EP1958670A1

EP1958670A1 - Gymnastic machine

Info

Publication number: EP1958670A1
Application number: EP08151449A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Simone Casagrande; Antonio Cascini
Original assignee: Technogym SpA
Current assignee: Technogym SpA
Priority date: 2007-02-16
Filing date: 2008-02-14
Publication date: 2008-08-20
Also published as: US20080207404A1; ITRA20070011A1

Abstract

Gymnastic machine (1) comprising a frame (10), a first exercise station (20) carried by the frame and provided with a load group (30), at least an interface (40) connected to the frame (10) in a given manner to be operatable inside a first working volume (WS1) against the resistance of the load group (30) in order to subject a given respective body region (B) to a gymnastic exercise; a second exercise station (50) being carried by the frame (10) in association with the first station (20), provided with at least a resistant member (60) coupled to the frame (10); said second station (50) identifying a second working volume (WS2), inside which each resistant member (60) is usable to subject the same body region (B) to muscle warm up and/or cool down exercises before or after the gymnastic exercise.

Description

The present invention relates to a gymnastic machine for training at least a given body region. In particular, the present invention relates to a gymnastic machine for training at least a given body region and for preventing traumas to this body region.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

In the field of the so-called isotonic gymnastic machine it is well known to provide the working volume inside which a user interacts with gymnastic implements for training given body regions. Normally, the user approaches these gymnastic machines after having performed warm up exercises so as to reduce the risks of traumas to muscles or articulations. Normally, these activities are performed on the floor or using fixed implements such as wall bars, and those users most attentive to accident prevention are accustomed to accompanying cooling down of the muscles involved in the training exercise with a low impact activity substantially identical to that of the warm-up, thus interacting with the same implements described above, or by performing floor exercises.
In any case, each user who wishes to minimise the risk of injuries must alternately move from the fitness room with the machines to the room in which the muscle stretching floor exercises are performed and/or, alternatively to the room equipped with fixed abutments, such as the wall bars, which must be used each time one's muscles require to be prepared for the subsequent exercise and/or at the end of each exercise.
It is apparent that those wishing to carry out a training session on isotonic machines stressing different muscle regions should alternate the exercises on the machines with warm up and cool down pauses which must necessarily be performed by moving out of the room equipped with the machines. The need to reduce the times of training sessions, which is now a requirement for the majority of users, frequently causes them to forego the initial warm up and after training cool down exercises, with the consequence that the risk of injuries increases considerably.
In view of the above description, this situation seems susceptible to improvement; furthermore, the problem of avoiding traumas from torn muscles or articulations together with the problem of the lack of time available to frequent the gyms represents an interesting challenge for the applicant, which has taken action in order to make the gymnastic machines of the isotonic type more safe and usable in particularly fast training sessions.
Besides the problem of the need to reduce the time of training it should be specified that not all gyms have sufficient space available to set up rooms for floor exercises and more in general for muscle stretching; furthermore, even if this space is available, there is the tendency to minimise the extension to saturate the available space with machines.
In view of the above description, it would be desirable to have available a gymnastic machine which, in addition to enabling to limit and possibly to overcome the typical drawbacks of the art illustrated above, could define a new standard for the gymnastic machines of the isotonic type, and therefore both of the type that uses the so-called weight stack, and of the type with free weights, also called plate loaded.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The present invention relates to a gymnastic machine for training at least a given body region. In particular, the present invention relates to a gymnastic machine for training at least a given body region and for preventing traumas to this body region.
The object of the present invention is to provide a gymnastic machine which allows the disadvantages described above to be solved, and which is suitable to satisfy a plurality of requirements that to date have still not been addressed, and therefore, suitable to represent a new and original source of economic interest and capable of modifying the current market of gymnastic machines.
According to the present invention a gymnastic machine is provided, whose main characteristics are described in at least one of the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further characteristics and advantages of the gymnastic machine according to the present invention will be more apparent from the description below, set forth with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate at least one non-limiting example of embodiment, in which identical or corresponding parts of the device are identified by the same reference numbers. In particular:

figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of a gymnastic machine according to the present invention;
figure 2 is a side elevation view of figure 1 with some parts removed for the sake of clarity;
figure 3 is a side elevation view of a variant of figure 1 in a first operating condition; and
figure 4 illustrates figure 2 in a second operating condition with some parts removed for the sake of clarity.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

