CA1210787A

CA1210787A - Exercise device

Info

Publication number: CA1210787A
Application number: CA000453197A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Blaise Macdonald
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1984-04-30
Filing date: 1984-04-30
Publication date: 1986-09-02

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
This invention relates to the field of physical body development and to an novel device adapted to stretch and condition muscle groups and individual muscles within the human body. The device comprises a support means for supporting the user of the device, leg supports for supporting the legs of the user of the device, a control means to control the movement of the leg support and a resistance control means to control the resistance created in the pelvis-hip ball socket joint of the user during use of the device. The device may be used to develop many different areas of the body and allow the hip-ball socket joint muscles to relax during the exercise. Hip rotation is accommodated which is essential to achieve overall stretching and conditioning in the pelvic area.

Description

iO787.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to the field of physical body development and more particularly, to a novel device adapted to stretch and condition muscle groups and individual muscles within the human body.

2. Description of the Prior Art This invention is directed to development of the human body and is most useful in sports related environments.
In the past, various devices have been developed and have been used which have attempted to condition, strengthen, stretch and tone various muscle groups, in order to prepare that muscle group for a particular athletic endeavour.
Many of these prior art devices were developed in the 1950's and 1960's and most of them involved a simple device which merely pulled a muscle in a particular direction or caused resistance against a fall of free weights.
One example of these prior art devices is com-mercially available as a HURLEY STRETCH RACK* from Hurley Stretch Rack of Roanoke, Virginia, U.S.A. This device is a stretch device which allows an operator to stretch his or her legs and to maintain the stretched position for a pre-selected period of time. This device has a ratchet con-struction.
A second example of this type of device is the HAND MAX-FLEX* available for Baker Discount Martial Arts *Trade Mark ~Z~787 1 Supply co. of Chanute, Kansas, U.S.A. This device uses a hand opera~ed gear device to operate the stretching arm for the operator's legs.
A third example is THE RACK* available for Treco Products, Inc. of Poquason, Virginia. This device uses a plurality of cables with suitable locking gears to achieve its maximum stretch.
The foregoing three devices illustrate the state of the art in leg stretchers. They use different methods but all open the user's legs at a linear line of about 180.
With all these devices, the operator sits on a flat seat with his or her legs supported outwardly to the front of the body. On the ac~ivation of a cranking system using an appropriate mechanism, the operator's legs open in a lateral direction away from the centre-medial line of the body, to a desired spread of 180. These devices use the ankle as the focal pressure point which adds even more compressive resistance force to the hip-ball socket joints. Additionally, these devices do not allow the hip-ball socket joint muscles to relax since they all use a fixed seating arrangement and a fixed back support. Thus, these muscles tend to work against themselves rather than within themselves.
These devices also suffer from a drawback in that weaknesses may occur in the pelvic muscle groupings caused by overbalancing or underbalancing of the muscle groups.
With a flat seating arrangementj the user can not work on hip rotation which is essential to achieve overall stretching *Trade Mark ~2iO787 1 and conditionin~ in the pelvic area. These devices are also quite limited as they only relate to the stretching of the adductor muscles and thus, if the operator also wished to exercise, strengthen or condition the abductor muscles, he would require a separate and second machine.
The prior art also includes devices which work on both the abductor muscles and the adductor muscles.
These devices generally comprise a chair upon which the operator sits and to which he is secured at the waist. The legs are supported from underneath and from the inside for adduction and from the outside for abduction using paddea vertical rails. The supports and the resistance to their movement are present by the operator using a cam resistance wheel and then the operator opens and closes the legs against this resistance.
These devices have generally been quite bulky and unsuitable for home use as well as quite expensive.
Safety has also been a problem with these devices in that they also return to the resting or starting position which can cause or aggravate an injury if it occurs during the exercises.
Another device which has been sold on the market is commonly referred to as a "doorway hanger" and comprises a simple pulley system consisting of a simple pulley mounted between the door posts and a plastic rope or cord. The cord is arranged around the pulley and one end of the cord is attached to the foot of the operator who then pulls on the 12~07~7 1 other end. This raises the foot into the air and the exercise is repeated until the foot is raised as far as it will go. The feet are then switched and the exercise is repeated.
While this is a simple and inexpensive device, it adds considerable stress to the knee and hip joints.
Safety is also a problem as the operator must balance on one foot, pull on the rope and guide the other foot verti-cally.
A further type of prior art device is the platform type apparatus which uses a fixed platform to sup-port the operator and a moveable platform to support one foot of the operator. The moveable platform is moved away from the medial line along a track thereby exercising the muscles of the leg. These devices are quite bulky and no specific attention has been paid to the safety of the operator. For example, if injury occurs during usage, the device will continue thereby aggravating the injury. Also, the resistance on the hip-ball socket is increased thereby restricting the mobility of the pelvis and hip joint.
The devices of the prior art all suffer from similar drawbacks. Some of the machines were oversized and weighed a lot; some of them were designed for use in health clubs and the like and not for home use. Some of the frames on these devices were quite weak and caused serious safety problems for the user. Other devices did not provide suf-ficient adjustability to allow the operator to control the ~2~0787 1 amount of stress applied to his or her body during each phase of the exercise.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
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Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to at least partially overcome these disadvantages by providing a novel device which is completely and accurately controllable by the user.
It is a further object to provide a novel device which can be easily adjusted by any person.
A yet further object is to provide a light-weight, inexpensive and portable device adapted to stretch, tone, strengthen and condition various muscles in the body.
It is another object of the invention to provide a novel device which is safe to use and which in-corporates safety features therein to protect the user thereof.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a device which facilitates movement of the body "within itself`' and not "against itself".
- To this end, in one of its aspects, the invention provides a device for stretching and conditioning muscles, which device comprises:
(a) support means for supporting the user of said device;
(b) leg supports for supporting the legs of the user of the device;
(c) a control means to control the movement of each leg support;

