Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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EXERCISE APPARATUS
Field of the invention
The invention relates to exercise apparatus and relates particularly,
though not exclusively, to exercise apparatus which is suitable for
rehabilitation
of muscles, tendons, joints and neural control of the human body.
Background of the invention
The research literature relating to exercise physiology is generally in
favour of exercises which are performed in unstable environments, as such
exercises can have many and varied potential benefits, including:
(a) improving the speed of muscle contraction to stabilise the body from
falling or loosing balance.
(b) improving the strength of muscle contraction, due to the use of eccentric
and concentric muscular contractions
(c) improving general balance and co-ordination.
To date, one exercise device which uses this principle of an unstable
environment is the so-called "Swiss ball", which is a large resilient
inflatable
ball which can be used in a variety of exercises. It is found to be an
excellent
tool for general exercise as well as the rehabilitation of musculo-skeletal
injuries. However, there are various exercises that cannot adequately be
performed with the use of a Swiss ball of the type described.
It is desirable to provide an exercise apparatus which allows a wide range
of beneficial exercises to be performed by a user.
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Summary of the Invention .
According to one aspect of the invention there is provided an exercise
apparatus comprising a platform having an upper surface and a lower surface,
and an instability means including at least one convex member projecting from
the lower surface of the platform, wherein the platform is of sufficient
dimensions to allow an adult person to perform whole body exercises on the
platform with substantially full body contact.
Preferably, the platform is large enough for an adult person to perform
whole body exercises in a number of generally horizontal positions, including
IO prone, supine, and on hands and knees, without the body having to contact
another support or support surface.
The platform is preferably oblong in shape and, as an example, the
dimensions of the platform preferably fall substantially within the range from
about 1.5m to about 3.0m in length and about 0.6m to about 2.1m in width.
Preferably, the upper surface of the platform is covered in a resilient rubber-
like material.
Preferably, the at Ieast one convex member is detachable so that it can
be replaced with one or more other convex members having differing profiles
which consequently provide different stability characteristics. This allows a
user.to vary the characteristics of the device to allow different exercises to
be
performed with the apparatus.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided
an exercise apparatus comprising a platform having an upper surface and a
lower surface, and instability means including at least one convex member
projecting from the lower surface of the platform, wherein a plurality of
convex
members of different profiles are provided, and said at least one convex
member is detachably mounted on the lower surface of the platform to enable
replacement of said at least one convex member with at least one other convex
member having a different profile.
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Preferably, the lower surface of the platform includes a plurality of
fixtures to which the at least one convex member can be detachably
secured.
Preferably, the at least one convex member attached to the
platform is such that the platform occupies a substantially horizontal
position of equilibrium when standing at rest on a substantially flat
horizontal surface. In use, when the platform carries the body weight of
a person, the apparatus is preferably designed such that when the centre
of gravity of the person is offset in a horizontal direction from the centre
of gravity of the apparatus, the platform becomes unstable and rocks or
wobbles from its position of equilibrium. The person then faces the
challenge of attempting to keep the platform substantially horizontal
while performing any number of simple or complex exercises on the
apparatus.
The at least one convex member preferably has a part-cylindrical,
part-spherical or part-ovoid curved surface which is designed to stand on
the ground or other generally horizontal surface.
In one embodiment, at least two convex members, such as part
cylindrical rocker members, are attached to the lower surface of the
platform at spaced intervals from the centre of the platform.
In another embodiment, a single convex member, preferably in the
form of a dome-shaped member, is attached to the lower surface of the
platform. The centre of the dome-shaped member is preferably disposed
with its centre directly below the centre of the platform.
The platform of the apparatus may have mounting means on its
upper surface for mounting exercise attachments, such as bars, on the
platform,
In one embodiment, the at least one exercise attachment comprises
a transversely extending bar supported above the platform by at least one
upwardly extending member. It will, however, be appreciated that
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different kinds of exercise aids and attachments may be mounted on the
upper surface of the platform for different exercises. In another
embodiment, the exercise attachment comprises an exercise ball mounted
on the platform. For this purpose, the platform may have a removable
circular portion which, when removed, leaves a circular opening in the
platform for receiving the exercise ball.
