Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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~X~RCIS~ V~ST
~ACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
ThiY invention relatea in ~ener~l to exeraise apparel and
more ~peaifiaally to Vests worn by atheletes for weight
resistance while performin~ a wide variety of athletia
trainin~ ~otivities.
2. Desaription o~ the Relev~nt Art
For an ~thelete to ~tt~in hia/her optimum potential in
any Aativity~ the benefit~ derived from we~rin~ a weighted
vest hre well known. As well ag providin~ aerobia benefits,
one of the best methods to improve balanae, stren~th, ~peed
and stamina i8 through the use of added weight above the
wai 8 t.
~ xi~tin~ wei~ht ve~t~ fall far short of being praatiaal
due to the inher~nt fl~ws in their desi~n. Vests usin~
liquid-filled poa~ets are subieat to rupture during heavy
body-aontaat aativities.
Vests using ~olid weights (lead) as in US Patent No.
4,658,442 would ,of neaessity, re~uire weights of ~uoh size
and thiakness in order to aahieve the desired effects, that
the weights would not be bendable so as to aonform to the
shape of the user'Y upper torso.
Designs u~ing solid (lead~ weights such as US Patent No.
4,602,387 and US Patent No. 4,989,Z67 where a portion of
each weight is exposed~ must be aonsided hazardous
protru~ion~. guah de~igns subje~t ~ot only the u6er, but
also anyone ~oming in aontaat with the user to bruising and
~v~ r,~
chaf~ing. When the mo~ement Of these weights and more
specifically the prevention of the weights from flying out
of an open-ended poaket is restricted only by the u9e of an
el~atic band, the safety factor i9 dramatiaally reduaed with
each wearin~ of the ve~t due to the natural breakdown in
resi~tanae and subsequent deterioration of elastic. Any
design using solid lead weights will severly restriat upper
body movement and prohibit any body aontaat.
US Patent No. 5,002,270 ~laims to be a variable weight
vest that u~es loo~e or enaap~ulated lead shot that i9
pl~ced in equal amounts o~ 3-1/2 pounds, or equal portions
thereof, into eaah of a speaifia and limited number of
poakets, eaah of which i8 of a fixed and permanent ~i~e.
~ xperimenta have shown that even when the maximum amount
of weight i~ inserted into a poaket of the fixed dimensions
recommended by this de~ign, empty spaae remains within the
poaket ~llowing ~i~nifi~ant movement of the weight. The
natural motion of the u~er'a body during normal aativity
generates aonstant movement of the weight within the pooket
and is suffiaient to plaae considerable and exaessive stress
on the aonstruction of a single poaket bearing 3-1/2 pounds
of lead weight and is likely to cause the Premature
breakdown of the poaket and the resultant expulsion of the
weight.
When a portion of the weight i9 removed from eaah poaket,
the amount of empty space is inareased thereby exaggerating
the movement of the remaining weight.
Movement of the weights while exeraising aan not only
aause bruising and ahaffing but also severely affeat the
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user'æ balance in a negative and adveræe manner.
US Patent No. ~7002,27D also claims a unique loading
design whereby the weights (14 pounds) on the front of the
ve~t equal exactly twice the wei~ht ~7 pounds) on the baak.
Researah indicates that after very litle use, this two to
one design areates unde~ireable strain on neckl shoulder and
baak muscles. Prolonged use of a vest of this design may
prove dangerous to the wearer.
In order to ensure that the weights in each pocket used
in this design are both equal and acaurate, whenever the
total weight o~ the vest iæ changed, requires the purchase
and u~e of a set of weigh-scales.
US Patent No. 4,989,267 also uses solid lead weights that
protrude from the vest and aan be removed in order to vary
the total weight of the vest. I~ the weights can be easily
removed æo as to vary the total weight of the vest, then
æuch weights could also be readily dislodged during bodily
contact and thus present a danger. It is also questionable
whether a vest of this design is inexpensive.
None of the existing design~ have a meanæ of limiting the
maximum total weight of each veæt, in order to provide a
safety factor for the u~er.
It is therefore desireable to have a safe~ simple and
economical, variable weight training vest that can be snugly
worn by people involved in a wide range of athletic
activities.
It is also desireable to have a vest that will not
inhibit upper body movement nor be dangerous because of
movement~ location~ size~ shape or material of the weightæ.
