EXERCISE APPARATUS

Abstract

A doorway mounted body exercise apparatus has upper and lower horizontal bars bridging the doorway and carrying respective pulleys and, a rearwardly protruding weight set supporting arm which can be swung between either lateral side to the rear of the doorway to accommodate left and right hand hinged doors and can be retracted into the doorway to permit the door to be completely closed while still mounted. Different cabling arrangements enable the weight set to be used as a counter weight for body weight assistance or additional resistance. An upper frame carrying the upper bar is collapsible for removal and storage or to enable a person to walk through the doorway. The lower bar is hinged at one end to the jamb for swinging up against the jamb so as not to obstruct the doorway when not in use. Footpads on the upper frame enable exercising while hanging upside down.

Description

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO THE DRAWINGS

In order that the invention may be readily understood, specific embodiments thereof will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a front of an upper frame of a first embodiment of the invention for mounting in a door frame;

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of the first embodiment of the invention mounted in the door frame;

FIG. 3 is an isometric view of the upper frame of the first embodiment in collapsed condition;

FIG. 4 is an isometrical view from the front and below of the upper frame of the second embodiment;

FIG. 5 is an isometric view of the second embodiment mounted in a doorway with the lintel omitted for clarity;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the second embodiment mounted in a doorway with the lintel omitted for clarity;

FIG. 7 is an isometric view of the top and front of the upper frame of the second embodiment mounted in a doorway with the door closed;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary isometric view of the locking mechanism for the weight set supporting bar;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary isometric view of a bipartite footrest;

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary view of a lower horizontal bar device folded in a retracted position;

FIG. 11 is a schematic side elevation of the second embodiment used for weight assistance during pull ups;

FIG. 12 is a schematic side elevation of the second embodiment used for weight resistance during pull ups;

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary diagrammatic view of a support bar length adjustment mechanism;

FIGS. 14 a and 14b are front elevational and side isometric views of dip bars;

FIG. 15 is an isometric view of the second embodiment in a fully collapsed condition for storage; and

FIG. 16 is an elevational view of a person performing a weight exercise while supported upside down by the footrests.

Claims

1. A doorway mounted body exercise apparatus for providing, selectively, assistance and resistance to a person exercising comprising; means for attaching a cable to an attachment point of a person's body;at least one upper horizontal support bar attached at respective opposite ends to respective door jambs so as to bridge the doorway;a lower horizontal support bar attached at respective opposite ends to respective door jambs so as to bridge the doorway;a resistance set;pulley means mounted on one of said at least one upper horizontal support barsand pulley means mounted on said lower horizontal support bar; so that a cable attached at one end to the resistance set and at an opposite end to the body attachment point can selectively be passed over one of the upper pulley means and over the lower pulley means to extend upwardly from the body attachment point and downwardly from the body attachment point, respectively, to provide an upward assisting force and a downward resisting force, respectively, for a person performing a body lifting exercise.

2. A doorway mounted body exercise apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the lower horizontal bar is hingedly attached at one end to the jamb and releasably attached at the opposite end to the jamb so that it can be swung upwards out of the doorway to extend vertically adjacent the jamb leaving the doorway free for access therethrough.

3. A body exercise apparatus for mounting in a doorway comprising: a frame comprising a first, overhead, horizontal support bar having respective opposite ends attached to the door jams so as to bridge the doorway; a second, horizontal, pull bar attached by at least one transverse bar to the support bar to extend in parallel spaced apart relation in front thereof; a pair of depending stabilizing bars having respective upper ends attached to the support bar adjacent opposite ends thereof and, a pair of depending strut bars attached at upper ends to the pull bar adjacent respective opposite ends thereof and at respective lower ends to respective adjacent lower ends of the stabilizing bars; an outwardly extending portion provided on each lower end of one of the stabilizing bar and strut bar to protrude in front of respective door jambs so as to be brought into stabilizing pressure engagement therewith by a person's weight applied to the pull bar; wherein foot rests are attached to the frame at spaced apart locations between the support bar and the pull bar and are each shaped to supportively engage an inverted heel and an inverted instep so that a person exercising can hang upside down therefrom by their feet.

4. A body exercise apparatus according to claim 3 wherein respective opposite ends of the horizontal support bar are attached releasably to the respective door jambs.

5. A body exercise apparatus according to claim 3 wherein the foot rests form laterally open horizontal loops and are attached to supporting laterally opening loops formed in respective transverse bars, respective loop openings providing ankle entry apertures.

