This invention relates generally to exercise machines, and more particularly to an exercise machine that combines the functionality of a climber and a rowing exercise machine.
The prior art teaches a variety of rowing exercise machines, in particular applicant has registered Vujicic, U.S. Pat. No. 11,052,279, which teach a rowing machine that also includes a pair of handles mounted on a vertical boom, so they may be pulled down to simulate a skiing exercise. This exercise machine has a base housing and a boom that extends from a proximal end to a distal end. The boom is able to pivot between a rowing configuration wherein the boom is generally horizontal, and a skiing configuration wherein the boom is generally vertical. A rowing assembly includes a row handle attached to a row chain which extends into the base housing, to a row recoil device. A ski assembly includes a pair of ski handles, each ski handle being attached to a ski rope which extends into the base housing, to a ski recoil device. A transmission system has a shaft that is operably connected to a resistance device, the shaft having a row sprocket and a pair of ski spools, and the cables contact the spools so that movement of one of the cables rotates the respective spool, thereby rotating the shaft.
Applicant has also registered Vujicic, U.S. Pat. No. 10,828,530, which teaches a similar device wherein the exercise machine has a base housing, a boom having an elongate rigid body that extends from a proximal end to a distal end, and a pivot mount which pivotally mounts the proximal end of the boom on the base housing such that the boom is able to pivot with respect to the base housing between a rowing configuration wherein the boom is generally horizontal, and a skiing configuration wherein the boom is generally vertical. A seat element is slidably mounted on the boom, and ski handles attached to a ski cable which extend through ski handle stops at the distal end of the boom. A row handle is also attached to a row cable that extends from the base housing. The exercise machine further includes a resistance device, and a transmission system that connects the ski cable and the row cable to the resistance device.
Another rowing exercise device is shown in Chiang, U.S. Pat. No. 10,279,214, which shows a rowing device that includes adjustable handlebars that allows the user to utilize the rowing mechanism for a variety of additional exercises.
The prior art teaches rowing exercise machines. However, the prior art does not teach a rowing exercise machine that be pivoted from horizontal to vertical to enable a climbing exercise on the beam used for supporting the user in the rowing exercises. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further advantages, as described in the following summary.
The present invention teaches certain benefits in construction and use which give rise to the objectives described below.
The present invention provides an exercise machine having a base for supporting the exercise machine, and a boom having an elongate rigid body that extends from a proximal end attached to the base, to a distal end. A pivot mount pivotally mounts the proximal end of the boom on the base such that the boom is able to pivot about an axis with respect to the base between a rowing configuration wherein the boom is horizontal, and a climbing configuration wherein the boom extends upwardly. A seat element is slidably mounted above the boom when the boom is in the rowing configuration. A row handle is attached to a row transmission system that includes a row cable that extends to a row resistance device, the row handle being positioned so that when exercise machine is in the rowing configuration and the user is seated on the seat element, he or she can grasp the row handle and perform rowing exercises. The boom has a pair of climb handles and a pair of climb pedals slidably mounted on the boom, for performing climbing exercises. A climber transmission system connects the climb handles and climb pedals to a climber resistance device.
A primary objective of the present invention is to provide an exercise machine having advantages not taught by the prior art.
Another objective is to provide an exercise machine adapted to pivot between a rowing configuration and a climbing configuration.
A further objective is to provide an exercise machine that includes a pair of climb handles and a pair of climb pedals, and a pair of row pedals and a row handle.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.
The accompanying drawings illustrate the present invention. In such drawings:
The above-described drawing figures illustrate the invention, an exercise machine that includes a combined climber exercise machine and a rowing exercise machine in a single unit. While one exemplary embodiment of the exercise machine is described in greater detail below, those skilled in the art may devise alternative or equivalent embodiments that may be used, and these alternative embodiments should be considered within the scope of the present invention.
