The present disclosure relates to a skipping rope.
More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a skipping rope with two handles connected by a rope which, as is known, is often used as a toy by children for jumping rope or by sportsmen for training.
In order to be able to jump properly with such a skipping rope, it is important that the length of the rope between the handles is adapted to the person jumping with it.
Young children of short height cannot jump with a skipping rope whose length of rope between the handles is too large.
On the other hand, taller children or adults cannot jump or have difficulty jumping when the length of the intermediate piece of rope is too short.
Sometimes skipping ropes are also used for jumping with several people, with the rope typically being spun by two people each handling one of the handles and one or more people jumping over the spinning skipping rope, often performing acrobatics.
For such an application, the length of the piece of rope between the handles must of course be even greater.
A disadvantage of the known skipping ropes, however, is that the length of the piece of rope between the handles cannot or cannot easily be adjusted.
Also, often it is only possible to adjust the length only once by shortening the rope by cutting off a piece, so that the skipping rope cannot be extended again afterwards.
Another disadvantage of the known skipping ropes is that, when stored, the rope takes up a lot of space and easily gets entangled, for example between surrounding other toys.
The present disclosure therefore aims to offer a solution to one or several of the aforementioned and/or other disadvantages.
More specifically, the present disclosure aims to provide a skipping rope in which the piece of rope between the handles of the skipping rope can be very easily shortened or extended, even by children.
Furthermore, the aim of the present disclosure is that the piece of rope between the handles can be shortened and extended without any difficulty each time the skipping rope is used and stored again, i.e. during the entire life of the skipping rope.
Another aim of the present disclosure is to provide a skipping rope that is very easy to store and easy to carry in travel bags or the like.
To this end, the present disclosure relates to a skipping rope with two handles connected by a rope, at least one of the handles being equipped with winding devices for winding and unwinding the rope, for shortening and extending the piece of rope between the handles respectively, wherein the rope is movable in the handle between a position for adjusting the length of the skipping rope and a position for using the skipping rope and wherein the handle is equipped with blocking devices for blocking and unblocking the rope again, wherein, in a blocked state, the rope cannot be brought into a position for winding and unwinding the rope and wherein, in a unblocked state, said blocking has been lifted, the handle in question being designed to this end with a first section consisting of an internal cylindrical section around which a second complementary section in the form of an external sleeve section can be twisted, the external sleeve section having a cylindrical wall and a bottom, wherein an elongated opening is provided in the cylindrical wall which extends in the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical wall and wherein the position for adjusting the length of the skipping rope corresponds to a position of the rope wherein it protrudes through the elongated opening and wherein the position of the rope in the handle for using the skipping rope corresponds to a position wherein the rope extends axially from the centre of the bottom.
It is clear that such a skipping rope according to the present disclosure provides a solution to the problems associated with the known skipping ropes mentioned in the introduction.
The winding devices ensure that the length of the free piece of rope between the handles can be adjusted, while the remaining part of the rope is simply coiled up.
This does not change the total length of the rope, so that it can later be used again to extend the free piece of rope between the handles.
In addition, the skipping rope is equipped with a safety device that prevents the rope from being unintentionally brought into a position for adjusting the length of the skipping rope while the skipping rope is in use.
In some embodiments of a skipping rope according to the present disclosure, the skipping rope is such that, when the rope is brought into a position for adjustment of the length, it is possible to wind the rope on the internal cylindrical section by twisting the external sleeve section in relation to the internal cylindrical section, depending on what direction it is twisted in, or to unwind it from the internal cylindrical section, in which case, when the rope is in a position of use, the rope can be either blocked or unblocked by twisting the external sleeve section in relation to the internal cylindrical section.
Such an embodiment of a skipping rope according to the present disclosure provides that the part of the rope that is not used while jumping is coiled up in the corresponding handle, so that the user will notice little or nothing of it.
Another aspect of this embodiment of a skipping rope according to the present disclosure is that the simple action of twisting the external sleeve section and the internal cylindrical section in relation to each other fulfils different functions depending on the position in which the rope is in.
