FR2760974A1 - Chest expander made from elastic strip - Google Patents

Abstract

The chest expander has a circular strip (1), made in elastic material. This is fixed together at three places to form handles (8) by pieces of fabric (2). These are fixed in place by strips of hooked pile fasteners. The fabric is flat and has a narrow tongue and a wider tongue with a hole whose diameter is equal to or wider than that of the narrow tongue. The strip is made of rubber or woven elastic material and it can be circular.

Description

NEW EXTENSIONER
The invention relates to the technical sector of gymnastics and rehabilitation equipment. More particularly, it relates to the field of extensors, that is to say devices allowing muscular exercises, for example muscular contraction exercises.

 Many devices are known which allow such exercises to extend or contract or stretch muscles.

 For example, expanders are known which have the form of a strip having a handle at each end, these handles serving as support, for example on the hands or feet, during exercise.

The drawback of such extenders is of course the predetermined position of the two handles on the strip itself of a given length, which does not allow any adaptation of the device to the user or to the exercise.

 It has been described in FR 92 02872 a stent comprising a double thickness elastic band provided with several handles whose positions are fixed during the manufacture of the stent, for example by sewing. Thus, the user can, depending on his size and the exercise he wishes to perform, use such or such a handle. However, once again, the handles are fixed, that is to say that the device cannot be modified after its manufacture, and therefore will not be completely adaptable to a given situation.

 There are also known expanders comprising an elastic band provided with handles, the handles being able to be formed by the user immediately before use, thanks to the use of rigid bars, or equivalent device, for example made of plastic or metal, and that can be fixed anywhere on the strip.

 Such a device obviously allows a total adaptability of the device to a given user for a given use. However, it has a major drawback.

 Indeed, these bars or equivalent means are made of rigid material such as plastic. After a more or less long use, they can become more fragile, until the rupture which will most likely occur during a use, that is to say when the tension exerted on the strip therefore on the bar will be maximum . Said bar will then become a real projectile, which can seriously injure the user or close persons. Even more frequently, a simple sliding of the strip in the bar, during the effort, will produce the same dangerous effect.

 It did not seem possible to avoid such a risk. Indeed, it is necessary that the training of the handle is done in a solid way, on the one hand because of the significant pulls and other stresses undergone by these handles when using the expander, on the other hand because of the elastic nature of the stent. Rigid fixing therefore appeared to be the only possible solution for obtaining handles which were both solid and of non-removable position once fixed.

 Thus, we had resigned ourselves to enduring the drawbacks linked to the use of solid bars, while limiting the risks of breakage by giving them a relatively short lifespan, that is to say by avoiding using them too much. long time.

 The object of the invention aims to solve the problems associated with the use of solid bars to form removable handles.

 This device comprises a strip of elastic material of variable length, and at least one non-rigid means for forming a removable handle called a clamping module.

 The clamping module is preferably constituted by a piece of a material of the self-gripping type, for example of the VELCRO (registered trademark) type, that is to say the faces of which can be fixedly secured to one another. other when brought into contact.

The invention will be described in more detail with reference to the figures, in which
FIG. 1A is a partial diagrammatic representation of a strip having removable handles according to the invention,
FIG. 1B is a schematic representation of a circular strip having three clamping modules,
FIG. 2A is a schematic view of a clamping module according to the invention,
FIG. 2B is a sectional view of the tightening module of FIG. 2A,
FIG. 3A is a schematic representation of step d) of the fixing of a clamping module on a strip,
- Figure 3B is a schematic representation of step e) of the fixing of a clamping module on a strip.

 The stent according to the invention therefore comprises a strip (1) of elastic material, and at least one non-rigid means for forming a removable handle (8) called the clamping module (2).

 The strip used can be of variable length, depending on the exercise, the age or the size of the user. It can be circular or linear. One can also consider using as a starting strip a strip already provided with at least one fixed handle. It is also possible to use two separate bands joined by one or more clamping modules.

 Said band (1) will be made of elastic material such as latex or Jacquard woven elastic or the like, for use as a stretcher. However, the same clamping module can be used to form handles (8) on a non-elastic strip, for example of fabric.

