EP1233817A1

EP1233817A1 - Load generator and waist exercise device using same

Info

Publication number: EP1233817A1
Application number: EP00981883A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Young-Baeg Hur
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1999-11-25
Filing date: 2000-11-25
Publication date: 2002-08-28
Anticipated expiration: 2020-11-25
Also published as: KR20010048215A; EP1233817A4; AU1899101A; KR100343094B1; DE60038569D1; WO2001037939A1; EP1233817B1

Abstract

The invention relates to an exercise device comprising a load generator capable of creating a rotational movement load using the resistance of the working medium, making possible rehabilitation or to training of the waist region to activate the human upper or lower body utilizing said load generator. The invention relates to the improved construction of the load generator, so that it is capable of rehabilitating and training the various muscles in the user's waist. Improvement of the exercise device renders more effective the rehabilitation of the pelvis region, whereby providing for the remedy of the waist and its training.

Description

LOAD GENERATOR AND WAIST EXERCISE DEVICE USING SAME

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a load generator for effectively producing exercise load by controlling the flow direction and amount of working fluid and a waist exercise appliance for strengthening and rehabilitating the waist using the load generator.

Background Art

In general, around the waist region, the pelvis is connected to the vertebrae and two hip joints are connected to the pelvis. Various lumbar muscles are connected to both pelvis and vertebrae, so that the pelvis can conduct movement relative to the vertebrae.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,902,009 and 5,928,112 disclose conventional appliances that are used to strengthen or rehabilitate the lumber muscles. However, in the conventional waist strengthening and rehabilitating appliances, a user conducts only extension exercises in which the user repeatedly sits up from a position where the upper part of his body is bent while the lower part of his body is firmly held, so the following problems occur due to its structural characteristics.

First, the loading device employed for the conventional appliances is a combination of various weights and accompanied by related accessories, so the entire device occupies an excessive space and is complicated.

Second, the conventional appliances are constructed to allow users to conduct only extension exercises for the upper part of the body, so only a part of lumber muscles are strengthened. As a result, the conventional appliances are insufficient for the uniform, strengthening and rehabilitating of the entire body.

Third, its handles mounted to its back frame are hingedly attached, so force is naturally applied to the handles when force is insufficient during exercises.

Accordingly, loading force is vertically applied to the lumbar vertebrae, so excessive loading force is applied to the disks in the joint, thereby doing harm to waist exercises and rehabilitation.

Fourth, though the tight holding of the pelvis around the lumbar vertebrae is effective for waist exercises, the lower body is tightly held by regions such as the thighs, legs or feet and the pelvic region is moved during the waist exercises, thereby producing deteriorated effects. That is, a method in which the lower body is tightly held by a belt so as to bring the knee into tight contact with a knee holding bar and bring the thigh into tight contact with a seat is to downwardly fix the tight-side of the hip joint. Accordingly, the pelvis-side of the hip joint is nearly free, so the pelvic region can be removed. As a result, the rotational center of waist exercises is removed from the lumbar vertebrae to the hip joint, so the rotational center is not stable, thereby being ineffective for the strengthening of lumbar muscles connecting the pelvis and the vertebrae.

Disclosure of the Invention

The entire object of the present invention is to overcome the above- described problems.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a waist exercise appliance, in which the lumbar muscles can be strengthened using the upper and lower bodies, the lower body and the pelvis are tightly held by the lower body holding unit during waist exercises using the upper body, and the upper and lower portions and the rear portion are distinguished from one another and tightly held in diagonal directions differently from a conventional exercise appliance.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a waist exercise appliance, in which while the waist region is exercised using the upper and lower bodies, the degrees of the bending and extension of the knee joint can be adjusted by the adjustment of the height, tilt angle and horizontal position of the foot support, and the quantity and range of the strengthening and rehabilitating of related muscles can be adjusted by the conjunctive movement of the knee holding bar and foot support. A further object of the present invention is to provide a waist exercise appliance, in which the force of the arms is not transmitted to a back frame by a removal prevention unit during extension exercises so as to perform waist exercises only using the upper body, the central axis of the exercise is constructed to coincide with the lumbar vertebrae or hip joint so as to allow the human body and the exercise appliance to harmonize with and be moved in conjunction with each other, the angle range of exercises can be adjusted by an exercise range adjustment unit, and external effects can be excluded from the pure exercise load force by a counter exercise unit.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a load generator, which is capable of easily controlling the quantity and direction of load, being simply constructed, being widely used, and being easily installed and utilized.

In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides a waist exercise appliance for exercising, strengthening or rehabilitating the waist, in which a chair unit is constructed by assembling all or some of a seat, two legs, a handle and related frames, and exercises are conducted using the back frame or a knee holding bar operated in conjunction with a load generator, further comprising; a lower body holding unit constructed to fix the lower bod) in front of the chair unit or to be moved along with the lower body, the foot support of the lower body holding unit being constructed to allow its vertical position to be adjusted.