According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided an
exercise apparatus compxzsing a platform having an upper surface and a
lower surface, an instability means comprising at least one convex
member projecting from the lower surface of the platform, wherein the
platform has means for mounting an exercise ball on the upper surface
of the platform.
The apparatus may also include handle means for carrying the
platform. The handle means may conveniently be constituted by shaped
apertures forming hand holds in the platform.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided an
exercise kit comprising a platform having an upper surface and a lower
surface, and a plurality of instability means comprising detachable
convex members removably attachable to the lower surface of the
platform, said detachable convex members having different profiles
providing different stability characteristics when attached to the platform.
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Brief description of the drawings
Various preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be
described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying
drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a top perspective view of a platform of exercise apparatus in
accordance with the invention;
Figure 2 is a bottom perspective view of the platform of Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a side view of an embodiment of exercise apparatus with two
rocker members attached to the platform;
Figure 4 is an end view of the exercise apparatus of Figure 3;
Figure 5 is a side view of the platform of Figure 1 with bar members
attached to the upper surface;
Figure 6 is an end view of the platform of Figure 5;
Figure 7 is a side view of another embodiment of exercise apparatus with
a dome-shaped member attached to the platform;
Figure 8 is an end view of the apparatus of Figure 7;
Figure 9 is a side view of a further embodiment of exercise apparatus
with a different dome-shaped member attached to the platform;
Figure 10 is an end view of the apparatus of Figure 9;
Figure 11 is a plan view of a modular platform;
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Figure 12 is a side view of the platform of Figure 11;
Figure 13 is a plan view of another modified embodiment of exercise
apparatus;
Figure 14 is a section on the line 14 - 14 of figure 13;
Figure 15 is a plan view of one end of the apparatus of Figure 13 with an
exercise ball mounted on the platform;
Figure 16 is an end view of the apparatus including the exercise ball; and
Figure 17 is a section on the line 17 - 17 of Figure 15.
Description of preferred embodiments
Figures 1 and 2 show a platform 10 for exercise apparatus having an
upper surface 11 and a lower surface 12. A plurality of attachment members 13,
and 14 are provided on the lower surface 12 of the platform 10 to which one or
more detachable convex rocker members 30, 70 or 90 are designed to be
attached to form different embodiments of exercise apparatus in accordance
with the invention.
The platform 10 preferably comprises a generally oblong shaped board
having substantially straight sides 15 and curved ends 16. The platform 10 may
be made of any substantially rigid material.which is designed to carry the
weight of a person on the platform. Suitable materials for construction of the
platform include wood, such as a sturdy craftwood, metal and substantially
rigid
plastics materials. Preferably, the upper surface 11 of the platform 10 is
covered with a layer of cushioning material 17 (Fig. 3), such as a rubberised
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matting material of the type which is used for exercise mats.
The platform 10 is designed to support the weight of a person in a
number of different positions, including prone and supine positions. The
length
of the platform preferably falls substantially within the range from about
1.5m
to about 3m. The width of the platform preferably falls substantially within
the
range from about 0.9m to about 2.1m.
Refernng more specifically to Figure 2, the attachment members 13, 14
are in the form of elongate fixtures secured to the lower surface 12 of the
platform 10, eg by screws or other fixing means. Each fixture 13, 14 has side
limbs 22 which are shaped to define a channel 24 between the limbs 22. As
shown in Figure 2, two pairs of parallel attachment members 13 and 14
extending laterally across the platform 10 are provided. A first pair of the
attachment members 13 are provided towards the curved ends 16 of the platform
10 and the second pair of attachment members 14 are provided in a more central
position on either side of the centre of the platform 10. It will, however, be
appreciated that the number, form and location of the attachment members may
vary for different types of exercise apparatus in accordance with the
invention.
As shown in Figure 1, the platform 10 has' a plurality of mounting
recesses 18 in its upper surface 11 for mounting exercise attachments 50 to
the
platform 10 as will be described in greater detail with reference to Figures 5
and
6. The platform 10 also has a pair of curved apertures 19 located adjacent the
sides 15 of the platform 10 at intermediate positions along the length of the
platform 10 to provide hand holds for carrying the platform when not in use.
