Exercising apparatus

Abstract

An exercising apparatus which enables a user to perform stepping exercises and waist twisting exercises simultaneously. The apparatus is provided with an electric motor without an increase in its size and cost, and this enables the user to perform effective exercises. The exercising apparatus ( 1 ) has left and right footboards ( 2 L, 2 R); an oscillation mechanism ( 10 ) for making the left and right footboards ( 2 L, 2 R) oscillate vertically about an oscillating spindle ( 27 ) provided on the front side of the left and right footboards ( 2 L, 2 R); a swing mechanism ( 11 ) for making the left and right footboards ( 2 L, 2 R) swing in a reciprocating fashion in the left-right direction with the boards ( 2 L, 2 R) maintained adjacent to each other, the boards ( 2 L, 2 R) swinging about a swing spindle ( 15 ) having a vertical axis; and an electric motor ( 12 ) for driving the oscillating mechanism ( 10 ) and the swing mechanism ( 11 ) simultaneously.

1 . An exercising apparatus comprising:
 left and right footboards provided to be adjacent to each other;   an oscillation mechanism vertically oscillating the left and right footboards around an oscillation spindle, the oscillation spindle being provided on a front side of each of the left and right footboards with a central axis of the oscillation spindle extending along a left-right direction;   a swing mechanism swinging said left and right footboards around a swing spindle along the left-right direction in a reciprocating fashion while said left and right footboards are kept adjacent to each other, the swing spindle being provided with a central axis of the swing spindle extending along a vertical direction; and   an electric motor simultaneously driving said oscillation mechanism and said swing mechanism.   
     
     
         2 . The exercising apparatus according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein said swing mechanism includes an installation base plate and a movable base plate, the movable base plate being arranged in parallel to the installation base plate and being swingable around the swing spindle provided on the installation base plate perpendicularly, and   the left and right footboards, the oscillation mechanism and the electric motor are provided on said movable base plate.   
     
     
         3 . The exercising apparatus according to  claim 2 ,
 wherein said oscillation mechanism includes   an elongated hole provided in rear of and lower surfaces of the left and right footboards so as to be along a front-rear direction;   a vertical drive shaft having a central axis of the vertical drive shaft extending along the left-right direction, said vertical drive shaft being fitted into said elongated hole; and   a rotation drive shaft having a central axis of the rotation drive shaft extending along the left-right direction, said vertical drive shaft being attached to the rotation drive shaft in an eccentric state.   
     
     
         4 . The exercising apparatus according to  claim 3 ,
 wherein said oscillation spindle is provided to cross said swing spindle, and is swingable around the swing spindle in an interlocking manner with left-right swing of the movable base plate.   
     
     
         5 . The exercising apparatus according to  claim 4 ,
 wherein said oscillation mechanism includes an elastic member provided on each of the lower surfaces of the left and right footboards and urging each of the left and right footboards upward.   
     
     
         6 . The exercising apparatus according to  claim 5 ,
 wherein a single electric motor is arranged between said left and right footboards, and the rotation drive shaft protrudes toward both of left and right sides of the single electric motor.   
     
     
         7 . The exercising apparatus according to  claim 6 ,
 wherein said swing mechanism includes a guide mechanism provided between the installation base plate and the movable base plate, and holding a gap between the installation base plate and the movable base plate to be constant.   
     
     
         8 . The exercising apparatus according to  claim 7 ,
 wherein said swing mechanism includes a power conversion mechanism extracting a left-right swing movement from a vertical movement of each of the footboards generated by the oscillation mechanism, and   said power conversion mechanism is provided between each of the left and right footboards and the installation base plate.   
     
     
         9 . The exercising apparatus according to  claim 8 ,
 wherein said power conversion mechanism includes   an inclined cam arranged on the installation base plate along a virtual circular arc centering around the swing spindle; and   a slider provided on each of the lower surfaces of the left and right footboards, and sliding on an inclined surface of said inclined cam.   
     
     
         10 . The exercising apparatus according to  claim 9 ,
 wherein the inclined surface having a height larger as the inclined surface is farther from said swing spindle is formed on said inclined cam.   
     
     
         11 . The exercising apparatus according to  claim 10 ,
 wherein said movable base plate includes a pair of left and right notches on both ends of said movable base plate, respectively, the pair of left and right notches being notched toward a center side of the movable base plate, and   when said movable base plate swings counterclockwise, the inclined cam provided below the left footboard is located in the left notch, and when said movable base plate swings clockwise, the inclined cam provided below the right footboard is located in the right notch.   
     
     
         12 . The exercising apparatus according to  claim 11 ,
 wherein a rail member is provided on each of the lower surfaces of said footboards and an elongated hole being along the front-rear direction is provided in the rail member.   
     
     
         13 . The exercising apparatus according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the swing spindle of said swing mechanism is arranged to be located almost just under a user getting on the left and right footboards in a standing attitude.   
     
     
         14 . The exercising apparatus according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the swing spindle of said swing mechanism is arranged at a position between the left and right footboards and corresponding to almost a front-rear center of each of the footboards.   
     
     
         15 . The exercising apparatus according to  claim 2 ,
 wherein the swing spindle of said swing mechanism is arranged at a position of almost a front-rear center of the installation base plate and of almost a left-right center of the installation base plate.   
     
     
         16 . The exercising apparatus according to  claim 15 ,
 wherein said installation base plate is formed into a circular shape or a shape approximate to the circular shape in a plan view.   
     
     
         17 . The exercising apparatus according to  claim 13 ,
 wherein said oscillation mechanism includes   a guide rail provided on each of the lower surfaces of the left and right footboards on an opposite side to the oscillation spindle so as to be along the front-rear direction;   a rail insertion part slidably fitted into the guide rail;   an annular wheel holder provided on a lower portion side of the rail insertion part;   a crank wheel held rotatably by the wheel holder while a central axis of the crank wheel is along the left-right direction; and   a rotation drive shaft provided at an eccentric position with the crank wheel while a central axis of the rotation drive shaft is along the left-right direction.   
     
     
         18 . The exercising apparatus according to  claim 13 ,
 wherein said swing mechanism includes a power conversion mechanism extracting a left-right swing movement from a vertical movement of each of the footboards generated by said oscillation mechanism, and   said power conversion mechanism includes a connection rod connecting each of the footboards to the installation base plate, one end of the connection rod being connected to a side portion of each of said footboards in rear of the oscillation spindle via a first universal joint, other end of the connection rod being connected to the installation base plate via a second universal joint.   
     
     
         19 . The exercising apparatus according to  claim 18 ,
 wherein each of said first universal joint and said second universal joint is constituted by a ball joint.   
     
     
         20 . The exercising apparatus according to  claim 19 ,
 wherein said power conversion mechanism is provided to correspond to each of the left and right footboards.   
     
     
         21 . The exercising apparatus according to  claim 19 ,
 wherein said power conversion mechanism is provided between the left and right footboards.   
     
     
         22 . The exercising apparatus according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the single electric motor is arranged between said left and right footboards and a rotation drive shaft protrudes toward both of left and right sides of the single electric motor.   
     
     
         23 . The exercising apparatus according to  claim 18 ,
 wherein said swing mechanism includes a guide mechanism provided between the installation base plate and the movable base plate and holding a gap between the installation base plate and the movable base plate to be constant.