-i21(~787 1 (d) a resistance control means to control the resistance cr~ated in the pelvic-hip socket joint of the user during use of the device;
In another of its aspects, the invention provides a device for stretchlng and conditioning muscles, which device com~rises:
(a~ support means for supporting the user of said device, said support means comprising a seat located centrally on said device to seat the user of the device in à seated position; an adjusting means to adjust the orientation of said seat, and a locking means to lock the adjustment means in a desired position;
(b) a pair of leg supports, each leg support including a stirrup for securing each leg of the user, and extending outwardly to the right and to the left from a centre line bisecting the device;
(c) a control means to control the lateral movement of each leg support, said control means comprising a handle and a tension control means, said handle adapted to activate a main pulley system which moves the leg supports in a lateral direction away from or towards the centre line bisecting the device;
(d) a main frame;
(e) an inner frame comprising a base plate, a pair of friction mount discs, a friction cam disc under each of said friction mount discs, said leg supports, a pair of identical-sized arm position discs, and an uppex plate, wherein said leg supports are pivotally connected to the lZ10787 1 inner frame by said pair o~ arm position discs and said pair of friction mount discs, said friction mount disc being in constant contact with said friction cam disc by means of a friction bushing which extends through the centre of said discs and said upper and lower plates, said inner frame being secured to said main frame by a plurality of bolts extending through said friction bushing;
(f) resistance control means to control the resistance created in the pelvi.c-hip ball socket joint of the user, said resistance controls means comprisin~ a handle, a`wire c~le secured to said handle and responsively secured to said friction cam discs, a pair of rods, each rod responsively connected to a friction cam disc and to a leg support, whereby the movement of said handle causes said leg supports to move outwardly from and inwardly towards the body of the user;
wherein said control means comprises a handle, and a tension control means to control the movement of the leg supports, said tension control means comprising a screw jack responsively connected to-said handle, a wire cable connected to said screw jack and to said arm position discs to thereby convert linear mot.ion of said screw jack to rotary motion of said arm position discs which when rotated, move said leg supports outwardly or inwardly in opposite directions from the centre line of the device.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description taken together with the accompanying drawings.

