US20080318738A1

US20080318738A1 - Crossover exercise recumbent bike

Info

Publication number: US20080318738A1
Application number: US11/765,709
Authority: US
Inventors: Ming-Hsiung Chen
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2007-06-20
Filing date: 2007-06-20
Publication date: 2008-12-25

Abstract

The invention relates to a crossover exercise recumbent bike, comprising a pedal mechanism positioned on the bike body with a seat provided thereon. The characteristic of the invention lies in that each of two pedal cranks thereof has an axis of rotation tilted forward to form an included angle between the transversal direction; accordingly, when an exerciser steps on pedals to rotate the two cranks, the invention enables the exerciser to promote the multiple efficacy of exercise of firming up lower body (legs and butt) and strengthening upper body (flat abs) at the same time.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a crossover exercise recumbent bike, especially to a rotary pedal mechanism of a recumbent bike having an axis of rotation of each of two cranks thereof with a few degrees of forward tilt, thereby enabling an exerciser to promote the multiple efficacy of exercise of firming up the lower body (legs and butt) and strengthening the upper body (flat abs) at the same time.
II. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, people lack exercise opportunities due to the living style in modern society and the constraints on athletic field and exercise equipment provided. To solve these problems, there are fitness centers and various exercise machines provided on the market for the selection of general public. However, a conventional rotary recumbent bike has its pedal mechanism made the same as a pedal mechanism of a general bike, which is a coaxial rotary structure on both left and right cranks. When a user pedals on the cranks for exercise, the conventional bike merely enables the exerciser to lift and press their legs on the upright direction, so as to achieve single efficacy of exercise of training quadriceps on the front of the thighs and the biceps on the rear thereof, without additionally exercising the adductor muscle group on the inner thigh and muscle groups of lower body (waist and butt). Therefore, the conventional rotary recumbent bike does not possess the function of strengthening and training the muscle groups of the lower body. The conventional rotary recumbent bike needs to be improved.
The main objective of the present invention is to provide a crossover exercise recumbent bike, enabling each of two pedal cranks thereof to have an axis of rotation tilted forward, thereby enabling an exerciser to exercise the lower body (legs and butt) while strengthening the upper body (flat abs) at the same time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The main objective of the present invention is to provide a crossover exercise recumbent bike, mainly comprising a pedal mechanism positioned on the bike body with a seat provided thereon, thereby enabling an exerciser to seat on the bike and steps on the pedal mechanism for exercise; the characteristic of the invention lies in that each of two bicycle cranks of the pedal mechanism having an axis of rotation tilted forward to form an included angle with the transversal direction.
The assembly of the invention enables a user to sit on the seat of the bike body and rotationally step on the two cranks of the pedal mechanism, seeing that the two cranks are slantwise rotated by way of the exerciser's alternating left and right leg movements, that is, the exerciser alternatively pedals the left leg on the right front and the right leg on the left front; therefore, when a user employs the invention to do exercise, the invention forcedly enables the exerciser to wiggle his/her lower body on both left or right side, and at the same time, naturally wiggle his/her upper body on the opposite side in order to balance himself/herself, so as to enable the exerciser to promote the multiple efficacy of exercise of firming up lower body (legs and butt), strengthening upper body (flat abs) at the same time, properly extending and stretching the muscle groups of lower legs, thighs, hips and the waist. Moreover, the mechanism of the invention enables an exerciser to rotate the two cranks to promote the multiple efficacy of exercise of firming up arm and pectoral muscle muscles.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top-down overlook view showing the structure assembly of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a three-dimensional assembly view showing the structure of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a top-down view showing a pedal mechanism of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a top-down view showing a brake of the structure in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the assembly of another preferable embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the assembly of another preferable embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a three-dimensional assembly view showing another pedal structure of the pedal mechanism of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a three-dimensional assembly view showing another pedal structure of the pedal mechanism of the invention; and

FIG. 9 is a three-dimensional exploded view showing a seat portion of the invention;

