US20030134718A1

US20030134718A1 - Exercise apparatus with audio-visual device

Info

Publication number: US20030134718A1
Application number: US10/297,210
Authority: US
Inventors: Lee Kim
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2000-06-05
Filing date: 2001-06-04
Publication date: 2003-07-17
Also published as: KR200203994Y1; AU2001260786A1; WO2001093960A1

Abstract

Sporting goods equipped with an audio and video rack are provided. A rack cabinet is attached to the front part of the sporting goods, racks in which audio and video devices are installed are provided in the rack cabinet, and a caster and a support are installed on the bottom of the rack cabinet. In the sporting goods, hand-gripping portions are also provided on the upper portion thereof, one ends of the hand-gripping portions being attached to the middle portion of frames of the sporting goods by means of a fixing shaft while the other ends of the hand-gripping portion are inserted into holders fixed to the middle portion of the rack cabinet so as to be tightened or released by a fixing screw. Fixing holes, into which upper ends of the hand-gripping portions are inserted, are formed at both bottom portions in the rear of the rack cabinet when the sporting goods stands upright.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to sporting goods equipped with the audio and video rack, and more particularly, to sporting goods which are configured such that the sporting goods, e.g., running machines or steppers, are equipped with an audio and video rack to enable audio-visual language education or music video or movie appreciation in addition to exercising, thereby increasing exercising effects by giving the pleasures of exercising to a user who is taking monotonous exercise and improving the user's ability in foreign languages.

BACKGROUND ART

In modern society, quite a many people are less physically active to experience a decline of physical strength due to lack of exercise and are suffering from various kinds of medical problems associated with the lack of exercise. To solve the lack of exercise, a variety of indoor exercise machines enabling versatile multifunctional exercise indoor, e.g., running machines, steppers, stationary exercise bikes or the like, have been developed and used.

Conventional indoor sporting goods being used home or at fitness centers are configured only to provide exercise functions, which may make users get bored with tedious exercise. Thus, it is very hard for a user to persist in exercise with endurance even if the user is strongly willing to exercise. Also, the sporting goods purchased at high price may be liable to be kept unused.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

To overcome drawbacks of the conventional indoor sporting goods, it is an object of the present invention to provide multifunctional sporting goods enabling a user to persist in exercise as long as planned initially while watching TV, studying foreign languages, reading books, magazines or newspaper,seeingfilmsorlisteningtomusic,withoutgettingboredwithtedious exercise. That is to say, the sporting goods according to the present invention provide multiple effects by allowing a user to entertain himself/herself or to study foreign languages using audio-visual materials while taking exercise.

To achieve the object, the present invention provides sporting goods comprising a rack cabinet attached to the front part thereof, e.g., a running machine, and the rack cabinet having audio and video racks at predetermined heights, a caster mounted at the bottom part of the sporting goods, for moving and fixing the sporting goods, and a shelf support having a support frame.

The sporting goods according to the present invention can be applied to various indoor sporting goods such as stationary exercise bikes, steppers or others. The sporting goods can be combined with the rack cabinet by varying the design of the sporting goods according to configuration and type.

In the sporting goods according to the present invention having a rack cabinet at its front part, in which audio and video devices, a TV monitor and the like are provided therein, users can study foreign languages, can listen to music or can see movies while taking exercise. Also, a drawable bookstand is provided under the racks of the sporting goods according to the present invention so as to be used at any time as occasion arises.

The sporting goods according to the present invention is configured such that the rack cabinet is movably installed, a frame of the sporting goods is hinged to the rack cabinet to be stored and transported in an upright state for convenient transportation and movement. Here, the frame is fixed without moving downward by fixing one ends of hand-gripping portions attached to the sporting goods, on the rack cabinet. During use of the sporting goods, the hand-gripping portions are restored into its original position to be fixed. The heights of the racks are adjusted according to the sizes of the audio and video devices.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the sporting goods and the rack cabinet may be detachably coupled to each other, so that the rack cabinet can be used as a wardrobe or shelf when the sporting goods is not used. Also, a telephone hanger is provided so that a telephone can be used even during exercise.