`- lZ10787 FIGURE 1 is a front perspective view of one embodiment of an exercise device of the present invention;
FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view thereof.
FIGURE 3 is a top plan view thereof with the seat removed;
FIGURE 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the pivoting mechanism of the present invention;
FIGURE 5 is a top view of the friction cam disc of the present invention;
FIGURE 6 is a top view of the friction mount disc of the present invention.
FIGURE 7 is an exploded view of the operative mechanism of the device.

DESC~IPTION OF l'HE PREFERRED EMBOD_MENT
The device of the present invention has been designed to allow easy use by members of the public rather than being directed to these skilled technicians as are some of the prior art devices. The user of the device first seats himself or herself in the seat which is locat-ed centrally on the device. Both legs of the user are then secured in stirrups which are mounted respectively in leg supports which extend outwardly to the right and to the left from a centre line bisecting the device itself.
The movement of each of the leg supports is `
controlled by a pulley system which has been designed to provide a balanced, lateral movement of the leg supports which are moved as desired, to suit the specific and part-icular needs of the individual user.

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`` ~210787 1 A separate means is provided to control the move-ment of the leg supports. In the preferred embodiment, which will be described in more detail hereinafter, this means comprises a handle which is connected to a tension - control device which controls the movement of the leg supports.
~ se arate means is also provided to control the amount of resistance in the pelvis-hip ball socket ]oint when the lateral movement of the user's legs has reached a maximum range.
In use, the lndividual seats himself or herself in the seat and secures his or her legs in the stirrups.
The handle is then turned by the user which activates the main pulley system which then moves the leg supports in a lateral direction away from the centre line. This causes the legs to be stretched and the muscles conditioned in a carefully executed, gradual and precise manner which is the desired result of the exercise.
The device is mainly used on the lower extremities with particular reference to the legs and pelvic area.
However, it can be adapted and used for any area of the body if desired.
The present device may be used to develop many different areas of the body. For example, when the legs are opened as wide as they can, by leaning forward at that time, the operator will cause the lengthy back muscles to stretch. If the user then stretches his or her arms out in front of the body, in line with the upper torso, and in an extended position, and tucks the chin into the chest, the - surrounding back - shoulder - arm and neck muscles will be 1;i~10787 1 stretched. By turnin~ and twisting the upper torso, all the major muscle groups in the upper torso will be stretch-ed and conditioned.
The pelvic area may be stretched by leaning back-ward while the legs are in the open position. The further the user leans backwards, with accompanying arm and neck movement, the more the muscle groups in the front of the body will be stretched and conditioned. Thus, the present invention may be used to strengthen, condition and exercise many different muscle groups of the body.
With reference to the drawings the device comprises basically a seat 10 with a pair of transversely extending leg supports 12, 14 on which are mounted stirrups 16, 18 which are used to retain the feet or legs of the user.
The seat 10 is preferably mounted on an adjusting means 20 which is adapted to adjust the position and orientation of the seat 10. It is obvious to one skil-led in the art that adjustment to the seat 10 may be necessary to accommodate the various seats of users and the adjusting means 20 allows for such adjustments. Also, it is preferable that the seat 10 be mounted on a spring 22 to increase the comfort of the user during the exercise phase. A safety lock ~not shown) may be incorporated into the adjusting means 20 and the spring 22 to prevent undesired damage to the user. The spring 22 also allows greater flexibility and mobility in the pelvic area during the exercise movements.

