ADJUSTABLE STATIONARY BICYCLE

• US 20080058170A1
• Filed: 08/28/2007
• Published: 03/06/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cycling Sports Group Incorporated (Dorel Industries Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Guru Cycles Incorporated (Dorel Industries Incorporated)
• Inventors: St-Amant, Eric, Thibault, Guy, GIANNASCOLI, Antonio
• Granted Patent: US 7,905,817 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 482/57
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 22/0605 performing a circular movement, e.g. ergometers
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/17 Counting, e.g. counting periodical movements, revolutions or cycles, or including further data processing to determine distances or speed
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/34 Angular speed
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/51 Force
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/54 Torque
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2225/09 Adjustable dimensions
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2225/096 automatically adjusted according to anthropometric data of the user
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2225/20 with means for remote communication, e.g. internet or the like
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2230/06 heartbeat rate only
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 69/16 for cycling , i.e. arrangements on or for real bicycles

Abstract

A stationary bicycle comprises a frame. A crankset is rotatably mounted to the frame to receive a pedaling actuation from a user of the stationary bicycle. A seat is mounted to the frame to support the user using the crankset in the pedaling actuation. A handlebar is mounted to the frame to serve as a hand/arm support for the user during the pedaling actuation. Translational joints between the frame and the seat and the handlebar are provided for translational displacement of the seat or handlebar with respect to the crankset. A mechanism is connected to the translational joint for locking the translational joint in a selected position, the mechanism allowing movement of the translational joint solely by a selected actuation displacing the translational joint proportionally in the direction of the translational displacement.

Claims

1. A stationary bicycle comprising:

a frame;

a crankset rotatably mounted to the frame to receive a pedaling actuation from a user of the stationary bicycle;

a seat mounted to the frame to support the user using the crankset in the pedaling actuation;

a handlebar mounted to the frame to serve as a hand/arm support for the user during the pedaling actuation;

at least one translational joint between the frame and at least one of the seat and the handlebar for translational displacement of the seat or handlebar with respect to the crankset; and

a mechanism connected to the translational joint for locking the translational joint in a selected position, the mechanism allowing movement of the translational joint solely by a selected actuation displacing the translational joint proportionally in the direction of the translational displacement.

2. The stationary bicycle according to claim 1, wherein the mechanism locking the at least one translational joint is a linear actuator.

3. The stationary bicycle according to claim 1, comprising four of said translation joint, with one of said mechanism locking each said translation joint, with two of said translational joints connecting the seat to the frame such that the seat is displaceable in a vertical direction and a horizontal direction, and with two other of said translational joints connecting the handlebar to the frame such that the handlebar is displaceable in a vertical direction and a horizontal direction.

4. A stationary bicycle control system in combination with a stationary bicycle, comprising:

a stationary bicycle comprising a crankset rotatably mounted to a frame to receive a pedaling actuation from a user of the stationary bicycle, a seat and a handlebar, at least one 1-DOF seat joint between the frame and the seat, and at least one 1-DOF handlebar joint between the frame and the handlebar;

a seat actuator to actuate the 1-DOF seat joint to cause displacement of the seat;

a handlebar actuator to actuate the 1-DOF handlebar joint to cause displacement of the handlebar;

a bicycle controller system comprising;

a user interface for entering/adjusting positions for the seat and for the handlebar;

a position commander for displacing the seat and the handlebar through actuation of the seat actuator and the handlebar actuator; and

a position calculator receiving actuation data from the position commander and calculating a position of the seat and of the handlebar so as to guide the position commander in positioning the seat and the handlebar to selected positions.

5. The stationary bicycle control system in combination with the stationary bicycle according to claim 4, comprising two of said 1-DOF seat joint between the frame and the seat, and two of said 1-DOF handlebar joint between the frame and the handlebar, with one of said seat actuator for each one of said 1-DOF seat joint and one of said handlebar actuator for each one of said 1-DOF handlebar joint to control displacement of the seat and of the handlebar in a vertical direction and a horizontal direction.

6. The stationary bicycle control system in combination with the stationary bicycle according to claim 4, wherein the bicycle controller system further comprises a profile calculator for recording a desired position for the seat and for the handlebar, the desired position being specific to a user.

7. The stationary bicycle control system in combination with the stationary bicycle according to claim 6, further comprising sensors to measure parameters associated with the user performing the pedaling actuation.

8. The stationary bicycle control system in combination with the stationary bicycle according to claim 7, wherein the profile calculator records said parameters as a function of positions of the seat and of the handlebar.

9. The stationary bicycle control system in combination with the stationary bicycle according to claim 8, wherein the parameters are at least one of a pedaling power, a pedaling cadence and a heart rate of the user.

10. The stationary bicycle control system in combination with the stationary bicycle according to claim 4, further comprising a profile database to store a profile of the user, the profile comprising at least a desired position for the seat and for the handlebar.

11. The stationary bicycle control system in combination with the stationary bicycle according to claim 4, further comprising a statistical database to store statistical data associating anthropometric data of users with desired position for the seat and for the handlebar.

12. The stationary bicycle control system in combination with the stationary bicycle according to claim 11, wherein the database is a remotely-located server.

13. The stationary bicycle control system in combination with the stationary bicycle according to claim 6, wherein the bicycle controller system has a frame size calculator for identifying suitable bicycle frames as a function of the desired position of the seat and of the handlebar.

14. A method for adjusting a stationary bicycle for a user, comprising:

providing a stationary bicycle with a seat and a handlebar related to a crankset by actuators;

obtaining anthropometric data associated with the user;

selecting a seat position and a handlebar position with respect to the crankset for the stationary bicycle, as a function of the anthropometric data associated with the user; and

displacing the seat to said selected seat position and the handlebar to said selected handlebar position relative to the crankset by actuating said actuators;

whereby the stationary bicycle is adjusted for the user.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein obtaining anthropometric data comprises recording data as manually measured on the user.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein selecting a seat position and a handlebar position comprises selecting said seat position and said handlebar position from statistical data tables as a function of said anthropometric data of the user.

17. The method according to claim 14, wherein obtaining anthropometric data comprises obtaining an existing profile of the user from a previous adjustment of the stationary bicycle.

18. The method according to claim 14, further comprising displacing any one of the seat from the selected seat position to a desired seat position, and the handlebar from the selected handlebar to a desired handlebar position by actuating said actuators as a response to adjustments entered manually.

19. The method according to claim 18, further comprising recording the adjusted seat position and the adjusted handlebar position after use of the stationary bicycle in a user profile specific to said user, for a subsequent use of the stationary bicycle.

20. The method according to claim 18, further comprising recording the adjusted seat position and the adjusted handlebar position after use of the stationary bicycle in a statistical data table as a function of the anthropometric data.

21. The method according to claim 18, further comprising calculating a bicycle frame size as a function of the adjusted seat position and the adjusted handlebar position.

22. The method according to claim 14, further comprising recording the selected seat position and the selected handlebar position after use of the stationary bicycle in a user profile specific to said user.