WO2005007248A1

WO2005007248A1 - Abdomen and lower body exercise device

Info

Publication number: WO2005007248A1
Application number: PCT/KR2004/001231
Authority: WO
Original assignee: Han Il Jung Gong Co., Ltd
Priority date: 2003-05-24
Filing date: 2004-05-24
Publication date: 2005-01-27
Also published as: EP1626781A1; JP2006528902A; EP1626781A4; BRPI0410614A

Abstract

Disclosed herein is an abdomen and lower body exercise device, which can allow a user to exercise his/her lower body by pushing out footstools mounted at a lower mat when lying or sitting on the mat, and to concurrently perform abdominal exercise by continuously pressing down an upper mat with a force of his/her upper body, and which can achieve abdominal exercise by allowing the user to push a backrest downward while putting his/her feet on a footstool rod when sitting on a seat, as well as can anticipate improvement in blood circulation through the use of acupressure means provided at the backrest so as to press acupuncture points distributed on the user’s back in frictional contact with them during the abdominal exercise.

Description

ABDOMEN AND LOWER BODY EXERCISE DEVICE Technical Field

The present invention relates to an abdomen and lower body exercise device, and more particularly to an abdomen and lower body exercise device, which can allow a user to exercise his/her lower body by pushing out footstools mounted at a lower mat when lying or sitting on the mat, and to concurrently perform abdominal exercise by continuously pressing down an upper mat with a force of his her upper body, and which can achieve abdominal exercise by allowing the user to push a backrest downward while putting his/her feet on a footstool rod when sitting on a seat, as well as can anticipate improvement in blood circulation through the use of acupressure means provided at the backrest so as to press acupuncture points distributed on the user's back in frictional contact with them during the abdominal exercise.

Background Art

Nowadays, more people have an interest in improving their health, and most of them spend a great deal of time improving their health in special places, such as health clubs where various kinds of exercise devices are provided. However, most modem people have a difficulty securing time required to visit such a health club for exercise due to their busy daily schedule. In the case of people who work in a limited indoor space most of the day and women who have given birth, especially, they suffer from fat in their abdomen and lower body since there no exercise device has been developed capable of simultaneously solving not only the fat in the abdomen but also the fat in the lower body. ^'

Disclosure of the Invention

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an abdomen and lower body exercise device, which enables a user to reinforce his her lower body by pushing o ut footstools m ounted at a 1 ower m at when 1 ying o r s itting o n the m at, while concurrently carrying out abdominal exercise by continuously pressing down an upper mat with a force of his/her upper body, and which can achieve abdominal exercise by allowing the user to push a backrest downward while putting his/her feet on a footstool when sitting on a seat, as well as can anticipate improvement in blood circulation throug the use of acupressure means provided at the backrest so as to press acupuncture points distributed on the user's back in frictional contact with them during the abdominal exercise. In accordance with the present invention, the above and other objects can be accomplished by the provision of an abdomen and lower body exercise device comprising; a lower mat having shaft coupling portions protruding from an upper end thereof; an upper mat having a reverse U-shaped frame, and an upper panel attached to an upper surface of the frame, both ends of the frame being pivotably coupled to the shaft coupling portions by making use of shafts; a plurality of shovers installed in the lower mat, and having pistons inserted therein in an extendable or retractable manner, the pistons being provided at their lower ends with footstools, respectively, to the shovers being constantly applied a gas pressure for retracting the pistons; movement slots longitudinally incised at an upper surface of the lower mat so as to enable vertical movement of the footstools; and plate springs taking the form of a coil so as to produce strong rotation elasticity, each of the plate springs being centrally fixed" to either shaft, and having a holding recess formed at a circumferential position thereof, so that a holding rod protruding laterally from the frame is caught therein, thereby causing the upper mat to be pivoted upward by the rotational elasticity of the plate springs. Preferably, the lower mat further may have a pair of inclination adjustment plates provided at both sides of the upper end thereof, the respective inclination adjustment plates having a plurality of inclination adjustment holes aligned iϋ an arched line, and the frame of the upper mat may be formed with a pair of holes for the insertion of fixing pins, whereby the upper mat is pivoted by a desired inclination, and the fixing pins are inserted through the holes of the frame and the corresponding inclination adjustment holes of the inclination adjustment plates, thereby enabling adjustment of the inclination of the upper mat. Brief Description of the Drawings

The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a plan view illustrating an abdomen and lower body exercise device in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a side view of the abdomen and lower body exercise device of the present invention; Fig. 3 is a side view illustrating a plate spring installed in the abdomen and lower body exercise device of the present invention; Fig. 4 is a side view illustrating a state wherein the abdomen and lower body exercise device of the present invention is altered to be usable as a substitute for a chair; Fig. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a chair type exercise device in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 6 is a front view of the chair type exercise device of the present invention; Fig. 7 is a side view illustrating an acupressure unit used in the chair type exercise device of the present invention; Fig. 8 is a scale Fig. 7; Fig. 9 is a side view illustrating the operating sequence of the chair type exercise device of the present invention; Fig. 10 is a side view illustrating another acupressure unit used in the chair type exercise device of the present invention; and Fig. 11 is a scale Fig. 10; Fig. 12 is a sectional view taken along the line A-A shown in Fig. 11. Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention •

Now, a first embodiment of the present invention will be explained with reference to Figs, 1 to 3.

