The present disclosure relates to exercise equipment including strength training apparatuses.
The following patents and patent application are incorporated herein by reference.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,717,833 discloses adjustable exercise machines, apparatuses, and systems. The disclosed machines, apparatuses, and systems include an adjustable, reversible mechanism that utilizes pivoting arms and a floating pulley. The disclosed machines, apparatuses, and systems are configured for performing pushing and pulling exercises and may provide for converging and diverging motion.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,377,887 discloses exercise apparatus for guided exercise movement which includes a primary arm pivotally mounted to a frame for pivotal movement about a fixed pivot relative to the frame, a movement arm pivotally mounted to the primary arm for pivotal movement relative to the primary arm about a floating pivot relative to the frame, a stationary cam fixed on the frame, and a follower on the movement arm engaging the stationary cam and guided thereby to control the path of movement of the movement arm about the floating pivot during movement of the primary arm about the fixed pivot. The cam has a cam track surface controlling compound movement of the movement arm.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/899,704, filed on Oct. 7, 2010, discloses resistance training exercise apparatus including a boom arm pivotally mounted to a frame and having an anchor segment pivoting along a first arc about a first pivot point on the frame. A press arm is coupled to a resistance mechanism and is pivotally mounted to the anchor segment of the boom arm and pivots along a second are about a second pivot point. The user may adjustably vary the location of the second pivot point of the press arm relative to the frame by pivoting the boom arm about the first pivot point.
This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in limiting the scope of the claimed subject matter. In certain examples disclosed herein, a strength training apparatus comprises a frame and press arm that is connected to a resistance arm at a pivot point so that the press arm is pivotable with respect to the resistance arm and so that the press arm and resistance arm are pivotable together with respect to the frame. A locking device is configured to retain the press arm in at least first and second fixed angular positions with respect to the resistance arm. A resistance device is configured to resist pivoting movement of the press arm together with the resistance arm with respect to the frame. A biasing device is configured to bias the press arm with respect to the resistance arm so as to remove any slop in the locking device that otherwise would be caused by gravity, and so that an initial movement of the press arm is resisted by the resistance device.
Examples of exercise equipment including strength training apparatuses are described with reference to the following drawing figures. The same numbers are used throughout the drawing figures to reference like features and components.
A pair of opposing press arms 20 and a pair of opposing resistance arms 22 are each pivotably connected to the frame 12. The opposing press arms 20 and resistance arms 22 are mirror images of each other and therefore the following description equally applies to both pairs of press arms 20 and resistance arms 22. Each press arm 20 has a handle 24 at one end for grasping by the operator during strength training exercise. Each press arm 20 has an opposite end that is pivotably connected to the frame 12 at a pivot point 21. The exact configuration of the pivot point 21 can vary from that which is shown and described. In this example, the pivot point 21 is configured with a pivot housing 26 on the press arm 20 that freely rotates about a stationary shaft 28 extending from the frame 12. A similar pivot housing 30 on the resistance arm 22 is configured to freely rotate about the stationary shaft 28 such that the press arms 20 and resistance arms 22 are both pivotable about common pivot axis P (see
Referring to
As shown in
Referring to
The present inventors have identified this problem and have solved it by providing the apparatus 10 with a biasing device 66 configured to bias (force) the press arm 20 with respect to the resistance arm 22 so as to eliminate or remove the noted slop in the locking device 44 that otherwise would be caused by gravity, and so that an initial movement of the press arm 20 also causes movement of the resistance arm 22 and is resisted by the resistance device 32. In this example, the biasing device 66 pushes the press arm 20 away from the resistance arm 22 (see arrow 57); however the biasing device 66 could instead pull the respective press and resistance arms 20, 22 together, depending upon the orientation of the respective arms 20, 22 with respect to gravity. The type and configuration of the biasing device 66 can vary from that shown. In this example, the biasing device 66 includes a piston rod 68 having a piston (not shown), and cylinder 70, which together form a gas spring. A suitable gas spring can be purchased from Stabilus, Model No. PN6489IP. The gas spring is a self-contained unit that is filled with pressurized gas, which allows the gas spring to store energy. Pushing on the gas spring forces the piston rod 68 and piston into the cylinder 70 and compresses the gas. The pressure of the gas pushes the piston back out again. Gas inside the cylinder 70 can flow through or around the piston from one side to the other as it moves back and forward. Surface areas on the piston determine the internal pressures. It should be noted that the biasing device 66 does not have to be a gas spring. In other examples, the biasing device 66 could be a torsion spring, vacuum cylinder and/or the like. Any suitable device for providing compression and/or tension could be utilized. In this example, the piston rod 68 is fixed to the press arm 20 and the cylinder 70 is fixed to the resistance arm 22; however this arrangement could be the opposite.
During normal operation, air pressure in the gas spring forces the piston rod 68 outwardly with respect to the cylinder 70 and thus forces the arms 20, 22 apart from each other (arrow 57) such that the outer diameter D1 of the selector pin 48 remains engaged with the second side 64 of the selector hole 52a, 52b, 52c when the locking device 44 is in the locked position shown in
In the present description, certain terms have been used for brevity, clearness, and understanding. No unnecessary limitations are to be inferred therefrom beyond the requirement of the prior art because such terms are used for descriptive purposes only and are intended to be broadly construed. The different apparatuses described herein may be used alone or in combination with other apparatuses. Various equivalents, alternatives, and modifications are possible within the scope of the appended claims.
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U.S. Appl. No. 12/899,704, filed Oct. 7, 2010. |