Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION:
This invention relates to portable, versatile exercise
equipment that is used in the performance of a multitude of
exercises.
BACKGROUD OF THE INVENTION:
Over the past several years, regular exercise has become
increasingly popular with all age groups in North America and in
many other parts of the world. Such exercise is done for both
enjoyment and for the purpose of increasing fitness. Exercise
may include sports such as tennis, hockey, football and cycling.
lt may also include more repetitive type motion that is generally
considered body conditioning more than it would be considered
sports. Repetitive exercise could include jogqing, swimming,
rowing, progressive training with weights, etc. These exercises
would typically be aimed at increasing or maintaining a level of
fitness. Progressive resistance training, which generally
involves working various parts of the body against the resistance
provided by a machine or free weights, has become very popular
unto itself and/or as an activity to supplement sports
participation.
Due to the type of lifestyles that many now lead, people who
wish to perform regular exercise have a difficult time doing so
due~ to such reasons as lack of time, lack of space, lack of
money, difficulty in accessing exercise equipment, etc. As a
result, many people do not exercise as regularly or in the manner
they would prefer or enjoy.
There is a large and still growing need for exercise
equipment that provides a full range of exercises in an "all-in-
one" piece of equipment. Such a piece of equipment must be easy
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to use, conducive to performing the type of exercises it is
designed for and versitile. Additionally, there is a need for
equipment that overcomes the high cost and inconvenience of
exercising at a public or semi-private facility. Many people
would prefer to exercise in the privacy and convenience of their
own home. This generally requires that any equipment used be low
cost and compact. Lastly, there is a need for exercise equipment
that is portable in that it can be easily carried or transported
by one person from one location to another. This would
accomodate a person on a business trip, vacation, etc.
Exercising with free weights or with a weight machine are
among the earliest forms of resistance exercising. It is usually
necessary to have a large variety of weights available. This
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takes up space and is expensive. Another alternative is to have
a weight set such that the amount of weight can be changed
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between exercises, but this interrupts the exercising process
from one exercise to the next. Furthermore, exercising with
weights can easily lead to injury. Free weight and weight
machines are examples of a type of apparatus that provide active
resistance to exercise. Basically, this means that the
resistance provided by the weight is continuous during the
exercise and the resistance would require active movement of the
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~ body part doing the exercise to stop the motion. More force than ~ -~
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the actual weight is required to move the weight, and equal force
as the weight is required to hold it stationary, and even some ~ -
force acting against the weight is required to put it down unless
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it is permitted to free fall.
There is a need for exercise equipment that can provide
passive resistance to motion as opposed to active resistance such
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as free weight. Exercise equipment that fulfills this need is
basically safer and less likely to cause injury. A passive
resistance apparatus uses friction or fluidic resistance to
resist movement. An example of such a device is a cable and
pulley exerciser. The pulley is adapted to receive the cable and
the cable also passes a frictional device designed to resist
movement. The resistance is only generated as movement is
created. In this way, the user only experiences resistance over
the range they wish to move and, since the resistance is
generally proportional to the amount of movement, they ,perform
the exercises with only as much resistance as can be safely
handled. Another example of passive resistance exercise is a
machine that uses fluid resistance in the form of hydraulic
cylinders to resist motion. Such machines normally only
accomodate one type of movement and, therefore, several different
machines are generally required to exercise various parts of the
body. These types of machines are becoming more popular in
public and semi-private exercise facilities. However, private
use is still quite limitod ~due to expense and lack of
versat~ ity. It is~ believed that an affordable passive
resistance exercise resistance machine that accommodates several
different types of exercises at varying resistance is necessary
and would be popular.
A passive resistance exercise machine is viable as a form of
progressive resistance training. Progressive resistance training
involves performing repetitive exercise against a resistance. As
a person`s strenght increases, the number of repetitions
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performed would be increased or the resistance is increased in .
order to retain the same number of repetitions.
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Other factors that influence the acquisition and use the
exercise equipment are the facts that many people wish to
exercise at home, they desire a machine that will allow them to
exercise many body parts and they want to use equipment that is
of a newer technology. An important factor is the adjustability
of a machine to allow the user to select the desired resistance
to the exercise movement. The resistance may be selected
depending on the strength of the individual, the amount of work
desired, and on the type of exercise being performed. Resistance
may be very low for someone such as an elderly person to very
high for a trained athlete. Also, there must be adaptability or
ajustability in terms of the range of motion of the exercise
apparatus to accommodate different types of exercises. In order
to gain overall accommodation of different resistances and ranges
of motion, it is necessary that the means of providing resistance
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be highly adjustable.
DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART~
~: Over the past several years, free weight has been one of the -~`
most common and available forms of providing resistance to a
person when exercising. Such free weight include barbells and ;~
dumbbells. They co~e in~v,ariety of weights o,r are adjustable in
that weight can be added or removed as required. Free weight is
used for a number of different types of exercises including light ~
exercise, aerobic exerc~ise and general toning. It can also be ~ -
: used for moderate to very heavy exercise for strength and muscle
building.
