Dynamic footrest enabling exercise for the lower body

Abstract

The invention is of an apparatus for enabling a seated user to obtain exercise by moving muscles in their legs and/or feet to move foot pedals that extend from a base up and down in a treading motion. The novelty of this apparatus lies in its construction from tensile material with intrinsic elasticity modulus which causes high yield ratios of over 0.6. The rebound motion of the tensile material allows the unit function as an exercise unit when sitting, including when working at a desk without a negative impact on performance. Two iterations of the same apparatus are described: one where the foot pedals are irremovably part of the base, and one where separate foot pedals are slotted into a base. The latter allows for switching foot pedals to obtain different resistances. The unit can function as a footrest when not used for exercise.

What is claimed: 
     
         1 . An apparatus made from a single, tensile piece of material bent into a “V” shape, where one arm of the V functions as the base and the other arm functions as the foot pedal, that enables a seated user to use the muscles in the legs and/or feet in a stepping motion to move pedal(s) up and down to obtain exercise.
 The treading action of the foot causes the free end of the pedal to bend toward the base and then restore back up in reaction due to the material's high relative energy return (>0.6), which can be varied by using different construction materials to obtain different rebound values and resistances ( FIG. 3 ). 
 The addition of aesthetic, comfort, measurement or energy harvesting devices including, but not confined to padding, non-skid liners, containers for stowing, color schemes, calorie counters, step counters, capacitors, battery chargers and modifying dimensions to fit given spaces or for economy can be incorporated as needed. 
 
     
     
         2 . An apparatus as described in  claim 1 , with a portion of the material on the top of the “V” section fabricated or cut out so as to produce foot pedals with a gap between the pedals in order to permit their separate movement ( FIG. 1 ). 
     
     
         3 . An apparatus as described in  claim 1 , but the where individual pedals are inserted snugly into a slot in the base ( FIG. 2 ), allowing foot pedals of materials with different tensile elastic modulus to be introduced as pairs, or mixed and matched, to produce the desired resistance for each leg/foot. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus as described in  claim 3 , but consisting of a single base unit with multiple slots into which multiple individual pedals can be introduced to fit at the base of a multi-seat units such as are found in transport vehicles, schools or waiting rooms.