Abstract:
Exercise apparatus for strengthening the arm, shoulder, and back muscles. A weight bearing bar capable of holding free weights is moved through a path as the user draws a pair of elongate handles over the front of the body. As the weight bearing bar is moved, the moment arm of the weight is reduced, thereby reducing the effort required to draw the elongate levers downward as the leverage of the user&#39;s muscles declines. The elongate handles are mounted to a moveable assembly which is rotatable over a limited range and also is pivotable toward the user. The apparatus may be placed in a storage position when use is complete.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention pertains to exercise equipment and particularly to exercise equipment for muscles of the arms, shoulders, and back of the user. 
     In the field of body exercise and strength training, there is a need to exercise the upper body and arms under a resistive load. Various devices have been developed to provide a resistive force to the user as the user moves his or her arms from a position with the arms extended above the head to a position with the hands positioned below the shoulders. In such equipment, the resistance is routinely provided by an arrangement of cables and pulleys which vertically lift a stack of weights as the handles of the device are brought downward. In such devices, the resistance provided by the machine remains constant, regardless whether the user has the arms and shoulders in a relatively stronger or weaker position. 
     In other devices, free weights mount to lever arms at a relatively high position, requiring an attendant or the user to lift free weights high in the air to mount them to the apparatus. As the user pulls down on levers, the resistance provided by the weights varies little if any as the arms are moved from an overhead position to a position in front of the chest. 
     In other devices, elaborate counterbalance features are required in order to make the apparatus useful to those users with lesser upper body strength due to the weight of the weight bearing structure even when not loaded. 
     A need exists for an easily used, safe, pull-over exercise machine which can be used by persons of various strengths and sizes and which varies the resistive load to the muscles of the arms, shoulders and back as muscle strength and leverage decline, thereby improving exercise of the muscles over a range of motion of the arms. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a safe and effective exercise machine which provides a varying resistance to the exercised muscles as the leverage and strength of the muscles increase or decrease over a range of motion. The invention provides an apparatus which safely exercises the muscles of the arms, shoulders and back as the arms are moved from a fully extended overhead position to a position with elbows at the side of the body. A base frame is provided with an inclined bench and seat mounted over it which allows a user to easily place himself or herself in position to exercise in a reclined position. The bench is inclined downwardly toward a first end of the base frame. A cushioned bar is mounted below the seat so that the user can place his or her legs around the cushioned bar and lock the bar behind the knees to restrain upward movement of the user&#39;s body when the loaded handles are pulled downward. 
     An upright support member is positioned on the base frame between the inclined bench and the second end of the base frame. Pivotally mounted to the top of the upright support is a moveable assembly which comprises a first lever and an arm mounted perpendicularly to the lever which extends away from the bench. At the free end of the arm is a transverse bar. Free weights may be selectively placed on the transverse bar as desired by the user to provide the preferred resistive load of the machine. 
     The arm of the moveable assembly is equipped with a downwardly depending stub arm to the side of which a roller is mounted. The roller may roll along the side of a rest support post mounted at the end of the frame to center the moveable assembly behind the user. The moveable assembly may be parked in a storage position with the roller resting in a cradle atop a rest support post mounted near the second end of the base. The first lever of the moveable assembly is provided with a cross member at its free end. The cross member is centered on the first lever and each end of the cross member has an elongate handle angularly extending from it toward the upper end of the bench. 
     After loading the transverse bar with free weights as desired, the user may position himself or herself on the machine, reach upwardly and grasp the elongate handles and pull down on the handles slightly to lift the roller from the cradle. The user then rotates the moveable assembly slightly so the roller is out of alignment with the cradle and then may fully extend the arms overhead to commence an exercise session. The exercise activity comprises alternately retracting and extending the arms to exercise the upper body muscles as the weights on the transverse bar are moved over a path which reduces the moment arm of the weights as the handles are pulled downward. When the exercise session is finished, the user retracts the handles part way and rotates the moveable assembly to alignment over the rest support and then lowers the roller into the cradle to rest the apparatus in its storage position. 
     It is an object of the invention to provide an overhead pull apparatus which eases in resistance as the arms are moved to positions of reduced strength and leverage. 
     It is also an object of the invention to provide an exercise apparatus which prevents the user from being displaced as the user pulls on the overhead pull levers. 
     It is a further object of the invention to provide an overhead pull apparatus which allows the user to remove the apparatus from a storage position while in position on the device ready to exercise. 
     It is a further object of the invention to provide an overhead pull exercise apparatus which may be used by persons of a wide variety of strengths and sizes. 
