TW202031318A - Adjustable resistance system for fitness equipment including a drive wheel, a crank shaft connected to the drive wheel, and two crank arms connected to the crank shaft - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an adjustable resistance system for a fitness equipment, which includes a drive wheel, a crank shaft connected to the drive wheel, and two crank arms connected to the crank shaft. The drive wheel is further connected with a resistance unit, so that the drive wheel can obtain a resistance from the resistance unit when rotating. The rotation angle of the crank shaft is sensed instantly by an angle sensing unit. A control unit adjusts the resistance provided by the resistance unit to the drive wheel according to a sensing result of the angle sensing unit, so that the resistance provided by the resistance unit can be changed according to the angle of the crank shaft. Thereby, the resistance is maximum when the crank arm is at a position where the maximum torque is generated by the stepping of a user, and the resistance is minimum when the crank arm is at a position where no torque can be generated by the stepping of the user, such that the user can easily complete low-speed high-power training.

Description

Adjustable resistance system for fitness equipment

The present invention relates to fitness equipment, in particular to an adjustable resistance system for fitness equipment.

In the process of riding a bicycle, when the two crank arms are located at 0 degrees and 180 degrees respectively, that is, when the two crank arms are in a horizontal state one behind the other, the pedaling force is perpendicular to the moment arm. The torque is the largest. On the contrary, when the two crank arms are located at 90 degrees and 270 degrees respectively, that is, when the two crank arms are in an upright state, the pedaling force is parallel to the torque arm, and the torque generated at this time is almost zero.

However, in a rotating system, the power is equal to the torque multiplied by the speed. When this rotating system needs to generate a constant power, if the speed is smaller, the torque will increase in a non-linear manner, but because the pedaling force of the rider is When the two crank arms are in an upright state, they do not constitute a moment, so this dead point cannot be overcome, and the training cannot be carried out smoothly.

The main purpose of the present invention is to provide an adjustable resistance system for fitness equipment, which can adjust the resistance according to the angle of the crank arm.

In order to achieve the above main object, the adjustable resistance system of the present invention includes a crank unit, an angle sensing unit, a resistance unit, and a control unit. The crank unit has a drive wheel, a crank shaft and two crank arms. The crank shaft is connected to the drive wheel and can be operated synchronously with the drive wheel. The two crank arms are connected to the two ends of the crank shaft and can be stepped on. The action of force drives the crankshaft and the drive wheel to rotate together; the angle sensing unit is arranged on the crankshaft to sense the angle change of the crank unit; the resistance unit is connected to the drive wheel to provide resistance to the Driving wheel; the control unit is electrically connected to the angle sensing unit and the resistance unit, so that the control unit adjusts the resistance provided by the resistance unit to the driving wheel according to the sensing result of the angle sensing unit, so as to allow the rider to ride It is easier for passengers to complete low-speed and high-power training.

Preferably, when the two crank arms are at the position that generates the maximum torque, the resistance unit provides the maximum resistance to the driving wheel, and when the two crank arms are at the position that generates the minimum torque, the resistance unit provides the driving wheel The resistance is the least.

Preferably, the resistance unit is selected from one of a permanent magnet resistance unit, an electromagnetic resistance unit, a self-generating resistance unit or a motor, and the angle sensing unit is selected from an inductive encoder, an optical encoder or a magnetic encoder One of the devices.

The detailed structure, characteristics, assembly or use of the adjustable resistance system for fitness equipment provided by the present invention will be described in the detailed description of the subsequent implementation. However, those with ordinary knowledge in the field of the present invention should be able to understand that these detailed descriptions and specific examples for implementing the present invention are only used to illustrate the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the patent application of the present invention.

The applicant first explains here that throughout the specification, including the following embodiments and claims in the scope of the patent application, the nouns related to directionality are based on the directions in the drawings. Secondly, in the following embodiments and drawings, the same element numbers represent the same or similar elements or structural features.

Please refer to Figure 1. The fitness equipment 10 shown in the figure is a vertical fitness bike, which includes a frame 11, an operating panel 16, a seat cushion 17, two pedals 18, and an adjustable resistance system 20. Among them, the frame 11 has a base 12, a stand pipe 13 and a seat post 14. The bottom end of the riser 13 is fixed to the front end of the base 12, and the top of the riser 13 is assembled with the operation panel 16; the housing 19 is fixed to the rear half of the base 12 to provide protection for the adjustable resistance system 20. The bottom end of the seat post 14 passes through the housing 19 and is fixed at the center of the base 12, and the top end of the seat post 14 is assembled with the seat cushion 17.