In the above drawings, reference numeral 1 designates a lower mat, which is formed at an upper end thereof with upwardly protruding shaft coupling portions 11. To the lower mat 1 is pivotably coupled an upper mat 2 usable as a backrest. As shown in Fig. 1 , the upper mat 2 comprises a reverse U-shaped frame 21, which is coupled at both ends thereof to the shaft coupling portions 11 by making use of shafts 12, and an upper panel 22 attached to an upper surface of the

, .fram 21. The upper panel 22 is rotatably mounted at an upper surface thereof with a plurality of pressure rollers 25, which serve to press specific acupuncture points distributed on the user's back. Inside the lower mat 1 are installed a plurality o f shovers 5 and in turn, these shovers 5 are installed with pistons 4, respectively, in an extendable or retractable manner. The pistons 4 are integrally formed with footstools 3, protruding upward above an upper surface of the lower mat 1, in a one to one ratio. To the shovers 5 is constantly applied a gas pressure for retracting the pistons 4, and at the upper surface of the lower mat 1 are incised longitudinal movement slots 6 for allowing movement of the footstools 3. With such a configuration, when the user pushes out the footstools 3 with his her feet when sitting on the lower mat 1, the gas pressure applied to the shovers 5 act as a resistance force, resulting in exercise for the user's lower body, Then, as soon as a force applied to the footstools 3 by the user is removed, the footstools 3 are returned to their original positions by the gas pressure. Therefore,; the user can constantly exercise his/her lower body by repeating such a pushing action. Between the lower mat 1 and the pper mat 2 are interposed plate springs 13, which serve to constantly provide elasticity to the upper mat 2 for the rising thereof. Referring to Fig. 3, each of the plate springs 13 is mounted at an inner side of the respective shaft coupling portions 11 formed at the lower mat 1, and takes the foim of a coil -so as to give rise to strong rotational elasticity. The plate spring 13 is centrally fixed to either shaft 12, and is formed at an outermost portion tliereof with a holding recess 14, so that a holding rod 15, protruding laterally from an inner peripheral surface of the frame 21, is caught therein, thereby allowing the upper mat 2 to be pivoted upward by the rotational elasticity of the plate spring 13. In this way, since the upper mat 2 tends to be constantly raised by the plate springs 13, it enables the user to reinforce his her upper body, in particular, the abdomen by forcibly pressing the upper mat 2 with a force of the upper body. In this case, the upper mat 2 can be fixed at a desired inclination. For this, as shown in Fig, 2, a pair of inclination adjustment plates 16, having a constant size, are coupled at both sides of the upper end of the lower mat 1. Each of the inclination adjustment plates 16 has a plurality of inclination adjustment holes 17 aligned in an arched line. In correspondence to these holes 1,7. at either ^• side of the frame 21, is formed a hole 23, so as to selectively coincide with one- of the inclination adjustment holes 17 of the respective inclination adjustment plates 16 according to a desired inclination of the frame 21. Therefore, at a position where the frame 21 is raised by a desired inclination, corresponding inclination adjustment holes 17 of the respective inclination adjustment plates 16 coincide with the holes 23 of the frame 21, and fixing pins 18 are inserted through the coincided holes 17 and 23, thereby allowing the upper mat 2 to be fixed at the desired mclination. As can be clearly understood form the above description, the upper mat 2 may be pivotably raised relative to the lower mat 1 so as to take the form of a chair, thereby allowing the user to exercise his her lower body when sitting on the lower mat 1, or the upper mat 2 and the lower mat 1 may be horizontally aligned like a bed, thereby enabling exercise of the lower body even in a convenient lying posture. With the exercise device of the present invention as stated above, the user can independently exercise his/her lower body and his/her upper body by using the footstools 3 and the upper mat 2, and if necessary, can simultaneously exercise not only the lower body but also upper body. Moreover, by virtue of its simple structure, the exercise device of the present invention has low production cost and high productivity, enabling more people to enjoy the exercise device with a low price. Preferably, for the convenience of storage, the upper mat 2 and the lower mat 1 are stackable one upon another so as to come into close contact with each other. Meanwhile, as shown in Fig. 4, in order to allow the abdomen and lower body exercise device of the present invention to be usable as a substitute for a chair, the lower mat 1 is provided with a support leg unit 24 at a lower side thereof, and a pair of handles at both sides thereof. Reference is now made to Figs. 5 to 10, which illustrate a chair type exercise device in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention. In the above drawings, reference numeral 31 designates a body frame defining the appearance of the exercise device. At an upper plane of the body frame 31 is disposed a seat 32, and a backrest 33 is vertically erected from a rear end of the seat 32. Alongside a r ear e nd o f the b ody rame 3 1 u nder t he s eat 32 i s 1 aterally installed a rotating shaft 35, so that both ends of the rotating shaft 35 are coupled to connector portions 34 protruding downward from opposite lateral edges of the backrest 33, thereby causing the backrest 33 to be correspondingly pivoted according to rotation of the rotating shaft 35. At both ends of the rotating shaft 35 are fitted a pair of elastic members 36, which take the form of coil springs suitable to apply elasticity to the backrest 33 required for the raising thereof. In addition, a first fixing lever 37 is fastened to one side of the body frame 31 for allowing selective pivoting of the backrest 33. If the first fixing lever 37 is tightened, the backrest 33 is fixed in its present state, whereas if the first fixing lever

