Abstract:
A portable exercising apparatus includes a first frame member, a second frame member, a first tube perpendicularly and fixedly connected to the first frame member, a second tube perpendicularly and fixedly connected to the second frame member and slidably inserted into the first tube and defining with the first tube an air chamber, an air valve mounted in the first tube in communication with the air chamber and the atmosphere, and two elastic members connected between the first frame member and the second frame member at two sides of the first tube and the second tube.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to exercising apparatus and more particularly, to a simple and portable exercising apparatus that is practical for exercising the muscles of the arms and the abdomen. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    Various exercising apparatus, such as dumbbells chest developers, spring bars, and etc., are commercially available for exercising the muscles of the arms. These exercising apparatus use the designed mechanical structure for enabling the hands to make a reciprocating action, thereby exercising the muscles of the arms. 
         [0005]    When a user is operating one of the aforesaid conventional exercising apparatus, the user can only exercise the body with a fixed weight or by means of one single operation mode, i.e., the user has no choice to change the damping resistance on one same exercising apparatus. The tendons and muscles may be injured easily when exercising the body with an improper damping resistance. It is insignificant to exercise the body without safety. 
         [0006]    Further, because conventional exercising apparatus for exercising the arms are not adjustable to provide different damping resistance subject to different exercising requirements, a user may have to prepare various different weights or different exercising apparatus. There are commercially available heavy exercising machines that are adjustable to provide different exercising pressure subject to different users or subject to different exercising requirements. These heavy exercising machines, such as scissors-action machines or chest weights, are commonly expensive and require much floor space. Therefore, either using a heavy exercising machine or multiple small exercising apparatus, the user will encounter a storage problem when receiving the heavy exercising machine or the multiple small exercising apparatus. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is one objective of the present invention to provide a portable exercising apparatus, which is safe in use for moderate exercises and convenient for carrying and storage. 
         [0008]    It is another objective of the present invention to provide a portable exercising apparatus, which provides a damping resistance by means of compressing air when operated by the user. 
         [0009]    It is still another objective of the present invention to provide a portable exercising apparatus, which has simple structure and is inexpensive to manufacture. 
         [0010]    To achieve these objectives of the present invention, the portable exercising apparatus comprises a first frame member, a second frame member, a first tube, a second tube, an air valve, and at least one elastic member. The first tube has a first end perpendicularly and fixedly connected to the first frame member, a second end, and an opening at the second end. The second tube has a first end perpendicularly and fixedly connected to the second frame member and a second end inserted through the opening of the first tube into the inside of the first tube such that an air chamber is defined inside the first tube. The air valve is mounted in the first tube in communication with the air chamber and the atmosphere. The at least one elastic member is respectively fixedly connected between the first frame member and the second frame member. The elastically deformable material property of the at least one elastic member provides not only a resisting force to the user when the user is operating the exercising apparatus but also a rebounding force to return the two tubes to the former position during operation of the exercising apparatus. 
         [0011]    According to the present invention, the air contained in the air chamber is compressed to impart a damping resistance when the user moves the first frame member and the second frame member toward each other. By means of adjusting the air valve to regulate the air discharging speed, the damping force is relatively adjusted. Therefore, the user can adjust the air valve to further adjust the damping force as desired. 
         [0012]    The user can operate the exercising apparatus in any of a variety of operation modes to exercise the muscles of the arms. In additional to exercising the muscles of the arms, the exercising apparatus can also be operated to exercise the muscles of the abdomen. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0013]      FIG. 1  is a front view of a portable exercising apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  is a sectional view taken in an enlarged scale along line  2 - 2  of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  is a sectional view of a part of the exercising apparatus according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0016]      FIG. 4  is a schematic drawing showing a first operation mode of the exercising apparatus according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention in action. 
           [0017]      FIG. 5  is another schematic drawing showing a first operation mode of the exercising apparatus according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention in action. 
           [0018]      FIG. 6  is a schematic drawing showing a second operation mode of the exercising apparatus according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention in action. 
           [0019]      FIG. 7  is a schematic drawing showing a third operation mode of the exercising apparatus according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention in action. 
           [0020]      FIG. 8  is a schematic drawing showing a fourth operation mode of the exercising apparatus according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention in action. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0021]    As shown in  FIGS. 1-3 , a portable exercising apparatus  10  in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a first frame member  20 , a second frame member  30 , a first tube  40 , a second tube  50 , and two elastic members  60 . 
