US20040259704A1

US20040259704A1 - Multi-angle achilles tendon stretching pedaled trainer

Info

Publication number: US20040259704A1
Application number: US10/463,425
Authority: US
Inventors: Yung-Jen Liang
Original assignee: Yung-Jen Liang
Priority date: 2003-06-18
Filing date: 2003-06-18
Publication date: 2004-12-23

Abstract

The invention provides a multi-angle Achilles tendon stretching pedaled trainer, including two arc-shaped rockers with one on the left and the other on the right. Besides, two pedals that can be stepped on by a user are provided on top of each rocker, with one on the front and the other on the rear. Also, an axle pole is provided between the two rockers for connection, allowing the two feet on the pedals to make forward and backward swaying motions in order to twist waist and hips, strengthen leg muscles and develop body balance.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a multi-angle Achilles tendon stretching pedaled trainer and, more particularly, to a trainer that can be stepped on and rocked to and fro in order to train calf muscle, stretch Achilles tendon, develop sense of balance, and twist waist and hips.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a conventional leg muscle trainer. Referring to FIG. 1, two arc-shaped rocking bodies 1 are provided with one on the left and the other on the right. Besides, on top of each rocking body 1, two pedals 2 with different slopes are provided with one on the front and the other on the rear. Also, two through holes 3 are laterally provided on each rocking body 1 with one the front and the other on the rear, and two cross bars 4 are also provided to connect between two rocking bodies 1. In addition, two ends of each cross bar 4 are inserted into their corresponding through holes 3. Then, a screw bolt 5 is inserted into the screw hole (not shown) from the end of cross bar 4 of the rocking bodies 1 for fastening so that the two rocking bodies 1 can be screwed onto the two crossing bars. Moreover, referring to FIG. 2, to use the leg muscle trainer, a user's two feet must step onto the pedals 2 on top of the two rocking bodies 1 simultaneously. Then, the center of gravity of the user's body has to be slanted forwards for a certain angle and then moved back to the heels. By doing so, the arc-shaped bottoms of the two rocking bodies 1 can touch the ground with different tangents. Besides, owing to the different tangents, the user has to seek his/her body balance in order not to fall from the leg muscle trainer. Therefore, when the user's center of gravity is moving forwards, the leg muscle has to be tightened so that the feet can hold onto the pedals firmly. After that, the body's counterbalance can be found in an opposite direction, and thus the body's center of gravity can be changed through different forces pressed on the foot pedals. Therefore, by repeating the motions of changing body's center of gravity, the calf muscle can be stretched and loosened to keep body's balance. Hence, the leg muscle trainer can achieve the purpose of strengthening calf muscles.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the invention is to improve the single function of a conventional leg muscle trainer that can only train leg muscles. The invention provides a multi-angle Achilles tendon stretching pedaled trainer, allowing a user to step on for multiple training exercises, including to-and-fro stepping motions, waist and hips twisting motions, and feet swaying motions, so as to stretch and loosen Achilles tendon and therefore strengthen leg muscles as well as keep body balance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the assembly of a conventional leg muscle trainer. [0004]
FIG. 2 is schematic diagram showing the motion made by a conventional leg muscle trainer. [0005]
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective diagram of one embodiment of the invention. [0006]
FIG. 4 is a top view of one embodiment of the invention. [0007]
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the motion made by one embodiment of the invention. [0008]
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing another motion made by one embodiment of the invention. [0009]
FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective diagram showing another embodiment of the invention.[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 3 & 4, the multi-angle Achilles tendon stretching pedaled trainer of the invention includes two rockers [0011] 10 with one on the left and the other on the right, wherein the rockers 10 have a shape of arc and can be placed on the ground and swayed to and fro along the arc. Besides, two pedals 11A & 11B with different slopes are provided by being screwed on top of each rocker, with one on the front and the other on the rear ready to be stepped on, and a heel shield 11B is provided upwardly at the rear edge of the rear pedal 11B surrounding the user's heel. In addition, an axle hole 12 is laterally provided in the middle of each rocker 10, and an anti-sliding sheet 13 made of rubber is attached to the bottom of each rocker 10. Also, three holes 14 are provided at the rear bottom of each rocker 10, wherein each hole 14 is inserted in by an angle-limiting element 15, and a ball-shaped angle-limiting head 151 is provided at one end of the angle-limiting element 15.
Moreover, an axle pole [0012] 20 is to be inserted into the axle hole 10, and a thread portion 21 is provided at each of the two ends of the axle pole 20, wherein the thread portion 21 is to be screwed by a screw nut 22. Also, a flexible sleeve 23 will be sleeved onto the middle portion of the axle pole 20, and each of the two bearings 24 will be sleeved onto each of the two ends of the axle pole 20. When assembling, each of the two ends of the axle pole 20 will first be inserted into the axle hole 20 of the rocker 10 and then go through the bearing 24. Next, the screw nut 22 will be screwed onto the axle pole 20 at the thread portion 21 to finish the assembly.
To do exercise on the multi-angle Achilles tendon stretching pedaled trainer, referring to FIG. 5, a user can step onto the pedals [0013] 11A & 11B on each of the two rockers 10 with two feet mounting on the four pedals simultaneously. Then, the user's two feet will step down forwardly (or backwardly) so that the center of gravity of the user's body can be moving forwards (or backwards) as well as the two rockers 10 can be leaning forwards (or backwards) at the same time. After that, the rockers 10 will be stepped down in reverse direction, and the user's lower leg must be tightened to hold onto the pedals so that a counterbalance can be found for keeping the user's balance. Thus, the calf muscle can be strengthened as well as the Achilles tendon can be stretched.
Also, in order to limit the swaying-back angle of the rockers [0014] 10, an angle-limiting element 15 can be inserted into any of the three holes 14 alternately to prevent the swaying-back angle from being too large. Through the angle-limiting head 151 of the angle-limiting element 15, the swaying angle limitation can be provided when each rocker 10 is touching against the ground. In turn, through such angle limitation, the angle of a user's center of gravity can also be controlled accordingly.
In addition, the reason to provide different selections of swaying angle for a user is that some users may not suitable for large-angle swaying because their body strengths are not allowed to do so. Therefore, if a user is suitable for a smaller angle, the angle-limiting element [0015] 15 should be inserted into the hole 14 located close to the central bottom of the rocker 10. Conversely, if a user prefers a larger angle, the angle-limiting element 15 should be inserted into the hole 14 located close to the rear bottom of the rocker 10. Since the rockers 10 can touch the ground with different angles according to different locations of angle-limiting heads 151, the user's center of gravity can be kept in a certain angle without shifting.
Moreover, referring to FIG. 5, when a user's two feet are stepping onto the pedals of the rockers [0016] 10, his/her body will move along with the forward and backward motions of his/her feet. Therefore, in order to gain coordination between the upper body and the lower body, not only must the legs make efforts, but the waist also has to twist in accordance with the legs. Therefore, an effect of twisting the waist and hips can be obtained. Besides that, owing to the effect, the multi-angle Achilles tendon stretching pedaled trainer of the invention can be proved to have fewer components but more functions than a conventional trainer has.
Furthermore, FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective diagram showing another embodiment of the invention. Alternatively, different from the foregoing embodiment that contains a round-shaped angle-limiting element [0017] 15 with a ball-shaped angle-limiting head 151, the angle-limiting element 15A of this second embodiment has a square-shaped body, and the angle-limiting head 151A of the angle-limiting element 15A is a circular pole. Through the contact made between the bottom of the circular angle-limiting head 151A and the ground, a good stability can be achieved. Moreover, each square-shaped angle-limiting element 15A, which corresponds to a square-shaped hole 14A, is provided to limit the swaying angle of the rocker 10.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A multi-angle Achilles tendon stretching pedaled trainer, including:

two rockers, with one on the left and the other on the right;

two pedals on top of each rocker, with one on the front and the other on the rear; and

an axle pole, placed between the two rockers for connection, allowing the rockers to be stepped on with two-direction exercises so as to strengthen leg muscles, develop sense of balance, and twist waist and hips.

2. The multi-angle Achilles tendon stretching pedaled trainer as claimed in claim 1, wherein a plurality of holes are provided along the rear bottom of each rocker, and an angle-limiting element can be inserted into each hole; also, a ball-shaped angle-limiting head is provided at the outer end of the angle-limiting element.

3. The multi-angle Achilles tendon stretching pedaled trainer as claimed in claim 1, wherein an anti-sliding sheet made of rubber is attached to the bottom of each rocker.

4. The multi-angle Achilles tendon stretching pedaled trainer as claimed in claim 1, wherein a flexible sleeve is sleeved onto the middle portion of the axle pole that connects the two rockers.

5. The multi-angle Achilles tendon stretching pedaled trainer as claimed in claim 1, wherein a bearing is used to connect one end of the axle pole and one of the two rockers.

6. The multi-angle Achilles tendon stretching pedaled trainer as claimed in claim 2, wherein the angle-limiting element can be a square-shaped pole, a plurality of holes of the rocker can be square-shaped holes, and the angle-limiting head at the outer end of the angle-limiting element can be a circular pole.