The flexible elongate member is preferably a cable, such as a metal cable, but alternative flexible elongate members are contemplated. For example, the cable may include, in part, a wire segment and, in part, a segment connected to the wire segment.

Each handle 4 is engaged at the distal end of a respective cable 5. The handle is movable relative to the housing 2 by a user in a cable-controlled manner to overcome a controlled resistance, as will be described below. In particular, the resistance trainer 1 as shown in fig. 2 allows a user to stand on the platform 3, grasp the handles 4 with each hand, and allow the user to lift the handles off the platform and lower them back down to the platform in a repetitive manner. The resistance mechanism 301 can provide resistance against such movement by the user. When the user lifts the handle to extend the cable from the housing 2 and lowers the handle 4 towards the housing 2, the mechanism 301 provides resistance to the user via the cable.

In one form, the resistance trainer has 2 handles. Each handle has a dedicated resistance mechanism 301. The resistance trainer shown in fig. 3 has two resistance mechanisms 301a and 301b, one for each handle and corresponding cable. However, it is contemplated that a single handle or user interface may be presented for use, thus requiring only one resistance mechanism 301.

The resistance mechanism 301 includes a motor 6 and a spool 7. The cable is attached to the reel at the first end region. The cable is attached at its second end region directly or indirectly to the handle 4. At this first end zone, the cable can be wound onto and unwound from the reel 7. Only a portion of the cable can be wound onto and unwound from the cable. Where reference is made to the cable being wound on and unwound from a reel, it is to be understood that this refers only to a portion of the cable, i.e. the portion at the first end region.

The power supply 12 of the motor is preferably contained in the housing 2. The power supply may be plugged into the mains supply. Alternatively, a battery in the housing may provide power to the motor. The motor controller 13 and the system controller 14 and associated power and control components may also be contained in the housing and powered by a power source. These details are not repeated here, as they are described in detail in WO2022/075864, which patent application is hereby incorporated by reference.

A motor 6 is coupled to the reel to drive the reel in rotation to assist in winding the cable onto the reel. The motor 6 is used to generate a rotational force (torque) and apply the rotational force to the reel 7 so as to apply a resistance to the user via the cable 5 when the cable is unwound from the reel. When the user applies a force to the cable 5 that is greater than the force provided to the cable by the resistance mechanism 301, the user will lift the handle 4 off the platform 3 and unwind the cable 5 from the reel 7 as it extends from the housing 2. When the force applied to the cable 5 by the resistance mechanism 301 is greater than the force applied to the cable 5 by the user, the resistance mechanism may retract the cable into the housing and wind the cable onto the reel. The control software may be used to control the motor to maintain the cable under controlled (such as uniform) tension as the cable is retracted. The manner in which the motor is controlled may depend on the speed at which the user moves the handle back toward the platform, rather than having to attempt to overcome the user's resistance.

During use of the resistance trainer, the cable may be guided by the cable guide 302 to extend from the platform. The cable guide may be positioned intermediate the handle and the resistance mechanism. It may be positioned at an opening through the platform where the cable may be threaded out of the housing to the handle. The cable guide preferably comprises a main pulley 101 which guides the cable from a first trajectory, preferably a substantially horizontal trajectory starting from the resistance mechanism 301, to or towards a variable trajectory, which in use may be a more substantially vertical trajectory extending from the platform 3 to the handle 4 (when in use). The first track may be a fixed track.

The sensor may be used to allow sensing the position of the handle in space relative to the platform. The guiding of the cable through the cable guide 301 and the sensing of the position of the handle 4 in space relative to the platform 3 using the sensor arrangement and related components is described in detail in the published patent specification of PCT application WO 2022/075864. Accordingly, these details are not set forth in this detailed description. The embodiment of the exercise device shown in WO2022/075864 shows examples of features that may be the same or similar in all intents and purposes to the embodiments described herein at the exit area of the cable from the platform 3.

In some examples of the resistance trainer of the present invention, full sensing capability to determine 3-dimensional user motion may be provided within the assembly of the platform that serves doubly as both a position sensor and a cable guide.

In some embodiments, some or all of the desired sensing capability is located within the resistance mechanism. The resistance mechanisms described herein may be provided as modules or units. The sensing capability may optionally be pre-assembled inside the resistance mechanism before the resistance mechanism is assembled to the rest of the platform. In this case, the cable guide may only guide the cable through the opening in the platform, but is not required for sensing. For example, the resistance mechanism may include an encoder or other rotational position sensor from which data may be used to determine information about the user's motion. The encoder or other rotational position sensor may, for example, determine the direction in which the reel is rotated (i.e., whether the cable is extended or retracted) and the length of the cable that has been wound onto or unwound from the reel (i.e., the distance traveled by the user's body at the user interface and the speed of travel). The encoder or other rotational position sensor may be located, for example, in the reel housing or on the stator of the motor.

The resistance mechanism 301 includes the motor 6 and the spool 7 as shown in the exploded view of fig. 4. A motor is coupled to the spool to cause rotation and provide resistance to rotation of the spool. When a user pulls the cable to unwind the cable from the reel, the reel rotates in a first direction and the motor operates in a generator or braking mode to resist unwinding. When the motor winds the cable onto the spool, the motor operates in a motor or drive mode and the spool rotates in a direction opposite the first direction.

The motor and the reel are arranged in a coaxial manner.

The motor comprises a rotor 303 and a stator 304. The motor is preferably a permanent magnet motor of external rotor construction. In some embodiments, the stator may include a metal core. The stator may also include a series of energizable coils wound on the core, and an insulator between the coils and the core.

