Gymnastic Machine Regulating Group for Safe Position Adjustment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing gymnastic machines face challenges in safely and easily adjusting the initial operating position of their interfaces, often requiring bulky and potentially dangerous mechanical couplings that obstruct user safety and comfort during exercises.
Innovation Solution
A gymnastic machine with a regulating group that includes a four-bar linkage and a return device with a pulley system, allowing users to adjust the interface's position remotely and safely, with a closed mechanical circuit connecting the return device and transmission system, ensuring stable tension and preventing injuries.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a direct mechanical coupling device is used to adjust the initial operating position of the interface, then the adjusting function is achieved, but the device becomes bulky and potentially dangerous to user safety
Solution Approach 1:
The regulating device is divided into two independent regulating members: a first regulating member (selectable element) and a second regulating member (blocking element). This segmentation allows the adjusting function to be separated from the blocking function, enabling remote operation away from the user while maintaining safety. The first regulating member can be positioned remotely from the exercising station, eliminating the danger of accidental engagement.
Solution Approach 2:
A mechanical transmission system acts as an intermediary between the regulating members and the interface. This transmission includes a pulley system with a closed mechanical circuit that connects the first and second regulating members to the interface through cables and pulleys. The intermediary transmission allows the user to adjust the interface position from a safe distance while maintaining precise control through the mechanical linkage.
2Ease of operation
If a direct mechanical coupling device is used to adjust the initial operating position, then the adjusting function is achieved, but the device size and bulk increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces bulky direct mechanical coupling with a cable-pulley mechanical transmission system. The closed mechanical circuit uses flexible cables and pulleys to transmit force and motion over distance, substituting rigid mechanical linkages with more space-efficient flexible elements. This reduces the overall device bulk while maintaining the adjusting function.
Solution Approach 2:
The mechanical transmission system utilizes spatial arrangement in multiple dimensions, positioning pulleys and cables in three-dimensional space to achieve compact configuration. The closed circuit allows the transmission elements to route around the frame structure, effectively using available space more efficiently and reducing the device's footprint.
3Ease of operation
If the regulating device is positioned near the user during exercise, then the adjusting function is accessible, but the risk of accidental engagement increases
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the regulating device into two separate regulating members connected through a mechanical transmission, the patent enables the first regulating member to be positioned remotely from the exercising station. The user can operate the first regulating member from a safe distance, eliminating the risk of accidental engagement while maintaining accessibility of the adjusting function.
Solution Approach 2:
The mechanical transmission system serves as an intermediary that transmits the user's input from a remote location to the interface. This allows the regulating device to be positioned away from the user's body during exercise, reducing accidental engagement risk while maintaining ease of operation through the transmission mechanism.
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 define the initial operating position easily and safely, reducing bulk and enhancing safety by housing critical components in a protected area, preventing accidental engagement and maintaining consistent load tension, thus improving user safety and machine design.
Implementation Method 1
a return device (21) having a pulley system and a closed mechanical circuit connecting the return device and the transmission system
Implementation Method 2
a four-bar linkage and a return device with a pulley system, allowing users to adjust the interface's position remotely and safely
Data Source
AI summary
Regulating group for adjusting the initial operating position of an interface associated with a gymnastic machine comprising a frame; a load group connected to the interface through a respective transmission device; a support group designed to carry the interface movable relative to the frame; the regulating group comprising a return device suitable, in use, to define, at the initial operating position, a stop for the movement of the interface relative to the frame; wherein the return device can be connected, in use, to the transmission device through a given coupling, so that to each variation in the initial operating position actuated through the return device corresponds a respective given variation in the operating configuration of the transmission device.