     These and other objects will be understood from review of the detailed description below. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES 
     FIG. 1 is a front left perspective of the preferred embodiment of the invention in a storage position with the moveable assembly resting on the rest support post. 
     FIG. 2 is a front elevation of the preferred embodiment of the invention with free weights shown by dashed lines, the invention being shown in the position with the moveable assembly disengaged from the rest support post and rotated maximally away from the bench. 
     FIG. 3 is an expanded front left perspective view of the compound pivot structure of the preferred embodiment of the invention. 
     FIG. 4 is an end plan view of the invention with parts omitted, showing operation of the roller along the rest support post. 
     FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the handles and cross member of the moveable assembly of the preferred embodiment. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     In FIG. 1, the preferred embodiment of the invention is isometrically illustrated, while a front elevation of the device is shown in FIG. 2 with weight plates  55  thereon shown in phantom. A base frame  2  includes a first end  4  and a second end  6 , with a user support assembly  8  mounted above the base frame  2  and substantially axially centered thereon above central rail  10 . User support assembly  8  comprises a first upright member  12  mounted to central rail  10  which, at its higher end  16 , supports inclined rail  18 . Inclined rail  18  is supported at its lower end  19  by its mounting atop support post  20  which is mounted upright upon first end  4  of base frame  2 . Inclined bench  14  is mounted upon inclined rail  18  and is disposed above seat  22  which depends from inclined rail  18  in a generally horizontal direction. Seat  22  and inclined bench  14  provide a rest on which the exercising user may recline. 
     A knee lock bar  24  is transversely mounted below seat  22  so that a user may place the user&#39;s legs around knee lock bar  24  such that it is behind the user&#39;s knees while the user sits on the seat  22  so that the user&#39;s pulling on handle members  62  and  64  will not pull the user upward along inclined bench  14 . Knee lock bar  24  is provided with foam surrounds  30  to cushion it. 
     Disposed between user support assembly  8  and second end  6  of base frame  2  is moveable assembly  32  which comprises a first lever  34  which is pivotable at its lower end upon pivot support member  36 . An elongate arm  40  cantilevers perpendicularly from first lever  34  toward the second end  6  of base frame  2 . A gusset  37  strengthens the mounting of elongate arm  40  to first lever  34 . A stabilizer beam  45  is disposed between first upright member  12  and pivot support member  36 . 
     At the free end  44  of elongate arm  40  is transversely mounted a weight carrying bar  46  which is provided with a central segment  48  and opposing rod ends  50 ,  52 . Weight carrying bar  46  is centered on free end  44  of arm  40 , but central segment  48  is not. Hence, one rod end  50  of weight carrying bar  46  is longer than the other rod end  52 . Weight carrying bar  46  is provided to receive commonly used free weights  55  of circular plate shape which may be selectively added or removed from weight carrying bar  46  according to the resistance desired by the user. Weight plate  55  is preferably an “Olympic” weight with a two-inch diameter hole. Hence rod ends  50 ,  52  are preferably slightly less then two inches in diameter. Resilient washers  53  are mounted adjacent the opposing ends of central segment  48 . 
     The height of pivot support member  36  is selected such that the weight carrying bar  46  is never movable past a vertical over pivot pin  43 . 
     At the upper end  58  of first lever  34  is mounted a cross member  60  to which are mounted handle members  62  and  64  at the opposing ends of cross member  60 . Left and right handle members  62  and  64  extend upwardly and toward upper end  26  of inclined bench  14  at an angle of approximately forty-five degrees from the axis of first lever  34 . 
     Mounted to and depending below arm  40  is a stub arm  54  which is fixed to arm  40  at an acute angle from free end  44  thereof, and thereby extends toward second end  6  of base frame  2  such that, as moveable assembly  32  pivots about pivot pin  43  away from inclined bench  14 , the free end of stub arm  54  will reach abutment on top of second end  6  of base frame  2  and prevent further rotation of moveable assembly  32 . The length of stub arm  54  may be selected such that handle members  62  and  64  will be moveable just out of the reach of the outstretched hands of most users. Therefore, the apparatus is typically parked in an intermediate position for storage at which the handles may be easily grasped by most users. 
     Stub arm  54  is provided with a bearing member, specifically a roller  42  mounted to one of its sides. The roller  42  is disposed so its axis is generally parallel to the axis of arm  40  and further so that roller  42  may rest in a storage position on the top of rest support post  38 . Rest support post  38  extends above base frame  2  and is disposed angularly such that the locus of travel of roller  42  will generally coincide with the incline of rest support post  38 . 
