Abstract:
An exercise apparatus including a platform, attached to a resilient member, which can rotate, twist, and tilt in every angle while also providing a resistance force to all degrees of movement. The resilient member is also attached to a base, such that strength, agility and balance can be trained while also providing a cardiovascular workout. The platform may be modified by the addition of an elastomeric material over its surface to provide additional traction or padding. The platform may also have notches placed around its perimeter, through which resistance tubing or rope may be placed, such that upper body resistance motion may be integrated into the exercise apparatus. Furthermore, support members may be disposed under both the platform and base for additional support and rigidity. The base may also be in the form of legs extending out from a central portion. The resilient member may have a groove around its center, about which a collar may be attached, in order to modify the level of resistance provided by the apparatus.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention relates to the field of exercise equipment, and, in particular, to an adjustable exercise apparatus for increasing an individual&#39;s strength, agility and balance as well as for providing a cardiovascular workout.  
           [0003]    2. Background Art  
           [0004]    There are many different activities in daily life which require individuals to use their strength, agility and balance. Furthermore, many of today&#39;s sports require even more developed abilities. In order to improve upon the skills needed for these activities many people have turned to various forms of exercise equipment designed to isolate and target the areas of the body used in these activities.  
           [0005]    The initial movement in this area of exercise equipment led to the design of several different apparatuses concentrated on balancing. Similar designs have also been developed in the area of physical therapy. Several relevant patents in this area are: U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,522,783 and 5,667,462 to Gordon, U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,629 to Vaughan and U.S. Pat. No. 4,905,994 to Hartz. While many of these designs promote the development of the user&#39;s muscles and abilities, the extent of such development is eventually limited to the basic design of the board. Not only is there a limit to the amount of improvement which can be achieved, but eventual lack of further challenge often results in a lack of interest of the user.  
           [0006]    What is needed is an exercise apparatus which allows for adjustment in the level of difficulty, as well as optional involvement of other areas of the body, for a total body workout.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0007]    The present invention provides an exercise apparatus having a base, a platform with notches placed along its perimeter, and a resilient member located between the base and the platform. The exercise apparatus allows rotation about at least two axes of rotation. In an alternate embodiment of the invention, the resilient member may be modified by the attachment of a collar. The apparatus may also have a non-slip surface disposed on the top of the platform. Both the platform and the base may have support members disposed on their respective bottom surfaces to add support and stability and furthermore these support members may form a grid-like pattern. Also the resilient member may have both cavities and flanges to provide twisting and bending functionality as well as support to the exercise apparatus. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES  
       [0008]    [0008]FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of the apparatus of the present invention.  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the exercise apparatus taken along a line  2 - 2  of FIG. 1.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 3 is a top view of a platform of the apparatus of FIG. 1.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the platform taken along a line  4 - 4  of FIG. 3.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the platform of FIG. 3.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 6A is a top perspective view of a resilient member.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 6B is a top plan view of the resilient member of FIG. 6A.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the resilient member of FIG. 6A taken along a line  7 - 7 .  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 8A is a bottom perspective view the resilient member of FIG. 6A.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 8B is a bottom plan view of the resilient member of FIG. 8A.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 9 is a bottom, plan view of a base of the apparatus of FIG. 1.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the base of FIG. 9, taken along a line  10 - 10 .  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 11 is a front view of an alternate embodiment of the resilient member of the present invention.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0021]    Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a top perspective view of an exercise apparatus  100  of the present invention, in which a platform  102  is disposed above a base  104 . In one embodiment, platform  102  and base  104  are composed of an aluminum honeycomb material, thereby making apparatus  100  light-weight and strong. In this embodiment a composite is formed from a aluminum honeycomb core laminated on both sides with sheet aluminum through a process of heat and pressure.  
         [0022]    In another embodiment, platform  102  is molded of a high strength plastic material. Alternatively, platform  102  can be formed from a fiberglass core with a Kevlar skin, or from carbon fiber. As shown in FIG. 2, platform  102  can be formed to include support members  208  on a bottom surface of platform  102 . Platform support members  208 , in one embodiment, are downwardly projecting extensions on the bottom surface of platform  102 , which form a grid-like pattern. It would be apparent to one skilled in the relevant art that other support structures could also be used to provide added stability and rigidity to platform  102 .  
