EP0449837B1 - Sports device for muscle training - Google Patents

Abstract

With existing fitness equipment, the rotational movement of the seat or upper part is not initiated in the region of the abdominal muscles, or only partly so, and as a result muscles other than the abdominal muscles are induced to contract. The muscle-training device proposed by the invention is designed to enable the abdominal muscles to be developed in optimum fashion, independently of other muscles. To this end, the lower part (10) and the upper part (20) of the device are designed so that they can be counterrotated back and forth with respect to the frame (30), both being acted on by counterrotatory torques. This arrangement makes the device particularly suitable for bodybuilding, fitness training and rehabilitation work.

Description

The invention relates to a sports device for muscle training with a lower part arranged on a frame, rotatably fixable with respect to the lower body of a training person, preferably designed as a seat part, and preferably fixable with respect to the torso of the training person by holding or pressing against a substantially vertical axis relative to the lower part Lower part and to the frame of at least one initial rotational position, which can be pivoted back and forth, on which acts a torque which is preferably adjustable in its strength and optionally adjustable in its direction. The sports equipment is primarily intended for use in bodybuilding, fitness training and rehabilitation.

The aim of bodybuilding and fitness training is to give the human body a balanced figure by building all the muscles evenly. This is difficult to achieve solely through physical activity, since in most sports individual muscles or muscle groups are heavily stressed, but others are neglected, which leads to muscular imbalances. A large number of sports equipment has therefore been developed especially for body building, in which repeated work against an externally adjustable load can be used to train and build up a specific muscle or group of muscles. Through the planned use of all of the devices, the muscle build-up can be controlled in a targeted manner throughout the body.

An important aspect in the design of such sports equipment is to specify or restrict the course of movement by the device itself in such a way that only the muscles provided work, but there is largely no contraction of other muscles or muscle parts.

In addition, it should be made difficult or impossible for the exerciser to "falsify" an exercise, i.e. to consciously or unconsciously design the sequence of movements in such a way that other muscles are used instead of the intended ones. This is necessary because the motor skills and reflex movements, which differ from person to person, counteract an isolated training of a muscle group if an anatomically correct fixation and a corresponding restriction of the degrees of freedom are not guaranteed.

The oblique muscle, which is arranged on both sides above the hip bones and connects the hip bones with the ribs, can be built up by twisting the upper body and lower body against an adjustable torque or an adjustable force, but keeping them as immobile as possible. For the targeted building of these muscles, sports equipment is known (US-A 4456245), the fixed seat part of which can be locked in several rotational positions left and right of a rest position is provided with support cushions for fixing the lower body. An upper part provided with armrests and handles can be rotated from the rest position in both directions against a restoring force into an initial rotational position with respect to the seat part. By repeatedly swiveling the upper part held with the hands or arms out of the initial rotational position against the action of the restoring force and by a subsequent subsequent relief rotation into the initial rotational position, first the oblique muscles on one side of the body and then by repositioning the seat and executing the same movement in the other direction of rotation loads the oblique muscles on the other side of the body. Due to the initiation of the rotational movement in the shoulder area, the large back muscles (terex major and latissimus dorsi) as well as the pectoral and lateral shoulder muscles are first contracted. Due to the undesirable contraction of these muscles, the upper body is twisted on the one hand, but on the other hand also twisted in relation to the lower body. When the stimulus then reaches the oblique muscle and this begins to work on contraction, it is already partially contracted on one side of the body and stretched on the opposite side of the body, so that it can no longer do the full work in the remaining section of the rotational movement. It therefore takes an unnecessarily long time to build up the oblique muscles. Since there is no pre-stretching up to half of the contraction, this muscle building takes place only to a limited extent or not at all. In addition, the transversospinal muscle systems in the lower thoracic and lumbar region are not contracted in this case and are therefore not developed. The load on the transversospinal muscle groups also decreases continuously from the beginning of the thoracic vertebrae to the end.

