Exercise devices – Miscellaneous
Reexamination Certificate
2000-09-18
2002-06-11
Brown, Michael A. (Department: 3764)
Exercise devices
Miscellaneous
C482S070000, C482S071000, C482S148000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06402670
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
Not applicable
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not applicable
REFERENCE TO MICROFICHE APPENDIX Not applicable
BACKGROUND
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to weight resistance exercise devices, specifically to those devices that provide full body training, as well as those that are portable and compact enough to be suitable for travel.
2. Description of Prior Art
The observable effect of muscular performance is motion, and evidently it constitutes the key element of exercise. Hence, any ability to sustain motion to the effect of displacing either external objects, or ones' own body, would indicate the level of a person's fitness.
Athletes of every kind have begun to realize the importance, effectiveness, and benefits of resistance training, specifically weightlifting, towards improving their performance. The popularity of weightlifting is reasonably expected due to the fact that it feels more natural, compared to other forms of resistance training, such as those involving elastic mediums. An explanation of such preference may be as simple as the fact that, human nature has evolved throughout the millennia developing muscles to the effect of moving, lifting, pushing, and manipulating objects against gravity.
A variety of exercise devices has emerged over the years, to facilitate an ever-growing number of health and performance conscious people. Simple devices, such as a barbell or a dumbbell, and machines that isolate specific muscles at a time, have become the staple tools of a weight training facility.
However, these facilities require numerous equipment that take space, amount to a lot of weight, and they represent a good deal of monetary investment. The serious athlete faces the limitation of having to pay tuition to such facilities in order to achieve a comprehensive workout. Furthermore, the athlete needs to make frequent visits for a regular workout routine, which is most probably on a daily basis.
An attempt to relieve the inconvenience of commuting to a health club so frequently is evident by several weight-training equipment that have been developed for home use. This type of equipment is designed to combine the functions of several muscle-isolation machines into a compact unit. However, home training centers are still costly, have a significant weight and their transportation would require special effort along with assembly and disassembly of several parts.
A number of handheld devices have become available over the years, attempting to remedy the issue of portability. These devices depart from the use of gravity and they explore other forms of resistance such as elastic, viscous or frictional media. However, non-gravity media does not feel natural to the human body. Therefore, such equipment are suited for low intensity workout routines, which are intended for muscle toning instead of muscle building effect. Furthermore, by virtue of simplicity, there is compromise in function. These devices are often limited, specializing to only certain muscle groups, while failing to provide training for other parts of the body. There is no bodybuilder, to the knowledge of this author, who has developed a competition level physique purely by stretching a rubber band type exerciser or compressing a spring loaded apparatus.
An intermediate solution that combines portability without departing from the gravity type notion of resistance has been explored as well. Devices of this type are using a person's own body weight as a resistance medium. However, such equipment retain a plurality of moving parts and linkages due to their geometry, and although portable are not suited to carry-on.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 06,024,677 offers enough functionality to exercise both upper and lower body muscles. However, there is a plurality of moving components, a fairly involved construction and an overall size that make this device not suitable for traveling standards. U.S. Pat. No. 06,086,521 offers a more simplistic design, but it is not versatile enough to offer a comprehensive full body workout for a dedicated athlete. Furthermore, this design is still not compact enough to be considered a handheld device that fits within a travel bag.
Generally, when it comes to exercise equipment, the level of portability is inversely proportional to the level of effective weight training potential. Extremely portable devices have limited potential, while those that have extensive weight training potential are not portable. There are also variations in-between the two extremes, but the mere fact of having to compromise makes them fall into the mediocre range.
In summary, there is a number of disadvantages which can be distinguished in the existing exercise devices towards weight resistance training.
a) The simplest, lightest forms of existing portable devices are not versatile enough to be of practical use for muscle building, full body training.
b) Conversely, the more effective devices are not simple or portable enough to be considered for frequent relocation, or simply, traveling convenience.
c) Therefore, existing devices pose limitations so that the option of comprehensive weight-resistance training cannot be offered in a practical way to people who are always on the road.
d) A number of existing devices require the presence of a wall, or a doorframe, or other type of external morphology, in order to function properly. An example of such a device is U.S. Pat. No. 05,944,640.
e) Many exercise devices offer a type of resistance, which is other than gravity or its derivatives. These devices may appeal to some people, but would not feel as intuitive to many who would prefer a weight-resistance type of training.
f) Existing portable exercise equipment cannot accurately replicate the free-weight experience. Free-weights help develop physical intuition by forcing the individual to maintain proper form during exercise. This is accomplished by consciously making adjustments aiming the free-weight to the proper motion path. For example, lifting a barbell in a bench press requires special concentration to keep it straight and prevent it from veering to the sides.
g) All exercise devices, brought to the attention of this author, require manual adjustment of the resistance level. In other words, the operator needs to stop and make adjustments on the device to effect the difficulty of the intended exercise.
SUMMARY
The proposed device is an exerciser consisting of a pair of poles with a traction line attached at the lower end of each pole.
The exerciser can be used towards the effect of weight-resistance training, utilizing gravity in a similar way to that of a common push-ups exercise. The operator induces fatigue on a selected muscle by interfacing with the exerciser, in such a way, that any movement of the targeted muscle displaces the operator's own bodyweight.
The body of each pole features two cushioned handles, one at the top and another one slightly above the middle point. A strap equipped with end buckles is mounted below the top handle of each pole. The function of each strap is to secure the ankles of the operator during a leg curl exercise.
The traction lines provide sufficient foot support during normal use. Each line is a rope folded in half with three equidistant bumps located at the free end. Each bump is a double-rope knot causing the line to form loops in-between such knots. At the middle of each traction line, a strap is attached to form a loop used primarily in a leg extension exercise.
Each pole is designed to separate in half and each line can be folded, thus reducing the overall size of the device, to fit into a bag with similar dimensions to that of a tennis racket. Furthermore, the choice of materials for this exerciser should be so lightweight (but strong) so that the device is considered practically weightless.
OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES
A person's own weight can be a formidable force of resistance, as for example, in a gymnastic “Maltese” or “Iron cross” stunt on the Still-rings at
Amerson Lori Baker
Brown Michael A.
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