US20220203154A1

US20220203154A1 - Exercise bar

Info

Publication number: US20220203154A1
Application number: US17/563,461
Authority: US
Inventors: Caroline Gillet; Lucien Dony; Mike Sobon
Original assignee: Decathlon SE
Current assignee: Decathlon SE
Priority date: 2020-12-29
Filing date: 2021-12-28
Publication date: 2022-06-30
Also published as: FR3118423A1; EP4023309A1; CN114681858A; CA3143753A1

Abstract

The invention relates to an exercise bar intended for the practice of a physical exercise, having a main tube with two ends each equipped with a rod rotatably mounted through a setting system comprising a device for blocking the rotation of the rod relative to the main tube. The blocking device has a groove formed in the rod and a bushing equipped with a lug disposed within the groove. The blocking device has at least one notch formed longitudinally in the end of the main tube. The notch is arranged to receive the lug by translation of the bushing towards a position of blocking the rotation of the bushing relative to the tube.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the priority of French patent application number 2014205, filed on Dec. 29, 2020, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to an exercise bar intended for the practice of a physical exercise, in particular a pull-up type muscular exercise.
Bars intended to be reversibly mounted in the frame of a door are known, comprising a main tube for gripping by the user, as well as two ends each equipped with a rod carrying an endpiece intended to bear laterally respectively against one side jamb of said frame.
At least one of the rods is rotatably mounted through a system for adjusting the longitudinal dimension of the bar, in order to be able to adapt it to the transverse spacing separating the two side jambs of the door. In particular, the system may comprise a threaded bore formed in the end of the tube, as well as a tapping which extends longitudinally over at least one portion of the rod to enable screwing thereof into said end, according to the desired length.
During the user of the bar, the repeated movements of the hands of the user on the main tube may cause its relative rotation with respect to the rod(s), which could lead to a loosening of said bar and thus risk the fall of the user.
To limit this risk, the document CN-208 465 058 provides for a bar with a length adjusting system which comprises a device for blocking the rotation of the rod with respect to the main tube, said device comprising a groove formed in the rod and a bushing equipped with a lug which is disposed within said groove to guide the translation of said bushing around said rod while preventing their relative rotation.
In particular, this document provides for equipping the end of the main tube with a collar whose internal wall is provided with a plurality of angularly distributed rectangular recesses. Thus, when the bushing is moved in translation towards the end of the tube, the lug is engaged longitudinally into the recess that coincides with the groove of the rod, in order to block the relative rotation of said rod with respect to the tube.
This solution is not completely satisfactory, to the extent that it turns out to be relatively complex to implement. Furthermore, the arrangement of the blocking recesses inside the main tube does not allow locating them easily, which makes the use of the blocking device difficult, and does not allow guaranteeing the safety of the user against the risk of loosening of the bar during the practice of a physical training.

SUMMARY

The invention aims to perfect the prior art in particular by providing a pull-up bar whose longitudinal dimension once adjusted could be blocked simply and intuitively, in order to guarantee optimum safety for the user against the risk of loosening of the bar, and therefore of fall during the use of said bar.
To this end, the invention provides a bar intended for the practice of a physical exercise, in particular a pull-up type muscular exercise, said bar comprising a main tube for gripping by the user, said tube having two ends each equipped with a rod carrying an endpiece for holding said bar between two lateral structures during the practice, at least one of said rods being rotatably mounted through a system for adjusting the longitudinal dimension of said bar, said system comprising a device for blocking the rotation of the rod with respect to the main tube, said device comprising a groove formed in the rod and a bushing equipped with a lug which is disposed within said groove to the translation of said bushing around said rod while preventing their relative rotation, the blocking device further comprising at least one notch formed longitudinally in the end of the main tube, said notch being arranged so as to selectively receive the lug by translation of the bushing towards a rotational blocking position of said bushing with respect to said tube.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other particularities and advantages of the invention will appear in the following description, made with reference to the appended figures, wherein:

FIG. 1a and FIG. 1b represent, in perspective, an end of a bar according to an embodiment of the invention, the rotational blocking bushing being respectively assembled (FIG. 1a ) and disassembled (FIG. 1b ) from the adjustment rod;

