US20040142798A1

US20040142798A1 - Exercise device

Info

Publication number: US20040142798A1
Application number: US10/345,954
Authority: US
Inventors: Hsueh Liao; Tian Hwang
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2003-01-17
Filing date: 2003-01-17
Publication date: 2004-07-22

Abstract

An exercise device comprises left and right hand levers each including a rod and a pivot seat attached to one end of the rod; a pull member consisting of a stem and a block, the stem being vertically disposed in the center of the block; a torsion-adjusting mechanism sleeved onto the stem; and two arms, one of which has two ends pivotally connected to one end of the block and the pivot seat of the left hand lever, respectively, and the other of which has two ends pivotally connected to the other end of the block and the pivot seat of the right hand lever, whereby a user grips one end of the left and right hand levers with his two hands and apply a bending force thereon to achieve the object of exercise of the arm portion.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an exercise device, in particular to a torsion-type exercise device which can be easily adjusted to provide different bending and twisting strength.

2. Description of the Related Art

With reference to FIG. 1 showing the conventional torsion-type exercise device, it can be noted that the two ends of a spring C is secured to the left and right levers A,B, respectively. The left and right levers A,B, upon gripping and application of a bending action against the resistant force of the spring therebetween, consequently achieves an exercise effect directed to the two upper limbs of the user (including the palm, elbows, arms and chest). Such an exercise device is of simple structure, easy to use, and is of small bulk making it easy to carry and store, and is low cost and, as such, is a very common device. However, such device does not provide the function of adjustment of the bending strength. The suitability of such device to children, men and women and old people is limited.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a torsion-type exercise device which can be easily adjusted to suit children, women, men and old people who have different strength.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides an exercise device which comprises:

left and right hand levers each having a rod and a pivot seat fixedly attached to one end of said rod,

a pull member consisting of a stem and a block, said stem being vertically disposed in the center of said block,

a torsion-adjusting mechanism sleeved onto said stem and including a connecting member for pivotal connection to said pivot seat; and