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It i4 further desireable to have a maximum
wei~ht-limiting factor f~r the ~a~ety of the u~er.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention, whiah i8 a variable weight
athletia trainin~ vest aomprises a body having a baok panel
and le~t and rieht front p~nel~. The baak and front panel~
inalude interaonneating p~nels that extend aaro~s the
~houlder~ ~nd ~11 pAnels m~y aon8i8t Of one sin~le ~heet of
lightweight ~lexible material. The ~ront panels are al~o
joined to the b~ok panel ~lon~ their appropriate side edge~
by an ela~tia material. Seaurin~ the two front p~nels
together is aaaompli~hed by the use o~ numerou~ ~trap~ whiah
are att~ahed to one ~ront p~nel And p~8s through D-rin~s or
buckles ~ttaahed to the other ~ront panel. These straps may
be aomprised o~ material th~t uses mating hooks and loops
thereby allowinK them to be fa~tened back onto them~elves.
Padding i9 also a~fixed aaross the top edge of the baak
panel and over both sho~lders.
Numerous horizontally and vertiaally spaced pooket~ are
formed on the back panel and eaoh of the left and right
front panels, with all poakets being of identiaal ~i7e and
shape. The pookets reoeive weights eaah of identiaal size,
shape and weight whiah are permanently and tightly sealed
into wei~ht p~okets made of lightweight, flexible material.
By way of ex~mple only~ in the preferred embodiment eaah
weight p~cket weighs 1/2 pound. Any movement of the weight~
within the pock~ts i~ eliminated by the fact that the wei~ht
packet~ completely Xill the ~pace of each pooket. ~ach
weight packet i~ held within eaoh pocket by a flap that
overlays the open end of each po~ket. Eaoh flap i8 ti~htly
secured to the pocket by the use of corre~pondin~ mating
hooks and loop fa~tener~ located on the inside o~ the flap
and the outside of the pooket. This design allow~ the total
weight of any vest to be easily and oonveniently varied in
small increments by the user~
In the preferred embodiment the weight~ aomprise s~nd in
relatively small amounts 90 as to provide su~fiaient wei~ht
without plAaing undue ~tres~ on the m~terial u~ed to
aon~tru~t the ~arment. Sand also aonform~ to the
aonfigur~tion of the u~er' 9 upper torso and does not have a
fixed and rigid shape suah ag lead.
When the ve~t of the preferred embodiment is worn, the
bulk o~ the weight is located in a ~enerally symmetrioal
pattern below the user's chest so as to eliminate affeoting
the user's balanae in a negative way. The total weight borne
by the baak panel is always equal to the total oombined
weight borne by the front panels.
It i9 the object of this invention to provide a safe,
simple, eoonomiaal, aomfortable and snug-fitting, variable
weight training vest whioh uses soft, immobilized weight~.
It is al90 the object of this invention to provide a safe
athletic training vest havin~ a predetermined maximum weight
ma99 based on a percentage of the user's body weight.
The features and advantages of this invention will be
better understood upon reading the following detailed
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de~cription and accompanying drawings.
BRI~F D~SCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 i~ a front view of one embodiment of the ve~t of the
present invention.
FIG. 2 i~ ~ rear view of one embodiment of the present
invention.
FIG. 3 is a ~ide view of one embodiment of the pre~ent
invention.
D~TAI~D D~SCRIPTION OF TH~ INV~NTION
Referrin~ now to the drawings ~nd more particularly Fig.
1 and Fig. Z, there i8 shown an exerci8e vest de~ignated by
referenae numer~l ~O~ aomprising a left ~ront panel 12,
right front panel 14, and a back panel 16. 'Ri~ht" in this
context refers to the side o~ the ~ser'~ body ~overed by the
"ri~ht" panel.
The front panels 12 and 14 are joined to the rear panel
16 at their approxim~te top ed~es in order to create an area
of support over the user's shoulter8, by a pair of
connectin~ portion~ 40 ~nd 4Z.
The front panels 12 and 14 and the back panel 16 are
sufficiently ~hort in length ~o a~ to ride above
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the wearer~s waist, therby allowing for freedom of ~ovement
while preventing rubbing and chaffing about the hips. In the
preferred embodiment the panels lZ, 14, 16, 40 and 4Z are
aompri~ed of lightweight, flexible material such as nylon.