37 is released, the backrest 33 is pivotable. Therefore, in, a released state of the first fixing lever 37, the user can effectively perform abdominal exercise by pushing the backrest 33 downward when sitting on the seat 32. That is, since the backrest 33 tends to be constantly raised by the elasticity of the elastic members 36, in order to lower the backrest 33, the. user has to strongly flex their abdomen sufficiently to overcome the elasticity of the elastic members 36, resulting in abdominal exercise._^ Meanwhile, under the seat 32 is longitudinally installed a guider 38, which is, fastened at one surface thereof with a second fixing lever 39. In the guider 38 is inserted a footstool support 40 in an extendable or retractable manner, and in turn, to an end of the footstool support 40 is coupled a footstool rod 41 so ^"as to extend perpendicular thereto. Therefore, in a state wherein the footstool support 40 is maximally extended from the guider 38 as shown in Fig. S, the user can perform abdominal exercise by pushing the backrest ^'33 downward with his/her back while putting his/her f eet o n t he footstool r od 41. With such a p osture, t he u ser c an p ush t he backrest 33 by applying a more strong force while simultaneously applying a strong^{" '} force to his/her legs, resulting in effective exercise of his/her lower body as well as abdominal exercise.

Claims

Claims:

1. An abdomen and lower body exercise device comprising: a lower mat having shaft coupling portions protruding from an upper end thereof; an upper mat having a reverse U-shaped frame, and an upper panel attached to an upper surface of the frame, both ends of the frame being pivotably coupled to the shaft coupling portions by making use of shafts; and plate springs taking the form of a coil so as to produce strong rotation elasticity, each of the plate springs being centrally fixed to either shaft, and having a holding recess formed at an outermost portion thereof, so that a holding rod protruding laterally from the frame is caught therein, thereby causing the upper mat to be pivoted upward by the rotational elasticity of the plate springs.

2. The device as set forth in claim l_s wherein the lower mat further has a pair of inclination adjustment plates provided at both sides of the upper end thereof, the respective inclination adjustment plates haying a plurality of inclination adjustment holes aligned in an arched line; and wherein the frame of the upper mat is formed with a pair of holes for the insertion of fixing pins, whereby the upper mat is pivoted by a desired inclination, and the fixing pins are inserted through the holes of the frame and the corresponding mclination adjustment holes of the respective inclination adjustment plates, thereby enabling adjustment of the inclination of the upper mat,

3. The device as set forth in claim 1, further comprising: a plurality of shovers installed in the lower mat, and having pistons inserted therein in an extendable or retractable manner, the pistons being provided at their lower ends with footstools, respectively, to the shovers being constantly applied a gas pressure for retracting the pistons; and movement slots longitudinally incised at an upper surface of the lower mat so as to enable movement of the footstools. 10

4. An abdomen and lower body exercise device comprising: a body frame; a seat disposed at an upper side of the body 'frame; a backrest vertically erected from a rear end of the seat and having a plurality of acupressure means attached to one surface thereof; - a rotating shaft installed alongside a rear end of the body frame under the sea both ends of the rotating shaft being coupled to connector portions protruding downward from opposite lateral edges of a lower end of the backrest; elastic members fitted at both ends of the rotating shaft, the elastic members taking the form of coil springs suitable to apply elasticity for raising the backrest; a first fixing lever fastened to one side of the body frame for allowing selective pivoting of the backrest; a g uider 1 ongitudinally i nstalled u nder t he s eat, at o ne s ide o f t he guider being fastened a second fixing lever; a footstool support inserted in the guider in an extendable oτ retractable manner; and a footstool rod perpendicularly coupled to an end of the footstool support, whereby a user can perform abdominal exercise by pushing the backrest downward when sitting on the seat while putting his/her feet on the footstool rod in an extended state of the footstool support.

5. The device as set forth in claim 4, wherein the plurality of the acupressure means include: a plurality of acupressure members attached to the surface of the backrest, the acupressure members being made of a material selected from among jade, magnets, wood, metal, or the like; and covers attached to the backrest to wholly wrap the acupressure members, respectively.

6. The device as set forth in claim 4, wherein each of the acupressure means includes: a roller housing embedded in the surface of the backrest; and an acupressure roller rotatably supported in the roller housing by means of a shaft. 11

7. The device as set forth in claim β, wherein from an outer surface of the acupressure roller protrude a plurality of bosses made of jade or magnets.