Footstep exerciser

Claim 2

A footstep exerciser comprising a base frame assembly to be installed on a floor, a crank shaft rotatably supported on said frame assembly and provided at the opposite ends thereof with a pair of crank pedals to be stepped by a user, and a flywheel of magnetic material mounted on said crank shaft for rotation therewith in a vertical plane; said footstep exerciser being characterized by: a movable permanent magnet arranged adjacent said flywheel to be moved toward and away from said flywheel in a vertical plane parallel with one face of said flywheel; support means mounted on a portion of said frame assembly for supporting thereon said permanent magnet in such a manner that said permanent magnet is opposed to the one face of said flywheel with a predetermined slight clearance when moved toward said flywheel; and actuation means operatively connected to said support means for moving said permanent magnet toward and away from said flywheel and for retaining the same in its moved position.

Claim 3

A footstep exerciser comprising a base frame assembly to be installed on a floor, a crank shaft rotatably supported on said frame assembly and provided at the opposite ends thereof with a pair of crank pedals to be stepped by a user, and a flywheel of magnetic material mounted on said crank shaft for rotation therewith in a vertical plane, said footstep exerciser being characterized by: a pair of spaced movable permanent magnets arranged adjacent said flywheel to be moved toward and away from said flywheel in a vertical plane parallel with one face of said flywheel; support means mounted on a portion of said frame assembly for supporting thereon said permanent magnets in such a manner that said permanent magnets are opposed to the one face of said flywheel with a predetermined slight clearance when moved toward said flywheel; and actuation means operatively connected to said support means for moving said permanent magnets toward and away from said flywheel and for retaining the same in their moved positions.

Claim 4

A footstep exerciser comprising a base frame assembly to be installed on a floor, a crank shaft rotatably supported on said frame assembly and provided at the opposite ends thereof with a pair of crank pedals to be stepped by a user, and a flywheel of magnetic material mounted on said crank shaft for rotation therewith in a vertical plane, said footstep exerciser being characterized by: a pair of spaced movable permanent magnets arranged adjacent said flywheel to be moved toward and away from said flywheel in a vertical plane parallel with one face of said flywheel; support means mounted on a portion of said frame assembly for supporting thereon said permanent magnets in such a manner that said permanent magnets are opposed to the one face of said flywheel with a predetermined slight clearance when moved toward said flywheel; and actuation means operatively connected to said support means for moving said permanent magnets toward and away from said flywheel and for retaining the same in their moved positions.

Claim 5

A footstep exerciser claimed in Claim 2, wherein said movable permanent magnets are mounted on said support means in such a manner that the polarity of one of said movable permanent magnets is arranged in reverse to the polarity of the other movable permanent magnet.

Claim 6

A footstep exerciser as claimed in any of claims 1-3, wherein said flywheel is rotatably mounted on said crank shaft, and a speed-up mechanism is mounted on said crank shaft to drive said flywheel.

Claim 7

A footstep exerciser as claimed in any of claims 1-4, wherein said support means is arranged to adjust the slight clearance between said permanent magnets and the one face of said flywheel.

Claim 8

A footstep exerciser as claimed in Claim 3, further comprising a pair of spaced stationary permanent magnets mounted on a portion of said frame assembly in such a manner that said stationary permanent magnets are opposed to the one face of said flywheel with a predetermined slight clearance and that the polarity of one of said stationary permanent magnets is arranged in reverse to the polarity of the other stationary permanent magnet.

Claim 9

A footstep exerciser as claimed in Claim 6, wherein said movable permanent magnets are mounted on said support means in a vertically spaced relationship, and said stationary permanent magnets are mounted on a portion of said frame assembly in a laterally spaced relationship.

Claim 10

A footstep exerciser comprising a base frame assembly to be installed on a floor, a crank shaft rotatably mounted on said frame assembly and provided at the opposite ends thereof with a pair of crank pedals to be stepped by a user, a rotary plate of magnetic material fixedly mounted on said crank shaft for rotation therewith in a vertical plane, and an annular flywheel of magnetic material secured to one face of said rotary plate, said footstep exerciser being characterized by: a pair of vertically spaced movable permanent magnets arranged adjacent said rotary plate to be moved toward and away from said rotary plate in a vertical plane parallel with the other face of said rotary plate; a pair of laterally spaced stationary permanent magnets mounted on a portion of said frame assembly in such a manner that said stationary permanent magnets are opposed to the other face of said rotary plate with a predetermined slight clearance; support means mounted on a portion of said frame assembly for supporting thereon said movable permanent magnets in such a manner that said movable permanent magnets are opposed to the other face of said rotary plate with a predetermined slight clearance when moved toward said rotary plate; and acutation means operatively connected to said support means for moving said movable permanent magnets toward and away from said rotary plate and for retaining the same in their moved positions.

Claim 11

A footstep exerciser comprising a base frame assembly to be installed on a floor, a crank shaft rotatably mounted on said frame assembly and provided at the opposite ends thereof with a pair of crank pedals to be stepped by a user, a rotary plate of magnetic material fixedly mounted on said crank shaft for rotation therewith in a vertical plane, and an annular flywheel of magnetic material secured to one face of said rotary plate, said footstep exerciser being characterized by: a pair of vertically spaced movable permanent magnets arranged adjacent said rotary plate to be moved toward and away from said rotary plate in a vertical plane parallel with the other face of said rotary plate; a pair of laterally spaced stationary permanent magnets mounted on a portion of said frame assembly in such a manner that said stationary permanent magnets are opposed to the other face of said rotary plate with a predetermined slight clearance; support means mounted on a portion of said frame assembly for supporting thereon said movable permanent magnets in such a manner that said movable permanent magnets are opposed to the other face of said rotary plate with a predetermined slight clearance when moved toward said rotary plate; and acutation means operatively connected to said support means for moving said movable permanent magnets toward and away from said rotary plate and for retaining the same in their moved positions.