JP2007536027A - Exercise stick for athletes - Google Patents

Abstract

  An exercise stick (1) designed for athletes such as walker, roller skater or cross-country skier on the road is disclosed. This exercise stick (1) comprises an elongated stick body (2). Two wheels (41, 42) are attached to one end (12) of the stick body (2). The exercise stick (1) can be moved by rotating the wheel in a certain direction. The wheel (41, 42) is provided with a reverse movement preventing member (8). The reverse movement preventing member (8) allows the wheels (41, 42) to rotate in the traveling direction (L), but prevents movement in the direction opposite to the traveling direction (L). As a result, it is possible to start moving forward. Since the exercise stick (1) according to the present invention is constantly in contact with the ground, the athlete can be moved more smoothly and smoothly, and the safety for the athlete can be improved. Can do.

Description

  The present invention relates to an exercise stick for athletes such as walker, roller skater or cross-country skier on the road, as in the field of gym equipment and in the introductory part of the first claim of the present invention.

  A recent type of sport called “Nordic walking” was originally developed as a summer training method by leading athletes in the fields of marathon, biathlon and Nordic compound competitions. Its popularity has improved greatly last year. Today, Nordic walking is widely practiced by a wide variety of people as an all-season sport. Nordic walking is not only suitable for fitness exercises but also for rehabilitation after injury, surgery or illness.

  Nordic walking involves walking or running with a special stick that is held in each hand of the competitor. For this reason, the Nordic walking technique is equivalent to the movement operation in cross-country skiing. Nordic walking facilitates the movement of a physiological anteversion posture by walking with continuous use of the stick. The advantage over traditional walking or running is that the arm and upper body muscle system are trained. Furthermore, compared to conventional walking or running, the body will consume more energy at the same speed.

  The sticks that have been used for Nordic walking so far are generally made of carbon fiber and glass fiber (30% carbon composite pole). These fibers have a low intrinsic mass, can withstand very large loads, and can extend product life. Compared with a metal core stick, the use of the above-mentioned stick does not transmit vibrations that impede or burden the wrist joint, elbow joint, and shoulder joint. The optimal stick length is 70% of the body size. A specially formed hand loop at the upper end of the stick prevents the stick from distorting during long periods of movement. The movement can be started by the lower end of the stick. The lower end of the stick may be selectively provided with a rubber cushion to accommodate smooth ground such as roads, asphalt and stones to account for changes in ground conditions, A metal tip may be selectively provided to accommodate the field.

  Despite the possibility of the above-mentioned equipment at the lower end of the stick, the known Nordic walking stick has a problem that it is impossible to slide on the ground and start moving. In particular, this problem occurred on hard and slippery ground. The walking rhythm is disturbed by the sliding of the stick.

  For this reason, the object of the present invention is to further improve the known Nordic walking stick to such an extent that it can start enough movement and rhythmically and smoothly walk or run in any ground condition. There is.

  This object can be achieved with a stick as described in claim 1 of the present invention. Advantageous embodiments are specified by the dependent claims.

  Known Nordic walking sticks are ultimately suitable for winter sports such as cross-country skiing. In this cross-country ski, the stick is taken out of the snow at regular intervals and inserted into the snow. The present invention differs from such conventional cross-country sticks in terms of entirely new ways and methods. The invention is based on the idea that a lower end of a stick having one or more wheels is provided. For this reason, the exercise stick according to the present invention is always in contact with the ground. There is no longer any need to lift or insert from the ground at each step. The passage at the lower end of the stick is actually a simple translational movement rather than a general vertical movement like a known stick. In order to start moving, at least one wheel of the exercise stick according to the invention is provided with a back-blocking member, i.e. a coupler or freewheel which is related to the direction. These allow the wheel to move forward but prevent the wheel from moving in the opposite direction.