         [0023]    Similarly, base  104  can also be molded from a high strength plastic or similar materials as platform  102 . Base  104  can further be formed with base support members  210  on a bottom surface of base  104 . Base support members  210 , in one embodiment, are downwardly projecting extensions on the bottom surface of base  104 , which form a grid-like pattern. It would be apparent to one skilled in the relevant art that other support structures could also be used to provide added stability and rigidity to base  104 .  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of apparatus  100 , in which a resilient member  202  connects platform  102  to base  104 . A resilient member platform plate  204 , preferably made from steel, is located between resilient member  202  and platform  102  and is used to attach resilient member  202  to platform  102  using bolts (not shown) or other attachment mechanisms, as would be apparent to one skilled in the relevant art. A resilient member base plate  206 , also preferably made from steel, is located between resilient member  202  and base  104  and is also used to attach resilient member  202  to base  104 . Resilient member platform plate  204  and resilient member base plate  206  also assist in weight distribution of the user from the platform  104  through the resilient member  202  and then onto base  104 . In one embodiment, resilient member  202  is composed of a natural rubber material having a maximum static load of 770 lbs. and a spring rate of 850 lbs./in. while in shear and a maximum static load of 3870 lbs. and a spring rate of 5100 lbs./in. while in compression. Such a resilient member  202  is available commercially from the Lord Corporation as Part No. J14056-4 and can be composed of an elastomer. In one embodiment, the elastomer is a self-lubricating elastomer. In another embodiment, the elastomer is a self-lubricating, natural rubber. However, it would be apparent to one skilled in the relevant art that any of a variety of materials could be used to construct resilient member  202  such that resilient member  202  is capable of twisting about its vertical axis and bending along all directions of its horizontal axis. Resilient member  202  will be discussed in further detail below.  
         [0025]    Platform  102  is shown in further detail in FIGS.  3 - 5 . Notches  106  are located around the perimeter of platform  102 . Notches  106  allow a user to attach rope or rubber hosing to apparatus  100  so as to permit the inclusion of arm movements into the exercise performed on the apparatus. In one embodiment, notches  106  are shaped as a key hole in order to hold a rope, elastic resistance tubing, or the like in position during use of apparatus  100 . It would be apparent to one skilled in the relevant art that other shapes, such as “L”-shaped slots, could be used for notches  106 . In still a further embodiment, a rope or tubing or the like could be attached, either removably or permanently, to the apparatus, and the notches  106  could be used simply as guides. Still further, handles could be attached to the ends of the rope or tubing. Also, a mechanism could be attached to the apparatus to retract the rope or tubing when not in use.  
         [0026]    Platform  102  includes platform bolt holes  204  to attach platform  102  to resilient member  202 . A cover recess  306  is located at the center of the platform  102  and allows for a cover (not shown) to be attached to platform  102  to provide a flat surface unaffected by the attachment bolts. Cover plate bolt holes  308  are used to attach the cover to platform  102 . In one embodiment, upper surface  402  of platform  102  is constructed from a non-skid elastomeric material. In another embodiment a non-slip material, such as an elastomeric material, is stretched across upper surface  402  of platform  102 . In another embodiment, a non-slip material is inlaid into a recess formed on the upper surface  402  of platform  102 . In still another embodiment, the non-slip material is glued onto upper surface  402  of platform  102 . It would be apparent to one skilled in the art that various coverings could be placed over upper surface  402  of platform  102  to alter both its texture and appearance. As discussed above, a rigid grid-like structure is formed by support members  208  on a lower surface  404  of platform  102 , as visible in FIGS. 4 and 5.  
         [0027]    [0027]FIGS. 6A, 6B,  7 ,  8 A and  8 B show one embodiment of resilient member  202 . A top view of resilient member  202  shows resilient member pin holes  602  which align with platform pins  212  to provide proper alignment of resilient member  202  to platform  102 . Resilient member  202  also has resilient member bolt holes  604  formed therein to allow attachment of resilient member  202  to platform  102  by bolts (not shown). Ridges  606  are provided around the outer perimeter of a top portion of resilient member  202  to connect resilient member  202  to platform  102  so that the twisting resistance provided by resilient member  202  can be evenly transferred to platform  102  and to prevent slippage. Resilient member pins  214  are used to help lock (attach) resilient member  202  to base  104 .  
         [0028]    Resilient member  202  has a cavity  704  and cut outs  706  formed therein to allow sufficient twisting and bending in accordance with the exercise being performed. It would be apparent to one skilled in the art that the size and shape of cavity  704  and/or cut outs  706  could be modified to produce different twisting and bending properties of resilient member  202 . In another embodiment, resilient member  202  could be made as a solid piece of material. Flanges  802  are provided on a bottom surface of resilient member  202  to provide added support to resilient member  202 .  