The lower body holding unit is comprised of a lower body holder for holding the lower body and a pelvis holder for holding the pelvis, the lower body holder being constructed to allow the foot support and the knee holding bar to be moved, the pelvis holder being constructed to hold the upper and lower portions of the pelvis simultaneously or separately.

The lower body holding unit further comprises a passive drive unit, together with the load generator, the passive drive unit being mounted to the back frame or knee holding bar so as to selectively perform active exercises and passive exercises. The present invention provides a load generator, said load generator comprising a control unit, the control unit being constructed in such a way that an annular space is provided in a casing around its central shaft to accommodate working fluid, a vane having the same shape as the cross section of the annular space is positioned in the annular space to be operated in conjunction with the central shaft, and a working fluid adjustor is situated in a portion of the annular space to adjust the direction and amount of working fluid.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic side elevation showing a waist exercise appliance in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a partial plan view showing the operation of the appliance of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross section of a part of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a schematic side elevation showing a variation of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a schematic side elevation showing another waist exercise appliance in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 6 is a partially enlarged view of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged view showing the pelvis holder of Fig. 5;

Fig. 8 is a partially exploded perspective view of Fig. 5;

Fig. 9 is a rear view of Fig. 5; Fig. 10 is a schematic side elevation showing cervical vertebrae;

Figs. 11 and 12 are views showing a pelvis support shown Fig. 5,

Fig. 11 is an enlarged side view thereof, and

Fig. 12 is an enlarged plan view thereof;

Fig. 13 is a schematic side elevation showing a further waist exercise appliance in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 14 is a front view of Fig. 13;

Fig. 15 is a schematic side elevation showing the waist exercise appliance shown in Fig. 13; Fig. 16 is a schematic side elevation showing another variation of the waist exercise appliance shown in Fig. 13;

Fig. 17 is a side view showing a locking unit mounted to a shoulder holding unit shown in Figs. 13 and 16; Fig. 18 is a plan view of Fig. 17;

Fig. 19 is a vertical cross section showing an exercise range adjustment unit; and

Figs. 20 to 23 are views showing a load generator in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 20 is a side vertical cross section of the assembled load generator,

Fig. 21 is a front vertical cross section of Fig. 20,

Fig. 22 is a cross section showing a one-direction check valve of direction control valves, and

Fig. 23 is a cross section showing a two-direction check valve of direction control valves.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

Hereinafter, with reference to accompanying drawings, the preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.

In the preferred embodiments of the present invention, a chair unit 7 is constructed by assembling all or some of a seat 1, two legs 3, a handle 4, and related frames 5 and 6. Exercises are conducted using the back frame 2 or a knee holding bar 9 operated in conjunction with a load generator 8. The waist exercise appliance of the present invention is used to exercise, strengthen or rehabilitate the waist. A lower body holding unit 20 is constructed to fix the lower body in front of the chair unit 7 or be moved along with the lower body. The foot support 26 of the lower body holding unit 20 is constructed to allow its vertical position to be adjusted. In this case, the lower body holding unit 20 is comprised of a lower body holder 22 and a pelvis holder 24. The lower body holder 22 serves to fix the lower body so as to withstand the waist exercise and prevent the dispersion of force while it is intended to strengthen or rehabilitate the waist using the upper part of the body. Additionally, when it is intended to strengthen or rehabilitate the waist, the lower body holding unit 20 is operated to move along with the lower body.

With reference to Figs. 1 and 3, waist exercises performed on the waist exercise appliance using the upper part of the body are described. In accordance with the basic concept of the present invention, extension or flexion exercises are performed using the upper part of the body over the lumber vertebra while the lower body and the pelvic region are tightly held by the lower body holding unit 20 with the lower part tightly held by the lower body holder 22 and the pelvic region tightly held by the pelvis holder 24.

In fixing the lower body and the pelvis, the lower body situated under the hip joints is tightly held by the lower body holder 22 and the pelvis situated over the hip joints is tightly held by the pelvis holder 24. The lower body holder 22 is comprised of a foot support 26 and the knee holding bar 9. The foot support 26 is constructed to allow its height and its tilt angle to be controlled and to be operated separately from or in conjunction with the knee holding bar 9. The pelvis holder 24 includes two holder bodies 27 for simultaneously or sequentially holding the upper and lower parts of the pelvis. When necessary, a pelvis support 28 is mounted on the rear portion of the seat 1 to be moved forward and rearward, and tightly holds the rear surface of the pelvis.

In more detail, in the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 to 4, the knee holding bar 9 of the lower body holder 22 and the holder bodies 27 of the pelvis holder 24 are attached to an actuating bar 27 to be operated in conjunction with each other. The holder bodies 27 are constructed to allow its position to be conti oiled. The actuating bar 220 is constructed to be moved forward and rearward by means of the links 221. When the rear portion of the actuating bar 220 is lifted up around a hinge 231, the holder bodies 27 situated on the front portion of the actuating bar

220 are moved down and the holder bodies 27 push the upper and lower portions at the same time, thereby tightly holding the pelvis.