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Further aspects, objects, and desirable features of the invention will be better understood from the detailed description and drawings that follow in which various embodiments of the disclosed invention are illustrated by way of examples.
With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the “crossover exercise recumbent bike” of the invention mainly comprises a pedal mechanism 20 positioned on a bike body 10 with a seat 11 provided thereon, enabling an exerciser to sit on the seat 11 and step on the pedal mechanism 20 while exercising. The invention lies in that each of two cranks 21 or 22 of the pedal mechanism 20 has an axis of rotation 23 or 24 tilted forward and form an included angle “a” with a transversal direction 25.
In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the body 10 has an extensible tube insert 12 provided on the front of the seat 11 and a fastening screw bolt 121 is used to fasten or adjust the tube insert. In addition, a support rack 13 is upwardly provided on the front of the tube insert 12 and the pedal mechanism 20 is provided on top of the support rack 13. Therefore, each exerciser is able to apply the extensible tube insert 12 to flexibly adjust the distance between the pedal mechanism 20 and the seat 11, according to different height and/or leg length requirements. Moreover, the body 10 enables a backrest, 14 whose angle of inclination is adjustable, to be provided on the rear of the seat 11. Thus, each exerciser is able to exercise with his/her most comfortable posture.
The assembly of the invention enables a user to sit on the seat 11 of the bike body 10 and rotationally step on the two cranks 21 and 22 of the pedal mechanism 20, due to the two cranks 21 and 22 being slantwise rotated by way of the exerciser's alternating left and right leg movements (as shown in FIG. 1). That is, the exerciser alternatively pedals the left leg on the right front and the right leg on the left front. Therefore, when a user employs the invention to exercise, the invention forcedly enables the exerciser to wiggle his/her lower body on both their left or right side, and at the same time, naturally wiggle his/her upper body on the opposite side in order to balance himself/herself, so as to help the exerciser to exercise the lower body (legs and butt), while strengthening the upper body (flat abs) at the same time, and while properly extending and stretching the muscle groups of lower legs, thighs, hips and the waist. Moreover, the mechanism of the invention enables an exerciser to rotate the two cranks 21 and 22 to promote the multiple efficacy of exercise of firming up arm and pectoral muscle muscles.
With the reference to FIG. 3, the included angle “α” between the axis of rotation 23, 24 of each of the two cranks 21, 22 on the pedal mechanism 20 and the transversal axis direction 25 is from 10 to 35 degrees, and the optimal included angle is at 25 degrees.
Furthermore, an interlocking mechanism is provided between rotary shafts 211 and 221 of the two cranks 21 and 22 of the pedal mechanism 20 on the inner lateral sides of the rotary shafts 211 and 221 (i.e., the inner part of the support rack 13). Two bevel gears 212 and 222 are provided to be engaged with each other and jointly interlocked, enabling the cranks 21 and 22 to form a few degrees of forward tilt to achieve the objective of the invention. In addition, the interlocking mechanism enables a brake 26 to be positioned on either of the rotary shafts 221 (or 211). The brake 26 (as shown in FIG. 4) comprises a frictional wheel 261, a belt 262 and a spin button control 263. The frictional wheel 261 is positioned on the rotary shaft 221 for joint rotation. The belt 262 has one end thereof positioned on the support rack 13 and the other end thereof connected to a screw bolt 264, which is pierced through the support rack 13 and screwed with the spin button control 263. Accordingly, the spin button control 263 is able to control the friction drag of the belt 262 against the frictional wheel 261 to enable an exerciser to adjust his/her exercise force (load).
The interlocking mechanism of the invention is able to be designed as two embodiments as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. With reference to FIG. 5, the interlocking mechanism has a bevel gear 212, 222 provided on each of the two rotary shafts 211, 221 of the cranks 21, 22 on the inner lateral side thereof. The two bevel gears 212 and 222 have a transmission device 27 provided in-between. The transmission device 27 has two bevel gears 272, 273 respectively provided on two ends of a rotary shaft 271 to respectively engage with the bevel gears 212, 222 of the two cranks for joint movement, enabling the cranks 21 and 22 to form a few degrees of forward tilt for joint rotation. The transmission device 27 has a brake 26 positioned in the middle of the rotary shaft 271 as shown in FIG. 4. With reference to FIG. 6, the interlocking mechanism of the invention is changed based on the preferred embodiment as shown in FIG. 5. In this embodiment, a transmission shaft 28 is provided on the inner lateral sides of the two rotary shafts 211 and 221 of the cranks 21 and 22. The transmission shaft 28 enables two ends thereof to link with the two rotary shafts 211 and 221 by two universal joints 281 and 282 each for joint rotation, enabling the cranks 21 and 22 to tilt forward. In addition, the transmission shaft 28 has a brake 26 positioned in the middle thereof. Consequently, the two different embodiments are able to achieve the expected objective of the invention.
Moreover, with reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 7, the cranks 21 and 22 of the invention each have respective pedals 213 and 223 provided on the outer sides thereof. The pedal 213 (223) for an exerciser to step on has an inclined plane 2131 (2231) inwardly formed on the surface thereof. Therefore, when the invention is applied, the pedals 213 and 223 are able to move in harmony with the inclined angles of the cranks 21 and 22, to allow an exerciser to meet his/her ergonomic needs for use. The invention is able to be altered as shown in FIG. 8, so that a universal joint is employed to connect both of the pedal 213 (223) and a pedal shaft 214 (224) of the crank 21 (22). A vertical tube 216 (226) is positioned on top of a sleeve 215 (225), which is screwed by a screw nut 217 (227) after being slipped on the pedal shaft 214 (224). In addition, the pedal 213 (223) has two sleeves 2132 (2232) positioned on the bottom thereof corresponding to both ends of the vertical tube 216 (226). A shaft support 2133 (2233) is employed to pierce through the sleeves and tube for assembly. Accordingly, the universal joint possesses the function of automatically adjusting the angle of the pedal 213 (223) by simultaneously using the pedal shaft 214 (224) and the shaft support 2133 (2233) as revolving spindles. Therefore, when an exerciser uses the invention for exercise, he/she is able to adjust the angle of the pedal 213 (223) with more flexibility, that is, the invention conforms to the ergonomic design to enable an exerciser to do crossover step exercise.
With reference to FIG. 9, the embodiment of the invention shows the wriggling and squirming movement that a user can make when he/she is doing exercise. The seat 11 of the body 10 has a short shaft 111 downwardly extruded on the bottom thereof and pivoted in a round hole 151 on a bottom plate 15. In addition, the seat 11 has a plurality of rollers 112 provided on the bottom side thereof. Consequently, when a user is sitting on the seat 11 and doing exercise, the crossover step movement of the exerciser easily enables his/her body on the seat 11 to simultaneously wriggle and squirm smoothly.
To sum up, the “crossover exercise recumbent bike” of the invention certainly enables an exerciser to promote the multiple efficacy of exercise of firming up the lower body (legs and butt) and strengthening the upper body (flat abs) at the same time.
New characteristics and advantages of the invention covered by this document have been set forth in the foregoing description. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention. Changes in methods, shapes, structures or devices may be made in details without exceeding the scope of the invention by those who are skilled in the art. The scope of the invention is, of course, defined in the language in which the appended claims are expressed.

