I. BACKGROUND
A. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to devices and methods for adjusting the usable weight of a weight stack.
B. Description of Related Art
It is well known to those who engage in weight training, to use equipment that includes weight stacks. FIG. 1 shows a known weight training machine that has a weight stack 10 consisting of multiple plates 12 vertically stacked on top of each other. Each plate 12 may include a hole 14 into which a user may insert a pin 16. The user can adjust the amount of weight to be applied when using the machine by selecting the desired hole into which the pin 16 is inserted. The pin location shown in FIG. 1 sets the applied weight at 50 pounds (lbs). The weight stack 10 shown provides the user with a range of applied weight between 10 lbs and 120 15 lbs with 10 lb increments.
While known weight stacks work well for their intended purposes, they have a limit that often becomes a problem. Specifically, the weight stack has a maximum weight limit. The weight stack 10 shown in FIG. 1, for example, has a maximum applied weight limit of 120 lbs. If the user wants to use more weight, the user is forced, at best, to move to a separate weight training machine. In many cases, however, a machine with the desired weight is not available. Thus, the user is prevented from achieving the desired weight training.
What is needed are devices and methods that enable a user to increase the applied weight of a weight stack beyond the otherwise maximum weight limit.
II. SUMMARY
According to some embodiments of this invention, a weight assist device may be used with: 1) an associated adjustable weight stack that includes a plurality of vertically stacked plates, wherein at least one of the plurality of vertically stacked plates has a hole; and 2) at least one associated weight plate that: (a) is not one of the plurality of vertically stacked plates; and (b) has an opening. The weight assist device may include: 1) a first portion sized to be received in the hole; 2) a second portion, distinct from the first portion, sized to be received in the opening; and 3) at least one magnet. The weight assist device may be selectively manually operable to: 1) insert the first portion of the weight assist device into the hole; 2) position the at least one weight plate onto the second portion of the weight assist device by inserting the opening over the second portion; and 3) magnetically engage the at least one magnet with the plurality of vertically stacked plates to hold the weight assist device and the at least one weight plate to the plurality of vertically stacked plates.
According to some embodiments of this invention, a weight assist method may be used with 1) an associated adjustable weight stack that includes a plurality of vertically stacked plates, wherein at least one of the plurality of vertically stacked plates has a hole; and 2) at least one associated weight plate that: (a) is not one of the plurality of vertically stacked plates; and (b) has an opening. The weight assist method may include the steps of: A) providing a weight assist device comprising: 1) a first portion sized to be received in the hole; 2) a second portion, distinct from the first portion, sized to be received in the opening; and 3) at least one magnet; and B) providing the weight assist device to be selectively manually operable to: 1) insert the first portion of the weight assist device into the hole; 2) position the at least one weight plate onto the second portion of the weight assist device by inserting the opening over the second portion; and 3) magnetically engage the at least one magnet with the plurality of vertically stacked plates to hold the weight assist device and the at least one weight plate to the plurality of vertically stacked plates.
According to some embodiments of this invention, a weight assist assembly may be used with: 1) an associated adjustable weight stack that includes a plurality of vertically stacked plates, wherein at least one of the plurality of vertically stacked plates has a hole; and 2) a plurality of associated weight plates, wherein each associated weight plate: (a) is not one of the plurality of vertically stacked plates; and (b) has an opening. The weight assist assembly may include: 1) a first weight assist device including: a) a first portion sized to be received in the hole; b) a second portion, distinct from the first portion, sized to be received in the openings; and c) at least one magnet; 2) a second weight assist device including: a) a first portion sized to be received in the hole; b) a second portion, distinct from the first portion, sized to be received in the openings; and c) at least one magnet; and 3) a collar. The second portion of the first weight assist device may be sized to receive more weight plates than the second portion of the second weight assist device. The first weight assist device may be selectively manually operable to: 1) insert the first portion of the first weight assist device into the hole; 2) position at least two weight plates onto the second portion of the first weight assist device by inserting the opening of the at least two weight plates over the second portion; 3) magnetically engage the at least one magnet with the plurality of vertically stacked plates to hold the first weight assist device and the at least two weight plates to the plurality of vertically stacked plates; and 4) position the collar onto the second portion of the first weight assist device to hold the least two weight plates on the second portion of the first weight assist device. The second weight assist device may be selectively manually operable, in substitute for the first weight assist device, to: 1) insert the first portion of the second weight assist device into the hole; 2) position at least one weight plate onto the second portion of the second weight assist device by inserting the opening of the at least one weight plate over the second portion; 3) magnetically engage the at least one magnet with the plurality of vertically stacked plates to hold the second weight assist device and the at least one weight plate to the plurality of vertically stacked plates; and 4) position the collar onto the second portion of the second weight assist device to hold the at least one weight plate on the second portion of the second weight assist device.
