EP1633449A1

EP1633449A1 - Exercise device

Info

Publication number: EP1633449A1
Application number: EP04734018A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Johan Adolf BYSTRÖM
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2003-05-22
Filing date: 2004-05-19
Publication date: 2006-03-15
Also published as: WO2004103486A1; US20070167298A1; SE523834C2; AU2004241892A1; CA2526535A1; SE0301502L; SE0301502D0

Abstract

The present invention relates to an exercise device comprising an elongated body (2) intended to be rotated by a user about its longitudinal axis, the elongated body (2) being provided with two handles (4a, 4b) arranged at a distance from each other, which handles (4a, 4b) are arranged to surround the elongated body (2) along a respective part thereof and to extend essentially co-axially with the longitudinal axis of the elongated body. The elongated body (2) is at a central part (6) located between the two handles (4a, 4b) provided with an attachment (7), to which a flexible and elongated traction transferring element (8), such as a rope, a cord, a chain, a band or the like, is attached or intended to be attached so as to make possible suspension of a weight on the elongated body (2) via said traction transferring element (8), said central part (6) being designed to receive the traction transferring element (8) when this is wound about the elongated body (2) during a rotation thereof.

Description

An exercise device

FIELD OF THE INVENTION AND PRIOR ART

The present invention relates to an exercise device for strengthening the musculature and the movability in certain body parts, such as for instance in the shoulder-joints, upper arms, fore- arms, wrists and fingers.

In today's society, where a large part of the population has sedentary and/or physically hard works, it is important to perform different types of physical exercise so as to thereby keep the body in trim and avoid musculo-skeletal damages in muscles and joints. Different types of more or less complicated exercise devices have throughout the years been developed and used in order to facilitate for a user to strengthen and maintain the muscular strength and the movability in different body parts. Some of these exercise devices are heavy and bulky and are therefore normally only available in particular training premises, while other exercise devices are small and easily movable and therefore may be available at an arbitrary place, for instance at home. An advantage with the last-mentioned type of exercise device is that the good availability gives very good possibilities for frequent training sessions. OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to achieve a simple and efficient exercise device, by means of which a user may strengthen and maintain the strength and movability in some of the muscles and joints of the body.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention, said object is achieved by means of an exercise device having the features indicated in claim 1 .

With a weight suspended on the elongated body, for instance via a rope, the inventive exercise device can be used for strengthening and maintaining the muscular strength and movability in the shoulder-joints, the upper arms, the forearms, the wrists and the fingers in that the user grips the two handles with his hands and rotates the elongated body about its longitudinal axis so that the weight is lifted upwards towards the elongated body with the rope being wound about it. Also when the user lowers the weight by allowing the elongated body to rotate about its longitudinal axis in the opposite direction, while the rope is unwound from the elongated body, an exercise effect is obtained. By gripping the handles in different manners, different muscular groups may be exercised. The user may for instance grip both handles from above, i.e. with the palms turned downwards, grip both handles from below, i.e. with the palms turned upwards, or grip one handle from above and the other handle from below. The last-mentioned grip, with one hand gripping from above about one handle and the other hand gripping from below about the other handle, will give an efficient exercise for instance for ice-hockey players, since this grip resembles the hold of an ice-hockey stick, i.e. the grip an ice-hockey player is using for holding his ice-hockey stick. The exercise may also be varied by holding the exercise device either in front of or behind the back while rotating the elongated body by the hands with any of the mentioned grips about the handles. The inventive exercise device is very suitable for persons who have had a stroke or heart trouble, since these persons often loose the strength and the power in the above-mentioned body parts. The inventive exercise device can be given relatively small dimensions, in its most simple design the elongated body has the form of a relatively short rod, and may therefore easily be transported and stored. The inventive exercise device may furthermore be manufactured at low cost.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the handles have a polygonal cross-sectional shape with at least five edges. With this design of the handles, a massage effect is achieved in the hand and the fingers when the elongated body is rotated by hand, particularly when a weight that is suspended in the traction transferring element and lifted towards the elongated body is lowered while the traction transferring element is unwound from the elongated body and the elongated body is rotated in relation to the hands,, which inter alia gives a better blood flow in the hands and the arms. The increased blood flow will inter alia result in that the exercising capacity of the user is increased. An exercise device according to this embodiment is also very useful for zone therapy. The elongated body may for instance be placed on the floor or another support and rotated with the underside of the feet. In the last-mentioned case the user is able to keep control of the elongated body by holding the traction transferring element with the hands during the rotation of the elongated body by the feet. The traction transferring ele- ment will inter alia facilitate for a disabled person to keep control of the elongated body and draw it towards himself when so needed without having to bend down when the elongated body is rotated with the aid of the feet.

