Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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LOWER BACK EXERCISING MACHINE
Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a lower
back exercising machine and more particularly to such
a machine which provides a varying amount of
resistance force to the user in various positions of
movement when exercising the muscles in the lower
back.
Background of the Invention
` During recent years, a variety of different
types of exercising machines have been developed for
exercising and strengthening certain groups of
muscles in the body. However, no real effort has
been made to develop a machine which is particularly
adapted for exercising the muscles in the lower back,
and particularly no such machine has been developed
which varies the resisting force against the muscles
when the back is moved back and forth between a for-
wardly bent position and a position with the spine in
a substantially straight position.
It has been proposed that the muscles in the
; lower back may be exercised by repeatedly performing
a so-called "dead lift" of a barbell weight in which
a person maintains the legs stiff and bends the back
forwardly and lifts the weight from the floor while
straightening the back and then again bends the back
forwardly while lowering the barbell weight to the
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floor. In this type of exercise, the resistance to
the lifting force is very high when the spine is bent
forwardly and the resistance force is reduced to near
zero when the spine is in the straight or upright
position. In this upright position, the only force
being applied is a compression force on the spine and
no resistance force is being applied to the muscles
of the lower back. Therefore, the resistance force
applied to the muscles in the lower back is not pro-
perly varied throughout all positions of the exer-
cising movement.
lt has also been proposed that the lower
back muscles be exercised by a "hyper-extension" type
of exercise in which the person lays face down on an
elevated bench or platform with the feet restrained
; and with the upper portion of the body extending o~lt-
wardly beyond one end of the bench. This exercise
begins with the upper portion of the body hanging
downwardly from the bench or platform with the spine
in a forwardly bent position and then the upper por-
tion of the body is raised and moved upwardly to
substantially a horizontal position so that the spine
is substantially straight. The upper portion of the
body is then lowered and moved back to the forwardly
bent position. In this exercise, the resistance to
movement of the muscles in the lower back is very low
and practically no resistance force is provided when
the back is in the forwardly bent position while
maximum resistance force is provided at the end of
the upward movement. Thus, this exercise does not
provide the proper amount of variable resistance
throughout the entire movement of the upper body.
Also, a pulling or extension force is applied to the
spine when the upper portion of the body is in a ver-
tical downwardly extending position.
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Summary of the Invention
With the foregoing in mind, it is an objectof the present invention to provide a lower back exer-
cising machine which provides the proper amount of
varied resistance force to the muscles throughout the
entire exercising movement and without imposing
compressive or extension forces on the spine of the
user.
The lower back exercising machine of the pre-
sent invention includes a user-actuated lever which is
pivotally supported at one end and at substantially
the level of the waist of the user. The other end of
the user-actuated lever is positioned for engagem~nt
with the back of the user and in substantial alignment
with the shoulder blades. The pivoted end of the
user-actuated lever is provided with a variable radius
cam with connector means being connected at one end to
the variable radius cam and at its other end to a
suitable resistance means. As the user successively
moves the upper portion of the body back and forth
between a position with the spine in a forwardly bent
position and a position with the spine in substan-
tially straight position, the user-actuated lever is
moved in a limited arcuate path of movement to work
against the resistance means such that the variable
radius cam provides the proper amount of resistance
force throughout the entire movement of the back of
the user.
The present lower back exercising machine is
provided with a seat for supporting the user with the
legs extending outwardly and downwardly therefrom.
Restraining means are provided for retaining the lower
body and legs of the user in position during exer-
cising on the machine.
Brief Description of the Drawings
Other objects and advantages will appear as
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the description proceeds when taken in connection
with the accompanying drawings, in which --
Figure 1 is an isometric frontal view of afirst embodiment of the prese-nt lower back exercising
machine;
Figure 2 is a rear perspective view of the
first embodiment of the lower back exercising
machine;
Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1 but
with the frame covers, seat and padded rollers removed
to illustrate the construction of the supporting
frame;
Figure 4 is a somewhat schematic isometric
view illustrating the manner in which the user-
actuated lever is operatively connected to thevariable radius cam and to the weights;
Figures 5, 6 and 7 are front perspective
views of the first embodiment of the lower back exer-
cising machine and illustrating the successive move-
ment of the user between a position with the spine ina forwardly bent position and a position with the
spine in a substantially straight position.
Figure 8 is an isometric frontal view of a
second embodiment of the present lower back exer-
cising machine; and
Figures 9 and 10 a.e side elevation views ofthe embodiment of Figure 8 and illustrating the 5UC-
cessive movement of the user between a position with
the spine in a forwardly bent position and a position
with the spine in a substantially straight position
in a manner corresponding to the first embodiment.
