US20050288155A1

US20050288155A1 - Elliptical exerciser

Info

Publication number: US20050288155A1
Application number: US10/875,171
Authority: US
Inventors: Chung-Chin Yang
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2004-06-25
Filing date: 2004-06-25
Publication date: 2005-12-29

Abstract

An elliptical exerciser includes a base, a body, a transmission device, an adjustable upright post, a pair of handles and two foot pedal rods. The post is composed of an upper tube which is retractably inserted in a lower tube. Two respective mediate portions of the two handles are connected to two sides of the upper tube. Two ends of each foot pedal are respectively connected to a lower end of the handle and the transmission device. The swinging of the handles drives the foot pedal rods and the transmission device rotates. The positions of elliptical trace of the pedal rods are adjusted by adjusting the upper tube upward or downward relative to the lower tube so as to simulate uphill hiking and downhill hiking and exercise different parts of muscles.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an elliptical exerciser, especially for an adjustable post which changes the positions of the elliptical trace of the pedals so as to obtain different modes of exercising conditions.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

People take exercise to keep a good physical condition by jogging, swimming, or oxygen-gained exercises. The exercises consume calories, increase the strength of muscles and reduce fat. Nevertheless, outdoors exercises are easily affected by the temperature and/or the climate, so that many people prefer to take exercise indoor such as weight lifting, treadmills, stationary bike or stepping machine. The elliptical exercisers involve many actions such as walking, stepping, pushing, and pulling so as to reinforce the durability and strength of muscles on legs, waist, hips and arms. The elliptical machine occupies less space and can be used in any places and in any time.
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional elliptical machine 90 includes an upright post 91 and two handles 92, two foot pedal rods 93 and a disk 94. The handles 92, the foot pedal rods 93 and the disk 94 are pivotably with each other. When the user stands on the foot pedal rods 93 with his or her hands holding the handles 92 and pivots the two handles 92 back and forth alternately as shown by the arrow head “A”, the disk 94 rotates as shown by the arrow head “B”, and the pedal foot pedal rods 93 are moved along an elliptical trace as shown in the arrow head “C”. Nevertheless, the positions of the foot pedal rods 93 cannot be adjusted and the position of the elliptical trace is not adjustable accordingly. In other words, only the fixed part of the muscles is exercised and this makes the user feel boring by the fixed mold of exercise and also makes the user feel boring by the fixed mold of operation. Not as hiking, the road conditions change all the time, some time the road goes upward and some time downward, this brings different exercises for different parts of the muscles.
The present invention intends to provide an elliptical exerciser wherein the elliptical trace can be changed according different modes of exercising so as to meet different requirements of the users.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The main object of the present invention is to provide an elliptical exerciser and the inclination of the pedals can be adjusted by adjusting the upright post so as to simulate different types of exercising conditions and to exercise different parts of muscles.
In order to achieve the object mentioned above, the present invention provides an elliptical exerciser includes a base, a body, a transmission device, an adjustable upright post, a pair of handles and two foot pedal rods. The post is composed of an upper tube which is retractably inserted in a lower tube. Two respective mediate portions of the two handles are connected to two sides of the upper tube. Two front ends of each foot pedal rod are respectively connected to a lower end of each the handle and two rear ends of each foot pedal rod are respectively connected to the transmission device. A foot pedal board is provided on each foot pedal rod. The swinging of the handles drives the foot pedal rods and the transmission device rotates. The positions of elliptical trace of the foot pedal boards are adjusted by adjusting the upper tube upward or downward relative to the lower tube so as to simulate uphill hiking and downhill hiking and exercise different parts of muscles.
The present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which show, for purposes of illustration only, a preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a conventional elliptical exerciser;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view to show the elliptical exerciser of the present invention;
FIG. 3 shows a side view of the elliptical exerciser of the present invention;
FIG. 4A shows that the front end of the foot pedal rods are tilted upward;
FIG. 4B shows that the front end of the foot pedal rods are tilted downward, and
FIG. 5 shows an enlarged view of the positioning device of the elliptical exerciser of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the elliptical exerciser 20 of the present invention comprises a base 21 which is located beneath the body 22 of the elliptical exerciser 20 so as to be put on the floor and support the body 22. The base 21 includes two transverse bars 211 connected to two ends thereof so as to put the exerciser 20 in a stable condition. The body 22 has a casing 23 therein received a driving mechanism (not shown) which is avoided from dust by the casing 23. A transmission device 24 is connected to a rear end of the body 22 and is connected to the driving mechanism and exposed outside of the casing 23. The transmission device 24 is operated as circular movement to move the driving mechanism, in this embodiment, the transmission device 24 includes two disks which are connected at two respective centers thereof so as to rotate simultaneously.
The elliptical exerciser 20 has an upright post 25 at a front end thereof and the post 25 includes an upper tube 251 and a lower tube 252 in which the upper tube 251 retractably inserted for adjusting the height. A lower end of the lower tube 252 is fixed to the base 21 of the body 22. Two handles 26 are respectively pivotably connected to two sides of the upper tube 251 at two respective mediate portions of the two handles 26. The upper tube 251 includes two extension rods 261 on the two sides thereof and the two respective mediate portions of the two handles 26 are connected to the outer peripheries of the two extension rods 261, so that the two handles 26 are pivoted about the two extension rods 261.
The elliptical exerciser 20 has two foot pedal rods 27 on two sides thereof and each foot pedal rod 27 has a front end pivotably connected to a lower end of respective one of the two handles 26 and a rear end of each of the two foot pedal rods 27 is respectively connected to the transmission device 24. The two respective rear ends of the pedal rods 27 are located close to the periphery of the disks and symmetric to a center of the disks. In other words, if one of the two respective rear ends is located at the twelve o'clock position, the other rear end is located at the six o'clock position.
A foot pedal board 271 is provided on each of the two foot pedal rods 27 and includes a knurl surface so that the user will not slip on the foot pedal board 271. When the user's feet stand on the two foot pedal boards 271 and swings the two handles 26 alternatively, the foot pedal rods 27 move along in an elliptical trace.
Referring to FIGS. 4A and 4B, if the upper tube 251 is adjusted upward as shown by the arrow head “A” relative to the lower tube 252, the front end of each of the foot pedal rods 27 tilts upward. On the contrary, when the upper tube 251 is retracted into the lower tube 252, the front end of each of the foot pedal rods 27 tilts downward. Accordingly, the positions of the elliptical trace are adjusted along with the adjustment of the upper tube 251. When the foot pedal rods 27 tilt upward, the exerciser simulates an uphill hiking condition and exercises the muscle of the legs. When the foot pedal rods 27 tilt downward, the exerciser simulates a downward hill hiking condition and exercises the muscle of the hips.
Referring to FIG. 5, the adjustment is made by a positioning device 30 which is connected to the upper tube 251 or the lower tube 252 so as to position the upper tube 251 relative to the lower tube 252. The positioning device 30 includes a retractable pin 31 and a spring 33 is mounted to the pin 31 which is pulled outward and disengaged from one of the holes 32 defined in the upper tube 251 such that the upper tube 251 can be freely moved relative to the lower tube 252 till the pin 31 is engaged with another one of the holes 32 in the upper tube 251. The positioning device 30 provide the user a simple and convenient device that position the upper tube 251 in a short period of time. The positioning device 30 can be varied and moderated by any known mechanism.
Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, a panel 40 and two end bars 50 are connected to a top of the post 25. The panel 40 displays related information of the exerciser via the driving mechanism such as the period of time that is used, the period of time to be used, and the amount of calories to be consumed. The user may hold the end bars 50 during operating the exerciser 20. A sensor (not shown) can be connected to the end bars 50 and electrically connected to the panel 40 so as to display the physical condition of the user such as the pulse, the breath and the amount of calories that has been consumed. The user thus acknowledges the information during the operation of the exerciser 20.
While we have shown and described the embodiment in accordance with the present invention, it should be clear to those skilled in the art that further embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An elliptical exerciser comprising:

