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Elliptical skier exercise apparatus

Elliptical skier exercise apparatus description/claims

1. Field

The present invention relates to a standup exercise apparatus that simulates downhill skiing with arm exercise. More particularly, the present invention relates to an exercise machine having separately supported pedals for the feet and arm exercise coordinated with the sideways elliptical motion of the feet.

2. State of the Art

The benefits of regular exercise to improve overall health, appearance and longevity are well documented in the literature. For exercise enthusiasts the search continues for safe apparatus that provides full body exercise for maximum benefit in minimum time.

Recently, a new category of exercise equipment has appeared on the commercial market called elliptical cross trainers. These cross trainers guide the feet along a generally elliptical shaped curve moving forward and rearward of an operator to simulate the motions of jogging and slight climbing. There is a need for an elliptical exercise machine capable of lateral or sideways foot movements similar to downhill skiing which occurs during switchbacks.

The teeter-totter category addresses side to side lateral foot movements in Piaget et al. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,518,470 and 5,575,739, Yu in U.S. Pat. Application No. 2005/0209058, Yang in U.S. Pat. No. 6,641,506 and Gray in U.S. Pat. No. 6,679,813. The category of ski simulators also display lateral foot movement such as Koyama et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,139,473, Romer in U.S. Pat. No. 5,316,530, Neuberg et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,536,225, Palmer in U.S. Pat. No. 5,665,033, Wilson in U.S. Pat. No. 5,749,811, Alvarez in U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,995 and Chu in U.S. Pat. No. 6,849,032. Some sideways foot movement is added to the elliptical apparatus shown by Chang in U.S. Pat. Application No. 2006/0046902.

There is a need for a pedal operated exercise machine that can be safely operated in the standup position whereby the arms and legs can be exercised with the feet moving through a generally lateral elliptical movement to exercise the inner and outer leg muscles in a manner not shown in prior art. There is also a need to adjust the orientation of the lateral elliptical pedal curve to exercise the leg muscles differently during lateral downhill ski simulation.

It is one objective of this invention to provide lateral elliptical pedal movement with a path generating linkage coordinated with arm exercise to exercise the inner and outer leg muscles without joint impact. Another objective of this invention is to provide some lateral rotation of the ankles to strengthen muscles related to ankle control important in a variety of sports. Another object of this invention is to provide an adjustable pedal motion.

The present invention relates to the kinematic motion control of pedals which simulates the lateral movements of downhill skiing during switchbacks. More particularly, apparatus is provided that offers variable intensity exercise through a leg operated cyclic motion in which the pedal supporting each foot is guided through successive sideways positions during the motion cycle while a load resistance acts upon the mechanism.

The pedals are guided through a horizontally elongated curve motion while the sideways pedal angles vary during the pedal cycle to add some ankle exercise. Arm exercise is by arm levers coordinated with the mechanism guiding the foot pedals.

In the preferred embodiment, the apparatus includes a separate pedal for each foot, each pedal positioned on one end of a foot support which is pivotally connected to a crank and a guide. The cranks are connected by a coupling device such as a gear pair which rotate in opposite directions with the cranks. The guides are rocker links pivotally connected to the foot supports and the framework at rocker link pivots. The rocker link pivots can be relocated manually or by actuator to change the pedal motion.

Arm exercise is provided with handles pivotally connected to the framework and coordinated with the foot supports. When the foot is up, the handle corresponding to that foot is generally up.

Load resistance is imposed upon the crank arms through pulleys and belts from a flywheel and frictional resistance. A control system regulates the load on the flywheel to vary the resistance to exercise. The resistance can be varied during operation through a control system within easy reach of the operator. Other forms of load resistance such as an alternator, magnetic, air, fluid, etc. may also be used.

Movement of the pedals cause the pedals to follow a horizontally elongated path similar to an ellipse where the longer major axis of the ellipse is generally horizontal to provide the lateral skiing motion. The shorter minor axis of the ellipse provides the sideways up and down foot motion.

An alternate embodiment is shown using adjustable tracks as guides for the foot supports. An actuator and control system adjusts the incline of the tracks to exercise leg muscles differently.

Another alternate embodiment is shown where the cranks are positioned at the ends of the foot supports to produce different pedal curves.

In summary, this invention provides the operator with stable foot pedal support having motions that simulate downhill skiing with very low joint impact and upper body exercise. The pedal motion exhibits horizontally oriented elliptical lateral foot motion providing exercise for the inner and outer leg muscles which is not available in elliptical cross trainers.

• Provisional Patent
• Utility Patent

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