Rocking type exercising apparatus

• US 7,347,806 B2
• Filed: 07/26/2005
• Issued: 03/25/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/27/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Electric Works Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Works Ltd (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Sasaki, Hideki, Shirasawa, Naoto, Mihara, Izumi, Toyomi, Yuritugu, Tsuji, Keiko, Ishino, Kouiti, Nakanishi, Ryusuke, Nakano, Toshio, Kawamoto, Minoru, Hojo, Hiroyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Crow; Stephen R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lewin; Allana
• Application Number:
  US11/188,666
• Publication Number:
  US 20060025226A1
• Time in Patent Office: 973 Days
• Field of Search: 472 95- 97, 472/130, 472 59- 61, 446/7, 446/29, 446/396, 434/55, 434/62, 434/64, 434/65, 434/247, 482/51, 2972601-2602
• US Class Current: 482/51
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 23/0211 moving torso with immobilized lower limbs
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 23/0227 moving torso or lower limbs laterally, i.e. substantially in the frontal plane
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 23/0233 Muscles of the back, e.g. by an extension of the body against a resistance, reverse crunch
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 24/00 Electric or electronic controls for exercising apparatus of preceding groups; Controlling or monitoring of exercises, sportive games, training or athletic performances
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 26/003 for improving balance or equilibrium balance beams A63B4/00; apparatus for rope dancing A63B7/08; balancing drums, balancing boards or the like A63B22/16
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 69/0053 Apparatus generating random stimulus signals for reaction-time training involving a substantial physical effort
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 69/04 simulating the movement of horses toy animals for riding A63G19/00

Abstract

A wedge-shaped tilt provider is attached in contact with the bottom surface of a seat and the upper surface of a seat connection member of a rocking mechanism to set the seat to an initial inclined position relative to a reference position. By setting the seat to a forwardly inclined position from a horizontal position where the seated surface of the seat is set horizontal, the user straddling the seat can increase the amount of muscle activity of his or her rectus muscle of abdomen, or abdominal muscle. Further, by setting the seat to a rearwardly inclined position, the user straddling the seat can increase the amount of muscle activity of his or her back muscle such as paraspinal muscle. With use of a rocking type exercising apparatus having the above construction, a stress of exercise simulating horseback riding is given to the user by changing the position of the seat relative to the reference position by a certain degree of inclination, while rocking the seat which the user straddles, whereby the user is selectively provided with an exercising effect onto a specific site of his or her body.

Claims

1. A rocking type exercising apparatus comprising:

a seat which is to be straddled by a user;

a tilt provider which provides the seat with a predetermined inclination angle relative to a reference position, said seat having the predetermined inclination angle as an initial state; and

a rocker which provides a reciprocal rocking motion to the seat during use of the rocking type exercising apparatus with respect to the initial state thereof to apply a stress of exercise to the user,

wherein said rocker includes a top surface on which said tilt provider is mounted,

said tilt provider includes a top surface on which said seat is mounted, and

said predetermined inclination angle of said seat at said initial state with respect to the top surface of the rocker is inclined from a horizontal plane and is maintained during the reciprocal rocking motion of said rocker.

2. The exercising apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the reference position includes a horizontal position where a seated surface of the seat is set horizontal.

3. The exercising apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising

a memory which stores a pattern of changing the inclination angle of the seat,

wherein the tilt provider changes the inclination angle of the seat with time in response to an output from the memory in an exercising.

4. The exercising apparatus according to claim 3, wherein

the memory stores a plurality of patterns of changing the inclination angle of the seat with time, the exercising apparatus further comprising a selecting section which outputs a signal to the memory to select a desired pattern of changing the inclination angle of the seat.

5. The exercising apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the pattern of changing the inclination angle of the seat stored in the memory causes the seat to hold the horizontal position for a predetermined period when the seat is set to the horizontal position in changing the inclination angle of the seat with time.

6. The exercising apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the tilt provider returns the seat to the horizontal position and retains the seat at the horizontal position when the exercising is terminated.

7. The exercising apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the memory stores a pattern of changing the rocking speed of the seat with time along with the pattern of changing the inclination angle of the seat.

