Patent Application
20250099804
The invention relates to the field of suspension training facilities.
TRX, the acronym of Total Resistance Exercising, is a specialized form of suspension training that utilizes equipment developed by former U.S. Navy SEAL Randy Hetrick. It uses body weight exercises to develop strength, balance, flexibility and core stability simultaneously.
“TRX's designers claim that it draws on research from the military, pro sports, and academic institutions along with experience gathered from the TRX team, who work with thousands of athletes, coaches, trainers, first responders, subject matter experts, professors, and service members in all branches.” (From Wikipedia).
A common TRX comprises two straps 11 connected at one end thereof 13; each of the straps 11 comprises a handle 16 and/or a loop at the other end thereof.
The user 10 anchors the TRX device 100 at the connection point of the straps on a stationary facility 14, such as a tree (outdoor) or a bar (indoor). During the training the user suspends his body on the TRX device while holding the handles/loops 16.
One of the obstacles a TRX designer has to deal with is the straps length adjustment mechanism, which each trainee adjusts according to its needs and preferences. This is in contrast with an indoor device which usually is in use by a single user.
CA2747612C disclose “an exercise strap comprises an upper strap and a lower strap. A plurality of loop members are located on the lower strap to allow for handles to be easily removed and replaced on different locations on the lower strap. An adjustment member attached to both the upper strap and the lower strap allows for the overall length of the exercise strap to be adjusted. A strap attachment member attached to the upper strap connects the exercise strap to a suitable mounting mechanism.”
U.S. Pat. No. 8,007,413B1 discloses “an exerciser with length-adjustable inelastic straps. The exerciser includes two straps and a handle mounted to an end each strap. A connecting member is mounted to the other end of each strap. The exerciser further includes a suspension member having an inelastic strap. A stop is engaged with an end of the inelastic strap. A retaining ring is engaged with the other end of the inelastic strap. A plurality of rings is fixed to the inelastic strap. The retaining member is releasably engageable with one of the rings, so that the inelastic strap forms a loop. The connecting member is releasably engaged with one of the rings. The inelastic strap is mounted around a rod or the like or extended through a gap between a door and a door frame, allowing user to perform exercises resisting the weight of the user.”
U.S. Pat. No. 8,998,780B2 discloses an “equipment allows a user to target different muscle groups using tri-planar coordination of movement, which was previously difficult (if not impossible) to achieve using conventional suspension training equipment. This is done by providing a resistance between suspension training straps, namely, by mechanically coupling an elastic band between the suspension training straps.”
U.S. Pat. No. 8,782,854 B1 discloses a device for releasably retaining a cord or flexible tube. The device includes a U-shaped yoke and a rotatable handle sized for gripping by the hand of a user. The cord or flexible tube is releasably received by a capture cap and can emanate directly therefrom or be routed to a loop located at the end of the handle in order to alter its orientation γ
All the solutions of the prior art have not yet provided satisfactory solutions to the wear and tear problem of a body-suspension device.
In one aspect, the invention is directed to an outdoor body-suspension device (100), comprising two ropes (11), connected to an outdoor stationary facility, each of the ropes having a handle assembly (12) comprising (a) a grasping mechanism, for grasping the handle assembly to a rope of the ropes, (b) a releasing mechanism, for loosening a grasp of the handle assembly on the rope, and (c) a handle (16), wherein parts of the handle assembly are connected to each other by one or more one-way screws (22), thereby preventing from the handle assembly (12) to be dismantled, resulting with maintaining a user's safety when using the outdoor body-suspension device, and providing an indication that the handle assembly has not been dismantled during a use thereof.
According to embodiments of the invention, the grasping and releasing mechanisms are activated by a push button (17).
According to embodiments of the invention, the grasping and releasing mechanism comprises a blocking object (29), an arm (30) rotatable along a hinge (31) and pushed towards a rope (11) against a blocking object (29), a push button (17), for applying force on the arm (30) to distance from the rope (11), thereby upon pushing the push button, distancing the arm from the rope, and upon releasing the push button, fastening the rope between the arm and the stationary object.
According to embodiments of the invention, the arm (30) comprises a rough surface (34), for increasing a friction between the arm and the rope.
The rough surface (34) may comprise spikes, ribs, a material with a high coefficient of friction, and so on.
According to embodiments of the invention, an angle between a pulling axis of the handle assembly and an axis of a rope thereof is greater than zero, for preventing of a contact between a hand of a user to a loosened part of said rope.
The handle assembly may further comprise a barrier at an end of each of the ropes, for blocking an attempt to remove the handle assembly of its rope by pulling the handle assembly beyond the end of said rope.
According to embodiments of the invention, a rotation of the arm around its hinge is limited to an angle that a force exerted on said rope is maximal, thereby preventing the arm from sliding along the rope.
Preferably, a rotation of said arm around a hinge is limited to an angle that a force exerted on the rope is maximal.
The reference numbers have been used to point out elements in the embodiments described and illustrated herein, in order to facilitate the understanding of the invention. They are meant to be merely illustrative, and not limiting. Also, the foregoing embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated in conjunction with systems and methods thereof, which are meant to be merely illustrative, and not limiting.
Embodiments, features, and aspects of the invention are described herein in conjunction with the following drawings in which:
It should be understood that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale.
The invention will be understood from the following detailed description of embodiments which are meant to be descriptive and not limiting. For the sake of brevity, some well-known features, methods, systems, procedures, components, circuits, and so on, are not described in detail.
The body-suspension device, which is marked herein by reference numeral 100, comprises two ropes 11, connected at one end thereof by a connector 13, and tied to a stationary facility 14 by a connector 15. A handle assembly 12 is connected to each of the ropes, between its ends.
