WO2016048161A1

WO2016048161A1 - Pedal

Info

Publication number: WO2016048161A1
Application number: PCT/NO2015/050170
Authority: WO
Inventors: Arne LIE
Original assignee: Fleximed As
Priority date: 2014-09-23
Filing date: 2015-09-23
Publication date: 2016-03-31
Also published as: NO337538B1; NO20141148A1

Abstract

It is described a pedal (1) comprising sole part (4) and straps (10, 11), where the pedal (1) comprises a first mainly rigid foot part (2) with a mainly rigid sole part (4) and a support part (5), and a second flexible foot part (3) attached to the mainly rigid foot part (2) along the length of the sole part (4), the straps (10, 11) extend from the mainly rigid foot part (2) to the flexible foot part (3).

Description

PEDAL

The present invention relates to a pedal for use with a bicycle apparatus, bicycles or bicycle resembling devices. The pedal is especially suited for use with training apparatuses where the legs of the user are stuck in the pedals and are led in cyclic movements. Such pedals are for example used for training of the legs of disabled user, that beca use of their illness needs to get the feet firmly attached to the pedals to be able to make cyclic movements.

There a re a number of pedals in the marked that can be used with such training apparatuses. The normal design is that a sole is rotatably attached to an axle. On the sole there are attached belts or straps that are tightened around the foot of the user. Some of these designs also have support walls around the side of the foot and possibly behind the heel . Such pedals normally have a fixed size and are adapted to the foot of the user by means of the belts or straps. To obtai n sufficient strength in the pedal, so that the pedal is able to hold the foot, the pedal is made in a rather stiff material, i .e. a material that is rigid in shape, but with some flexibility in the material when it is exposed to stress or load .

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved pedal for use with training apparatuses, that has a better adaption to the foot of the user and can be used with a broader range of foot sizes.

This is obtained by a pedal according to the attached independent claim 1. Advantageous embodiments of the pedal are stated in the dependent claims.

According to the invention it is therefore provided a pedal comprises a sole part and straps, where the pedal furthermore comprises a first rigid or mainly rigid foot part with a rigid or mainly rigid sole part and a support part, and a second flexible foot part attached to the rigid or mainly rigid foot part along the length of the sole part, the straps will then extend from the rigid or mainly rigid foot part to the flexible foot part.

Such a pedal will combine good support in the part of the pedal facing the pedal arm or crank and the training apparatus, the cycle device, bicycle or other, whereon the pedal is attached, with a flexibility in the size of the flexible foot part, so that any user will experience a good fit of the pedal to the foot.

The above mentioned pedal can advantageously comprise an attachment device for rotatable attachment to an axle, that is provided on the underside of the mainly rigid foot part.

The axle of the crank will then lie under the foot and will not be an obstacle to movement. Furthermore, such a rotatable attachment will allow tilting of the foot about the axle of the pedal, which will give a more comfortable movement of the foot while stimulating the most possible groups of muscles.

On the above mentioned pedal, the flexible foot part can be made in a supple plastic material, a fabric material, a fibre reinforced plastic or fabric material or another flexible material that provides sufficient flexibility in combination with strength. The rigid part can for example be made in a plastic material or other synthetic material, that will maintain its shape, but provide a certain yielding under pressure. The flexible material in parts of the pedal gives a significantly better comfort for the user compared to known pedals that are made solely in non-flexible materials such as metal or rigid plastic. At the same time will the foot part in an elastic material enable a smooth adaption to any foot size and shape.

In a pedal as described above, the flexible foot part can be attached to the mainly rigid sole part with screws, glue, fusion or a combination of these methods.

However, it is essential that the fabric material has a sufficient strength to withstand relatively large stresses, for example if the user of a training apparatus with the inventive pedals suffers from strong spasms.

On such a pedal the flexible foot part is thereby able to form a sole part and an outer support part that are adapted to the foot size of any of the users of the pedal. Due to its flexible shape, the pedal can be used for a broad range of feet, both with regard to width and length, but also shape on the foot. The pedal can also be adapted to feet with malformations.

On a pedal as described above, the width of the rigid sole part will correspond to an average width of the foot of the youngest possible user of the pedal. The flexible foot part will then attend to the adaption and widening of the pedal which is necessary when a user with a larger foot as anchored to the pedal.

Thereby the invention also relates to a bicycle, a bicycle apparatus or a training apparatus comprising at least one pedal as described above and use of at least one pedal as described above for the training of persons with lowered functionality in legs.

Such a bicycle apparatus, training apparatus or bicycle or use of these will provide improved comfort and adaption for the user and will thereby contribute to improve the training experience.

A non-limiting example of a pedal according to the invention will now be further described with reference to the attached drawings where:

Figure 1 shows a perspective vies of a pedal according to the invention. Figure 2 shows the pedal in fig. 1 seen from above.

Figure 3 shows the pedal in fig. 1 seen from the front. Figure 4 shows the pedal in fig. 1 seen from the side.

It should be noted that the term mainly rigid here should be understood as something that maintains its shape during use, but holds a certain elasticity when exposed to pressure or strain. A mainly rigid foot part or sole part should therefore be understood as a foot part or sole part that holds a certain form of flexibility. It is thereby meant a foot part or sole part holding a limited ability to yield, while at the same time having sufficient strength to maintain its general form also under pressure. The rigid material in a mainly rigid foot part or sole part is therefore able to absorb both compressive and tensile forces and within normal of the pedal is able to deflect under pressure.