The stator 304 remains stationary with respect to the housing 2, while the rotor 303 is rotatable about the axis XX. The reel 7 is also mounted for rotation about axis XX. The reel 7 may be mounted with respect to the housing 2 by means of a reel housing 307 and preferably inside the reel housing. The reel housing 307 is preferably fixed to the housing 2 so as to remain stationary relative to the housing 2. The spool is rotatably mounted about axis XX by a shaft 305 mounted to the spool housing by bearings 306A and 306B. The shaft may be coupled to the rotor 303 at its end 308 to connect the reel 7 to the motor 6. In this way, the rotor 303, which is positioned concentrically with the stator 304, may be connected with the end 308 of the shaft 305, such that rotation of the rotor 303 may apply torque to the reel 7 and drive rotation of the reel. For example, a nut and washer may be threaded down onto a threaded end 308 of the shaft 305 that extends through a central bore of the rotor 303 to couple the rotor 303 and the shaft.

The stator 304 is preferably fixed to the reel housing 307 to allow the motor and reel to remain coaxial and as a unit. The stator 304 may include a mounting portion 314 extending inwardly from the metal core. The mounting portion 314 may provide features for positioning with and mounting to the spool housing 307. For example, the mounting portion 314 may be part of an at least partially polymer overmold of a metal core, which may also serve as an insulator for the stator core in some embodiments. The mounting portion 314 may include a hole 315 to locate with a corresponding boss 316 on the sleeve portion 312 of the spool housing 307. Screws may then be used to secure the stator 304 in place.

As can be seen in fig. 3 and 6, the motor and reel are mounted to the housing 2 so that the axis XX is substantially vertical. The axis XX is substantially perpendicular to the overall plane P of the platform 3.

The spool housing 307 may include two parts, a base 311 and a sleeve portion 312 that fits over the spool. Reel 7 and reel housing 307 may define at least a portion described herein as a reel module 318. The reel module may be a self-braking reel module. The braking mechanism is preferably a passive braking mechanism and will be described hereinafter.

The base 311 may include a fastening region for fastening the reel module 318 to the housing 2. The bearing 306B may be located at the base 311 of the reel housing 307 to support the spool below the reel, and the bearing 306A may be located at the sleeve portion 312 of the reel housing 307 to support the spool 305 above the reel. The sleeve or sleeve portion 312 preferably provides an inner surface concentric with the spool. In some forms, the sleeve may provide multiple or discontinuous surfaces presented for purposes described herein.

Then, a permanent magnet motor using an outer rotor configuration provides a slim type motor that can be mounted in a housing in a slim type manner by allowing the housing to be provided in a slim type. The lack of an intermediate pulley or other intermediate drive train assembly between the motor and the spool also means that this does not contribute to inertial energy which may need to be quickly absorbed by the motor (acting in braking mode) to help prevent spool overrun in some situations where a resistance trainer is used, a problem described previously herein. The described construction of the reel and motor means that no intermediate pulley (such as pulley 8 shown in WO 2022/103278) is required to redirect and guide the cable between the reel and the cable guide 302.

The cable preferably has a straight or linear trajectory intermediate the cable guide 302 and the resistance mechanism 301. This may be referred to as the first trajectory of the cable. The cable preferably has a direct track between the reel and the cable guide. As shown in fig. 6, the cable 5 spans in a straight line between the cable guide 302 and the resistance mechanism 301. The resistance mechanism can be positioned below the platform 3 in a position that helps align the trajectory of the cable from the reel with the trajectory of the cable from the main pulley 101 of the cable guide.

In a preferred form, the resistance trainer may have a generally rectangular bottom profile. The cable guide 302 may be located on the long symmetry axis MA at each short side of the rectangular shape. The main sheave 101 may have an axis of rotation perpendicular to the long axis of symmetry MA such that the natural trajectory of the cable from the main sheave lies in a vertical plane extending along the long axis of symmetry.

Preferably, two resistance mechanisms are provided, one for each cable. Each resistance mechanism is positioned with its axis of rotation XX at or near the short axis of symmetry MI, but offset from the long axis of symmetry MA by an amount equal to the reel radius. This helps to ensure that an imaginary plane tangential to the reel coincides with the vertical plane. This helps to ensure that the cable has a natural trajectory from the reel towards the cable guide that is aligned with the natural trajectory of the cable from the cable guide towards the reel. The natural trajectory of the cable from the cable guide towards the reel is defined by the peripheral groove of the main pulley 101, through which the cable is guided around the main pulley. No intermediate pulleys or other cable guides are required to align the two natural trajectories. Preferably, the cable extends parallel to the long symmetry axis.

Alternative floor profile configurations for the resistance exercise machine are also contemplated. Preferably, the axis of rotation of the pulley 101 lies in a plane whose normal lies in a tangential plane to the diameter of the spool. Desirably, the peripheral groove in the main pulley around which the guide wire is routed lies in a plane tangential to the reel diameter so as to ensure that the two natural trajectories described above coincide.

In the form shown in fig. 6, two resistance mechanisms 301 are adjacent to and intermediate each of two cable guides 302. In a preferred form, the trajectory of the cable from one of the two resistance mechanisms to its respective cable guide extends in an imaginary plane in which the trajectory of the cable from the other resistance mechanism to its respective cable guide also extends.

In some forms, a motor may be provided to control two reels simultaneously, each reel having a respective cable connected thereto. In this example, and where the reels have the same diameter, the speed at which the cable is wound around the reels and the speed at which it is unwound from the reels will be equal. The reel and motor may be coaxially aligned, for example, the motor may be located intermediate two reels placed on top of each other. This may allow for a matching motion of each arm of the user, which may be desirable in some applications of the invention.

