US20070265148A1

US20070265148A1 - Pneumatic-aided fitness equipment

Info

Publication number: US20070265148A1
Application number: US11/433,746
Authority: US
Inventors: Richard Lin
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-05-15
Filing date: 2006-05-15
Publication date: 2007-11-15

Abstract

The structure of pneumatic aided fitness equipment includes a combined piston base at the piston made by the protruding tube of the second handle, which includes a protruding column and a piston, and the protruding column can be inserted and secured into to the protruding tube of the second handle. The piston can be slid inside the horizontal tube of the first handle. A limiting clamping ring includes a clamping part and a retracting hole, the limit clamping ring being positioned at an end opening of a horizontal tube of the first handle. The retracting hole is used for said protruding tube of the second handle, and a round edge is formed around the retracting hole to block the piston of the combined piston base. By so doing, the position of the piston of the second handle is more secure, durable and practical.

Description

RELATED U.S. APPLICATIONS

Not applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

REFERENCE TO MICROFICHE APPENDIX

Not applicable.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to an improved structure of pneumatic-aided fitness equipment, and more particularly to fitness equipment which has handle or pushing part, such as a handgrip or leg press.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The fitness equipment of the present invention has a pneumatic aid, and the structure of the fitness equipment must have a handle or pushing part, such as a handgrip and leg press. For example, there is a conventional structure of the handgrip, the handgrip being fitness equipment that trains hands to control the muscle force. The conventional handgrips have pneumatic structures in an H-shape, and each handgrip is comprised of a first handle and second handle. The place where two handles connect has a piston inside the structure of a hollow tube. With the support of the ring, the place between the two handles can be pushed in and out. The opening and closing movement generated inside the air chamber between the inside of the piston mentioned before and the inner wall of the hollow tube form the pneumatic aided resistance. The piston placed inside the handle of the handgrip mentioned above expands at the horizontal end of the handle; therefore, when it is placed inside the hollow tube of another handle, the end opening of the hollow tube must be positioned to limit the piston from coming off. The conventional positioning structure must have two semi-circular components combined at the end opening of the hollow tube, because the positioning structure cannot be fitted from the expanded piston. The space between the two semi-circular components and the end opening of the hollow tube is usually glued by paste. Therefore, when the handgrip is used later and when the two handles are making relative exercises, its piston will create impact on the positioning component. Thus, the area, where the positioning structure made by the two semi-circular components, is separated because of the impact, the glue between the two semi-circular components and the end of opening is not sticky because of the combining area is narrow. The biggest problem of the handgrip is that the structure of the piston positioning is not stable and is easy to be loosened and damaged, shortening the life span of the handgrip and not meeting the demand of users.
Thus, to overcome the aforementioned problems of the prior art, it would be an advancement in the art to provide an improved structure that can significantly improve the efficacy.
To this end, the inventor has provided the present invention of practicability after deliberate design and evaluation based on years of experience in the production, development and design of related products.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The improved fact of the present invention is described as follows:
The present invention mainly uses the combined piston base 30 where the piston made by the protruding tube 21 of the second handle 20, and the protruding column 31 of the combined piston base 30 can be inserted into the horizontal tube 12 of the first handle 31 and secured. Because of area between the protruding column 31 and protruding tube 20 is larger, and if the space between them is glued with paste, the piston base may be more durable. Moreover, a limit clamping ring 40 is used to lock to the end opening 120 of the horizontal tube 12 of the first handle 10. The limit clamping ring 40 can be secured by screwing to block the combined piston base 30 and endure the frequent impact of the combined piston base 30. By so doing, compared to the conventional structure, the piston of the second handle may be positioned more securely and more durable.
The new effects of the present invention is described as follows:
1. The present invention uses a directional ring 80 placed on the end opening 120 of the horizontal tube 12 of the first handle 10. The directional ring 80 has several protruding blocks 81 spaced through out the surface of the end opening 120 of the horizontal tube 12, so that the end opening 120 of the horizontal tube 12 has several concave slots 121 spaced through out the surface for the protruding blocks 81 mentioned above to position. The concave edge 82 is placed inside the directional ring 80, so that the protruding tube 22 of the second handle 20 coordinates the protruding plate 221 extending in an axial direction corresponding to the concave edge 82. By so doing, the protruding tube 22 of the second handle 20 and the combined piston base 30 receive a fixed directional effect when the horizontal tube 12 of the first handle 10 is sliding, such that the second handle 12 will not turn.