According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the handles have an octagonal cross-sectional shape. This cross- sectional shape has turned out to have a very efficient massage effect on the hands and the fingers when the elongated body is rotated by hand on the soles of the feet when the elongated body is rotated by the feet.

According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the exercise device is characterized in that the elongated body has two opposite ends provided with cavities, which cavities are accessible via an opening arranged in the respective end of the elongated body, and in that the exercise device comprises a set of weights, the weights in said set being designed to be insert- able into said cavities via the respective cavity opening. By varying the number of weights in said cavities, it will be possible to vary the mass of the elongated body and thereby the exer- cising effect. A person who has only low strength in the hands and the arms may use the exercise device without any weights in the cavities of the elongated body and also without any weight suspended on the elongated body via the traction transferring element. A stronger person may increase the load and thereby the exercising effect by having a desired number of weights in said cavities and also a weight of a suitable mass suspended in the traction transferring element.

According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, a cavity is arranged inside the elongated body under the respective handle, the respective handle being provided with air holes extending from the periphery of the handle and into the underlying cavity. These air holes will give an improved ventilation of the palms when the handles are gripped with the hands and will also assist in drawing off sweat, whereby the grip is improved.

According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the attachment for the traction transferring element comprises a hole extending through the central part of the elongated body, which hole extends in the cross-direction of the elongated body and through which hole the traction transferring element extends or is intended to extend. Hereby, it will in a simple manner be possible to attach the traction transferring element to the elongated body at the same time as the traction transferring element is prevented from slipping in relation to said central part when the elongated body is rotated.

According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, said hole debouches at one of its ends in a depression arranged in the central part, whereby for instance a knot or pin that keeps the traction transferring element attached to said central part can be depressed in relation to the adjacent portion of the central part, so that the traction transferring element will not get caught on the knot/pin when the traction transferring element is wound onto or unwound from the central part in connection with a rotation of the elongated body.

According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the central part of the elongated body has a concave shape as seen in a longitudinal section through the elongated body. Hereby, the traction transferring element may be wound about the central part of the elongated body without arriving outside the periphery of the handles as seen in radial direction. This is particularly favourable when the elongated body rests on a support and is rotated by the feet.

According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the respective handle is on its periphery provided with several magnetic elements. Hereby, the exercise device will have a magnetic therapeutic function.

Further preferred embodiments of the inventive exercise device will appear from the dependent claims and the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will in the following be more closely described by means of embodiment examples, with reference to the appended drawings. It is shown in:

Fig 1 a perspective view of an inventive exercise device according to a first embodiment,

Fig 2 a partially cut lateral view of the exercise device according to Fig 1 ,

Fig 3 a cross-section through one of the handles of the exercise device according to Figs 1 and 2,

Fig 4 a perspective view of an inventive exercise device according to a second embodiment, and

