Exercise devices – Hand – wrist – or finger
Reexamination Certificate
2000-04-27
2002-06-04
Brown, Michael A. (Department: 3764)
Exercise devices
Hand, wrist, or finger
C482S045000, C482S046000, C482S109000, C601S134000, C601S135000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06398694
ABSTRACT:
SUMMARY
The present invention refers to an independent multi-purpose portable exercising device for exercising all muscle groups of the body, comprising two identical exterior tubes that revolve in relation to one another with resistance which can be adjusted through the central core, which core together with other attachments enters into their adjacent ends, while they revolve by the means of bearings, freely around the main shaft, which shaft has handles on its ends and other intervening attachments for attaching the adjustable elastic band, for various exercises with, or without it.
The present invention has as its primary purpose the provision of a handy, inexpensive, independent portable exercising device of small size and weight, for exercising all muscle groups of the body, in various positions such as lying down, seated, standing, even while in motion, utilizing various techniques and in combination with massaging, or for massaging only of all parts of the body.
The present invention refers to an independent multi-purpose portable exercising device for exercising all muscle groups of the body. It is well known that good health requires physical exercise and loss of excessive weight.
There are many different exercising devices which can be classified into various categories depending on the muscles they exercise and the way by which they accomplish it. In an exercising facility for example, there is a wide variety of devices and mechanisms, most of which are characterized by their large size, heavy weight, permanence of installation, complexity of construction and high cost. All of these, along with the difficulties of frequenting exercising facilities, (available time, scheduling, transportation, and costs), make such instruments and devices accessible only to very few people.
Permanently installed exercising devices are useful only at a specific location, which usually requires substantial space, while their capabilities are in most cases, limited. Resistance forces are usually provided by weight systems which are adjusted by adding or removing weights, as well as by systems with brakes or friction mechanisms which function in one direction only.
Portable exercising devices could be divided into two other groups: the dependent devices, which depend on some basis for support, such as floors, tables, door openings, etc. and the independent devices, which do not require any support base.
Dependent devices can be of solid construction, foldable and/or modular for transportation and storage. Even these devices are usually large and heavy, complex and costly, while they require a specific location for usage. In addition, most of them have very limited capabilities, such as exercises only for abdominal muscles, only for hands, only for wrists, only for thigh muscles and so on.
The independent portable devices are usually simpler, smaller, lighter and correspondingly inexpensive, such as rope systems, springs, coils, weight systems etc. Even those are specialized and have limited capabilities, such as exercises only for fingers, only for wrists, only for hands and so on.
Using weights creates many problems such as the necessity of different weights for different people and each exercise, while the variety of separate weights increases the cost. Such problems, along with transportation and storage complications, make such devices difficult to use, while at the same time, their use includes risks of injury and permanent damage to the body.
Specifically, most of the known exercisers for abdominal muscles, are portable dependent devices. Such devices are usually for assisting sit-ups with lever mechanisms and can be positioned underneath the body when in the supine position, supporting the head, the back even the legs One existing independent portable-exercising device for abdominal muscles is comprised of the main body in the form of an equal-sided triangle having indentations for handles, while at its base there fits an arm directed towards the top of the triangle, which arm has at its free end, a support pad that is perpendicularly attached to the arm, compressing springs which bring it back to its resting position and is used in a seated or standing position.
When the support pad is leaning against the abdominal muscles and the main body is pulled towards the abdomen, the pressure exerted by the_pull of the hands is diffused on the abdominal muscles through the relatively large surfaced support-pad, resulting in having to use a lot of pulling force in order to achieve just a little pressure per square centimeter, making thus the exercise tiresome and unpleasant.
At the level of the state of the art of the existing exercising devices, mainly for the wrist and hand, some are described in the following patent applications: EP 0401417 A1, EP0469363 A1, U.S. Pat. No. 5,364,324. In the related plans, it is evident that the handle-turning resistant forces mechanism is based on a clutching system where the friction discs are perpendicular to the device's axis and their surfaces are relatively small.
This means that a great amount of compressing force needs to be exerted on the resistance-controlling components, resulting in their wearing out. In order for the handles to turn in relation to one another without forcing the various components which are in between the friction discs to turn with them, variously shaped components are required, such as hexagonal, semi-circular etc., making their construction even more complex.
In addition, due to the fact that the mechanisms for regulating resistance are adjacent to the turning handles, it is possible that they could become deregulated when in use, while the risk of unintended disassembly during the adjustment procedure, also exists.
Another disadvantage in some of these devices, is that the regulation of resistance is independent in each handle, as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,364,324, meaning that sliding is achieved only on one side because of the great difficulty of achieving exactly the same regulation on both sides, which results in one-sided functioning, with more wear and tear.
One other drawback in some devices are the weights which are used, while in some others there exists the drawback of having their handles perpendicular to their axis, limiting thus the handgrip into only one position and at the same time limiting the field of exercising, while requiring in addition, different gripping rings on the handles for different hands.
As in the patent applications EP 0380292 A1, and WO 95/10333, beyond the complexity, the dependency and the accessories necessary, which make the use of the device difficult, the major drawback is that wrist movement is limited.
From the known devices for massage, the category of electric ones have the obvious drawbacks of manufacturing costs, maintenance and running costs, the electric tension on the devices, their dependency on electricity, as well as the direct exposure of the body to electromagnetic fields.
As for the category of non-electric devices, it includes various forms such as elastic spheres with a relief surface, either independent or attached to a shaft, pieces of short length and wavy surface, revolving around a shaft with one handle, etc.
The above have major shortcomings such as: in the case of independent spheres, the pressure carried through the sphere to a specific area of the body, originates from another surface touching the sphere, such as the palm of the hand. The motion of the sphere on the area of applying the massage, is made by the same surface which pushes it and is very unstable and limited, while the surface area which touches is very small and the difficulty of holding the sphere, is great.
In the case of the revolving spheres, or the small, wavy-surfaced pieces revolving around a shaft, this shaft rubs the surface of their orifice, resulting in an abnormal motion around the shaft, in wear and tear, in shedding the particles of wear and tear, as well as in a limited sweep area.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention refers to an improved exercising device a
Amerson Lori Baker
Brown Michael A.
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