6. A body exercise apparatus according to claim 3 wherein the foot rests each comprise a discrete heel engaging portion and a discrete instep engaging portion which portions are supported by the frame in adjacent spaced apart relation from each other,

7. A body exercise apparatus according to claim 6 wherein the instep engaging portion is pivotally mounted for limited swivelling movement and screw means are provided to vary the relative separation of the heel engaging portion and the instep engaging portion to adjust to feet of different sizes.

8. A body exercise apparatus for mounting in a doorway comprising: a frame comprising a first, overhead, level/horizontal support bar having respective opposite ends attached to the door jams so as to bridge the doorway; a second, horizontal, pull bar attached by at least one transverse bar to the support bar to extend in parallel spaced apart relation in front of the pull bar and in front of the doorway; a pair of depending stabilizing bars having respective upper ends attached to the support bar adjacent opposite ends thereof and, a pair of depending strut bars attached at upper ends to the pull bar adjacent respective opposite ends thereof and at respective lower ends to respective adjacent lower ends of the stabilizing bars; an outwardly extending portion provided on each lower end of one of the stabilizing bar and strut bar to protrude in front of respective door jambs so as to be brought into stabilizing pressure engagement therewith by a person's weight applied to the pull bar; the frame further comprising means for operatively supporting a resistance set, which means comprises a resistance set supporting bar which, in an operating position, protrudes rearwards, cantilever fashion, out of the doorway and has a resistance set cable pulley mounted on a distal, rear end.

9. A body exercise apparatus according to claim 8 wherein the resistance set supporting means is selectable to support the resistance set on either selected lateral side of the doorway thereby to accommodate both left hand and right hand, rearwardly opening doors.

10. A body exercise apparatus according to claim 9 wherein means are provided on the frame for pivotally mounting the resistance set supporting bar for horizontal swinging movement between either lateral side of the doorway, as selected, for the accommodation of both left hand and right hand opening doors.

11. A body exercise apparatus according to claim 9 wherein the frame comprises means for locking, releasably, the resistance set supporting bar in either lateral position.

12. A body exercise apparatus according to claim 11 wherein the means for pivotally mounting the resistance set supporting bar for horizontal swinging movement between either lateral side of the doorway enables swinging movement of the resistance set supporting bar between the rearwardly protruding, extended operating position and an inoperative, collapsed position, withdrawn forwards so as not to protrude behind the door frame and to enable a rearwardly opening door to be closed completely.

13. A body exercise apparatus according to claim 12 wherein the means for pivotally mounting the resistance set comprises a sleeve pivotally mounted on the horizontal support bar and slidingly receiving the resistance set supporting bar for axial movement in the sleeve between the extended and the withdrawn positions.

14. A body exercise apparatus according to claim 13 wherein the sleeve is pivotally mounted on the horizontal support bar so that the resistance set supporting bar extend side by side in the withdrawn position.

15. A body exercise apparatus according to claim 8 wherein the means for operatively supporting a resistance set comprises a sleeve which receives the resistance set supporting bar for sliding movement between the rearwardly protruding operating position and an inoperative, collapsed position, in which the resistance set supporting bar is withdrawn forwards so as not to protrude behind the door frame so as to enable a rearwardly opening door to be closed completely.

16. A body exercise apparatus according to claim 11 wherein the means for locking, releasably, the resistance set supporting bar comprises one of plug and socket means mounted on respective transverse bars and aligned obliquely of each other rearwardly towards respective opposite sides of the doorway for selective mating with a proximal end of the resistance set supporting bar when in an extended position.