  Thus, an exercise stick for athletes running in the direction of travel on the ground, such as a walker, roller skater or on-road cross-country skier, according to the present invention comprises an elongated stick body. At least one wheel is attached to one end of the stick body, and the wheel allows one-way rotational movement of the exercise stick on the ground. At least one wheel is provided with a reverse movement preventing member, which allows the wheel to rotate in the traveling direction, but prevents rotation in the direction opposite to the traveling direction. Yes.

  The term “wheel” will be understood herein as various means of allowing rotational movement in one direction. Various aspects of the disk, rotating part or roller are included in this term.

  When the movement starts, the backward sticking of the exercise stick is prevented. In addition, it is particularly advantageous in that a running surface of the wheel can be formed so that the static friction coefficient with respect to various ground surfaces can be made as high as possible while giving a certain amount of mass to the lower end of the stick. In this way, as much static friction force as possible acts between the wheel and the ground. This static friction force is calculated from the normal force and the static friction coefficient, as is well known.

  The present invention fundamentally changes Nordic walking by making Nordic walking more effective and easy to handle at the same time. The exercise stick according to the invention makes the athlete's forward movement smoother and smoother. By attaching an additional weight to the stick and / or arm, the effect of the exercise is increased or helpful. Unlike conventional sticks, the additional weight results in higher energy consumption, but hardly increases the load on the connection. This is because this mass is actually conveyed by wheels. The risk of damaging subsequent walker or runners, which can occur with a conventional stick due to the tip of the stick, is eliminated by the stick according to the present invention. By constantly touching the ground, the athlete can be made safer. All these advantages, especially those mentioned at the end, are particularly useful when the exercise stick according to the invention is used for rehabilitation.

  The invention in this specification mainly describes an example applied to Nordic walking. However, it will be appreciated that the exercise stick according to the present invention can also be applied to other summer sports such as skating and cross-country skiing on the road.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  One embodiment of an exercise stick 1 according to the invention is shown in perspective view in FIG. Here, FIG. 1 (a) shows the upper part of the exercise stick 1, and FIG. 1 (b) shows the lower part. The actual stick body 2 is preferably composed of a plurality of, for example, three parts 21-23. These parts 21-23 are adapted to be engaged with each other by an expansion and contraction method so that the length can be adjusted. The common part of the components 21-23 may be fixed by a stepless adjustment method by fixing rings 24, 25 provided with a screw mechanism. Alternatively, the exercise stick 1 may be provided with other means for adjusting and fixing the length as known in the prior art. The stick body 2 is composed of, for example, two parts, and is provided with a folding mechanism that folds the two parts and thereby shortens the length of the exercise stick 1. Appropriate fixing means allow the two parts to be fixedly connected to each other in use but also to be separated.

  The stick body 2 is made of carbon fiber and glass fiber as described in the prior art. However, other less expensive materials such as metal, wood, bamboo or plastic can be used. Unlike the prior art, the exercise stick 1 according to the present invention is not limited to one with a low intrinsic mass, and according to the present invention load performance and lack of vibration are secondary. This is because the movement stick according to the present invention makes the movement smoother and moves more smoothly.

  A hand grip 3 and a hand loop 31 as known in the prior art are attached to the upper end portion 11 of the stick. According to the exercise stick 1 of the present invention, the ergonomics can be further reduced in size and the quality can be improved as compared with the stick according to the prior art. This is because the exercise stick 1 according to the present invention is merely pulled along the ground and is not lifted or inserted.

  Two wheels 41 and 42 are provided on the stick lower end 12 in the embodiment of FIG. A common axle 5 is provided on both sides of the stick body 2 in the wheels 41 and 42. The axle 5 is rotatably attached to the bearing 6 so as to rotate in the traveling direction L. This will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b). The bearing 6 is firmly fixed to the stick body 2 by, for example, an adapter device 7. The adapter device 7 is preferably configured so that it can be attached to various types of existing stick bodies 2 that can be procured on the market. This separates the lower end of the stick as it ends at the tip and replaces it with the adapter device 7 provided with bearings 6 and wheels 41, 42, thereby allowing the old stick within the scope of additional or retrofit methods. Can be replaced with the stick 1 of the present invention. As a matter of course, it is also possible to carry out a unique method in which the bearing 6 is directly attached to the stick body 2 or directly integrated without using an adapter device. In another embodiment, the axle 5 is firmly fixed to the adapter device 7, and the two wheels 41 and 42 are rotatably attached by bearings so that there is no orientation with respect to the axle.