In particular, such twisting results in a position for adjusting the length of the skipping rope by extending or shortening the rope, while in a position of use of the skipping rope, such twisting results in blocking or unblocking the rope, wherein it is prevented or made possible for the rope respectively to be moved into a position for adjusting the length of the skipping rope.
In some embodiments of a skipping rope according to the present disclosure, the internal cylindrical section is provided with a spiral groove extending over almost the entire length of the internal cylindrical section with a pitch slightly greater than the thickness of the rope and wherein the rope is guided into the spiral groove while the rope is being coiled on the internal cylindrical section, when the rope has been brought into a position for adjusting the length.
Such an embodiment of a skipping rope according to the present disclosure has the aspect that winding the rope on the internal cylindrical section in the handle is done in a very orderly and organised way, making maximum use of the available space.
Indeed, successive windings of the rope that are coiled in the spiral groove on the internal cylindrical section lie virtually against each other.
In this way, the winding cannot go wrong and even small children can do it without any problems.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure a notch is provided at the free end of the internal cylindrical section of a handle of the skipping rope which extends axially according to the central axis of the internal cylindrical section, this notch having a width corresponding to the thickness of the rope, so that this rope can be inserted in a fitting manner and/or clamped in the notch and thus extends axially from the handle according to a position of the rope for using the skipping rope.
Of course, when jumping with the skipping rope, the rope should protrude from the centre of the handles of the skipping rope in an axial direction, so that the rope is properly oriented for the spinning movement while jumping.
The aforementioned notch ensures that the rope is properly oriented during use and also helps to keep the rope in a position of use of the skipping rope while jumping.
In some embodiments a skipping rope according to the present disclosure, the outer sleeve section has a cylindrical wall and a bottom, with the cylindrical wall having a widened, elongated opening extending in the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical wall, and the bottom having a central opening in the middle and a slot extending radially from this central opening up to the cylindrical wall and further through the cylindrical wall according to its longitudinal direction up to the widened elongated opening.
The widened elongated opening in the cylinder wall of the external sleeve section is intended to guide the rope to the spiral groove in the internal cylindrical surface when it passes through this elongated opening in accordance with a position of the rope for adjusting the length of the skipping rope.
The slot extending from the end of the widened elongated opening nearest to the bottom up to the central opening in the bottom is intended to allow the rope to move between a position for adjusting the length of the skipping rope corresponding to a position wherein the rope protrudes through the elongated opening and a position for using the skipping rope corresponding to a position wherein the rope protrudes through the central opening in the bottom and rests in the notch.
It is clear that moving the rope from the central opening to the widened, elongated opening and vice versa is very easy.
This means that changing the rope from a position for unwinding or rewinding the rope to a position for using the skipping rope and vice versa can be carried out effortlessly by anyone.
In some embodiments of a skipping rope according to the present disclosure, the slot in the outer sleeve section is substantially narrower than the widened, elongated opening, with a width practically corresponding to the thickness of the rope, with the intention of allowing the rope to move between a position where it protrudes from the widened, elongated opening and a position where it protrudes from the central opening in the bottom, according to a position for adjusting the length of the intermediate section of the rope and a position for using the skipping rope respectively.
By designing the slot with a width corresponding to the thickness of the rope, the rope can easily be moved through it and is automatically guided, as it were, to the desired position of the rope during such movement.
An aspect of the present disclosure is that, when the rope is in the notch and protrudes through the central opening in the bottom, the rope can be blocked by twisting the external sleeve section in relation to the first section into a position where the elongated opening in the external sleeve section is no longer aligned with the notch, so that the rope is prevented from moving through the slot to this elongated opening, and that, the other way round, in this position the rope can be unblocked by twisting the external sleeve section in relation to the first section into a position wherein the elongated opening in the external sleeve section is aligned with the notch, so that the rope can move through the slot to this elongated opening.
An aspect of this embodiment of a skipping rope according to the present disclosure is that by simply twisting two sections of a handle, it can be ensured that the rope can be blocked on the one hand, so that during the use of the skipping rope, the rope cannot unintentionally be brought into a position for adjusting the length.
On the other hand, by an identical twist in the opposite direction, the blockage can be released again, so that the rope can be moved into a position for adjusting the length of the skipping rope.