Other benefits and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which it pertains upon reading and understanding of the following detailed specification.
III. Brief Description of the Drawings
The invention may take physical form in certain parts and arrangement of parts, embodiments of which will be described in detail in this specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof and wherein:
FIG. 1 shows a known weight stack.
FIG. 2 is a perspective side view of a weight assist device according to some embodiments of this invention.
FIG. 3 is a perspective bottom view of the weight assist device shown in FIG. 2.
FIG. 4 is a perspective side view of vertically stacked plates used with a weight training machine.
FIG. 5 is a perspective side view of a weight plate supported to a weight assist device.
FIG. 6 is a perspective side view of multiple weight plates supported to a weight assist device.
FIG. 7 is a perspective end view of the weight plates shown in FIG. 6.
FIG. 8 is a close-up view of a portion of the weight plates shown in FIG. 7.
FIG. 9 is a perspective side view of vertically stacked plates used with a 5weight training machine; but showing the opposite side from what is shown in FIG. 4.
FIG. 10 shows other embodiments of a weight assist device.
FIG. 11 is a perspective top view of a weight assist device according to some embodiments of this invention.
FIG. 12 is a side view of the weight assist device shown in FIG. 11.
FIG. 13 is a perspective top view of a weight assist device according to some embodiments of this invention.
FIG. 14 is a side view of the weight assist device shown in FIG. 13.
IV. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring now to the drawings wherein the showings are for purposes of illustrating embodiments of the invention only and not for purposes of limiting the same, and wherein like reference numerals are understood to refer to like components, FIGS. 2 and 3 show a weight assist device 200 according to some embodiments of this invention. The weight assist device 200 may have a first portion 202, a second portion 204, distinct from the first portion 202, and at least one magnet 206. The weight assist device 200 device may be used with an adjustable weight stack that works with a plurality of vertically stacked plates 400, shown in FIG. 4. Note that the vertically stacked plates 400 may be similar to the weight stack 10 shown in FIG. 1. The vertically stacked plates 400 may have holes 402 (similar to holes 14 shown in FIG. 1) designed to receive a pin (not shown but similar to pin 16 shown in FIG. 1) to set the applied weight of the plurality of vertically stacked plates 400 in a known manner.
With reference now to FIGS. 2-4, the first portion 202 of the weight assist device 200 may be sized to be received in the holes 402 formed in the vertically stacked plates 400. In one embodiment, shown in FIG. 4, a user may grip the second portion 204 and manually insert the first portion 202 into one of the holes 402. To match the shape of the holes 402, the first portion 202 of the weight assist device 200 may be cylindrically shaped, as shown, having a circular cross-section with a diameter D1.
With reference now to FIGS. 2-5, the second portion 204 of the weight assist device 200 may be sized to receive one or more weight plates 500. In some embodiments, the weight plates 500 are distinct from any of the vertically stacked plates 400. In one specific embodiment, the weight plates 500 have an opening 502 designed to be received on an associated barbell having a cross-sectional shape. Though not shown, barbells and their shapes are well known to those of skill in the art. Typically, such weight plates 500 are circular and the opening 502 is positioned at the radial center of the weight plate 500 and has a circular opening, as shown. Thus, in some embodiments, the second portion 204 of the weight assist device 200 may have a cross-sectional shape similar to the cross-sectional shape of the barbell. For the embodiment shown, the second portion 204 of the weight assist device 200 may be cylindrically shaped, as shown, having a circular cross-section with a diameter D2. It should be noted that this invention is not limited to use with weight plates designed to be received on barbells. Typically, however, weight training facilities have numerous such weight plates making their availability to a user of this invention quite convenient. It should also be noted that the weight assist device 200 itself adds a weight to the weight stack of approximately five pounds or more.