FIG. 2a , FIG. 2b and FIG. 2c represent the bushing of FIGS. 1a and 1b , respectively in front view (FIG. 2a ), in bottom view (FIG. 2b ) and in section according to the plane A-A of FIG. 2a (FIG. 2c );

FIG. 3 represents the bushing of the previous figures according to two sectional planes, respectively the planes B-B and C-C of FIG. 2 c.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With reference to these figures, a bar intended for the practice of a physical exercise, in particular a pull-up type muscular exercise, is described hereinbelow.
The bar comprises a main tube 1 for gripping by the user, said tube having two ends 2 each equipped with a rod 3 carrying an endpiece 4 for holding said bar between two lateral structures, for example the side jambs of a door frame, when practicing such an exercise.
The main tube 1 may comprise a coating 5 which covers at least partially its periphery, said coating having an external surface 5 a arranged so as to form an area for gripping by the user. In particular, the coating 5 may be made of foam or of an elastomer material, in order to limit slipping of the hands of the user on the main tube 1 when practicing an exercise.
Each end piece 4 has a surface 4 a which extends in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the bar, and which is intended to bear longitudinally against the lateral structure.
To allow setting the longitudinal dimension of the bar to the spacing between the lateral structures, at least one rod 3 is rotatably mounted through a system for adjusting said longitudinal dimension. For example, such a system may comprise a threaded bore formed in the end 2, as well as a tapping which extends longitudinally over at least one front portion of the rod 3, in order to enable screwing thereof into said end according to the desired length.
Advantageously, the two rods 3 are rotatably mounted on the corresponding end 2 of the main tube 1 through such an adjusting system, said systems being arranged so as to enable a simultaneous setting of the distances between each endpiece 4 and the end 2 opposite each other by a simple manual rotation of said tube around its longitudinal axis.
Each of the adjusting systems has a device for blocking the rotation of the rod 3 with respect to the main tube 1, said device comprising a groove 6 formed in the rod and a bushing 7 equipped with a lug 8 which is disposed within said groove so as to guide the translation of said bushing around said rod while preventing their relative rotation.
With reference to these figures, the bushing 7 has a slot 9 extending angularly, in particular so as to enable mounting thereof around the rod 3, the lug 8 being formed diametrically opposite to said slot.
In particular, as represented in FIGS. 2a and 3, the slot 9 extends on the bushing 7 according to an angular dimension a comprised between 60° and 120°, and in particular in the range of 90°, which allows facilitating mounting thereof and at the same time ensuring the radial holding thereof around the rod 3.
The blocking device further comprises at least one notch 10 formed longitudinally in the end 2 of the main tube 1, said notch being arranged so as to selectively receive the lug 8 by translation of the bushing 7 towards a rotational blocking position of said bushing with respect to said tube.
In particular, the notch 10 is formed through the end 2 of the main tube 1, for example by cutting, the lug 8 in blocking position being received in said notch. Thus, in particular when the lug 8 extends radially inside the bushing 7, said bushing in blocking position is arranged at least partially around the end 2.
Advantageously, the notch 10 is made so as to be visible from the external periphery of the main tube 1, which enables the user to locate it easily, and therefore blocking the relative rotation of the tube 1 and of the rods 3 simply and reliably. Thus, he can practice his exercises in complete safety, the risk of loosening of the bar, and therefore the risk of fall, being optimally reduced.
After having set the bar to the desired longitudinal dimension, the user can lock it between the side jambs of the door by arranging the grooves 6 of each rod 3 longitudinally opposite the corresponding notch 10, then by making each bushing 7 slide so as to engage the lugs 8 in said notches, which amounts to a simple and intuitive gesture.
In particular, the blocking devices may comprise several notches 10 spaced apart angularly on the corresponding tube end 2, which allows providing a bar with several indexed options of longitudinal dimensions, said options being adapted to different standard dimensions of door frames.
In particular, each end 2 may comprise two notches spaced apart angularly, in particular by an angle in the range of 180°, the corresponding lug 8 being intended to be selectively engaged into one of said notches in the blocking position, depending on the relative angular position of the rod 1 with respect to the tube 1.
In the represented embodiment, the lug 8 extends radially inside the bushing 7, which allows making the engagement thereof into the notch 10 reliable, but also improving aesthetics.
The bushing 7 comprises a front portion 7 a and a rear portion 7 b over which the lug 8 extends longitudinally while having respectively front 8 a and rear 8 b portions, said rear portion being arranged so as to ensure the translational guidance of the bushing 7 around the rod 3, said front portion being arranged so as be engaged into a notch 10 and ensure the rotational blocking of the bushing 7 with respect to the tube 1.
Advantageously, in addition to the rear portion 8 b, the front portion 8 a of the lug 8 is disposed in the groove 6, which allows improving the translational guidance of the bushing 7 on the rod 3, but also facilitating the arrangement of said front portion in the notch 10.
For this purpose, as represented in particular in FIG. 2c , the lug 8 has a free edge 11 which extends longitudinally along an internal diameter D from the front portion 8 a towards the rear portion 8 b, as well as a significant overall longitudinal dimension comprised between 70% and 90% of the overall longitudinal dimension of the bushing 7.
In the represented embodiment, the front portion 7 a of the bushing 7 further has an internal diameter D1 which is larger than the internal diameter D2 of the rear portion 7 b. In particular, the internal diameter D1 is arranged so as to enable the front portion 7 a to be disposed around the tube end 2 in the blocking position.
The internal diameter D1 of the front portion 7 a forms a reduced clearance with the external diameter of the tube end 2, which allows facilitating the engagement and the disengagement of the lug 8 into the notch 10.
Similarly, the internal diameter D2 of the rear portion 7 b forms a reduced clearance with the external diameter of the rod 3, which allows facilitating the translational guidance of said bushing around said rod.
Moreover, the front 7 a and rear 7 b portions are linked in the longitudinal direction by a connection fillet 7 c, said fillet having an internal surface 12 arranged so as to abut longitudinally against the free edge 13 of the end 2 in the blocking position.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. An exercise bar comprising a main tube for gripping by a user, the main tube having two ends each equipped with a rod carrying an endpiece for holding the bar between two lateral structures during use of the exercise bar, at least one of the rods being rotatably mounted through a system for adjusting the longitudinal dimension of the exercise bar, the system comprising a device for blocking the rotation of the rod relative to the main tube, the device comprising a groove formed in the rod and a bushing equipped with a lug which is disposed within the groove to guide the translation of the bushing around the rod while preventing their relative rotation, the exercise bar wherein the blocking device further comprises at least one notch formed longitudinally in the end of the main tube, the notch being arranged to selectively receive the lug by translation of the bushing towards a rotational blocking position of the bushing with respect to the tube.