The stick lower end 12 having the wheels 41, 42, the axle 5, the bearing 6, and the adapter device 7 preferably has a larger specific mass than the conventional stick lower end. Thus, normal force F _N according to the ground by the exercise stick 1 is increased, it is possible to obtain good adhesion of the wheels 41, 42 relative to the ground. The inherent mass of the stick lower end 12 is, for example, a size within a range from 5N to 100M, and preferably a size within a range from 7N to 50N.

The running surfaces of the wheels 41, 42 are preferably made of a material having as large a coefficient of static friction μ ₀ as possible for any ground, such as asphalt, stone, gravel, earth, grassland, sand and the like. As a result, the adhesion force to the ground increases, and the exercise stick 1 that starts to move without slipping can be obtained. The coefficient of static friction μ ₀ for dry asphalt is greater than 0.4, preferably greater than 0.5, and the coefficient of static friction μ ₀ for dry soil roads is greater than 0.3, preferably It is larger than 0.4. The ideal material for the running surface appears to be rubber. The wheels 41 and 42 are formed as solid rubber wheels, for example. The running surface may have a contour or may not have any contour.

Static friction force F _R, as is known, is given by the following equation.
F _R = μ ₀ · F _N

In dry asphalt, normal force F _N and the coefficient of static friction mu ₀ is specified as described above, the static friction force F _R is simply based on the unique mass of the stick lower portion 12, from 3.5N to 25N A force within the range or greater. In addition to this, by the athlete presses the exercise stick 1, the vertical component of the compressive force F _{D (FIG.} 3 (b)) takes, normal force F _N is increased, the resulting static friction force F _R Will increase. Mass with large stick lower end 12, by providing an additional weight (see FIG. 4), the static friction force F _R increases more significantly. By providing the running surfaces of the wheels 41, 42 with suitable contours, known for example in the automotive art, the adhesion of the ground will be increased.

  The wheel diameter d, the track width w, and the number of wheels 41, 42 vary. These parameters can be applied to the foreseeable type of exercise stick 1 according to the invention. In normal use on asphalt roads, smaller wheels 41, 42 are selected such that the track width w is narrow, whereas on non-flat wooden roads, larger wheels 41, 42 such that the track width w is large. Is appropriate. The diameter d of the wheel is, for example, a size within a range from 4 cm to 20 cm, and preferably a size within a range from 6 cm to 10 cm. The typical track width w is selected from the range of 3 cm to 30 cm, and preferably selected from the range of 5 cm to 15 cm.

  The number and configuration of the wheels of the exercise stick 1 according to the invention will be discussed by means of an embodiment as schematically shown in FIG. The exercise stick 1 is attached with one wheel or a plurality of wheels, for example, a maximum of eight wheels. The exercise stick 1 to which one wheel 41 is attached as shown in FIG. 2A is very simple and has an advantage of low cost, but has no lateral stability. As shown in FIG. 2B or FIG. 1, two wheels 41 and 42 provided in the lateral direction can stabilize the exercise stick so as not to be inclined to the side. In the embodiment of FIG. 2 (c), four wheels 41-44 are provided back and forth along the traveling direction L as in a new roller skate known as inline skate. FIG. 2D and FIG. 2E show combinations of wheels 41-43 and 41-44, which are provided so as to be continuous in the lateral direction and the front-rear direction, respectively. Of course, the exercise stick 1 according to the invention may have more than four wheels, for example a maximum of eight wheels.

  The stick body 2 should be rotatable along a plane that is perpendicular to the ground and includes the traveling direction L. In the embodiment as shown in FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b), there is essentially a rotational motion. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 (c) to 2 (e), the wheel mounting frame 50 is provided with a specific mounting portion 51 of the stick body 2 that allows the wheel mounting frame 50 to rotate. Should. Those skilled in the art will be able to design a suitable attachment 51 with knowledge of the present invention.