Preferably, a TV stand capable of rotating and adjustable in view of the angle of leaning forward and backward is installed on the top portion of the rack cabinet provided at the front part of the sporting goods. When the sporting goods is not used, the TV stand is rotated so as to face the user sitting on a sofa or in any other desired direction, thereby fully exhibiting functions as a wardrobe or TV stand.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of sporting goods according to an embodiment of the present invention; [0011]
FIG. 2 is a side view of FIG. 1; [0012]
FIG. 3 is a side view illustrating a state in which the sporting goods according to an embodiment of the present invention is folded up; [0013]
FIG. 4 is a view illustrating a state in which audio and video devices are installed in the sporting goods according to an embodiment of the present invention; [0014]
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of sporting goods according to another embodiment of the present invention; [0015]
FIG. 6 is a side view of FIG. 5; [0016]
FIG. 7 is a side view of a rack cabinet used for a shelf by detaching only an exercising member from the sporting goods according to the present invention; and [0017]
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of sporting goods according to still another embodiment of the present invention.[0018]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Non-limiting preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. [0019]
FIG. 1 is a is a perspective view of sporting goods according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a state in which a frame of the sporting goods according to an embodiment of the present invention is made to stand upright fortransportingoraccommodatingthesportinggoodsaccordingtothepresent invention. A running machine is employed as [0020] sporting goods 10 in this embodiment. A rack cabinet 20 is attached to the front part of the sporting goods 10. Audio and video racks 21 and 22 are provided in the rack cabinet 20. A caster 23 and a support 24 are installed on the bottom of the rack cabinet 20.
The [0021] sporting goods 10 according to the present invention can be applied to various kinds of indoor sporting goods such as stationary exercise bikes or steppers as well as running machines. The sporting goods 10 according to the present invention can be combined with the rack cabinet 20 by varying the substantial attachment position and structure of each of the sporting goods according to configuration and type of the sporting goods.
The running machine as the [0022] sporting goods 10 according to the present invention has rotary rollers (not shown) installed at front and rear ends of left and right frames 12. A running belt 14 is installed at exterior of the rotary rollers so that a user runs thereon. A caster 11, which is capable of freely rotating and being fixed, is fixed on the bottom of the sporting goods 10.
Also, the [0023] sporting goods 10 according to the present invention has hand-gripping portions 15 installed for the safety purpose during running. In addition, the hand-gripping portions 15 are used as means for maintaining a state in which the sporting goods 10 stands upright while being closely adhered to the rack cabinet 20. In other words, the front edges of the frames 12 of the sporting goods 10 are coupled to the lower portion of the rack cabinet 20 by means of a hinge 16, and one ends of the hand-gripping portions 15 are attached to the middle portion of the frames 12 of the sporting goods 10 by means of a fixing shaft 17 while the other ends of the hand-gripping portion 15 are inserted into holders 25 fixed to the middle portion of the rack cabinet 20 so as to be tightened or released by a fixing screw 26. Fixing holes 27 are formed at both bottom portions in the rear of the rack cabinet 20 for the purpose of preventing the sporting goods 10 from being overthrown when the sporting goods 10 stands upright, by inserting upper ends of the hand-gripping portions 15 thereinto.
The [0024] racks 21 and 22, as shown in FIG. 2, have a plurality of rack resting protrusions 28 on the lateral surfaces of the rack cabinet 20 at constant intervals so as to adjust the height of an accommodating space according to the sizes of audio and video devices.
Undefined reference numeral ‘[0025] 29’ denotes a liquid crystal display (LCD) which is used as a clock for indicating the current time, a timer for checking exercising time, the scales or the like. In the case of the scales, the scales (not shown) may be separately electrically connected.
FIG. 4 is a view illustrating a state in which audio and video devices are installed in the sporting goods according to an embodiment of the present invention. A [0026] TV 30 is provided on the top portion 20 a of the rack cabinet 20, a VCR 31 is provided in the upper rack 21 under the top portion 20 a, an audio device 32 is provided in the lower rack 22 under the upper rack 21, and a speaker 33 is installed on the bottom portion 20 b.A power plug is connected to each device from a wall outlet 34 provided at the rear portion of the rack cabinet 20.
FIGS. 5 through 7 illustrate another embodiment of the present invention. According to this embodiment, the [0027] sporting goods 10 is completely detached from the rack cabinet 20 by forming a resting protrusion 19 at the front edges of the frames 12 and by inserting the resting protrusion 19 into a coupling hole 19 a for being coupled to each other, instead of using a hinge coupling structure. When the sporting goods 10 is not used, the sporting goods 10 is separated from the rack cabinet 20.Then, the sporting goods 10 can be used as a wardrobe or shelf, as shown in FIG. 7.
Also, according to this embodiment, a [0028] telephone 35 is rested on a telephone hanger 35 a installed on the lateral surface of the upper portion of the rack cabinet 20 so that the telephone 35 can be used even during exercising. A safety frame 18 for preventing the TV (see FIG. 4) placed on the top portion 20 a of the rack cabinet 20 from falling down due to vibration or impact, is detachably installed on the top portion 20 a of the rack cabinet 20, thereby facilitating safety during exercising.
The [0029] telephone hanger 35 a is preferably installed at a position where the telephone can be comfortably used during exercising, and may be fabricated in the form of a small horizontal shelf, rather than in the form of a hanger attached to the lateral surface of the rack cabinet, so that a user's belongingsthatmaycausetheuserinconvenienceinexercising,e.g.,acellular phone or writing tools, can be stored for free and comfortable exercise.
FIG. 8 illustrates sporting goods according to still another embodiment of the present invention, in which esthetical consideration is taken into design of the sporting goods when combined with the rack cabinet. A TV stand [0030] 36 capable of rotating and adjustable in view of the angle of leaning forward and backward is installed on the top portion of the rack cabinet 20 provided at the front part of the sporting goods and a video built-in TV 30 is seated thereon, thereby adjusting the TV 30 at a user's desired angle. Racks 21 and 22, the heights of which can be adjusted, are installed in the middle portion of the rack cabinet 20, so that an audio, video or speaker can be placed thereon. A telephone hanger 35 a is installed on a hand-gripping portion 15. In addition to a user's cellular phone, user's belongings necessary during exercising, e.g., towel or a drink, may be placed on the telephone hanger 35 a.
Undefined parts shown in FIG. 8 are the same as those described in the first and second embodiments of the present invention, and an explanation thereof will not be give. The same reference numerals are used to denote the same elements. [0031]
As described above, the sporting goods equipped with an audio and video rack according to the present invention, can be installed at home or fitness centers, allowing users to exercise while seeing movies, listening to music or studying foreign languages using audio and video devices. Since the users exercise and study foreign languages lightly and naturally, rather than forcibly, much better exercising effects can be exhibited. [0032]
Therefore, a user can exercise much more with endurance while studying foreign languages by using the sporting goods equipped with the audio and video rack according to the present invention, thereby attaining a balanced and clearly defined figure and having a good command of foreign languages. [0033]
Also, the sporting goods equipped with the audio and video rack according to the present invention can be made to stand upright so as to be closely adhered to a rack cabinet when unused, transported or stored. Thus, the sporting goods according to the present invention can be easily transported or stored because of its compactness. [0034]