2. The present invention uses the design of the pressure regulating groove 60 and knob 70 to seal or separate the through air hole 64 of the pressure regulating groove 60 by tightening the knob 70 down or loosening it up. By so doing, the levels of the air pressure resistance are adjusted to meet the user's demand.
3. The embodiment of the present invention disclosed in FIG. 9 uses the vertical press bar 103B of the two press handles 101 102 to make the concave inward. Its application can be used on the leg press between the legs, which is fitness equipment for legs.
Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an assembled perspective view of the present invention.
FIG. 2 shows an exploded perspective view of the present invention.
FIG. 3 shows an exploded perspective view of the partial structure of the present invention.
FIG. 4 shows a sectional view of the present invention.
FIG. 5 shows a sectional view of the partial structure of the present invention.
FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of another embodiment of the pressure regulating groove and knob of the present invention.
FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 shows a sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 shows an elevation view of another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 10 shows an elevation view of the operation of the structure disclosed in FIG. 9.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The features and the advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood upon a thoughtful deliberation of the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.
As shown in FIGS. 1-4, there is an improved structure of pneumatic-aided fitness equipment. The detailed description of the present invention is based on a typical preferred embodiment, placing no restriction on present invention except as claimed. The preferred embodiment of the pneumatic-aided fitness equipment is a fitness grip A.
The invention includes a first handle 10, which is in a T-shape with a vertical tube 11 and a horizontal tube 12. A grip surface 13 is placed on the outside of the vertical tube 11 for people's fingers to grip. The grip surface 13 can be shaped like waves for people to grab it tightly, and the horizontal tube 12 protrudes out in the middle of the vertical tube 11.
A second handle 20 has a vertical press bar 21 for people's hands to press. A protruding tube 22 extends into the inside of the press bar 21, and the protruding tube 22 can be inserted into the horizontal tube 12 of the first handle 10. After the first and second handle 10 20 are combined, they are shaped into a handgrip with a H-shape.
A combined piston base 30 includes a protruding part 31 and a piston 32. The protruding part 31 is placed inside the protruding tube 22 of the second handle 20, and the area between the second handle 20 and the protruding tube 22 can be glued together by paste. The piston 32 can be placed inside the horizontal tube 2 of the first handle 10. An annular groove 33 is placed on the piston part 32 to make an O-ring 34, so that it is sealed air tight between the inner wall of the horizontal tube 12 and an air compression space 35 formed between the surface of the piston 32 and the horizontal tube 12 of the first handle 10.
A limit clamping ring 40 includes a clamping part 41 and a retracting hole 42. The limit clamping ring 40 can be positioned at the end opening 14 of the horizontal tube 12 of the first handle 10 by the clamping part 41. The retracting hole 42 is placed for the protruding tube 22 of the second handle 20 to go through, and a ring edge 43 is formed on the edge of the retracting hole 42 to block the piston 32 of the combined piston base 30 to keep it from coming off.
A ring 50 is placed between the horizontal tube 12 of the first handle 10 and the surface of the piston of the combined piston base 30 to support the second handle 20 outward. [0029] A pressure regulating groove 60 is placed on one end of the vertical tube 11 of the first handle 10, and the outer end of the pressure regulating groove 60 can be an opening 61. A screw thread 62 is placed on the outside of the opening 61, and a partition 63 is placed between the pressure regulating groove 60 and horizontal tube 12. The partition 63 has only a through air hole 64 for connection, so that the air pressure inside the air compression space 35 formed between the horizontal tube 12 and the piston 30 can be released from the through air hole 64. An air hole 65 is placed on one side of the opening 61 of the pressure regulating groove 60 and has an air hole to interconnect with the outer area.
A knob 70 has a tube 71 that can be placed inside the pressure regulating groove 60 of the vertical tube 11 inside a tube 71. A regulating column 72 is placed in the center of the bottom of the tube 71 corresponding to the through air hole 64 of the partition 63 of the pressure regulating groove 60. An expanded knob head 70 is formed on the top end of the tube 71. The knob head 70 has a screw slot 73 that can be screwed with the screw thread 62 of the opening 61 of the pressure regulating groove 60, which can adjust the tube's upper and lower position by adjusting the direction in clockwise and counter clockwise, making the opening and closing level of the regulation column 72 and through air hole 64 to achieve the purpose of adjusting air pressure.