Figures 3 and 4 show an embodiment of exercise apparatus in accordance
with the invention in which a pair of convex instability members in the form
of
rocker members 30 are detachably mounted to the first pair of attachment
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members 13 towards the ends 16 of the platform 10. Each rocker member 30 is
substantially D-shaped having a part-cylindrical lower surface 32, two
opposed,
substantially flat end surfaces 34 and a substantially flat upper surface 36.
An
elongate attachment portion 38 provided on the upper surface 36 of the rocker
member 30 is adapted to slide into the channel 24 of a respective attachment
member 13 on the lower surface 12 of the platform 10 and the rocker member
30 may be secured in position by a releasable locking means (not shown).
In use, when resting on a substantially horizontal surface, the exercise
apparatus of Figures 3 and 4 provides a flat platform which normally occupies
a
substantially horizontal position of equilibrium, but which becomes unstable
and rocks when a person is positioned on the platform 10 with his/her centre
of
gravity offset from the central longitudinal axis of the platform 10. The
principal use of the exercise apparatus is for the person to perform
exercises,
simple or complex, on the platform 10 whilst at the same time adjusting and
correcting his/her position on the platform 10 in an attempt to balance on the
platform 10 by attempting to restore or maintain the platform 10 in a
substantially horizontal orientation.
The exercise apparatus of Figures 3 and 4 is preferably provided as a kit
including a number of differently shaped detachable rocker members 30 so that
the degree of difficulty in balancing on the platform 10 may be varied by
substituting one pair of rocker members for another. For instance, flatter
shaped
rocker members 30 having a larger radius of curvature of the curved surface 32
may provide an easier balancing challenge than rounder or deeper angled rocker
members 30 having a smaller radius of curvature. The dimensions of the rocker
elements 30 may vary from about 5cm to 30cm in length and from about 4cm to
30cm in depth and they can be from about 2cm to 5cm thick.
Figures 5 and 6 show a pair of upper exercise attachments 50 attached to
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the upper surface 12 of the platform 10. Each exercise attachment 50 comprises
a laterally extending cylindrical bar 52 supported above the platform 10 by
posts
54 at each end of the bar 52. The upper ends of the upright members 52 are
joined to the bar 52 and the lower ends of the posts 54 are releasably mounted
in
the mounting recesses 18 in the upper surface 12 of the platform 10. The
exercise attachments 50 are provided to broaden the range of exercises which
may be performed on the platform. For instance, if only one of bars 52 is
used,
a person may hook his or her feet around the bar 52 at one end of the platform
and perform sit ups on the platform. Alternatively, a bar 52 may be gripped
10 by a person's hand while performing body curls on the platform.
Whilst there are no rocker members shown in Figures 5 and 6, rocker
members 30 such as in Figures 3 and 4, or a member 70, 90 of the type which
will be described with reference to Figures 7 to 10, will normally be attached
to
one or more of the attachment members 13, 14 on the lower surface 12 of the
platform 10 so that the person exercising on the platform has to balance in
addition to performing exercises, such as sit ups.
It will also be appreciated that the types of exercise attachments which
may be detachably mounted to the upper surface of the platform 10 are not
limited to bars 52 and that other types of exercise attachments may be
provided
for different exercises.
Figures 7 and 8 show another embodiment of exercise apparatus in
accordance with the invention in which a single dome-shaped instability
member 70 is detachably mounted to the second pair of attachment members 14
in a central position on the lower surface 12 of the platform 10. The dome-
shaped rocker member 70 is preferably formed from a part-spherical metal
dome having a part-spherical lower surface 72, a board 73 provided on a
substantially flat upper surface 74 of the dome and a pair of attachment
portions
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76 on the board 73 on the upper surface 74. Each attachment portion 76 is
adapted to slide into the channel of a respective one of the second pair of
attachment members 14 and to be secured in position by a releasable locking
means (not shown).
As in the embodiment of Figures 3 and 4, the exercise apparatus of
Figures 7 and 8 provides a flat platform 10 which normally occupies a
substantially horizontal position of equilibrium when resting on a
substantially
horizontal surface. However, when a person is supported on the platform with
his/her centre of gravity offset in a lateral direction from the centre of the
platform 10 and dome-shaped member 70, the platform 10 will tilt from its
horizontal level position. The dome-shaped member 70 therefore allows for
tilting or wobbling movements of the platform 10 in all directions thus
presenting a person exercising with a more difficult challenge to balance on
the
platform 10 by maintaining the platform 10 in a substantially horizontal
position
while performing exercises on the platform 10.
The degree of difficulty in balancing on the platform 10 may be varied by
providing a number of detachable dome-shaped members 70 of varying shape,
size and radius of curvature. For instance, the diameter of the dome-shaped
member 70 may vary from about 15 cm to about 40cm or more, and the depth of
the dome-shaped member 70 may vary from about l Ocm to about 40cm or
more.
Referring to Figures 9 and 10, there is shown a modified embodiment of
an exercise apparatus having a dome-shaped member 90 of a different shape
releasably attached to the lower surface 12 of the platform 10. The dome-
shaped member 90 is preferably formed from a part-ovoid shaped dome having
a part-ovoid lower surface 92, a board 93 covering a substantially flat upper
surface 94 of the dome and a plurality of attachment portions 96 on the board
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93. Each attachment portion 96 is adapted to slide into the channel of a
respective one of the attachment members 13, 14 on the lower surface 12 of the
platform 10 and to be secured in position by a releasable locking means (not
shown).
The exercise apparatus of Figures 9 and 10 may be used in similar
manner to the apparatus of Figures 7 and 8. However, because of the part-ovoid
surface 92 of the dome-shaped member 90, the main tilting or wobbling
movement of the platform 10 from its substantially horizontal position will be
a
rocking movement from side to side with a lesser degree of tilting from end to
end.
Figures 11 and 12 show a modular construction of a platform 100 for
exercise apparatus in accordance with the invention. The platform 100 is
formed from three parts, a central part 110 and a pair of end parts 120, 130.
The
central part 110 has a pair of straight side walls 111 and a pair of end walls
112.
Each end wall 112 has a central protruding portion 114. The end parts 120, 130
each have straight side walls 12, a curved end wall 122 and an opposite
end~wall
123 with a recess 124 of complementary shape to the protruding portion 114 of
the adjacent end wall 112 of the central part 110. The cross-sectional shapes
of
the adjacent end walls 112, 122 of the central part 110 and the end parts 120,
130 are such that the end walls 112, 122 engage with each other to form a
mortice and tenon joint and the parts 110, 120, 130 are locked together by
releasable locking clips 115 on the side walls 111 of the central part 110
which
engage over projections 125 on the side walls 121 of the end parts 120, 130.
As shown in Figures 11 and 12, the central part 110 is provided with a
pair of attachment members 14 on its lower surface 12 and a pair of apertures
19
forming hand holds are provided adjacent the sides of the central part 110.
Each
end part 120, 130 is provided with an attachment member 13 on its lower
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surface 12 and a pair of mounting recesses 18 on its upper surface 11. Thus,
when the platform 100 of Figures 11 and 12 is fully assembled it has
essentially
the same features as the platform 10 of Figures 1 and 2 and may be used to
form
exercise apparatus as in any one of the embodiments of Figures 3 to 10 by
releasably attaching different convex instability members to the attachment
members 13 and/or 14.
A modular platform is also advantageous in that the central part 110 may
be used with only one of the end parts 120 or 130 to provide an exercise
platform of shorter length when the full length of the three part platform 110
of
Figures 11 and 12, for example, for some exercises such as sit-ups with one
exercise bar attachment 50 mounted in the recesses 18 of the end part 120 or
130. With such a shorter platform, a pair of rocker members 30 of the kind
shown in Figures 3 and 4 may be attached to the attachment member 13 and the
end attachment member 14 on platform part 110, or a dome-shaped instability
member 70 or 90 of the kind described with reference to Figures 7 to 10 may be
attached to the central attachment member 14 or to all three of the attachment
members 13, 14 of the two-part platform.
