EP0438513B1 - Muscle-power training apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

Muscle-power training apparatus with a signal transmitter and two handles situated opposite each other, which can be elastically pressed against each other, and with a trigger device for the signal emitter. Said muscle-power training apparatus does not require any accessories and can be used to control the training of groups of muscles other than those of the hand. To this end, both handles are designed as half-shells (3, 4) of a flat box (2) forming a hollow space, while the trigger device (9, 10) and the signal emitter (11) are arranged inside the box (2).

Description

The invention relates to a muscle strength training device with a signal transmitter and two opposing, elastically compressible handles, and with a trigger for the signal transmitter.

There is increasing body awareness in the population. More and more people are visiting weight rooms in order to specifically train certain muscles of the body with special equipment. This can easily lead to overloading certain muscle groups or the entire organism. It is therefore desirable to monitor the training of certain muscle groups in order to avoid overexertion.

From US-PS 46 74 330 a device for determining the gripping force of the human hand is known. This device has two elongated and one-sided clamped metal strips that can be grasped and compressed by the human hand. Strain gauges, which measure the elastic deformation of the two metal strips, are applied to at least one of these metal strips. As a result, an electrical signal is given to a circuit with which conclusions can be drawn about the manual force exerted.

Although this device is suitable for measuring the hand force, it can only be used stationary, since the circuit and the signal generator or the display are far away from the actual hand force measuring device.

A muscle strength training device is known from German Offenlegungsschrift 30 38 724, in which a trigger protruding into a housing is provided which, when actuated, displays a display device built into the housing. The force transducer protruding from the housing serves as a trigger. The housing itself is not elastic and consists of a middle housing part as well as a base and a cover for the implementation of the trigger.

Furthermore, from EP 02 00 555 a device is known in which the contacts lying between two compressible handles are used to trigger a signal in a control device to which the training device is connected, which then delivers the desired displays. For this, however, the training device must be constantly connected to the control device, which greatly limits the usability of the training device.

From DE-AS 10 09 076 a muscle strength training device is known in which two half-shell-shaped parts can be pressed against one another against the force of coil springs. The applied force is then displayed mechanically on a scale.

The object of the present invention is therefore to create a muscle strength training device of the type mentioned at the outset, which can be used independently of any auxiliary devices and also for monitoring the training of muscle groups other than that of the hand.

This object is achieved with a training device with the features of claim 1.

The advantage of such a muscle strength training device is that it can be used anywhere, since all components are arranged inside the flat box. When a force is exerted on the outside of the can, more precisely the elastically compressible half-shells, the signaling device is actuated by the trigger. Due to the design of the muscle strength training device as a flat box, it can be used very universally. In particular, such a device offers great advantages when training opposing muscle groups. This means that you can use the muscle strength training device, for example, between muscle groups, one of which is stretched and the other is contracted. Such a case occurs, for example, when you try to push a bent knee to the floor with your hand in the sitting position. Then between the hand and the knee z. B. the can be used. Certain muscle groups can be trained in this way without the training person overexerting these muscle groups, since the limit value of the desired load is always communicated objectively by the signal output.

There are many options for the specific design of a trigger and the signal transmitter. The signal generated electrically with the electrical signal transmitter can be displayed in various ways, for example acoustically or optically.

In a preferred embodiment it is provided that the contact elements are arranged in pairs opposite one another on the inside of the half-shells. In this embodiment, the electrical circuit is triggered by compressing the half-shells when the two contact elements have come so close that they touch.

The power supply for the electrical signal transmitter is also used, for example, in the form of a flat battery in the interior of the box.

According to a preferred embodiment, the half-shells are designed with a flat surface and an edge apron facing the respective other half-shell. The edge apron is relatively stiff and thus gives the can the necessary stability.

According to a preferred development, the at least one compressible half-shell is elastically flexible in the area of a flat surface. By pressing the flat surface, the contact elements are brought closer together. If, for certain reasons, the half-shells are to be designed to be relatively rigid, it can be advantageous if the edge skirts between the side skirts facing one another Half-shells an elastically resilient rubber ring is arranged so that the contact elements can be approximated by compressing the rubber ring. Instead of a rubber ring, a spring could also be used, but the rubber ring also advantageously provides a seal for the flat box between the two half-shells.

If at least one contact element is designed to be adjustable and fixable in the direction of the other contact element, it is possible to use the muscle strength training device according to the invention to set different force limit values at which the signal is triggered. Thus, in order to increase training success, the limit values can be increased slightly from one training session to another by spacing the contact elements further apart.