In figure 1, number 1 indicates, in its entirety, a gymnastic machine 1 comprising a frame 10, a first exercise station 20 carried by the frame 10 and provided with a load group 30, at least an interface 40 connected to the frame 10 in a given manner to be operatable inside a first working volume WS1 of the first station 20 against the resistance of the load group 30 by a user in order to subject a given respective body region B to a gymnastic exercise.
Each interface 40 comprises at least an implement 42 carried by a lever 44 pivoted to the frame 10 and mechanically connected to the load group 30; each implement 42 is shaped to allow the body region B to exchange energy with the load group 30 by means of the lever 44 inside the first working volume WS1. Again with reference to figure 1, the machine 1 comprises an exercise station 50 carried by the frame 10 in association with the first station 20. This station 50 comprises at least a resistant member 60 coupled to the frame 10, and identifies a second working volume WS2, inside which each resistant member 60 is usable to subject the same body region B to stretching exercises to be performed before or after the above-mentioned gymnastic exercise.
It should be noted that the choice of illustrating the present invention in combination with a chest press of the plate loaded type, therefore a machine for training the pectoral muscles, is justified exclusively by a criterion of design practicality and simplicity, and by the fact that, as it will be better understood in the continuation of the present description, each gymnastic machine can be modified to combine the training and the warm up and cool down activities to overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks.
Again with reference to figure 1, each resistant member 60 comprises at least a flexible member 62 suitable to react with tractive forces applied to the frame 10 through the body region B in a substantially elastic manner. Again with reference to figure 1, the first station 20 comprises the seat 14 and is located in front of a backrest 16, and the respective working volume WS1 is delimited ideally by the arms 11 carrying the levers 44. Each flexible body 62 is coupled to the frame 10 on the side of the backrest 16, in correspondence of a portion of the frame 10 by means of a pair of brackets 12, both carried by the frame 10 at opposite sides of the seat 14 and designed to couple with head portions 66 through respective end portions 80 and further brackets 18 carried at the bottom by a crossbeam 41 supporting the levers 42. It is well understood that, for the particular arrangement of the flexible bodies 62 visible in figure 1, the working volumes WS1 and WS2 can coincide as it occurs, for instance, in figure 3. Furthermore, thanks to the elastic nature of each flexible body 62, and to the particular arrangement of the brackets 12, it is possible to perform stretching of the pectoral muscles, which are exactly the same as those used by actuating the levers 42, engaging either the first station 20 or the second station 50, which, according to this interpretation, present the respective first and second working volumes WS1 and WS2 side by side with each other.
Each flexible body 62 comprises an elongated body 64 longitudinally delimited by head portions 66, each of which is usable to be coupled stably to a bracket 12, which presents adequate hooking members 80.
The use of the gymnastic machine 1, and the use of the resistant members 60, are easily understood from the description above and require no further explanations.
However, with particular reference to figure 2, it could be advisable to specify that, thanks to the particular conformation of the flexible bodies 62 and to the particular installation mode implemented by means of the brackets 12 positioned laterally to the backrest 16, each flexible body 62 can be used by a user either when he/she is supported by the seat 14, or when his/her back faces the levers 42 and therefore he/she remains at the rear of the backrest 16. Therefore, it is possible to state that in this case the second exercise station 50 is positioned at the rear of the first exercise station 20, and thus that the second working volume WS2 is arranged side by side with and at the rear of the first working volume WS1 and therefore substantially opposite; in this particular case, this result was obtained by making some relatively insignificant modifications to the structure of the machine 1.
Lastly, it is apparent that modifications and variants can be made to the gymnastic machine 1, and to the respective resistant bodies 60, without however departing from the protective scope of the present invention.
For example, with reference to figures 3 and 4, a variant of figure 1 is illustrated, showing in particular how it is possible to set up a so-called low row machine in order to allow both the execution of training exercises and the execution of warm up and/or cool down exercises.
In particular, with reference to figure 3 this side view allows viewing of the particular positioning of a flexible body 62 in the idle position while a user employs the levers 42 supported by the seat 14 and resting against an abutment for the breastbone, which for the sake of convenience will be indicated with the same number 16 with which the backrest is indicated in the version described above. Furthermore, in figure 3 it can be seen how the same user can use the flexible member 62 to perform a stretching exercise, just as a user who is positioned at the rear of the machine 1 could use it and just as it could be used from the station 50 when this is positioned side by side with the station 20 through the symbols used to illustrate the directions of travel that orthogonal to the plane of figure 4 and penetrate and/or exit from this plane.
At this point, it should be specified that through the gymnastic machine 1 it is possible to carry out a training method, which comprises a phase of training the body region B by using at least an implement 42 in a time subsequent to or preceding a phase of using at least a flexible body 62 inside the same working volume in which each implement can be used, or in an working volume side by side with or positioned at the rear, thus always remaining in the neighbourhood of the same machine 1.
It is well understood that the installation of at least a resistant member 60 by means of a pair of brackets 12 represents an effective and economical solution to the problem of minimising the times necessary for completing a training session with the isotonic machines and of making the gymnastic machines of the isotonic type more safe and usable in particularly fast training sessions, without forgetting the need to saturate with machines the space available in gyms.