In some embodiments a skipping rope according to the present disclosure, the aforementioned widened, elongated opening extends over a length corresponding to the length over which the spiral groove extends in the internal cylindrical section, in order to be able to smoothly guide the rope to the spiral groove by mutually twisting the external sleeve section and the internal cylindrical section while the rope is being coiled, or to be able to easily unwind the rope when the rope protrudes through the elongated opening.
It is clear that a widened configuration of the elongated opening contributes to the easy winding and unwinding of the rope on the internal cylindrical section.
Another aspect of this embodiment of a skipping rope according to the present disclosure is that once again, by simply twisting the two sections of its handle, the intermediate length of the rope can be shortened or extended, which is an action that even very small children can perform effortlessly.
In some embodiments of a skipping rope according to the present disclosure, the first section of the handle is provided with a protruding external section at one end of the internal cylindrical section, protruding from the sleeve section so as to form a first handle section, and the external sleeve section forms a second handle section for the relative twisting of both handle sections in relation to each other.
The aspect of this embodiment of a skipping rope according to the present disclosure is that the two handle sections form a good grip for the hands, so that twisting these handle sections for winding or unwinding the rope is very easy.
In some embodiments of a skipping rope according to the present disclosure, the two handles of the skipping rope are identical, so that both handles have winding devices and blocking devices.
An aspect of this embodiment of a skipping rope according to the present disclosure is, of course, that the piece of rope extending between the two handles can be shortened or extended over much greater lengths than is the case if only one handle of the skipping rope is provided with such winding devices and blocking devices.
In some embodiments of a skipping rope according to the present disclosure is to ensure that the total length of rope of the skipping rope can be coiled in the handles.
Coiling the rope entirely in the handles of the skipping rope is very interesting for storing the skipping rope.
In general terms, it can also be said that, in a skipping rope according to the 08TMCT124502PA, the winding devices may be formed of a first section with an internal cylindrical section that can revolve in a second complementary, external sleeve section, wherein the internal cylindrical section has a spiral groove in which a portion of the rope can be received during the winding and wherein the external sleeve section has a cylindrical wall and a bottom, wherein the cylindrical wall has an elongated opening extending in its longitudinal direction to guide the rope to the spiral groove in the internal cylindrical section when the rope protrudes through the elongated opening.
Furthermore, according to the 08TMCT124502PA, the rope may be moved through a slot in the handle between a length adjustment position, wherein it protrudes through the elongated opening, and a position of use wherein the rope protrudes through a central opening in the bottom, and the blocking devices may be a combination of this slot extending from the elongated opening in the cylindrical wall of the external sleeve section up to an opening centrally provided in the bottom of the external sleeve section and a notch provided at the free end of the internal cylindrical section, wherein, when the rope rests in the notch and protrudes through the central opening in the bottom, blocking and unblocking the blocking devices corresponds to a mutual twist of the external sleeve section and the internal cylindrical section into a position where the notch and the elongated opening are not aligned with each other and are aligned with each other respectively.
In order to better explain the characteristics of the present disclosure, the following embodiments of a skipping rope according to the present disclosure are described by way of example only without being limitative in any way, with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:
This rope 4 can, of course, be made of any material that is suitable for smoothly skipping rope.
Both handles 2 and 3 are manufactured in a special way and are provided with winding devices 5 for winding and unwinding the rope 4, for shortening and extending the part 6 of the rope 4 between the handles 2 and 3 respectively.
The details will be discussed below with reference to the other
In particular, such a handle 2 or 3 is designed with a first section 7 comprising an internal cylindrical section 8 around which, in the assembled condition of the handle 2 or 3, a second complementary section 9 in the form of an external sleeve section 9 is revolvingly arranged.
The first section 7 of the handle 2 or 3 is provided at one end 10 of the internal cylindrical section 8 with a protruding external section 11 which, in the assembled condition of the handle 2 or 3, protrudes from the external sleeve section 9 so as to form a first handle section 12.
The external sleeve section 9 further forms a second handle section 13, so that the first section 7 and the second section 9 can easily be twisted in relation to one another.
