Adjustable Resistance Assemblies for Exercise Machines
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional exercise machines, such as stationary bicycles and treadmills, lack the ability to adjust resistance levels quickly and accurately, resulting in an unsatisfactory workout experience due to slow and imprecise resistance settings.
Innovation Solution
A system that includes a computer-configured method for receiving user selections through a human-machine interface, allowing for macro-level resistance adjustments and micro-level refinements using a resistance assembly coupled with the flywheel of a bicycle or the belt speed/incline of a treadmill, enabling precise control of resistance force via an electric motor or electromagnetic brake.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional resistance adjustment mechanisms are used, then the device structure remains simple, but the resistance adjustment speed and precision are slow and inaccurate
Solution Approach 1:
The resistance adjustment is divided into two independent levels: macro-adjustment through a human-machine interface with predefined resistance levels, and micro-adjustment through a manual selector for fine-tuning. This segmentation allows each subsystem to be optimized independently, achieving high precision without excessive overall complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces conventional purely mechanical resistance adjustment mechanisms with a hybrid system that incorporates electronic control through a human-machine interface. The controller receives electronic signals and adjusts resistance accordingly, providing faster and more precise adjustment while reducing mechanical complexity.
2Speed
If conventional resistance adjustment mechanisms are used, then the device structure remains simple, but the resistance adjustment speed is slow
Solution Approach 1:
The resistance adjustment system is made dynamically responsive through the human-machine interface, which can rapidly change resistance levels based on user input. The electronic control system responds immediately to adjustment commands, enabling fast resistance changes during exercise without the delays inherent in mechanical adjustment mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
Electronic control systems replace slow mechanical adjustment mechanisms, enabling rapid resistance changes through digital signal processing and electronic actuation. This substitution dramatically increases adjustment speed while the modular architecture keeps overall system complexity manageable.
3Adaptability or versatility
If conventional resistance adjustment mechanisms are used, then the device structure remains simple, but the workout effectiveness is reduced due to inaccurate resistance settings
Solution Approach 1:
The manual selector provides localized fine-tuning capability within each macro-resistance level. Users can make precise local adjustments to resistance values, enabling highly customized workout parameters tailored to specific training needs, while the overall system structure remains relatively simple through this targeted enhancement.
Solution Approach 2:
By dividing resistance control into macro-level and micro-level adjustments, the system enables sophisticated workout customization without requiring a completely complex adjustment mechanism. Each level serves a specific purpose, and their combination provides versatile workout options with manageable system complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables users to rapidly change and fine-tune resistance levels, providing a more effective and customizable workout experience by allowing quick transitions between resistance settings and incremental adjustments, thereby enhancing the intensity and effectiveness of the exercise.
Implementation Method 1
resistance assembly coupled with the flywheel of a bicycle or the belt speed/incline of a treadmill, enabling precise control of resistance force via an electric motor or electromagnetic brake
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to selectively adjustable speed and incline levels for treadmills. An example treadmill includes a platform around which a belt rotates, a drive motor for controlling a speed of rotation of the belt, a linear motor for controlling an incline of the platform, a human machine interface configured to receive from a user a first selection regarding at least one of the speed of rotation of the belt and the incline of the platform, at least one manual lever configured to receive from the user a second selection to respectively refine the first selection, and at least one controller that selectively changes the speed of rotation of the belt or the incline of the platform based on the first selection received by the human machine interface, and selectively and respectively refines the first selection based on the second selection received by the at least one manual lever.