The reel is preferably cylindrical in shape with a constant diameter. It is envisaged that the reel may alternatively have a varying diameter and may for example be frusto-conical. In some cases, this may be desirable, where different rates of cable winding or unwinding are desired for a given rotational speed of the reel.

The reel may include a helical or tapered coil guiding surface, such as groove 319, so that the cable assumes a helical or tapered coil shape when wound onto the reel. Such grooves may help to avoid self-crossing of the cable and possible jamming. Furthermore, it is desirable to avoid the cable crossing over the reel to help ensure that the cable remains of constant or known diameter on the reel. If the cables are to be self-overlapped or crossed one or more times, the effective diameter of the cable operable on the reel is changed. This may have an undesirable effect on the sensing and/or cable forces and/or control of the motor, especially in cases where overlap or crossover is unpredictable. Thus, a single turn helical configuration of the cable wound on the cylindrical reel is desirable. In some embodiments, the ratio of the diameter of the reel to the diameter of the rotor is about 1:2.

The reel housing 308 may include a guide 309 defining a slot 310 through which a cable may enter and exit the reel 7. The slot is preferably high enough to accommodate vertical travel of the cable as it is helically wound on and unwound from the reel.

As described above, the spool housing 307 preferably includes a sleeve that fits over the spool. In the case of a spool having a cylindrical shape, the sleeve preferably defines a complementary cylindrical inner wall 320 concentric with the spool to define a restricted gap 313 between the diameter of the spool and the inner wall 320 of the sleeve 312. The limited clearance may help guide the cable around the reel. The restricted clearance may help to hold the cable in place around the reel 7 and to prevent the cable from crossing to reduce the likelihood of entanglement.

The limited gap 313 between the spool and the sleeve of the cable also allows the cable to act as a brake on the spool in some cases to help avoid the above-described spool overrun problem. This will now be described.

As described above, the reel module 318 may include a reel housing 307 defining a sleeve portion 314 having an inner wall 320 that surrounds the outer diameter of the reel 7. A restricted gap 313 is defined between the inner wall 320 and the reel and in which the cable is held in a coiled configuration around the reel 7 in a helical manner. The reel 7 may have a helical guide surface thereon to seat the cable and ensure that the same coiled configuration is always present on the reel. This may be defined by helical groove 319. The helical groove may have a pitch commensurate with the diameter of the cable so that the cable may take on a compact helical shape on the reel. The inner wall may be continuous or comprise segments or portions. The inner wall may for example comprise a series of equally spaced bars extending parallel to the spool shaft, closely formed around the spool to present an effective inner wall.

The reel housing 307 and thus the sleeve portion 312 preferably remain fixed, while the reel 7 is able to rotate inside the reel housing 307, i.e. the reel housing and its sleeve portion 312 do not rotate with the reel 7.

One end of the cable 5 is fixed to the reel. It may be fixed, fastened, restrained, tied or locked to the reel 7 at the end 312 of the helical groove 319, for example. The other end of the cable (the end attached to the handle 4) exits the reel module through a hole such as defined by a slot 310 of the reel housing 307. By being fixed at one end to the reel, the cable will remain operatively connected to the reel and can be wound onto the reel 7 by the motor. If not so secured, the cable may slip off the reel.

Referring to fig. 10A, when a person pulls the cable in the direction of force F (and overcomes the resistance provided by the motor on the reel) to unwind the cable from the reel, the cable will naturally wind onto the diameter D1 of the reel 7. When the cable is unwound in this way, the reel will rotate in the direction OR.

The pulling force F may be large enough to create a rotational inertia in the reel and motor that will cause the reel 7 to continue to rotate in the cable unwinding direction for a period of time after the pulling force F is reduced or suddenly stopped. This may occur if:

(a) The user starts to move the handle back towards the platform, the pulling force will suddenly stop, or

(B) The user suddenly reduces the pulling force but still continues to remove the handle from the platform.

The stopping or significant reduction of the tension may be referred to herein as a "tension change" phase and is when the above-described overrun of the reel may occur. As shown in fig. 10B, a cable unwinding in the direction OR of the reel will increase the diameter of at least some portion of the cable wound on the reel until it reaches diameter D2 and the cable begins to contact the inner wall 320. The contact dampens inertial effects. Rather than the cable becoming slack during the "pull change" phase and then being pulled abruptly by the motor to wind the cable back onto the reel, the enlarged diameter of the cable causes a braking effect between the reel and the reel housing. This also spirals a portion of the wound cable outward and into engagement with the inner wall 310 of the sleeve portion 312 as the rotor/reel temporarily rotates in the direction OR due to rotational inertia and continues to unwind the cable from the reel.

Once the cable is engaged with the inner wall, (a) friction between the cable and the inner wall and (b) friction between the cable and the reel (or as a result of the cable acting on the reel at its fixed end) will cause the sleeve and the reel to begin to bond together via the cable. This will create a quick braking effect on the reel. Friction forces FI and FS will create a compressive force in the segment 322 of the cable bridging between the reel 7 and the inner surface 320. The cable needs to be strong enough to handle compressive forces and not bend.

The cable may have a sufficient degree of bending stiffness that may be biased to assume a larger diameter than the diameter of the reel to assist the cable in spiraling outward during the tension change phase rather than remaining tightly wound onto the reel at diameter D1. This may help the cable "pop" or unscrew out toward the inner wall 320 when the force F is sufficiently reduced to cause overrun. Alternatively or in addition, the cable may be subjected to slight resistance to exit from the housing, such as at the slot 310. For example, a drag force may be applied to the cable. This may help to increase the cable diameter inside the reel housing in overrun situations so that a braking action may begin to act against the inner wall 320.

