Abstract:
The present invention is a horizontal rowing machine having a frame with a removable seat, adjustably mounted on the frame and an adjustable chest pad. The present invention has angled foot plates. The foot plates enable the user to use the machine in various positions. The present invention has two fixed multi-grip handles with 8 fixed hand positions and 6 positions on which to attach swivel handles. The swivel handles allow for a more natural and free form rowing movement. Maximal adjustability of all aspects of the machine allow for a more optimal and beneficial training exercise for any user, regardless of body size. The user can lift a desired weight by pulling the handles.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/263,361 filed on Dec. 4, 2015. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates in general to an exercise machine and in particular to a horizontal rowing machine for strengthening muscles. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Rowing machines are effective whole body exercise machines that can build up muscles of upper back, arms, hands, legs, torso, and various other muscle groups. This exercise uses some of the largest muscles in the body with an emphasis on the upper back and arm muscles. The rowing exercise is usually performed while sitting on a seat mounted on a rowing machine. However, the present invention allows the user to perform the exercise in various other positions, and even perform the exercise while standing. It also uses weight plates or elastic bands for added resistance. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    The present invention is a horizontal unilateral rowing machine such that it would mimic natural, free form movement to the greatest degree possible. The rowing arms do not diverge, but instead they move in a perfectly parallel pattern. 
         [0005]    The present rowing machine provides various hand grips, seating positions and foot positions. The handles, seat, chest support and foot plates are all adjustable. This adjustability allows users of any height, size or limb length to effectively use the machine. The rowing machine of the present invention allows for a variety of methods to perform the rowing exercise. One can perform the rowing exercise while standing and with or without the chest support. It also allows the user to change the machine setting to train a desired area of the body more effectively, such as training the back muscles using several different rowing angles. 
         [0006]    Prior art rowing machines have a fixed grip. However, in the present machine, the user&#39;s grip can be change dynamically and selectively for building up the upper back, arms, hands, legs, torso or various other muscle groups. The present machine has a swivel handle, enabling the arms to move forward, backward, or slightly leftward and rightward during the rowing action. In addition, the user can change the position of the the swivel handle according to the muscles he/she is planning to train. 
         [0007]    The present rowing machine has different types of resistances. It can be used with a set of plates, band hooks, or combination of both. Bands allow for maximal muscular contraction throughout the entire range of each repetition. 
         [0008]    Prior art rowing machines have fixed axes of motion for the hands and legs. However, the present machine the plane or the axes of motion for the hands and legs can be different. The leg motion may not be on the same horizontal plane as the hand motion. Therefore, during the pulling action, the reaction force may not be as effectively transferred to the legs. In order to accommodate for this plane adjustment, a chest pad is provided to receive the reaction force during the pulling action and to transfer the reaction force to user&#39;s chest. This provides a comfortable rowing exercise and supports the user&#39;s upper body when it presses against it. The chest pad is swivelly connected to the frame of the machine, therefore, its angle changes with the angle of the user&#39;s upper body during the exercise. 
         [0009]    The present machine comprises of a main frame with a base that rests on a surface and supports all the machine components. Attached to the main frame are a removable seat that is adjustably mounted on the main frame, an adjustable chest pad, a pair of hand grips, and two pairs of foot plates. The chest pad can move forward and backward, as well as swivel up and down. The first pair of foot plates are independently mounted on the outer support beams. This allows performing the exercise from the either the right or the left side. The second pair of the foot plate are mounted on a middle support beam of the frame to enable a user to perform the exercise with both feet. The user can perform the rowing exercise with either the right or the left hand or with either the right or the left foot, or both hands and feet. The user can also operate the machine in a seated position or even in a standing position by removing the seat. 
         [0010]    The present rowing machine further comprises of a moving portion having two fixed, unilateral hand grips with preferably 8 fixed hand grip positions and 6 spots on which the swivel handles can be mounted. The swivel handles allow for a more natural, free form rowing movement. The user&#39;s grip can easily change dynamically when the swivel handles are moved forward, backward, or slightly leftward and rightward to create the rowing action. In operation, the rowing arms of the machine do not diverge (as occurs in the traditional rowing machines), but instead they move in a perfectly parallel pattern. The weights move upward against the gravity during the pulling action, and return to their resting state once the pulling action is removed. 