The foot support 26 of the lower body holder 22 is mounted to the lower portion of a block 207. The block 207 is moved along upper and lower guide rods 204 and 205, which are supported by support posts 201, 202 and 203, by a threaded rod 206 situated between guide rods 204 and 205. The first ends of links 210 are respectively attached to a bracket 208 and a worm gear 209, and their second ends are hingedly attached to allow the links 210 to be situated at upper and lower positions. The worm gear 209 is mounted to be engaged with a rotatable worm 211 in the interior of the block 207. The worm 211, worm gear 21 1 and links 210 are moved in conjunction with one another so that the height and tilt angle of the foot support 26 can be adjusted by the rotation of an adjustment shaft 213 mounted on the lower portions of the support rods 201, 202 and 203 and block 207, provided with a handle 212 at its front end, engaged with the worm 21 1 to be moved forward and rearward, and splined on a part of it. That is, the foot support 26 is moved forward and rearward by the threaded rod 206, and tilted by the adjustment shaft 213.

The knee holding bar 9 of the lower body holder 22 is mounted to the actuating bar 220 or an actuating rod support 222, to which the upper ends of the links 221 are hinged, to be slid forward and rearward, and the pelvis holder 24 is hingedly attached to the front end of the actuating bar 220 and includes holder bodies 27 for tightly holding the upper and lower portions of the pelvis, thereby tightly holding the knee and the upper and lower portions of the pelvis at the same time. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, the lower end of one link 221 is hingedly attached to a moving piece 228a that is engaged with a threaded actuating rod 228 rotatably supported at its both ends by one bracket 224 of a crossbar 223 and the support post 202, the lower end of the other link 221 is hingedly attached to the bracket 224a of the crossbar 223, and a stopper 221a is hingedly attached at its upper end to the latter link 221 to be engaged with a toothed portion 223a formed on the crossbar 223. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 4, the lower end of one link 221 is hingedly attached to the bracket 224 fixed to the crossbar 223, the lower end of the other link 221 is hingedly attached to a worm gear 225, and the worm gear 225 is rotatably mounted over the support posts 201, 202 and 203 and engaged with a worm 226 mounted to one end of the actuating rod 228 provided with a handle 227, thereby tightly and simultaneously holding the knee and the upper and lower portions of the pelvis. In such a case, when necessary, a pusher 230 provided with a grip 229 is hingedly attached to the hinge between the upper end of the link 221 and the actuating rod support 222, so that when the grip 229 is rotated clockwise, the rear end of the actuating bar 220 is moved upward around the hinge 231 , and the front end of the actuating bar 220 is moved downward along with the holder bodies 27, thereby tightly holding the pelvis. A adjustment rod 233 in-line with the actuating rod 228 and connected to a handle 232 is mounted in a rotating member 235 and a linear bearing 236, which are situated on the support posts 201 and 202, to be moved forward and rearward. The adjustment rod 233 is provided with a splined portion 237 on its front portion. Accordingly, when the adjustment rod 233 is moved forward, the splined portion 237 of the adjustment rod 233 is engaged with an interiorly splined portion 238 formed on the actuating rod 228 and the actuating rod 228 can be rotated by the handle 232 and the adjustment rod 233. In contrast, when the adjustment rod 233 is moved rearward, the splined portion 237 of the adjustment rod 233 is engaged with an interiorly splined portion 239 formed on the rotating member 235 and the threaded rod 206 can be rotated through a pulley 241, a belt 240 and another pulley 242.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 5 to 12, a lower body holder 22 includes a knee holding bar 9 and a foot support 26 that are operated in conjunction with each other, and the pelvis holder 24 includes upper and lower holder bodies 27 and the pelvis support 28 situated on the rear portion of the seat 1.

The foot support 26 of the lower body holder 22 is constructed to allow its height to be adjusted and to allow its position to be fixed, the knee holding bar 9 of the lower body holder 22 is comprised of a main knee holding bar 90 and an auxiliary knee holding bar 92 that are attached to both ends of a support rod 94 hingedly attached to the upper end of the actuating bar 220, and a shock absorber 250 is situated to connect the lower portion of the actuating rod 220 and a block 207. In the pelvis holder 24, the upper and lower holder bodies 27 are separately positioned, the holder bodies 27 fitted around holding belts 231 and 252 attached to both sides of a pelvis holding rod 11a are hingedly attached to one side of a holding frame 1 1 , and the lower portion of the pelvis holding rod 1 1 a is hingedly held by the slot 263 of a pressurizing lever 261. Accordingly, when the pressurizing lever 261 is pulled up, the pelvis holding rod 11a is rotated downwardly around a hinge 265, thereby allowing the holder bodies 27 to tightly hold the upper and lower portions of the pelvis in diagonal directions.

When necessary, a pelvis support 28 is situated on the rear portion of a chair unit 7. The rear surface of the pelvis support 28 is hingedly attached to the upper surface of a moving member 256 disposed to be moved forward and rearward along a guide rod 255 positioned between the front and rear supports 253 and 254, the lower portion of the pelvis support 28 is engaged with a threaded rod

257, and the threaded rod 257 is supported by the front and rear supports 253 and 254. As the threaded rod 257 is rotated by the rotation of the handle 258, the moving member 256 is moved forward and the pelvis support 28 is moved forward along with the moving member 256. While the pelvis is tightly pushed downward and rearward, the pelvis is pushed forward from the rear surface of the pelvis, thereby even more tightly holding the pelvis.

