Exercise devices – Having specific electrical feature – Equipment control
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-17
2001-07-17
Mulcahy, John (Department: 3739)
Exercise devices
Having specific electrical feature
Equipment control
C482S009000, C482S098000, C482S135000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06261205
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to programmable resistance training apparatus.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Resistance training is important for increasing and maintaining muscle strength, and for increasing bone density. To maximize muscle development, it is necessary to repeatedly contract the muscles to failure along a full range of movement, contracting and stretching the muscle. At the point of failure, a spotter must aid the lifting party to complete a desired number of repetitions along a positive range of movement, which are commonly referred to as “forced repetitions.” In addition to forced repetitions, negative or eccentric contractions are also important for maximizing muscle growth. Rather than moving against resistance, the negative or eccentric contraction is resisting a weight slowing moving against the muscle. Unlike positive movement, which facilitates muscle contraction, negative movement is a stretching of the muscle. Like forced repetitions, negative repetition requires a spotter to help the lifting party move the weight along the positive range of movement after each negative repetition. Optimum muscle growth is, therefore, best effected by a variable resistance-training regimen of forced and negative repetitions. Because most people train alone, finding a spotter to help with forced and negative repetitions is not always possible.
To solve this problem, skilled artisans have devised a variety of resistance training devices that provide assistance to the lifting party along the positive range of movement. Although adequate, known resistance training assist devices are difficult to construct, expensive and cumbersome. Accordingly, the continued need for new and useful improvements in the art of resistance training assist apparatus is evident.
Accordingly, it would be highly desirable to provide new and improved resistance training apparatus that provides assistance to a lifting party along positive and negative ranges of movement.
It is a purpose of the invention to provide new and improved resistance training apparatus that is easy to construct.
It is another purpose of the invention to provide new and improved resistance training apparatus that is relatively inexpensive.
It is still another purpose of the invention to provide new and improved resistance training apparatus that is easy to use.
It is a further purpose of the invention to provide new and improved resistance training apparatus that is programmable.
It is still a further purpose of the invention to provide new and improved resistance training apparatus that is safe.
It is yet still a further provision of the invention to enhance muscle development by providing a resistance training apparatus for automatically relieving resistance as needed to permit a user to complete positive and negative ranges of movement.
It is another purpose of the invention to provide new and improved resistance training apparatus that is dependable and adaptable depending on user needs.
It is still another provision of the invention to promote strength training.
It is yet still another provision of the invention to prevent muscle and skeletal injury as a result of improper or unsupervised resistance training.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The above problems and others are at least partially solved and the above purposes and others realized in new and improved resistance training apparatus comprising a carriage mounted for movement to a framework along a reciprocally linear path, a load borne by the carriage, and programmable drive apparatus that engages the carriage for assisting a user in moving the load along positive and negative ranges of movement when a speed of the carriage meets or exceeds a maximum speed limit and meets or falls below a minimum speed limit. At the instance the speed of the carriage meets or exceeds a maximum speed limit and/or meets or falls below a minimum speed limit, the resistance training apparatus may be programmed to completely free the user of the load. The load may be free or effected by the programmable drive apparatus. The programmable drive apparatus includes a drive assembly that engages the carriage, a motor coupled to the drive assembly, and controller apparatus coupled to actuate the motor to move the drive assembly in response to the speed of the carriage.
In a particular embodiment, the drive assembly includes a belt supported by drive and driven gears supported by the framework. The belt engages the carriage and the drive gear is coupled for movement in response to actuation of the motor. The motor includes a shaft that rotates during operation, and the drive gear is coupled to rotate in response to rotation of the shaft. The speed of the carriage along the reciprocally linear path can relate to a revolution rate of the motor's shaft. The controller apparatus includes a programmable controller/processor and sensor apparatus that tracks the speed of travel of the carriage along its reciprocal path. The sensor apparatus may comprise a rotation counter apparatus for tracking the revolution rate of the motor's shaft, or a linear counter apparatus for directly tracking the speed of the carriage as it moves along its reciprocal path. The controller/processor has storage capacity for receiving and storing programming data from an input. By engaging the input, a user may program the controller/processor with maximum and minimum speed limit data.
In a preferred embodiment, the carriage comprises a body having arms, and a handle supported by grips carried by the arms. The handle includes a length, and the grips are movable between inward and outward conditions for gripping the handle at different locations along its length.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4253662 (1981-03-01), Podolak
patent: 4799672 (1989-01-01), Barrett
patent: 4807875 (1989-02-01), Tanski
patent: 5314394 (1994-05-01), Ronan
patent: 5407403 (1995-04-01), Coleman
Goltry Michael W.
Mulcahy John
Parsons Robert A.
Parsons & Goltry
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