         [0011]    The handles, the seat cushion, the chest support and the foot plates are all adjustable. This adjustability allows anyone of any height, size or limb length to effectively use this machine. The machine can be used seated or standing and with or without the chest support. The grip position can also be changed. This allows having different rowing pattern for optimal results. It also allows changing the training effect and targeting the back muscles at a greater number of different angles. 
         [0012]    In summary, the present invention is a horizontal rowing machine comprising of a frame having a right and a left longitudinally extended beams, a set of cross beams to stably support the rowing machine; a pair of lever arms, wherein the lever arms are substantially vertical at their rest position, and each the lever arm has a moveable proximal end on its upper side, a movable distal end on its lower side, and a fixed lever point in between the proximal and distal end, wherein the lever point is pivotally connected to the frame, whereby each the lever arm pivots on a single-vertical-plane; a handle attached to the proximal end of each the lever arm to be grabbed and pulled by a user, whereby the handle moves in a vertical and non-diverging plane keeping the user&#39;s hand movement in a vertical plane; and a weight plate holder attached to the distal end of each the level arm to resist a pulling action of the user. 
         [0013]    The present invention further has an adjustable seat removably attached to the frame at a predefined longitudinal distance from the lever arms, and wherein the seat is adjustable to allow the user&#39;s arm to be substantially horizontal when grabbing each the handle; an adjustable chest pad attached to the frame and located in between the seat and the lever arms to support the user&#39;s body during the releasing action of the lever arms; and a pair of foot plates mounted with an angle to the frame to help in the pulling and releasing actions of the lever arms, whereby the user sits on the adjustable seat with user&#39;s chest against the chest pad and user&#39;s foot on the foot pads, grabs the handles performs pulling and releasing of the lever arms, mimicking a rowing action. 
         [0014]    In the present invention, each the lever arm is a five sided concave polygon, wherein the lever point is on a first corner of the polygon, the handle is attached to a third corner of the polygon, and the weight plate holder is attached to a fifth corner of the polygon, and wherein a second corner of the polygon is located such that the first and the third corners make a concave side of the polygon, and wherein the angles of the polygon are adjusted to provide a substantially horizontal movement to the handle during a pivoting action of the lever arm around the first corner. 
         [0015]    Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a rowing machine that can be operated in a variety of methods by providing various hand grip positions and adjustable parts. 
         [0016]    It is another object of the present invention to provide swivel handles to be connected to various positions on the handle. The swivel handles create a rowing movement in combination with the swivel chest pad that changes the angle of the user&#39;s upper body slightly during the exercise. 
         [0017]    It is another object of the present invention to provide a horizontal rowing machine that every part of it is adjustable, to allow users with different heights and weights to adjust the device for their comfort and training preference, and change the range of movement for this exercise. 
         [0018]    It is another object of the present invention that the user can select the position and the orientation of the handle to perform the exercise either with the right arm and the right foot to exercise the right side muscles of the body, or with the left arm and the left foot to exercise the left side muscles of the body. 
         [0019]    Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated from the following description. The description makes reference to the accompanying drawings, which are provided for illustration of the preferred embodiment. However, such embodiments do not represent the full scope of the invention. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0020]    Embodiments herein will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings provided to illustrate and not to limit the scope of the claims, wherein like designations denote like elements, and in which: 
           [0021]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a horizontal rowing machine constructed according to the principles of the present invention; 
           [0022]      FIG. 2  is a top elevation of the horizontal rowing machine of the present invention; 
           [0023]      FIG. 3  is a side view of the horizontal rowing machine of the present invention; 
           [0024]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the handles of the present invention; 
           [0025]      FIG. 5A  is a side view of an alternative embodiment of the horizontal rowing machine constructed according to the principles of the present invention; 
           [0026]      FIG. 5B  is a side view of an alternative embodiment of the horizontal rowing machine constructed according to the principles of the present invention; 
           [0027]      FIG. 6A  is a side view of another alternative embodiment of the horizontal rowing machine constructed according to the principles of the present invention; 
           [0028]      FIG. 6B  is a side view of another alternative embodiment of the horizontal rowing machine constructed according to the principles of the present invention. 