2a and FIG. 6 again, the adjustable resistance system 20 provided by the first embodiment of the present invention includes a crank unit 40, an angle sensing unit 50, a resistance unit 60, and a control unit 70.

The crank unit 40 has a driving wheel 30, a crank shaft 42 and two left and right crank arms 44. The crankshaft 42 is assembled with the drive wheel 30, and the crankshaft 42 is rotatably inserted in a support base 15 which is fixed on the front side of the seat post 14; the two crank arms 44 are exposed Outside the housing 19, one end of the two crank arms 44 is fixed on the left and right ends of the crank shaft 42, and the other end of the two crank arms 44 is assembled with a pedal 18 respectively. Thereby, when the two pedals 18 receive the stepping force, the two crank arms 44 and the crank shaft 42 can be synchronously driven to rotate together, and then the crank shaft 42 can drive the driving wheel 30 to rotate together.

The angle sensing unit 50 is disposed on the crank shaft 42 to sense the angle change of the crank unit 40, especially for sensing the angle change of the two crank arms 44 during pedaling. In the present invention, the angle sensing unit 50 has three different aspects, namely a magnetic encoder (shown in Figure 2a, Figure 3a and Figure 4a) and an inductive encoder (as shown in Figure 3b, Figure 4b and Figure 5b). (Shown) and optical encoders (as shown in FIG. 3c, FIG. 4c, and FIG. 5c). Since the foregoing three types of encoders are all conventional technologies, the detailed structure and operation principle are not repeated here.

The resistance unit 60 is a motor in this embodiment. The resistance unit 60 is installed at the rear end of the base 12 and has a rotating shaft 61. The rotating shaft 61 is connected to the driving wheel 30 by a transmission mechanism 62 (such as a combination of a timing belt and a timing pulley), so that the rotating shaft 61 can be synchronized with the driving wheel 30 Act. Thereby, when the resistance unit 60 is energized and not operating, the torque holding force of the rotating shaft 61 will form resistance to the driving wheel 30, so that the pedaling force applied to the driving wheel 30 needs to overcome this resistance to smoothly rotate the driving wheel 30 , And the greater the current passed through the resistance unit 60, the greater the torque retention force of the rotating shaft 61.

，其中的

為常態化阻力，

為曲柄臂44相對一個垂直通過曲柄軸42中心之基準面P的角度，如圖7及圖8所示。藉此，當該二曲柄臂44呈現一前一後的水平狀態時，亦即θ為90度及270度時，阻力單元60提供最大的阻力給驅動輪30，當該二曲柄臂44呈現一上一下的直立狀態時，亦即θ為0度及180度時，阻力單元60提供最小的阻力給驅動輪30。此外，本案發明更能滿足定功率的運動需求，舉例來說，當使用者欲進行定功率100W的運動，則在θ為0度及180度時會輸出小於100W的功率(例如50W)，而在θ為90度及270度時則會輸出大於100W的功率(例如150W)，因此，當該二曲柄臂44各別轉動一圈而回到起始點後，其功率將可恆定於預定的100W，藉以達成定功率之目的。The control unit 70 is integrated with the operation panel 16 in this embodiment, and can be electrically connected to the angle sensing unit 50 and the resistance unit 60 through a wired (such as a wire, not shown) or wireless connection method according to actual needs. The connection effect, however, in fact, the control unit 70 can also be separated from the operation panel 16 and installed in other suitable positions (for example, on the frame 11). In this way, the control unit 70 controls the current output to the resistance unit 60 according to the sensing result of the angle sensing unit 50, and then adjusts the resistance provided by the resistance unit 60 to the driving wheel 30, so that the resistance is generated at the crank arm 44. The position of the maximum torque is the maximum, and when the crank arm 44 is located at the position of the minimum torque, it is the minimum. In this embodiment, the resistance and the rotation angle of the crank arm 44 satisfy the following relationship:

,one of them

To normalize resistance,

It is the angle of the crank arm 44 with respect to a reference plane P perpendicular to the center of the crank shaft 42, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. In this way, when the two crank arms 44 are in a front and one rear horizontal state, that is, when θ is 90 degrees and 270 degrees, the resistance unit 60 provides the maximum resistance to the driving wheel 30. When the two crank arms 44 present a horizontal state, In the upright state, that is, when θ is 0 degrees and 180 degrees, the resistance unit 60 provides the least resistance to the driving wheels 30. In addition, the invention in this case can better meet the demand for exercise with constant power. For example, when a user wants to exercise with a fixed power of 100W, when θ is 0 degrees and 180 degrees, it will output less than 100W power (for example, 50W), and When θ is 90 degrees and 270 degrees, it will output more than 100W of power (such as 150W). Therefore, when the two crank arms 44 rotate one circle each and return to the starting point, their power will be constant at a predetermined 100W, in order to achieve the purpose of constant power.