In the case of providing the reel with grooves (to mount the cable), the friction between the reel and the cable can be increased. The grooves or channels or recesses increase the contact surface area between the cable and the reel.

In this way, during the "tension change" phase, friction between the cable, reel and sleeve will brake the rotation of the reel and avoid the cable slackening and subsequent jerks that the user would otherwise experience.

Similarly, with the cable pushed back into the cover through the aperture, the cable wound around the reel is caused to expand outwardly and engage the inner wall to "brake" or prevent further entry of the cable. This prevents the user from attempting to manually replace the extended cable back into the interior of the reel housing rather than allowing the motor to properly retract the cable, resulting in entanglement and jamming of the reel.

Both effects/functions depend on the cable material being sufficiently rigid, e.g. steel cables may be used. Highly flexible cables (e.g., made of braided nylon rope) will not work. A wire rope with a minimum bending radius of 25mm will work effectively. There may be a small spacing between the outer diameter of the cable (once placed on the reel) and the inner wall (i.e., as allowed by gap 313). The small spacing helps to reduce the span 322 between the inner wall of the cable and the reel so that the buckling strength of the cable over the span is sufficiently large. The small spacing also helps to act as a guide to prevent the coiled cable from being able to "jump" out of the groove 319 and become entangled on the reel. For example, using a 4.2mm diameter cable, the inner wall 320 may allow a 0.5mm spacing outside the cable. (thus, the total spacing between the reel and the inner wall may be about 4.2mm+0.5mm.) preferably, the depth of the groove is greater than the distance between the outer diameter of the coil of the cable and the sleeve to help limit the cable from remaining in the groove, although the cable is not fully seated in the groove when the cable is spiraled outwardly during said braking.

Preferably, the depth of the groove is greater than the distance between the outer diameter of the coil of the cable and the sleeve to help prevent self-crossing of the cable in the restricted gap as the cable spirals outwardly during said braking.

As described above, this will cause braking of the resistance mechanism at the reel as the diameter of the cable expands inside the confined space and as the cable is able to function in a rigid manner under compression. The sleeve and reel will be effectively coupled to each other by the cable. This will help to quickly prevent rotation of the spool and preferably also to quickly prevent rotation of the motor, thereby helping to reduce the amount of cable overrun. Braking will help absorb the inertia of the spool and rotor. Thus, braking occurs in a passive manner without an active braking system that may involve a controller and sensing of cable tension, cable movement, or rotational direction of the spool. Under the presently described configuration, the braking effect is an inherent consequence of initiating an overrun of the reel.

However, if the inertia of the rotor is large, the ability to generate such reel cable braking may be insufficient. When the reel is braked in this way, the momentum of the rotor may cause the cable to buckle or break. Thus, additional means of reducing the inertial forces acting on the reel may be required.

The use of a cable to achieve reel braking allows the resistance mechanism to self-brake in a passive manner. The invention described herein passively causes a braking effect to brake the spool and avoid spool overrun when, for example, conditions occur that cause spool overrun.

To provide an additional or alternative means of reducing overrun of the reel, the present invention may provide the ability to disengage the motor from the reel. In this way, rotation of the spool may be prevented alone (e.g., by using the cable spool braking method described above or some other braking of the spool) without the need to simultaneously absorb the inertia of the rotor during such braking. Further, the rotation direction of the motor can be reversed more quickly in the direction of winding the cable onto the spool without the motor absorbing the inertia of the spool at the same time. The reel can be braked (e.g. using the cable reel braking method described above) while the direction of rotation of the motor can be reversed independently of the rotation and direction of rotation of the reel and the inertia. Several examples of the disengagement will now be described. Disengagement may occur and is used as a means of reducing spool overrun in conjunction with the preferred spool braking mechanism described above. However, alternative means of reel braking may be used in conjunction with disengagement. Other means of braking the reel may be employed. The disengagement embodiments described below rely on the relative speed differential between the rotor and the spool, and this involves braking of the spool to achieve this speed differential. The use of a cable for braking has the advantage that the reel is automatically braked at the correct time, otherwise sensors or the like may have to be used to determine the correct time to apply the brake.

In one approach, disengagement may be achieved by a sprag clutch or sprag bearing 323. Examples of such ways will now be described. As shown by way of example in fig. 11, in some embodiments, the resistance mechanism 301 may include a mechanism to disengage the rotor and the reel such that rotation of the reel may be braked (e.g., using the described cable reel brake) during the "pull change" phase while allowing the rotor to continue to rotate independently to release momentum.

In one embodiment, this is achieved by a sprag clutch 323 operable between the spool and the rotor. The wedge clutch 323 connects the spool 7 to the rotor 303. The wedge clutch allows relative rotation between the two components in a first direction and locks the two components together in an opposite direction such that the two components rotate synchronously in an opposite second direction.

As shown in fig. 11, the wedge clutch 323 is operatively located intermediate the spool 7 and the spool 305. An outer race 324 of sprag clutch/bearing 323 is connected to the spool. A spline or press fit relationship may be employed to ensure that the outer race rotates with the spool. The inner race 325 is connected to a rotating shaft, which in turn is connected to a rotor. A spline or press fit relationship may be employed to ensure that the inner race rotates with the shaft and rotor. The relative rotation between the inner and outer races is responsible for locking the clutch/bearing in one rotational direction and allowing independent rotation in the opposite direction to disengage the rotor from the spool.

As shown in fig. 12a, the user can pull the cable 5 with force F to rotate the rotor 303 and the reel 7 against the resistance of the motor 6. T represents motor torque, and RSR is rotor and reel rotation direction.