Claims

Gymnastic machine (1) comprising a frame (10), a first exercise station (20) carried by said frame and provided with load means (30), at least an interface (40) connected to said frame (10) in a given manner to be operatable by a user inside a first working volume (WS1) against the resistance of said load means (30) in order to subject a given respective body region (B) to a gymnastic exercise; characterised by comprising a second exercise station (50) carried by said frame (10) in association to said first station (20); said second station (50) being provided with resistant means (60) coupled to said frame (10) and engaging a second working volume (WS2), inside which said resistant means (60) are usable to subject said same body region (B) to warm up and/or cool down exercises before or after the gymnastic training.
Machine according to claim 1, characterised in that said second station (50) is positioned with respect to said first exercise station (20) in such a way that said first working volume (WS1) coincides with said second working volume (WS2).
A machine according to claim 1, characterised in that said second station (50) is positioned with respect to said first exercise station (20) in such a way that said first working volume (WS1) is positioned side by side with said second working volume (WS2).
A machine according to claim 1, characterised in that said second station (50) is positioned with respect to said first exercise station (20) in such a way that said first working volume (WS1) is placed opposite to said second working volume (WS2).
A machine according to any one of claims 2-4, characterised in that each interface (40) comprises at least an implement (42) carried by a lever (44) pivoted to said frame (10) and mechanically connected to said load means (30); each said implement (42) being usable by said body region (B) to exchange energy with said load means (30) through said lever (44); said resistant means (60) comprising at least a flexible member (62) suitable to react in a substantially elastic manner to tractive forces applied for warming up or cooling down said same body region (B).
A machine according to claim 5, characterised in that each flexible body (62) is coupled to said frame (10) in correspondence of a portion positioned at the rear of said corresponding implement (42).
A machine according to claim 5, characterised in that each flexible body (62) is coupled to said frame (10) in correspondence of a portion positioned laterally to said corresponding implement (42).
A machine according to any one of claims 6 or 7, characterised in that said flexible body (62) comprises an elongated body (64) longitudinally delimited by head portions (66) usable to be coupled stably to said frame (10).
A machine according to claim 8, characterised in that said frame (10) comprises at least a bracket (12) (14) provided with hooking means (80) for hooking each said head portion (66).
Training method to be implemented by means of a gymnastic machine similar to the gymnastic machine (1) described with reference to the preceding claims, characterised by comprising a phase of training said body region (B) by using at least a said implement (42) in a time subsequent to or preceding a phase of using at least a said flexible body (62), remaining constantly in the neighbourhood of the same machine 1.