When the waist exercise appliance of the present invention is constructed to allow extension and reflexion exercises to be performed using the lower body, its lower body holding unit 20 includes a foot support 26 and a knee holding bar 9 that allow their heights to be controlled and are capable of being moved in conjunction with each other. A knee holding bar 9 is constructed to allow its height to be controlled together with a foot support so as to be flexed around the hip joints.

In more detail, as shown in Figs. 13 and 16, the knee holding bar 9 is moved in conjunction with the foot support 26. The knee holding bar 9 is mounted on the upper end of a retractable support rod 260, and the foot support 26 is mounted on a retractable cross rod 262. The support rod 260 and the cross rod 262 are hingedly situated, respectively. The front end of the foot support 26 and the center portion of the support rod 260 are connected to each other by a support link 264. The support rod 260 is constructed by telescopically assembling upper and lower support rod members 268 and 270 so as to allow its length to be controlled. A slit 272 is formed along the lower support rod member 270, the support link 264 and a fixing member 266 are hingedly attached to a slider 274 fitted around the lower support rod member 270, and the upper support rod member 264 is disposed to be fixed or freed depending at a certain position on the insertion of a fixing rod 273 elastically supported through the slit 272 by the manipulation of the fixing member 266.

In an embodiment shown in Fig. 16, a foot support 26 and a knee holding bar 9 are mounted to be moved in conjunction with each other. A support arm 180 is hingedly connected at its lower end to a support rod 282 fixed to the lower portion of a chair unit 7 and at its center portion to one end of a connection link 286 situated to be moved together with a first gear 284. The knee holding bar 9 is mounted on the upper end of a telescopic support arm 290 situated to be moved together with a second gear 292. The first and second gears 284 and 292 are connected by a chain 294 to be moved in conjunction with each other.

Accordingly, the foot support 26 and the knee holding bar 9 constitute the lower body holding unit 20 to be moved in conjunction with each other.

As illustrated in Figs. 5 to 9, when the back frame 6 is mounted to be moved in conjunction with a load generator 8 through a hinge 13 and a removal prevention unit 30 is positioned on the upper end of the back frame 6, the handle 4 of the removal prevention unit 30 is situated to be moved around a hinge 32, a stopper 34 is positioned to surround the hinge 32, a cross member 36 is disposed in the vicinity of the lower end of the stopper 34 and an inclined surface 38 is provided on the rear portion of the stopper 34. When the handle 4 is pushed rearward around the hinge 32, the handle 4 is capable of being pushed till the inclined surface 38 is brought into contact with the upper surface of the cross member 36. Accordingly, there can be prevented a problem that when a user conducts extension exercises using his upper body and lacks force for pushing the back frame, force is applied through his hands, thereby preventing removal in a movement direction.

Next, when necessary, a head support 41 is mounted at the upper end of the back frame 41 and a cervical vertebrae exercise unit 40 is situated behind the head support 41. As depicted in Figs. 3 to 6, the rear frame 42 of the head support 41 is constructed to be moved around the hinge 32, and the load generator 44 is hingedly attached to the rear frame 42 and a bracket 43. In this case, the upper end of the load generator 44 is attached by engaging a moving member 46 with a rotatable threaded rod 45. Accordingly, the load generator 44 is utilized by the forward and rearward displacement of the moving member 46 in accordance with the rotational direction of the threaded rod 45, and exercise load exerted on the cervical vertebrae during cervical vertebrae exercises can be controlled by the rotational movement of the head support 41.

Next, when exercises are performed using the lower body, an upper body holding unit 50 is preferably mounted to the upper end of the back frame 6 to hold the shoulder region of the upper body, as depicted in Figs. 13 to 18. In more detail, an upper body holder 51 provided with two handles 4 is attached to the upper end of the back frame 6 through a hinge 32, and a locking device 52 is provided in the vicinity of the hinge 32 to keep the upper body holder 51 open or closed. The locking device 52 is comprised of a locking portion 53 integrated with the upper body holder 51 and a locking member 54 that constitutes the upper portion of the back frame 6 so as to adjust the locking portion 53 to be locked or released. The locking member 54 constitutes the upper portion of the back frame 6 and is disposed to allow its portion to be situated under the locking portion 53 to be rotated horizontally. A lever 58 is hingedly attached to one side of a pressurizing member 57 having a tapered shape and an open end. When the open end 56 of the pressurizing member 57 is situated under the locking portion 53 by the manipulation of the lever 58, there occurs a release state where the upper body support 51 along with the locking portion 53 is freely bend rearward through the open end 56. On the contrary, while the upper body support 51 is situated forward and fixedly surrounds the shoulders of the user before a user performs exercises, the lever 58 is rotated to lock the locking portion 53. Accordingly, the upper body support 51 is not allowed to be pushed rearward and the tapered portion of the pressurizing member 57 pushes the lower portion of the locking portion 53 upwardly, so the front portion of the upper body support 51 is further moved forward. Accordingly, regardless of the widths of shoulders and individual conditions, the locking unit 52 can be utilized while be adjusted corresponding to circumstances.