Fig 5 a cross-section through one of the handles of the exer- cise device according to Fig 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Two different embodiments of an exercise device 1 according to the present invention are illustrated in Figs 1 and 4. In both embodiments, the exercise device 1 comprises an elongated body 2 intended to be rotated about its longitudinal axis 3 by a user, for instance by the hands or the feet. The elongated body 2 is here rod-shaped, which is to be preferred. The elongated body 2 is provided with two handles 4a, 4b arranged at a distance from each other, which are arranged to surround the elongated body 2 along a respective part thereof and to extend essentially co- axially with the longitudinal axis 3 of the elongated body. In the illustrated embodiments, the handles 4a, 4b are arranged at two opposite ends 5a, 5b of the elongated body. The elongated body 2 is at a central part 6 located between the two handles 4a, 4b provided with an attachment 7, to which a flexible and elongated traction transferring element 8, such as a rope, a cord, a chain, a band or the like is attached or intended to be attached so as to make possible suspension of a weight 9 on the elongated body 2. The traction transferring element 8 is suitable provided with a fastening member 10, such as a snap hook or the like, so as to make possible a releasable attachment of a weight to the traction transferring element. In the illustrated embodiment, the exercise device 1 is provided with a traction transferring element in the form of a rope 8, which at one of its ends is attached to said central part 6 via the attachment 7 and at its other end is attached to a weight 9 via a snap hook 10. Said central part 6 is designed to receive the traction transferring element 8 when this is wound about the elongated body 2 during a rotation thereof.

In the embodiments illustrated in Figs, 1 , 2 and 4, the attachment 7 for the traction transferring element 8 comprises a hole 1 1 extending through the central part 6 of the elongated body 2, which hole 1 1 extends in the cross-direction of the longitudinal body and through which hole 1 1 the traction transferring element 8 extends or is intended to extend. In the illustrated embodiments, a pin or peg 12 is, for instance by means of a knot, attached to the end of the traction transferring element 8 that is drawn through the hole 1 1 . This pin/peg 12 rests against a stop 13 arranged in connection with the hole 1 1 and will thereby maintain the end of the traction transferring element 8 in the hole 1 1 , said pin/peg could be replaced by a knot arranged at the end of the traction transferring element 8, which knot has a larger diameter than the diameter of the hole 1 1 . Said stop 13 is suitably depressed in the central part 6 as illustrated in Figs 1 , 2 and 4. In the last-mentioned case, the hole 1 1 consequently debouches at one of its ends in a depression 14 arranged in the central part.

Said central part should be arranged half-way between the two handles 4a, 4b. As mentioned above, the central part 6 is de- signed to receive the traction transferring element 8 when this is wound about the elongated body 2 during a rotation thereof. The central part 6 suitably has a depression 15, i.e. an area that is depressed in relation to the adjacent portion of the elongated body 2. The traction transferring element 8 is consequently intended to be received, i.e. wound, in this depression 15. Said depression 15 may for instance be achieved in that the central part 6 has a concave shape as seen in a longitudinal section through the elongated body. In the embodiment illustrated in Fig 1 , the central part 6 has such a concavely shaped depression in a limited area half-way between the two handles 4a, 4b, whereas the elongated body 2 ih the embodiment illustrated in Fig 4 has a concavely shaped central part 6 extending the whole way between the two handles 4a, 4b.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figs 1 -3, the two handles 4a, 4b have a polygonal cross-sectional shape. The handles here have eight sides, i.e. the handles have an octagonal cross-sectional shape, but the number of sides could also be more as well as fewer than eight, however at least five.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figs 4 and 5, the two handles 4a, 4b have a round cross-sectional shape.

In the illustrated embodiments, the elongated body 2 has two opposite ends 5a, 5b provided with cavities 16, which cavities 16 are accessible via an opening 17 arranged in the respective end 5a, 5b of the elongated body. These cavities 16 extend in the longitudinal direction of the elongated body. The respective opening 17 is suitably closed by means of a closing member 18, in the form of a cap or the like. In this case, the exercise device comprises a set of weights 19, the weights 19 in said set being designed to be insertable into said cavities 16 via the respective cavity opening 17. The cavities 16 and the weights included in said set of weights 19 are suitably so designed that the respective cavity 16 has room for two or more individual weights, whereby the total mass of the elongated body 2 may be varied by varying the number of weights 19 in the cavities 16. In Fig 2 it is illustrated how six weights 19 have been arranged in one of the cavities 16. Said set of weights 19 could also comprise weights having mutually different mass, whereby the total mass of the elongated body 2 also can be varied by varying the mass of the weights 19 inserted into the cavities 16. It is of course also possible to use the exercise device 1 without any weights 19 in the cavities 16. The respective cavity 16 is suitably arranged to extend under one of the handles 4a, 4b, in which case the respective handle 4a, 4b with advantage is provided with air holes 20 extending from the periphery of the handle and into the underlying cavity 16. These air holes 20 are illustrated with broken lines in Figs 3 and 5.

