Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
CA 02297577 2000-02-03
TITLE OF THE INVENTION
Weight holder device for weight lifting apparatus.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a weight holder device, and more
specifically to a weight holder device adapted to support fractional weights
for
weight lifting apparatus with weight stacks.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is known that using variable weight lifting exercise apparatus or
the like, allows the user to lift a certain quantity of weight plates selected
by the
insertion position of a shear pin along the plate stack, each plate weighting
the
same amount that is sometimes considered as being significant. Unfortunately,
for certain type of exercise, the user may be required to slowly increase the
total
lifted weight from time to time in order not to overcharge his/her muscles
thereby
inducing pain. This would not be possible with the standard weight of the
plates
being as heavy as 5 kilograms (or 10 pounds) each.
Therefore, it becomes apparent that there is a need for a user to be
able to lift a fractional weight of a standard plate such as 1 or 2 kg (2 or 4
Ibs).
Harwick et al show in their two US Patents 4,712,793 and 4,787,628 granted on
December 15, 1987 and November 29, 1988 respectively, two different devices
installed on top of the upper plate of the stack. These devices are quite
complex
for the simple purpose they serve; they are found as kits that include a
fractional
weight support unit with its multiple small weights that are not that easy to
install,
and are also quite expensive. Also, the devices may not be suitable for all
variable weight lifting exercise apparatus since the latter can be found with
different stack plate attachment feature as well as with different plate
sizes.
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Furthermore, the user needs to take care of properly locating the fractional
weights in order to ensure an adequate balancing of the overall stack to be
lifted,
fractional weights that need to be kept in a safe place to ensure that none of
them
get lost during the constant day-to-day usage of the apparatus.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
The general object of the present invention is to provide a weight
holder device for variable weight lifting apparatus that obviates the above
noted
disadvantages.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a weight holder
device for variable weight lifting apparatus that is of simple and inexpensive
construction.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a weight holder
device for variable weight lifting apparatus that is adapted for use with any
of the
existing variable weights of standard weight lifting apparatus found in any
fitness
center.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention consists of a weight holder device for use in
combination with a weight lifting exercise apparatus that includes an upright
stationary frame, a weight stack in said frame formed of several plates of
equal
size and weight, each plate having a vertical central through hole and a
horizontal
hole extending from a side of said plate to said central hole, a vertical
plate lifting
rod extending through said central holes of said plates and adapted to be
displaced in an up-and-down movement by a user, said plate lifting rod having
a
horizontal through bore, said weight holder device comprises a shear pin
removably inserted through both said horizontal hole and said through bore and
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supporting a variable number of upper plates of said stack, at least one end
of
said pin protruding from said side of the supported plates, a holder formed by
the
protruding end of said pin, a weight member releasably suspended from said
holder, said weight member weighing a fraction of the weight of each of said
stacked plates.
Preferably, the holder includes a pair of spaced flanges secured to
and radially extending from said pin, said weight member releasably retained
between an having a sliding fit with said flanges.
Preferably, one of said flanges abuts against said side of at least
the lowermost upper plate of the stack.
Preferably, the flanges include an outer and an inner disc coaxial
with said pin and said weight member is a ring member with a central circular
hole of at least the diameter of said outer disc, said ring member having a
disc
engaging central portion with a sliding fit with both said discs.
Preferably, the plate lifting rod has several horizontal through bores
along its length, said through bores being in a number equal to the number of
plates and equally spaced from each other by the distance equal to the
thickness
of said plates, whereby each one of said through bore is coaxially aligned
with
said horizontal hole of its respective plate.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the annexed drawings, like reference characters indicate like
elements throughout.
Figure 1 is a view of an embodiment according to a the weight
holder device of the present invention installed on a variable weight lifting
exercise apparatus;
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Figure 2 is an enlarged partial side view taken along line 2-2 of
Fig. 1; and
Figure 3 is a section view taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 2.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to Figs. 1 to 3, there is shown a typical variable weight
lifting exercise apparatus 20 that includes at least one upright frame 22
mounted
on a base 24 that supports a generally vertical stack 26 formed of one or
several
weight plates 28, four (4) in this case. All plates 28 are essentially of
equal
weight and size.