In this connection, it is structurally particularly simple if the adjustable contact element is designed as an upper side of a ramp which is arranged on one of the half shells so as to be movable parallel to the half shell levels. This has the advantage that the outer thickness of the box does not change despite adjusting the distance between the contact elements.

According to a preferred embodiment, the ramp with an arcuate outline can sit on a free end of a pivoting lever which can be pivoted about an axis off-center to the floor center, the opposite free end of the pivoting lever protruding from the can through a recess in the edge aprons. A scale can then also be attached to the edge skirts in order to reproducibly set the desired limit values or distances of the contact elements can. The adjustment of the contact distance is carried out only by pivoting the pivot lever so that a different point on the top of the ramp is opposite the fixed contact.

Another advantageous embodiment of the invention provides that the ramp also has an arcuate plan, which is concentric to the center of the box, the ramp being rotatably mounted about the center of the box relative to the other contact element. The fixed contact on the other half-shell then sits off-center to the center of the can. In a further development, it is provided that the ramp is designed as a separate component and is rotatably mounted in the half-shell. The two half-shells can thus be firmly connected to one another, only the ramp, which for this purpose can pass through an upper side of a half-shell, is rotated in order to set the contact distance.

Another development of this embodiment provides that the ramp is firmly connected to the half-shell and that the two half-shells are fastened to one another so that they can rotate. Here, by rotating the two half-shells, the top of the ascending ramp is guided past the fixed contact element, so that the contact distance can also be varied as a result.

If the contact elements in both half-shells are designed as ramps, a slight twisting of the two half-shells relative to one another is sufficient to change the contact distance significantly.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, it can be provided that the ramp is designed as a separate component with a circular plan and rotatable about an axis which is off-center with respect to the center of the can is mounted, the opposite fixed contact element being fastened in the middle of the socket of the other half-shell. The advantage of this embodiment is in particular that the contact elements are arranged symmetrically to the can, so that it does not matter in which position the can is clamped between the muscle groups involved.

A simple adjustment possibility of the off-center ramp results if the ramp is provided on its outer circumference with an external toothing which engages in an internal toothing on the inside of the skirt of the other half-shell, the two half-shells being rotatably fastened to one another. When the two half-shells are rotated against each other, the externally toothed ramp is driven in such a way that it rotates about its own axis of rotation and thus assigns the fixed contact to a different part of its surface.

The limit value for the force to be applied to the can can be changed in a favorable manner even with contact elements fixedly attached to both half-shells if mutually facing support webs are attached to the inside of the half-shells, the mutually facing upper sides of which lie in the parting plane of the can and which are so inclined extend from the edge apron to the center of the can that, seen in plan view, the support webs of the one half-shell cross with those of the other half-shell when the can is closed, the two half-shells being rotatable relative to one another. If you twist the two half-shells of the cans, the points of contact of the opposing support webs move from the edge of the can to the center of the can or back to the edge of the can. As a result, one can in the case of the flexurally elastic flat surfaces of the half-shells Change in bending stiffness can be achieved. So z. B. increases the bending stiffness when the support points move towards the center of the can, which means that a higher force must be applied to close the two contact elements. It is advantageous here that the contact elements can each be fixed in the middle of the socket on the inside of the half-shell.

According to a preferred embodiment, the box is designed as a round box; it can be used universally for training a wide variety of muscle groups. It has proven to be advantageous if the height of the can is about 1/5 to 1/10 of its diameter.

Although in principle it is also conceivable to design the can from sheet metal, it is preferred to manufacture the half-shells from plastic, in which case glass fiber reinforced plastic or polyamide can be used in a preferred manner.

Fig. 1

eine Schnittansicht durch ein dosenförmiges Muskelkraft-Trainingsgerät gemäß einer ersten Ausführungsform mit Blick in eine der Halbschalen,

Fig. 2

eine Schnittansicht des Gerätes aus Fig. 1 mit Blick in die andere Halbschale,

Fig. 3

eine Seitenansicht des zusammengebauten Gerätes,

Fig. 4

einen Querschnitt durch ein Gerät gemäß einer zweiten Ausführungsform,

Fig. 5

eine Ansicht der oberen Halbschale des Gerätes aus Fig. 4,

Fig. 6

einen Schnitt durch die Halbschale aus Fig. 5 entlang der Linie VI-VI,

Fig. 7

eine Ansicht der unteren Halbschale des Gerätes aus Fig. 4,

Fig. 8

einen Schnitt durch die Halbschale aus Fig. 7 entlang der Linie VIII-VIII,

Fig. 9

einen Querschnitt durch eine dritte Ausführungsform eines erfindungsgemäßen Gerätes,

