Method and device for pedalling
AssigneeDreamslide
InventorJean-Marc Gobillard
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A pedalling method and device for a user in standing position. The device includes a drive shaft whereof the rotation about its axis is coupled with the rotation of two right and left pedals. The pedals are mutually assembled via a plurality of cranks, connecting rods, and pivots such that: the pedals can travel freely along a circular path, for a constant rotational speed of the shaft, the speeds of the pedals are recurrent at equal time intervals but out of phase, minimal at lower dead center, maximal at upper dead center, and when the pedals are simultaneously at a common height lower than that of the center of the trajectory, the speeds of the pedals are equal. The vertical oscillation of the center of gravity of a user in standing position is reduced compared to a conventional pedal assembly.
Claims26
A pedalling method for causing a drive shaft (2) to rotate by means of two pedals (10, 30, 60, 80) operated with a time delay (43) between them along respective closed curved trajectories (12, 40, 41, 42) having a top part and a bottom part on either side of a plane where the pedals are at equal height, comprising
- transmitting the movement of the pedals to the shaft by means of a transmission mechanism which defines for each pedal, upon the angular speed of rotation of the drive shaft about an axis of the drive shaft being constant, a higher average speed in the top part than in the bottom part, such that the plane of equal height of the pedals is below the mid-height of the closed trajectories,
- wherein the speeds (45, 46) of the pedals are approximately equal when they are in the plane of equal height.
A device implementing a method causing a drive shaft (2) to rotate by means of two pedals (10, 30, 60, 80) operated with a time delay (43) between them along respective closed curved trajectories (12, 40, 41, 42) having a top part and a bottom part on either side of a plane where the pedals are at equal height, by transmitting the movement of the pedals to the shaft by means of a transmission mechanism which defines for each pedal, upon the angular speed of rotation of the drive shaft about an axis of the drive shaft being constant, a higher average speed in the top part than in the bottom part, such that the plane of equal height of the pedals is below the mid-height of the closed trajectories, the device comprising:
- coupling means for coupling a rotation of a drive shaft (2) about the axis (9) to the time-shifted movements of a right pedal (10, 30) and left pedal (60, 80), and
- guide means for limiting the movement of each pedal to a closed curved trajectory (12, 40, 41, 42) having a top part and a bottom part on either side of a plane where the pedals are at equal height,
- wherein the coupling means and the guide means form part of a transmission mechanism which defines for each pedal, upon the angular speed of rotation of the drive shaft about the axis being constant, a greater average speed in the top part than in the bottom part, such that the plane of equal height is below the mid-height of the closed trajectories,
- wherein the transmission mechanism is suited to substantially equalizing the speeds (45, 46) of the pedals (10, 30, 60, 80) when they are in the plane of equal height.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.