Each weight plate 28 has a central through hole 30, two vertical
lateral through holes 32 located on each side of the central hole 30 along the
length of the plate 28 and a horizontal hole 34 extending from one long side
of
the plate 28 to the central hole 30, at least.
The upright frame 22 also includes two lateral guide rods 36 fixed
thereto and extending through the lateral holes 32 of the plates 28 for
guiding the
latter in an up-and-down movement. A vertical plate lifting rod 38 extends
through the central holes 30 of the plates 28. The plate lifting rod 38 has a
plurality of horizontal through bores 40 in a number equal to the number of
weight
plates 28 in the stack 26, and each bore 40 is equally spaced from its next
adjacent bore 40 by a distance equal to the thickness of the weight plates 28.
With all plates 28 aligned in the stack 26, the horizontal bores 40 are each
coaxially aligned with their respective horizontal hole 34. The plate lifting
rod 38
is adapted to be displaced in an up-and-down movement by a user U operated
system. The latter is essentially composed of a cable 42 attached to the top
of
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the plate lifting rod 38 and running through different pulleys 44 to be
terminated
by a user handle 46.
During his period of exercise, the user U pulls on the handle 46 that
in turn pulls on the plate lifting rod 38 via the cable 42 on the pulleys 44.
In its
up-and-down movement, the plate lifting rod 38, supports a variable quantity
of
upper weight plates 28 that are temporarily secured thereto via a shear pin 48
that is inserted into both the horizontal hole of the lowest plate 28 of the
variable
quantity of upper plates and its corresponding through bore 40 of the vertical
rod
38.
As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, at least one end 50 of the shear pin 48 of
the present invention protrudes out from the side of the supported plates 28
and
includes a weight holder 52 formed thereon. The weight holder 52 preferably
includes a pair of an inner 54 and an outer 56 spaced flanges generally
radially
extending therefrom; the latter preferably being discs with the inner one 56
abutting against the side of at least the two lowermost of the upper plates
28.
The weight holder 52 is adapted to releasably support a fractional weight 58
that
is suspended therefrom, the latter preferably weighs a fraction of the weight
of
each of the plates 28. The fractional weight 58 is preferably a standard ring
(or
disc) used on typical weight lifting bars thus already available in any
fitness
center and essentially having a sliding fit inbetween the two discs 54, 56.
The
outer disc 56 is of an outer diameter d adapted to be of at most the inner
diameter D of the central circular hole 60 of the typical ring 58, used as
fractional
weight, in order to be engaged by the latter. Preferably, the spacing between
the
two discs 54, 56 is essentially sized to provide a slidable engagement with
the
typical inner flange 62 thickness of small fractional weights 58.
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The preferred axial symmetry of the shape of the shear pin 48,
including the weight holder 52, enables the user U to insert it into both the
horizontal hole 34 of the lowermost of the upper plates 28 and its
corresponding
through bore 40 of the plate lifting rod 38 without having to worry about its
orientation.
As an ordinary person skilled in the art would realize, the shear pin
48 is preferably made out of any highly resistant material with corrosion
protection finish on surfaces, such as stainless steel or the like.
Although an embodiment has been described herein with some
particularity and details, many modifications and variations of the preferred
embodiment are possible without deviating from the scope of the present
invention.
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20 variable weight lifting exercise apparatus
22 upright frame
24 base
26 vertical stack of plates
28 plates
30 central through holes
32 lateral through holes
34 horizontal hole
36 lateral guide rods fixed to frame
38 plate lifting rod
40 horizontal through bores
42 cable
44 pulley
46 handle
48 shear pin
50 protruding end of pin
52 fractional weight holder (2 flanges or discs)
54 inner disc
56 outer disc
58 fractional weight (ring or standard disc weight for
weight lifting bars)
60 central hole of 58
62 inner flange of 58
d diameter of 56
D inner diameter of 58
U user