  The reverse movement preventing member 8 important for the exercise stick 1 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, a reverse movement prevention member 8 is inserted into the bearing 6, and this reverse movement prevention member 8 acts on the common axle 5 of the two wheels 41 and 42. The two wheels 41 and 42 are firmly fixed to the axle 5. Instead, the axle 5 may be fixed, and the reverse movement prevention member 8 may be attached between the axle 5 and the wheels 41 or 42. The embodiment selected here is a grip roller type freewheel known per se. The axle 5 is firmly fixed to the inner ring 81, and the bearing case 61 is firmly fixed to the roller guide ring 83. A tightening roller 82 is provided between the inner ring 81 and the bearing case 61 and is fitted into a corresponding recess in the roller guide ring 83.

As shown in FIG. 3 (a), the component in the running direction L is competitor tension F _Z is not zero is provided to the stick body 2 or adapter unit 7, the clamping rollers 82, the axle 5 relative to the bearing case 61, It comes to be in a position that allows rotation without restriction. The wheels 41 and 42 are pulled by the athlete and run forward on the ground 9 along the running direction L.

However, as shown in FIG. 3 (b), competitor components reverse direction is not zero to the running direction L by pressing the exercise stick 1 compressive force F _D is applied to the stick body 2 and the adapter device 7 Then, the tightening roller 82 is pushed into a pocket similar to a V shape. In this position, the axle 5 is prevented from rotating with respect to the bearing case 61 by frictional contact. For this reason, reverse rotation of the wheels 41 and 42 becomes impossible, and the player starts to push forward along the running direction L.

  It is also possible to use another reverse movement prevention member 8 which is known per se. If necessary, it can be applied to the exercise stick 1 according to the invention by those skilled in the art. Here, ratchet-type freewheels (with pawls and ratchets), grip-type freewheels, wheel-stop freewheels, friction-type freewheels, or comb-type freewheels are It can be mentioned as a further example of a movement blocking member.

According to the embodiment of FIG. 4, a further weight 71.1-71.4 can be removably secured to the stick lower end 12. The additional weights 71.1-71.4 are formed, for example, as metal disks, but other forms such as rings or balls are possible. Each metal disk 71.1-71.4 is provided with a through opening. The inner shape of the through-opening corresponds to the outer shape of the adapter device 7, and can be attached to the adapter device 7. The through hole is provided in the center of each of the metal disks 71.1-71.4, but it is not always necessary. In the embodiment as shown in FIG. 4, the through opening is provided in the edge region of the metal disk 71.1-71.4 so as to be off the center. This is in the running state (but stick body 2 is not perpendicular to the ground that is inclined to the front (direction of the running direction L or static friction force F _R)), additional weights 71.1-71. There is an advantage that the center of gravity of 4 and the center of gravity of the stick lower end 12 can be made as low as possible. As a result, the wheels 41 and 42 can make optimum contact with the ground as quickly as possible with respect to the uneven ground. The rail 72 or other guiding means and fixing means are attached to the stick so that a better guidance can be provided for the combination and a better fixation of the additional weights 71.1-71.4. The lower end 12 or the adapter device 7 may be provided. Furthermore, attachment means (not shown) for performing removable attachment of the additional weights 71.1-71.4 may be provided on the stick lower end 12 or the adapter device 7.

The additional weights 71.1-71.4 have a weight in the range from 5N to 20N or a weight of 10N. The number or total mass of additional weights 71.1-71.4 is selected based on the athlete's desire and ability. A total mass of the stick lower end 12 of up to 200 N can actually be realized. On the other hand, the addition of weight 71.1-71.4 as described above when the normal force _{F N} is increased, the static friction force _{F R} increases. Also, additional weights 71.1-71.4 can increase the effect of exercise or can be useful for individual methods. This creates a new motion feasibility that could not be achieved with conventional sticks. Conventional sticks have a mass that is as light as possible so as not to place a heavy load on the athlete's wrist joint.

