GB2227424A

GB2227424A - Rowing exerciser

Info

Publication number: GB2227424A
Application number: GB9000417A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jyri Uimonen
Original assignee: TUNTURIPYOERAE Oy; TUNTURIPYORA Oy
Current assignee: TUNTURIPYOERAE Oy; TUNTURIPYORA Oy
Priority date: 1989-01-31
Filing date: 1990-01-09
Publication date: 1990-08-01
Also published as: GB9000417D0; FI890462A0; FI890462A; DE3943391A1

Description

i f 1 ROWING DEVICE 1 The invention relates to a rowing device comprising

a frame, a seat, a pulley and a flexible pull member, whereby the seat is arranged movably on the frame, the pulley is mounted rotatably on the frame, and the pull member is attached at its one end to the pulley and arranged to be wound around the pulley.

At present there are two main types of rowing devices commercially available, viz., so called pump rowing devices and flywheel rowing devices.

A pump rowing device comprises a pump, that is, a shock absorber type unit, which Is secured in place by journalling one end of each pump to the frame and the other end to an oar. There may be two oars and two pumps provided, that is, a separate oar for both hands. In a less expensive solution, a single oar and pump is provided centrally in the device. A drawback of such devices is that the path of the oar is always the same; the rower cannot adjust it according to his size or rowing style.

An example of the prior art is the device disclosed in U.S. Patent Specification 4,541,627.

A flywheel rowing device does not comprise any pumps and oars; instead, a flexible pull member, such as a rope, and a flywheel with a suitable brake mechanism is used. The flexible pull member is attached to the flywheel in such a manner that a pull at the pull member creates a force which tends to rotate the flywheel. A frequent drawback of a flywheel rowing device is its complicated construction and resultant high price.

Examples of flywheel rowing devices are disclosed inBritish Patent Applications Nos-8918151.5 and 8918150.7.

1 2 The object of the invention is to provide a rowing device by means of which the drawbacks of the prior art can be eliminated. This is achieved by means of a rowing device according to the invention which is characterised in that the device further comprises a transmission wheel with a diameter smaller than that of the pulley and mounted coaxially with the pulley for rotation therewith, a resistance element, and flexible transmission means fastened to the transmission wheel and engaged with a movable part of the resistance element, and arranged to be wound around the transmission wheel when a rower pulls at the flexible pull member and to simultaneously draw the movable part of the resistance element outward relative to another part of the resistance element fastened to the frame so as to resist the pulling movement of the flexible pull member.

As compared with pump rowing devices, an advantage of the invention is that the rower can select the position of the pull member used in place of an oar or oars since the position of the pull member is fixed only at the beginning of the pulling movement. As used herein, the position of the pull member means mainly its vertical position. This is a major advantage in that the path of the oar in a pump rowing device is always completely fixed. In addition to rowing, the device can also be used, due to the free path of the pull member, in such a manner that the user pulls the pull member above his head, for instance, while sitting, or the pull member can be pulled upwards with one hand or both hands while standing. These advantages are obtained also by means 11 1 1 3 of flywheel rowing devices; however, it is to be noted that by means of the invention the advantages can be obtained without the complicated, noisy, expensive mechanism liable to wear used in flywheel rowing devices.

A further advantage of the invention is that the resistance element can be positioned obliquely relative to the horizontal plane, whereby the operation of the element Is more reliable and the service life Is longer than in traditional pump rowing devices, in which the pumps are often horizontally positioned. Still another advantage is that the pull member can be positioned at the beginning of the pulling movement higher than the oars in the pump rowing device in a similar situation. For this reason, the ergonomics of the device of the invention are improved as compared with prior art pump rowing devices. It is obvious that the same advantage is achieved with the flywheel rowing device though it is again to be noted that the mechanism according to the invention is considerably simpler than that of the flywheel device.