Among them, a directional ring 80 may be placed on the end opening 120 of the horizontal tube 12 of the first handle 10. The directional ring 80 has several protruding blocks 81 spaced through out the surface of the end opening 120 of the horizontal tube 12, so that the end opening 120 of the horizontal tube 12 has several concave slots 121 spaced through out the surface for the protruding blocks 81 mentioned above to position. A concave edge 82 is placed inside the directional ring 80, so that the protruding tube 22 of the second handle 20 coordinates the protruding plate 221 extending in axial direction corresponds with the concave edge 82. By so doing, the protruding tube 22 of the second handle 20 and the combined piston base 30 receive a fixed directional effect when the horizontal tube 12 of the first handle 10 is sliding, so that the second handle 12 will not turn. 100321 Among them, a clamping part 41 of the limit clamping ring 40 can have an inner screwing pattern, so that a section of the outer screwing pattern 122 can be placed on the end opening of the horizontal tube 12 of the first handle 10 for it to connect.
Among them, the regulating column 72 of the knob 70 can be a cone, so that the through hole 64 of the pressure regulating groove 60 can be a cone.
Among them, a counter 14 is placed on one end of the vertical tube 11 of the first handle 10, and it counts the number of movements of the first handle 10 and the second handle 20.
Through the above structure and design, the operation of the present invention is explained herein.
As shown in FIG. 2 and 3, when the handgrip mentioned above is assembled, the limit clamping ring 40 and the directional ring 80 are placed over the protruding tube 22 of the second handle 20. Then, the combined piston base 30 is placed over the protruding tube 22. The protruding column part 31 of the combined piston base 30 can be glued with the protruding tube 22. After placing ring 50 inside the horizontal tube 12 of the first handle 10, then the combined piston base 30 is placed inside the horizontal tube 12 of the first handle 10, and, then, the directional ring 80 is placed on the end opening 120 of the horizontal tube 12, using the protruding block 81 and concave slot 121 to position it and keep it from turning. The clamping part 41 is then used to position the limit clamping ring 40 on the end opening 14 of the horizontal tube 12 of the first handle 10, so that the combined piston base 30 is prevented from coming off, which completes the assembly of the first handle 10 and second handle 20.
When using the handgrip A mentioned above, the user can hold the first handle 10 and the second handle 20 with the four fingers and between the index finger and the thumb. When it is pressed, the first and second handle 10 20 close in together. At this time, the combined piston base 30 slides toward the inner wall of the horizontal tube 12 of the first handle 10 and presses the ring 50 to accumulate a resilient restoring force. The air compression space 35 is pressed to create the pneumatic-aided effect.
On the other hand, the pressure regulating groove 60 and the design of the knob 70 are used. The operation procedures are shown in FIG. 4 and 5. The knob 70 shown in FIG. 4 is tightened downward, and at this time, its regulating column 72 seals the through air hole 64 of the pressure regulating groove 60, keeping the air of the air compression space 35 from leaking out to receive higher air pressure resistance. As shown in FIG. 5, when the user loosens the knob 70 upward, its regulating column 72 at the bottom gradually separates from the through air hole 64 of the pressure regulating groove 60 and forms an air channel, making the air of the air compression space 35 interconnect with the air outside through the through air hole 64 and air hole 65 at the opening end 61 of the pressure regulating groove 60. Under these conditions, when the air of the air compression space 35 is being compressed, it may leak out to the lower air pressure resistance.
As shown in FIG. 6, there is another prospective view of the pressure regulating groove and knob. The difference between this embodiment and the embodiment mentioned above is that the pressure regulating groove 60B and the knob 70B can be a horizontal structure.
As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, there is another embodiment of pneumatic-aided fitness equipment of the present invention. The difference between this embodiment and the embodiment mentioned above is the positioning structure of the second handle. This embodiment provides a middle base 90, which comprises a vertical tube 91 and two horizontal tubes 92. The two horizontal tubes 92 are protruding out both sides of the vertical tube 91, and the air compression space 35B of the two horizontal tubes 92 is separated by wall 93. Two handles 101 102 are made, and a handle is shown in T-shaped tube with one press bar 103 and a protruding bar 104 extends inside the press bar. The protruding tube 104 may be inserted into the horizontal tube 92 of the middle base 90. The combined piston base 30B, limit clamping ring 40B, ring 50B combined with the two handles 101 102 are assembled the same as the one mentioned before, so it is not repeated here. The middle base 90 and vertical tube 91 can be combined with the structure of the pressure regulating groove 60 and knob 70 so that the wall surface 93 of the air compression space 35B of the horizontal tube 92 has a through air slot 94 for the through air hole 64 at the bottom of the pressure regulating groove 60. When the two handles 101 102 are moving, it can use the same pressure regulating groove 60 and knob 70 to adjust the air pressure resistance.
As shown in FIG. 9, which is the alternative design for the structure shown in FIG. 7 and 8, the difference is that the vertical press bar 103B of the two handles 101 102 can be concave inward. The application of this design is shown in FIG. 10, which can be used for pressing between the legs, being leg press fitness equipment of the embodiment. The vertical press bar 103B of the present embodiment has the feature of an inner concavity being applied on the press handle of the embodiment mentioned above.

