US20230001255A1

US20230001255A1 - Systems, methods and devices, for exercise using dynamic fluid movement

Info

Publication number: US20230001255A1
Application number: US17/809,473
Authority: US
Inventors: Gary McDonald; Jeremy Clement
Original assignee: Falkgrip LLC
Current assignee: Falkgrip LLC
Priority date: 2021-06-30
Filing date: 2022-06-28
Publication date: 2023-01-05
Also published as: USD978992S1

Abstract

This disclosure extends to systems, apparatus, and methods for exercising using dynamic fluid movement. In one embodiment, an assembly may have a central body formed as a closeable reservoir, with two opposite side handles. The handles may each include a rotatable grip member. The reservoir may be at least partially filled with a liquid. As user exercises, the assembly is moved while user maintains a grip on at least one grip member. The rotatable grips allow for movement of the central body while the grip is maintained. As the assembly is moved for an exercise, movement of the liquid in the reservoir provides an additional force. In one exemplary exercise, a user may hold the assembly by the opposite grips and walk or run while swinging the arms and rotating the torso back and forth. Where a cap is present, the central body may serve as a water bottle.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/216,699, filed Jun. 30, 2021, and is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Design application Ser. No. 29/803,029, filed Aug. 10, 2021, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosure relates generally to methods, systems, and devices for exercising.

BACKGROUND

Most simple exercises performed with weights typically either use static weights that are lifted or moved. A system or device that was simple to use and provided additional force from a dynamically moving weight would be an improvement in the art. Such components or assemblies that have multiple uses would be a further improvement in the art.

SUMMARY

This disclosure extends to systems, apparatus, and methods for exercising using dynamic fluid movement. In certain embodiments, one illustrative assembly may have a central body formed as a closeable reservoir, with two opposite side handle assemblies. Each handle assembly may include a rotatable grip member. The reservoir may be at least partially filled with a liquid. As user exercises, the assembly is moved while user maintains a grip on at least one grip member. The rotatable grips allow for movement of the central body while the grip is maintained. As the assembly is moved for an exercise, movement of the liquid in the reservoir provides an additional force.
In some embodiments, each handle assemblies may allow a grip to freely rotate on a central axle. In certain embodiments, the central body may be openable with a cap allowing the amount of liquid to be adjusted and the assembly to serve as a water bottle. In some embodiments, the shape of the central body may direct the flow of liquid in the reservoir during use to provide force in a desired direction.
In one exemplary exercise, a user may hold an in accordance with the present disclosure assembly by the opposite grips and walk or run while swinging the arms and rotating the torso back and forth.
The features and advantages of the disclosure will be set forth in the description, which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by the practice of the disclosure without undue experimentation. The features and advantages of the disclosure may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles, or the like, which has been included in the specification is not to be taken as an admission that any or all these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the disclosure as it existed before the priority date of each claim of this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Non-limiting and non-exhaustive implementations of the disclosure are described with reference to the following figures, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various views unless otherwise specified. Advantages of the disclosure will become better understood with regard to the following description and accompanying drawings where:

FIG. 1 illustrates a front perspective view of a first embodiment of an exercise assembly in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIGS. 2 and 3 depict front and rear views, respectively of the assembly of FIG. 1 .

FIGS. 4 and 5 depict side views of the assembly of FIGS. 1-3 .

FIGS. 6 and 7 depict top and bottom views, respectively of the assembly of FIGS. 1-5 .

FIG. 8 depicts a front sectional view of a reservoir for an assembly in accordance with principles of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 depicts a sectional side view of a midsection of the assembly of FIGS. 1-7 .

