The art of boxing has existed prior to 2014. It is a highly recognizable sport and exercise. In connection to its years of existing there are several (other) boxing/punching bags and devices related that have been patented.
Traditional boxing bags have required installation by the user and/or the injection of air, water or sand into the said boxing bag to be operated by the user.
U.S. Pat. No. 825,860 filed Mar. 13, 1906 by Charles McKenzie. An example of a boxing ball fixed to other devices to be operable.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,217,489 B1 filed Aug. 22, 1997 by Robert Steven Nicholson. An example of a supported boxing bag requiring installation before operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,027,435 filed Dec. 30, 1988 by Benjamin Nadorf, Alan Weck and William Bambrough. An example of a free standing punching bag mounted on a pedestal.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,574,135 B2 flied Oct. 11, 2011 by Yi Yi Chen. An example of a boxing ball with attachments in order to be operable.
Aspects provide a punching bag formed by a body panel with a first edge joined at one edge to form a first closed end, and a second edge distal to the first that defines a second opened end of an interior enclosure of the punching bag that is bounded within interior surface sidewalls of the body panel between the first closed end and the second opened end. The first closed end traps air within the interior enclosure that is configured to interact via the second opened end with ambient air within an outer area surrounding the body panel, to thereby slow motion of the punching bag as it is conveyed through the ambient air in response to forces imparted to the bag body panel by a user.
These and other features of this invention will be more readily understood from the following detailed description of the various aspects of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
Aspects of the present invention provide for a non-inflatable boxing bag not supported by chains, cords, nor attachments to either side. The objective is to provide the user with a boxing/punching bag that is truly free from needing to be installed. An additional objective is to provide the user with a boxing/training bag that is not restricted to back-and-forth and/or up and down movements. Moreover another objective is to provide the user with a boxing/punching bag that can be easily folded and placed into the user's pocket for easy transport.
As an alternative objective the user can use the boxing/punching bag as an advertising flyer.
The embodiment include a closed top (no attachments needed) and an opened bottom (no valves for air injection) and several vents/scorings near the bottom to allow natural airflow when being struck by the users: foot, head, hand, knee, and/or elbow during training. Unlike other boxing/punching bags, aspects of the present invention can be pulled out of a drawer, pocket, gym bag then tossed into the air by the user for immediate use; challenging the users: hand-and-eye coordination, ability to control punches and punch consistency. Natural gravity and interaction from the user keeps the boxing/punching bag air-borne during use. When the user stops interacting with the boxing/punching bag it descends.
The boxing/punching bag 1 body further includes airflow vents 4 formed and disposed through the sidewall panels and a brandable center region 3 defined on an outer surface region or area of the sidewall panels.
Branding (“Logo Here” text or other text, icon, trademark or other distinctive graphic content) may be displayed within the brandable center region 3 and thereby displayed to viewers while the boxing/punching bag 1 is in use as a training device and/or advertising flyer.
Embodiments according to the present invention present advantages over conventional boxing bag articles and methods. For example, embodiments of the boxing/punching bag 1 do not need attachments to be operable; do not require that a user inject the body enclosure region or other portions of the boxing/punching bag 1 with air, water, sand or another medium in order to make the boxing/punching bag 1 operable; do not need pedestals, cords, or pulleys or other additional support elements to render the boxing/punching bag 1 operable; fits into the users pocket in folded or unfolded orientations with ease, providing for easy transport; and provides advertising flyer or other graphic information display functions when in use as a boxing bag, and when not in use for boxing (for example, draped over a beverage or other article, etc.)
Some embodiments of the boxing/punching bag 1 weigh less than 5.5 grams and intake through the opened end 5 from 0.403 to 0.523 cubic feet (cu. ft.) of natural air, which may be released through the opened 5 and/or the vents 4 within seconds (for example, 3.52, 3.60 or 4.02 seconds).
In one illustrative but not limiting or exhaustive example a length dimension of the boxing/punching bag is 12 inches, and a width dimension is 11 inches, wherein the bottom/opening 5 is 17 inches in width and expands and decreases during use, wherein the body panels are formed from High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) having a thickness ranging from 0.6 to 0.8 mils. (A “mil” is a measurement unit that equals one-thousandth of an inch (0.001 inch), or 0.0254 millimeters (mm).)
In some embodiments 22 or more of the vents 4 are provided through the body panels for natural airflow into or out of the body enclosure, ranging from 0.75 inches to 0.835 inches in length, and the first end is one inch long. In the present example the boxing/punching bag 1 can be folded into a compact form factor as small as 3 inches by 3 inches and thereby placed into the users' pocket without creating a substantial bulge.
Testing: In testing drop time of embodiments of the boxing/punching bag 1 in an opened space the following was determined: when dropped from eight (8) feet with the closed end 2 facing upward (relative to the downward movement direction of the dropping boxing/punching bag 1) it took 3.60 seconds to hit the ground. In a second drop test with the bottom end 5 instead facing upward, it took 4.02 seconds to completely descend and hit the ground, due to the bottom end 5 opening and the boxing/punching bag swaying back and forth through the air after catching natural airflow. In a third drop test the boxing/punching bag 1 was thrown upward into the air for a distance of eight feet from an initial height of five feet from ground, wherein it took the boxing/punching bag 1 3.52 seconds to completely descend and hit the ground.
The terminology used herein is for describing particular aspects only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “include” and “including” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. Certain examples and elements described in the present specification, including in the claims and as illustrated in the figures, may be distinguished or otherwise identified from others by unique adjectives (e.g. a “first” element distinguished from another “second” or “third” of a plurality of elements, a “primary” distinguished from a “secondary” one or “another” item, etc.) Such identifying adjectives are generally used to reduce confusion or uncertainty, and are not to be construed to limit the claims to any specific illustrated element or embodiment, or to imply any precedence, ordering or ranking of any claim elements, limitations or process steps.
The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain the principles of the embodiments, the practical application or technical improvement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62910753 | Oct 2019 | US |