In a further known device of this type, the upper part provided with handles and armrests is firmly connected to the device frame, while the seat part can be rotated against a resetting torque against the upper part and the frame. The rotation of the seat part is initiated there in the area of the hip and thus in the lower area of the oblique muscles, but other muscles contract here as well. In addition, the exerciser can subconsciously falsify the exercise by isometrically tensing the oblique muscles on both sides. When a muscle is contracted isometrically, it does not contract and therefore does little or no work to build muscle. Isometric training also permanently shortens the muscles, which leads to tension and imbalances in the body. The upper body is not or only slightly rotated relative to the lower body and the rotational movement of the seat part relative to the upper part which is firmly connected to the frame takes place through an undesired contraction or Stretching the shoulder or upper arm muscles. The transversospinal muscle groups are trained with such a device only in the lumbar region, while the portion of the transversospinal muscle system in the thoracic vertebra area is not subjected to any stress.

The invention is therefore based on the object to improve a sports device of the type mentioned in such a way that the oblique muscles can be optimally built up with the exclusion of other muscle parts and at the same time the transversospinal muscle system in the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae area can be evenly loaded.

To achieve this object, the features specified in the characterizing part of claim 1 are proposed according to the invention. Advantageous further developments and refinements result from the dependent claims.

The invention is based on the idea of achieving an isolated load on the oblique muscles and making an isometric tensioning of the same difficult or impossible, and on the other hand the transversospinal, by means of a lower part and upper part, which are difficult to counteract the restoring torque against the frame Equally load the muscle system in the thoracic and lumbar region and thus improve the stability and mobility of the spine. The bottom part and the top part are expediently mechanically coupled to one another in their pivoting movement, for example by means of a rescue or gear wheel gear.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the coupling member is designed in such a way that it can transmit the torques in unchanged size or can increase or reduce them. Those acting on the bottom and the top Torques can be changed independently of the angle of rotation or as a function of the angular position by appropriate design of the coupling member or of the organ exerting the torque. In a rest or entry position, no torques expediently act on the lower part and the upper part.

In order not to stress additional muscles by bending the upper body and to always keep the upper body in an upright position, the upper part and lower part can be rotated about a common axis according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. The upper part and the lower part can be arranged on two separate shafts rotatable about the common axis. If the top and bottom are supported downwards, one of the two shafts is expediently designed as a hollow shaft and rotatably supported on the other shaft and on the frame. The shaft carrying the upper part can, however, also be suspended rotatably upward on the frame.

In order to apply the torque to the upper part and / or the lower part, according to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, at least one auxiliary element which can be acted upon by a variable tractive force is arranged on the frame of the sports device and is connected to the upper part and / or the lower part, the one from the traction element Exerted force acts outside of the rest position of the lower or upper part eccentrically to their axis of rotation and thereby exerts a torque on the lower and / or upper part. A chain, a belt or a! Serve rope, the tensile force can be applied by weight bodies, which can be connected in different numbers to the free end of the chain or the rope. However, coil springs or pneumatic cylinders as well as eddy current or magnetic powder brakes can also be used to generate the tractive force will. In order to always work against a constant high torque in the training positions of the sports equipment, it is expedient to let the traction element engage in the tangential direction on the circumference of a wheel connected to the lower part and / or the upper part.

According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the traction element acts only on one of the two, upper part and lower part bearing! Shafts that are connected to each other via a reversing gear. The reversing gear can be designed as a chain drive with at least one reversing shaft, the reversing shaft being coupled to one of the shafts carrying the upper part or lower part by means of a chain drive rotating in the same direction. The turning shaft has at least three sprockets, while the shafts supporting the lower part or upper part are each provided with at least two sprockets. Two sprockets of the reversing shaft can be connected to two corresponding sprockets on the shaft carrying the upper part by two oppositely interlaced open chain pieces. A rotation of the turning shaft in one direction of rotation is thereby converted into a rotation of the shaft carrying the upper part in the opposite direction. The third sprocket of the reversing shaft can then be connected to the shaft carrying the lower part by a chain drive with a closed, uninterrupted chain, in order to transmit a rotational movement of the lower part with the same direction of rotation to the reversing shaft. A reversal of the direction of rotation of the two shafts supporting the lower and upper part can also be achieved with the aid of a gear transmission with two intermeshing gearwheels, one of which meshes with a gearwheel that is non-rotatably connected to one of the two shafts.