 We can thus form as many handles (8) as necessary on said strip (1), in order to adapt it to the size of the user and the type of exercise performed, knowing that each muscle group corresponds to a series exercises.

 By way of example, FIG. 1B shows a circular strip (1) provided with 3 clamping modules (2) therefore with 4 handles (8).

 According to a preferred embodiment, the clamping module according to the invention consists of a flat piece of a material of the self-seizing type, that is to say comprising a face called velvet (7) and a face called hooks (6).

 This preferably flat piece may have a variable shape.

 FIG. 2A describes a preferred form according to the invention. The module (2) comprises on the one hand an elongated tongue (3), relatively thin, and on the other hand a tongue wide enough to allow the presence of a hole (5) with a diameter or section substantially equal to the width of the tongue (3) without the whole being weakened.

 In this figure, each tongue (3) or (4) has a substantially parallelepiped shape. However, it is possible to envisage shapes which are more rounded at the ends, or a tongue (4) of quite different shape, for example a circle.

 Whatever these forms, it is advisable to have a tongue (4) wide enough to contain a hole allowing the passage of the tongue (3) which will therefore necessarily be narrower and relatively fine.

 By way of nonlimiting example, a tightening module according to the invention may include a tongue (4) of approximately 5 cm by 2.5 cm, extended across its width by a thin tongue (3) of 1 cm by 7 cm and provided with a hole of 0.9 cm diameter substantially in its center.

 FIG. 2B shows in section a clamping module, with its so-called velvet face (7), and its so-called hook face (6). Other equivalent self-seizing materials may be used. Their common characteristic is that their faces can be fixed to one another when they are brought into contact.

 The method of tightening the module is described in FIGS. 3A and 3B.

This process is as follows:
a) An elastic band (1) is folded so as to bring the two strands closer together to form a loop,
b) We surround the two strands with the clamping module (2),
c) the tongue (3) is passed through the hole (5),
d) We tighten as much as possible,
d) One of the tabs (3, 4) is folded over the partially rolled-up part of the module, so that its velvet or hook side comes to attach to the corresponding hook or velvet side,
e) The other tab (3, 4) is folded in the same way.

 It will be seen in practice that in phase e), it is preferable to wind the shortest tab so as to avoid a problem of bulk.

 Furthermore, it is also preferable to roll up the module so that its hook face is inwards. Once fixed, only the velvet side will be on the outside. Contacts between the user and the clamping module (s) will therefore be more pleasant.

In addition, the fixing of the clamping module will also be reinforced by the contact with hooks / elastic band.

 This gives a flexible fixing and yet surprisingly very resistant, very simple to set up and also simple to remove.

 The applications of such a device are obvious in all areas of sport, gymnastics, and rehabilitation, regardless of the age or sport level of the user.

 The invention is naturally not limited to the exemplary embodiments described above, and also covers all the neighboring or equivalent modes of implementation, as well as the applications within the reach of those skilled in the art. In particular, those skilled in the art will be able to adapt the dimensions, number and shapes of the bands, as well as the dimensions and the number of clamping modules, to the different exercises, and to the age or size of each user. It can also modify the shape of the tongues, or of the hole, without this going beyond the invention.

Claims (7)

 1. Expander characterized in that it comprises at least one strip (1) of elastic material and at least one non-rigid means for forming a removable handle called the clamping module (2).  2. Expander according to claim 1, characterized in that the clamping module (2) is made of a material of the self-gripping type, that is to say whose faces can be fixedly secured to each other when 'they are brought into contact.  3. Expander according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the clamping module (2) consists of a flat piece comprising a thin tongue (3) and a tongue (4) wide enough to allow the presence of a hole of a diameter or section substantially equal to the width of the first tongue (3).  4. Expander according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the strip (1) is circular.  5. Extender according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the strip (1) is made of woven Jacquard elastic.  6. Clamping module characterized in that it is constituted by a flat piece comprising a thin tongue (3) and a tongue (4) sufficiently wide to allow the presence of a hole with a diameter or section substantially equal to the width of the first tongue (3).  7. Clamping module according to claim 6 characterized in that the part is made of a material of the self-gripping type hooked by surface contact.