The motor force will try to pull the rotor 303 in a direction opposite to the direction in which the user pulls the reel 7. The cable will be pulled taut and the spool applies torque to the rotor via the sprag clutch 323. In this mode of operation, the sprag clutch or bearing is locked such that the rotor and spool are coupled for rotation together.

If the user overcomes the motor force during the upstroke (e.g., by pulling quickly, such as at a speed of more than 2 m/s), the reel and rotor acquire additional momentum in the direction of rotation opposite the motor force, which may cause the reel to overrun. In such cases, and when the user stops pulling, the sprag clutch will disengage the spool from the rotor so that the rotor can rotate independently of the spool. The reel may be braked (e.g., by the cable reel brake described or other rotational brake). Since the braking force does not have to brake the rotor at the same time, braking to stop the reel can occur quickly. The rotor is disengaged from the spool at this stage.

In fig. 12b, the motor torque T remains acting in the same direction, the reel has stopped rotating and the rotor is still rotating in direction RR. When the spool is stationary, the rotor is now moving in a relative rotational direction (relative to the spool) in which the wedge bearing is allowed to rotate freely. In this way, the rotor is momentarily disengaged from the spool to allow continued overrun.

Preventing overrun of the reel will help ensure that the cable within the reel will not become stuck by unwinding to the extent that "bird nest" winding may occur inside the reel housing. When the cable is engaged for braking (in embodiments relying on the cable for reel braking), the inertia of the rotor also does not act on the cable. Thus, the load on the cable that achieves braking is less and the likelihood of the braking causing the cable/spool to bend or jam is reduced. The extent and/or duration of slack that the cable may have to create to the user is greatly reduced due to the disengagement of the rotor and the reel.

When the momentum of the rotor is released due to the motor torque applied to the rotor, the motor force again dominates and the rotational coupling between the rotor and the reel is reestablished. This may occur, for example, during a "direction change" phase when the direction of rotation of the rotor is changed (assuming the reel is still stationary). This may also occur if the user starts pulling the cable and the rotational speed of the reel catches up with the rotational speed of the rotor.

The release of the rotor momentum is not affected by the reel momentum because the reel has been disengaged at this stage and does not increase the inertial mass of the rotor. This will make the motor more efficient at self-braking.

As shown in fig. 12C, the motor rotates the rotor and reel against the user's resistance to retract the cable.

The motor force pulls the rotor in a direction opposite to the direction in which the user is retracting against the reel (and in a preferred embodiment the motor is controlled to maintain a uniform force on the user as the handle is lowered). In this relative rotational direction of the rotor/reel, the sprag bearing is locked such that the rotor and reel are coupled to rotate together. The rotor and reel again rotate in the direction RSR.

In an alternative embodiment of the wedge clutch described above, a reel 7 and a rotor 303 are shown in fig. 13, which can be coupled/decoupled in rotation by a torsion spring, such as a helical spring. In this embodiment, the shaft 305 is a two-part shaft. The first (upper) shaft portion 327 is connected to the rotor and the second (lower) shaft portion 328 is connected to the spool.

The two portions of the shaft are coaxially aligned and rotatable relative to each other, such as on a bushing at its interface 329.

The helical coil spring 326 is disposed coaxially with and around the shaft, with the length of the spring extending through the interface 329. Opposite ends of the spring are connected to the first and second portions of the shaft, respectively.

The spring provides torsional resistance to relative rotation between the first and second rotational axes (and thus between the rotor and the spool).

In the first rotational direction, the diameter of the coil is reduced or contracted inwardly until constrained, such as when the coil clamps against a rotating shaft. When clamped, the torsion spring action in the spring is lost. Thus, relative rotation between the two shaft portions is resisted, and the rotor and the spool are coupled to rotate together. For example, the rotor and the reel are coupled to rotate synchronously in that direction.

In a second, opposite rotational direction, the resilience of the spring allows a degree of free relative rotation between the rotor and the spool. In this direction, the diameter of the spring ring can be enlarged or exaggerated (e.g., when the relative momentum between the spool and rotor is sufficient) and released from the spindle. The momentum of the rotor in that direction may be released. This may occur somewhat independently of the reel. Although rotationally independent, there is still some degree of torsion due to the presence of the spring.

In embodiments where the rotor and reel become disengaged for rotation, it may be desirable to add an encoder 330 (or other rotational position sensor) to track the rotational position of the reel alone in order to track the rotational position of the rotor (first encoder, not shown). For example, as shown, the encoder 330 may be located in the base of the reel housing. The encoder/rotational position sensor may be used, for example, to determine the length of a cable unwound within a given period of time. In some embodiments, this determination may be made using data from the motor module to facilitate measurement and analysis of user movements on the resistance trainer.

In some forms of the invention, an active braking arrangement may be provided. This may exert a drag or drag force on the movement of the cable and may act on the cable and/or the reel. Initiative may be represented by the fact that there may be sensors to control when such braking occurs. In some forms of the invention, instead of the passive cable braking arrangement described above, an active braking arrangement may be provided to reduce reel overrun, but wherein a coupling arrangement, for example using a sprag clutch, is used to allow the reel to disengage from the rotor.

In some forms of the invention, cable braking as described above may be used with or without rotational disengagement of the rotor and reel being provided.

In some forms of the invention, the provision of disengaging the rotation of the rotor and reel as described above may or may not occur with a reel cable brake as described, and may occur with a different kind of reel brake.

