Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6296597
-
Patent Number
6,296,597
-
Date Filed
Thursday, May 13, 199925 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, October 2, 200123 years ago
-
Inventors
-
-
Examiners
Agents
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 482 51
- 482 52
- 482 53
- 482 111
- 482 112
- 482 114
- 482 115
- 482 57
- 482 62
- 482 133
- 482 135
- 482 54
- 482 148
- 482 907
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
The present invention concerns a sports or exercise device comprising a mounting frame and a parallelogram having left and right longitudinal bars and upper and lower cross bars, wherein the longitudinal bars are movable vertically and parallelly to one another against at least one resistance element or weight. A left hand grip and a left treading surface are assigned to the left longitudinal bar, and a right hand grip and a right treading surface are assigned to the right longitudinal bar, such that the movement of the parallelogram results in a forward movement of the left hand grip and left treading surface, or a backward motion of the right hand grip and the right treading surface.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Sports and fitness devices, such as they are used, for example, as home equipment or in fitness studios, are generally designed in such a way that specific muscle groups are stressed in a targeted manner. For training at home or in the fitness studio, a large number of special apparatus is necessary, if one wishes to work the entire body uniformly. This is particularly a disadvantage if one would like to train at home because purchasing various training devices often is limited by the high price of such equipment and lack of space.
The object of the present invention is to present a sports device, with which several different muscle groups can be stressed or worked simultaneously.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention comprises a sports or exercise device with a mounting frame and a parallelogram structure with left and right longitudinal bars and upper and lower crossbars, whereby the longitudinal bars can be moved vertically and parallely relative to one another against at least one resistance and/or at least one weight. A left hand grip and a left treading surface are assigned to the left longitudinal bar and a right hand grip and a right treading surface are assigned to the right longitudinal bar, in such a way that the movement of the parallelogram structure results in a forward motion of the left hand grip and the left treading surface and a reverse motion of the right hand grip and the right treading surface, and vice versa.
The construction of the device according to the invention thus leads to a course of movement in which simultaneously the left leg and the left arm are moved upward and the right leg and the right arm are moved downward, and in fact, against a weight. Either only the arms or only the legs, or both the arms and legs can be simultaneously worked against the weight. The course of movement is comparable with climbing stairs or mountain climbing. Thus, the musculature of the arms, the legs, the back, the chest and the shoulder girdle as well as the buttocks region can be worked simultaneously.
The sports device according to the invention can be produced in different sizes and constructed such that it can be easily disassembled and reassembled. The present device is particularly suitable for home use. However, it may also be used in a larger setting, e.g., as a professional training device, for example, in fitness studios. The present device also may be used for medical purposes, such as for checking fitness or EKG measurement. According to the invention, almost all important muscle groups are stressed simultaneously, thus more precise results can be obtained with such measurements than with previously used home trainers such as stationary bicycle devices or stair climbing devices.
The arrangement of the hand grips and treading surfaces can be made in different ways. For example, the hand grips and treading surfaces may be attached directly to the parallelogram structure, for example to the longitudinal bars or to the cross bars. They also may be joined indirectly to the parallelogram by attaching them to one or more mounting elements, which in turn are attached to or joined with the parallelogram. In a currently preferred embodiment, these mounting elements, for aesthetic reasons, are shaped as equilateral triangles. However, any shape may be used, including, without limitation, squares, rectangles, circles or other triangular shapes.
The weight is preferably in the form of one or more pneumatic or hydraulic cylinders, whereby one of the ends of each cylinder is attached to the mounting frame and the other end of each cylinder is attached to the parallelogram or to one or more mounting elements. In this way, the parallelogram can be moved against the restoring force exerted by the cylinders.
Examples of embodiments of the present invention are explained in more detail below with reference to the attached drawings.
DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
FIG. 1
is a schematic representation of a first embodiment of the present invention with a parallelogram and two triangles as upper and lower mounting elements for the hand grips and treading surfaces;
FIG. 2
a
shows a schematic representation of the upper triangle with two hand grips;
FIG. 2
b
shows a schematic side view of one hand grip;
FIG. 3
a
shows a schematic representation of the lower triangle with two treading surfaces;
FIG. 3
b
shows a schematic top view onto a buttress arranged at the lower triangle;
FIG. 4
shows a schematic representation of the mounting frame with two buttresses for the triangles;
FIGS. 5 and 6
show schematic representations of the course of movement of the sports device according to the invention;
FIG. 7
shows a schematic representation of a second form of embodiment of the present invention with a parallelogram, whose upper and lower cross bars are designed in a compact manner; and
FIG. 8
shows a back view of the sports device of FIG.
7
.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The construction of a first embodiment of the sports device according to the invention can be seen from a synopsis of
FIGS. 1
to
4
. This embodiment preferably is approximately 1.9 meters high, but can be designed appropriately smaller or larger.
FIG. 1
shows schematically the total device, but without treading surfaces and hand grips. The sports device
1
according to the invention has a mounting frame in the form of a support frame
2
, which bears the other components (see FIG.
4
). As shown in
FIG. 4
, the support frame
2
comprises a vertical mounting rod
3
and a pedestal
6
. Pedestal
6
has two beams
7
,
8
, which are joined together by rungs
9
,
10
. The vertical mounting rod
3
and a front support
11
are inserted into one another and fixed. A back support
12
preferably is attached from behind at the vertical mounting rod
3
and/or at the front support
11
. The vertical mounting rod
3
, however, may open up also into a front support
11
and a back support
12
. The free ends
13
,
14
of front support
11
and back support
12
are joined rigidly with rungs
9
,
10
of pedestal
6
.
As shown in
FIG. 1
, the core piece of the sports device
1
is a parallelogram structure
20
having a left longitudinal bar
21
, a right longitudinal bar
22
, an upper cross bar
23
, i.e., turned toward mounting rod
3
, and a lower cross bar
24
, i.e., turned toward supports
11
,
12
. The longitudinal bars
21
,
22
and cross bars
23
,
24
are joined together in a moveable manner at their ends by means of bearings
25
a
-
25
d.
Two hydraulic cylinders
26
,
27
(
FIG. 1
) are provided as resistance or weight. The free ends
28
′,
29
′ of each cylinder housing
28
,
29
are joined in a rotatable manner, each time by means of bearings
30
a
,
30
b
, with the lower cross bar
24
of parallelogram
20
. The free ends
31
′,
32
′ of each cylinder piston
31
,
32
are joined each time by means of bearings
33
a
,
33
b
with a carrier plate
24
, which in turn is attached to the front support
11
of mounting frame
2
. The restoring force exerted by cylinders
26
,
27
can be manually controlled, if desired.
The lower cross bar
24
of parallelogram
20
is simultaneously part of an equilateral triangle
40
with a base
41
and two legs
42
,
43
(see
FIG. 3
a
). Base
41
of triangle
40
simultaneously forms the lower cross bar
24
of parallelogram
20
(see FIG.
1
).
As shown in
FIG. 3
a
, footrests
44
,
45
are attached in a rotatable manner to bearings
46
a
,
46
b
to base
41
. Footrests
44
,
45
are provided with through boreholes
47
, in which bearings
46
a
,
46
b
are inserted and fixed. A treading surface
48
,
49
preferably is attached in a removable manner to each footrest
44
,
45
. The position of treading surfaces
48
,
49
on footrests
44
,
45
, can be axially adjusted, therefore adjusted in width.
The footrests also may be attached to legs
41
,
42
of triangle
40
or directly to the longitudinal or cross bars of parallelogram
20
.
As shown in
FIG. 3
a
, in a preferred embodiment, the lower triangle
40
has a cross carrying beam
50
, which in turn is supported by two longitudinal carrying beams
51
,
52
running parallel to legs
42
,
43
. A bearing socket
53
, which defines a rotational axis D
1
for triangle
40
lies substantially centrally on cross-carrying beam
50
. The rotation of triangle
40
around axis of rotation D
1
in the direction of arrow A results from the movement of the lower cross bar
24
of parallelogram
20
. Bearing socket
53
is attached to the front support
11
of mounting frame
2
(see FIG.
4
).