Claims

1. A structure of pneumatic-aided fitness equipment comprising:

a first handle, being formed in a T-shape with a vertical tube and a horizontal tube, having a grip surface placed on an outside of said vertical tube, said horizontal tube protruding out in a middle of said vertical tube;

a second handle, having a vertical press and a protruding tube extended into an inside of a press bar, said protruding tube being inserted into said horizontal tube of said first handle;

a combined piston base, being comprised of a protruding part and a piston, said protruding part being placed inside said protruding tube of said second handle, said piston being placed inside said horizontal tube of said first handle, said piston having an annular groove placed thereon, forming an O-ring, an air tight seal being formed between said piston and an inner wall of said horizontal tube, an air compression space being formed between a surface of the piston and said horizontal tube of said first handle;

a limit clamping ring, being comprised of a clamping part and a retracting hole, said limit clamping ring being positioned at an end opening of said horizontal tube of said first handle by the clamping part, said retracting hole being placed for said protruding tube of said second handle to go through, a ring edge being formed on an edge of said retracting hole to block said piston of said combined piston base, preventing separation thereof; and

a ring, placed between said horizontal tube of said first handle and said surface of said piston of said combined piston base, supporting said second handle outwardly.

2. The structure of pneumatic-aided fitness equipment defined in claim 1, further comprising:

a directional ring placed on an end opening of said horizontal tube of said first handle, said directional ring having several protruding blocks spaced through out a surface of said end opening of said horizontal tube, said end opening of said horizontal tube having several concave slots spaced through out said surface of said end opening of said horizontal tube to position said protruding blocks, said directional ring having a concave edge placed therein, said protruding tube of said second handle coordinating a protruding plate to extend in an axial direction corresponding to said concave edge, said protruding tube of said second handle and said combined piston base receiving a fixed directional effect when said horizontal tube of said first handle is sliding, said second handle not being able to turn.

3. The structure of pneumatic-aided fitness equipment defined in claim 1, wherein the clamping part of the limit clamping ring has an inner screwing pattern, a section of an outer screwing pattern thereof being placed on an end opening of said horizontal tube of said first handle.