Figure 1 shows a pedal 1 according to the invention in a perspective view. The pedal comprises a rigid or first mainly rigid foot part 2 and a second flexible foot part 3. The first rigid or mainly rigid foot part comprises a rigid or mainly rigid sole part 4 and a rigid or mainly rigid support part 5, where the sole part 4 will lye below the foot sole of the user's foot, while the support part 5 will lie on one side of the foot. On the underside of the sole part 4, there is an attachment device 6, for rotatably attachment of an axle 7 which again is attached to a pedal arm or crank (not shown).

The other flexible foot part 3 also comprises a sole part 8 and support part

9. The sole part 8 is attached to the rigid sole part 4, so that the two sole parts together form the complete sole under the foot of the user. The two foot parts are attached to each other in the length of the foot. The rigid sole part 4 has a width that practically corresponds to the width of the youngest possible users of the pedal, e.g. the average foot width of a one year old child. The elastic foot part will then have a very narrow or almost absent sole part 8, while the most of the foot part will form the support part 9 on the one side of the foot of the user. If a user with a larger foot is using the pedal, the flexible foot part will lay under and round the foot, so that a larger part of the foot part 3 will form a sole part 8 in

prolongation of the rigid foot part 4 and a lesser part of the foot part will form the support part 9.

Two straps 10, 11 are attached to the rigid support part 5 and the flexible support part 9, respectively, in such a way that a first strap 10, i.e. the heel strap can be tightened behind the hell of the user and a second strap 11, i.e. the foot strap, is tightened over the middle part of the user's foot. The straps can be any adjustable strap, either in a fabric material or a material with a certain elasticity. The rigid foot part 2 will then give a firm power transmission between the axle 7 and the user's foot, while the flexible foot part 3 will give a smoother adaption around the user's foot so that the side support and straps of the pedal lie more comfortable around the foot of the user than on known pedals.

Fig. 2 shows the pedal in fig. 1 seen from above. The flexible foot part 3 lie under a large part of the sole part 4 of the rigid foot part 2 and can for example be attached by screws, nails, pins, glue, fusion or a combination of these. It is essential that the fixing of the two foot parts to each other form a firm connection that withstand large forces, for example if a user with strong spasms are using the pedal.

Fig. 3 shows the pedal in fig. 1 seen from the front. It is an advantage if the flexible foot part 3 lie towards the outer side of the user's foot, so that the inner side of the foot, that faces the cycle and the moving parts of this, have a stiffer protection in the form of the rigid support part 5 that the outer side of the foot, which is facing away from the training apparatus.

Fig. 4 shows the pedal in fig. 1 seen from the side facing the training apparatus or pedal arm. The axle 7 is rotatably attached to an anchoring device 6 under the pedal in such a way that a best possible tilting movement is obtained for the users of the pedal. In the shown example, the axle is shifted away from the centre of the pedal towards the hell. In other embodiments, it can be advantageous to place the axle centrally under the pedal or shifted forwards or backwards in relation to it.

The pedal is especially well suited for use with therapeutically cycles for use for persons with a diagnosis with lowered functionality in legs.

The rigid foot part 2 of the pedals can advantageously be produced in a stable plastic material in the sole part 4 in the base and support part 5 towards the inner side of the user's foot. The flexible support part 9 that lies towards the outer side of the user's foot can be produced in flexible fabric material . The fabric material of the flexible foot part is attached to the sole part 4 bottom of the pedal and extends up on the outer side of the foot of the user. The foot of the user will after being placed in the pedal 1, be attached with a strap or belt system 10, 11 behind the heel and over the upper part of the foot. The flexible fabric material will adapt ergonomically around the outside of the foot of the user. This system makes the pedal into a universal pedal. That is that the same pedal can be used with different foot sizes. Furthermore can deformed feet also be fixed in a pedal according to the invention by means of the flexible fabric material on the outer side of the foot.

Claims

1. Pedal (1) comprising sole part (4) and straps (10, 11), characterised in that the pedal (1) comprises a first rigid foot part (2) with a rigid sole part (4) and a support part (5), and a second flexible foot part (3) attached to the rigid foot part (2) along the length of the sole part (4), the straps (10, 11) extend from the rigid foot part (2) to the flexible foot part (3).

2. Pedal according to claim 1, where an anchoring device (6) for rotatable anchoring of an axle (7) is provided on the underside of the mainly rigid foot part

(2).

3. Pedal according to claim 1 or 2, where the flexible foot part (3) is made in a fabric material.

4. Pedal according to any of the preceding claims, where the flexible foot part (3) is attached to the rigid sole part (4) with screws, glue, fusion or a combination of these.

5. Pedal according to any of the preceding claims, where the flexible foot part (3) can form a sole part (8) and a support part (9) adapted to the foot size of the user of the pedal.

6. Pedal according to any of the preceding claims, where the width of the rigid sole part (4) corresponds to average size of the foot of the youngest possible user of the pedal.

7. Bicycle, cycle apparatus or training apparatus comprising at least one pedal according to one of the claims 1-6.

8. Use of at least one pedal according to one of the claims 1-6 for the training of persons with lowered functionality on legs.