Although the upper body holding unit 50 is described as being applied to exercises using the upper body, it can be applied to exercises using the lower body. When waist exercises are performed using the upper body, the central axis of the movement of the back frame 6 coincides with the cervical vertebrae so as to prevent a phenomenon that the body is not moved with the exercise appliance as one body and is not adapted to the appliance. In contrast, when the waist exercises are performed using the lower body, the central axis of the movement of the knee holder 9 is constructed to coincide with the hip joint directly or through a connecting member. An example of the former case is shown in Fig. 5 in which the central axis of the movement of the back frame 6 is constructed to allow the hinge 13 provided on a stationary frame 11 to coincide with the cervical vertebrae. The examples of the latter case are shown in Fig. 13 in which, while a vertical straight line connecting the centers of the first and second gears 284 and 292 is in- line with the center 15 of the hip joint, parallel links 289 are employed as connecting members to connect the rear end of the cross rod 262 and the center 288 of the first gear 284 so as to keep the distance between the center of the hip joint and the center of the knee holder 9, or in Fig. 16 in which the central axis of the movement of the knee holding bar 9 is constructed to allow the center of the second gear 292 to coincide with the central axis of the movement of the hip joint.

Next, an exercise range adjustment unit 60 is mounted on the central axis of the exercise of the back frame 6 or knee holding bar 9 and a portion moved in conjunction with these parts so as to adjust the range of exercises during extension or flexion exercises. As illustrated in Figs. 1, 4, 13, 16 and 19, when the exercise range adjustment unit 60 is mounted to the hinge 13 or central shaft 296 of the gear

292 moved in conjunction with the central shaft 288 of the gear 284, the exercise range adjustment unit 60 is comprised of a rotating disk 61, a pair of adjustment handles 63 and an outer casing 65. The rotating disk 61 is moved in conjunction with the hinge 13 or the central shaft 296 of the gear 292, and provided with stoppers 62 at reference positions. The adjustment handles 63 are not moved in conjunction with the hinge 13 or central shaft 296, fixed by the stoppers 62, and elastically supported by springs 68, thereby directly adjusting the range of exercises. The outer casing 65 is provided with a pair of adjustment holes 63 and adjustment cavities 67 formed along the adjustment holes 63, and is fixedly attached to a chair unit 1 so as to allow the adjustments handles 63 to be exposed to the outside. When the ranges of exercises are determined by positioning the adjustment handles 63 in certain ones of the adjustment cavities 67 formed along the adjustment holes 66, the range of exercises are restricted to positions where the stoppers 62 of the rotating disk 61 moved in conjunction with the hinge 13 or central shaft 296 are inserted into or fixed in the adjustment cavities 64, thereby determining the range of the exercises of the back frame or knee holding bar 9. Of course, one adjustment handle 63 and one adjustment hole 66 are formed on one side of the outer casing 65 to adjust the range of exercises of one side.

Additionally, a passive drive unit, together with the load generator, is mounted to the back frame or knee holding bar 9 so as to selectively perform active exercises and passive exercises. When performing active exercises, a user conducts exercises in accordance with exercise load obtained from the load generator 8 that is constructed to allow exercise load generated thereby; while when performing passive exercises, waist exercises are forcibly performed by passive exercise force applied from the outside. For active exercise unit, the load generator 80, conventional weights, springs, elastic rubber or independent shock absorbers can be employed; for passive exercise appliance, a drive motor electrically operated, a drive cylinder operated by hydraulic or air pressure, and one of other external force can be employed. The passive exercise appliances are constructed to be operated by passive forcible loading force exerted by a third party, such as a handle lever 74 and a medium supply adjustment unit 87 that will be described below.

With regard to exercise load generated by the load generator 8, actual exercise load experienced by a user is not the exercise load generated by the load generator 8, and related parts including the back frame 6 or knee holding bar 9 are moved together and necessitate loading force. In order to prevent the above- mentioned problem or reduce loading force required for passive exercises forced by a third party, a counter exercise unit 70 is positioned opposite to a movement frame that is moved in conjunction with the back frame 6 or knee holding bar 9 situated to be moved in conjunction with the load generator 8.

As shown in Fig. 1 or 4, the counter exercise unit 70 in the forms of weights may be mounted on a support rod 72 through the hinge 13 of the back frame 6 to be opposite to the exercise frame; as shown in Fig. 13, the counter exercise unit 70 is fixedly attached to a handle lever 74 mounted to the central shaft 288 of the gear 284 to be opposite to the parallel links 289 moved in conjunction with the knee holding bar 9; and as shown in Fig. 16, the counter exercise unit 70 in the form of a weight is mounted to a handle lever 74 situated around the gear 292, the chain 294 and the central shaft 288 of the gear 284. The weight mounted to the support rod 72 or handle lever 74 is preferably disposed to allow its position to be controlled. As depicted in Fig. 5, the counter exercise unit

70 is situated in the form of a shock absorber among the connecting link 14 of the load generator 8 operated through the hinge 13 of the back frame 6, the operating shaft 15 moved in conjunction with the connecting link 14, a support link 16 moved in conjunction with the operating shaft 15, and the fixing bracket 18 of a cross rod 17. Although not illustrated, an elastic body such as a spring or the like can be employed instead of the weight or shock absorber.