Further, a buttress
54
at the back side of lower triangle
40
preferably is provided (see
FIG. 3
b
). Buttress
54
has two rollers
55
,
56
, which are attached to the back side of base
41
of lower triangle
40
, which is turned toward the front support
11
of mounting frame
2
, as well as a rolling surface in the form of a plate
57
, which is attached to front support
11
. During the rotational movement of triangle
40
around its axis of rotation D
1
, rollers
55
,
56
move over plate
57
.
Another equilateral triangle
60
with a base
61
and two legs
62
,
63
is provided on the upper cross bar
23
of parallelogram
20
(see
FIGS. 1 and 2
a
). Triangle
60
is attached by legs
62
,
63
by means of bearings
64
a
,
64
b
in a rotatable manner to upper cross bar
23
.
As shown in
FIG. 2
a
, hand grips
65
,
66
are attached in a rotatable manner to bearings
67
a
,
67
b
on legs
62
,
63
. Legs
62
,
63
are provided with through boreholes
68
, in which bearings
67
a
,
67
b
are inserted and fixed. Several through boreholes
68
are provided, so that hand grips
65
,
66
can be adjusted in height and can be adapted to the weight of the person who uses sports device
1
.
Hand grips
65
,
66
, of course, could also be attached to base
61
of triangle
60
or directly to the longitudinal or cross bars of parallelogram
20
.
FIG. 2
b
shows a hand grip
65
in detail. It is attached rigidly to bearing
67
a
. Bearing
67
a
in turn has a threaded rod
69
or a shaft with a thread. Threaded rod
69
is introduced into through borehole
68
in leg
62
of triangle
60
and is screwed with a lock nut
70
at its free end
69
′ and fixed in this way.
Upper triangle
60
preferably has a cross-carrying beam
71
, which in turn is supported by two longitudinal carrying beams
72
,
73
running parallel to legs
62
,
63
. A bearing socket
74
, which defines an axis of rotation D
2
for triangle
60
, lies centrally on cross carrying beam
71
. The rotation of triangle
60
around axis of rotation D
2
in the direction of arrow B results from the movement of upper cross bar
23
of parallelogram
20
. Bearing socket
74
is attached to vertical mounting rod
3
of mounting frame
2
.
The sports device according to the invention can be completely taken apart and put together again, and thus can easily be transported.
The course of movement with the use of the sports device
1
according to the invention can be seen from
FIGS. 5 and 6
. In the resting position, the sports device
1
assumes the position shown in
FIG. 1
, brought about by the restoring force of cylinders
26
,
27
. As shown in
FIG. 5
, vertical mounting rod
3
coincides with longitudinal axis L of parallelogram
20
and triangles
40
,
60
. The user of sports device
1
climbs up treading surfaces
48
,
49
and holds onto hand grips
65
,
66
. A backward motion of right longitudinal bar
22
of parallelogram
20
is forced by exertion of the right arm and the right leg against the restoring force exerted by cylinders
26
,
27
(see FIG.
5
). This leads to a corresponding forward motion of left longitudinal bar
21
and to the corresponding inclination of cross bars
23
,
24
. In this way, triangles
40
,
60
are rotated in the clockwise direction around their axes of rotation D
1
, D
2
. This leads to a backward movement U of the right hand grip
66
and the right footrest
45
or treading surface
49
and leads to a forward motion
0
of the left hand grip
65
and the left footrest
44
or treading surface
48
. The movement also runs the opposite way, if the left arm and the left leg are exerted (see FIG.
6
). Then a forward movement of the right longitudinal bar
22
of parallelogram
20
is forced against the restoring force exercised by cylinders
26
,
27
. This leads to a corresponding backward movement of left longitudinal bar
21
and to the corresponding inclination of cross bars
23
,
24
. In this way, triangles
40
,
60
are rotated in the counterclockwise direction around their axes of rotation D
1
, D
2
. This leads to a forward movement O of the right hand grip
66
and the right footrest
45
or treading surface
49
and to a backward movement U of left hand grip
65
and left foot rest
44
or treading surface
48
.