Fig. 10

eine Ansicht der oberen Halbschale des Gerätes aus Fig. 9,

Fig. 11

eine Ansicht der unteren Halbschale des Gerätes aus Fig. 9,

Fig. 12

im Querschnitt eine vierte Ausführungsform eines erfindungsgemäßen Gerätes,

Fig. 13

eine Ansicht der oberen Halbschale des Gerätes aus Fig. 12,

Fig. 14

einen Querschnitt durch eine fünfte Ausführungsform eines erfindungsgemäßen Gerätes,

Fig. 15

eine schematische Ansicht des Gerätes aus Fig. 14, geschnitten entlang der Linie XV-XV,

Fig. 16

eine ähnliche Ansicht wie Fig. 15 jedoch mit gegeneinander verdrehten Halbschalen, und

Fig. 17

eine ähnliche Ansicht wie Fig. 16, wobei die Halbschalen jedoch im die entgegengesetzte Richtung gegeneinander verdreht sind,

Fig. 18

einen Schnitt durch eine Variante mit Dehnungsmeßstreifen,

Fig. 19

einen Schnitt durch eine weitere Variante mit Dehnungsmeßstreifen,

Fig. 20

einen Schnitt durch ein Ausführungsbeispiel, bei dem eine Halbschale mit einem Siliconpolster und die andere Halbschale mit einer schlitzförmigen Aussparung zur Durchführung eines Gurtes ausgestattet ist, und

Fig. 21

das Gerät mit Haltegurt.

Exemplary embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail below with reference to a drawing. Show it:

Fig. 1

2 shows a sectional view through a can-shaped muscle strength training device according to a first embodiment, looking into one of the half shells,

Fig. 2

2 shows a sectional view of the device from FIG. 1 with a view into the other half shell,

Fig. 3

a side view of the assembled device,

Fig. 4

3 shows a cross section through a device according to a second embodiment,

Fig. 5

3 shows a view of the upper half-shell of the device from FIG. 4,

Fig. 6

5 shows a section through the half-shell from FIG. 5 along the line VI-VI,

Fig. 7

3 shows a view of the lower half-shell of the device from FIG. 4,

Fig. 8

7 shows a section through the half-shell from FIG. 7 along the line VIII-VIII,

Fig. 9

3 shows a cross section through a third embodiment of a device according to the invention,

Fig. 10

9 shows a view of the upper half-shell of the device from FIG. 9,

Fig. 11

9 shows a view of the lower half-shell of the device from FIG. 9,

Fig. 12

in cross section a fourth embodiment of a device according to the invention,

Fig. 13

12 shows a view of the upper half-shell of the device from FIG. 12,

Fig. 14

3 shows a cross section through a fifth embodiment of a device according to the invention,

Fig. 15

14 shows a schematic view of the device from FIG. 14, cut along the line XV-XV,

Fig. 16

a view similar to FIG. 15 but with half-shells twisted against each other, and

Fig. 17

16 is a view similar to FIG. 16, but the half-shells are rotated in the opposite direction,

Fig. 18

a section through a variant with strain gauges,

Fig. 19

a section through another variant with strain gauges,

Fig. 20

a section through an embodiment in which a half-shell is equipped with a silicone cushion and the other half-shell with a slot-shaped recess for the implementation of a belt, and

Fig. 21

the device with a belt.

Various designs of a muscle strength training device 1 are shown in the drawing. All devices have in common that they are designed in the form of a flat circular box 2, each consisting of two half-shells 3 and 4. The half-shells 3 and 4 have a flat top 5 and an adjoining skirt 6 facing the other half-shell. The two half-shells 3 and 4 are connected to one another in the region of the facing edge skirts, some of which are rotatably supported relative to one another. Different designs of the connections of the two half-shells are shown in the figures.

In the exemplary embodiments shown here, the flat surface 5 of both half-shells 3 and 4 is designed to be flexurally elastic, which means that the top 5 of a half-shell can be pressed in. The edge apron 6, however, is relatively stiff and gives the round box the necessary stability. The half-shells of all of the exemplary embodiments shown here consist of plastic, preferably a glass fiber-reinforced plastic or of polyamide. Contact elements 9 and 10 are on the mutually facing inner sides 7 and 8 of the two half-shells 3 and 4 arranged, which lie opposite each other in pairs, so that when the two flat surfaces 5 of the two half-shells 3 and 4 are pressed together, the contacts 9 and 10 can be short-circuited.

Furthermore, a signal transmitter 11, here a micro speaker, is arranged in the interior of each circular socket 2 and is connected to the contact elements 9 and 10 via electrical lines, which are not described in more detail. Furthermore, a power source in the form of a battery 12 is also provided in the interior of the circular socket 2, which is also connected to the signal generator 11 and the contact elements 9 and 10 via electrical lines. Instead of a battery, a rechargeable battery or another power source can also be used.

