Programmable physical exercise apparatus with inertia

A physical exercise apparatus comprising a stand;

• a rotary member mounted on the stand so as to be able to turn freely about a horizontal pin;
• an inertia flywheel coupled to the rotary member;
• a strap clamped around part of the perimeter of the inertia flywheel, and attached at one end to a pin fixed to the stand and attached at its opposite end to the end of a spring, the other end of the spring being connected to an adjustable traction device mounted on the stand in such a way as to exert a predetermined tensile force on the spring and strap;
• a device coupled mechanically to said inertia flywheel for measuring the change in the drive torque relative to the braking force exerted by the inertia flywheel and for producing an electrical signal representing the said change;
• said device for measuring the change in the drive torque relative to the braking force comprising a drive pinion designed to be driven by a pedal drive mechanism and a pulley coupled mechanically to the inertia flywheel;
• said pulley being also coupled to the drive pinion by means of a number of compressed springs, each spring being held between a first ball fixed to the drive pinion and a second ball fixed to the pulley;
• a number of first annular segments fixed to the perimeter of the pulley and a number of second annular segments fixed to the perimeter of the pinion;
• the said first and second annular segments being arranged in such a way that the mutually confronting ends of each first annular segment and the consecutive second annular segment are separated, forming a slot which is proportional to the braking force;
• and
• a device for measuring the length of said slots and for producing electrical signals representing the change in length of said slots.