In pump rowing devices, the rower has to work also during the return movement, that is, he has to push the piston into the resistance element, which is unpleasant. In the device of the invention, the rower does not have to work during the return movement because the return element draws the piston into the resistance element, simultaneously returning the pull member to its initial position. The same advantage is to be obtained in a flywheel rowing device, though with a considerably more complicated mechanism.

One more advantage of the invention is that the device is relatively narrow and low when assembled.

It is notably narrower than pump rowing devices and 4 notably lighter than flywheel rowing devices. In the device according to the invention, all functional parts can be encased within the frame In a simple way. Therefore the device according to the invention is more secure than pump rowing devices, in which the moving oars and pumps acting as resistance elements are visible. It is to be noted that the pumps used as a resistance element get hot in use and may cause burns.

To sum up, the invention combines the advantages of the pump rowing device and the flywheel rowIng device in a simple and inexpensive structure.

In the following the invention will be described in greater detail by means of a preferred embodiment shown in the attached drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a general side view of a rowing device according to the invention; and Figure 2 is a general side view of a pulling mechanism used the device of Figure 1.

Figure 1 shows generally a rowing device com prising a frame 1. A seat 2 is mounted movably on the frame 1. The directions of movement of the seat 2 are indicated in Figure 1 with an arrow. The frame 1 rests on the underlying surface on 3. Foot sup- ports on which the rower places his feet during the rowing exercise are indicated with the reference numeral 4 in Figure 1. A flexible pull member is indicated in Figure 1 with the reference numeral 5. A pull handle 6 is attached to one end of the flexible pull member 5. The other end of the flexible pull member is fastened to a pulley 7 so that the pull member 5 can be wound around the pulley 7. The pull member can be fastened to the rim of- the'pulley 7, for instance. The pulley 7 is arranged rotatably in the frame so as to rotate about a shaft 8. The flex- Ible pull member 5 may consist of a belt, a string, a rope, a band or the like. The pull handle 6, in turn, may be a rod, a tube, a round stick or the like means at which the rower can pull. The pull and return movements of the flexible pull member are indicated in the figure with an arrow.

The structure and operation of the device of Figure 1 appear from Figure 2, referred to:In the following. Figure 2 shows generally the pull mechanism used in the device of the invention.

The pulley 7 is attached to a transmission wheel 9 so that both wheels rotate simultaneously together about the common shaft 8 at the same rate of rotation. The diameter of the transmission wheel 9 is smaller than that of the pulley 7 as the transmission ratio is to be altered in a manner described below.

In Figure 2, the reference numeral 10 indicates a flexible transmission means, and the reference numeral 11 a resistance element comprising a movable part lla and another part llb fastened to the frame 1. The reference numeral 12 indicates a return element and the reference numeral 13 a sheave.

One end of the flexible transmission means 10 is fastened to the transmission wheel 9 so that the transmission means 10 may be wound around the wheel 9. The transmission means can be fastened to the rim of the transmission wheel, for instance. The flexible transmission means 10 is further arranged to be engaged with the movable part lla of the resistance 1 element 11. The engagemerd can be carried out either by fastening the other end of the flexible transmission means to the movable part lla or by using the pulley block arrangement shown in Figure 2. In the embodiment of Figure 2, the sheave 13 is mounted rotatably to the movable part lla, and the transmission 6 means 10 goes around the sheave 13. In this embodiment, the other end of the transmission means 10 is fastened to the frame 1.

As mentioned above, the function of the mechanism is to alter the transmission ratio, that is, the pull member 5 has to be able to move over a considerably greater distance than the transmission means 10. This is because the range of movement of the pull handle 6 has to be much longer than that of the movable part lla of the resistance element 11. The structure shown in the figure provides the desired operation. If the above-mentioned known block principle is used, the transmission ratio can be altered so that the length of the path of the transmission means 10 is double as compared with that of the movable part lla of the resistance element. By means of this embodiment, the movement of the pull handle 6 can be made considerably longer than that of the movable part lla as the device thereby comprises double alteration of the transmission ratio. If the block arrangement is not used in the device, only a single alteration of the transmission ratio is possible in the device, the magnitude of the alteration being dependent on the ratio of the diameters of the pulley 7 and the transmission wheel 9.