         [0029]    [0029]FIGS. 9 and 10 show more detailed views of base  104 . A base bottom surface  902  has base pin holes  904  formed therein for receiving resilient member pins  214  therein. Base bottom surface  902  or a ground-contacting perimeter thereon may be comprised of or coated with a material to prevent slippage of apparatus  100  during use. In another embodiment, base  104  may contain holes for securely attaching or bolting apparatus  100  to a ground surface. Resilient member base plate  206  is attached to a base top surface  1002  of base  104 . In another embodiment, base  104  is comprised of legs (not shown) extending out from a central structure where resilient member  202  is attached. As discussed above, a rigid grid-like structure is formed by support members  210  on a lower surface  1004  of base  104 , as visible in FIGS. 9 and 10.  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 11 shows a front plan view of an alternate embodiment of a resilient member component  1100  comprising a resilient member  1102 , a collar  1104 , a resilient member platform plate  1106  and a resilient member base plate  1108 . In this embodiment, resilient member  1102  has a groove  1110  around its center portion which allows collar  1104  to be placed around the resilient member  1102 .  
         [0031]    In one example, resilient member  1102  is a natural rubber cylinder with a diameter of 2 ⅞ inches. In one embodiment, groove  1110  has an outside height of 1 ¼ inches, and an inside height of ¾ inches, with a ¾ inch radius. Resilient member  1102  can be made of any of a variety of materials, as discussed above with respect to resilient member  202 . The dimensions of the cylinder of resilient member  1102  will vary depending on the material used to construct resilient member  1102 .  
         [0032]    Collar  1104  may be comprised of an elastomer or polymer of various resiliency. One example of a material for collar  1104  is a material containing polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), such as Teflon, Fluoron or nylon. Alternately, collar  1104  can be made of any variety of other materials, as would be apparent to one skilled in the art. The addition of collar  1104  allows the user to control the degree of difficulty of use of the apparatus. In one embodiment, the material used for collar  1104  is more rigid than the material used for resilient member  1102 . In another embodiment, the material used for collar  1104  is less rigid than the material used for resilient member  1102 . Collar  1104  can be removable and replaceable such that overall resistance of resilient member  1102  may be modified depending on the relative resiliency of collar  1104 . For example, collar  1104  may be hinged on one side with a bolt or clamp on the other allowing it to be opened, placed around groove  1110  of resilient member  1102  and then closed and secured in place. Alternatively, collar  1104  may be comprised of two separate pieces with flanges such that the two can be secured together around groove  1110  of resilient member  1102  with bolts. Other attachment means would be apparent to one skilled in the relevant art. In an alternate embodiment, collar  1104  could be cast in place, if it were intended to be permanently attached to resilient member  1102 . When in place, collar  1004  bends and twists along with resilient member  1102 .  
         [0033]    Examples of Use  
         [0034]    There are several different levels of exercise which can be achieved with apparatus  100 . Such differing levels of workout or rehabilitation are achieved both through modification of the resistance levels of the apparatus  100  as well as the actual movements performed in coordination with the apparatus  100 .  
         [0035]    Strength and flexibility training can be achieved through a yoga-inspired workout which combines integrated muscle conditioning exercises and flexibility training. These exercises are designed to develop strength, flexibility, balance, stability and mobility. A user may be either standing or lying on the apparatus during this mode of exercise and must maintain balance while performing controlled stretching movements.  
         [0036]    Interval training can be achieved through work efforts combined to be performed at intense levels. These interval exercises develop overall fitness and muscular endurance as well as improve balance and agility. A user may be either standing or lying on the apparatus during this mode of exercise and must maintain balance while performing repetitive movements over intervals.  
         [0037]    Sports training can be achieved through a series of athletic circuits and muscle conditioning exercises that will push performance. Sports drills from football, basketball, tennis, baseball and boxing are combined with the integrated strength training to develop overall fitness, muscle strength and endurance as well as balance, stability, agility and mobility. A user may be either standing or lying on the apparatus during this mode of exercise and must maintain balance while performing movements specifically designed to mimic those of various sports activities.  
         [0038]    The apparatus  100  can also be used to develop a specific exercise program to meet the individual needs of a specific user. New exercises can be introduced as required by different individuals and sports activities.  
         [0039]    While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.  
         [0040]    Description of Exercises  
         [0041]    Hip Hinge  
         [0042]    Areas Exercised: Hip extensors, erector spinae  
         [0043]    1) Slart with feet together in the center of the board in the ready position and with soft knees. Place hands on hips.  
         [0044]    2) Hinge forward from the hips (forward flexion), keeping the spine neutral and knees slightly bent. Do not bend past 90 degrees. Engage the glutes and return to the starting position without rounding the back.  