With reference now to FIGS. 2-3, the first and second portions 202, 204 of the weight assist device 200 may extend along a common longitudinal axis LA. Note that, for the purposes noted above, the diameter D2 of the second portion 204 may be greater than the diameter D1 of the first portion 202. As a result, the second portion 204 of the weight assist device 200 may have first and second opposite end surfaces 210, 212 that are perpendicular to the longitudinal axis LA. For reasons that will be discussed further below, the at least one magnet may be positioned on the first end surface 210 of the second portion 204. In one embodiment, the second portion 204 has an opening 214 that extends from the first end surface 210 through the second portion 204 to the second end surface 212. The opening 214 may be positioned in the radial center, as shown. With this design, in some embodiments the first portion 202 may extend through the opening 214 from the second end surface 212 of the second portion 204 to the first end surface 210 of the second portion 204 to outside of the first end surface 210 (upward as shown in FIG. 2). The first portion 202 may be affixed to the second portion 204 in any manner chosen with the sound judgment of a person of skill in the art such as via welding and/or epoxy.
FIGS. 6-8 show non-limiting but exemplary embodiments using this invention. Note first that there are multiple weight plates 500 (three shown) received on the second portion 204 of the weight assist device. The number and size of the weight plates 500 used can be any required by the user according to sound judgement. Note second that the weight plates 500 stack horizontally—opposite to the vertically stacked plates 400. Note thirdly that the weight added to the adjustable weight stack by the weight plates 500 is not applied in line with the support bars 600 (see FIGS. 6 and 8) that support the vertically stacked plates 400. As a result, as best seen in FIG. 8, there is a moment created by the weight plates 500 onto the support bars 600. As well known to those of skill in the art, a moment equals the applicableforce times the applicable distance. As a formula, this can be expressed as: M=F×D.
With reference now to FIGS. 6-9, a collar 602, seen best in FIG. 6 can be of any type chosen with the sound judgment of a person of skill in the art. The collar 602 shown is a spring collar, commonly used to hold weight plates 500 onto a barbell. Note that the collar 602 helps in at least two ways. First, it prevents the weight plates 500 from inadvertently coming off of the second portion 204 of the weight assist device. Second, the collar 602 holds the weight plates 500 as close as possible to the support bars 600; thereby minimizing the moment. A second protection against the moment is extending the first portion 202 of the weight assist device completely through the vertically stacked plate 400 that receives it. Specifically, note that each plate 400 has a first side 404 (shown in FIG. 4) and a second side 900 (shown in FIG. 9) and that the hole 402 extends through the plate 400 from the first side 404 to the second side 900. When the first portion 202 of the weight assist device is inserted into the hole 402 (via the first side 404 of the plate 400), the first portion 202 of the weight assist device extends through the hole 402 from the first side 404 to the second side 900 to outside of the second side 900 as seen best in FIG. 9. This helps support the weight assist device to the plates 400 and counters the moment, at least a little.
With reference now to FIGS. 2, 4 and 7-8, another way to secure the weight assist device 200 is the use of the at least one magnet 206. When the weight assist device 400 is properly inserted within the hole 402 in the plate 400, the magnet 206 magnetically engages the first side 404 of at least one vertically stacked plate 400 to hold the weight assist device 200, the weight plate(s) 500 and the collar 602 to the vertically stacked plates 400. The magnet 206 shown in FIG. 2 is ring shaped. FIG. 10 shows another embodiment weight assist device 1000 that is similar to previously described weight assist device 200. Specifically, weight assist device 1000 has a first portion 1002, a second portion 1004 and at least one magnet 1006 that operate as weight assist device 200. What is different is the at least one magnet 1006 is several magnets (six shown) each having a circular surface, as shown, that magnetically engages one or more plates 400. In this way, the magnetic force is increased. Note that in some embodiments shown, the magnet or magnets are positioned equidistant from the longitudinal axis.
