US20080103026A1

US20080103026A1 - Hand Gripper

Info

Publication number: US20080103026A1
Application number: US11/977,466
Authority: US
Inventors: Tae Jin An
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-11-01
Filing date: 2007-10-25
Publication date: 2008-05-01
Also published as: KR100760083B1

Abstract

A hand gripper having a pair of arms which are rotatably connected to one another around a rotating axis at upper ends thereof and are configured to approach one another and to be separated from one another by rotation around the rotating axis and a compression spring which is interposed between the pair of the arms to provide elastic force is provided which comprises: a first guide one end of which is rotatably supported by a pin at an inside of the first arm and at the same time supports an end of the compression spring and the other end of which is provided with a first rod having a hollow inner side extending toward an inside of the compression spring; and a spring guide which is provided with a second rod being slidably inserted into the hollow inner side of the first rod at one end thereof and is provided with a spring supporting part supporting the other end of the compression spring and a second guide with a sliding protrusion at the other end thereof, wherein the second arm is provided with an elastic force regulating part with a plurality of sliding grooves to which the sliding protrusion can be contactly engaged at an inside thereof, so that the magnitude of the elastic force is regulated depending on which one of the sliding grooves is engaged with the sliding protrusion.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hand gripper, and more particularly, to a hand gripper in which elastic force acting between arms can be easily regulated.
2. Description of the Related Art
A hand gripper is an exercising apparatus for strengthening muscles of the hand or the forearm, and it is small so that it can be easily treated and is portable, and in addition is cheap so that it can be easily used by men and women of all ages anytime and anywhere.
When a user grips the hand gripper by one hand, and repeatedly moves an arm which is supported by fingers toward and away from an arm which is supported by the palm of the hand, an exercise for strengthening muscles is performed by the elastic force which is provided by a spring which is installed between the arms.
A conventional hand gripper has a drawback that magnitude of the elastic force acting between arms and the distance between the arms are fixed. In order to solve this drawback, in the Korean patent No. 625851, the magnitude of the elastic force and the distance between the arms can be adjusted according to the desired grip force and the size of the hand using the rotating axis bolt.
However, a hand gripper in which the magnitude of the elastic force can be more easily adjusted and which can be more easily manufactured is recently required.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made in an effort to provide a hand gripper in which elastic force acting between arms can be easily regulated.
An exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides a hand gripper having a pair of arms which are rotatably connected to one another around a rotating axis at upper ends thereof and are configured to approach one another and to be separated from one another by rotation around the rotating axis and a compression spring which is interposed between the pair of the arms to provide elastic force is provided including: a first guide one end of which is rotatably supported by a pin at an inside of the first arm and at the same time supports an end of the compression spring and the other end of which is provided with a first rod having a hollow inner side extending toward an inside of the compression spring; and a spring guide which is provided with a second rod being slidably inserted into the hollow inner side of the first rod at one end thereof and is provided with a spring supporting part supporting the other end of the compression spring and a second guide with a sliding protrusion at the other end thereof, wherein the second arm is provided with an elastic force regulating part with a plurality of sliding grooves to which the sliding protrusion can be contactly engaged at an inside thereof, so that the magnitude of the elastic force is regulated depending on which one of the sliding grooves is engaged with the sliding protrusion.
Observation holes may be formed on the second arm at positions corresponding to the respective sliding grooves such that the sliding protrusion engaging with the respective sliding grooves can be seen from the outside.
The hand gripper may further include a distance regulating part regulating the distance between the arms.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view of a hand gripper according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows an outer view of a hand gripper according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a drawing showing the structure of a distance regulating part of a hand gripper according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a drawing sequentially showing the process of adjusting the magnitude of the elastic force of a hand gripper according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view of a hand gripper according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows an outer view of a hand gripper according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Referring to the drawings, a hand gripper according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a pair of arms 10 and 20.
The pair of arms 10 and 20 are connected to one another at upper ends thereof on a rotating axis 11, and configured to approach to one another and to move away from one another on the rotating axis 11. A compression spring 32 which provides the elastic force in the direction in which the arms 10 and 20 move away from one another is installed between the arms 10 and 20.
Lower parts of the first arm 10 and the second arm 20 form grip parts 12 and 22, and contact with fingers or the palm so as to be gripped by the hand.
An upper part of the first arm 10 forms a bent part 14 which is bent to be outwardly protruded, and a sliding curved surface 15 which a sliding part 42 formed at one end of a spring guide 30 slidably rotatably contacts is formed at an inside of the bent part 14.