In some forms of the invention, the rotary output shaft of the motor may not coincide with the spool shaft, but there may be a coupling between the rotor and the spool, which may allow the motor to drive rotation of the spool and also allow disengagement of the motor and spool to occur. Some drive train mechanisms may be present intermediate the spool and rotor such that the spool shaft is spaced from the rotating output shaft of the motor. The two axes are preferably still parallel. The drive train may be, for example, a belt or chain drive. The drive train may be such that the direction of rotation of the rotor is opposite to the direction of rotation of the spool when viewed from the same direction. The reel is rotatable in a first rotational direction to cause the cable to be wound onto the reel by a motor that rotates in the opposite direction, the motor being connected to the reel via, for example, a gear or belt drive. Somewhere in the drive train, a disengaging capability may be provided. For example, the sprag clutch/bearing may be provided at the motor, or at the reel drive sprocket if a chain drive is used. Or at the motor or reel belt pulley if a belt drive is used as the drive train.

For example, in fig. 15, the lower portion shows how the belt 500 may be configured to engage the reel 7 for driving via a series of teeth 501 around a vertical/axial lower belt pulley 502. The cable may be wound around a helical guide of the reel. The reel 7 and the belt pulley 502 are rotatable about a common axis. The wedge bearing may connect the spool and the belt pulley such that the spool and the belt pulley rotate together in a first direction and are capable of rotating independently in the other (second) direction. The rotor of the motor may drive the reels via the belt to extend and retract the cable (in which case the relative rotation between the reels is locked in the first direction). However, if overrun occurs, the spool may be braked, while the belt pulley (in the second direction relative to the braking area of the spool) continues to rotate to release the momentum of the rotor, belt and spool.

The resistance mechanisms 301 described herein may be used with other types of training or exercise devices. Although the resistance mechanism 301 is described above as being used with a platform-type resistance exercise machine, the resistance mechanism may be incorporated into an apparatus such as other cable exercise machines like smith machines and other platform-type devices such as strength exercise frames. The resistance mechanism can also be used for rowing machines, elliptical exercise machines, other fitness or exercise equipment, and the like. The resistance mechanism 301 may be provided in the apparatus as an alternative to weight plate based resistance training. Such devices may be, for example, bird machines, quadriceps femoris training machines, and upright cable training machines. Some such fixtures may also use cable guides and associated sensors for purposes as described above.

Cable guides acting intermediate the handle and the resistance mechanism may also be optional. As shown in fig. 14, the cable 5 may extend directly from the resistance mechanism 301 to the handle 4 without an intermediate cable guide. The resistance mechanism may be mounted to a frame 2 that may be rotationally fixed to the surface of the strength training frame, for example using bearings. FIG. 14 helps to illustrate that the present invention may be used in several other ways, not just as part of a platform-based device. The invention may also be used as or in a training device, which may be used for e.g. therapeutic and/or rehabilitation purposes.

Where in the foregoing description reference has been made to elements or integers having known equivalents, then such equivalents are herein incorporated as if individually set forth.

Although the invention has been described by way of example and with reference to specific embodiments, it is to be understood that modifications and/or improvements may be made without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.

Furthermore, where features or aspects of the invention are described in terms of markush groups, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention is also thereby described in terms of any individual member or subgroup of members of the markush group.

Claims

1. A resistance trainer, the resistance trainer comprising:

a. The outer shell of the shell is provided with a plurality of grooves,

B. A resistance mechanism mounted as a unit inside the housing and comprising:

A motor having a rotary output shaft,

A spool mounted for rotation relative to the housing about a spool axis coaxial with the output shaft and drivable by the motor in a first rotational direction,

C. A user interface presented on the exterior of the housing, the user interface being capable of undergoing movement by a user relative to the housing when the trainer is in use,

Wherein the motor is capable of generating a force to (i) apply a resistance to the user via the cable and reel to resist the movement, and (ii) drive the reel to rotate in the first rotational direction of the reel to wind the cable onto the reel.

2. The resistance trainer of claim 1, wherein the housing has a substantially horizontal platform upon which a user stands when the resistance trainer is in use, and wherein the resistance mechanism is mounted as a unit beneath the platform inside the housing.

3. A resistance exercise machine according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the resistance mechanism is mounted as a unit inside the housing, the spool and rotary output shaft being oriented substantially vertically when the exercise machine is in use.

4. A resistance exercise machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the reel is mounted by a reel housing in a manner that allows the reel to rotate about the reel axis, and the motor includes a stator and a rotor rotatable relative to the stator about the rotation output shaft, wherein the stator is fixedly secured to the reel housing to allow the rotor and reel to rotate coaxially with each other and relative to the housing and the reel housing.

5. The resistance exercise machine of claim 4, wherein the stator is fixedly secured to the reel housing and at least one of the stator and the reel housing is fixedly secured to the housing to mount the resistance mechanism to the housing as a unit.

6. A resistance exercise machine according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the spool is drivable by the motor to rotate in the first rotational direction to co-rotate with the motor about the spool shaft coaxial with the rotational output shaft.

7. The resistance trainer of claim 6, wherein the motor comprises a stator and a rotor rotatable relative to the stator about the rotational output shaft, and the spool is drivable by the rotor to rotate in the first rotational direction to co-rotate with the rotor about the spool shaft coaxial with the rotational output shaft.

8. A resistance exercise machine according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein a spindle is provided operable between the motor and reel to co-rotate the reel with the motor in the first rotational direction.

9. The resistance trainer of claim 8, wherein the shaft is mounted for rotation about the spool axis.

10. A resistance exercise machine according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the motor comprises a stator and a rotor rotatable relative to the stator about the rotation output shaft and the shaft is fixed to the stator for co-rotation with the rotor and to the reel for co-rotation with the reel.