As shown in
As shown in
In this embodiment, the base 20, in this case the rear legs 24, support the pivot mount 26 for engaging both ends of a lateral tube 38 extending from the boom 30. The lateral tube 38 has an axis A. The pivot mount 26 enables the boom 30 to pivot between the rowing and climbing configurations.
One or more hydraulic cylinders 25 (shown in
As shown in
In this configuration, the climb handles 46 are mounted a suitable height above the climb pedals 48, which may be adjustable, i.e., via an adjustment mechanism (not shown). In some embodiments, the climb handles 46 are each adapted to be moved between at least three fixed positions, although any arrangement known in the art may be used. In other embodiments each handle's 46 position may be infinitely adjustable between two end points. In some constructions, the climb pedals 48 may be weighted so that they are biased towards a proper angle for use, so that they face upwardly to receive the user's feet.
In this embodiment, each of the climb handles 46 includes a generally rectangular frame having a top crossbar 54 and a bottom crossbar 56 spaced a distance from each other by a side bars 58 so a user may grip the climb handles 46 at different positions and at different angles. However, other forms of climb handles 46 may be used or included, e.g., a single horizontal bar, a bar of other shape and configuration, fabric/rubber loops, etc., or any other suitable alternative known in the art. Furthermore, in some embodiments, additional climb handles 46 may be included, i.e., for different heights/widths and various potential exercises.
The climb handles 46 and the climb pedals 48 are linked together by a climber transmission system 60 (shown in
As illustrated in
The boom 30 may further include one or more climbing handles 66 that may extend outwardly from the boom 30 for enabling additional climbing exercises, e.g., for pull-ups/chin-ups, hanging abdominal curls, etc. In this embodiment, the climbing handles 66 are fixed and extend from adjacent the distal end of the boom 30; however, in alternative embodiments, they may be positioned elsewhere on the boom 30, and they may be mounted on a hinge or joint (not shown) to facilitate movement of the handles 66 if necessary so that they don't interfere with other exercises. In this embodiment, the handles 66 do not contact the ground in the rowing configuration; however, in alternative embodiments, they might do so, to provide additional support.
When the boom 30 is in the raised climbing configuration as shown in
The base locking mechanism 80 may alternatively be in the form of a motor or other form of actuator that moves the boom 30 between different positions and also serves to lock the boom 30 in the selected position.
In this embodiment, the pulley 78 may be positioned within the boom 30 at the distal end 36 of the boom 30, but it may be positioned anywhere that is suitable for performing climbing exercises. In some embodiments, additional pulleys may be included, e.g., a bottom pulley 87 positioned within the proximal end 34 of the boom 30, for receiving the cable(s) 76 of the climber transmission 60. Each pulley may be supported by a shaft and bearings 84, wherein at least one of the pulleys is connected to a flywheel 64 via its shaft to drive the resistance device 62, in this case the flywheel 64, in a reciprocating motion.
In this embodiment, when the climbing assembly 50 is in use, the climb handle on the left side moves in unison with the climb pedal on the right side, and the climb handle on the right and the climb pedal on the left side move in unison, for contralateral climbing movements.
As shown in
As used in this application, the term “cable” is defined to include any form of cable, rope, belt, cord, bungee, chain, or similar or equivalent element known in the art that is useful for the purposes described herein. For purposes of this application, the terms “pulley” “spool” and “sprocket” are defined to include any form of pulley, spool, cylinder, sprocket, or any other form of similar or equivalent mechanism known in the art for operatively engaging cables, as discussed herein.
Also shown in
In the embodiment of
In this embodiment, the adjustable locking mechanism 86 is in the form of an adjustment knob 880 positioned within an adjustment channel 89, wherein the user may grip the knob to slide it forward or backward within the channel. Movement within the channel may cause the rowing pedals 71 to automatically pivot with respect to the boom 30, or alternatively the user may manually pivot the rowing pedals 71, wherein the knob locks/unlocks them in place. In alternative implementations, the adjustable locking mechanism 86 may be any type of adjustment mechanism, e.g., a pin lock, clip, etc. The locking mechanism 86 may alternatively be in the form of a linkage (not shown) which causes the pedals to pivot as the boom 30 is moved, or they could be moved by a motor, actuator, or other similar device. Furthermore, in another embodiment, the adjustable locking mechanism 86 may be excluded.