The first handle section 12 has a conical or cone shape which narrows towards the internal cylindrical section 8, so that the moment that can be exerted is greater compared to a fully cylindrical embodiment.
The second handle section 13, which is formed by the external sleeve section 9, has a series of grooves 15 on the outside 14 arranged parallel to each other and which help to hold the handle firmly in the hand.
Revolving the external sleeve section 9 in relation to the internal cylindrical section 8 is intended to make it possible to wind the rope 4 onto the internal cylindrical section 8 or to unwind it from the internal cylindrical section 8, depending on the revolving direction applied, at least in so far as the rope 4 had been brought into a position for adjusting the length of the skipping rope 1.
In order to ensure that the rope 4 can be coiled properly on the internal cylindrical section and to prevent the rope 4 from being coiled in a disorderly manner, the internal cylindrical section 8 is provided with a spiral groove 16 extending over almost the entire length of the internal cylindrical section 8.
This spiral groove 16 is formed between successive windings of a spiral upright flat edge 17 and has a width B corresponding to the thickness T of the rope 4.
The edge 17 has a height H which practically corresponds to the thickness T of the rope 4 and which is somewhat smaller than this thickness T.
The bottom 18 of spiral groove 16 is rounded or semi-circular, so that the rope 4 fits perfectly into the spiral groove 16.
The spiral groove 16 also has a pitch S which is slightly greater than the thickness T of the rope 4 and more specifically equal to the sum of the thickness T of the rope 4 and the width U of the edge 17.
The aim is that the rope 4 will be guided into the spiral groove 16 while the rope 4 is being coiled on the internal cylindrical section 8.
To this end, the outer sleeve section 9 is equipped with a cylindrical wall 19 and a bottom 20, wherein an elongated opening 21 is provided in the cylindrical wall 19 extending in the longitudinal direction AA′ of the cylindrical wall 19.
In order to be able to guide the rope 4 smoothly to the spiral groove 16 as the rope 4 is being coiled or to be able to easily unwind the rope 4, the elongated opening 21 has a length L which corresponds to the length L′ over which the spiral groove 16 extends in the internal cylindrical section 8.
The aim is of course that, in the assembled state of the handle 2 or 3, the elongated opening 21 extends over the spiral groove 16.
In other words, the position for adjusting the length of the skipping rope 1 corresponds to a position of the rope 4 in which it protrudes through the elongated opening 21.
After adjusting the length of skipping rope 1, the rope 4 is to be moved from this position for adjusting the length into a position of use of the skipping rope 1.
Such a position of the rope 4 in the handle 2 or 3 for using the skipping rope 1 corresponds to a position wherein the rope 4 extends axially from the centre of the bottom 20.
To this end, a central opening 22 is initially provided at the centre of the bottom 20.
In addition, in the embodiment of the figures shown, the internal cylindrical section 8 is provided at its free end 23 with a notch 24 extending axially in accordance with the central axis CC′ of the internal cylindrical section 8.
This notch 24 has a width E corresponding to the thickness T of the rope 4, so that this rope 4 can rest in the notch and can possibly even be clamped.
After the rope 4 has been sufficiently coiled or unwound and the desired section 25 of the rope 4 has been coiled in the spiral groove 16 of the internal cylindrical section 8, the remaining section 26 of the rope 4 adjacent to the coiled section 25 is to be guided to the notch 24, in order to bring the rope 4 into a position of use.
In order to smoothly guide the remaining section 26 of the rope to the notch 24, some provisions have been made.
Firstly, a rectilinear groove 27 is provided across the spiral groove 16 in the longitudinal direction of the internal cylindrical section 8 which allows the rope 4 to be brought to the free end 23 of the internal cylindrical section 8, regardless of the number of turns of the coiled section 25 of the rope 4.
In addition, the internal cylindrical section 8 is bevelled at the free end 23 which, in the assembled state of the skipping rope 1, is adjacent to the bottom 20 of the external sleeve section 9.
On the bevelled end 28 are further provided two upright edges 29 which are inclined towards each other in the direction of the notch 24 and which are positioned symmetrically with respect to the rectilinear groove 27, so that the rope 4 is guided from the spiral groove 16 through the rectilinear groove 27 to the central axis CC′ of the first section 7 and thus to the notch 24, in order to be able to block the rope 4.