11. A resistance exercise machine according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the shaft is connected to the rotor at one end of the shaft and to the reel at the other end of the shaft.

12. A resistance exercise machine as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the cable passes from the housing to the user interface via an opening in the platform and is extendable from and retractable towards the housing via the opening when the user interface is subjected to the movement, and wherein a cable guide is provided at the opening to guide a change in the track of the cable as it extends from and retracts towards the housing, the change in track being between a first track between the cable guide and the reel to a variable track determined by the position of the user interface relative to the platform.

13. The resistance trainer of claim 12, wherein the first trajectory is a direct linear trajectory of the cable between the cable guide and the reel.

14. The resistance trainer of claim 12 or 13, wherein the first trajectory is a trajectory of the cable from the cable guide toward the reel that coincides with a trajectory of the cable from the reel toward the cable guide.

15. A resistance exercise machine as claimed in any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein the trajectory of the cable from the reel is substantially horizontal.

16. A resistance exercise machine as claimed in any one of claims 12 to 15, wherein the cable guide comprises a main pulley mounted by the housing with an axis of rotation perpendicular to an imaginary plane in which the first trajectory of the cable lies.

17. The resistance trainer of claim 16, wherein the imaginary plane coincides with a tangent to the reel.

18. The resistance trainer as claimed in any of claims 12 to 17, wherein the trajectory of the cable from the reel to the cable guide is linear.

19. The resistance trainer as claimed in any of claims 1 to 18, wherein there are two of the resistance mechanisms, each mounted below the platform inside the housing, and there are two of the user interfaces and two of the cables for each respective resistance mechanism and user interface, a first one of the cables extending from an opening in the platform at a first location and a second one of the cables extending from an opening in the platform from a second location spaced from the first location, and wherein the resistance mechanisms are intermediate the first and second locations.

20. The resistance mechanism of claim 19, wherein the trajectory of the cable from one of the two resistance mechanisms extends in an imaginary plane, the trajectory of the cable from the other of the two resistance mechanisms also extending in the imaginary plane.

21. A resistance trainer, the resistance trainer comprising:

a. The outer shell of the shell is provided with a plurality of grooves,

B. A resistance mechanism mounted to the housing and comprising:

A motor having a rotary output shaft,

A reel mounted for rotation about a reel axis and coupled directly or indirectly to the motor and drivable by the motor about the reel axis in a first rotational direction,

D. A cable extending between the user interface and the reel and having (i) a first end region at which the cable can be wound onto the reel in a tapered or spiral wound configuration to be positioned in the restricted gap and to be unwound from the reel, and (ii) a second end region at which the cable is directly or indirectly coupled to the user interface, wherein the user can apply a pulling force to the cable to overcome the force of the motor to rotate the reel in a second rotational direction opposite the first rotational direction to unwind the cable from the reel, and

Wherein when overrun of the reel occurs, a coiled cable on the reel can be caused to begin to spiral outwardly in the restricted gap to contact the sleeve, thereby applying a braking force to the reel by means of friction between the sleeve, reel and cable to reduce the rotational speed of the reel in the second rotational direction.

22. The resistance trainer as set forth in claim 21, wherein the cable is made of a material having sufficient rigidity to facilitate outward spiraling of the cable in the event of overrun of the reel.

23. The resistance trainer of claim 21 or 22, wherein the sleeve is provided by or as part of a reel housing having a slotted guide through which the cable passes as it is wound and unwound, the resistance trainer being configured to provide sufficient resistance to the cable passing through the slot during a reel overrun to cause the cable to spiral outwardly on the reel.

24. A resistance exercise machine as claimed in any one of claims 21 to 23, wherein the shape and configuration of the restricted gap ensures that a cable wound on the reel and in the coiled configuration does not contact the sleeve until an overrun of the reel occurs.

25. The resistance trainer as defined in any one of claims 21 to 23, wherein the shape and configuration of the restricted gap ensures that a cable wound on the reel and in the coiled configuration does not contact the sleeve before being released from its coiled configuration by spiraling outwardly and contacting the sleeve.

26. A resistance exercise machine as claimed in any one of claims 21 to 25, wherein the reel is cylindrical in shape and the cable is wound onto the reel in a helical configuration.

27. A resistance exercise machine as claimed in any one of claims 21 to 26, wherein the reel is cylindrical in shape and has a helical groove to accommodate a cable wound onto the reel so that the cable is wound onto the reel in a helical configuration.

28. A resistance exercise machine as claimed in any one of claims 21 to 27, wherein the cable bridging between the reel and the sleeve acts in a non-buckling compression when a reel overrun has occurred.

29. A method of passively braking a reel having a cable wound thereon in a coiled configuration and capable of causing the cable to be coiled onto the reel in a first rotational direction of the reel, the method for reducing reel overrun caused by a reduction or cessation of tension after the cable has been pulled with sufficient force to rotate the reel in a second rotational direction to unwind the cable from the reel, the method comprising causing the cable coiled on the reel to spiral outwardly from its coiled configuration in a restricted gap between the reel and a sleeve surrounding the reel to contact the sleeve to thereby apply a braking force to the reel by means of friction between the sleeve, reel and cable to reduce the rotational speed of the reel in the second rotational direction.