Detailed Description of the Invention
As best shown in Figure 3, a first embodi-
ment of the lower back exercising machine of the pre-
sent invention includes an upright frame, broadlyindicated at 10. The upright frame 10 includes a
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continuous outer Erame member ll having a vertical
rear leg, a horizontal upper part, and an inclined
front leg. A cross-frame member 12 extends between
the front and rear legs of the outer frame ll and is
fixed at opposlte ends thereto. A lower horizontal
frame member 13 is connected at opposite ends to the
lower ends of the front and rear legs of the outer
frame ll, and a vertical frame member 14 is fixed at
its lower end to the lower frame member 13 and at its
upper end to the cross-frame member 12.
A horizontal frame broadly indicated at 15,
is connected at one side to the lower frame member 13
of the upright frame lO and extends outwardly
therefrom and includes an outer frame member 16. A
cross-frame member 17 is fixed at opposite ends to
the front and rear legs of the outer frame member 16.
A diagonal brace member 18 is fixed at its lower end
on the rear leg of the outer frame member 16 and is
fixed adjacent its upper end on the rear leg of the
outer frame member 11. The upper end of the brace
member 18 extends outwardly and upwardly from the
rear leg of the outer frame member 11, for purposes
to be presently described. A carpeted platform 20
covers and is positioned on the upper portion of the
horizontal frame member 15.
A saddle-type seat 21 is supported on the
forwardly curved upper portion of a support member
22, the lower end of which is fixed on the cross-
frame 17. The seat 21 is positioned for supporting
the user with the legs extending outwardly and down-
wardly from opposite sides of the seat 21, as
illustrated in Figures 5-7. The forward end of the
seat support member 22 is provided with a transver-
sely extending pivot shaft or rod 24 on which a pair
of padded rollers 25 is supported for rotational
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movement. The padded rollers 25 are supported for
eccentric rotation about the shaft 24 and are rota-
table into clamping engagement with the upper por-
tions of the Legs of the user, as illustrated in
Figures 5-7, and are rotatable out of engagement with
the legs so that the user can easily get into and out
of the machine. The padded rollers 25 form a part of
the restraining means engageable with the legs of the
user to retain the lower body and legs in position
during use of the machine.
The restraining mean~ a~so include~ a seat
belt 26 which is attached to a cross brace 27. One
end of the cross brace 27 is fixed on the support
member 22 and the other end is fixed on a vertical
support member 30. A backrest 31 is fixed on the
upper end of the support 30 and is inclined rear-
wardly and extends at substantially a right angle to
the saddle-type seat 21. The backrest 31 extends
upwardly substantially to the waist of the user for
supporting the lower back of the user during use of
the exercising machine.
A footrest support frame 32 (Figure 3) is
attached to the support 22 and extends outwardly
therefrom. A carpeted footrest 33 is supported on
the frame 32. The footrest 33 is provided for use by
people with short legs so that they can position
their feet on the footrest 33 when using the exer-
cising machine. A normal size adult will use the
machine with the feet positioned on the platform 20,
as illustrated in Figures 5-7.
Resistance means are supported for movement
by the upright frame 10 and in the first illustrated
embodiment include a plurality of weight plates 35
which are supported for sliding vertical movement
adjacent opposite ends on guide rods 36. The upper
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ends of the guide rods 36 are fixed on the cross
frame 12 and at their lower ends on the frame member
13. A vertical selector guide and weight lifting rod
37 extends through the central portions of the weight
plates 35 and is provided with spaced-apart openings
for reception of a selector pin 40 so that varying
a~ounts of weight can be selected by the user to be
lifted and lowered when exercising with the machine.
User-actuated lever means is provided and includes a
lever 41 having vertical and horizontal legs and the
vertical leg is fixed at its lower end to a pivot hub
42. The pivot hub 42 is supported on a shaft 43
which is supported at opposite ends in respective
support bars 44, 45 (Figure 4). The support bar 44
is fixed to the vertical frame member 14 and to the
rear leg of the outer frame 11. A connector bar 46
is fixed at opposite ends to the support bars 44, 45
and is fixed to the outwardly and upwardly curved
upper end of the diagonal support member 18. The
support bar 45 is provided with a forwardly extending
stop member 50 and the pivotal hub 42 is provided
with an outwardly extending stop pin 51 (Figure
4) for purposes to be presently described.
The horizontal leg of the lever 41 is pro-
vided with a rotatable padded roller 53 which is
positioned for engagement with the back of the user
and at a position in substantial alignment with the
shoulder blades thereof. A counterweight 55 is sup-
ported on the lower end of a support rod 56, the
upper end of which is fixed in the pivot hub 42.
When the lever 41 is in the forward position, as
shown in solid lines in Figure 4, the stop pin 51
engages the lower surface of the support bar 45 to
limit forward movement of the lever 41. When the
lever 41 is moved rearwardly as shown in dotted lines
in Figure 4, the stop pin 51 engages the stop member
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50 to limit rearward arcuate movement of the lever
41.