The baak panel 16 is joined to each o~ the front panels
12 and 14 by an elasti~ized panel 18 lo~ated under eaah arm.
The preferred embodiment india~tes a sin~le joinin~ elastic
panel, but may oon~i~t of numerous small elastic side
joinin~; ~tr~p~3. In the pre~erred emb~diment (Fig. 3)
el~tisized me~ns 18 join~ the right front panel 14 to the
rear p~nel 16 along their respective side edges.
In the preferred embodiment (Fig. 3~ elA~tisized mean~ 1
joins in an identiaal m~nner the left front panel 12 (not
shown) to the rear panel 16 along their respeative ~ide
edge~.
To enable the ve~t to fit ~nuggly to the wearer'~ body,
~ront fastenin8 means ~9 ~hown in Fig. 1 ~uah as 3traps 20
and D-rings 22 are seaured horizontally oppo~ite eaah other
on the panels 14 and 12. In the pre~erred embodiment
numerous ~traps 20 are made of hook/loop fastening material.
Foam padding 24 and 26 shown in phantom i~ in~erted into
closeable pockets 50 located on the underside of the vest 10
aaro~ the top of eaah ~houlder 40 and 42, and at
approximately the upper edge and on the inside of the baak
panel 16. Eaah poaket 50 is sealed with hook and loop
fasteners.
It i9 found that suffiaient padding 24 and 26 offers the
oomfort~ proteation and support required to avoid the
bruising of musales in ~hese areas.
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A plurality of horizontally and vertically aligned
pockets Z8 for receivin~ weight packets 30, shown in
phantom, are located on each of the front panels lZ and 14
and the back panel 16. Eaah poaket 28 is of identioal ~ize
and shape in order to receive a weight packet 30. Eaah
weight paaket 30 i8 ~imilar in size and weight. ~aah weight
paaket ~0 i9 se~led into its respeative pocket Z8 by a flap
44 a8 shown in Fi~. 3.
~ aah flap 44 aan be sealed to the poaket ZA in order to
immobilize and retain the wei~ht paoket 30 within the pocket
2~. The flap 44 is sealed to the pocket 2~ by means of hook
and loop ~asteners 46, as shown in Fig. 3, loaated on the
underside of eaah flap 44 and oorrespondin~ly on the outside
o~ each pooket 2~. By w~y of example, a flap 44 and hook and
loop ~a8teners 46 are 8hown on only one pocket 28 but are
preferably assoaiated with every poaket 2~.
While the total number o$ poakets 2~ may vary ~rom vest
to ve~t aaoording to the amount of wei~ht to be safely u~ed
by the wearer based on a per~enta~e of the user's body
weight, the ~ e and shape of eaah poaket Z~ remains
identiaal on ea~h vest, as does the ~i~e and shape o~ each
w~ight p~aket 30.
The total weight cf any vest is alway~ e~ually divided 90
that the weight a8signed to the baoX pane~ 16 i~ alway~
equal to the combined ~um of the weight found on the front
panels 12 and 14.
Regardless of the total ma99 of any vest~ the bulk o~ the
wei~ht i8 always located in the lower areas of the back
panel 16 and each of the ~ront panels 12 and 14. This method
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o~ deployment serves to minimise the negative e~feat of
weight on the u~er's balance.
Weight~ in a pre~erred embodiment comprise~ sand of
predetermined and identiaal wei~ht. Eaah identical amount i~
seaured ~nuggly and permenantly into packets 30 shown in
phantom. Each weight paaket 30 i9 secured snuggly into a
poaket 28. The use of sand is preferred because of its
inherent ability to ~on~orm to the shape of the user'8 body.
The primary re~son for u~in~ sand is it~ resilienay and
the obviou~ ~afety faator this aharaateri~tia of ~ers over
lead, particularly when the vest i8 u~ed by an athelete
involved in any body- aontaat aativity. An additional
oonaider~tion for usin~ sant rather than lead is aoat.
Although this invention ha~ been de~aribed in speaifia
detail with partiaular referenae to preferred embodiment~,
it will be understood that modifications and variations
within the ~aope o~ the invention are intended to be aovered
aa de~aribed in the appended alaims.