two arms, one of which has two ends pivotally connected to one end of said block and said pivot seat of said left hand lever, respectively, and the other of which has two ends pivotally connected to the other end of said block and said pivot seat of said right hand lever.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: [0011]
FIG. 1 is a operational view of the conventional torsion-type exercise device; [0012]
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the present invention; [0013]
FIG. 3 shows the assembled form of the present invention; [0014]
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken from line A-A of FIG. 3 of the present invention prior to use; [0015]
FIG. 5 shows the left and right hand levers of the exercise device of the present invention as they are bent from the position shown in FIG. 4; and [0016]
FIG. 6 shows the left and right hand levers of the exercise device of the present invention when fully bent into a side-by-side position from the position shown in FIG. 4.[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the present invention, according to a preferred embodiment, comprises a [0018] left hand lever 10, a right hand lever 20, a pull member 30, two arms 40,41 and a torsion-adjusting mechanism 50.
The left hand lever [0019] 10 and right hand lever 20 are of completely the same structure and shape and thus, only the left hand lever 10 will be described herein for simplicity's sake. The left hand lever 10 includes a rod 101 and a pivot seat 102. One end of the rod 101 is sheathed with a gripping sleeve 100, while the other end is fixed to the pivot seat 102. The pivot seat 102 has an L-shape bent member 103 and a projection 104. The bent member 103 is provided with a through-hole 105 at one end thereof, and the bent member 103 is provided with a threaded hole 106. A bore 107 is provided on the projection 104 which is alignment with the threaded hole 106, and a space 108 is defined between the bent member 103 and the projection 104.
The torsion-[0020] adjusting mechanism 50 includes an adjustment nut 501, a spring 502, a support disk 503 and a connecting member 504. A threaded bore 505 is provided in the center of the top portion of the adjustment nut 501, and through- holes 506,507 are provided in the center of the support disk 503 and connecting member 504, respectively. The rods 510,511 of the connecting member 504 provide for insertion into the through- holes 105,206 of the bent members 103,203, respectively, and cooperate with bolts 512,513 which ate threaded into internal threaded holes 508,509 thereof.
The [0021] pull member 30 consists of a stem 301 having threads 300 at the top portion thereof and a block 302. The stem 301 is vertically disposed in the center of the block 302. From the two ends of the block 302 each extend a pair of walls 309,310,311,312 which respectively define spaces 303,304. The pair of walls 309,310 are provided with a through-hole 305 and a threaded hole 306, respectively, while the other pair of walls 311,312 are provided with a through-hole 307 and a threaded hole 308, respectively. The stem 301 is passed through the through-hole 507 of the connecting member 504, the through-hole 506 of the support disk 503 and the center of the spring 502, in that order, and is secured to the threaded bore 505 of the adjustment nut 501. The two terminal ends of each arm 40(41) are each provided with apertures 401,402(411,412), in which the top end of one arm 40 is inserted in the space 108 while the bottom end is inserted in the space 303, and the top end of the other arm 41 is inserted in the space 208 while the bottom end is inserted in the space 304. A bolt 413 is passed through the bore 107 and the aperture 401 of the arm 40, and threadedly locked into the threaded hole 106, while a bolt 414 is passed through the bore 207 and the aperture 411 of the other arm 41 and threadedly locked into the threaded hole 206. A bolt 415 is passed through the through-hole 305 and aperture 402 of the arm 40 and threadedly locked into the threaded hole 306, while a bolt 416 is passed through the through-hole 307 and aperture 412 of the other arm 41 and threadedly locked into the threaded hole 308.
Thus, when the [0022] adjustment nut 501 is appropriately tightened by rotation, the compression spring 502 downwardly pushes the support disk 503 such that the support disk 503 is urged closer to the connecting member 504, while the block 302 is pushed upwardly and drives the arms 40,41 to actuate the left and right hand levers 10,20, respectively, such that the left and right hand levers 10,20 is in the horizontal state, as shown in FIG. 3 which illustrates the embodiment prior to use. With reference to FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, when the two hands of a user grip the gripping sleeves 100,200 of the left and right levers 10,20, respectively, and apply a downward force to bend the left and right hand levers 10,20, the connecting-member 504 is caused to be urged upwardly which will drive the support disk 503 to likewise move upwardly to abut against the spring 502 on the one hand, while the arms 40, 41 are caused to push downwardly the block 302 and drive the stem 301 to move downwardly on the other hand. Pulling the adjustment nut 501 to move downwardly compresses the spring 502, and the upper and lower end of the spring 502 are compressed thus generating a torsional force. Such reciprocating bending action of the two hands in such a manner achieves the object of exercise. If the torsional force of the left and right hand levers 10,20 is to be adjusted, it is only necessary to tighten or loosen the adjustment nut 501 to adjust the degree of compression of the spring 502. When tightened, the spring is subjected to greater compression and the torsional force is greater; in contrast, when the spring 502 is loosened, the torsional force is smaller. To change the spring or replace the spring with one having a different compression force, all that is required is to remove the adjustment nut 501. It can thus be noted that the described embodiment of the present invention can achieve adjustment of the left and right hand levers 10,20 to different torsional force to fit users of different ages or of different strengths.
While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements. [0023]

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. An exercise device, comprising:

left and right hand levers each having a rod and a pivot seat fixedly attached to one end of said rod;

a pull member consisting of a stem and a block, said stem being vertically disposed in the center of said block;

2. An exercise device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said pivot seat of each of said left and right hand levers defines a space, and the two ends of said block define a space, both spaces providing for pivotal rotation of the two ends of said two arms, respectively

3. An exercise device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said torsion-adjusting mechanism further includes an adjustment nut, a spring and a support disk, said adjustment nut being provided with a threaded hole in the center of the top portion thereof, said stem being passed through the center of said adaptor, the through hole of said support disk and the center of said spring, in that order, and then being threadedly locked into said threaded hole of said adjustment nut.

4. An exercise device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said connecting member extends a rod provided for pivotal connection of said pivot seat.