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

As described above, according to the present invention, since audio andvideodevicesareprovidedinsportinggoods,evenmonotonousexercising can be taken without boredom, thereby enhancing exercising effects. Also, since audio and visual activities, including studying foreign languages, music appreciation and the like, can be performed simultaneously with exercising, various effects of taking exercise, saving of time, improvement in user's ability in foreign languages, cultivation of emotional sensitivities through movie or music appreciation, can be attained. [0035]

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. Sporting goods equipped with an audio and video rack comprising:

a rack cabinet attached to the front part of the sporting goods;

a TV provided on the top portion of the rack cabinet;

racks provided in the rack cabinet such that the heights thereof are adjustable;

audio and video devices provided in the racks;

a caster and a support installed on the bottom of the rack cabinet.

2. The sporting goods according to claim 1, wherein the sporting goods are coupled to the rack cabinet by means of a hinge, and hand-gripping portions are provided on the upper portion of the sporting goods, one ends of the hand-gripping portions being attached to the middle portion of frames of the sporting goods by means of a fixing shaft while the other ends of the hand-gripping portion are inserted into holders fixed to the middle portion of the rack cabinet so as to be tightened or released by a fixing screw, and fixing holes, into which upper ends of the hand-gripping portions are inserted, are formed at both bottom portions in the rear of the rack cabinet when the sporting goods stands upright.

3. The sporting goods according to claim 1, wherein rack resting protrusions are formed at front edges of frames of the sporting goods so as to be detachably fixed on the rack cabinet, and coupling holes into which the rack resting protrusions are inserted are formed at the lower portion of the front part of the sporting goods.

4. The sporting goods according to any one of claims 1 through 3, wherein a telephone hanger on which a telephone is installed is provided in the cabinet.

5. The sporting goods according to claim 1, wherein a TV stand capable of rotating and adjustable in view of the angle of leaning forward and backward is installed on the top portion of the rack cabinet.