Patent Application
20200281795
The present disclosure relates to a multi-component stretching apparatus having folding capabilities and interchangeable attachments. The portable modular stretching apparatus offers a lightweight and customizable solution for stretching exercises for those looking to maintain general limberness or to increase hyper flexibility for contortionists. Stretching exercises can be done in a seated or standing position.
Contortionists, gymnasts, and dancers, like other athletes, need to warm up, stretch, and maintain limberness regularly to stay in shape, maintain the ability to perform as required, and to minimize injury. However, unlike most athletes, contortionists, gymnasts, and dancers often require extreme form of controlled stretching with gradual progression and slow releases and in extreme positions and hyperflexion. Many contortionists, gymnasts, and dancers also perform or compete on tour. While on tour, consistency is important to reduce and prevent injuries.
Traditionally, extreme stretching would be accomplished through the use of stationary machinery or along with the help of a colleague. Other traditional stretching devices include the use of bands and yoga blocks. However, most stretching machinery is not consistently available and too costly and bulky to transport while on tour. Resistance bands and yoga blocks do not reduce the risk of injury because stretching progression and gradual release are not controlled. Traditional stretching methods also do not help in improving limberness and flexibility required for body contortion which requires excessive hip, waist, back, leg, knee, ankle, and foot flexibility. Traditional stretching methods and apparatuses also provide poor alignment and poor ability to promote progressive increases in intensity and tension rather than incremental increases.
What is needed is the portable modular stretching system of the disclosure. The stretching system comprises the core components of a pully attached at one end of a central rod. The central rod is connected to a base. The central rod has a joint on either side of the base. A leg is attached at each joint. Cable is threaded through the central rod or along the legs. A bottom platform can be attached to the base, and a back platform can be attached to the central rod for seated stretches. A person pulls on the cable to create tension for progressively difficult and challenging stretching of the back, hips, and leg muscles such as the hamstrings, quadriceps, and gastrocnemius.
In one embodiment, the stretching system attachments are attached at the central rod, at the back platform attachment receptacles, and at the leg attachment receptacles. The legs have wheels to allow for movement to the front and sides along an x axis.
In one embodiment, the stretching system attachments are removed, and the legs are folded in towards a center and upward along a y axis. The telescopic legs are minimized. The legs can be locked in place with a fastener threaded through a hole at the end of each leg. The folded apparatus is placed in a carry case or backpack. The carry case or backpack can accommodate the attachments.
Attachments provide for enhanced flexion of the knees, ankles, feet, and hips. Attachments include a swivel base attachment and a back platform handlebar attachment for waist and hip stretching while standing. Attachments include a foot cradle with a crank to increase tension to promote metatarsal, ankle, lower leg, and arch flexion and extension and extension while performing other lower body stretches. Attachments for lower leg stretching include a leg cradle that moves along a track and adjusted up and down by a screw crank. Some lower leg stretching attachments include a waist bar and a platform to enhance alignment and increase stretching difficulty.
The accompanying drawings that are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification illustrate several embodiments of the disclosure and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.
The present disclosure provides generally for a portable modular stretching apparatus. The stretching apparatus is especially useful for traveling athletes and performers. The system was specifically inspired by the often-extreme stretching needs of contortionists and circus performers. The system provides users with the ability to progressively increase the intensity and difficulty of various lower body stretches. In preferred embodiments, the stretch tension, intensity, and difficulty, are self-directed and manually controlled with hand cranks and screw cranks and direct pulling on cables threaded through the hollow central rod and leg cores.
The system in interchangeable with attachments designed to fit into attachment receptacles present at the distal ends of each leg and at the rear side of the back platform and on top of the base. Multiple attachments can be used at the same time. For example, a person can use a lower leg stretching attachment and a foot cradle stretching attachment at the same time to elongate the legs and pointed foot at the same time.
The attachments can be removed, and the telescopic legs contracted and folded toward the base and central rod. The central rod serves as the main chassis and can be in a linear, T, or cross shape. The legs can be folded and can move upward along a y axis. The legs can move outward and inward along an x axis. The legs can have wheels attached to facilitate a gliding movement about a surface. The legs can be locked together by threading a fastener through corresponding holes at the distal ends of the legs.
In preferred embodiments, a portable modular stretching apparatus comprises a central rod connected to a base at the center, a joint on each end of the central rod, a telescopic leg attached at each joint, and attachment receptacle at the central rod to accommodate a back platform, a pulley with a cable and tension crank attached to the central rod, and wherein the base at the center is capable of accommodating a bottom platform attachment fixedly or removably attached to the base. A cable and pulley system and hand crank and screw crank systems are implemented to manually control the progressively difficult stretching with increased tension. The alignment structures such as leg and foot cradles and leg wings promote alignment and stability. The combination of the manually controlled pulley and cranks along with the supportive structures promotes stability and alignment to minimize the risk of injury, abrupt movement, and muscle spasms.
A person can use the system seated or standing. For example, while seated, a user can place his legs along the apparatus legs and held with the wings. Cables can be threaded through the hollow legs and pulled to increase tension outward along an x axis or upward along a y axis.
In another seated stretching position, leg stretching attachments are attached to the receptacles at the end of the distally forward positioned legs. The user's lower legs are placed in a cradle. A screw crank adjusts the movement of the cradle up and down, stretching out the legs.
In a standing stretching position, a back platform attachment is attached at the back platform attachment receptacle where the attachment's corresponding attachment appendages are placed. The back platform attachment has handlebars at the top. The base has a swivel platform attached. A person stands on the swivel platform, holds onto the handlebars, and twists the lower body at the waist while keeping the torso and upper body straight.
As used herein, a fastener is any apparatus that can hold multiple parts together. As used herein a cable, is any rope, string, band, twine, or cord.
In the following sections, detailed descriptions of examples and methods of the disclosure will be given. The description of both preferred and alternative examples are exemplary only, and it is understood that to those skilled in the art that variations, modifications, and alterations may be apparent. It is therefore to be understood that the examples do not limit the broadness of the aspects of the underlying disclosure as defined by the claims.
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A user can customize the movement, tension, and range of movement as seen here by adjusting the way the cable is threaded. In this example, the cable is threaded through the cable rings on a single leg rather than on both legs. Therefore, when the tension crank is activated, only the leg with the cable threaded through the cable rings will move and stretch the user's leg.
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A number of embodiments of the present disclosure have been described. While this specification contains many specific implementation details, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of any disclosures or of what may be claimed but rather as descriptions of features specific to particular embodiments of the present disclosure.
Certain features that are described in this specification in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in combination in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination.
Thus, particular embodiments of the subject matter have been described. Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims. In some cases, the actions recited in the claims can be performed in a different order and still achieve desirable results. Various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed disclosure.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application No. 62/815,157, entitled Sosa Stretch and having a filing date of Mar. 7, 2019. The contents of U.S. provisional application No. 62/815,157 are incorporated by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62815157 | Mar 2019 | US |
