Segmented weight and exerciser

Details Segmented weight and exerciser Segmented weight and exerciser

2001-09-06

2004-08-24

Lucchesi, Nicholas D. (Department: 3764)

Exercise devices

Isometric

C482S050000, C482S120000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06780144

ABSTRACT:

FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to the field of personal exercise equipment, and in particular to a new and useful weight system having segmented weights, a tether and various attachments for a wide variety of exercises.
The marketplace is filled with personal exercise products collectively offering a wide range of approaches to the task of helping people build muscular strength and improve their physical fitness. Among the problems that people have with personal exercise products is boredom and monotony. Few products on the market address this. It is one of the objectives of the present invention to overcome the problem of boredom by offering experiences that are both physically beneficial and mentally engaging.
A search was conducted at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The search encompassed United States patents categorized under the following U.S. patent classifications: Class 482; Subclasses 92, 93, 94, 98, 99, 100, 106, 107, 115, 118, 120, 121, 132 and 908.
The most pertinent patents found in the search were the following:
U.S. Pat. No.
Inventor(s)
590,050
Webb
610,416
Sandow
702,356
Calvert
983,372
Johnson
2,821,394
Barbeau
3,129,940
Lauro
3,752,475
Ott
3,982,755
Sarich
4,114,874
Mattila
4,114,875
Deluty
4,134,584
Rosebusch
4,482,151
Zwilling
4,515,364
Rotella
5,004,229
Lind
5,037,087
Roth
5,060,933
Cedro
5,176,599
Beliakov
5,203,753
Rothhammer
5,242,350
Chang
5,304,104
Chi
5,360,382
Chi
5,380,261
Mora
5,391,133
Ruffa
5,429,571
Smith et al.
5,486,149
Smith et al.
5,499,961
Mattox
5,512,028
Sparks III
5,618,249
Marshall
5,716,305
Selsam
5,779,604
Towley III et al.
5,820,531
Choi
5,879,274
Mattox
5,967,952
Bronstein et al.
6,010,430
Mankovitz
6,017,296
Tang et al.
6,053,853
Hinds
6,099,441
Bonnet
6,146,318
Kuo
6,190,292
Panes.
A search of published U.S. patent applications did not reveal any published applications classified in the same classes and subclasses as were searched for issued patents.
No patents found during the search disclose all of the same elements as the invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,515,364 to Rotella discloses an exercise device in the form of a rectangular body having openings for alternately receiving weights or for gripping the body. The body is flexible and can be used as a tension exerciser between two body parts. When weights are inserted in the openings, the body becomes a dumbbell for lifting. According to the Rotella '364 patent, the weight is adjusted by using different mass inserts in the openings.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,482,151 to Zwilling teaches a barbell having housings for holding annular weights of increasing diameter on the ends of the barbell shaft. The housings have a plate connected to the shaft for mounting the annular weights against. An outer cylindrical cover fits over the mounted weights and the edge of the plate. The cover is held in place using threaded screws passing radially through locking nuts to contact the shaft and make a friction connection.
U.S. Pat. No. 702,356 to Calvert illustrates a barbell having housings at each end holding a variable volume of pellet weights, such as lead shot. An end cap is fitted over a threaded shaft at each end, pressed down over the pellet weights and secured using a wing nut tightened on the threaded shaft.
Other patents disclose exercisers with weights connected to handles, such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,380,261 to Mora for an exerciser having an adjustable resistance cord winding on a handle with the other end of the cord connected to a weight.
A wrist exerciser having a handle connected to a variable mass weight is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,982,755 to Sarich. The weight is a container; the mass of the weight may be changed by adding a liquid such as water to the container. A cord connects the handle and weight. The handle has a tapered middle section, so that the handle may be rotated by hand to wind the cord about the middle section, thereby raising and lowering the weight and strengthening the wrists.
A similar wrist exerciser device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,037,087 to Roth, in which the handle and cord are connected to a bottle weight by a threaded connection on the neck of the bottle. The Roth '087 exerciser is used in the same manner as the Sarich '755 device.
Several patents disclose cord retraction devices having one end adapted for a person to pull.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,176,599 to Beliakov discloses a resistance exerciser having a cord retraction mechanism fixed to a wall and the free end of the cord attached to a boxing glove. A person may exercise with the device by practicing boxing punches while wearing the glove, so that the cord and retraction mechanism pull against the forward motion of the punch. Alternatively, the cord can be connected to an ankle strap to provide resistance for kicks.
The search revealed patents for rolling exercisers as well. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,752,475 to Ott discloses a wheel mounted on a shaft having handles extending from each side of the wheel. A resistance mechanism is included between the wheel and the shaft. The Ott '475 exerciser is designed for a person to grip the handles and extend their body forward from a kneeling to nearly prone position and return, while the mechanism in the wheel provides additional resistance for exercising against.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,499,961 to Mattox teaches a rolling exerciser having a frame supporting rollers on a shaft. A person can extend his body from a kneeling to a prone position and back while gripping handles located on the shaft on either side of the rollers. The frame includes a guide for the rollers, a stop to prevent the rollers from going too far and knee pads. The ends of the roller shaft are bent backwards and slidably connected to the frame behind the knee pads.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,146,318 to Kuo and 6,053,853 to Hinds each disclose different types of rolling exercisers having handles mounted to means for rolling across a flat surface. The Hinds '853 patent is particularly adapted for securing a person's feet to the handles. These exercisers are otherwise clearly different from the invention.
The remaining patents disclose other exercisers and are cited for general reference.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is an exercise system which includes, in one of its embodiments, a weight having multiple segments which can be loaded with different density materials and used in pairs mounted on an axle and connected via a strap or tether to a handle or other structure.
The assembled segmented weight preferably has a disk shaped mounting body or dish supported on one end of a shaft and preferably six pie shaped segments removably secured together on the body, although as few as two and as many as twelve segments are possible. The dish has guides for aligning the segments or weight sections on the dish. The segments are held in place by a central retaining ring or hub and a locking knob. A shaft extends through, or is formed as part of the hub and a pair of the dishes. The locking knob is threaded to an end of the shaft for retaining the segments to the dish at each end of the shaft. The segments are hollow vessels which may be variably filled with different contents to affect the total mass and individual mass of the segments. Preferably, the segments are filled from the apex ends through resealable openings, such as a threaded neck that can be closed by a threaded cap. The locking knob engages over the cap of each segment to lock the segment to the dish. The segments or sections can be filled with liquids such as water or granular solids, such as sand, beans, grain or other granular material. A second like weight is removably secured to the other end of the shaft.
An exerciser according to one embodiment of the invention uses a pair of these weights on the shaft, connected to a handle using a flexible flat strap, tether or cord. The handle has a yoke with one end of the strap secured to it. Extensions may be secured to the handle to make it longer and extend to the sides of the yoke. Preferably, the strap is secured to t

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