Cycling Training Device

Abstract

The present invention relates to a cycling training device intended to support a bicycle equipped with a front part and a rear part on front and rear articulated supports respectively, which are incorporated into a frame, said articulated supports allowing the swinging movements of the bicycle in at least one longitudinal and/or transverse plane with respect to the frame.

Claims

1. A cycling training device intended to facilitate the coupling of a bicycle equipped with a front part, a rear part and a transmission connected to pedals, wherein the cycling training device comprises: an elongate frame equipped with a front area and a rear area, a front articulated support configured to support the front part of the bicycle, and which has the capacity for swinging movement in a plane transverse to the frame and/or in a plane longitudinal to the frame, which is equipped with first joints connected to the front area of the frame, a front central body equipped with a first articulated adapter intended to support the front part of the bicycle, and first connecting rods that each articulate at one of the ends thereof on both sides of the front central body, and at the opposite ends thereof, each of the first joints, in such a way that the swinging movement of the bicycle causes the integral movement of the front central body and which in turn determines the rotation and variation in the inclination of the first connecting rods, giving rise to the swinging movement of the front articulated support in the plane transverse to the frame; and a rear articulated support that has the capacity for swinging movement in a plane transverse to the frame and/or in a plane longitudinal to the frame in coordination with the swinging movement of the front articulated support, said rear articulated support intended to be linked to the rear part of the bicycle, and which is equipped with second joints connected to the rear area of the frame, a rear central body which has a second articulated adapter intended to support the rear part of the bicycle, and second connecting rods that each articulate at one of the ends thereof on both sides of the rear central body_, and at the opposite ends thereof, each of the second joints, in such a way that the swinging movement of the bicycle causes the integral movement of the rear central body and which in turn determines the rotation and variation in the inclination of the second connecting rods giving rise to the swinging movement of the rear articulated support in the plane transverse to the frame.

2. The cycling training device according to claim 1, wherein the cycling training device additionally comprises a resistance unit that rests on the rear articulated support or on the bicycle and that is intended to be connected to the bicycle transmission, equipped with: a wheel that can be coupled to the transmission of the bicycle, which rotates said wheel by the action of the pedals, a braking assembly connected to the wheel that regulates the braking intensity on the wheel, and a casing that fully or partially encloses the braking assembly and the wheel.

3. The cycling training device according to claim 2, wherein the front area of the frame comprises one or more front posts that enable the support of a front crossbar and wherein the first joints are connected to the front posts or the front crossbar.

4. The cycling training device according to claim 3, wherein the front area of the frame additionally comprises a front transverse reinforcement connected to the front posts and one or more front tubular portions that extend backwards from said front posts.

5. The cycling training device according to claim 4, wherein the rear area of the frame additionally comprises one or more rear posts that enable the support of a rear crossbar and wherein the second joints are connected to the rear posts or the rear crossbar.

6. The cycling training device according to claim 5, wherein the rear area of the frame additionally comprises a rear transverse reinforcement connected to the rear posts and one or more rear tubular portions that extend forward from said rear posts.

7. The cycling training device according to claim 6, wherein the frame additionally comprises an intermediate area that couples with the front tubular portions at a first end and with the rear tubular portions at a second end in a telescopic manner to facilitate the adaptation in distance of the front area and the rear area of the frame with respect to said intermediate area and, therefore, to the size of the bicycle.

8. The cycling training device according to claim 1, wherein the rear articulated support or the front articulated support additionally comprise: a third joint capable of rotating with respect to the front crossbar or the rear crossbar (17), and an elastic tensioning element coupled to the articulated joint and linked to the front central body or the rear central body the movement of which is integral with the movement of the third articulated joint and capable of blocking the swinging movement in the transverse plane of the frame of the third articulated joint, consequently, of the first or second articulated joints; and thus, of the rear articulated support and front articulated support.

9. The cycling training device according to claim 1, wherein the frame incorporates a tensioning assembly that comprises: at least one fixing plate fixed in the front or rear area of the frame, at least one tensioning support that extends from said fixing plate; and at least one elastic band fixed at one end to the tensioning support and connected at an opposite end to the rear articulated support or with the front articulated support, whereby the tensioning of said elastic band diminishes the swinging of the articulated support and thus, the front articulated support, or vice versa, in the transverse and/or longitudinal plane of the frame.

10. The cycling training device according to claim 1, wherein the first joints are ball joints and/or the second joints are ball joints.

11.-13. (canceled)

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] As a complement to the description provided herein, and for the purpose of helping to make the features of the invention more readily understandable, in accordance with preferred exemplary embodiments thereof, said description is accompanied by a set of drawings constituting an integral part of the same, which by way of illustration and not limitation, represent the following:

[0031] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a first exemplary embodiment of the cycling training device.

[0032] FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a second exemplary embodiment of the cycling training device.

[0033] FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the first exemplary embodiment of the cycling training device with the tensioning element incorporated.

[0034] FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the first exemplary embodiment of the cycling training device with the tensioning assembly incorporated.

[0035] FIG. 5A shows a rear view of the cycling training device representing the swinging movement in the transverse plane of the frame.

[0036] FIG. 5B shows a rear view of the cycling training device representing the swinging movement in the transverse plane of the frame.

[0037] FIG. 6A shows a side view of the cycling training device representing the backward swinging movement in the longitudinal plane of the frame.

[0038] FIG. 6B shows a side view of the cycling training device representing the forward swinging movement in the longitudinal plane of the frame.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

[0039] Some examples of preferred embodiments of the cycling training device object of the invention are presented with the help of the above-mentioned figures.