30. A self-braking reel module, the self-braking reel module comprising:

a. A reel capable of having a cable wound thereon in a coiled configuration, and biased to rotate in a first rotational direction to wind the cable onto the reel,

B. A reel housing for mounting the reel in a manner to rotate relative to the reel and having a sleeve surrounding the coiled cable, the sleeve being spaced outwardly from the coiled cable a sufficient distance so as not to contact the cable unless a braking force is applied to the reel by friction between the sleeve, reel and cable to reduce the rotational speed of the reel in the second rotational direction after the cable has been pulled hard enough to overcome the biasing force to rotate the reel in the second rotational direction to unwind the cable from the reel, a reel overrun occurs due to a reduction or stop in tension such that the cable wound on the reel spirals outwardly out of the reel into and into contact with the sleeve.

31. The self-braking reel module of claim 30, wherein the biasing force is provided by a motor coupled directly or indirectly to the reel to apply a rotational biasing force and to be able to drive the reel in the first rotational direction, the braking force further directly or indirectly reducing a rotational speed of the motor in a direction commensurate with the second rotational direction.

32. A self-braking reel module, the self-braking reel module comprising:

a. A reel, on which a cable can be wound in a coiled configuration, the coiled configuration being determined by a helical groove of the reel, in which the cable can be seated,

B. A housing for mounting the reel in rotation relative thereto and having a sleeve surrounding the coiled cable, the sleeve being spaced outwardly from the coiled cable a sufficient distance so as not to contact the coiled cable, but being capable of contacting the cable as the cable is threaded outwardly from its coiled configuration.

33. The self-braking reel of claim 32, wherein a depth of the groove in which the coiled cable is disposed is greater than a distance between the sleeve and an outer diameter of the coiled configuration of the cable.

34. A resistance trainer, the resistance trainer comprising:

e. The outer shell of the shell is provided with a plurality of grooves,

F. a resistance mechanism mounted to the housing and comprising:

A motor having a rotary output shaft,

A spool mounted for rotation about a spool axis and relative to the housing,

G. A user interface presented on the exterior of the housing, the user interface being capable of undergoing movement by a user relative to the housing when the trainer is in use,

H. A cable extending between the user interface and the reel and having (i) a first end region at which the cable can be wound onto the reel, and (ii) a second end region at which the cable is directly or indirectly coupled to the user interface,

Wherein the resistance mechanism further comprises a coupler between the motor and the spool adapted and configured to couple the motor and the spool for common rotation in the same rotational direction while allowing the motor and the spool to rotationally disengage for rotation in opposite directions, and

Wherein the resistance mechanism is further configured to generate a driving force of the motor for both:

c) Driving the spool to rotate about the spool axis in a first rotational direction to wind the cable onto the spool, and

D) User-driven rotation of the spool about the spool shaft in a second rotational direction is resisted via the spool and cable.

35. A resistance trainer, the resistance trainer comprising:

a. The outer shell of the shell is provided with a plurality of grooves,

B. A resistance mechanism mounted to the housing and comprising:

A motor having a rotary output shaft,

A spool mounted for rotation about a spool axis and relative to the housing, an

The coupling is provided with a coupling element, the coupler is located between the motor and the reel,

Wherein the resistance mechanism is configured to generate a driving force of the motor for both:

a) Driving the spool to rotate about the spool axis in a first rotational direction to wind the cable onto the spool, and

Wherein the coupling is adapted and configured to allow the reel and motor to rotationally disengage once both rotate in the second rotational direction, such that rotation of the motor (due to inertia) can continue independently of rotation of the reel (if any).

36. A resistance exercise machine according to claim 34 or 35, wherein the reel can be actively or passively braked to reduce its rotation and/or to stop its rotation in the second rotational direction.

37. The resistance exercise machine of claim 34, wherein the coupler is adapted and configured to disengage the reel from the motor to mitigate reel overrun when tension is reduced or stopped.

38. A resistance exercise machine as claimed in claim 36 or 37, wherein a sleeve is positioned around the reel to define a restricted gap around the reel, and within the sleeve the reel is rotatable around the reel axle, and wherein the coupler is adapted and configured to disengage the reel from the motor after application of a pulling force sufficient to rotate the reel in the second rotational direction, during a reel overrun caused by a reduction or cessation of pulling force, such that the coiled cable on the reel begins to spiral outwardly in the restricted gap to contact the sleeve, thereby applying a braking force to the reel by means of friction between the sleeve, reel and cable to reduce the rotational speed of the reel in the second rotational direction.

39. A resistance exercise machine according to any one of claims 34 to 38, wherein the coupling comprises a sprag clutch or sprag bearing for facilitating the disengagement of the motor and reel.

40. A resistance exercise machine according to any one of claims 34 to 39, wherein said coupling includes a torsion spring for facilitating said disengagement of said motor and reel.

41. The resistance trainer of claim 40, wherein the torsion spring is constrained from radial contraction and free to radially expand.

42. The resistance trainer of claim 40, wherein the torsion spring is constrained from radial expansion and free to radially contract.

43. A resistance exercise machine according to any one of claims 40 to 42, wherein said coupler comprises a shaft comprising two coaxially positioned shaft portions, wherein said torsion spring is mounted about and coaxial with said shaft.

44. The resistance trainer of claim 43, wherein each of the shaft sections is respectively associated with one of the motor and the reel, and wherein the shaft sections are rotatable relative to one another.

45. A resistance exercise machine according to claim 43 or 44, wherein said torsion spring is tightly mounted about and coaxial with said rotational axis.

46. A resistance exercise machine according to any one of claims 43 to 45, wherein said torsion spring is mounted closely about and coaxial with said rotational axis and at or near one end of said spring is secured to a first one of said rotational axis portions and at or near the other end of said spring is secured to a second one of said rotational axis portions.

47. A resistance exercise machine as claimed in claim 21 or any one of claims 34 to 46, wherein the resistance mechanism is a resistance mechanism as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 20.