As illustrated, in addition to the seat element 68, the rowing assembly 70 may further include the pair of rowing pedals 71 for receiving the user's feet while performing the rowing exercises. In various embodiments, the rowing pedals 71 may include straps 75 for securing the user's feet, as well as an adjustable grip pad 77 for different sizes of feet. The rowing pedals 71 may include any additional features known in the art for performing rowing exercises, e.g., additional straps, toe caps, etc., or any other desired features.
In this embodiment, the row handle 74 is in the form of a t-handle, but in other embodiments, may be any type of handle known in the art (e.g., separate handles, loops, etc.). The handle receiver 92 may be mounted on the base 20 to catch and hold the row handle 74 and hold it while not in use. In this embodiment, the row handle 74 is held in the handle receiver 92 via tension from a row resistance device. The handle receiver 92 may be in the form of a variety of attachment mechanisms/structures (e.g., receiving structures, straps, etc.) devised by those skilled in the art to hold the row handle 74 in place when not in use, and such structures should be considered within the scope of the current invention.
In this embodiment, the row resistance device 92 comprises an air displacement fan 94 positioned on a shaft 96. In this embodiment, the air displacement fan 94 and the shaft 96 are mounted concentrically relative to the lateral tube 38 and the pivot mount 26 so that they all rotates about the axis A of the lateral tube 38 (the axis A being illustrated in
In some embodiments, the row cable 72 is attached to a row recoil device 93, which functions to provide a bias towards a starting position of the row assembly 70. In this embodiment, the row recoil device 93 is in the form of a coiled spring that is anchored to the base housing. As illustrated in other figures, the row cable 72 may extend around pulleys to provide the necessary length. However, the recoil device 93 may alternatively or additionally include any recoil device known in the art, such as a coiled spring, or other elastic or recoil mechanism known in the art.
In another embodiment there will be an integrated resistance system (not shown) that will be independently actuated by either the climbing assembly 50 or the rowing assembly 70. The orientation of the boom 30 will dictate which assembly (climbing or rowing) will engage the resistance system at any time. When the boom 30 is in the climbing configuration the climbing assembly 50 will engage the resistance system while the rowing assembly 70 will be disengaged from the resistance mechanism. Alternatively, when the boom 30 is in the rowing configuration the rowing assembly 70 will engage the resistance system while the climbing assembly 50 will be disengaged from the resistance mechanism. While two examples of the resistance devices are shown, alternative forms of resistance devices known to those skilled in the art may also be used, e.g., water or magnetic displacement mechanisms, friction based mechanisms, etc., which should be considered within the scope of the present invention.
Each of the cables 76 and 72 contacts the pulleys 78, 95, 87, and/or 98 such that when the pulley rotates, the shaft rotates, and operates the respective resistance device to provide resistance to a user exercising. In some embodiments, the resistance device may be driven with a chain and sprockets, toothed belt, frictional belt, pulleys, gears or other means known to those skilled in the art.
As used in this application, the words “a,” “an,” and “one” are defined to include one or more of the referenced item unless specifically stated otherwise. The terms “approximately” and “about” are defined to mean+/−10%, unless otherwise stated. Also, the terms “have,” “include,” “contain,” and similar terms are defined to mean “comprising” unless specifically stated otherwise. While the invention has been described with reference to at least one particular embodiment, it is to be clearly understood that the invention is not limited to these embodiments, but rather the scope of the invention is defined by claims made to the invention.
This application for a utility patent claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/211,107, filed Jun. 16, 2021.
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