a base putting on the floor;

a body having a casing and a transmission device connected to a rear end there of the body and exposed outside the casing, the transmission device being operated as circular movement;

an upright post including an upper tube and a lower tube in which the upper tube retractably inserted for adjusting the height, the lower end of the lower tube fixed to the base;

two handles respectively pivotably connected to two sides of the upper tube at two respective mediate portions of the two handles, and

two foot pedal rods each having a front end pivotably connected to a lower end of respective one of the two handles and a rear end of each of the two foot pedal rods respectively connected to the transmission device, a foot pedal board provided on each of the two foot pedal rods and moving along in an elliptical trace when the two handles are pivotably swung, positions of the elliptical trace being changed when the upper tube is adjusted relative to the lower tube.

2. The elliptical exerciser as claimed in claim 1, wherein a positioning device is connected to the upper tube or the lower tube so as to position the upper tube relative to the lower tube.

3. The elliptical exerciser as claimed in claim 2, wherein the positioning device includes a retractable pin connected to the lower tube and the upper tube includes a plurality of holes, the pin engaged with one of the holes in the upper tube.

4. The elliptical exerciser as claimed in claim 3, wherein a spring is mounted to the pin which is pulled outward and disengaged from the hole so that the upper tube is freely moved relative to the lower tube till the pin is engaged with another one of the holes in the upper tube.

5. The elliptical exerciser as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transmission device includes two disks which are connected at two respective centers thereof, the two rear ends of the two foot pedal rods respectively connected to the two disks.

6. The elliptical exerciser as claimed in claim 1, wherein the front end of each of the foot pedal rods tilts upward when the upper tube is extended upward.

7. The elliptical exerciser as claimed in claim 1, wherein the front end of each of the foot pedal rods tilts downward when the upper tube is retracted into the lower tube.

8. The elliptical exerciser as claimed in claim 1, wherein the base includes two transverse bars connected to two ends thereof.

9. The elliptical exerciser as claimed in claim 1, the upper tube includes two extension rods and the two respective mediate portions of the two handles are connected to the two extension rods.