Patent Application
20140155236
My earlier U.S. Pat. No. 7,645,221 describes an exercise system that includes a board supported by various numbers of coil springs, including a board supported by widely spaced coil springs lying at the corners of a platform. That platform provides exercise in raising and lowering a person's legs. An exercise device that provided exercise by shifting the upper body and arms instead of, or in addition to raising and lowering the legs, would be of value.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, applicant provides an exercise apparatus for persons to exercise muscles used in skateboarding and surfboarding. The exercise device includes a relation device that allows a parson standing on a plate upper surface to rotate the plate clockwise and counterclockwise by several degrees (e.g. 20°), which simulates steering of a board. The apparatus also can include a tilting device on top of the rotation device. The tilting device allows the person to limit tilt of the board about horizontal sees to simulate tilt of a skateboard or surfboard. The tilting device includes four closely-spaced vertical coil springs that support a top board on the rotation device.
A person exercises by stepping on the top plate. The person moves his/her arms and legs and twists his/her hips to pivot the top plate back and forth about the vertical axis. If the tilting device is supported by the rotation exercise device, then during such back and forth pivoting, the top plate tends to tilt to one side or toward the front or back and the person exercises muscles to keep the lop plate horizontal. Performing both types of exercises (including pivoting the hips and moving the legs up and down to keep the board horizontal while rotating it back and forth) also enhances the person's ability to coordinate his/her movements.
The novel features of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention will be best understood from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
There are known devices that can support something as it rotates in one direction about a vertical axis, as to display different goods. However, applicant does not know of any such devices that includes a weight-carrying bearing that can support a grown person in such repeated back and forth pivoting. Applicant constructs the device with a bearing that can reliably and repeatedly support a person of a weight of at least 200 pounds, and preferably at least 300 pounds.
The plates 20, 22 preferably have a side-to-side width W and a front-to-back length L that are each long enough to enable a person to spread his feet to stand stably on the upper plate. Toe upper plate, and preferably both plates have a side-to-side width in direction W of more than 12 inches to hold a person's shoes, which are commonly at least 12 inches long. The top plate has a length in direction L of at least 18 inches to enable a person's legs to be spaced apart for balance, as shown in
The four coil springs 32 of the tilting device 26 are closely horizontally spaced so the upper plate is unstable in tilting. That is, the vertical axis 40 of the group of four springs can readily tilt to the left or right side L, R, or tut forward or rearward F, R. It is this instability in tilting the vertical axis 40 that results in the type of exercise provided by the present exercise apparatus. The coil axes 34 (
The middle plate 22 in
The coils springs 32 intentionally provide little stability to the middle plate. This is accomplished by using springs of small diameter and placing them close together. In a device of the illustrated construction that applicant has designed, the coil springs were each formed of wire of three-sixteenth inch diameter. Each coil had an outer diameter of 3 inches and a height (undeflected) of 6 inches. The axes of the coils lay on a circle of 6 inches diameter. The plates each had a width of 30 inches and a front to back length of 30 inches. This allows a person to stand with his/her feed spaced apart for stability.
When a person first steps on the top board 30, his first consideration is to move his weight so the top board remains in horizontal planes. The person moves his arms and legs for small weight position adjustment, and tilts his body for further adjustment. The person then attempts to pivot the top plate back and forth, that is, in clockwise and counterclockwise directions white repeatedly tilting the top board to keep it horizontal about two perpendicular horizontal axes.
It can be seen from
Thus, the invention provides an exorcise apparatus and a method of using an exercise apparatus. The apparatus includes a rotatable device with an upper plate that a person can stand on and that can be rotated back and forth (clockwise and counterclockwise) by over 20° in either direction. The rotatable device includes a bearing (or bearings) that reliably support the weight of a person of at least 200 pounds, and preferably at least 300 pounds. The apparatus also can include a tilting device that lies over the rotational device, and that tends to maintain the upper plate, on which a person stands, in a horizontal plane.
Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated herein, it is recognized that modifications and variations may readily occur to those skilled in the art, and consequently, it is intended that the claims be interpreted to cover such modifications and equivalents.
