Muscle exerciser

A muscle exerciser for exercising facial muscles, comprising an elongated handle having a pair of arms diverging from the handle. The handle and arms comprise a rigid assembly that lies in one plane. A body of highly compressible resilient material is mounted one on the end of each arm remote from the handle. There is a pivot on the end of each arm. Each body of highly compressible resilient material is mounted on the pivot for swinging movement on the end of its associated arm relative to the handle about an axis perpendicular to that plane.

The present invention relates to a muscle exerciser. 
There are a number of measures which can be employed to prevent the 
wrinkling of skin which tends to occur with age. One such method is body 
building, which increases the sizes of body muscles so that the skin 
covering the muscles is stretched more tightly and consequently gives a 
less wrinkled appearance. Wrinkles on facial skin are, however, 
conventionally treated by applying various creams, lotions and electrical 
impulses to the face, but such treatments are expensive, and electrical 
impulse treatment should only be performed by qualified therapists. 
The present invention has arisen from attempts to overcome some of the 
above disadvantages. 
According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a muscle 
exerciser for exercising facial muscles, comprising jaw engaging means 
movable between a compressed configuration and an expanded configuration, 
and adapted to be placed between the upper and lower jaws of a user so 
that closure of the jaws causes movement of the jaw engaging means from 
its expanded configuration to its compressed configuration, and biasing 
means for biasing the jaw engaging means towards said expanded 
configuration, wherein in use the facial muscles are exercised by 
repeatedly closing the jaws against the action of the biasing means 
characterised in that the jaw engaging means comprises two separate biting 
parts adapted to be gripped between the left and right sides of the jaws 
respectively. 
Preferably, each biting part is formed by a piece of resilient material, 
such as rubber. 
The resilient material may be coated with a suitable material, such as a 
plastics material, to ensure that it does not have an unpleasant taste, 
and/or to ensure that it can safely and hygienically be placed in the 
mouth. 
Preferably, the muscle exerciser further comprises a handle which is 
attached to the jaw engaging means so as to allow the user in use to hold 
the jaw engaging means in position between the upper and lower laws. 
Preferably, if the muscle exerciser comprises a handle, the biting parts 
are removable from the handle so as to allow the biting parts to be 
replaced when necessary. 
According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a method 
of exercising facial muscles using a muscle exerciser according to the 
first aspect of the invention, the method comprising the steps of placing 
the jaw engaging means of the muscle exerciser between the upper and lower 
jaws, and repeatedly closing the jaws against the action of the biasing 
means.

The invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example 
only, with reference to the accompanying drawing which shows one 
embodiment of a muscle exerciser according to the invention. 
The muscle exerciser shown in the drawing has two separate biting parts 22 
and 24. The biting parts 22 and 24 are designed to be gripped between the 
rear teeth of the user, one of the biting parts being gripped between the 
right rear teeth and the other biting part being gripped between the left 
rear teeth of the user. 
The two biting parts 22, 24 are supported at the ends of two arms 26, which 
are themselves integrally connected to one end of a handle 28. The handle 
28 and arms 26 are made of a hard resilient nylon material. A cylindrical 
head portion 30 is integrally formed at the end of each arm 26 to enable 
connection to a respective biting part. 
Each biting part 22, 24 comprises a chewing member 32 and a connecting 
member 34 for connecting the chewing member 32 to one of the head portions 
30. Each connecting member 34 comprises a generally annular portion 36 
which is moulded within one of the chewing members 32, and a 
recess-defining portion 38 adapted to receive one of the head portions 30. 
The connecting members 34 are formed from the same resilient nylon 
material as the handle 28, so as to allow the head portion 30 to be 
connected to the recess-defining portion 38 by means of a snap fit. This 
has the advantage of allowing the biting parts 24 to be replaced when they 
become worn. In the drawing the biting part 24 is shown removed from the 
handle 28. 
Furthermore, once the biting parts 22, 24 are connected to the head 
portions 30, they are free to pivot within the general plane of the handle 
28 and arms 26, so as to accommodate different sized jaws. The chewing 
members 32 are formed from a highly resilient medical grade PVC material, 
which allows them to be safely chewed as hard as necessary. 
In use, a user bites repeatedly on the biting parts 22, 24 in order to 
exercise and develop his or her facial muscles. 
It has been found that, if this exercise is carried out regularly over a 
period of time, the facial muscles can develop in a manner which is 
pleasing to the eye. Not only can the appearance of wrinkles be removed 
from the skin covering the facial muscles, but the shape of the face and 
neck can also be recontoured. The muscle exerciser could also be used to 
build up facial muscles which have suffered as a result of injury or 
illness, such as a stroke for example.