By alternate pressure exerted by the left leg or arm and of the right leg or arm, a smooth movement thus arises, which is comparable to the course of movement in climbing stairs or climbing mountains, and both the arm and leg musculature as well as the back, chest and shoulder musculature are stressed. Treading surfaces (
48
,
49
) always remain horizontal, so that there is no danger that a foot could twist. The sports device according to the invention can be equipped with a step counter, in order to determine the number of forward and reverse motions that have been completed.
This course of motion also occurs if treading surfaces
48
,
49
and hand grips
65
,
66
are attached directly to the longitudinal or cross bars of parallelogram
20
.
FIGS. 7 and 8
show schematically another embodiment
80
of the sports device according to the invention. Features, which are identical with those of the first form of embodiment, are provided with the same reference numbers.
Sports device
80
shown in
FIGS. 7 and 8
also has a mounting frame in the form of a support frame
2
, which bears the other components. Support frame
2
is also comprised here essentially of a vertical holding rod
3
′ and a pedestal
6
′. Pedestal
6
′ has two foot parts
81
,
82
, which bear rubber coatings
83
resistant to sliding at their ends. The vertical holding rod
3
′ is made up in one piece. A back support
12
is attached from behind to the vertical mounting rod
3
. Vertical mounting rod
3
′ and back support
12
converge in one piece into pedestal
6
′.
Sports device
80
also has a parallelogram
20
′ with a left longitudinal bar
21
′, a right longitudinal bar
22
′, an upper cross bar
23
′ and a lower cross bar
24
′. In this way, cross bars
23
′,
24
′ are configured in the form of the base edge of trapezoidal components
84
,
85
each time. Longitudinal bars
21
′,
22
′ and cross bars
23
′,
24
′ are joined with one another at their ends in a moveable manner via bearings
25
a
-
25
d
. The course of movement is the same as described for the first embodiment.
The resistance or the weight, against which parallelogram
20
′ is moved, as described above for the first embodiment, is integrated into the vertical mounting rod. The transfer of force is produced by means of bearings
86
,
87
each time. Bearings
86
,
87
join the upper narrow edges
84
′,
85
′ of each trapezoidal component
84
,
85
with the vertical mounting rod. They correspond to bearings
30
a
,
30
b
and
33
a
,
33
b
in the first example of embodiment, which join the cylinders
26
,
27
serving there as the resistance with the vertical mounting rod
3
or the lower cross bar
24
of parallelogram
20
. Bearing
86
simultaneously defines the axis of rotation D
1
, while bearing
87
defines the axis of rotation D
2
(see
FIGS. 2
a
,
3
a
). The restoring force exercised by the hydraulic resistance also integrated into the vertical mounting rod
3
′ is manually controllable by a control mechanism (not shown).
The lower cross bar
24
′ of parallelogram
20
′ is, as already mentioned, simultaneously a part of a trapezoidal component
85
. The wide lower edge
85
″ of the trapezoid forms the lower cross bar
24
′ of parallelogram
20
′. Two footrests
44
,
45
are attached in a rotatable manner at bearings
46
a
,
46
b
on edge
85
″. A treading surface
48
,
49
is attached to each footrest
44
,
45
.
The upper cross bar
23
′ of parallelogram
20
′ is simultaneously part of another trapezoidal component
84
. The wide lower edge
84
″ of the trapezoid forms the upper cross bar
23
′ of parallelogram
20
′.
Lateral edges
90
,
91
of the upper trapezoidal component are elongated outwardly in a V shape at their upper end approximately at the level of the narrow upper edge
84
′ of the trapezoid. Two hand grips
65
,
66
are attached in a rotatable manner, as already described, by means of bearings
67
a
,
67
b
, on the resulting mounting rods
92
,
93
. Mounting rods
92
,
93
are provided with through boreholes
68
, into which bearings
67
a
,
67
b
are inserted and fixed. Several through boreholes
68
are provided, so that hand grips
65
,
66
are adjustable in height and can be adapted to the size of the person who uses the sports device
80
.