8. The exercising apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a base member including a leg table, and a leg portion which is extendable and contractible on the leg table;

a pair of left and right stirrups which hang from a left side and a right side of the seat, respectively; and

a rein which is attached to a front portion of the seat.

9. The exercising apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the rein is set to an accommodated position when the user puts the rein down, and is set to an upright position when the user raises the rein upward, the rein having such a construction that forward displacement with respect to the upright position is restrained during the use of the exercising apparatus.

10. The exercising apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said tilt provider includes an elevating member which varies a height of a rear end of the seat.

11. The exercising apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said tilt provider includes a wedge-shaped tilting member which is positioned underneath the seat so that the seat can be inclined forward or backward.

12. The exercising apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said tilt provider includes an eccentric rotary disk provided underneath the seat and in contact with the seat, and a motor which drives the eccentric rotary disk so that height of the seat can be varied.

13. A rocking type exercising apparatus comprising:

a seat which is to be straddled by a user;

a tilt provider which provides the seat with a predetermined inclination relative to a reference position;

a rocker which rocks the seat during use of the rocking type exercising apparatus with respect to the initial state thereof in the inclination to apply a stress of exercise to the user; and

a base member,

wherein the rocker includes;

a lateral rocking mechanism which is placed on the base member, and adapted to rock the seat about an axis extending in a longitudinal direction of the seat; and

a longitudinal rocking mechanism which is carried by the lateral rocking mechanism, and adapted to rock the seat in the opposite longitudinal directions of the seat, and includes a front link member and a rear link member that are pivotable in longitudinal directions,

wherein the tilt provider includes;

a driver which drives the rear link member of the longitudinal rocking mechanism,

wherein the lateral rocking mechanism includes;

a pair of front and rear pin support flange members which are arranged in the longitudinal direction and fixedly attached to the base member;

a casing unit having a front plate, a rear plate, and a pair of side plates to define a space therein, the front plate and the rear plate being pivotally connected to the front and rear pin support flange members, respectively by pins;

a motor provided in the casing; and

a first shaft which is provided between the both side plates of the casing unit, and is formed with an eccentric pin passing one of the both side plates, and is driven by the motor so that the eccentric pin allows the passing side plate to move in vertical directions to thereby cause a lateral rocking movement of the seat about the pins, and

wherein the longitudinal rocking mechanism further includes;

a second shaft which is provided between the both side plates and is driven by the motor, at least one end of the second shaft extending through the one side plate;

an eccentric crank member which is attached to the one end of the second shaft; and

an arm link member which connects the eccentric crank member with the front link member.

14. A rocking type exercising apparatus comprising:

a seat which is to be straddled by a user;

a tilt provider which provides the seat with a predetermined inclination relative to a reference position, said seat with the predetermined inclination comprising an initial state;

a rocker which provides a reciprocal rocking motion to the seat during use of the rocking type exercising apparatus with respect to the initial state thereof to apply a stress of exercise to the user; and

a base member,

wherein the rocker includes;

a lateral rocking mechanism which is placed on the base member, and adapted to rock the seat about an axis extending in a longitudinal direction of the seat; and

a longitudinal rocking mechanism which is carried by the lateral rocking mechanism, and adapted to rock the seat in the opposite longitudinal directions of the seat, and includes a front link member and a rear link member that are pivotable in longitudinal directions,

wherein the tilt provider includes;

a driver which drives the rear link member of the longitudinal rocking mechanism, and

wherein the lateral rocking mechanism includes;

a pair of front and rear pin support flange members which are arranged in the longitudinal direction and fixedly attached to the base member;

a casing unit having a front plate, a rear plate, and a pair of side plates to define a space therein, the front plate and the rear plate being pivotally connected to the front and rear pin support flange members, respectively by pins;

a motor provided in the casing; and

a first shaft which is provided between the both side plates of the casing unit, and is formed with an eccentric pin passing one of the both side plates, and is driven by the motor so that the eccentric pin allows the passing side plate to move in vertical directions to thereby cause a lateral rocking movement of the seat about the pins;

wherein the longitudinal rocking mechanism further includes;

a second shaft which is provided between the both side plates and is driven by the motor, at least one end of the second shaft extending through the one side plate;

an eccentric crank member which is attached to the one end of the second shaft; and

an arm link member which connects the eccentric crank member with the front link member.