In the load generator 80 constructed to be applied to the exercise appliance of the present invention and widely applied to various appliances requiring loading force, as shown in Figs. 20 to 23, a control unit 86 is constructed in such a way that an annular space 84 is provided in a casing 81 and 82 around its central shaft 83 to accommodate working fluid, a vane 85 having the same shape as the cross section of the annular space 84 is positioned in the annular space 84 to be operated in conjunction with the central shaft 83, and a working fluid adjustor 86 is situated in a portion of the annular space 84 to adjust the direction and amount of working fluid. Additionally, when necessary, a fluid load adjustor 87 is preferably formed to communicate with the annular space 84 so as to adjust load by varying an internal volume.

When the construction of the load generator 80 is described in more detail with reference to Figs. 20 to 23, a circular mounting space 802 is provided for a holding member 800 in the annular space 84, the central shaft 83 is inserted at its lower end portion into the center of the casing 81 and 82, the holding member 800 is situated in the circular mounting space 802, the vane 85 is mounted to a portion of the holding member 800, and the working fluid adjustor 86 consisting of the flow rate control valve 806 and the flow direction control valve 810 is situated in fluid passages 804 and 808. The casing members 81 and 82 are engaged with each other in a screw engagement manner, sealing members 814 and 816 made of Teflon having a low frictional coefficient and a high abrasion resistance are applied to the vane 85 and the holding member 800, and a retainer 818 and an U- shaped packing 820 are situated around the central shaft 83. In the flow rate control valve 806, a valve body 822 having a semicircular sectional shape is situated in the fluid passage 804. In the flow direction control valve 810, two valve bodies 836 and 838 elastically supported by two springs 832 and 834 situated on two valve seats 828 and 838 are situated at both ends of an operating shaft 826 on both sides of a fluid passage 808, and an operating piece 840 is positioned to move along the outside of the operating shaft 826. The operating piece 840 is moved in a rack-and-pinion manner to selectively open or close one of the valve bodies 836 and 838, thereby controlling the flow direction of the working fluid.

In the working fluid adjustor 87, an adjustor body 846, as shown in Fig. 21. is mounted on a portion of the outer casing 81 and 82 to communicate with the annular space 84 through the fluid passage 844, and a piston 850 attached to a piston rod 848 is tightly fitted into the interior of the adjustor body 846. The piston rod 848 is engaged in a screw manner with an end plate 852 tightly fitted into the rear end of the adjustor body 846, so the size of the cavity of the adjustor body 846 is adjusted by the moving forward or rearward of the piston rod 848 and the piston 850 by the rotation of the handle 854. As a result, the loading or unloading of the central shaft 83 generated by the operation of the vane 85 is effected depending on whether working fluid is accommodated in the annular space 84 or adjustor body 846. The load generator 80 is used with the outer casing 81 and 82 secured to a stationary portion, such as the chair unit 7, and with the central shaft 83 connected to the hinge 13 or central shaft 288 of the gear 284 moved in conjunction with the back frame 6 or knee holding bar 98. When the central shaft 83 is rotated to operate the load generator 80, the vane 85 moved together with the holding member 800 is rotated in the annular space 84. The working fluid is adjusted in its exercise load, its applying direction and its loading or unloading by means of the flow rate control valve 806, the flow direction control valve 810 or the working fluid adjustor 87.

Hereunder, waist exercise appliances fabricated by assembling the lower body holding unit 20, the removal prevention unit 30, the cervical vertebrae exercise unit 40. the upper body holding unit 50, the exercise range adjustment unit

60, the counter exercise unit 70, and the load generator 80 is described along with their operations.

When waist exercises are performed utilizing the upper body, a waist exercise appliance of the present invention, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, is fabricated by employing the lower body holding unit 20, the exercise range adjustment unit 60 and the counter exercise unit 70. In this case, the lower body of a user is tightly held by the lower body holding unit 20, While the user sits on the seat 1, the foot support 26 and the knee holding bar 9 are used, along with the pelvis holder 24.

The user puts his feet on the foot support 26. The height and tilt angle of the foot support 26 can be adjusted by the rotation of the lower handle 229, and the horizontal position of the foot support 26 can be adjusted by the forward and rearward movement of the block 207 in accordance with the rotational directions of the belt 241 or threaded rod 206 using the upper handle 227. In addition, the knee holding bar 9 and the holder 27 of the pelvis holder 24 are forwardly downwardly moved by means of the links 221 by manually moving the actuating bar 220. as shown in Fig. 1, or by rotating the actuating bar 228 by means of the manipulation of the upper handle 227. When the rear end of the actuating bar 220 are upwardly moved and the front end of the actuating bar 220 is downwardly moved by moving forward the moving piece 228a by means of the rotation of the actuating bar 28 by the handle 227, as shown in Fig. 1, or by manipulating the pusher 230, as shown in Fig. 4, so the pelvis is tightly held by pushing the upper and lower portions of the pelvis at the same time with the holder 27 and the knee is tightly held by downwardly pushing the knee with the knee holding bar 9, thereby completely holding the feet, knee and pelvis of the lower body.