Instead of coupling the upper part and the lower part to one another, the two parts can also be arranged pivotably in the frame independently of one another. To generate the torques, two separate tension members, each acting eccentrically to the axis of rotation on the lower part or on the upper part, can be provided.

Fig.1

eine teilweise geschnittene Seitenansicht eines Sportgeräts in Ruhe- bzw. Einstiegsposition;

Fig.2

eine Draufsicht auf das Sportgerät nach Fig.1 mit strichpunktiert angedeuteter Ausgangsdrehlage;

Fig.3 a bis d

vier Schnitte durch das Wendegetriebe des Sportgeräts nach Fig.1 entlang der Linien A-A, B-B, C-C und D-D.

The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to an exemplary embodiment shown schematically in the drawing. Show it

Fig. 1

a partially sectioned side view of a sports device in the rest or entry position;

Fig. 2

a plan view of the sports device of Figure 1 with dash-dot starting rotation;

Fig.3 a to d

four cuts through the reversing gear of the sports device according to Fig.1 along the lines AA, BB, CC and DD.

The sports device shown in the drawing consists essentially of a lower part designed as a seat part 10 and an upper part 20, both of which are rotatably mounted in a frame 30.

The seat part 10 provided with an upholstered seat is carried by a vertical shaft 12 which is supported on an axial bearing 37 opposite the frame 30 and is mounted within a hollow shaft 14 with roller bearings 31, 33.

The existing from a steel frame 41 with two armrests 43 and two handles 45 upper part 20 is rotatably fixed by means of a clamping connection 47 on the hollow shaft 14, which is also rotatably mounted in a tubular support 28 connected to the frame 30 with roller bearings 27, 29 and which a deflection of the seat part 10 from its resting or. Entry position is turned to the left or right by a reversing gear 50 in the opposite direction.

The reversing gear 50 consists of a reversing shaft 52 mounted vertically in the frame 30, on which three sprockets 54, 56, 58 of the same diameter are coaxially fastened. The chain wheels 54, 56 are connected to two chain wheels 62, 64 arranged on the hollow shaft 14 of the upper part 20 by means of two articulated chain pieces 70, 72 interlaced with one another. Turning the turning shaft 52 clockwise causes the hollow shaft 14 to turn counterclockwise and vice versa (FIG. 3).

The reversing shaft 52 is driven via the lowermost sprocket 58, which is connected to the sprocket 26 arranged on the shaft 12 of the seat part 10 by means of a closed, unlinked articulated chain 77. Rotating the shaft 12 carrying the seat part 10 clockwise thus causes the turning shaft 52 to rotate in the same direction and the hollow shaft 14 carrying the upper part 20 counterclockwise (FIG. 3). Two tensioning rollers 74 arranged displaceably relative to the frame 30 enable tensioning of the link chain 77 connecting the chain wheels 58 and 26.

At the free end 32 of a link chain 38 guided by deflection rollers 34, 36 in the frame, weight bodies 39 in different numbers can be fastened. The other end of the articulated chain 38 is fastened in the circumference of a chain wheel 22 which is fixedly connected to the shaft 12 carrying the seat part 10. If the seat part 10 is pivoted out of its rest or entry position shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 into a starting rotational position offset by 90 °, the tensile force exerted by the chain 38 acts on the chain wheel 22 in the tangential direction and thus exerts a torque on the seat part 10. Two guide rollers 24 mounted about vertical axes on the frame 30 serve to deflect the chain 38 and ensure that the tensile force of the chain 38 acts on the chain wheel 22 in a tangential direction from its rest or entry position even at a relatively small angle of rotation of the seat part 10 and then exerts a constant torque on the shaft 12 and thus on the seat part 10 upon further rotation.

A cushion support 84 arranged at the front of the seat 80 serves to support the knees from the side and, like the hip cushion 82, prevents the training person from slipping on the seat. A foot plate 88 for supporting the feet prevents the legs from being used for swinging.