(A) is a perspective view of the upper part of the exercise stick according to the present invention, and (b) is a perspective view of the lower part. It is a schematic perspective view which shows the various structures of the wheel in the exercise stick by this invention. It is sectional drawing of the reverse movement prevention member provided in the exercise | movement stick by this invention, Comprising: (a) is a figure in the state of a free wheel, (b) is a figure in the state in which a movement is blocked | prevented. is there. It is a figure which shows the lower part of other embodiment of the exercise stick by this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Exercise stick 11 Exercise stick upper end 12 Exercise stick lower end 2 Stick body 21-23 Stick body parts 24, 25 Fixing ring 3 Hand grip 31 Carrier loop 41, 42, 43, 44 Wheel 5 Axle 50 Wheel mounting frame 51 Stick body mounting portion 6 Bearing 61 Bearing case 7 Adapter unit 71.1, 71.2, 71.3, 71.4 Additional weight 72 Rail 8 Reverse motion prevention member 81 Inner case 82 Tightening roller 83 Roller guide ring 9 ground d diameter _{F D} compressive force _{F N} normal force _{F R} stiction _{F Z} tensile L running direction w track width mu ₀ coefficient of static friction of the wheels

Claims (12)

An exercise stick (1) for athletes moving in the direction of travel (L) on the ground (9), such as a walker, skater or cross-country skier on the road,
The exercise stick (1) comprises an elongated stick body (2),
At least one wheel (41, 42) is attached to one end (12) of the stick body (2), and the wheel causes rotational movement of the exercise stick (1) on the ground (9) in a certain direction. Is possible,
At least one wheel (41, 42) is provided with a reverse movement prevention member (8), and the reverse movement prevention member allows rotation of the wheel (41, 42) so as to go in the traveling direction (L). However, the exercise stick (1) is characterized in that movement in the direction opposite to the traveling direction (L) is prevented.   The reverse movement prevention member (8) is a grip roller type free wheel, a ratchet type free wheel, a grip type free wheel, a ring stop type free wheel, a friction type free wheel, or a comb tooth type free wheel. 2. The exercise stick (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that it is formed.   The stick body (2) is rotatable along a plane perpendicular to the ground (9) and including the running direction (L). Exercise stick (1).   4. Exercise stick (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the number of wheels is 2, 3 or 4 (41-44).   5. A plurality of wheels (41, 42), wherein two of the plurality of wheels (41, 42) are provided on a common axle (5). The exercise stick (1) according to one item.   The track width (w) of the wheels (41, 42) provided on the common axle (5) is in the range from 3 cm to 30 cm, preferably in the range from 5 cm to 15 cm. The exercise stick (1) according to claim 5, characterized in that it is provided.   A plurality of wheels (41-44) are provided, and at least two of the plurality of wheels (41-44) are arranged back and forth along the traveling direction (L). The exercise stick (1) according to any one of claims 6.   The inherent mass of the lower end of the stick (12) is in the range from 5N to 100N, preferably in the range from 7N to 50N. The exercise stick (1) according to any one of the above.   Attachment means for attaching an additional weight (71.1-71.4), which is generally plate-shaped or ring-shaped, is provided at the lower end (12) of the stick. The exercise stick (1) according to claim 8. The running surface of the at least one wheel (41, 42) provided with the reverse movement prevention member (8) has a coefficient of static friction (μ ₀ ) for dry asphalt of greater than 0.4, preferably greater than 0.5. The exercise stick (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the exercise stick (1) is also formed to be large.   11. The exercise surface according to claim 1, wherein the running surface of at least one wheel (41, 42) provided with the reverse movement preventing member (8) is made of rubber. Stick (1).   The diameter (d) of the wheel has a size within a range of 4 cm to 20 cm, preferably a size within a range of 6 cm to 10 cm. The exercise stick (1) according to Item.

Images