~zia787 1 The device includes a main body frame 24 which houses the majority of the working parts and provides a support for the seat 10 and the adjusting means 20. An inner frame 26 is provided on each side of the device and this inner frame 26 includes a base plate 28 supported on feet 30.
The leg supports 12, 14 are each pivotally attached to the inner frame 26 by the use of a pair of identical sized arm position discs 32 and friction mount disc 33. A friction cam disc 36 is placed under the friction mount disc 33. Thus, as shown in figure 4 the inner frame 26 comprises of a base plate 28, a friction cam disc 36, a friction mount disc 33, leg supports 12, 14, an arm position disc 32 and an upper plate 34. The friction cam dlsc 36 is not secured to the friction mount disc 33, but rather, the flat surface of the friction mount disc 33 and the friction cam disc 36 are in constant contact. They are held in this position by means of a friction bushing 35 that runsthrough the center of the three discs and the upper and lower base plates.
The purpose of the friction cam disc 36 is to increase the amount of friction once the lateral movement of the leg supports 12, 14, has reached the maximum opened position determined by the user. Bolts 38 run through the bushings 35 to secure the top and bottom of the main body frame 24 to the inner frame 26.`
The method of attachment of the leg support 12, 14 is not critical and may be of any suitable construction.

~Z10787 1 One such construction, as shown in figure 4, include the use of discs 32,33, which have a plurality of holes drilled in their surface. Corresponding holes are drilled in the leg supports and elongated bolts are secured through the leg support and each of the pair of discs. Preferably, four holes and bolts are used but any desired number may be used provided that the connection is pivotal and secure.
The main body frame 24 includes most of the apparatus and is secured to the inner frame 26 using a plurality, preferably 8, bolts 38 so that the stress on the frame during exercise will be spread out and reduced on each working part.
All the component parts may be made o~ any suitable material such as steel, plastics or aluminum.
Depending upon whether the device is for home use, that is, light weight for each transportability, the materials selected will reflect cost, weight and each of fabrication factors.
The operation of the device will now be explained.
The user first adjusts the lateral rotation of the leg support 12,14 by turning the handle 40. These leg supports 12,14 are vertically pivoted and are so adjusted that their pivotal axis point coincides with the hip-ball socket joint rotation axis point of the user.
When the handle 40 is turned, it in turn, acti-vates a screw jack 42 which is connected to the le~ supports 12,14 by means of a wire cable 44. This wire is looped around and secured to the arm position disc 32 as shown in `` ~210787 1 figure 4. As the handle 40 is turned, the line~r motion of the screw jack 42 is converted to rotar~ motion by means of this flexible wire cable 44. A1] backlash is removed from the system by individual tension adjustors (not shown) for each cable that are located on the arm position discs 32.

As the handle 40 is turned, the lateral move-ment of the leg supports 12,14 move from a parallel posi-tion in front of the user to an angle of 180 degree spread therebetween.
The rotational movement of the leg supports 12,14 is of course in opposite directions. Thus, as the user is seated on the seat 10 and the lateral movement is greater, certain forces are applied to cause an increasing angle of stretches to be applied to the legs and to the pelvic area, which is completely controlled by the user.
By applying the necessary force on the legs to open them, a compressive force is applied to the legs and into the hip ball-socket joints. However, no damage results to the user because of the following reasons.
-20 The handle 46 controls the abduction force on the ball socket hip joint when the lateral movement of the leg armsreaches the maximum range of movement as determined by the user. This means is accomplished by the wire cable 48 which is connected to the handle 46. The cable 48 is looped around the two friction cam discs 36 as shown in figure 3. As handle 46 is turned, it puts tension on the cable that is attached to the spindle below it and the tension is also transferred to the loop connectin~