Claims

1. A crossover exercise recumbent bike, comprising:

a pedal mechanism positioned on a bike body with a seat provided thereon, thereby enabling an exerciser to sit on the bike and step on the pedal mechanism for exercise, each of two cranks of the pedal mechanism having an axis of rotation tilted forward to form an included angle with a direction transverse to an extension from the seat.

2. The crossover exercise recumbent bike of claim 1, wherein the bike body has an extensible tube insert provided on a front of the seat, and a fastening screw bolt is used to fasten or adjust the tube insert; a support rack is provided on a front of the tube insert and the pedal mechanism is provided on the support rack.

3. The crossover exercise recumbent bike of claim 2, wherein the body enables a backrest whose angle of inclination is adjustable to be provided on a rear of the seat.

4. The crossover exercise recumbent bike of claim 1, wherein the included angle between each axis of rotation of the two cranks on the pedal mechanism and the transversal direction is from 10 to 35 degrees.

5. The crossover exercise recumbent bike of claim 1, wherein the pedal mechanism has an interlocking mechanism provided between two rotary shafts of the cranks, thereby enabling the cranks to form a few degrees of forward tilt for joint rotation.

6. The crossover exercise recumbent bike of claim 5, wherein the interlocking mechanism has a bevel gear provided on an inner lateral side of each of the rotary shafts of the two cranks; the bevel gears are interlocked and a brake is positioned on either of the two rotary shafts.

7. The crossover exercise recumbent bike of claim 5, wherein the interlocking mechanism has a bevel gear provided on an inner lateral side of each of the rotary shafts of the two cranks; the two bevel gears have a transmission device provided therebetween; the transmission device has two bevel gears respectively provided on two ends of a rotary shaft, so that said bevel gears of the rotary shaft are respectively engaged with the bevel gears of the two cranks for joint movement, the rotary shaft of the transmission device has a brake positioned in a middle thereof.

8. The crossover exercise recumbent bike of claim 5, wherein the interlocking mechanism has a transmission shaft provided on inner lateral sides of the two rotary shafts of the cranks, the transmission shaft enables two ends thereof to link with the two rotary shafts by two universal joints each for joint rotation; the transmission shaft has a brake positioned in a middle thereof.

9. The crossover exercise recumbent bike of claim 6, wherein the brake comprises a frictional wheel, a belt and a spin button control; the frictional wheel is positioned on one of said rotary shafts for joint rotation, the belt has one end thereof positioned on the support rack and the other end thereof connected to a screw bolt, which pierces through the support rack and is screwed into the spin button control.

10. The crossover exercise recumbent bike of claim 1, wherein the two cranks of the pedal mechanism have respective pedals provided on the outer sides thereof, the pedal for the exerciser to step on has an inclined plane inwardly formed on a surface thereof.

11. The crossover exercise recumbent bike of claim 1, wherein the pedal mechanism has a pedal thereof and a pedal shaft of the crank assembled by a universal joint, a vertical tube is positioned on top of a sleeve, which is screwed by a screw nut after being slipped on the pedal shaft; the pedal has two sleeves positioned on a bottom thereof corresponding to both ends of the vertical tube, a shaft support is employed to pierce through said sleeves and tube for assembly.

12. The crossover exercise recumbent bike of claim 1, wherein the seat of the bike body has a short shaft pivoted in a round hole on a bottom plate and a plurality of rollers provided on a bottom side thereof.

13. The crossover exercise recumbent bike of claim 7, wherein the brake comprises a frictional wheel, a belt and a spin button control; the frictional wheel is positioned on one of said rotary shafts for joint rotation, the belt has one end thereof positioned on the support rack and the other end thereof connected a screw bolt, which pierces through the support rack and is screwed into the spin button control.

14. The crossover exercise recumbent bike of claim 8, wherein the brake comprises a frictional wheel, a belt and a spin button control; the frictional wheel is positioned on one of said rotary shafts for joint rotation, the belt has one end thereof positioned on the support rack and the other end thereof connected a screw bolt, which pierces through the support rack and is screwed into the spin button control.