The special features of the individual exemplary embodiments are discussed in more detail below.

In the exemplary embodiment according to FIGS. 1 to 3, a fixed contact element 10 in the form of a wire stretched between two fastening points 13 and 14 is arranged in the upper half-shell 3. From a fastening point 14, a wire leads to the acoustic signal transmitter 11 in the other half-shell 4. In the half-shell 4 a movable contact element 9 is provided, which in the assembled state of the device is moved towards the fixed contact element 10 and moved away from it and in certain Position can be determined. For this purpose, the movable contact element 9 is designed as an inclined ramp which is arranged at a first free end of a pivot lever 15. The floor plan of the ramp 16 is in the form of a circular arc, namely the center point of the circular arc shape corresponds to the pivot axis 17 of the pivot lever 15. The pivot lever 15 is extended beyond the pivot axis 17 and protrudes through a recess 18 through the skirt 6 of the circular box 2 to the outside. How 3, markings are provided on the outside of the edge aprons, which allow the pivoting lever 15 to be pivoted repeatedly into the same position.

The operation of the muscle strength training device 1 according to the first embodiment is as follows. If, in the assembled state shown in FIG. 3, a force is exerted on the circular box 2 in the direction of the arrows F, the inner sides 7 and 8 of the flat surfaces 5 of the two half-shells 3 and 4 approach each other. The contact elements 9 and 10 are then moved towards one another until they touch one another. This closes a circuit between the battery 12 and the signal generator 11, as a result of which an acoustic signal sounds. By pivoting the ramp 16 and thus the movable contact element 9, the distance between the two contact elements 9 and 10 is varied so that to close the circuit, i.e. a different deflection of the flat surfaces 5 of the two half-shells 3 and 4 is required to contact the two contact elements 9 and 10. Since a different force F is also required for this, the signal sounds with different muscle loads.

4 to 8 another embodiment is shown. There, the ramp 16 is designed as a separate component and has a circular plan. The ramp 16 is rotatably mounted on a pivot 19 on the inside 8 of the half-shell 4. The top of the ramp 16 is designed as a movable contact element 9 and is connected to the signal generator 11 and the battery 12 via an electrical line. While the fixed contact element 10 is located in the half-shell 3 approximately in the center of the socket, the pivot 19 is arranged off-center, in such a way that the edge of the ramp 16 is always the fixed one Contact 18 is opposite. The ramp 16 is provided with external teeth 20 on its outer circumference. The half-shell 3 has an edge region drawn in approximately to the inside 8 of the half-shell 4, on which an internal toothing 21 is arranged, into which the external toothing 20 of the ramp 16 engages. The half-shell 3 can be rotated relative to the half-shell 4.

The functionality of this training device corresponds to that of the device described above. However, in order to change the distance between the fixed contact element 10 and the movable contact element 9, the two half-shells 3 are rotated relative to one another in the exemplary embodiment shown here. Since the external toothing 20 of the one half-shell 3 engages with the inner toothing 21 of the ramp 16 which is rotatably mounted in the other half-shell 4, rotation of the two half-shells 3 and 4 against one another simultaneously causes the ramp 16 to rotate about the pivot pin 19. As a result, the ramp 16 moves along their slope under the fixed contact 10, whereby the distance between the two contact elements 9 and 10 can be varied. In this way, the deflection of the flat surfaces 5 of the two half-shells 3 and 4 can be set, which is required to make contact between the two contact elements 9 and 10, in order to generate a signal.

In the exemplary embodiment described in FIGS. 9 to 11, the ramp 16 is also designed as a separate component. The flat surface 5 of the half-shell 4 is broken through in the middle; there the ramp 16, which has a circular plan, is inserted concentrically to the center of the can. The one provided on the inside 7 of the other half shell 3 For this reason, fixed contact 8 is arranged slightly off-center. In this exemplary embodiment, the two half-shells 3 and 4 are firmly connected to one another and cannot be rotated relative to one another.

In order to vary the distance between the fixed contact element 10 and the movable contact element 9 in the device of this exemplary embodiment, only the ramp 16 accessible from the outside needs to be rotated. For this purpose, as shown in FIG. 9, a slot for a screwdriver or a coin can be provided on the underside of the ramp 16. This slot can also serve as a pointer for a scale applied around the underside of the ramp on the flat surface 5 of the half-shell 4.