The resistance element 11 may be any element known per se, such as a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder. The resistance element 11 offers considerable resistance when the movable part lla, such as a pis- ton, is drawn out whereas it offers little resistance when the movable part is retracted. Depending on the element the resistance may be constant or adjustable.

The return element 12 is fastened both to the end of the movable part lla and to the frame of the rowing device. The force of the return element, such a 7 as a spring, is small as compared with the resistance of fered by the resistance element when the movable part is being drawn out. In other words, the movement of the transmission means 10 in the direction E Is resisted nearly solely by the resistance element 11. However, the force applied by the return element 12 Is so great that it Is able to displace the movable part lla within the other part lla fastened to the frame, simultaneously displacing both the trans- mission means 10 and the pull member 5 back to their initial positions when the rower stops pulling at the pull handle 6, In principle, the device of the invention operates in the following way. The rower pulls at the pull handle 6 in a direction A, whereby the flexible pull member 5 moves in the same direction while rotating the pulley 7 and the transmission wheel 9 about the shaft 8 in a direction C. Thereby the transmission means 10 Is wound on the transmission wheel 9, that is, the transmission means 10 moves in a direction E, pulling the movable part lla of the resistance element in the same direction. The movable part lla moves outwardly of the resistance element while resisting the movement with a determined force. The return element 12 is stretched at the same time. When the rower does not any longer pull at the handle, the return element 12 is able to return in a direction F, thus pushing the movable part lla back within the part llb. The transmission means 10 there- by rotates the transmission wheel 9 and the pulley 7 in a direction D while the pull member 5 moves in a direction Bt being simultaneously wound around the pulley 7.

The embodiment described above is by no means intended to restrict the invention, but the invention 8 can be modified within the scope of the claims as desired. Accordingly, it Is obvious that the rowing device of the Invention or its parts need not. be exactly similar to those shown In the figures but other solutions are possible as well. The pull mechanism of the rowing device, for instance, can be encased as desired, a protective case can be provided around the pulley, etc. The transmission means can be any flexible means, such as a belt, a string, a rope, etc. The resistance element and the return element can be of any type known per se. The seat can be supported in any manner known per se. The different parts of the device of the invention, such as the pulley and the transmission wheel, can be made of any suitable material. The entity formed by the pulley and the transmission wheel can be made in different ways. The pulley and the transmission wheel can be made as separate parts to be fastened together or they can be made integral with each other.

4 4 9

Claims

1 A rowing device comprising a frame, a seat movably mounted on the frame, a pulley rotatably mounted to the frame, and a flexible pull member attached at one end to the pulley and arranged to be wound around the pulley, characterised in that the device further comprises a transmission wheel with a diameter smaller than that of the pulley and mounted coaxially with the pulley for rotation therewith, a resistance element, and flexible io transmission means fastened to the transmission wheel and engaged with a movable part of the resistance element, and arranged to be wound around the transmission wheel when a rower pulls at the flexible pull member and to simultaneously draw the movable part of the resistance is element outward relative to another part of the resistance element fastened to the frame so as to resist the pulling movement of the flexible pull member.

2. A device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission wheel is mounted concentrically within the pulley.

3. A rowing device according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein one end of the flexible transmission means is fastened to the frame of the rowing device, the flexible transmission means being arranged to pass around a sheave fastened to the movable part of the resistance element.

4. A rowing device according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein a return element is provided, the return element being arranged to displace the movable part of the resistance element back to its initial position after the force created by the flexible pull member and transmitted through the transmission means has ceased.

5. A rowing device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

PubU 19W at The PatentOffice.Stata House. 86al High H01born.London WC1 R 4TP-Purthereopits maybe obedbmmThe PatantoMO# aales branch. St Mary Cray, Orpu4wn. Kent BW5 3RD PrIntd by MulUP1OX Lctuuques It& St Mary Cray. Kent. Con lib?