lZ10787 1 the two f.riction cam discs. ~s the handle 46 is continued to be turned, the two friction cam discs 36 begin to turn both clockwise and counterclockwise simultaneously.
As these offset discs move, they push push rods 62 away from the centre point. Thus this puts pressure on the stirrups 16,18 which are secured to the feet. As this happens, resistance is released in the ball socket hip joint by slowly pulling the le~ away from the eentre of the body.
The stirrups 16,18 whieh support and seeure the ankles of the user, are tensioned along their arms away from the pivot point which counteracts these eompressive forces. Thus, the pressure in the hip ball-soeket ~oint is relieved and allows complete freedom of movement.
This aetion is aceomplished by means of the seeon-dary pulley system that involves handle 46 and a flexible wire eable 48 that is looped and seeured to eaeh of the friction cam discs 36. This wire eable 48 is looped around eaeh of the frietion eam discs 36 in such a way as to cause eounter rotation of the two frietion cam discs 36 simultan-eously when handle 46 is turned.
As diseussed earlier the frietion eam dise 36 has the same pivotal axis point as the arm position dise 32 and the frietion mount disc 33. When the handle 46 is turned, it imparts an~ular motion to the friction eam disc 36. The ~riction eam disc 36 and the friction mount dise 33 share a eam system that eonverts the rotation of the frietion eam dise 36, relative to the frietion mount dise 12~Q787 1 33 to a linear motion of the cam follower which is locat-ed between the arm position disc 32 and the friction mount disc 33.
This is accomplished by having an offset groove 50 hollowed into the surface of the friction cam disc 36. There is also a slot 52 in the surface of the friction mount disc 33 which allows a dowel pin 58 that is affixed to the cam follower 60 to pass through the friction mount disc 33 and come to rest in the groove 50 on the surface of the friction cam disc 36.
The centre 54 of the groove 50 is offset from the centre 56 of the friction cam disc 36. The-pin 58 (see figure 3) is connected to the cam follower 60 and extends through the slot 52 of the friction mount disc 33 and rests in the groove 50. Thus, as the friction cam disc 36 rotates, this offset groove 50 guides the pin 58 and causes the cam follower 60 to move in a forward or backward direction.
Attached to the cam follower 60 is a rod 62.
This rod 62 controls the compression of the abductor com-pression springs 64 whlch in turn apply the necessary force to the stirrups 16,18. This abduction force relieves the tension from the hip ball-socket ~oints.
The friction drive mechanism described herein prevents the setting of the abduction force from chan~ing, 1~10787 1 once set and also causes the whole system to rotate as a unit if further adjustments of the position of the leg supports 12~14 occurs. Without this feature, the abduction force would need to be readjusted each time changes in the position of the leg supports 12,14 was desired. Thus, the abduction force applied to the legs cannot reach a dangerous level as it is governed by the selection of the parameter of springs 64. Springs 64 can be varied in size and tension to suit the specific needs of the user.
Adjustable stops 66 are provided which allow for accommodation of various lengths of legs of the operators who may use the machine.
In the preferred embodiment, the seat is specifically designed to allow minimal contact with the user's body. It is preferable that the only contact is between the seat and-the pubic bone and the two seat bones of the user. This thus forms a triangular shaped contact area which reduces the amount of resistance during hip rotation.
Although the disclosure describes and illustrates a preferred embodiment, it is to be understood ~ that it is not restricted thereto.

'A~

Claims

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A device for stretching and conditioning muscles, which device comprises:
(a) support means for supporting the user of said device;
(b) leg supports for supporting the legs of the user of the device;
(c) a control means to control the movement of each leg support;
(d) a resistance control means to control the resistance created in the pelvic-hip ball socket joint of the user during use of the device.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said support means is a seat located centrally on the device.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said leg supports are a pair of leg supports, each leg support including a stirrup for securing each leg of the user.

4. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said control means comprises a handle and a tension control means to control the movement of the leg supports.

5. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said support means is adapted to seat the user of the device in a seated position.

6. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said leg supports extends outwardly to the right and to the left from a centre line bisecting the device.

7. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said control means is adapted to move each leg support laterally outwardly.

8. A device as claimed in claim 4 wherein the movement of said handle activates a main pulley system which moves the leg supports in a lateral direction away from or towards the centre line bisecting the device.

9. A device as claimed in claim 2 wherein said seat includes an adjusting means to adjust the orientation of said seat.

10. A device as claimed in claim 9 wherein said seat includes a locking means to lock the adjustment means in a desired position.

11. A device as claimed in claim 9 further including a spring for supporting the seat.

12. A device as claimed in claim 1 including a main frame and an inner frame to enclose said device.

13. A device as claimed in claim 12 wherein said inner frame includes a base plate supported by feet for supporting said device.