The respective handle 4a, 4b is with advantage provided with several magnetic elements 21 on its periphery, which magnetic elements 21 are distributed over the surface of the handle. Hereby, the inventive exercise device 1 may also be used for magnetic therapy. The magnetic elements 21 may be releasably attached to the handles 4a, 4b. The magnetic elements 21 may have the form of small magnetic plates that are embedded in the handles 4a, 4b or attached to the external surface of the handles, or be arranged to protrude from the external surface of the handles. In the latter case, the magnetic elements 21 may consists of small magnetic spheres, semi-spheres or the like. The respective handle 4a, 4b may also be provided with several nonmagnetic elements protruding from the periphery of the handle, for instance in the form of spheres, semi-spheres or the like. The protruding elements 21 contribute to a massage effect on the hands or the feet during rotation of the elongated body 2.

The weight 9 that is suspended or intended to be suspended in the traction transferring element 8 is suitably provided with a surrounding protection of elastic material, such as for instance rubber, so as to prevent damages to an underlayer, for instance in the form of a floor, when the weight 9 is lowered.

The elongated body 2 may for instance be manufactured by wood, plastic or metal.

The invention is of course not in any way restricted to the preferred embodiments described above. On the contrary, many possibilities to modifications thereof should be apparent to a person skilled in the art without departing from the basic idea of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1 . An exercise device, characterized in that it comprises an elongated body (2) intended to be rotated by a user about its longitudinal axis, the elongated body (2) being provided with two handles (4a, 4b) arranged at a distance from each other, which handles (4a, 4b) are arranged to surround the elongated body (2) along a respective part thereof and to extend essentially co- axially with the longitudinal axis of the elongated body, and that the elongated body (2) at a central part (6) located between the two handles (4a, 4b) is provided with an attachment (7), to which a flexible and elongated traction transferring element (8), such as a rope, a cord, a chain, a band or the like, is attached or intended to be attached so as to make possible suspension of a weight on the elongated body (2) via said traction transferring element (8), said central part (6) being designed to receive the traction transferring element (8) when this is wound about the elongated body (2) during a rotation thereof.

2. An exercise device according to claim 1 , characterized in that the handles (4a, 4b) have a polygonal cross-sectional shape with at least five edges.

3. An exercise device according to claim 2, characterized in that the handles (4a, 4b) have an octagonal cross-sectional shape.

4. An exercise device according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the elongated body (2) has two opposite ends (5a, 5b) provided with cavities (16), which cavities (16) are accessible via an opening (17) arranged in the respective end (5a, 5b) of the elongated body, and that the exercise device comprises a set of weights (19), the weights (19) in said set being designed to be insertable into said cavities (16) via the re- spective cavity opening (17).

5. An exercise device according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that a cavity (16) is arranged inside the elongated body (2) under the respective handle (4a, 4b), and that the respective handle (4a, 4b) is provided with air holes (20) ex- tending from the periphery of the handle and into the underlying cavity (16).

6. An exercise device according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the handles (4a, 4b) are arranged at the ends (5a, 5b) of the elongated body (2).

7. An exercise device according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the elongated body (2) is rod-shaped.

8. An exercise device according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the attachment (7) for the traction transferring element (8) comprises a hole (1 1 ) extending through the central part (6) of the elongated body (2), which hole (1 1 ) extends in the cross-direction of the elongated body and through which hole (1 1 ) the traction transferring element (8) extends or is intended to extend.

9. An exercise device according to claim 8, characterized in that the hole (1 1 ) at one of its ends debouches in a depression (14) arranged in the central part.

10. An exercise device according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the central part (6) of the elongated body (2) has a concave shape as seen in a longitudinal section through the elongated body.

1 1 . An exercise device according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the respective handle (4a, 4b) on its periphery is provided with several magnetic elements (21 ).

12. An exercise device according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the respective handle (4a, 4b) on its periphery is provided with several protruding elements (21 ).