With reference now to FIGS. 1-10, the operation of this invention may be as follows. First, the user manually inserts the first portion 202 of the weight assist device into the hole 402 of the plate 400 as shown in FIG. 4. It may be extended until the first portion 202 extends outside of the hole 402 as shown in FIG. 9. With the weight assist device properly positioned with respect to the plate(s) 400, the magnet 202 (FIG. 2) or magnets 1006 (FIG. 10) magnetically engages one or more plates 400. The user then positions one or more weight plates 500 onto the second portion 204 of the weight assist device as shown in FIG. 5. Finally, the user positioned the collar 602 onto the second portion 204 of the weight assist device as shown in FIG. 6. When the user desires to remove the weight plates 500, this process can be easily reversed.
With reference now to FIGS. 2-6 and 10-14, in some embodiments, a weight assist assembly may include two or more weight assist devices. The two or more weight assist devices in the weight assist assembly may have at least one significant performance characteristic difference between them. In one non-limiting example, FIGS. 11-12 show weight assist device 1100 and FIGS. 13-14 show weight assist device 1300. Each weight assist device 1100, 1300 may have a first portion 1102, 1302 respectively, a second portion 1104, 1304 respectively, distinct from the first portion, and at least one magnet 1106, 1306, respectively. In some embodiments, shown, magnets 1106, 1306 are positioned equidistant from the corresponding longitudinal axis, LA. The operation of the weight assist devices 1100, 1300 may be similar to the previously described weight assist devices 200, 1000. Thus, the first portions 1102, 1302 may be sized to be received in the holes 402 of the vertically stacked plates 400 and the second portions 1104, 1304 may be sized to be received in the openings 502 of the weight plates 500.
With reference now to FIGS. 5 and 11-14, the weight assist devices 1100, 1300 may have at least one significant performance characteristic difference between them. For the embodiments shown, the second portion 1304 of weight assist device 1300 is sized to receive more weight plates 500 than the second portion 1104 of weight assist device 1100. The first and second portions 1102, 1104 of weight assist device 1100 extend along a common longitudinal axis LA (shown in FIG. 12). Weight assist device 1100 has an overall length along LA of 1108, with the first portion 1102 having a length 1110 and the second portion 1104 having a length 1112. The first and second portions 1302, 1304 of weight assist device 1300 extend along a common longitudinal axis LA (shown in FIG. 14). Weight assist device 1300 has an overall length along LA of 1308, with the first portion 1302 having a length 1310 and the second portion 1104 having a length 1312. In one non-limiting embodiment, 1108 is about 7 inches, 1110 is about 4 inches, 1112 is about 3 inches, 1308 is about 10 inches, 1310 is about 4 inches and 1312 is about 6 inches. Because the second portion 1304 of weight assist device 1300 has a length 1312 that is longer than the length 1112 of the second portion 1104 of weight device 1100, weight assist device 1300 can support more weight plates 500 than weight assist device 1100. While the ratio of length 1312/length 1112 in the specific embodiments shown is about 2, this difference can be any chosen with the sound judgement of a person of skill in the art. In one embodiment, the ratio of length 1312/length 1112 is at least 1.5.
With continuing reference to FIGS. 5 and 11-14, because weight assist devices 1100, 1300 have at least one significant performance characteristic difference between them, the user can choose which of the weight assist devices 1100, 1300 is desirable for any particular application. Note that another performance characteristic that is different, is that weight assist device 1300, because it is larger, has a greater weight than weight assist device 1100. This gives the user more options in deciding which weight assist device to use. It should also be noted that while two weight assist devices may make a weight assist assembly, three or more weight assist devices having different characteristics could be used, giving the user even more options.
Numerous embodiments have been described herein. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the above methods and apparatuses may incorporate changes and modifications without departing from the general scope of this invention. It is intended to include all such modifications and alterations in so far as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof. When the word “associated” is used in a patent claim, it should be understood that the corresponding component being referred to is not being positively claimed. Rather, the corresponding component is in the claim only to establish the intended use of the claimed invention. Further, the “invention” as that term is used in this document is what is claimed in the claims of this document. The right to claim elements and/or sub-combinations that are disclosed herein as other inventions in other patent documents is hereby unconditionally reserved.
Having thus described the invention, it is now claimed:
Patent Application
20220152442