Sports device
80
can be utilized in the same way as sports device
1
, i.e., by loading the right arm and the right leg against the restoring force exercised by the resistance integrated into vertical mounting rod
3
′, a backward motion of the right longitudinal bar
22
′ of parallelogram
20
′ is forced, which leads to a corresponding forward motion of the left longitudinal bar
21
′ and to the corresponding inclination of cross bars
23
′,
24
′. In this way, the trapezoidal components
84
,
85
are rotated in the clockwise direction around their axes of rotation D
1
, D
2
. This leads to a backward movement of the right hand grip
66
and the right footrest
45
or treading surface
49
and to a forward movement of left hand grip
65
and left footrest
44
or treading surface
48
. The motion runs the reverse way, if the left arm and the left leg are loaded. Then a forward motion of the right longitudinal bar
22
′ of parallelogram
20
′ is forced against the restoring force exercised by the resistance integrated in the vertical mounting rod
3
′. This leads to a corresponding backward motion of the left longitudinal bar
21
′ and to the corresponding inclination of cross bars
23
′,
24
′. In this way, the trapezoidal components
84
,
85
are rotated in the counterclockwise direction around their axes of rotation D
1
, D
2
. This leads to a forward movement of the right hand grip
66
and the right footrest
45
or treading surface
49
and to a backward movement of the left hand grip
65
and the left footrest
44
or treading surface
48
. By alternate loading of the left leg or arm and of the right leg or arm, there is a smooth movement, which is comparable to the course of movement for climbing stairs or climbing mountains, and both the arm and leg musculature as well as the back, chest and shoulder musculature can be worked.
Equivalents
Those skilled in the art will be able to ascertain many equivalents to the specific embodiments described herein. Such embodiments are intended to be encompassed by the following claims.
Claims
- 1. A device comprising a stationary mounting frame adapted to be seated on a surface and a parallelogram movably mounted on said stationary mounting frame, said parallelogram having a left and a right longitudinal bar and an upper and a lower cross bar, wherein the longitudinal bars are movable vertically and parallelly to one another against at least one resistance or weight, wherein a left hand grip and a left treading surface are mechanically coupled to the left longitudinal bar, and a right hand grip and a right treading surface are mechanically coupled to the right longitudinal bar, in such a way that the movement of the parallelogram results in a forward movement of the left hand grip and the left treading surface, and backward movement of the right hand grip and the right treading surface.
- 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the left hand grip and the left treading surface are attached in a rotatable manner to the left longitudinal bar, and the right hand grip and the right treading surface are attached in a rotatable manner to the right longitudinal bar of the parallelogram.
- 3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the hand grips are attached in a rotatable manner to the upper cross bar, and the treading surfaces are attached in a rotatable manner to the lower cross bar of the parallelogram.
- 4. The device according to claim 1, further comprising at least one upper mounting element attached in a rotatable manner to the upper cross bar of the parallelogram and at least one lower mounting element attached in a rotatable manner to the lower cross bar of the parallelogram, and wherein the hand grips are attached in a rotatable manner to the at least one upper mounting element and the treading surfaces are attached in a rotatable manner to the at least one lower mounting, element.
- 5. The device according to claim 4 wherein the upper mounting element and the lower mounting element comprise an upper or lower mounting rod running parallel to the upper or lower cross bars of the parallelogram.
- 6. A device comprising a stationary mounting frame adapted to be seated on a surface, a parallelogram movably mounted on said stationary mounting frame, said parallelogram having a left and a right longitudinal bar and an upper and a lower cross bar, wherein the longitudinal bars are movable vertically and parallelly to one another against at least one resistance or weight, wherein a left hand grip and a left treading surface are mechanically coupled to the left longitudinal bar, and a right hand grip and a right treading, surface are mechanically coupled to the right longitudinal bar, in such a way that the movement of the parallelogram results in a forward movement of the left hand grip and the left treading surface, and backward movement ofthe right hand grip and the right treading surface, an upper mounting element attached in a rotatable manner to the upper cross bar of the parallelogram and a lower mounting, element attached in a rotatable manner to the lower cross bar of the parallelogram, wherein the hand grips are attached in a rotatable manner to the upper mounting, element and the treading surfaces are attached in a rotatable manner to the lower mounting element and wherein the upper mounting element comprises two upper mounting rods which form the legs of an upper triangle, and the lower mounting element comprises two lower mounting, rods which form the legs of a lower triangle.