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An apparatus that can be used in place of free weight is a ~-
weight machine. Typically, weight machines have one or more
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stacks of weights and the desired weight can be selected. Weight
machines are usually one of two types. The first type allows a
number of exercises to be performed at it, the other type allows ;~
only one specific exercise be performed at a station. In either
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case, the exercise is typically performed by using a lever or
cable means to move the weight. ;~
A number of passive resistance devices have been developed
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in the past, and, like most passive resistance devices, they are
either too cumbersome to be easily transported or too restrictive
in the number of exercises offered.
U.S. Patent 3,912,265 to MUIR discloses a fluid flow
resistance exerciser adding an operating arm and base arm. The
base arm extends at it`s lower end into a pair of support feet.
The feet are secured to a fixed base large enough to preclude the
device from tipping over during use. Connected between the base
arm ~and the operating arm is a fluid flow resistance means which
is designed to resist relative movement between the operating arm .
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and~;the base arm. Thç fluid flow resistance is not readily
adjustable in terms of the resistance it provides or in terms of
altering the position thereof, so as to provide variable ;~
resistance.
U.S.~ Patent l 4,~18,14Q !to BROWN disc,loses a p,hysical
exercising apparatus having a carrier member and a lever ~
~pivotally attached thereto, with a cylinder device attached --`
therebetween in order to resist relative rotational movement
between the carrier member and the lever. The carrier member is
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designed to attach to a track, with the track secured to ~;
something such as a wall. It is contemplated that only the lever
~ be ~nterfaced by someone exercising with this piece of equipment.
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The piston is adjustably locatable at one end onto the lever.
U.S. Patent 4,813,667 to WATTERSON discloses an exerciser
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having a frame member with a pair of levers attached rotatably
thereto. Between the frame member and each lever is an hydraulic
cylinder that resists the relative rotational movement of the j,~
levers with respect to the frame member. This piece of exercise `~
equlpment can be used for rowing or cross country skiing type
exercises. '~
U.S. Patent to MARSHALL discloses a combination rowing
machine and chest exerciser comprising a slide rail having a '
sliding seat attached to it. It also has a pair of poles ~ ,'
attached pivotally to a cross bar which joins the poles and
attaches them to the rail. Each pole moves pivotally with '~
respect to it`s rail and the relative movement there between is
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restricted by a piston. Each plston is attached in an adjustable
relation to each of the poles.
U.S. Patent 4,746,115 to LAHMAN discloses an exercising
device with a controllable force pattern having pneumatic
ayllnder member attached at one end to a large frame and in
adjustable relation to a pivoting rail at the other end. The
rail is attached pivotally to the large frame. The pivoting rail
is moved,~up,ward by,l~fti~g,the bar. A rolljer located on" a
triangular swinging frame glides along the pivoting rail which in
turn raises the triangular swinging frame upward. This movement
is resisted by the pneumatic cylinder member.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION~
~ It is the basic object of the present invention to provide a
passive resistance exercise apparatus for use in exercising
almost any part of the body, and also to provide a range of
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resistance to motion such that the proper resistance can be
selected depending on the ~xercise being performed and on the
needs and desires of the person performing the exercises.
A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus
that allows progressive resistance exercises to be performed, and
that is embodied in a compact format that can be easily stored or
readily transported by an individual.
The present invention provides an apparatus that is adapted
to allow selectively variable resistance to movement,
specifically movement to exercise. More particularly, it
provides an apparatus that is adapted to allow passive resistance
to exercise. The exercise apparatus is intended to be used for a
number of different exercises and to provide whatever resistance
and range of motion is necessary for the particular exercise.
The apparatus has two arms rotationally attached to one
another near one end of each arm, and handles located near the
; other end of each arm. The unattached ends of the arms are moved
apart by holding on to each handle, typically with one`s hands or
feet, and separating the bars apart or moving the bars together,
depending on the exercise being performed. The exercise motion
is resisted by a passive resistance device attached between each
i of the arms'. Typi~ally, ~a~filuidic damper such as a pistoni is
used. It is also possible to use an active resistance means, such
as a spring, either separately or in conjunction with a passive
resistance means.
An important feature of the invention is that the apparatus
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allous variable resistance for each exercise. Resistance
variance is accomplished in one of two ways. The first way is by
adjusting the resistance means with respect to the location on
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the two arms to which it is attached. Placing the resistance
means nearer the attached ends of the two arms provides less
resistance than placing the resistance means nearer to the handle
ends of the arm. ~referably, one end of the resistance means is
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placed nearer to the attached ends of the arms, and the other ~;
end of the resistance means is placed nearer the handle end of
the arms such that the two arms may be collapsed together.