It is clear that the rope 4, at the point where it goes from the spiral groove 16 into the rectilinear groove 27, makes a certain kink which already contributes to the blocking of the rope in the handle 2 or 3.
If necessary, this blocking can be reinforced by clamping in the notch 24.
In the assembled state of a handle 2 or 3, the external sleeve section 9 is arranged around the internal cylindrical section 8, with rope 4 protruding from the elongated opening 21 in the cylinder wall during the winding or unwinding of this rope 4.
In order to bring the rope 4 from this position, shown in
The elongated opening 21 in the cylindrical wall 19 of the external sleeve section 9 is widened with a width F which is substantially greater than the width G of the slot 30 in this external sleeve section 9 which extends up to the central opening 30.
This widened embodiment of the elongated opening 21 is intended to facilitate the guiding of the rope 4 to the spiral groove 16, and for the same reason the edges of this elongated opening 21 are bevelled.
The width G of the slot 30 is almost equal to the thickness of the rope 4, as this slot 30 is only intended to guide the rope 4 from the widened, elongated opening 21 to the central opening 22 in the bottom 20, where it rests in the notch 24 or is clamped and brought into a position of use, or vice versa, to be able to guide the rope 4 from the central opening 22 in the bottom 20 to the widened, elongated opening 21, wherein the rope 4 is taken back from the notch 24 and comes into a more or less aligned position with one of the coils of the spiral groove 16, in short in a position where the rope 4 can be wound or unwound.
When the rope 4 is in the position of use, it must be possible to block the rope 4, so that the rope 4 remains in this position and cannot be brought back into the length adjustment position.
Vice versa, it must be possible to lift this blockage in order to re-adjust the length of the section of rope 6 between the handles 2 and 3.
To this end, according to the present disclosure, a skipping rope 1 is provided with blocking devices 31 which, in the given embodiment of the figures, includes the combination of the notch 24 in the internal cylindrical section 8 and the slot 30 and elongated opening 21 in the external cylindrical section 9 and by the fact that the external cylindrical section 9 can revolve in relation to the internal cylindrical section 8.
Indeed, if the elongated opening 21 and the notch 24 are not aligned with each other due to a revolving of the aforementioned parts 7 and 9, which corresponds to the rope 4 being blocked, then the rope 4 can no longer move in the radial section 32 of the slot 30 and thus a movement towards the elongated opening 21, corresponding to a length adjustment position of the rope, will be restrained.
This condition is shown, for example, in
In the other case where the aforementioned sections 7 and 9 are turned into a position where the notch 24 and the elongated opening 21 are aligned, the rope 4 can be brought into the radial section 32 of the slot 30 so that the blocking is lifted.
This condition is shown, for example, in
From this unblocked condition into a position of use, the rope 4 can be moved through the slot 30 to the elongated opening 21 into a length adjustment position of the skipping rope 1 and vice versa.
Such a position of the rope 4 for adjusting the length of the skipping rope 1 is shown in
It should also be noted that to hold one end of the rope 4, handholds 33 are provided on the first section 7 a handle 2 or 3.
These handholds 33 are formed, for example, by a passage at the transition between the internal cylindrical section 8 and the first handle section 12 in which the rope 4 can be inserted and which opens in an internal section of the first handle section 12 in which a hook-shaped element is provided for holding one end of the rope 4.
In some embodiments, the first handle section 12 is also fitted with a cover 34 to seal off the internal section.
The present disclosure is not restricted to the embodiments of a skipping rope 1 according to the present disclosure, described by way of example and represented in the accompanying drawings; on the contrary, such a skipping rope 1 can be manufactured in many different ways while still remaining within the scope of the present disclosure.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2019/5998 | Dec 2019 | BE | national |
The present application is the National Phase entry of International Patent Application No. PCT/IB2020/062326 filed Dec. 22, 2020, which claims priority to Belgium Patent Application No. 2019/5998 filed Dec. 30, 2019, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference into this application.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/IB2020/062326 | 12/22/2020 | WO |