In the fourth exemplary embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the two half-shells 3 and 4 are in turn fastened to one another so that they can be rotated relative to one another. The mode of operation in this exemplary embodiment is similar to that of FIGS. 14 to 17. The two half-shells 3 and 4 now have contact elements 9 and 10 which are firmly connected to the flat surface 5 and are attached centrally to the half-shells. Ramps 16 which are arranged in a sawtooth shape and which are concentric with the center of the can run around the contact elements 9 and 10. As can be seen from FIG. 13, each half-shell has three or four such ramps 16. By turning the half-shells 3, 4 against each other, the distance between the sawtooth-like ramps 16 is reduced to such an extent that they finally touch, for example after a rotation of approximately 85 °. This causes a continuous change in the elastic behavior and thus a corresponding change in the triggering force for the signal.

Finally, FIGS. 14 to 17 also show an embodiment in which the contact elements 9 and 10 are also fixed, in each case in the center of the socket, to the respective flat surfaces 5 of the two half-shells 3 and 4. The distance between the two contact elements 9 and 10 cannot be set here. However, the two half-shells 3 and 4 have on their respective inner side 7 support webs 22, the upper side of which lies in the division plane E of the circular box 2. The support webs 22 extend obliquely from the inside of the edge aprons 6 at an angle α of approximately 60 ° to the radial from the edge apron to the can means. The opposite support webs 22 of the two half-shells 3 and 4 touch each other at the points 23. In total, six such support webs 22 are provided in each half-shell 3 or 4. The distances between the support webs of a half-shell are chosen so that no matter how the two half-shells 3 and 4 are rotated against each other, the support webs 22 of the two half-shells 3 and 4 always lie on top of one another. The mode of operation of this exemplary embodiment is illustrated with reference to FIGS. 15 to 17. By turning the two half-shells 3 and 4 against each other, the contact points 23 of the support webs 22 move from the edge to the center of the can or back. As a result, the rigidity of the compressible flat surfaces 5 of the two half-shells is changed, so that depending on the position of the two half-shells 3 and 4, a different force F must be applied in order to close the two contact elements 8 and 9.

18 shows a variant of the invention. In this embodiment, a strain gauge 30 is arranged on the inside of the half-shell 3, which determines the deformation of the half-shell when a force is exerted thereon and emits a corresponding signal proportional to the force.

This signal is then passed on to the signal generator by a circuit, not shown, after reaching a certain, adjustable threshold value.

In the variant according to FIG. 19, a strain gauge 31 is also used, which in this exemplary embodiment is stretched over two webs 32 which are arranged on the inside of the half-shell 4. In this case, the strain gauge is only stretched after the half-shells have already been moved a certain distance towards one another. For these exemplary embodiments, too, it can be provided that the half-shells can be rotated relative to one another so as to change the force required until the signal is triggered.

It is also conceivable that the adjustable contact is provided on an end face of a screw penetrating the flat surface of a half-shell.

20 shows an embodiment in which one of the half-shells is provided with a silicone cushion 40. This silicone cushion is clamped in corresponding receptacles 45, which are formed in the half-shell 3, and then fastened, for example by gluing. When the silicone cushion is applied, the force applied is distributed evenly over the entire thick surface, which contributes to a reliable and even response of the exercise device regardless of the point at which force is applied. On the other half-shell 4, in the exemplary embodiment shown, there is a slot-shaped guide 41 as a belt guide educated. As shown in FIG. 21, the device can thus be carried on the body at all times by means of a belt. For example, to be worn around the belly. The ends 43 and 44 of the belt can then be connected to one another with a buckle designed as a belt buckle 46. The belt can be used to push and pull the device. These options are shown by the two arrows in FIG. 21.

Claims (5)

1. Muscular power training apparatus with a signal transmitter, two elastically compressible handles, which are arranged opposite one another, and a trigger device for the signal transmitter, in which the two handles are in each case formed as a half-shell (3, 4) of a flat box (2) forming a cavity, the trigger device (9, 10) and the signal transmitter (11) are arranged in the interior of the box (2), the signal transmitter is electrically controlled, the trigger device is formed by two contact elements, which are arranged between the inner sides of the half-shells (3, 4), and at least one of the half-shells (3, 4) is elastically flexible in the area of its surface (5).
2. Muscular power training apparatus according to claim 1, characterised in that the contact elements are arranged in pairs opposite one another on the inner sides of the half-shells (3, 4).
3. Apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the half-shells (3, 4) are formed with a plane surface (5) and an edge apron (6) facing the other respective half-shell (4; 3).
4. Apparatus according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the - at least one - half-shell (3, 4) has a plane surface (5) in the area in which it is elastically flexible.
5. Apparatus according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that an elastically flexible rubber ring is arranged between the facing edge aprons (6) of the half-shells (3, 4).

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