2. The exercise bar according to claim 1, wherein the lug extends radially inside the bushing.

3. The exercise bar according to claim 1, wherein the bushing comprises a front portion and a rear portion over which the lug extends longitudinally while presenting respectively front and rear portions, the rear portion being arranged to ensure the translational guidance of the bushing around the rod, the front portion being arranged to ensure the rotational blocking of the bushing with respect to the tube.

4. The exercise bar according to claim 3, wherein the front portion of the lug is disposed within the groove.

5. The exercise bar according to claim 4, wherein the lug has a free end which extends longitudinally along an internal diameter (D) from the front portion towards the rear portion.

6. The exercise bar according to claim 3, wherein the bushing front portion has an internal diameter (D1) which is larger than the internal diameter (D2) of the bushing rear portion.

7. The exercise bar according to claim 6, wherein the internal diameter of the bushing front portion—and/or respectively of the bushing rear portion—forms a reduced clearance with the external diameter of the end of the tube—and/or respectively of the rod.

8. The exercise bar according to claim 1, having a slot extending angularly and the lug being formed diametrically opposite to the slot.

9. The exercise bar according to claim 8, wherein the slot extends over the bushing along an angular dimension (α) comprised between 60° and 120°.

10. The exercise bar according to claim 1, wherein the end of the main tube comprises two notches spaced apart angularly, the lug being configured to selectively engaged into one notch in the blocking position.

11. The exercise bar according to claim 10, wherein the notches are spaced apart angularly on the end by an angle of 180°.

12. The exercise bar according to claim 1, wherein the two rods are rotatably mounted on the corresponding end of the main tube through a system for adjusting the longitudinal dimension of said bar, each of said systems having a device for blocking the rotation of the rod with respect to the main tube.

13. The exercise bar according to claim 1, wherein the main tube comprises a coating which covers at least partially its periphery, the coating comprising an external surface which is arranged to form an area for gripping by the user.