While the lower body is tightly held as described above, the range of exercises are adjusted in advance by the exercise range adjustment unit 60 that is situated to be moved in conjunction with the back frame 6 around the hinge 13. While the balance of mechanical load is established by the counter exercise unit 70 disposed in the forms of weights to be moved together around the hinge 13, waist exercises can be performed in active or passive drive manners utilizing the upper body.

In Fig. 5, there is shown an embodiment that is constructed by employing the lower body holding unit 20, the removal prevention unit 30, the cervical vertebrae exercise unit 40, construction for the coincidence of the center axis of exercises and the lumber vertebrae, and the counter exercise unit 70.

In such a case, the lower body holder 22 of the lower body holding unit 20 is comprised of the foot support 26 and the knee holding bar 9 that are moved in conjunction with each other. The foot support 26 is constructed to allow its height, tilt angle and horizontal position. The knee holding bar 9 tightly holds the knee by the conjunctive movement of the worm 226 and the worm gear 225 by means of the manipulation of the handle 258. The pelvis holder 24 allows the holders 27 to tightly hold the upper and lower portions of the pelvis by the operation of the support rod 1 la and a pushing lever 261. Additionally, the lower portion of the pelvis is firmly pushed from its rear direction by the pelvis support 28. The removal prevention unit 30 is mounted on the upper end of the back frame 6, so the force of the arm is not transmitted to the back frame 6 and waist exercises can be performed using the upper body. The cervical vertebrae exercise unit 40 is positioned, so the exercise of the cervical vertebrae can be performed when force is exerted on a head support 41 using the head while a user is seated. The hinge 13 of the back frame 6 is situated over the upper portion of the seat 1 to coincide with the lumbar vertebrae of a user. The hydraulic cylinder is employed as the load generator 8 moved in conjunction with the back frame 6. The counter exercise unit 70 in the form of a shock absorber is attached at its both ends to the operating shaft 15 moved in conjunction with the connecting link 14 hingedly connected to one side of the load generator 8 and the fixing bracket 18 of the cross rod 17, thereby balancing exercise load during extension exercises utilizing the back frame 6 and the load generator 8. In Figs. 13 and 16, there are illustrated embodiments in which waist exercises are performed using the lower body. The embodiments are constructed by employing the lower body holding unit 20, the upper body holding unit 50, construction for the coincidence of the center axis of exercises and the hip joints, the counter exercise unit 70, and the counter exercise unit 80. The lower body holding unit 20 is comprised of the foot support 26 and the knee holding bar 9 that are moved in conjunction with each other. The distance between the foot support 26 and the knee holding bar 9 is capable of being controlled according to the physique of a user. A user performs the extension and reflexion exercises of the waist by lifting up and lowering the knee holding bar using the feet and knee while the shoulder region of the upper body is fixed by the upper body holding unit 50 and the handles 4 are gripped. In such a case, the quantity of the exercise load, direction of the exercise and loading or unloading of the load generator 80 can be controlled, and the exercises can be performed while the balance of the exercises is established by the mounting of the counter exercise unit 70. In particular, since the position of the hip joints serve as the center axis of exercises, the central of rotational operation and the body harmonize with each other.

Of course, in the above-described embodiments, when the load generator 8 or 80 can be used so as to be operated actively or passively. In this case, a user can perform exercises utilizing exercise load generated by the load generator according to his own will, or perform exercises utilizing external drive force forcibly exerted by the handle lever 74 according to another intention, thereby strengthening the waist by the extension exercises of the waist region.

Industrial Applicability

As described above, the present invention provides a waist exercise appliance that is capable of allowing the lumbar muscles to be strengthened using the upper and lower bodies. While the waist region is exercised using the upper body, the lower body and the pelvis are tightly held by the lower body holding unit 20 constructed in accordance with the present invention. Differently from a conventional appliance, the upper and lower portions and the rear portion are distinguished from one another and tightly held in diagonal directions. While the waist region is exercised using the upper and lower bodies, the degrees of the bending and extension of the knee joint can be adjusted by the adjustment of the height, tilt angle and horizontal position of the foot support 26, and the quantity and range of the strengthening and rehabilitating of related muscles can be adjusted by the conjunctive movement of the knee holding bar 9 and foot support 26.

The force of the arms is not transmitted to the back frame 6 by the removal prevention unit 30 during extension exercises, so waist exercises can be performed only using the upper body. The central axis of the exercise is constructed to coincide with the lumbar vertebrae or hip joint, so the human body and the exercise appliance harmonize with and are moved in conjunction with each other. The angle range of exercises can be adjusted by the exercise range adjustment unit 60. External effects can be excluded from the pure exercise load force by the counter exercise unit 70.