On the other hand, the resistance unit 60 is not limited to the use of a motor, and can also be a permanent magnet resistance unit (as shown in Figures 3a to 3c), an electromagnetic resistance unit (as shown in Figures 4a to 4c) or a self-generating resistance unit ( As shown in Figures 5a~5c), the three are all connected to the driving wheel 30 by a transmission mechanism 63 composed of belts and pulleys. The difference between the three is that the permanent magnet resistance unit uses a changing magnet 64 is relative to the position of the flywheel 65 to adjust the rotation resistance of the flywheel 65, and then the flywheel 65 and the transmission mechanism 63 are used to adjust the resistance applied to the drive wheel 30. The electromagnetic resistance unit and the self-generating resistance unit use the control current The torque holding force of the rotating shaft is adjusted by the size, and the resistance applied to the driving wheel 30 is adjusted through the rotating shaft and the transmission mechanism 63. In addition, the aforementioned three different types of resistance units 60 can also be arbitrarily matched with different angle sensing units 50. For example, in FIGS. 3a to 3c, the resistance units 60 are all permanent magnet resistance units, and the angle sensing unit 50 depends on The sequence is a magnetic encoder, an inductive encoder, and an optical encoder; in Figures 4a to 4c, the resistance unit 60 is an electromagnetic resistance unit, and the angle sensing unit 50 is a magnetic encoder, an inductive encoder, and an optical encoder. Encoder; As in Figures 5a-5c, the resistance unit 60 is a self-generating resistance unit, and the angle sensing unit 50 is a magnetic encoder, an inductive encoder, and an optical encoder in sequence. However, regardless of the combination, the control unit 70 can control the amount of resistance provided by the resistance unit 60 to the driving wheels 30 according to the sensing result of the angle sensing unit 50.

In addition, it must be noted that the adjustable resistance system 20 provided by the present invention is not limited to use in the vertical exercise bike disclosed in FIG. 1, and can also be applied to other different types of fitness equipment (as shown in FIG. 9). Recumbent exercise bike). In this case, the relationship between the resistance provided by the resistance unit 60 and the rotation angle of the crank arm 44 can be adjusted according to actual needs (such as the pedaling posture of the rider), as long as the time point when the resistance is maximum and minimum This occurs when the crank arm 44 is located at the position where the maximum torque and the minimum torque are generated. for example:

，其中的

為阻力，θ為曲柄臂44相對基準面P的角度。藉此，如圖7及圖10所示，當θ介於0度~45度之間、135度~180度之間及315度~360度之間時，阻力單元60提供的阻力最小，當θ介於45度~135度之間及225度~315度之間時，阻力單元60提供的阻力最大。The relationship between the two can be adjusted to:

,one of them

Is the resistance, θ is the angle of the crank arm 44 relative to the reference plane P. Thereby, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 10, when θ is between 0 degrees and 45 degrees, between 135 degrees and 180 degrees, and between 315 degrees and 360 degrees, the resistance provided by the resistance unit 60 is the smallest. When θ is between 45 degrees and 135 degrees and between 225 degrees and 315 degrees, the resistance provided by the resistance unit 60 is the greatest.

，其中的

為阻力，

為曲柄臂44相對基準面P的角度。藉此，如圖7及圖11所示，阻力最小的時間點發生於θ為45度及225度時，阻力最大的時間點則是發生於θ為135度及315度時。In addition, the relationship between the two can be adjusted to:

,one of them

For resistance,

Is the angle of the crank arm 44 relative to the reference plane P. Thereby, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 11, the time point of least resistance occurs when θ is 45 degrees and 225 degrees, and the time point of maximum resistance occurs when θ is 135 degrees and 315 degrees.

In summary, the adjustable resistance system 10 of the present invention can adjust the size of the resistance according to the angle of the crank arm 44, so that the resistance is maximum when the rider exerts the maximum torque on the crank arm 44, and when the rider The position where the minimum torque is applied to the crank arm 44 is the smallest, so that the rider can more easily complete low-speed and high-power training. In addition, the rider can set the resistance of each angle according to the needs of use or training, such as triathlete training, such as the most difficult position to set the maximum resistance to achieve the purpose of enhanced training.