- 7. The device according to claim 6 wherein the triangles are isosceles or equilateral triangles.
- 8. The device according to claim 7 wherein the triangles are oriented with the apexes toward one another.
- 9. The device according to claim 6 wherein the lower triangle further comprises a base, said base also forming the lower cross bar of the parallelogram.
- 10. The device according to claim 6 wherein the legs of the upper triangle are attached in a rotatable manner to the upper cross bar of parallelogram.
- 11. The device according to claim 6 wherein the upper and the lower triangle each further comprise a cross-carrying beam which is held in a rotatable manner against a bearing socket provided on the mounting frame.
- 12. A device comprising a stationary mounting frame adapted to be seated on a surface, a parallelogram movably mounted on said stationary mounting frame said parallelogram having a left and a right longitudinal bar and an upper and a lower cross bar, wherein the longitudinal bars are movable vertically and parallelly to one another against at least one resistance or weight, wherein a left hand grip and a left treading surface are mechanically coupled to the left longitudinal bar, and a right hand grip and a right treading surface are mechanically coupled to the right longitudinal bar, in such a way that the movement of the parallelogram results in a forward movement ofthe left hand grip and the left treading surface, and backward movement of the right hand grip and the right treading surface, an upper mounting element attached in a rotatable manner to the upper cross bar of the parallelogram and a lower mounting element attached in a rotatable manner to the lower cross bar of the parallelogram, wherein the hand grips are attached in a rotatable manner to the upper mounting element and the treading surfaces are attached in a rotatable manner to the lower mounting element, wherein the upper mounting element comprises an upper mounting rod running parallel to the upper cross bar of the parallelogram and the lower mounting element comprises a lower mounting rod running parallel to the lower cross bar of the parallelogram, and wherein the lower mounting element further comprises a buttress having at least one roller which can be moved against a rolling surface attached to the stationary mounting frame wherein said buttress is disposed on the lower mounting rod.
- 13. A device comprising a stationary mounting frame adapted to be seated on a surface, a parallelogram movably mounted on said stationary mounting frame, said parallelogram having a left and a right longitudinal bar and an upper and a lower cross bar, wherein the longitudinal bars are movable vertically and parallely to one another against at least one resistance or weight, wherein a left hand grip and a left treading surface are mechanically coupled to the left longitudinal bar, and a right hand grip and a right treading surface are mechanically coupled to the right longitudinal bar, in such a way that the movement of the parallelogram results in a forward movement of the left hand grip and the left treading surface, and backward movement of the right hand grip and the right treading surface, an upper mounting element attached in a rotatable manner to the upper cross bar of the parallelogram and a lower mounting element attached in a rotatable manner to the lower cross bar of the parallelogram, wherein the hand grips are attached in a rotatable manner to the upper mounting element and the treading surfaces are attached in a rotatable manner to the lower mounting element, and wherein each of the upper and lower mounting elements is trapezoidal and has a wide lower edge, side wide lower edge of the upper mounting element forming the upper cross bar of the parallelogram and side wide lower edge of the lower mounting element forming the lower cross bar of the parallelogram.
- 14. The device according to claim 13 wherein the upper trapezoidal component has two mounting rods to which are attached hand grips.
- 15. The device according to claim 14 wherein the hand grips are adjustable in height, and wherein the treading surfaces are axially adjustable.
- 16. The device according to claim 1 wherein the mounting frame comprises a vertical mounting rod and a pedestal.
- 17. The device according to claim 1 wherein the resistance or weight is adjustable or controllable.
- 18. The device according to claim 1 wherein the weight comprises one or more pneumatic or hydraulic cylinders and wherein one end of each cylinder is attached to the stationary mounting frame and the other end of each cylinder is attached to the parallelogram, or to an upper mounting element attached to the parallelogram or to a lower mounting element attached to the parallelogram.
- 19. The device according to claim 16 wherein the at least one resistance or weight is intergrated into the vertical mounting rod.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
298 08 727 U |
May 1998 |
DE |
|
US Referenced Citations (9)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
404322 |
Mar 1998 |
DE |