In the reversing gear 50 shown in FIG. 3 in several sectional planes, the link chain pieces 70, 72 are fastened to the circumference of the chain wheels 54, 56 and 62, 64 and are each interlaced with one another, so that the counterclockwise and clockwise rotations result in the same Can drive upper part 20 supporting hollow shaft 14 through the turning shaft 52.

The reversing shaft 52 is driven via the closed link chain 77 shown in FIG. 3c, which transmits a rotational movement of the shaft 12 carrying the seat part 10 in the same direction of rotation to the reversing shaft 52. The unbalanced link chain 77 resting on the sprocket of the chain wheels 26 and 58 can be retensioned by tensioning rollers 74 which are arranged displaceably on the frame 30. The chain 38 shown in FIG. 3 d attached to the circumference of the sprocket 22 engages radially on the sprocket 22 in the rest position of the sports device shown and thus does not exert any torque on the sprocket 22 and the shaft 12 carrying the seat part 10 connected to it . However, if the seat part 10 is rotated by 90 ° into one of the two initial rotational positions, then the chain 38 carried along by the chain wheel 22 and deflected on one of the guide rollers 24 engages the chain wheel 22 in a tangential direction. As a result, a restoring torque is exerted on the chain wheel 22 and the seat part 10.

By changing the diameter of the chain wheels 58 or 26, for example, the transmission ratio and thus the ratio of the torques which act on the seat part 10 or on the upper part 20 can be changed. Halve e.g. the diameter of the chain wheel 58, the shaft 12 carrying the seat part 10 has twice as much torque as the hollow shaft 14 carrying the upper part 20. As a result, the upper part 20 also rotates relative to the frame 30 at twice the angular velocity as the seat part 10th

In the entry or rest position of the sports device shown in solid lines in FIG. 2, no torque is exerted on the seat part 10 and the upper part 20. After getting in, the training person rotates the seat part 10 by 90 ° Compared to the frame 30 to the left or right in one of the initial rotational positions, the weight body 39 connected to the chain 38 is raised and exerts a restoring torque on the seat part 10 due to its weight. Simultaneously with the rotation of the seat part 10, the upper part 20 is also pivoted out of its rest position by the reversing gear 50 by 90 ° in the opposite direction. After reaching the starting rotation position indicated by dash-dotted lines, the training person places the forearms on the armrests 43 and grasps the handles 45 with both hands. From this position, the muscles of the obliquus are now built up on one side of the body, with the seat part and the upper part against the back . turning torque can be pivoted against each other by a repeated twisting movement initiated in the area of the oblique muscle between the lower body and upper body. After complete contraction of the muscle on one side of the body, loosening the muscle returns to the starting rotational position. After the training of the oblique muscles on one side of the body, the seat part 10 is rotated through the rest position into the second starting rotational position, offset by 180 ° from the dash-dotted line, and the muscles of the other side of the body are trained from this position.

In the opposite direction of rotation, in which both the lower body and the upper body perform a rotary movement against a respectively adjustable, possibly different torque, the transversospinal muscle system that connects the vertebrae to each other and the vertebrae due to the respective fixation on spinous and transverse processes a torsional or rotational movement allows, loads and strengthens. Due to the introduction of the torque into both the upper body and the lower body, the transversospinal muscles on the twelve thoracic vertebrae and five lumbar vertebrae are evenly grasped and loaded. With different torque loads in the upper and lower body area, it is even possible to train the transversospinal muscles in the vicinity of certain muscles. This is particularly important in rehabilitation, since the exerciser can train selected selected transverse muscle groups in the absence of movement in order to improve the restricted mobility between the vertebrae concerned.