       
    
    
       [0029]    The figures are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present invention to the precise form disclosed. It should be understood that the invention can be practiced with modifications and alterations, and that the disclosed invention be limited only by the claims and equivalents thereof. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0030]    Referring to  FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 , the main elements of the horizontal exercise rowing machine  10  are as follows: 
         [0031]    A base  100  to engage with the floor. The base is sufficiently large to provide stability to the machine. In the preferred embodiment, the base  100  comprises of two longitudinally extending base supports  101 , one on the right and one on the left side of the base. The base supports  101  have a plurality of cross support beams, horizontally extending between the right and the left base supports  101 . The first cross support beam  102  is attached close to the front end of the base support beams  101  to support a seat  110  and a chest pad  112  of the machine. A second cross beam  202  is provided at the rear end of the base support beams  101  to provide more stability to the machine. 
         [0032]    An adjustable seat  110  attached to a vertical seat support beam  103 . The seat  110  can be adjusted upwards and downwards, according to the user&#39;s height, using pinholes  105  mounted on the vertical seat support beam  103 . The vertical seat support beam  103  connects to a vertical chest support beam  104  through a cross beam  106  having pinholes mounted thereon to provide forwards and backwards adjustability to the seat. In addition, the seat  110  can be removed to operate the machine in a standing position. 
         [0033]    An adjustable chest pad  112  to help prevent the upper body from moving forward and taking tension off of the upper back muscles. The chest pad  112  helps to create an ergonomically friendly lever, which allows an effective rowing motion. Said chest pad  112  is mounted from one end to the L shape vertical chest support beam  104  and to the horizontal support beam  102  of the main frame  100  from its other end. The L shape chest support beam  104  further has pinholes  107 ,  109  to adjust the chest pad  112  according to the user&#39;s height. The vertical chest support beam  104  connects to the middle support beam  127  through a cross beam  128 . The chest pad further has  112  swivel means  108  to change its angle during the exercise and can be removed to operate the machine without a chest pad  112 . 
         [0034]    In a conventional rowing exercise, the reaction force during the pulling action is taken by the user&#39;s legs, which are fixed on a pair of foot pads. This is possible because the conventional rowing exercise is performed in a horizontal direction. In the present machine, the legs can be in any desired plane and not necessarily in the same horizontal plane as the hands. Therefore, during the pulling action, the reaction force may not be as effectively transferred to the legs. A chest pad  112  allows said force to be transferred to the user&#39;s chest. This provides a comfortable rowing exercise and supports user&#39;s upper body when it presses against it. 
         [0035]    A moving portion comprising of a pair of handles ( 113   a - 113   h ) is attached to a pair of moving arms  120  extended to a pair of weight plate holders  121  on each side and a pair of support arms  124 . Said support arms  124  are rotatable and moveable about an axis point  129  and connected to the middle support beam  127  of the frame. Generally, the two moving arms  120  move independent of each other. This allows the user to easily operate the machine  10  to exercise a muscle group on either the left or the right side of the body. Furthermore, this independent motion will insure that each arm of the user is performing the exercise, to improve the overall results and prevent a stronger arm from overly compensating for the other. In addition, the total weight being lifted is split evenly between the arms. The handles ( 113   a - 113   h ) are arranged in a manner to be grasped by the user and moved along a guided path resisted by the machine  10 . 
         [0036]    In order to effectively manipulate the moving arms  120 , each moving arm  120  is provided with at least a handle ( 113   a - 113   h ) with a unique shape that provides 8 grip position and at least 6 points to connect a swivel handle  114  that the user will grip when performing the exercise. Therefore, the range of motion of various handle positions will define various upper body muscle workout when performing the exercise. 
         [0037]    According to  FIG. 3 , each handle ( 113   a - 113   h ) is extended to a weight plate holder  121  by a support arm  120 . Each weight plate holder  121  allows adding resistance to the machine. The machine  10  can be loaded with multiplicity of plates  122 . In one embodiment, the device  10  can be loaded with up to eight 45 pound plates per side or per handle. Therefore, it can be used for training purposes for athletics or body building. 