Means is provided for operatively connecting
one end oE the user-actuated lever means with the
resistance means to provide the proper variable
resistance for movement against the resistance means
with corresponding movement of the user-actuated
lever in a limited arcuate path of back-and-forth
movement between a first position with the spine of a
user in a forwardly bent position and a second posi-
tion with the spine in a substantially straight posi-
tion. This operative connecting means includes a
variable radius cam 60 which is fixed on one end of
the pivot hub 42 (Figure 5).
In the first illustrated embodiment of the
invention, the resistance means is illustrated as a
stack of weight plates 35. It will be understood by
those familiar with exercise devices in general that
the resistance means can also comprise a number of
various devices including but not limited to the
following examples in United States patents which are
illustrative of the art: weight stacks, e.g. Bald-
win, No. 4,387,893 and Lambert No. 4,240,626;
springs, e.g. Blackman, No. 4,214,748 and Archam-
25 bault, No. 4,225,132; elastic cables, e.g. Thompson
et al, No. 1,750,549 and Givens, No. 4,204,676; and
frictional devices, e.g. Schmidt, No. 1,975,021 and
Schnell, No. 3,856,297. It will be further
understood that other devices for providing
resistance such as hydraulic or electromechanical
devices or the like can also be substituted without
departing from the scope of the disclosure or claims
of the present invention.
In the first illustrated embodiment of the
invention, flexible connector means is provided bet-
ween the variable radius cam 60 and the weight plates
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35 and includes a sprocket chain 61, connected at one
end to the variable radius cam 60 and at its other
end to a relatively small sprocket 62. The sprocket
62 is fixed on a hub which is connected to a larger
sprocket 63. The sprockets 62, 63 and connecting hub
are supported on a pivot shaft 64, one end of which
is fixed in a bracket 64 and the other end of which
is fixed in a vertical brace member 65 (Figure 3). A
sprocket chain 67 is connected at one end to the
large sprocket 63 and its other end is connected to
the upper end of the weight supporting guide rod 37.
The variable radius cam 60 provldes a dif-
ferent length of lever or moment arm at different
rotational positions so as to vary the amount of
force required to be exerted by the back of the user
in different positions of movement. Thus, the
resistance force on the user-actuated lever 41 and
padded roller 53 is varied when lifting and lowering
the weight plates 35, in accordance with the angular
position of the user-actuated lever 41 as the user
moves back and forth between the forwardly bent and
the straight positions, as shown in Figures 5-7.
In order to protect the user from engagement
with the sprockets 62, G3, an inside cover plate 70
is fixed to the upper inside portion of the upright
frame 10. A protective cover housing 71 is also pro-
vided to cover the pivot hub 42 of the user-actuated
lever 41. The cover housing 71 is fixed to the
upright frame 10 and at the lower rear end of the
inside cover plate 70.
When the machine is not in use, as
illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, the lever 41 and the
padded roller 53 are in the forward position and are
maintained in this position by the weight plates 35
and the forward movement is limited by the stop pin
51 engaging the lower surface of the brace member or
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support bar 45. The user enters the machine by first
rotating the padded rollers 25 in a counterclockwise
direction and then straddles the saddle-type seat 21
with the back bent forwardly. The rollers 25 are
then rotated in a clockwise direction to clampingly
engage the upper portions of the legs and the seat
belt 26 is buckled into position across the lap of
the user, as illustrated in Figure 5.
The lower back exercise begins with the
spine bent forwardly and the padded roller 53
engaging the back at a position substantially in
alignment with the shou~der blades. The user then
moves the upper portion of the body rearwardly
exerting pressure against the back and applying force
against the roller 53. The lever 41 is moved in an
arcuate path until the spine is in a substantially
straight position, as shown in Figure 7. At this
position, the stop pin 51 will engage the stop 50 on
the support bar 45 (Figure 4) to limit the rea.ward
movement of the lever 41. The user will then move
the upper portion of the body forwardly from the
position shown in Figure 7 to the position shown in
Figure 5. This back-and-forth movement is continued
until the proper number of exercise movements have
been accomplished.
The user can utilize as many of the weight
plates 35 as desired by positioning the selector pin
in the proper weight plate to lift the weights
above the position of the selector pin 40. With each
back-and-forth movement of the lever 41, the variable
radius cam 60 provides the proper type of varying
resistance force required to be exerted by the user
for the proper exercise of the muscles in the lower
back, the variable amount of resistance force being
applied, in accordance with the angular position of
the lever 41 at any given position in the exercising
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movement. Upon completion of the exercising session,
the user will simply unbuckle the seat belt 26,
rotate the padded rollers 25 in a counterclockwise
direction and step out of the saddle-type seat 21.