“A rope is a group of yarns, plies, fibers or strands that are twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have tensile strength and so can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger than similarly constructed cord, string, and twine.” (From Wikipedia).
The use of ropes instead of straps provides to a body-suspension device a strength which is required for diminishing the wear thereof; on the other hand the prior art adjustment mechanism used for the straps in the prior art cannot be used in the case of ropes.
It should be noted that the handle assembly 12 is not connected to the rope at the end thereof, but between its ends. As it is an outdoor device that anyone can use, its wear is intense and therefore a solution to diminish the wear rate is required.
As mentioned, instead of straps as in the prior art, according to the invention the body-suspension device makes use of ropes. In addition the connection mechanism of each handle assembly to the rope should provide safety (i.e., diminish the chance of disengagement) and low wear.
At the end of each rope 11 is installed a barrier 35, to block any attempt to remove the handle assembly 12 of the rope 11 by pulling the handle assembly beyond the end of the rope.
The illustration shows how a user 10 leans his body on the ropes 11 by holding the handle assemblies 12 which are connected to the ropes.
As mentioned, since the outdoor body-suspension device serves a plurality of users, an outdoor body-suspension device has to provide an easy way to adjust the length of each of its ropes between a connection point with a stationary facility 14, to a handle assembly 12.
Furthermore, since the body-suspension device is an outdoor device, it has to deal with theft, i.e., to be designed such a way to prevent its theft as much as possible.
Furthermore, since it is a body-suspension device, its users are exposed to falling and injuring, especially if the grasp of the rope by the handles assemblies is loosen. As such, it is important to prevent from a user dismantling the mechanism of the handle assembly 12 that grasps a rope 11.
Furthermore, it is the interest of a manufacturer of a body-suspension device to provide an indication whether the body-suspension device has been dismantled, i.e., someone has tampered with and as such it is not tuned as left the manufacturer site, which may put its users in jeopardy. Of course the manufacturer has to limit its warrantee to not dismantling the body-suspension device by a user.
In the following it will be explained how the invention provides a solution to the mentioned points.
Each of the handle assemblies 12 comprises a handle 16, and a rope, grasped by the handle assembly during the use thereof.
A push button 17 in each handle assembly 12 is used for changing the length of a rope between the handle assembly and the connection point of the rope to a stationary object. In one state of the push button the rope is grasped, and in the other state the grasping is released, thereby allowing placing the handle at a desired location on the rope, i.e., determining the length.
This mechanism of the invention is a simpler mechanism to use by a user than adjusting the length of the strap by tying and untying the straps, as in the prior art.
An endless number of mechanisms for attaching and releasing the handle to the rope can be designed.
Reference numeral 22 denotes a one-way screw. From the point of view of the drawings, the one-way screw 22 is not seen. The one-way screw provides several advantages:
Push button 17 is actually a lever. An extension 28 is connected to push button 17.
By pushing push button 17 towards the rope 11, extension 28 which is connected to push button 17, is pushed as well. As a result, extension 28 pushes ledges 32 of arm 30, resulting with distancing arm 30 from rope 11, thereby allowing shifting the handle assembly along the rope 11 to a desired location.
Upon releasing push button 17, the spring 33 applies force on arm 30, which rotates arm 30 and applies force on the rope 11, i.e., grabbing the rope.
The rope is held between blocking object 29 and the arm 30. The blocking object 29 is fixed to the handle assembly.
After setting the length of the rope between a connection point to a stationary element, a user leaning on the rope (by holding the handle assembly) causes the arm 30 to fasten the rope 11 (to the handle assembly). This can be achieved by limiting the rotation of arm 30 around hinge 31 to a desired angle to cause the pressure on the rope from the arm 30 and the blocking object 29 will be maximal. The blocking mechanism of the rotation of arm 30 is not shown in the figures for the sake of simplicity; however, the blocking may be carried out, for example, by a ledge.
The roughness of surface 34 which increases the friction the handle assembly with the rope may be achieved, for example, by a ribbed surface, spikes surface, a material with a high coefficient of friction, etc.
It should be noted that although a ropes is the preferred option, the body-suspension device can use straps instead.
As mentioned, the mechanism of
Numeral 25 denotes an axis of a rope of a body-suspension device; numeral 26 denotes an axis of the handle assembly; and numeral 27 denotes an angle between the rope axis and the handle assembly axis.
As illustrated, angle 27 is greater than zero, for prevention of a contact between a hand of a user to the loosened part of a rope, i.e., the lower side (from the handle assembly 12).
In the figures and/or description herein, the following reference numerals (Reference Signs List) have been mentioned:
In the description herein, the following references have been mentioned: CA2747612C, U.S. Pat. No. 8,007,413B1, U.S. Pat. No. 8,998,780B2, U.S. Pat. No. 8,998,780B2 and U.S. Pat. No. 8,782,854B1.
As per U.S. Pat. No. 8,782,854B1 to Samuels, it does not disclose a suspension device, neither a button-based grasping nor grasping-releasing mechanism, nor a dismantling prevention mechanism. The fact that the device of Samuels is not a suspension device doesn't put its users in jeopardy, and as such there is no motivation to combine it with a common TRX device. Furthermore, Samuels does not refer to an outdoor device, and as such it does not show a mechanism to prevent its dismantling its handle assembly (its user is not exposed to falling jeopardy or theft).
The foregoing description and illustrations of the embodiments of the invention has been presented for the purposes of illustration. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the above description in any form.
Any term that has been defined above and used in the claims, should to be interpreted according to this definition.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 275983 | Jul 2020 | IL | national |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 17340144 | Jun 2021 | US |
| Child | 18973135 | US |