In accordance with the present invention, the quantity and direction of load can be easily controlled, the structure of the load generator is simplified, the load generator is widely applied to a place where loading force is required, and the load generator is easily installed and utilized.

Claims

ClaimsWHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A waist exercise appliance for exercising, strengthening or rehabilitating the waist, in which a chair unit 7 is constructed by assembling all or some of a seat 1, two legs 3, a handle 4 and related frames 5 and 6, and exercises are conducted using the back frame 2 or a knee holding bar 9 operated in conjunction with a load generator 8, further comprising; a lower body holding unit 20 constructed to fix the lower body in front of the chair unit 7 or to be moved along with the lower body, the foot support 26 of said lower body holding unit 20 being constructed to allow its vertical position to be adjusted.

2. The appliance according to claim 1, wherein said lower body holding unit 20 is comprised of a lower body holder 22 for holding the lower body and a pelvis holder 24 for holding the pelvis, said lower body holder 22 being constructed to allow said foot support 26 and the knee holding bar 9 to be moved, said pelvis holder 24 being constructed to hold the upper and lower portions of the pelvis simultaneously or separately.

3. The appliance according to claim 2, wherein said pelvis holder 24 further comprises a pelvis support 28 situated on the rear portion of the seat 1 to be moved forward and rearward so as to tightly hold the rear portion of the pelvis.

4. The appliance according to claim 2, wherein said knee holding bar 9 of the lower body holder 22 and the holder bodies 27 of the pelvis holder 24 are attached to an actuating bar 27 to be operated in conjunction with each other, the holder bodies 27 are constructed to allow their positions to be adjusted, and the actuating bar 220 is constructed to be moved forward and rearward by means of the links 221, so that when the rear portion of the actuating bar 220 is lifted up around a hinge 231 , the holder bodies 27 situated on the front portion of the actuating bar 220 are moved down and the holder bodies 27 push the upper and lower portions at the same time, thereby tightly holding the pelvis.

5. The appliance according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the upper and lower holder bodies 27 of said pelvis holder 24 are separately positioned, the holder bodies 27 fitted around holding belts 231 and 252 attached to both sides of a pelvis holding rod 11 a are hingedly attached to one side of a holding frame 11 , and the lower portion of the pelvis holding rod 11a is hingedly held by the slot 263 of a pressurizing lever 261, so that when the pressurizing lever 261 is pulled up, the pelvis holding rod 1 la is rotated downwardly around a hinge 265, thereby allowing the holder bodies 27 to tightly hold the upper and lower portions of the pelvis in diagonal directions.

6. The appliance according to claim 1, wherein said lower body holding unit 20 is comprised of a foot support 26 and a knee holding bar 9 that allow their heights to be adjusted and are moved in conjunction with each other, said knee holding bar 9 allowing its height to be adjusted along with that of the knee holding bar 9 so as to be reflected further around the hip joint.

7. The appliance according to claim 1, wherein said back frame 6 is mounted to be moved in conjunction with a load generator 8 through a hinge 13 and a removal prevention unit 30 is positioned on the upper end of the back frame 6 to prevent removal from an exercise direction.

8. The appliance according to claim 1, further comprising an upper body holding unit 50 mounted to the upper end of the back frame 6 to hold the shoulder region of the upper body, wherein said upper body holder 51 provided with two handles 4 is attached to the upper end of the back frame 6 through a hinge 32, and a locking device 52 is provided in the vicinity of the hinge 32 to keep the upper body holder 51 open or closed.

9. The appliance according to claim 1 , wherein said knee holding bar 9 is constructed to coincide with the hip joint directly or through a conjunctive member.

10. The appliance according to claim 1, 2, 4, 6 or 9, further comprising an exercise range adjustment unit 60 mounted on the central axis of the exercise of the back frame 6 or knee holding bar 9 and a portion moved in conjunction with these parts so as to adjust the range of exercises during extension or flexion exercises.

11. The appliance according to claim 1, 2, 4, 6 or 9, further comprising a passive drive unit, together with the load generator, said passive drive unit being mounted to the back frame 6 or knee holding bar 9 so as to selectively perform active exercises and passive exercises.

12. The appliance according to claim 1, 2, 4, 6 and 9, further comprising a counter exercise unit 70 positioned opposite to a movement frame that is moved in conjunction with the back frame 6 or knee holding bar 9 situated to be moved in conjunction with the load generator 8.

13. A load generator, comprising a control unit 86, said control unit 86 being constructed in such a way that an annular space 84 is provided in a casing 81 and 82 around its central shaft 83 to accommodate working fluid, a vane 85 having the same shape as the cross section of the annular space 84 is positioned in the annular space 84 to be operated in conjunction with the central shaft 83, and a working fluid adjustor 86 is situated in a portion of the annular space 84 to adjust the direction and amount of working fluid.

14. The load generator according to claim 13, further comprising a fluid load adjustor 87 formed to communicate with the annular space 84 so as to adjust load by varying an internal volume.