Claims (18)

1. Sports device for muscle training, comprising a bottom part, which is arranged on a frame and can be rotationally fixed relative to the lower body of the person in training and which is preferably arranged as a part of a seat, and a top part, which is preferably rotationally fixed relative to the upper body of the person in training by holding tight or pressing in place and which can be pivoted back and forth to a limited extent from at least one initial position around a substantially perpendicular axis relative to the bottom part and the frame. and that said top part is acted upon by a torque of preferably adjustable strength and selectively adjustable direction, characterised in that the bottom part (10̸) and the top part (20̸) can be coupled and pivoted back and forth via a gearing (50̸) in opposite directions relative to the frame around a common, substantially perpendicular axis, and they can be loaded by counter-rotationally returning torques.
2. Sports device according to claim 1, characterised by at least one pulling element (38), which engages the tap part (20̸) and/or the bottom part (10̸) eccentrically to the axis of rotation, for producing the torque.
3. Sports device according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the top part (20̸) and the bottom part (10̸) are non-rotationally arranged on two separate shafts (12, 14) which rotate around the common axis.
4. Sports device according to claim 3, characterised in that the shaft (14), which supports the top part (20̸), is arranged as a hollow shaft, is rotationally mounted on the frame (30̸) as well as on the shaft (12) which supports the bottom part.
5. Sports device according to claim 3 or 4, characterised in that the shafts (12, 14), which support the top part (20̸) and the bottom part (10̸), are interconnected via a reversing gear mechanism (50̸).
6. Sports device according to claim 5, characterised in that the reversing gear mechanism (50̸) is arranged as a chain drive having at least one reversing shaft (52).
7. Sports device according to claim 6, characterised in that the reversing shaft (52) is coupled with one of the shafts (12, 14) at the bottom part (120̸), or of the top part (20̸) respectively, by a chain drive rotating in the same direction and with the other shaft of the top part (20̸), or the bottom part (10̸) respectively, by a chain drive rotating in the opposite direction.
8. Sports device according to claim 6 or 7, characterised in that the reversing shaft (52) comprises at least three chain wheels (54, 56, 58), and the shafts (12, 14) which carry the bottom part (10̸) and the top part (20̸) comprise at least two respective chain wheels (22, 26 or 62, 64).
9. Sports device according to one of claims 6 to 8, characterised in that the reversing shaft (52) is connected, by means of a chain drive with a closed chain (77), to the shaft (12) which supports the bottom part (10̸).
10. Sports device according to claim 8 or 9, characterised in that two chain wheels (54, 56) of the reversing shaft (52) are connected, by means of two opposingly crossed open chain elements (70̸, 72), with two respective chain wheels (62, 64) on the shaft (14) which supports the top part (20̸).
11. Sports device for muscle training, comprising a bottom part, which is arranged on a frame and can be rotationally fixed relative to the lower body of the person in training and which is preferably arranged as a part of a seat, and a top part, which is preferably rotationally fixed relative to the upper body of the person in training by holding tight or pressing in place and which can be pivoted back and forth to a limited extent from at least one initial position around a substantially perpendicular axis relative to the bottom part and the frame, and that said top part is acted upon by a torque of preferably adjustable strength and selectively adjustable direction, characterised in that the bottom part (10̸) and the top part (20̸) are independently from one another pivotable back and forth in opposite directions relative to the frame around a common perpendicular axis and that they are loaded, by the effect of at least two separated return elements, which on the one side engage the bottom part and on the other side the top part, with torques which return counter-rotationally.
12. Sports device according to claim 11, characterised in that the return elements are formed by at least two separated pulling elements, which engage, eccentrically to the axis of rotation, on the one side the bottom part (10̸) and on the other side the top part (20̸).
13. Sports device according to one of claims 1 to 12, characterised in that the bottom part (10̸) and the top part (20̸) are under the influence of counter-rotational torques of equal value.
14. Sports device according to one of claims 1 to 12, characterised in that the bottom part (10̸) and the top part (20̸) are under the influence of counter-rotational torques of different values.
15. Sports device according to one of claims 1 to 14, characterised in that torques acting or the bottom part (10̸) and on the top part (20̸) are independent of the angle of rotation.
16. Sports device according to one of claims 1 to 16, characterised in that the torques acting on the bottom part (10̸) and the top part (20̸) are variable in dependence of the angular position.
17. Sports device according to one of claims 1 to 16, characterised in that in an inoperative or entry position no torque acts on the bottom part (10̸) and the top part (20̸).
18. Sports device according to claim 2 or 12, characterised in that the pulling element (38) engages in a tangential direction the periphery of a wheel (22) which is connected to the bottom part (10̸) or the top part (20̸) at the centre of the axis.

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