10: Fitness equipment 11: Frame 12: Base 13: riser 14: Seatpost 15: Support seat 16: Operation panel 17: seat cushion 18: Pedal 19: Shell 20: Adjustable resistance system 30: drive wheel 40: crank unit 42: crankshaft 44: crank arm 50: Angle sensing unit 60: resistance unit 61: shaft 62, 63: Transmission mechanism 64: Magnet 65: flywheel 70: control unit P: Reference plane θ: Angle

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a vertical exercise bike using the adjustable resistance system of the present invention. Figure 2a is a perspective view of the adjustable resistance system according to the first embodiment of the present invention, in which the angle sensing unit is a magnetic encoder. 2b is another perspective view of the adjustable resistance system according to the first embodiment of the present invention, in which the angle sensing unit is an inductive encoder. 2c is another perspective view of the adjustable resistance system according to the first embodiment of the present invention, in which the angle sensing unit is an optical encoder. Fig. 3a is a perspective view of the adjustable resistance system according to the second embodiment of the present invention, in which the angle sensing unit is a magnetic encoder. 3b is another perspective view of the adjustable resistance system according to the second embodiment of the present invention, in which the angle sensing unit is an inductive encoder. 3c is another perspective view of the adjustable resistance system according to the second embodiment of the present invention, in which the angle sensing unit is an optical encoder. Figure 4a is a perspective view of an adjustable resistance system according to a third embodiment of the present invention, in which the angle sensing unit is a magnetic encoder. 4b is another perspective view of the adjustable resistance system according to the third embodiment of the present invention, in which the angle sensing unit is an inductive encoder. 4c is another perspective view of the adjustable resistance system according to the third embodiment of the present invention, in which the angle sensing unit is an optical encoder. Fig. 5a is a perspective view of an adjustable resistance system according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, in which the angle sensing unit is a magnetic encoder. 5b is another perspective view of the adjustable resistance system according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention, in which the angle sensing unit is an inductive encoder. 5c is another perspective view of the adjustable resistance system according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention, in which the angle sensing unit is an optical encoder. Figure 6 is a block diagram of the adjustable resistance system of the present invention. Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of the angle change of the crank arm provided by the adjustable resistance system of the present invention. Fig. 8 is a graph showing the resistance change curve when the adjustable resistance system of the present invention is applied to a vertical exercise bike. Figure 9 is a perspective view of a recumbent exercise bike applying the adjustable resistance system of the present invention. Fig. 10 is a graph showing the resistance variation curve of the adjustable resistance system of the present invention applied to a recumbent exercise bike. Fig. 11 is another curve diagram of resistance change when the adjustable resistance system of the present invention is applied to a recumbent exercise bike.

14: Seatpost

15: Support seat

20: Adjustable resistance system

30: drive wheel

42: crankshaft

50: Angle sensing unit

60: resistance unit

61: shaft

62: Transmission mechanism

Claims (7)

An adjustable resistance system for fitness equipment, including: A crank unit having a driving wheel, a crank shaft and two crank arms, the crank shaft is connected to the driving wheel, and the two crank arms are arranged at two opposite ends of the crank arms; An angle sensing unit, arranged on the crankshaft, for sensing the angle change of the crank unit; A resistance unit connected to the driving wheel to provide resistance to the driving wheel; and A control unit is electrically connected to the angle sensing unit and the resistance unit, so that the control unit adjusts the resistance provided by the resistance unit to the driving wheel according to the sensing result of the angle sensing unit. The adjustable resistance system for fitness equipment according to claim 1, wherein when the two crank arms are at the position that generates the maximum torque, the resistance unit provides the maximum resistance to the driving wheel, and when the two crank arms are located At the position of minimum torque, the resistance provided by the resistance unit to the driving wheel is the least. The adjustable resistance system for fitness equipment according to claim 1, wherein the resistance provided by the resistance unit and the rotation angle of the crank arm satisfy the following relationship:

,one of them

For resistance,

Is the angle of the crank arm relative to a reference plane perpendicular to the center of the crank shaft. The adjustable resistance system for fitness equipment according to claim 1, wherein the resistance provided by the resistance unit and the rotation angle of the crank arm satisfy the following relationship:

,one of them

For resistance,

Is the angle of the crank arm relative to a reference plane perpendicular to the center of the crank shaft. The adjustable resistance system for fitness equipment according to claim 1, wherein the resistance provided by the resistance unit and the rotation angle of the crank arm satisfy the following relationship:

,one of them

For resistance,

Is the angle of the crank arm relative to a reference plane perpendicular to the center of the crank shaft. The adjustable resistance system for fitness equipment according to claim 1, wherein the resistance unit is one of a permanent magnet resistance unit, an electromagnetic resistance unit, a self-generating resistance unit, or a motor. The adjustable resistance system for fitness equipment according to claim 1, wherein the angle sensing unit is one of an inductive encoder, an optical encoder, or a magnetic encoder.

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