     In FIG. 5 it is seen that each handle member  62  and  64  is provided with an inwardly directed segment  66 ,  68 , each distal from the mounting of each handle member  62 ,  64  to cross member  60 . Curved handle members  62 ,  64  are slightly concave relative to the space between them and are sleeved with cushioned material or a cushioning coating. The angle of inwardly directed segments  66  and  68  is selected to provide a comfortable hold for the user who will reach over his or her head to grasp handle members  62 ,  64  along inwardly directed segments  66 ,  68 . This arrangement facilitates the user in drawing handles  62 ,  64  from a position above the user&#39;s head to a position even with the user&#39;s chest without allowing the elbows of the user to spread from his or her body, thereby preventing unnecessary stress on the ball and sockets of the shoulders of the user. 
     FIG. 3 discloses the detail of the compound pivot member  28  interconnecting moveable assembly  32  and pivot support member  36 . A U-shaped yoke  70  is fixed by pivot pin  43  to first lever  34  such that first lever  34  may pivot about pivot pin  43 . The first lever  34  is moveable within a vertical plane defined by the axes of pivot support member  36  and stabilizing beam  45 . 
     U-shaped yoke  70  is fixed at its lower end  76  to upper bearing plate  72  which is separated by a washer or other similar bearing element from lower bearing plate  74 . Thus U-shaped yoke  70  and hence moveable assembly  32  may rotate upon pivot support member  36  about its substantially vertical axis. The axial rotation of moveable assembly  32  is limited by the presence of tongue  78  which protrudes into the space between opposing legs  71  and  73  of U-shaped yoke  70 . Tongue  78  is fixedly mounted to stabilizing arm  45  by vertical post  80 . Transversely mounted below tongue  78  is plate  82  which provides adjustment screws  84 ,  86  at the opposing ends of plate  82 . Adjusting screws  84  and  86  are selectively adjusted to provide limits for the rotation of upper bearing plate  72 , thereby limiting the range of rotation of moveable assembly  32  to about ten degrees of rotation. 
     FIG. 4 illustrates the structure and function of roller  42  when moveable assembly  32  has been lifted from its storage position with roller  42  resting in concave cradle  41  which is mounted atop rest support post  38 . If the user does not exert equal force on each of handles  62 ,  64  as moveable assembly  32  is rotated about pivot pin  43  toward inclined bench  14 , moveable assembly  32  may rotate about the vertical axis until roller  42  abuts the side of rest support post  38 . As handle members  62 ,  64  are drawn downward by the user&#39;s outstretched arms, roller  42  may roll along rest support post  38  thereby reducing frictional resistance and causing moveable assembly  32  to remain essentially centered behind the user reclining on inclined bench  14 . The limits of rotation of moveable assembly  32  due to the effect of screws  84 ,  86  engaging upper bearing plate  72  prevents moveable assembly  32  from becoming seriously misaligned as it is pivoted about pivot pin  43 . 
     FIG. 2 illustrates the position of moveable assembly  32  when roller  42  is separated from its storage position atop rest support post  38  and weight carrying bar  46  is lowered to its fully extended position with stub arm  54  abutting base frame  2  and resting on bumper  56 . 
     OPERATION OF THE INVENTION 
     As can be understood from the drawings, with the apparatus in its storage position with roller  42  resting in cradle  41 , a user places himself or herself on inclined bench  14  and seat  22  in a reclined position. The user may then reach up and backward and grasp elongate handle members  62  and  64 . At that point, the user is ready to release the moveable assembly and commence the exercise maneuvers. By grasping left and right handle members  62  and  64  at the inwardly directed segments  66  and  68  respectively, the user may draw the handle members  62  and  64  toward the user far enough to disengage roller  42  from cradle  41 . The user then rotates the moveable assembly  32  into a centered position and exercises upper extremity muscles by alternately extending the arms overhead and drawing the elbows to the user&#39;s sides. As the first lever  34  pivots about pivot pin  43 , the weight carrying bar  46  and free weight plates  55  positioned thereon are moved through an arc which varies the moment arm between weight carrying bar  46  and pivot pin  43  thereby decreasing the vector force of the free weights as the elbows of the user are drawn toward the sides of the user in which position less muscle strength is present. As the elbows of user reach the sides of the user, the free weight plate  55  continues to be outboard of the pivot pin  43  though the force required to finish the movement declines as the axis of the free weight plates  55  approaches alignment over the pivot pin  43 . As a result, a decreasing load is presented to the user as the natural strength of the user declines in the range of motion of the exercise. When the exercise session is complete, the apparatus may be parked in its storage position with the roller  42  lowered into the concave cradle  41 .