[0040] FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the cycling training device intended to facilitate the coupling of a bicycle equipped with a front part, a rear part and a transmission connected to pedals, said device comprising a frame (1) with a front area (29) and a rear area (30), a front articulated support (2) that comprises first joints (19) connected to the front area (29) of the frame (1) and which is intended to support the front part of the bicycle and with the capacity to swing with respect to a longitudinal plane and/or a transverse plane of the frame (1).

[0041] The cycling training device further comprises a rear articulated support (3) connected to the rear area (30) of the frame (1) and comprising second joints (23), also with the capacity for swinging movement in a plane transverse to the frame (1) and/or in a plane longitudinal to the frame (1) in coordination with the swinging movement of the front articulated support (2). The rear articulated support (3) is intended to be directly or indirectly connected to the rear of the bicycle.

[0042] In this first exemplary embodiment, the device is equipped with a resistance unit (28) that rests on the rear articulated support (3) and is intended to support the rear part of the bicycle and provide resistance to the pedalling of the user of the bike. Said resistance unit (28) comprises a wheel (31) coupled to the transmission of the bicycle and a braking assembly (33) linked to the wheel (31) and that leverages the kinetic energy produced by the rotation thereof to regulate the braking intensity on said wheel (31). Both the braking assembly (33) and the wheel (31) are fully or partially enclosed by a casing (34).

[0043] On the one hand, the frame (1) incorporates in the front area (29) thereof one or more front posts (12), preferably two, which can support a front crossbar (15), with the possibility that the first joints (19) are connected either to the front posts (12) or to the front crossbar (15).

[0044] The front area (29) of the frame (1) may also include a front transverse reinforcement (16) connected to the front posts (12) and one or more front tubular portions (11) that extend backwards from said front posts (12).

[0045] On the other hand, the frame (1) also incorporates in the rear area (30) thereof one or more rear posts (14), preferably two, which can support a rear crossbar (17), and the second joints (23) may be, in turn, connected to the rear posts (14) or the rear crossbar (17). The rear area (30) of the frame (1) may incorporate a rear transverse reinforcement (18) connected to the rear posts (14) and one or more rear tubular portions (13) that extend forward from said rear posts (14).

[0046] Likewise, the frame (1) is equipped with an intermediate area (4) that couples to the front tubular portions (11) at a first end (8) and to the rear tubular portions (13) at a second end (9) in a telescopic manner to facilitate the longitudinal adaptation of the front and rear areas (29, 30) of the frame (1) to the size of the bicycle.

[0047] FIG. 1 also shows the arrangement of elements of the front articulated support (2) of the cycling training device, said front articulated support (2) additionally comprising a front central body (20) equipped with a first articulated adapter (21) where the front part of the bicycle is supported and first connecting rods (22) that articulate with the front central body (20) and each of the first joints (19), in such a way that the swinging movement of the bicycle causes the integral movement of the front central body (20) and which in turn determines the rotation and variation in the inclination of the first connecting rods (22), giving rise to the swinging movement of the front articulated support (2) in the plane transverse to the frame (1).

[0048] Next, the rear articulated support (3), the movement of which is integral with that of the front articulated support (2), comprises a rear central body (24) where the resistance unit (28) is supported, and second connecting rods (26) that each articulate at one of the ends thereof on both sides of the rear central body (24), and at the opposite ends thereof, each of the second joints (23), in such a way that the swinging movement of the bicycle causes the integral movement of the rear central body (24) and which in turn determines the rotation and variation in the inclination of the second connecting rods (26) giving rise to the swinging movement of the rear articulated support (3) in the plane transverse to the frame (1).

[0049] With the help of FIG. 2, a perspective view of a second exemplary embodiment of the invention is shown where the resistance unit (28) is located on the bicycle, also being linked to the transmission thereof. It also shows how the rear central body (24) can incorporate a second articulated adapter (10) to support the rear part of the bicycle, thereby achieving the same effect as the first exemplary embodiment.

[0050] FIG. 3 shows how the front or rear articulated support (2, 3) can include a third joint (35) capable of rotating in the longitudinal and/or transverse plane of the frame (1) and a tensioning element (27) linked to said third joint (35) and to the front or rear central bodies (20, 24), essentially being elastic and capable of blocking the swinging movement in the transverse plane of the frame (1) of the third joint (35), and, consequently, of the first or second joints (19, 23) and therefore of the front and/or rear articulated support (2, 3).

[0051] The tensioning member (27) may be an elongate spring or other elastic piece or assemblies. Said spring has a preload tension such that when the swinging movement of the front articulated support (2) or the rear articulated support (3) in the transverse plane of the frame (1) generates a force in the spring equal to the preload tension, said spring stiffens preventing the swinging movement in the transverse plane of the frame, the rear and front articulated supports (3, 2) swinging from backwards and forwards and vice versa in said longitudinal plane of the frame.

[0052] Furthermore, FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the device object of the invention that can incorporate a tensioning assembly (36), replacing or not the tensioning element (27), said tensioning assembly (36) being formed by at least one fixing plate (37) fixed front (29) or rear (30) area of the frame (1), at least one tensioning support (38) that extends from said fixing plate (37); and at least one elastic band (39) linked to the tensioning support (38) at one end and at the opposite end connected to the front articulated support (2) or to the rear articulated support (3), intended to prevent the swinging of the front articulated support (2) or the rear articulated support (3) in the transverse and/or longitudinal plane of the frame (1) by means of the tension acquired as it is tensioned with the help of the tensioning support (38).

[0053] Lastly, FIGS. 5A, 5B, 6A and 6B are included with the intention of showing the movements that allow the articulated supports (2, 3) to be applied to a bicycle coupled to said articulated supports (2, 3), FIGS. 5A and 5B showing the swinging movement of the device object of the invention in the transverse plane of the frame (1) and FIGS. 6A and 6B showing the tilting movement of the training equipment in the longitudinal plane of the frame (1).