14. A device as claimed in claim 12 wherein said leg supports are pivotally attached to the inner frame by a pair of identical-sized arm position discs and a pair of friction mount discs.

15. A device as claimed in claim 12 wherein said inner frame comprises a base plate, a pair of friction mount discs, a friction cam disc under each of said friction mount discs, leg supports, a pair of identical-sized arm position discs and an upper plate.

16. A device as claimed in claim 15 wherein each of said friction mount disc is in constant contact with said friction cam disc.

17. A device as claimed in claim 16 wherein said constant contact is maintained by a friction bushing which extends through the centre of said discs and said upper and said lower plates.

18. A device as claimed in claim 12 wherein said main frame is secured to said inner frame by means of bolts.

19. A device as claimed in claim 17 wherein bolts extend through said friction bushing to secure the inner frame to said inner frame.

20. A device as claimed in claim 15 wherein said leg supports are secured to said pairs of discs.

21. A device as claimed in claim 15 wherein said control means comprises a handle and a tension control means to control the movement of the leg supports, said tension control means comprising a screw jack responsively connected to said handle, a wire cable connected to said screw jack and to said arm position discs to thereby convert linear motion of said screw jack to rotary motion

Claim 21 continued...

of said arm portion discs which when rotated, move said leg supports outwardly or inwardly in opposite direction, from the centre line of the device.

22. A device as claimed in claim 21 further including tension adjusters secured to said wire cable to adjust the tension therein.

23. A device as claimed in claim 15 wherein said resistance control means comprises a handle, a wire cable secured to said handle and responsively secured to said friction cam discs, a pair of rods, each rod responsively connected to a friction cam disc and to a leg support, whereby the movement of said handle causes said leg supports to move outwardly from and inwardly towards the body of the user.

24. A device for stretching and conditioning muscles, which device comprises:
(a) support means for supporting the user of said device, said support means comprising a seat located centrally on said device to seat the user of the device in a seated position; an adjusting means to adjust the orientation of said seat, and a locking means to lock the adjustment means in a desired position;

(b) a pair of leg supports, each leg support including a stirrup for securing each leg of the user, and extending outwardly to the right and to the left from a centre line bisecting the device;

Claim 24 continued...

(c) a control means to control the lateral movement of each leg support, said control means comprising a handle and a tension control means, said handle adapted to activate a main pulley system which moves the leg supports in a lateral direction away from or towards the centre line bisecting the device;

(d) a main frame;

(e) an inner frame comprising a base plate, a pair of friction mount discs, a friction cam disc under each of said friction mount discs, said leg supports, a pair of identical-sized arm position discs, and an upper plate, wherein said leg supports are pivotally connected to the inner frame by said pair of arm position disc and said pair of friction mount discs, said friction mount disc being in constant contact with said friction cam disc by means of a friction bushing which extends through the centre of said discs and said upper and lower plates, said inner frame being secured to said main frame by a plurality of bolts extending through said friction bushing;

(f) resistance control means to control the resistance created in the pelvic-hip ball socket joint of the user, said resistance control means comprising a handle, a wire cable secured to said handle and responsively secured to said friction cam discs, a pair of rods, each rod responsively connected to a friction cam disc and to a leg support, whereby the movement of said handle causes said leg supports to move outwardly from and inwardly towards the body of the user;

Claim 24 continued...

wherein said control means comprises a handle, and a tension control means to control the movement of the leg supports, said tension control means comprising a screw jack responsively connected to said handle, a wire cable connected to said screw jack and to said arm position discs to thereby convert linear motion of said screw jack to rotary motion of said arm position discs which when rotated, move said leg supports outwardly or inwardly in opposite directions from the centre line of the device.

25. A device as claimed in claim 5 wherein said support means is a seat which is adapted to contact the pubic bone and the two seat bones of the user when in a seated position.

26. A device as claimed in claim 24 wherein said seat is shaped to contact the pubic bone and the two seat bones of the user when the user is in a seated position.