FIG. 10 depicts some illustrative components for constructing an assembly in accordance with principles of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The disclosure extends to methods, systems, and devices for exercising using dynamic fluid movement. In the following description of the disclosure, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific implementations in which the disclosure may be practiced. It is understood that other implementations may be utilized, and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure.
Before the methods, systems and devices of the present disclosure are discussed and described, it is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the particular configurations, process steps, and materials disclosed herein as such configurations, process steps, and materials may vary somewhat. It is also to be understood that the terminology employed herein is used for the purpose of describing implementations only and is not intended to be limiting since the scope of the disclosure will be limited only by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.
In describing and claiming the disclosure, the following terminology will be used in accordance with the definitions set out below.
It must be noted that, as used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
As used herein, the terms “comprising,” “including,” “containing,” “characterized by,” and grammatical equivalents thereof are inclusive or open-ended terms that do not exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps.
Further, although specific implementations of the disclosure have been described and illustrated, the disclosure is not to be limited to the specific forms or arrangements of parts so described and illustrated. The scope of the disclosure is to be defined by the claims appended hereto, any future claims submitted here and in different applications, and their equivalents.
A first example of an embodiment of an exercise assembly 10 in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure is depicted in FIGS. 1 , through 7.
As depicted, assembly 10 may have a central body 100, which may be a hollow body formed by an enclosing sidewall. As depicted, the body 100 may have a generally ovoid shape, with a long axis extending from a first side to a second side. It will be appreciated that in other embodiments, the particular shape of the central body 100 may vary.
The interior of central body 100 may be a cavity defining a reservoir 103 between the sidewalls (as indicated in FIGS. 8 and 9 ). As depicted, the reservoir may be an open space. In certain embodiments, one or more structures, such as a baffle or a flow guide may be disposed in the reservoir for directing fluid flow during use.
An opening 102 may be disposed on the body and passing through the sidewall to allow access to the interior space. The opening may have a surrounding neck, which may be threaded to allow a counterpart cap 104 to be secured thereon to close the opening. This allows a user to add or remove liquid from the reservoir for use. In certain embodiments, the cap and opening may allow the amount of liquid to be adjusted in the reservoir to be adjusted and for the assembly 10 to serve as a water bottle for user.
Handle assemblies 200A and 200B may be disposed on opposite ends of assembly 10, extending from body 100. As depicted, the handle assemblies may be formed as symmetrical counterparts. In the depicted embodiment, each handle assembly many include an upper handle support member 202 and a lower support member that extend from the central body 100 to define a grip space therebetween. In the depicted embodiment, the handle support members 202 and 204 each extend out and away from the body 100 apart from one another to a bend, then extend parallel to one another to their distal ends.
Near the distal ends of the upper support member 202 and lower support member 204, a rotatable grip member 210 may be disposed. In some embodiments, each handle assembly 200A or 200B may allow a grip member 210 to freely rotate on a central axle 212, that may be mounted between mounting points on the handle support members using a suitable fastener 211. It will be appreciated that other arrangements that provide for pivotally mounted grip members may be used and are within the scope of the present disclosure. While the depicted embodiment features to grip members 210 that freely rotate, in other embodiments, the grip members may be structured to have a limited rotation to a stop point in order to facilitate certain exercises by a user, as by indicating when a movement should cease.
FIG. 10 depicts one set of illustrative axle 211 and grip member 210 components, as well as a unitary body for assembly 10 that includes both central body 100 and handle support members. It will be appreciated that these are merely illustrative and that embodiments where assembly is formed form multiple induvial components that are joined by suitable fasteners and/or adhesives may be used.
In one exemplary exercise, the central body 100 opened with cap 104 and a desired amount of liquid dispensed into the reservoir, which is then closed. A user may hold an assembly 10 assembly by the grip member 211 on the opposite grips 200A and 200B and walk while swinging the arms and rotating the torso back and forth. As the user maintains a grip on the grip members, the rotatable grips allow for movement of the central body as they rotate. As the assembly 10 is moved, the liquid in the reservoir flows in response to the movement of the assembly. As the assembly is moved to one side, the inertia of the liquid causes it to be forced against that side, and then towards the opposite side as the opposite motion occurs. The movement of the liquid and contact against the sides of the reservoir provide additional force compared to movement of static weight.
In another exemplary exercise, the central body 100 opened with cap 104 and a desired amount of liquid dispensed into the reservoir, which is then closed. A user may hold an assembly 10 assembly by the grip member 211 on the opposite grips 200A and 200B and run or jog while swinging the arms and rotating the torso back and forth. As the user maintains a grip on the grip members, the rotatable grips allow for movement of the central body as they rotate. As the assembly 10 is moved, the liquid in the reservoir flows in response to the movement of the assembly, and the up and down motion provided by the running movement of the body. As the assembly is moved towards one direction by the user, the inertia of the liquid causes it to be forced towards a corresponding point of the reservoir wall, and then towards an opposite point as the counterpart opposite motion occurs. The movement of the liquid and contact against the sides of the reservoir provide additional forces compared to movement of static weight.
In another illustrative exercise, the central body 100 opened with cap 104 and a desired amount of liquid dispensed into the reservoir, which is then closed. A user may hold an assembly 10 assembly by the grip member 211 on the opposite grips 200A and 200B and rotate the torso back and forth while holding the assembly level. As the user maintains a grip on the grip members, the rotatable grips allow for movement of the central body as they rotate. As the assembly 10 is moved, the liquid in the reservoir flows in response to the movement of the assembly. As the assembly is moved to one side, the inertia of the liquid causes it to be forced towards that side and then towards the opposite side as the opposite motion occurs. The movement of the liquid and contact against the sides of the reservoir provide additional force compared to movement of static weight.
In the various exercises, the shape of the reservoir may direct the force as desired. In the depicted embodiment, the elongated curved shape of the central body serves as a flow path. When the reservoir is filled to approximately from about ⅓ to about ⅔ capacity with a liquid, such as water, as flow is inducted, the flow is guided towards the end in a lower portion of the cavity, upon reaching the end, a flow is created upwards and away from that across an upper portion of the chamber. Arrows 80A and 80B in FIG. 8 indicate the side-to-side flow placed on the liquid when moved by a user in the side-to-side direction. Arrows 82A and 82A indicate the upwards and away direction of the flow that is created as the liquid flows around the sides of the reservoir 103. This results in a flowing moving of the mass and an upwards force on the assembly 10. It will be appreciated that assemblies having differently shaped reservoirs to achieve different forces may be used and are within the scope of the present disclosure.
It is to be understood that the above-described arrangements are only illustrative of the application of the principles of the disclosure. Numerous modifications and alternative arrangements may be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure and the appended claims are intended to cover such modifications and arrangements. Thus, while the disclosure has been shown in the drawings and described above with particularity and detail, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that numerous modifications, including, but not limited to, variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use may be made without departing from the principles and concepts set forth herein.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. An exercise device comprising:

a central body having a generally ovoid shape with rounded opposite sides at a first end and a second end, wherein the central body includes a hollow cavity defining a reservoir;

a first side handle assembly disposed at a first side of the device; and

a second handle assembly disposed at a second side of the device, opposite the first side of the device.

2. The exercise device of claim 1, wherein the first side handle assembly and the second side handle assembly each include a rotatable grip member.

3. The exercise device of claim 2, wherein the rotatable grip member of the first side handle assembly is disposed apart from the first end of the central body between a first upper support member and a first lower support member extending from the central body.

4. The exercise device of claim 3, wherein the rotatable grip member of the second side handle assembly is disposed apart from the second end of the central body between a second upper support member and a second lower support member extending from the central body.

5. The exercise device of claim 1, wherein the central body includes an opening with a surrounding neck.

6. The exercise device of claim 5, further comprising a cap configured to attached to the surrounding neck to close the opening.

7. The exercise device of claim 7, wherein the opening defines a passage to the reservoir.

8. An exercise device comprising:

a central body having a generally ovoid shape with rounded opposite sides at a first end and a second end;

a first side handle assembly disposed at a first side of the device, the first side handle assembly includes a first grip member disposed apart from the first end of the central body between a first upper support member and a first lower support member extending from the central body; and

a second handle assembly disposed at a second side of the device, opposite the first side of the device, the second side handle assembly includes a second grip member disposed apart from the second end of the central body between a first upper support member and a first lower support member extending from the central body.

9. The exercise device of claim 8, wherein the first grip member and the second grip member are rotatable.

10. The exercise device of claim 9, wherein the first grip member and the second grip member each rotate on a central axle disposed between their respective upper and lower support members.

11. The exercise device of claim 8, wherein the central body includes a hollow cavity defining a reservoir.

12. The exercise device of claim 8, wherein the reservoir is defined by a surrounding sidewall and has a generally ovoid shape with rounded ends.

13. The exercise device of claim 12, wherein the central body includes an opening that defines a passage to the reservoir.

14. The exercise device of claim 13, further comprising a cap configured to releasably attach to the device to close the opening.

15. The exercise device of claim 13, further comprising a surrounding neck disposed on the central body around the opening.

16. An exercise device comprising:

a central body having a first end and a second end, wherein the central body includes a hollow cavity defining a reservoir having a generally ovoid shape with rounded ends;

a first side handle assembly disposed at a first side of the device, the first side handle assembly includes a first rotatable grip member disposed apart from the first end of the central body between a first upper support member and a first lower support member extending from the central body; and

a second handle assembly disposed at a second side of the device, opposite the first side of the device, the second side handle assembly includes a second rotatable grip member disposed apart from the second end of the central body between a first upper support member and a first lower support member extending from the central body.

17. The exercise device of claim 16, wherein the first grip member and the second grip member each rotate on a central axle disposed between their respective upper and lower support members.

18. The exercise device of claim 16, wherein the central body defines a long axis between the first end and second end and the central axles are disposed with long axis generally perpendicular to the long axis of the central body.

19. The exercise device of claim 16, wherein the central body includes an opening that defines a passage to the reservoir.

20. The exercise device of claim 19, further comprising a cap configured to releasably attach to the device to close the opening.