S It will be noted that the pivotal axis of
the lever 41 is substantiallv in alignment with the
waist of the user during the exercising movement and
the backrest 31 supports the lower back of the user
so that the bending motion of the user takes place
primarily at the level of the waist. This ~ovement
of the spine back and forth at the level of the waist
provides a full range of exercise of the muscles
associated with the lower back of the user.
A second embodiment of the invention is
illustrated in Figures 8, 9 and 10. As shown
therein, the invention comprises a more compact and
somewhat portable exercising machine especially
suited for use in homes and other areas not tradi-
tionally suited for full-fledged professional exer-
cise machinery.
The operative concepts of the inventionwhich were set forth with regard to the first
illustrated embodiment apply in corresponding fashion
to the second illustrated embodiment, and for pur-
poses of clarity and conciseness, will not beentirely repeated in describing the second
embodiment.
As shown in the drawings, the machine of the
second embodiment comprises an upright frame broadly
designated at 80. The upright frame 80 includes an
upper frame member 81 which is normally disposed in a
generally vertical position, and two lower frame mem-
bers 82 and 83 respectively. As illustrated in the
drawings, lower frame member 82 includes a cross
frame member 8~ and extends generally rearwardly of,
and at an obtuse angle with respect to, upper frame
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membe~ 81. Lo~er frame member 83 extends generally
forwardly of, and also at an obtuse angle to, upper
frame member 8!. Lower frame members 81 and 82 meet
at their respecti~e upper portions and form an acute
angle with respect to one another which provi~es
structural stability and weight bearing capacity to
the exercise machine. At their lower portions, low`er
frame members 82 and 83 are structurally positioned
on lower horizontal frame members 86 and 89, which
along with cross brace 91 form a structural base for
the entire exercise machine. A ~ootrest platform ~8
is positioned to overlie the horizontal frame member
86 and provides a support surface for the feet of an
exercising user of the machine. In the illustrated
embodiment the platform 88 comprises three shalLow
steps such that the feet of users of varying heights
may be accommodated.
A padded seat 85 is positioned on upper por-
tions of lower frame member 83 and adjacent the cross
frame member 84 of lower frame member 82 such that
seat 85 is structurally supported by both lower frame
members. Restraining means shown in the form of a
belt 87 are attached to lower frame member 82 adja-
cent the seat 85 for retaining the lower body and
legs of a user in position during use of the machine.
Resistance means, broadly indicated at 90
are supported by the upright frame 80 adjacent the
lower frame member 82. As pointed out earlier
herein, the resistance means 90 may comprise one or
more of a number of alternative devices, the use of
any one or more of which may be accomplished without
departing from the scope of the disclosure or of the
claims.
s
In the embodiment oE the invention
illustrated in Figures 8 throllgh 10, the upper frame
member 81 is pivotally support:ed on lower frame
member 82 b~ the hinges 100 and 101 respectively.
padded roller 102 spans upper portions of t~e upper
frame member 81 and is positioned for engagement with
the back of a user. Because of the pivotal support
of upper fralne member 81 by the pivots 100 and 101,
the padded roller 102 is movable in a limited arcuate
path of movement between a first position with the
spine of a user in a ~orwardly bent position (Figure
9), and a second position with the user's spine in a
substantially straight position (Figure 10), to
thereby provide user~actuated lever means.
~s in the first illustrated embodiment of
the invention, means broadly designated at 110 are
provided for operatively connecting one end of the
user-actuated lever means with the resistance means
for exercising the muscles associated with the lower
back of a user during movement of the padded roller
102 between its respective first and second posi-
tions. In the second illustrated embodiment, these
means are shown in the form of a cable 111 and a
variable radius cam 112 rotatable with movement of
the padded roller 102. The cable 111 is connected at
one end to the resistance means 90 and at the other
end to the variable radius cam 112. In operation,
the variable radius cam operates to vary the amount
of force required to be exerted by the back of a user
on the roller 102 and upper frame member 81 in
working against the resistance means 90 in accordance
with the angular position of the roller 102 and upper
frame member 81. A housing 113 covers the variable
radius cam 112 and protects a user from interference
with the various elements of the connecting means
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The lower back exercising machine of the
present invention is simple to operate, provides full
range exercising of the muscles associated with the
lower back of the user and does not apply any appre-
ciable amount of compressive or extension forces tothe spine of the user. The variable radius cam and
resistance means provide a variable resistance force
when corresponding movement of the user-actuated
lever takes place such that the amount of force
required to be exerted by the back of the user is
proper in all angular positions of the user-actuated
lever.
In the drawings and specification there has
been set forth the best mode presently contemplated
for the practice of the present invention, and
although specific terms are employed, they are used
in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for
purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention
being defined in the claims.