The second method of varying the resistance is to
permanently attach a variable resistance means to each of the
arms with one end of the resistance means placed nearer to the
handle end of one of the arms and the other end of the resistance
means placed nearer the attached end of the arms such that the
two arms may be collapsed together.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS: ~
~n exercise appartus as herein described is of a size such ~ ~ !
that it is readily portable. Drawings of two variations in size
are provided.
Embodiments of this invention will now be described by way
of example in association with the accompanying drawings, in
; which~
Figure 1 is a side view of the apparatus in a closed ;
posltion;
Figure 2 is a side view of the apparatus in an open
position; :~
Figures 4, 5, 6, 7 show one size of the apparatus being
used for various exercises;
Figure 8 shows a variation of the apparatus (in size,
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not structure) enabling it to be used for another type
of exercise. ~ --
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DETAILED DESCRIP~ION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS~
Reference will now be made to Figure 1 which shows the
exercise apparatus 20 being supported at both ends by the
horizontal surface 22. The exercise apparatus comprises a first
cooperating arm 24 and a second cooperating arm 26 joined in
rotatable relation to one another at one end of each of the two
arms. There is a connecting means 28 rigidly attached to one of
the two cooperating arms and rotatably attached at 30 to the
other cooperating arm. In the preferred embodiment, connecting
means 28 has a small pad 32 on the end thereof to protect the
horizontal surface it is resting on.
At the other end of the first cooperating arm 24 is a first
handle means 34 which is connected in slideable relation
thereto. The first handle means 34 is connected to a fastening
means 36 which is slideably located on the first arm 24.
Fastening means 36 is clamped in a position on the first
cooperating arm 24. A variety of means could be used such as a
snap clamp, a lever clamp, or a threaded tightening clamp such as
ciamp means 38.
~ In a similar manner, the second cooperating arm 26 has a
second handle~means 40 attached in a slideable ,relation thereto.
Fastening means 42 is clamped into position on the second
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cooperating arm 26 by a clamp fastening means. Again a variety ~ ;~
of clamping means may be used.
The first (34) and second (40) handle means may also be `~
rotational to the axis of the respective cooperating arms. Such
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rotation would encourage a user to provide substantially equal :
force to the handle at any given time during an exercise, or the
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handle would rotate. A handle configured thusly would also be
lockable such that it would not rotate if desired by the user.
The first handle means may have a rotating grip 39 placed on
it. Such free rotation of the grips precludes the wrists from
having to change angle or the hands from having to slide around
the handle means during an exercise movement.
The second handle means 40 may be a handle means similar to
the first handle means 34 or may be in the form of a base means
that is pivotally connected to the fastening means 42 and extends
outwardly therefrom. The base means terminates in a flat portion
44 that is adapted to be in intimate contact with a generally
flat receiving surface such as the horizontal surface 22. The
flat portion 44 is also adapted to receive the sole area of the
user`s feet or shoes in order that the base means is held
securely in place on the horizontal surface 22.
The resistance means 50 -- which is the preferred embodiment
is a fluidic damper (i.e., a piston), is attached at one end in a
slideable relation to the first cooperating arm 24 and, at the
other end, in a slideable relation to the second cooperating arm
26.
The connection to each cooperating arm is made by fastening
means~52 andl54. ~hese fastening means work in a similar manner
to the previously described fastening means 36 and 42. Other
types of fastening means could, of course, be used. The
resistance means 50 is attached pivotally to each of the
fastening means 52 and 54. In use, the fastening means 52 and 54
are secured to the first coooperating arm 24 and the second
cooperating arm 26 respectively. As shown in Figure 2, when the
first and second cooperating arms are moved apart, the resistance
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means 50 extends correspondingly.
Reference will now be made to Figure 3 which shows a person
in both a crouching position 70 and a standing position 72. The
person has grasped the exercise apparatus 2~ by the handle 34 and
has lifted the handle while going from a crouch position 70 to a
standing position 72. The first cooperating arm 24 and the
second cooperating arm 26 have an angularly displaced by such
lifting of the first handle means 34. Furthermore, the piston 50
has been lengthened because it is tightly connected to the two
cooperating arms. The piston 50 has also provided the passive
resistance to motion of the apparatus during the standing and
lifting steps.
As stated earlier, Figures 4 through 8 describe a variety of
exercises that can be accomplished using the present invention.
There are a number of other exercises that can be accomplished by
this invention. These diagrams are intended only to illustrate a
few exercises for the purpose of example.
It should also be noted that Figure 8 shows use of the
apparatus of the present inventi.on in a somewhat different
manner. ~It has been noted earlier that the apparatus may be made
smaller in size than as suggested by Figures 1 to 7; and
moreover, that the,lapparatus need not be supported against the
floor (or a wall) during its use. In this case, the apparatus is
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held in free space for purpose of exercises such as a chest ~:~
press, and is usually lighter and more compact in size. :~
Other modifications and alterations may be used in the
design and manufacture of the exercise apparatus of the present `~
; invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the
accompanying claims.
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