         [0045]    3) For a greater challenge, lift one leg as you hinge forward making the hip joint to pivot point. You will be off center so try to maintain your balance, while keeping the knee on your balance leg slightly bent and the core muscles engaged throughout.  
         [0046]    Squats  
         [0047]    Areas Exercised: Hip stabilizers, gluteal, hamstrings, quads  
         [0048]    1) Stand in the center of the board, with the feet hip-width apart in the ready position.  
         [0049]    2) Slowly bend at the hips and knees to lower buttocks towards the floor, keeping the chest up, shoulders down and with a neutral spine (imagine sitting in a chair). Press into the board with your feet and return to starting position.  
         [0050]    3) For a greater challenge, start with both feet off to one side and step off the side of the board as you squat, maintaining alignment and even weight between both feet. At no time should your knees be in front of your feet.  
         [0051]    Lunges  
         [0052]    Areas Exercised: Hip stabilizers, glueteals, hamstrings, quads, hip adductors, hip abductors (lateral lunges)  
         [0053]    1) Stand with both feet on the board, left and right of the center of the board.  
         [0054]    2) Step forward or backwards off the back of the board, keeping the front knee over the ankle and not flexing either knee past 90 degrees.  
         [0055]    3) For a greater challenge, start with both feet off of the board and step onto the board, performing the lunge. Each time you step onto the board, step on a different area of the board keeping your core muscles engaged throughout the movement.  
         [0056]    Push-Ups  
         [0057]    Areas Exercised: Shoulder girdle stabilizers, pectoral muscles, triceps  
         [0058]    1) Start with hand on the board, legs extended behind you, feet together, and maintain a neutral spine. For a modified position, start with knees on the floor.  
         [0059]    2) Slowly lower the body towards the board maintaining alignment with the core muscles engaged. Press back up to start position.  
         [0060]    3) For a greater challenge lift one leg up as you lower your body towards the board.  
         [0061]    Seated Exercises  
         [0062]    Areas Exercised: Abdominal stabilizers, trunk rotators  
         [0063]    1) Start seated a little forward of the center of the board with knees bent, feet together and back straight.  
         [0064]    2) Holding a dowel or a towel between both hands, lean back slightly and begin rotating the torso right and left. Keep your abs pulled in and don&#39;t allow your back to arch.  
         [0065]    3) For a greater challenge move the knees in the opposite direction as you rotate the torso.  
         [0066]    Bridges  
         [0067]    Areas Exercised: Hip stabilizers, hip extensor, hamstrings  
         [0068]    1) Lie on your back with your feet hip-width apart on the board and hands by your sides.  
         [0069]    2) Execute a hip extension by lifting the hips off ground and extending hips toward the ceiling. Keep the core muscles engaged and the ribs soft. Roll down one vertebra at a time.  
         [0070]    3) For a greater challenge, move one foot to the center of the board and extend the other up to the ceiling. Execute the hip extension on one leg.  
         [0071]    Quadruped Exercises  
         [0072]    Areas Exercised: Abdominal, lumbar and shoulder stabilizers, shoulder extensors, hip extensors  
         [0073]    1) Start with both hands wide on the board and knees on the floor.  
         [0074]    2) Lift one leg off the floor to complete extension and hold parallel to the floor. Hold for a three count, return to the floor and alternate legs.  
         [0075]    3) For a greater challenge, life one, art and the opposite leg and hold for three breaths, making sure to keep the spine neutral and the core muscles engaged. Lower to the starting position and repeat on the other side.  
         [0076]    Back Extensions  
         [0077]    Areas Exercised: Lumbar, back extensors  
         [0078]    1) Start lying face down on the board with your hands resting lightly behind your head and toes pointed.  
         [0079]    2) Slowly lift your chest off the board while maintaining balance and then lower your chest.  
         [0080]    3) For a greater challenge and to make it more difficult to balance, as you lift your chest off the ground, simultaneously lift your feet off the ground.  
         [0081]    Side Lying Exercise  
         [0082]    Areas Exercised: Quadratus lumbarum, gluteus medius  
         [0083]    1) Start with the elbow and forearm on the board, hips on the floor with the knees bent and the legs stacked—one on top of the other.  
         [0084]    2) Slowly lift the hips off the floor keep the spine neutral and the core muscles engaged. Lower down to start position.  
         [0085]    3) For a greater challenge, keep legs straight, but not locked. To increase difficulty again, raise your arm to the ceiling and/or lift up your top leg six inches. Remember to engage your core muscles throughout.