Another modified embodiment of an exercise apparatus 200 in
accordance with the invention is shown in Figures 13 to 17. The apparatus is
similar to that of Figures 3 and 4 in that it comprises an oblong platform 210
with a plurality of convex instability members in the form of D-shaped rocker
members 230 detachably mounted to a pair of transverse attachment members
213 on the lower surface 212 of the platform towards the ends 216 of the
platform 210. If required, a central rocker member 232 may also be detachably
mounted to a central transversely extending attachment member 214.
Alternatively, a dome-shaped instability member, such as one of the dome-
shaped members 70, 90 described with reference to Figures 7 to 9, may be
mounted to one or more of the attachment members 213, 214.
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The exercise apparatus of Figures 13 to 17 differs primarily from those of the
previous embodiments in that the platform 210 has a removal circular portion
220 which, when removed, creates a circular opening 222 forming a mounting
means for mounting on the upper surface 211 of the platform 210 an exercise
aid or attachment in the form of a large exercise ball 250 of the type known
as a
"Swiss ball".
The exercise ball 250 is received in the circular mounting opening 222 such
that
only a small part of the ball 250 extends below the lower surface 212 of the
platform 210 with most of the ball 250 extending above the upper surface 211
as shown in Figures 15 to 17. The exercise ball 250 may be secured in position
by a plurality of straps 240. Each strap 240 has one end attached to a
securing
means, such as a hook, for attachment to a mount 242 provided in the upper
surface 211 of the platform 210 and the straps 240 extend over part of the
circumference of the ball 250 and are joined together, eg by being sewn or
otherwise secured to a piece of material 245 disposed on top of the ball 250.
As
shown in Figure 15, three straps 240 are provided, though the number and form
of straps may be varied, if required.
The straps 240 are preferably formed from an elastic material to assist in
mounting and securing the exercise ball 250.
In use, the exercise ball 250 mounted on the platform provides the user with a
wider variety of possible exercises. For example, the user may lean on the
exercise ball 250 with the upper part of his/her body supported by the ball
and
his feet on the other end of the platform 210.
The user can then perform whole body exercises on the exercise ball 250 and,
at
the same time, attempt to maintain the platform in a substantially horizontal
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orientation, thereby improving his/her balance skills. In this case, the
exercise
ball 250 act as a fixed apparatus on an unstable supporting platform 220, in
contrast to the normal use of a Swiss ball, which is a moveable apparatus on a
fixed surface, eg the ground.
From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that the present invention
provides a versatile exercise apparatus having a platform for exercising to
which
different forms and shapes of instability members and exercise attachments may
be detachably mounted so that the person using the apparatus may perform a
wide variety of exercises in a number of different positions on the oblong
platform, including the following positions: prone, supine, semi-supine,
quadruped (four point hand and knee contact), standing, lunge and squatting.
The exercise apparatus provides different levels of difficulty challenges
ranging from gentle rocking movement with rocker attachments having a gentle
curved surface, to exercises with a centrally positioned dome-shaped member
that provides freedom of movement for the platform to tilt not only from side
to
side but also back and forth and in all combinations of these two directions:
The apparatus of the invention also allows for different levels of
capability and when a novice has improved his balance skills with a gently
curved instability member, the challenge can be increased by changing the
detachable instability member with another instability member having a more
sharply curved surface.
The exercises may be performed on the platform either with or without
weights, exercise attachments on the upper surface of the platform or other
external exercise devices, such as ab-rockers.
The exercise apparatus of the present invention enables unique balancing
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exercises to be performed and can be used in a wide variety of locations, such
as
rehabilitation centres, gymnasiums and in the home. It is also readily
transportable and can be easily carried by means of the handholds 19.
It will be appreciated that various modifications and additions may be
made to the preferred embodiments described above with reference to the
drawings without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.
For example, in another alternative embodiment, a number of resilient members,
such as coil springs, may be mounted on the lower surface of the platform in
addition to the at least one convex member, so that the apparatus is put under
tension when it rocks, tilts or wobbles.
