Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
2~3
1 Physical Exercise Apparatus
.
Description
___________
5 The present invention relates to a physical exercise
apparatus comprisign a first, inner frame element serving
as a carrier for an occupant and mounted in a second,
larger frame element for rotation about a first axis,
said second frame element being itself mounted in a third
10 frame element for rotation about a second axis extending
transversely of the first axis.
A physical exercise apparatus of this type is already known
from US-PS 3,936,047. This apparatus is used for envigor-
15 ating and training of muscle complexes and for improvingthe sense of equilibrium of a person occupying the inner
frame element.
Ir, the known physical exercise apparatus, a motor drive
a~sembly is used for rotating the inner frame element about
20 a first axis relative to the larger second,frame element.
T~e larger frame element is itself mounted for rotation in
a third frame element. This known embodiment does not,
hcwever, offer the trainee the possibility of three-
di,mensional displacement, so that the trainee is restricted
25 ir his movements due to not being able to freely move his
hands and upper part o~ his body. The usefulness of the
a~paratus is further restricted by the fact that the
rctation of the inner frame element is brought about with
the aid of a motor.
Apart from the physical exercise apparatus of the type
defined above, there is a further sports implement known
under the name of rhoenrad, which basically permits move-
ments only in a single plane of rotation.
It is an object of the present invention to improve a
physical exercise apparatus o~ the type defined above with
a view to widen the range of movement of a trainee.
.,~ .
~'
2~
1 In accordance with the invention, this object is attained
by the provision that the third, outer frame eler~ent is
mounted for rotation about a third axis extendin~ perpend-
icular to the second ax.is, so that the thus constituted
6 gimbal mounting permits a person occupying the inner frame
element to assume any angular position in space solely by
di.splacement of hi.s ~eight.
The physical exercise apparatus according to the invention
10 of`fers the advantage that by rotational movements of his
body a trainee is able within a few minutes to warm up,
e~:ercise and strengthen all of his muscle complexes. The
gi.mbal mounting of the apparatus enables the trainee to
occupy any position in space, it being important in thi.s
15 cc,ntext that this may be achieved solely by displacements
of` the trainee's weight. None of the frame elements is
driven from an exterior source.
In a very advantageous practical embodiment, the invention
provides that the three frame elements are formed as
20 nested rings. The rings may be made of round tubular
sections, it being also possible, of course, to employ
f].at steel ribbon or any other suitable material for this
purpose.
2~ In a further advantageous embodiment the invention provides
that the outer ring is mounted on a ground-engaging sup-
pork for rotation about the third axis. This mounting of
the outer ring on a ground-engaging support permits the
physical exercise apparatus to be erected in a simple manner
30 in a conflned space and at any location of use.
: Protection walls may be installed for preventing spectators
or.other persons in the vicinity of the apparatus from
entering the orbits of the rings~ In any case, the ground-
engaging support ensures safe and simple erection of the
apparatus.
~ ~ In a further embodiment of the invention, the first, inner-
most ring is provided with footrests equipped with adjust-
, ,
....
6~2~
1 able retaining rollers for retaining the fee~ of an occup-
ant. A person intending to use the apparatus for exercise
or training simply steps onto the footrests. The foot may
then be retained by the retaining roller engaging the
5 instep and by a cushioning provided at the heel portion,
so that there is no danger for the trainee to slip off
the footrest. The same effect may of course also be
accomplished by retaining straps, although the retaining
rollers, which are preferably made o~ a plastic foam or a
10 sjmilarly yielding material, offer the possibility of a
simple adjustment to feed of different sizes. The footrests
themselves or the retaining rollers may of course be
acljustably mounted on the innermost ring in a manner per-
mitting optimum adjustment to the size of any trainee.
15 In any case, the pressure-engageable retaining rollers or
retaining straps will ensure that the trainee is safely
retained on the footrests and does not slip off even at
high speeds of rotation.
20 Within the innermost ring there is preferably provided a
support loop mounted at hip level of an occupant and
connected to the innermost ring by struts. The support hoop
mounted a'c hip level serves likewise for safely supporting
the occupant's body, and is preferably adjustable in height
26 t~) thus permit a further adjustment to the size of different
trainees.
The struts extend from the support loop to the ring prefer-
ably at a diverging angle so as to permit the person using
the physical exercise apparatus to stand with his legs
30 slightly apart-
According to a further aspect of the invention, griphandles may be provided adjacent the support loop. In
this case, the user of the apparatus may hold on to these
35 grip handles for bending the upper part of his body in any
direction. As an alternative, the innermost ring may be
provided with grip bars located opposite the footrests
for the user to ~rasp. At the location of such grip bars
:;
... .
1 there may also be provided loops or the like for the user
to insert his wrists therethrough.
According to a further aspect the invention prodides that
5 protection covers are provided at least adjacent the grip
bars so as to prevent an occupant from grasping beyond the
radius of the inner ring. A protection cover of this type
may for instance be formed of an organic glass material
or the like in a spherical shape so as to extend on both
10 sides of the ring at the location of the grip bars. In
the event of the user's hand slipping off the grip handles
or releasing them, the protection cover prevents the hand
from getting into the orbit of the second, inermediate
ring, and thus serves as a safeguard for the user.
