Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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TITLE: ADJUSTABLE WATER-FILLABLE EXERCISE WEIGHTS
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to hand-held
exercising devices and is more particularly concerned with
dumbells or barbells comprising water-fillable bellows-form
weights which may be expanded to selected, reversibly lockable
positions corresponding to predetermined levels of resistance
to lifting of the barbell or dumbell when the weights are
filled with water.
LO The desirability of portable exercise equipment such as
"travel dumbells" has long been recognized and several
examples are found in the prior art of exercise apparatus
which may be. adjusted by filling weight reservoirs with fluid
to provide variable resistance to lifting, for example,
L5 Jenison, U.S. patent No. 4,695,051; Sherman, U.S. patent No.
4,997,184; Brown, U.S. patent No. 5,445,587 and Brown, U.S.
patent No. 5,857,946.
In any weight training program, it is desired'to have a
~0 variety of dumbells or barbells in which the end weight
portions can be selectively increased by integral increments
of, say, 5 lbs. The hand-held exercise devices hitherto
provided in the prior art not entirely satisfactory for this
purpose, either from the point of view of non-collapsability
Z5 (i.e. of a fluid refillable exercise apparatus including a
fluid filling scale) or of collapsability, but without any
readily measurable and reproducible weight increment~on adding ,
fluid to the device.
30 It is a principal object of the invention to provide
easily portable and packable dumbell/barbell equipment which
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can be assembled and reproducibly charged with water to a
desired weight. After use, the collapsed and empty end
weights can be taken off the bar, packed and carried around in
a suitcase or the like.
Accordingly, a traveler having arrived at his hotel room,
say, and desirous of carrying out weight lifting exercises in
his own room can unobtrusively assemble the dumbell or
barbell, fill the weight containers to desired calibrated
levels and later empty them and pack the lot away.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
With a view to providing an improved variable resistance
dumbell or barbell that achieves this principal object and
avoids the shortcomings of similar prior art devices, I have
invented a duinbell/barbell arrangement in which each weight is
a container for fluid, comprising rigid plate members and a
collapsible/expandible receptacle extending between opposing
faces of the plate members. Means such as a screw-capped
filling port is used for introducing or removing water into
the expandable weight unit. '
In a preferred embodiment of my invention, each weight
unit is a container having a central channel to receive a
portion of the crossbar and is expandable in bellows-like
fashion along calibrated stopping points on the crossbar of
the exercise device, giving a clear visual numerical rendering
of the filled weight of each weight container.
Weight lifting equipment according to the present
invention is particularly useful for exercising at the beach,
where water is readily available and the light weight and
portability of the equipment is advantageous. Similarly, the
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ease of adjustability of the variable weights make them ideal
for carrying out a graded workout beside a swimming pool.
The invention may be embodied in the form illustrated in
the accompanying drawings, which are by way of example only.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES
Figure 1 is an elevational view of a dumbell according to
the present invention, in which the bellows-form weight units
are shown compressed to their minimum internal volume;
Figure 1A is a plan view of one of the two rigid plate
members that accommodate an end of the crossbar of the dumbell
or barbell;
Figure 2 is a view like that of Figure 1 but showing the
bellows-form weight containers expanded to their maximum
volume capacity;
Figure 3 is a further view of the dumbell of Figure 1,
but with exterior of the weight container and of'the outer
covering of the crossbar partly broken 'away to show the
internal functioning components;
Figure 4 is a partly broken away view like that of Figure
3, but in which the bellows-form weight container is shown
expanded to its maximum capacity;
Figure 4A is a view of the outer end plate of.Figure 1A
seen in the direction of arrow A towards the partly broken
away portion of Figure 4;
Figure 4B is a partly broken away view of the inner end
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plate of the weight unit which includes the end plate of
Figure 3A, seen in the direction of arrow B in Figure 4; and
Figure 5 is an exploded view illustrating components of
an extendable crossbar arrangement which may in a preferred
embodiment conveniently be used in conjunction with bellows-
form weights according to the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Turning now descriptively to the drawings, in which
similar reference characters denote similar elements
throughout the several views, Figure 1 illustrates the
exterior view of a dumbell including a crossbar 10 and
identical bellows-form weight units indicated generally at 12a
and 12b, each shown linearly compressed to its smallest
volume. In Figure 1, scale markers seen through apertures 14
on crossbar 10 indicate (for example) that in their compressed
configuration each of the weight units 12a and 12b holds 5
lbs. of water when filled.
Figure 2 is similar to Figure 1 but with the bellows-form
weight unit fluid containers 12a and 12b expanded to their
maximum limit capacities, by way of example 30 lbs. each. In
the minimum/maximum expansion views of the dumbell shown in
Figures 3 and 4, respectively, the exterior of weight unit of
12b has been shown partly broken and partly in section to
reveal the internal components, and the adjacent outer portion
of crossbar 10.
In the illustrated embodiment, crossbar l0 comprises an
inner, inflexible tubular main bar portion 10a made of
aluminum, rigid plastic or the like and an outer tubular sheet
lOb made of medium density rubber or like material to provide
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a desirable grip-coating for the crossbar.
Each weight unit comprises a first rigid plate member 16
having a central aperture 18 for receiving an end of crossbar
10, and second rigid plate member 20 in axial alignment with
crossbar 10 and first plate member 16. These plates form an
integral weight unit with flexible bellows-formed receptacle
22 which may be fabricated, for example, of a flexible
silicone polymer including end portions 22a which outwardly
overlap and cover face plates 16 and 20.
As best seen in the partly broken away view of weight
unit 12b in Figure 4 and in the corresponding exploded view in
Figure 5, bellows-form is of. generally annular cross-sectional
configuration presenting a central longitudinal walled passage
22a which in the assembled dumbell is in axial alignment with
crossbar 10 and the central aperture 18 through the two inner
plates 16 of units 12a and 12b.
As superposed positions symmetrically inset from their
opposite ends, hollow bar 10a and lOb include apertures 14 to
accommodate and reversibly' lock on to leaf-spring loaded
buttons 24a on either of two bar inserts 26a and 26b which
fits slidably within the interior channel of crossbar 10. The
outer ends 27a and 27b of bar inserts 26a and 26 are in use
respectively secured to corresponding outer end plates 20 of
the two weight units. These slides/snap-lock interrelationship
of bar inserts 26a and 26b to the inner bar 10a is best seen
in the exploded view of Figure 5. In Figure 5 and in its
cross-sectional view along directional arrow A, bar insert 26a
is shown outwardly withdrawn to a snap-lock position
corresponding to maximum expansion of the bellows of weight
unit 12a.
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The fully compressed position of a bellows 22 may
optionally be releasably secured by means of locking tabs 27
and 28 formed on the inner faces of end plate 16 and 20
respectively, of the weight unit, best seen in the exploded
S view of Figure 5. Locking tabs 27 and 28 are temporarily
locked then released for use by opposite slight twisting
motions of the ends of an emptied, fully compressed weight
unit.
When a bellows is expanded or contracted to a desired
calibration position, water is added through filling means.
In the'illustrated embodiment this is threaded filling port
30a with associated screw cap 30b.
It is also advantageous to include for each weight unit
a compression spring 32 which nests within channel 22a and
bears against the inner faces of plate members 16 and 20' to
facilitate expansion of the bellows between successive space
settings.
Together, a bellows, its front and end plates and it.s
locking tabs may be removed from the crossbar with their
respective bar inserts 26a and 26b for filling, emptying,
storage or travel, simply by releasing the last (highest)
weight setting, sliding the unit of the bar and emptying the
bellows of fluid. The bar insert can then be removed from the
bellows and packed into the interior of crossbar l0.
It will be seen from the foregoing that the novel use by~
the present invention of expanding/contracting bellows-formed
fin able weights, in conjunction with step-up weight
calibration bar locking means affords convenience, ease of use
and portability significantly-superior to adjustable weights
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in the prior art.
The invention is defined in the claims which follow and
it will be appreciated that a number of obvious variants could
be made without' departing from the spirit and scope of the
invention. For example, a heavy weight barbell made according
to the invention need not be restricted to a single pair of
bellows units at opposite ends of a bar. Additional weights
could be included by multiple interlocking or separate units
LO at each ends of the bar.