17. A body exercise apparatus for mounting in a doorway comprising: a frame comprising a first, overhead, horizontal support bar having respective opposite ends attached to the door jams so as to bridge the doorway; a second, horizontal, pull bar attached by at least one transverse bar to the support bar to extend in parallel spaced apart relation in front of the support bar and in front of the doorway; a pair of depending stabilizing bars having respective upper ends attached to the support bar adjacent opposite ends thereof and, a pair of depending strut bars attached at upper ends to the pull bar adjacent respective opposite ends thereof and at respective lower ends to respective adjacent lower ends of the stabilizing bars; an outwardly extending portion provided on each lower end of one of the stabilizing bar and strut bar to protrude in front of respective door jambs so as to be brought into stabilizing pressure engagement therewith by a person's weight applied to the pull bar;wherein a first pair of pulleys is mounted for rotation in a horizontal plane on the horizontal support bar, aligned under the proximal end of the resistance set supporting bar when extended in operating position; pulleys of a second pair of pulleys are mounted for rotation in respective vertical planes and for pivotal movement in a horizontal plane in spaced apart relation on the horizontal support bar at medial locations between respective pulleys of the second pair and respective opposite ends of the support bar; respective pulleys of a third pair of pulleys are mounted for rotation in vertical planes at respective opposite ends of the pull bar and a pulley is mounted for rotation in a vertical plane in downwardly open loop bent in the center of the pull bar, whereby a cable extending upward from the weight set, over the pulley on the distal rear end of the resistance set supporting bar can selectively be passed over either pulley of the first pair and an adjacent pulley of the second pair to an adjacent pulley of the third pair or between both pulleys of the first pair over the pulley on the center of the pull bar to enable the performance of different body exercises.

18. A body exercise apparatus for mounting in a doorway comprising: a frame comprising a first, overhead, horizontal support bar having respective opposite ends attached to the door jams so as to bridge the doorway; a second, horizontal, pull bar attached by at least one transverse bar to the support bar to extend in parallel spaced apart relation in front of the support bar and in front of the doorway; a pair of depending stabilizing bars having respective upper ends attached to the support bar adjacent opposite ends thereof and, a pair of depending strut bars attached at upper ends to the pull bar adjacent respective opposite ends thereof and at respective lower ends to respective adjacent lower ends of the stabilizing bars; an outwardly extending portion provided on each lower end of one of the stabilizing bar and strut bar to protrude in front of respective door jambs so as to be brought into stabilizing pressure engagement therewith by a person's weight applied to the pull bar;wherein the apparatus further comprises dip bars having respective upper ends releasably attached to respective portions of respective stabilizing bars adjacent respective lower ends so as to depend therefrom within the doorway adjacent respective door jambs, said dip bars having lower ends formed with respective loops having handrest forming portions that curl inwardly, forwards and then outwards, protruding out of a front of the doorway, shaft portions extending laterally outwardly from free ends of the respective loops to protrude in front of respective door jambs so as to be pivotally biased into stabilizing pressure engagement with a front of each jamb by weight applied to the hand rests by a person performing dips.

19. A body exercise apparatus according to claim 18 wherein the stabilizing bars are formed with respective waisted portions adjacent their respective lower ends which embrace respective waisted portions of the stabilizing bars to releasably attach respective dip bars to respective stabilizing bars.

20. A body exercise apparatus for mounting in a doorway comprising: a frame comprising a first, overhead, horizontal support bar having respective opposite ends attached to the door jams so as to bridge the doorway; a second, horizontal, pull bar attached by at least one transverse bar to the support bar to extend in parallel spaced apart relation in front of the support bar and in front of the doorway; a pair of depending stabilizing bars having respective upper ends attached to the support bar adjacent opposite ends thereof and, a pair of depending strut bars attached at upper ends to the pull bar adjacent respective opposite ends thereof and at respective lower ends to respective adjacent lower ends of the stabilizing bars; an outwardly extending portion provided on each lower end of one of the stabilizing bar and strut bar to protrude in front of respective door jambs so as to be brought into stabilizing pressure engagement therewith by a person's weight applied to the pull bar;wherein the upper ends of respective stabilizing bars are pivotally attached to the level support bar for swinging movement about the support bar in respective vertical planes; the strut bars are attached releasably to the pull bar at respective upper ends and pivotally attached at respective lower ends to the corresponding lower ends of respective stabilizing bars for swinging movement transversely thereof, so that the apparatus can be collapsed to a compact state by releasing the upper ends of the strut bars from the pull bar, swinging the support bars forwards and upwards to extend horizontally with said lower ends adjacent the pull bar and swinging strut bars towards each other to extend horizontally in side by side relation with each other and with the support bar.

21. A body exercise apparatus according to claim 20 further comprising means for operatively supporting a resistance set comprising resistance set supporting bar movable between an operative position in which the resistance set supporting bar protrudes behind the doorway and an inoperative, collapsed position, in which the resistance set supporting bar is withdrawn forwards so as not to protrude behind the doorway so as to enable a rearwardly opening door to be closed completely.

22. A body exercise apparatus according to claim 22 wherein respective opposite ends of the horizontal support bar are attached releasably to the respective door jambs.