An elastic force regulating part 25 which is provided with a plurality of sliding grooves 26 supporting the other end of the spring guide 30 is provided at an inner surface of an upper part of the second arm 20.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the compression spring 32 installed between the first arm 10 and the second arm 20 is supported by the spring guide 30 in such a manner that the compression and the restoration thereof is guided by the spring guide 30.
The spring guide 30 includes a first guide 40 and a second guide 50.
The first guide 40 comprises the sliding part 42 having a sectional profile of a semicircle which is rotatably installed at the sliding curved surface 15 having a sectional profile of a semicircle formed inside the bent part 14 of the first arm 10, and a first rod 44 having a hollow inner side 46 which extends from the sliding part 42 toward an opposite side of the end which contacts the sliding curved surface 15.
The second guide 50 includes a sliding protrusion 52 having a sectional profile of a semicircle which is rotatably connected to the sliding groove 26 having a sectional profile of a semicircle which is formed at the elastic force regulating part 25 of the second arm 20, a spring supporting part 54 which is formed on the second guide 50 apart from the sliding protrusion 52 and is formed to be outwardly extended in a radial direction of the second guide 50, and a second rod 56 which is extended toward the first guide 40.
The second rod 56 of the second guide 50 is inserted into the hollow inner side 46 of the first rod 44 of the first guide 40 to slidably move along the hollow inner side 46.
A pin 43 is connected to the sliding part 42 of the first guide 40 at a radial center of the semicircle profile thereof, so that the first guide 40 or the spring guide 30 which is an assembly of the first guide 40 and the second guide 50 is supported to be rotatable around the pin 43.
The compression spring 32 is interposed between the sliding part 42 of the first guide 40 and the spring supporting part 54 of the second guide 50, so that the second rod 56 of the second guide 50 is compressed or restored as it moves along the hollow inner side 46 of the first guide 40.
Since the hand gripper according to an embodiment of the present invention is provided with the elastic force regulating part 25 in which the plurality of the sliding grooves 26 are arranged in a vertical direction, the elastic force acting between the arms 10 and 20 is regulated in phases according to which one of the sliding grooves 26 is engaged with the sliding protrusion 52 of the second guide 50.
According to an embodiment of, the present invention, the sliding protrusion 52 formed at an end of the second guide 50 is not fixedly coupled to the sliding groove 26 but is contactly supported. Accordingly, by rotating the spring guide 30 around the pin 43 with the arms 10 and 20 having been separated from one another, the sliding groove 26 to which the sliding protrusion 52 at an end of the second guide 50 is engaged can be changed. At this time, in case that the sliding protrusion 52 is engaged to a sliding groove 26 at an upper position, the elastic force is regulated to be relatively small, and in case that the sliding protrusion 52 is engaged to a sliding groove 26 at a lower position, the elastic force is regulated to be relatively big.
The change of the sliding groove 26 contacting the sliding protrusion 52 leads to the change in the direction of extension of the spring guide 30. Since the sliding part 42 at one end of the spring guide 30 and the sliding protrusion 52 having a sectional profile of a semicircle at the other end of the spring guide 30 are respectively rotatably supported by the sliding surface 15 having a sectional profile of a semicircle and the sliding groove 26, the elastic force which is generated during the compression of the compression spring 32 always acts in the direction of extension of the spring guide 30. Accordingly, it can be prevented that bending stress is generated in the spring guide 30 and the compression spring 32.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the magnitude of the elastic force acting between the arms 10 and 20 is regulated in phase. Such a regulation in phase may be a drawback compared to the continuous regulation in regard to the preciseness of the regulation of the elastic force, but there is an advantage that the magnitude of the elastic force can be easily regulated by the operation of the rotation of the spring guide 30 around the pin 43 with the arms 10 and 20 having been separated from one another.
Meanwhile, in order that the position of the sliding protrusion 52 engaging with the respective sliding grooves 26 can be seen, an observation hole 24 is formed at positions where the sliding protrusion 52 is located in response to the respective sliding grooves 26 on the second arm 20.
Accordingly, when observing the hand gripper from the outside, the position of the sliding protrusion 52 can be observed through the observation hole 24 and the stage of the regulated magnitude of the elastic force can be easily known from the position of the sliding protrusion 52.
Furthermore, when the spring guide 30 is rotated around the pin 43 so as to regulate the magnitude of the elastic force, the position of the sliding protrusion 52 can be observed so that it is possible to easily change to a desired stage. At this time, in order that the observation hole 24 can relatively show the magnitude of the elastic force, the diameters of the holes can be varied depending on the magnitude of the elastic force. Preferably, the diameter of the observation hole 24 located at the lowermost position is the biggest, and the diameter thereof becomes decreased as it approaches to the uppermost position.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, a distance regulating part for regulating the distance between the first arm 10 and the second arm 20 is provided. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a partial cross section showing a distance regulating part 60 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Referring to FIG. 3, a rotating shaft bolt 62 is installed to be movable in a longitudinal direction in response to the rotation of a regulating nut 65 at an upper inner part of the first arm 10. A side part of a hexagonal head part 62 a of the rotating shaft bolt 62 is supported by a guiding groove 19 having a side surface of a polygonal shape so that rotation thereof is limited, and an end 62 b of the rotating shaft bolt 65 contacts an end 29 of the second arm 20. An imaginary line extending along the rotating shaft bolt 62 is arranged to pass over the rotating axis 11. In addition, an opening 61 is provided at an upper end of the first arm 10, and the regulating nut 65 which is engaged with the rotating shaft bolt 62 so as to regulate the movement of the rotating shaft bolt 62 is exposed through the opening 61. The regulating nut 65 is supported by the opening 61 and a pin block 66 so as to rotate at a preset position. Accordingly, by the rotation of the regulating nut 65, the rotating shaft bolt 62 moves in a longitudinal direction. If the rotating shaft bolt 62 moves toward the second arm 20, the end 62 b of the rotating shaft bolt 62 pushes the end part 29 of the second arm 20, and at this time, since the rotating shaft bolt 62 is arranged to pass over the rotating axis 11, the second arm 20 rotates in a clock wise direction (in FIG. 1) around the rotating axis 11 so as to approach the first arm 10.
In case that the distance between the first arm 10 and the second arm 20 is to be widened, the regulating nut 65 is rotated in the opposite direction.
Hereinafter, the operation of the hand gripper according to an embodiment of the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawing.
FIG. 4 is a drawing sequentially showing the process of adjusting the magnitude of the elastic force of a hand gripper according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Referring to FIG. 4, the elastic force of the hand gripper is regulated to a second stage at an initial state (the stages are sequentially referred to as a first stage, a second stage, a third stage, and a fourth stage from the uppermost position to the lowermost position). In order to change the magnitude of the elastic force of the hand gripper from this state, at first, the regulating nut 65 is rotated such that the distance between the arms 10 and 20 is maximized. The arms 10 and 20 are separated from one another, and then the spring guide 30 is rotated in a clock wise direction around the pin 43 (the center drawing).
Then, as shown in the final drawing of FIG. 4, the sliding protrusion 52 is positioned at the sliding groove 26 of a desired stage (the third stage in this embodiment), and the distance between the arms 10 and 20 is decreased by the regulation of the rotating shaft bolt 62, so that the regulation of the magnitude of the elastic force is completed.
At this time, the regulated magnitude of the elastic force can be known from the position of the sliding protrusion 52 which can be seen through the observation hole 14.
Meanwhile, with the hand gripper according to an embodiment of the present invention, the distance between the arms 10 and 20 can be adjusted to fit to the user's hand, using the distance regulating part 60.
When a user having a small hand intends to use the hand gripper according to an embodiment of the present invention, the distance between the arms 10 and 20 can be reduced using the distance regulating part 60 so that a user can easily grip the hand gripper. If the regulating nut 65 is rotated so as to move the rotating shaft bolt 62 toward the second arm 20, the second arm 20 rotates in a clock wise direction (referring to FIG. 1) around the rotating axis 11 so that the distance between the arms 10 and 20 is reduced. Accordingly, a user having a small hand can use the hand gripper.
On the contrary, when a user having a relatively big hand intends to use the hand gripper according to an embodiment of the present invention, the regulating nut 65 is reversely rotated so that the distance between the arms 10 and 20 is increased. Accordingly, a user having a big hand can use the hand gripper.
According to the present invention, by rotating the spring guide around one end thereof so as to change the position of the sliding groove engaging with the other end thereof, the magnitude of the elastic force acting on the hand gripper can be easily regulated. In addition, the hand gripper according to the present invention can be easily manufactured when compared to the elastic force regulating part of the conventional rotating shaft bolt type. That is, the elastic force regulating part of a sliding groove type can be formed in the arm itself without a separate rotating shaft bolt and a regulating nut.
Furthermore, the hand gripper according to the present invention further includes the distance regulating part regulating the distance between the arms, so that the magnitude of the elastic force and the distance between the arms can be regulated at the same time.

Claims

1. A hand gripper having a pair of arms and which are rotatably connected to one another around a rotating axis at upper ends thereof and are configured to approach one another and to be separated from one another by rotation around the rotating axis and a compression spring which is interposed between the pair of the arms and to provide elastic force, comprising:

a first guide one end of which is rotatably supported by a pin at an inside of the first arm and at the same time supports an end of the compression spring and the other end of which is provided with a first rod having a hollow inner side 46 extending toward an inside of the compression spring; and

a spring guide 30 which is provided with a second rod being slidably inserted into the hollow inner side of the first rod at one end thereof and is provided with a spring supporting part supporting the other end of the compression spring and a second guide with a sliding protrusion at the other end thereof,

wherein the second arm is provided with an elastic force regulating part with a plurality of sliding grooves to which the sliding protrusion can be contactly engaged at an inside thereof, so that the magnitude of the elastic force is regulated depending on which one of the sliding grooves 26 in engaged with the sliding protrusion.

2. The hand gripper of claim 1, wherein observation holes are formed on the second arm at positions corresponding to the respective sliding grooves such that the sliding protrusion engaging with the respective sliding grooves can be seen from the outside.

3. The hand gripper of claim 1, further comprising a distance regulating part regulating the distance between the arms.