An epicyclic gear system features a cylindrical flywheel with a flywheel cavity, a plurality of mounting pillars, an annular ring gear mounted on the mounting pillars, and an annular sun gear mounted to and extending from the flywheel cavity. The epicyclic gear system has a planet carrier mounted to an axle shaft and a planet gear mounted to the planet carrier. The axle shaft passes through an axle aperture, a ring gear aperture, and a sun gear aperture. The planet gear engages the ring gear and the sun gear to provide a desired gear ratio for rotating the flywheel via rotation of the axle shaft, the planet carrier, the planet gear, and the sun gear.

Described herein are embodiments of stationary exercise machines having reciprocating foot and/or hand members, such as foot pedals that move in a closed loop path. Some embodiments can include reciprocating foot pedals that cause a user's feet to move along a closed loop path that is substantially inclined, such that the foot motion simulates a climbing motion more than a flat walking or running motion. Some embodiments can further include reciprocating handles that are configured to move in coordination with the foot via a linkage to a crank wheel also coupled to the foot pedals. Variable resistance can be provided via a rotating air-resistance based mechanism, via a magnetism based mechanism, and/or via other mechanisms, one or more of which can be rapidly adjustable while the user is using the machine.

The present invention provides a treadmill for allowing an exerciser to perform walking or running exercise on an endless belt. The treadmill is selected to be operated in a forward movement mode or in a reverse movement mode. In the reverse movement mode, a control unit of the treadmill controls a driving device to drive a top surface of the endless belt to slide forward for allowing the exerciser to simulate backward walking. When a detecting device detects that the exerciser enters a warning area in front of a normal range of movement, a reaction mechanism would be triggered to control the driving device to slow down or stop the endless belt. In the forward movement mode, the control unit controls the driving device to drive the top surface of the endless belt to slide backward and to disable the reaction mechanism.

A foldable treadmill includes a treadbase having two short sides and two long sides, a base frame extended in the extending direction of the short sides of the treadbase and supported on a supporting surface, a linkage unit coupled between the treadbase and the base frame, and a retractable unit including a pivot-connection portion pivotally connected to the base frame and a retractable member interlocking with the linkage unit and movable relative to the pivot-connection portion between a retracted position where the long sides of the treadbase are disposed in proximity to the supporting surface and an extended position where the long sides of said treadbase are disposed far from the supporting surface and the position of the linkage unit is shifted with the retractable member to reduce the clearance between the linkage unit and the treadbase to minimize space occupation.

A vertical stepping machine includes a frame, a crank wheel connected to the frame, a crank wheel connected to the frame, a pedal beam having a first end and a second end, wherein the first end is in mechanical communication with the crank wheel, a pedal connected to the second end of the pedal beam, a linkage assembly connected to the frame and to the pedal beam, an arm support rotatably connected to the frame, an arm linkage connecting the arm support to the linkage assembly, and a rotary resistance mechanism positioned above the crank wheel when the vertical stepping machine is in an upright orientation. The pedal beam moves in an elliptical path when the crank wheel rotates and the elliptical path has a vertical major axis and a horizontal minor axis when the vertical stepping machine is in an upright position.

A stationary exercise bicycle pedal system that can be easily manually modified during an exercise routine to greatly expand the number of different muscle groups that are stimulated during the exercise routine. The stationary exercise bicycle pedal system includes laterally adjustable and selectively positionable pedals received on elongated support shafts. Adjustable pedal stops are received on each elongated support shaft and are provided on each side of each pedal to lock or hold the respective pedal in a specific location along the respective elongated support shaft. The adjustable pedal stops are manually adjustable along a length of the respective elongated support shaft so that the respective pedal can be selectively positioned anywhere along the respective elongated support shaft and varied during the exercise routine.

A walking trainer includes a linear transmission unit including two carriages, and two pedal units each including a pedal holder, which includes a bottom frame carried on one respective carriage, upright posts mounted at the bottom frame and a top block mounted on and movable up and down along the upright posts, a rotary shaft mounted in the top block in a direction perpendicular to the upright posts and a pedal mounted on the rotary shaft and biasable with the rotary shaft relative to the pedal holder. Thus, the pedals of the pedal units can be moved with the respective carriages linearly and alternatively back and forth, on the other hand, and can also be moved with the associating top blocks up and down and biased with the respective rotary shafts relative to the respective pedal holders to simulate the walking gait path.

An elliptical exercise machine includes a resisting unit disposed at a front of a frame unit and having two cranks and a resisting member rotatable synchronously, two linking units each having a handle rod, an adjusting rod, a pedal rod, a swing rod, a first linking rod, a second linking rod and a third linking rod such that the pedal rod is suspended by the handle rod and the third linking rod to move along an elliptical route, and an adjusting unit having an adjusting tube which is pivotably connected to the adjusting rod and which is shiftable to adjust the position of the adjusting rod so as to adjust the elliptical route and the span between foot pedals on the pedal rods.

An exercise apparatus comprising: a foot support, a user interface that includes a visual display, the foot support being movable by the user on the frame back and forth through any one of a plurality of complete, reproducible and different arc segments of a master arcuate path, the foot support being interconnected to a selection device that enables the user to select any one of the plurality of arc segments, one or more detectors adapted to detect one or more of force, energy or power exerted by the user over time on the foot support or distance or velocity of travel of the foot support or resistance assembly during the course of the user's performance of all or a portion of an exercise cycle, the visual display displaying a visually recognizable format of one or more of the force, energy, power, distance, time or velocity.

A stationary exercise machine according to the present disclosure may include a frame, a crankshaft rotatable supported by the frame, first and second lower linkages, and first and second crank arms connected to opposite sides of the crankshaft such that rotation of either of the first or second crank arm causes rotation of the crankshaft. Each of the first and second lower linkages may be operatively connected to the crankshaft and to a respective one of first and second pedals. Each of the first and second lower linkages may include a reciprocating member operatively connecting the respective one of the pedals with respective one of the crank arms. In some examples, each of the first and second lower linkages may include an adjustable linkage connected between the reciprocating member and the respective crank arm, the adjustable linkage operable to vary a distance between an output end of the reciprocating member and an input end of the crank arm. In some examples, each of the pedals may be pivotally connected to the respective reciprocating members.