5 According to a further aspect of the invention, the
respecti-re mountings consist of bearing supports secured
to the rings, bearings threadedly secured to the supports,
and axle pins secured to the rings. A mounting of this
type may be readily disassembled, so that the assembly of
20 the physical exercise apparatus at the location of use is
greatly facilitated.
An embodiment of the invention shall now be described by
way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings,
25 wherein:
fig. 1 shows a frotn view of the physical exercise apparatus,
fig. 2 shows the inner ring thereof,
fig. 3 shows the mounting of a ring on the adjacent ring,
and
fig. 4 shows a perspective illustration of an embodiment of
a footrest with foot retaining means.
The physical exercise apparatus shown in fig. 1 has a
35 first, inner ring 3 mounted in an intermediate ring 2 for
rotation about an axis A. The second or intermediate ring 2
is itself mounted in a third ring 1 for rotation about a
second axis B extending perpendicular to axis A. The outer
~ .:
- ~;29~i~;2~3
l ring 1, which has the greatest diameter of the three rings,
is again mounted on a ground-engaging support 14 for
rotation about a third axis C extending perpendicular to
second axis B. Ground-engaging support 14 consists of a
5 large-diameter ring made of a round tubular material and
resting on the ground, and a pair of support risers 15 dis-
posed at opposite locations and carryign the ring assembly
1,2,3. At the location of the respective axes A, B and C,
the rings are carried by bearing assemblies 4 for rotation
lO relative to the respective adjacent ring, the bearing
assemblies 4 being offset with respect to one another by an
angle of 90 for each consecutive ring. Depending on the
height of a room, outer ring 1 may also be mounted in the
ceiling or a wall of a room.
As shown in fig. 2, innermost ring 3 is provided with two
fcotplates 5 and, in the embodiment shown, retaining
straps 6 for retaining the feet of the user. Also provided
within ring 3 is a support hoop 7 connected to ring 3
20 through struts 8. Struts 8 diverge from support hoop 7
towards ring 3 to which they may be secured as by welding.
In a practical embodiment of the invention support hoop 7
may be secured to struts 8 in a vertically adjustable
manner. Grip handles 9 are secured to struts 8 adjacent
25 Support hoop 7
At a location substantially opposite footrests 5 ring 3
i9 provided with a grip bar 10 in the form of a secant.
Also provided at this location are flexible loops 11.
30 Fig. 3 shows an example of a bearing assembly 4. The bear-
ing assembly or mounting comprises a bearing support 12
fixedly secured to intermediate ring 2 in the example shown.
A bearing 16 is to be bolted to bearing support 12 and
receives therein an axle pin 13 secured to inner ring 3
35 in the example shown. For assembling the bearing assembly,
bearing 16 is first mounted on axle pin 13 and subsequently
bolted to bearing support 12.
;' ~.
.,
~2~6~
S
1 All of the bearing assemblies 4 shown in fig. 1 may be of
this construction, it being of course possible to achieve
sin~ilar results with bearings of different design.
hn alternative possibility for retaining the feet of the
user is shown in fig. ~. The embodiment shown comprises
a shaft 19 carrying a pair of retaining rollers 20 made of
a plastic foam or a similarly yielding material. A support
21 of shaft 19 is secured to inner ring 3 as by being
1~ welded thereto. The height of rollers 20 is adjustable in
a not shown manner, as is preferably also their spacing
from an upright portion 5a of footrest 5. Secured to the
inner wall surface of upright portion 5a is a cushioning
material, for instance a plastic foam, so that the described
15 retaining assembly is capable of safely and comfortably
retaining the feet of the user between rollers 20 and
c~shion 22.
Fcr use of the physical exercise apparatus, the trainee
p~sses his legs through support hoop 7 and adjusts the
fcotrest and/or the support hoop to a suitable height,
whereupon he secures his feet to the footrest by means
of retaining straps 6 or by suitably adjusting retaining
rollers 20. With his hands he may selectively grasp the
grip handles 9 secured to struts 9, grip bar 10 or loops 11.
D~le to the 90~ offset of the respective mounting locations,
the trainee now occupies a ginbals-mounted inner ring
permitting him to assume any angular position in space
merely by displacement of the weight particularly of the
30 upper part of his body.
For preventing the hands of the user from gctting into the
orbit of second ring 2 in the event of their slipping off
grip bar 10, and to thus avoid the danger of injuries, the
35 inner ring may be provided with protective covers, prefer-
ably of a spherical shape, at the location of grip bar lO,
such protective covers being not, however, shown in the
drawings.
,
,,~ .
3~2~3
1 The described embodiment may of course be modified in
various manners withi.n the scope of the i.nvention. Thus
the inner ring does not necessarily have to be a completely
closed ring and may be replaced for instance by a half-
5 circular ring segment when it is not intended that theoccupant should get a hold for his hands above his head.
It would also be conceivable for instance to replace the
individual rings by spherical bodies made of an organic
glass material or the like and rotatably mounted inside
10 one another.
26
: 35
:
v ~
