US 5,580,249 · Granted 1996-12-03
The 1996 Machine That Lets You Climb Mountains Without Leaving Home
Imagine a stationary bike, but instead of pedaling, you're climbing — your feet push against stirrups that get harder to move when the simulator thinks you're going uphill. The machine uses sensors to feel how you shift your weight and adjusts the resistance in real time, so your legs work as hard as if you were actually hiking a steep slope.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a human mobility simulator with a seat mounted on a steering post, foot stirrups that move against adjustable resistance, and a sensor system that detects the operator's position and feeds that data to a control unit. That control unit then adjusts the resistance force applied to the foot stirrups in response to simulated terrain. What's protected here is the specific combination of seat-mounted position sensing, real-time resistance adjustment based on terrain simulation, and the mechanical linkage between all these components.
Why it matters
This patent represents an early approach to making exercise equipment respond dynamically to what the user is doing, rather than just providing fixed resistance or speed. By connecting body position feedback directly to resistance control, the inventor created a system that could mimic real-world climbing in a controlled indoor setting. This kind of biofeedback-driven training was novel in the mid-1990s and laid groundwork for later interactive fitness machines that adapt to the user's effort and form.
Real-world use
You'd encounter this in a gym or physical therapy clinic as a specialized training machine where climbers, hikers, or athletes recovering from leg injuries can simulate mountain ascents without actually going outside.
Original USPTO abstract
An individual person mobility simulator includes a base for placement on a support surface, a steering post extending upwardly from the base to terminate in an upper end, a seat mounted on the upper end of the steering post on which a human operator may sit, a torque/position sensor disposed between the seat and the steering post to sense changes in seat position caused by the operator, and foot stirrups into which the operator may place his feet, the foot stirrups being movably mounted on the steering post. A power source is provided to supply a resistive force to movement of the foot stirrups in response to and dependent upon resistance signals. A control unit supplies resistance signals to the power source to determine the amount of resistance to be applied to movement of the foot stirrups. The amount of resistance is geared to simulate the steepness of terrain over which the operator is moving, with greater resistance being applied when the terrain is uphill and less resistance being applied when the terrain is level or downhill, for example.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 5,580,249
- Filing date
- 1994-02-14
- Grant date
- 1996-12-03
- Assignee
- Sarcos Group
- Inventor(s)
- JACOBSEN; STEPHEN C., KNUTTI; DAVID F., DOUGLASS; ROBERT J.
- CPC class
- A63B22/0056
Want to file your own patent?
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