         [0022]    The first frame member  20  is injection-molded from plastics, having a bearing wall  22 , two grips  24 , a locating hole  26 , and two mounting holes  28 . The bearing wall  22  is disposed at one side, namely, the outer side of the first frame member  20 , having a corrugated or embossed surface that enhances the friction force upon contact of the bearing wall  22  with an external body. The two grips  24  are respectively horizontally extending from two distal ends of the bearing wall  22  to expand the grasping area so that the user can hold the first frame member  20  positively and employ a pressure to the exercising apparatus  10  against an external object. The locating hole  26  is disposed at the other side, namely, the inner side of the first frame member  20  opposite to the bearing wall  22 . The two mounting holes  28  are arranged in parallel at two sides of the locating hole  26 . 
         [0023]    The second frame member  30  is injection-molded from plastics, having a bearing wall  32 , a locating hole  34 , and two mounting holes  36 . The bearing wall  32  is disposed at one side, namely, the outer side of the second frame member  30 , having a corrugated or embossed surface. The locating hole  34  is disposed at the other side, namely, the inner side of the second frame member  30  opposite to the bearing wall  32 . The two mounting holes  36  are arranged in parallel at two sides of the locating hole  34 . 
         [0024]    The first tube  40  is made of metal having a transverse through hole  42  and an air valve  44  mounted in the transverse through hole  42 . The first tube  40  has an opening  41  at one end through which the second tube  50  is inserted. The other end of the first tube  40  is firmly inserted into the locating hole  26  of the first frame member  20  so that the first tube  40  is firmly fastened to the first frame member  20 . 
         [0025]    The second tube  50  is made of metal, having one end firmly inserted into the locating hole  34  of the second frame member  30  and the other end slidably inserted through the opening  41  into the first tube  40 . Therefore, the first tube  40  and the second tube  50  define an air chamber  52 , which is in communication with the atmosphere through the air valve  44  of the first tube  40 . 
         [0026]    The elastic members  60  are carbon fiber rod members respectively axially mounted with a respective a cylindrical sponge grip  62  on the middle for holding by the user when operating the elastic members  60  of the exercising apparatus  10 . Further, the elastic members  60  each have one end respectively firmly inserted into the mounting holes  28  of the first frame member  20  and the other end respectively firmly inserted into the mounting holes  36  of the second frame member  30 . When assembled, the two elastic members  60  are kept in parallel to the tubes  40  and  50 . 
         [0027]    When operating the exercising apparatus through different operation modes to shorten the length of the exercising apparatus  10 , i.e., to move the tubes  40  and  50  toward each other, the elastic members  60  are deformed to give a resistance, and at the same time the internal air inside the air chamber  52  is compressed to impart a damping force. When increasing the internal pressure of the air chamber  52 , the damping force is relatively increased, and the inside air is force to pass out of the air valve  44  to the atmosphere. By means of adjusting the air valve  44  to regulate the air discharging speed, the damping force is relatively adjusted. When the inside pressure of the air chamber  52  and the atmospheric pressure are balanced, the damping force is disappeared. When the user released the external pressure from the exercising apparatus, the two elastic members  60  immediately return to their former shape, and therefore the first frame member  20  and the second frame member  30  are returned to their former position. 
         [0028]    The exercising apparatus  10  can be operated in any of a variety of operation modes, for example, one of the following four operation examples. 
         [0029]    According to the first operation mode shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the user can hold the cylindrical sponge grips  62  of the elastic members  60  with both hands and then alternatively stretch and release the elastic members  60  in transverse direction to exercise the muscles of the arms. 
         [0030]    According to the second operation mode shown in  FIG. 6 , the user can hold the first frame member  20  and the second frame member  30  with both hands and then alternatively move the first frame member  20  and the second frame member  30  inwards and outwards relative to each other to exercise the muscles of the arms. 
         [0031]    According to the third operation mode as shown in  FIG. 7 , the user can hold the grips  24  of the first frame member  20  with both hands and stop the bearing wall  32  of the second frame member  30  against the abdomen, and then alternatively impart a pressure to the first frame member  20  to force the first frame member  20  toward the second frame member  30  and then release the pressure so as to exercise the muscles of the arms and the abdomen. 
         [0032]    According to the fourth operation mode as shown in  FIG. 8 , the user can stop the second frame member  30  against the floor and hold the first frame member  20  with both hands, and then alternatively move the first frame member  20  up and down relative to the second frame member  30  to exercise the muscles of the arms and the abdomen. 
         [0033]    As indicated above, the exercising apparatus  10  of the present invention has a simple structure and is convenient for carrying and storage. 
         [0034]    Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.