Skating Simulator Foot Pedal Non-Circular Arcuate Movement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing skating simulators fail to accurately replicate the natural ankle movement during skating, leading to potential injuries and limited training effectiveness due to unnatural pronation and supination of the ankles.
Innovation Solution
A skating simulator with a foot pedal design that allows non-circular arcuate movement in both longitudinal and transverse directions, maintaining the foot in a neutral position, and incorporating a restriction link for pivoting about primary and secondary lateral axes to mimic the correct bio-mechanical ankle position throughout the skating motion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional skating simulators use linear lateral motion mechanisms, then the device can simulate skating movement, but the ankle undergoes unnatural pronation and supination causing injury
Solution Approach 1:
The foot pedal assembly incorporates dynamic movement capabilities with multiple degrees of freedom, allowing the foot pad to move not only laterally but also in longitudinal and vertical directions. This dynamic design enables the ankle to maintain a more natural, neutral position throughout the skating motion cycle, eliminating the harmful fixed-axis pronation and supination of traditional linear lateral motion machines.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from the traditional single-dimensional lateral linear motion to a multi-dimensional movement system. The foot pad can move laterally, longitudinally, and vertically, creating an elliptical or figure-eight motion path that better replicates the complex three-dimensional ankle mechanics of actual skating, thereby preventing injury while maintaining training effectiveness.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the foot pedal allows only lateral linear motion, then the device structure is simple, but it cannot replicate the full range of skating movements
Solution Approach 1:
The foot pedal assembly is segmented into multiple independent movement components: a carriage that moves laterally along a rail, a foot pad that can move longitudinally and vertically relative to the carriage, and linkage mechanisms that coordinate these movements. This segmentation allows each component to handle a specific aspect of the skating motion, achieving full three-dimensional movement simulation while keeping the overall structure manageable through modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
The foot pedal employs dynamic linkage mechanisms including pivoting arms, connecting rods, and cam-follower systems that automatically coordinate the lateral, longitudinal, and vertical movements of the foot pad. These dynamic mechanisms translate the simple lateral carriage motion into the complex multi-axis foot pad trajectory required for accurate skating simulation, adding functionality without proportionally increasing structural complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention is a skating simulator 10 having a frame 20, a longitudinally extending rail 30, a carriage 40, and a foot pedal 50. The rail 30 is attached to the frame 20. The carriage 40 operably engages the rail 30 for reciprocating along a path 60 along the rail 30. The foot pedal 50 is attached to the carriage 40. The foot pedal 50 has an intermediate member 51, a foot pad 52, means for attaching the foot pad 52 to the intermediate member 51 allowing non circular arcuate movement of the foot pad 52 in relation to the intermediate member 51 in the longitudinal direction X and transverse direction Z.