Exercise devices – User manipulated force resisting apparatus – component... – Utilizing weight resistance
Patent
1994-07-12
1996-03-19
Crow, Stephen R.
Exercise devices
User manipulated force resisting apparatus, component...
Utilizing weight resistance
482135, 482 93, A63B 2106
Patent
active
054999596
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an improved exercise device for the upper body muscles that-provides an upward, vertical force to assist the exerciser with chin-upsand dips. Chin-up or dip exercises require strong upper body muscles. In most exercisers these upper body muscles are not sufficiently developed and the exercises can only be performed with great difficulty if at all.
Typical upper body exercise apparatuses either provide no assistance to the exerciser or are cumbersome to use and operate. For example, the device described in the patent to Roberts, U.S. Pat. No. 4,111,414, requires the user to step into a harness while manually adjusting weights. Other devices provide a platform on which the exerciser stands, but the force applied to assist the exerciser either causes arcuate motion of the platform, or provides a non-linear assist force.
In particular, McFee in U.S. Pat. No. 4,470,587, illustrates an oscillating platform articulated to a parallelogram assembly having fixed pivot points. Thus, as the platform moves from an initial position to an upper position, the platform must necessarily traverse an arc. The arcuate motion of the platform causes the user's feet to traverse an arc while the user's hands grip the chin-up or dip handles and a true chin-up or dip exercise cannot be performed.
The Martin device, U.S. Pat. No. 4,452,447, contains an oscillating platform attached to elastic spring members which provide an upward force to assist the user. The elastic members behave in a similar fashion to springs and the amount of assistance force therefore varies with the displacement of the platform.
One device described in Potts U.S. Pat. No. 4,846,458, does disclose an oscillating platform with essentially uniform upward force and free of arcuate motion. The Potts device uses a system of levers and hydraulic lifts to move the platform. As the platform moves up and down, a short arm causes the effective length of the moment arm to change. The change in moment arm compensates for the non-linearity of the pneumatic lifters and provides a substantially linear assist force to the platform. An accumulator and air compressor motor are used to control the volume of fluid in the pneumatic cylinder and thus the amount of assist provided to the user.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to one embodiment, the present invention contains an oscillating platform which provides a vertical force to assist the user in performing true chin-up and dip exercises. The platform is connected to a guidance system such as a wheel and track system which guides the platform along a predetermined path. The wheel and track system prevents substantial deviation from the predetermined path. Preferably, the predetermined path is linear. Preferably, the predetermined path is vertical to avoid horizontal displacement of the platform. In order to provide for smooth, binding-free operation of the wheel and track system, a torque caused by the weight of the user is used to maintain the wheels in contact with the tracks and properly tracking along the tracks. The motive force may be provided to the platform in numerous ways. Devices for providing the force to the platform can include a weight stack.
The use of a track and wheel system to guide the platform eliminates the need for a system of complex moments and levers.
The device of the present invention thus provides the user with a more convenient, more reliable, less costly means for doing assisted dip and chin-up exercises. The configuration of the track and wheel guidance system and associated forces reduces or eliminates binding, without incurring the costs associated with a close-tolerance device. The exercise apparatus of the present invention permits users of various abilities to preform the upper body exercises in proper form preferably providing a variable (e.g., user-settable), but substantially flat (i.e., constant throughout a stroke) assist force to the platform without inducing platform arcuate motion. The exercise device of the present i
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Duncan James A.
Holmes Fred H.
Rawls Robert L.
Crow Stephen R.
Stairmaster Sports Medical Products, Inc.
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