4. The structure of pneumatic-aided fitness equipment defined in claim 1, further comprising:

a pressure regulating groove, being placed on one end of said vertical tube of said first handle, an outer end of said pressure regulating groove being an opening, said opening having a screw thread placed on an outside thereof, a partition being placed between said pressure regulating groove and said horizontal tube, said partition having a through air hole for connection, so that air pressure inside said air compression space formed between said horizontal tube and said piston releases from said through air hole, one side of said opening having an air hole placed thereon, an outer area thereof having an air hole to interconnect with said outer area; and

a knob, having a tube, placed inside said pressure regulating groove of said vertical tube inside a tube, and a regulating column placed in a center of a bottom of a tube corresponding to said through air hole of said partition of said pressure regulating groove, an expanded knob head being formed on a top end of said tube, the knob head having a screw slot being screwed with said screw thread of said opening of the pressure regulating groove, adjusting an upper and lower position of said tube by adjusting direction in clockwise and counter clockwise directions, making an opening and closing level of said regulation column and said through air hole achieve adjustment of air pressure.

5. The structure of pneumatic-aided fitness equipment defined in claim 4, wherein said regulating column of said knob is a cone, said through hole of said pressure regulating groove being a cone.

6. A structure of pneumatic-aided fitness equipment, comprising:

a middle base, being comprised of a vertical tube and two horizontal tubes, said two horizontal tubes protruding out both sides of said vertical tube;

press handles, each handle in a T-shaped tube with one press bar and a protruding bar extending inside said press bar, said T-shaped tube being inserted into the horizontal tube of said middle base;

two combined piston bases, each combined piston base being comprised of a protruding column and a piston, said protruding column being inserted and secured into the protruding T-shaped tube of each handle, said piston being slidable into the horizontal tube of said middle base, said piston having an O-ring sealed within an inner wall of said horizontal tube, an air compression space being formed between the inner wall of the horizontal tube for said first handle;

two limit clamping rings, each ring being comprised of a clamping part and a retracting hole, the limit clamping ring using said clamping part to position each ring on an end opening of said horizontal tube of said first handle, said retracting hole being used for said protruding T-shaped tube of said second handle, said retracting hole having a ring edge formed on an edge thereof, said piston of the combined piston base being kept from breaking off; and

two rings, placed between the horizontal tube of said middle base and a surface of said piston of said combined piston base to support the two handles outward.

7. The structure of pneumatic-aided fitness equipment defined in claim 6, wherein said clamping part of each limit clamping ring having an inner screwing pattern, a section of said outer screwing pattern being placed on an end opening of a horizontal tube of said first handle.

8. The structure of pneumatic-aided fitness equipment defined in claim 6, further comprising:

a pressure regulating groove being placed on one end of said vertical tube, an outer end of said pressure regulating groove being an opening, said opening having a screw thread placed on an outside of said opening, a partition being placed between said pressure regulating groove and said horizontal tube, said partition having only a through air hole for connection, air pressure inside an air compression space formed between said horizontal tube and said piston being released from a through air hole, an air hole being placed on one side of said opening of said pressure regulating groove and having an air hole to interconnect with an outer area thereof;

a knob, having a tube placed inside said pressure regulating groove of said vertical tube inside a tube and a regulating column placed in a center of a bottom of said tube corresponding to said through air hole of said partition of said pressure regulating groove, an expanded knob head being formed on a top end of said tube, said knob head having a screw slot being in screwing arrangement with a screw thread of said opening of said pressure regulating groove, adjusting an upper and lower position of said tube by adjusting direction in a clockwise and counter clockwise direction, making an opening and closing level of said regulation column and said through air hole to achieve adjustment of air pressure.

9. The structure of pneumatic-aided fitness equipment defined in claim 8, wherein said regulating column of said knob is a cone, said through hole of said pressure regulating groove being a cone.

10. The structure of fitness equipment defined in claim 6, further comprising:

a directional ring placed on an end opening of said horizontal tube of said first handle, said directional ring having several protruding blocks spaced through out a surface of said end opening of said horizontal tube, said end opening of said horizontal tube having several concave slots spaced through out said surface of said end opening of said horizontal tube to position said protruding blocks, said directional ring having a concave edge placed therein, said protruding tube of a second handle coordinating a protruding plate to extend in an axial direction corresponding to said concave edge, said protruding tube of said second handle and said combined piston base receiving a fixed directional effect when said horizontal tube of said first handle is sliding, said second handle not being able to turn.