         [0038]    As shown in  FIG. 4 , the handles ( 113   a - 113   h ) are provided in a specific shape that can be held in at least 8 different fixed positions  113   a,    113   b,    113   c,    113   d,    113   e,    113   f,    113   g  and  113   h.  In one embodiment, each of the two handles ( 113   a - 113   h ) have a plurality of apertures at 6 different positions  115   a,    115   b,    115   c,    115   d,    115   e  and  115   f.  Swivel handles  114  can be mounted and fixed to the handle apertures ( 115   a - 115   f ) to maintain a comfortable grip during the exercise. The user&#39;s grip can easily change during the exercise when the swivel handles are moved forwards, backwards, or slightly leftwards and rightwards to create the rowing action. 
         [0039]    The moving arms of the machine  120  are connected to the weight plate holders  121  in a manner allowing them to move upwardly by user&#39;s pulling action. The position of applied force can be changed by changing the position of the grip on the handles ( 113   a - 113   h ). This allows the user to work out the desired muscles. 
         [0040]    The user can make this exercise more challenging by using resistant bands. According to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , again at least a pair of band hooks  123  is provided on each of the support arms of the handle  124  for adding more weight to the exercise. This enables the user to workout with resistance bands alone when pulling on the handles ( 113   a - 113   h ), which will provide dynamic resistance that is exponential in nature. Further, this elastic resistance may be used in combination with weight plates  122 . Adding the elastic bands allows for maximal muscular contraction throughout the entire range of each repetition. 
         [0041]    The present invention includes foot plates  116 ,  117  to provide a foot receiving surface. The foot plates are arranged so that the user can also operate the machine while standing and with the right foot or the left foot thereon. One pair of foot plates  116  are mounted with an angle on the outer support beams of the frame  126  to enable the user to perform the machine with either the right or the left foot. The second pair of foot plates  117  is mounted with an angle on the middle support beam of the frame  127  to enable the user to perform the machine with both feet. The user can operate the rowing exercise only with the right or the left hand, or with the right or the left foot, or with both hands and feet. The user can also operate the machine in a seated position or standing position by removing the seat. 
         [0042]    In order to perform a rowing exercise using the present invention, the user can be seated on the seat, with both feet resting on the foot plates while holding the handles securely. As the handles are pulled back, simultaneously or one at a time, the moving arms rotate around the axis point facilitating the weight plates (resistance) to move by the force created by the user. The resistance  122  moves from a rest position upwardly against the gravity to an upper position. When the user has completed the lifting stroke, the resistance returns to its rest position. 
         [0043]    Different methods of operation of the machine are shown in  FIGS. 5A, 5B and 6A, 6B . In one method, the user sits on the seat  110  facing forward and grabs the handles ( 113   a - 113   h ) or the swivel handles  114 . Then, the user places his/her feet on the foot plate  117 , and pulls the handles toward his/her body, while leaning on the chest pad  112 . The user can change the grip position to train different muscles. During the pulling action, the upper back and arm muscles are primarily used to pull the handles  114  toward the user&#39;s chest. The angles of elbows are naturally changed to pull up the weight plates  122 . This state is maintained for several seconds after the pulling operation to allow the muscles to be sufficiently contracted. Then, the force is lowered and the weights plates are moved back to their original resting position. The user&#39;s grip can easily change dynamically when the swivel handles are moved forward, backward, or slightly leftward and rightward to create the rowing action. 
         [0044]    The rowing operations are repeatedly carried out creating the stimulus to obtain the desired muscular adaptation from this rowing exercise. Through the above-mentioned exercise, the user can build his/her upper body muscles, especially, the muscles of the upper back and front of the arms. The handles ( 113   a - 113   h ) are arranged in a manner to be grasped by the user and moved along a guided path resisted by the machine  10 . Since the chest pad has a swivel mechanism, the upper body of the user can rotate in various angles while performing the exercise. 
         [0045]    In another embodiment, the seat can be removed to perform the rowing exercise while standing. The user can perform the exercise while standing with the right foot on the foot plate  116  and pull the right handle ( 113   a - 113   h ) or swivel handle. The user can also perform the exercise while standing with the left foot on the foot plate on the left side of the rowing machine while holding the left side handle. 
         [0046]    The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention. 
         [0047]    With respect to the above description, it is to be realized that the optimum relationships for the parts of the invention in regards to size, shape, form, materials, function and manner of operation, assembly and use are deemed readily apparent and obvious to those skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention.