Abstract:
An exercise machine for exercising muscles in the back of an exerciser, includes: a frame; a seat assembly attached to the frame; a movement arm pivotally attached to the frame and movable along a stroke path between an upper forward position and a lower rearward position; a resistance-imparting unit operatively connected with the movement arm to provide resistance to the movement arm as it moves from the forward position to the rearward position; a pair of handles to be grasped by the exerciser; and a pair of extension members, each of which is attached to a respective handle such that each handle is free to rotate about a longitudinal axis of the extension member. The extension members are attached to the movement arm such that each extension member is free to at least partially rotate relative to the movement arm about vertical, longitudinal and transverse axes. Also, the extension members are of sufficient length and the extension members are attached to the movement arm (preferably via universal ball joints) so that the handles can be separated by a distance of at least 24 inches when the movement arm is in the rearward position. In this configuration, the exerciser has the option of performing the basic lat pulldown motion with the hands in any orientation, and can pull the handles to multiple positions in front of the chest and shoulders or outside the chest and shoulders.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    This application claims priority from co-assigned U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. ______, filed Jun. 8, 2001, entitled Exercise Machines (Attorney Docket No. 9289-2PR). 
     
    
     
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    The present invention relates generally to exercise equipment, and relates more particularly to weight training equipment.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    Exercise devices, and in particular weight training machines, typically include a mechanical member that the user repeatedly moves along a prescribed path for exercise. Conventionally, movement of the mechanical member is resisted in some fashion (often by weights) to render the movement more difficult and thereby intensify the exercise. The movement of the mechanical member determines what muscle or muscle groups are to be involved in the exercise.  
           [0004]    One popular exercise movement for weight training is the “pull-down”motion, in which a seated exerciser extends his arms over his head to grasp a handle or other grasping device and pulls the handle downwardly toward his shoulders. This movement (often termed a “lat pulldown”) can be performed by pulling the handle to a position in front of or behind the exerciser&#39;s neck, and can be performed with the hands relatively close together or spread apart wider than the shoulders. This exercise movement tends to work the muscles of the upper arms and shoulders (such as the biceps and deltoids), the neck and back (such as the trapezius, the rhomboids, and the latissimus dorsi), the pectoralis major, and the teres major.  
           [0005]    In one type of lat pulldown machine, the handles grasped by the exerciser are either attached at the end of a cable or belt (often it is a single handle that is grasped with both hands). This configuration enables the user to pull downwardly with both hands at once, usually with the hands oriented so that the palms are either facing each other or pronated 90 degrees from facing each other. However, with a single handle the user must have both hands oriented in the same direction, and the placement of the hands on the handle defines the vertical plane in which the hands move during the exercise (i.e., the direction of movement of the cable or belt).  
           [0006]    Another type of lat pulldown machine has one or two pivoting movement arms to which the grasping handles are attached. This type of machine typically has only a single path of motion available for exercise, and is often limited to a single orientation of the hands during grasping.  
           [0007]    In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide a lat pulldown machine that can provide multiple orientations of the hands and multiple vertical planes of movement during exercise, as doing so can exercise different muscles or portions thereof.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0008]    The present invention can provide a lat pulldown machine that has the capability of enabling the exerciser to employ multiple hand positions and multiple vertical planes of movement. In some embodiments, the inventive exercise machine, which can exercise many of the back muscles of an exerciser, comprises: a frame; a seat assembly attached to the frame; a movement arm pivotally attached to the frame and movable along a stroke path between an upper forward position and a lower rearward position; a resistance-imparting unit operatively connected with the movement arm to provide resistance to the movement arm as it moves from the forward position to the rearward position; a pair of handles to be grasped by the exerciser; and a pair of extension members, each of which is attached to a respective handle such that each handle is free to rotate about a longitudinal axis of the extension member. The extension members are attached to the movement arm such that each extension member is free to at least partially rotate relative to the movement arm about vertical, longitudinal and transverse axes. Also, the extension members are of sufficient length and the extension members are attached to the movement arm (preferably via universal ball joints) so that the handles can be separated by a distance of at least 24 inches when the movement arm is in the rearward position. In this configuration, the exerciser has the option of performing the basic lat pulldown motion with the hands in any orientation, and can pull the handles along multiple vertical planes to multiple positions in front of the chest and shoulders or outside the chest and shoulders.  
           [0009]    In other embodiments of the present invention, an exercise machine comprises: a frame; a seat assembly attached to the frame; a movement arm pivotally attached to the frame and movable along a stroke path between an upper forward position and a lower rearward position; a resistance-imparting unit operatively connected with the movement arm to provide resistance to the movement arm as it moves from the forward position to the rearward position; a pair of handles to be grasped by the exerciser; and a pair of extension members, each of which is attached to a respective handle such that each handle is free to rotate about a longitudinal axis of the extension member. The extension members are attached to the movement arm such that each extension member is free to at least partially rotate relative to the movement arm about vertical, longitudinal and transverse axes. Also, the distance between the attachment of each extension member with the movement arm and the attachment of each extension member with its respective handle is between about &amp; and 48 inches. This configuration can provide the same benefits to the exerciser mentioned above. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES  
       [0010]    [0010]FIG. 1 is a side view of an embodiment of the lat pulldown weight training machine of the present invention, with the upper forward position of the movement being illustrated in solid line and the lower rearward position being illustrated in dotted line.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 2 is a partial top view of the machine of FIG. 1 showing the handles being pulled to the chest and oriented vertically.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 3 is a partial top view of the machine of FIG. 1 showing the handles being pulled to the chest and oriented horizontally.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 4 is a partial top view of the machine of FIG. 1 showing the handles being pulled outside the shoulders and oriented vertically.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 5 is a partial top view of the machine of FIG. 1 showing the handles being pulled outside the shoulders and oriented horizontally.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view showing the handles being pulled behind the head.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the frame, seat assembly, movement arm assembly, pulleys and cam of the exercise machine of FIG. 1.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 8 is a partial perspective view of the belt/pulley system of the machine of FIG. 1, with the opposite side of the cam being shown in FIG. 8A.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 9 is a partial exploded perspective view of the weight stack of the machine of FIG. 1.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 10 is a graph plotting resistance as a function of movement arm displacement for the machine of FIG. 1. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0020]    The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, like numbers refer to like elements throughout. Thicknesses and dimensions of some components may be exaggerated for clarity.  
         [0021]    Referring now to the drawings, an exercise machine, designated broadly at  10 , is illustrated in FIGS. 1-9. The exercise machine  10  includes a frame  12 , a seat assembly  30 , a weight stack  50 , a handle assembly  70 , and a belt system  80 . These components are described in more detail below.  
         [0022]    In describing the lat pulldown machine  10 , it will be assumed for the purposes of description that the terms “front”, “forward”, and derivatives thereof refer to the horizontal direction a seated exerciser faces (i.e., to the left as shown in FIG. 1). The term “rear” and derivatives thereof refer to the horizontal direction that is opposite the “forward” direction (i.e., to the right as shown in FIG. 1). Together, the “forward” and “rear” directions comprise the “longitudinal” dimension of the machine  10 . The terms “outward”, “outer” and derivatives thereof refer to the horizontal direction defined by a vector beginning at the center of the machine  10  and extending perpendicularly to the longitudinal dimension; conversely, the terms “inner”, “inward” and derivatives thereof refer to the horizontal direction opposite the “outward” direction. Together, the “inward” and “outward” directions comprise the “transverse” dimension of the machine  10 .  
         [0023]    Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 7, the frame  12  includes a longitudinally extending base member  14  that rests on an underlying surface and a transversely extending cross-member  16  that is attached to one end of the base member  14 . An upright arch  18  is attached at one end to the intersection of the base member  14  and the cross-member  16  and at its opposite end to an intermediate portion of the base member  14 . The arch  18  includes a forwardly-extending protrusion  19  that includes an upper angled portion  20  and a lower angled portion  22 . The frame  12  also includes a seat support member  24  that slopes from the rear end portion of the base member  14  upwardly and forwardly to attach to an intermediate portion of the arch  18 . A movement arm support  26  extends generally vertically between the upper and lower angled portions  20 ,  22  of the protrusion  19 . A pair of L-shaped cam support members  28  extend upwardly from the base member  14 , then extend forwardly to connect to the arch  18  just below the protrusion  19 .  
         [0024]    Those skilled in this art will recognize that the frame  12  illustrated herein is exemplary and can take many configurations that would be suitable for use with the present invention. The frame  12  provides a strong, rigid foundation to which other components can be attached at desired locations, and other frame forms able to serve this purpose may also be used with this invention.  
         [0025]    Referring again to FIGS. 1 and 7, the seat assembly  30  includes a seat bracket  32  that supports a seat  34 . A thigh pad support  36  is mounted to and extends upwardly from the seat bracket  32  and supports a pair of adjustable thigh pads  38  that extend transversely therefrom and are positioned above the forward portion of the seat  34 . The seat bracket  32  engages an adjustable seat track  40  that is attached to the rear surface of the seat support member  24 ; interaction between the seat bracket  32  and serrations in the track  40  enable the height of the seat  34  to be adjusted, with a handle  42  facilitating adjustment of the height of the seat  34 . Also, a spring  44  attaches between the seat bracket  34  and the upper portion of the seat support member  24  to bias the seat  34  upwardly, thereby providing a snug fit for the seat  34 . The configuration of the seat assembly is well-known to those skilled in this art and need not be described in detail herein. Also, those skilled in this art will recognize that other seat configurations, both adjustable and non-adjustable in position, may be suitable for use with the present invention.  
         [0026]    Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 9, the weight stack  50  includes a set of weights  52  arranged in a vertical stack above the base member  14  just forward of the rear portion of the arch  18 . A lifting rod  53  extends vertically through apertures in the weights  52  and is configured to receive a pin inserted between individual weights  52  that enables the user to select the number of weights to be used in the exercise. The weight stack  50  also includes guide rods  54  that extend vertically through the weights  52  to guide the weights  52  along a substantially vertical path during exercise. Weight stacks of this variety are well known to those skilled in this art and need not be described in detailed herein. In addition, the lat pulldown machine  10  includes a set of auxiliary weights  56  that slide along a vertical guide rod  58  and that can be temporarily connected with the selected weights  52  to provide incremental weight during exercise. Again, auxiliary weight systems of this type are well known to those skilled in this art and need not be described in detail herein. An exemplary machine having such a weight stack is a leg extension machine available from Nautilus BPS, Inc. (Independence, Va.) under the trade name NITRO™.  
         [0027]    Those skilled in this art will recognize that, although a weight stack is the preferred structure for providing resistance to the exerciser, other resistance-imparting structures, such as friction-imparting devices, variable viscosity devices, air drag-based resistance devices, and the like, may also be employed with a lat pulldown machine of the present invention. Exemplary resistance devices include those illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,810,696; 4,708,338; 4,720,093; 5,033,733; 4,542,897; 4,298,893; 4,805,901; 4,790,528; 4,786,049; 5,031,900; 4,775,145; 4,589,656; and 4,659,074, the disclosures of each of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.  
         [0028]    Referring back to FIGS. 1 and 7, the movement arm assembly  60  includes a pair of movement arms  62   a ,  62   b  that are attached to the movement arm support  26  via transversely-extending pivot pins  66   a ,  66   b  mounted on the movement arm support  26 . The movement arms  62   a ,  62   b  are attached to each other via a counterweight  64  mounted to their forward ends. Another cross-member  67  extends between the movement arms  62   a ,  62   b  rearward of the pivot pins  66   a ,  66   b  and includes a downwardly-extending belt attachment finger  68 . As the movement arms  62   a ,  62   b  extend rearwardly beyond the cross member  67 , they each veer outwardly, then return to a longitudinal path, such that they form a general “Y” shape; the rearward ends of the movement arms  62   a ,  62   b  are typically separated from one another by between about 12 and 24 inches.  
         [0029]    Referring still to FIGS. 1 and 7, a handle assembly  70  is attached to the rearward end portion of each movement arm  62   a ,  62   a . Each handle assembly  70  includes a generally U-shaped handle  72 , an extension rod  74  that is rotatably attached to the handle  72 , and a ball joint  76  that is attached to the opposite end of the extension rod  74 . The ball joint  76  is then attached to a movement arm  62   a ,  62   b . Attachment via the ball joint  76  enables the extension rod  74  to rotate at least to a certain extent about vertical, longitudinal and transverse axes. Typically, the extension rod  74  can rotate about 270 degrees about the transverse axis, about 50 to 120 degrees about the longitudinal axis, and about 50 to 120 degrees about the vertical axis. At its opposite end, the extension rod  74  is attached to a rotary bearing  75  (such as a sleeve or ball bearing) on the end of the handle  72  such that the handle  72  is free to rotate 360 degrees about the longitudinal axis of the extension rod  74 . Preferably, the extension rod  74  is of sufficient length (between about 8 and 48 inches, and more preferably between about 10 and 16 inches) to enable the handles  72  to be separated by between about 6 and 36 inches (and more preferably at least 24 inches) when pulled by the exerciser to a longitudinal position approximately equal to that of the front of the seat  34 . In addition, each movement arm  62   a ,  62   b  includes a stop  78  attached near the ball joint  76 .  
         [0030]    Referring now to FIGS. 1, 7,  8  and  8 A, the belt system  80  includes a belt  82  that is attached at one end to the belt attachment finger  68  of the movement arm assembly  60 . The belt  82  travels upwardly to engage a pulley  84  that is mounted to the top portion of the arch  18  via a pulley bracket  85 . The belt  82  then extends downwardly toward a cam unit  86  that is mounted to the cam support member  28  via a cam-mounting bearing  29  at a pivot  87 . The cam unit  86  includes a take-up post  88  to which the belt  82  attaches. The take-up post  88  is eccentrically mounted on the cam unit  86  in order to provide a desired resistance curve. A second belt  90  attaches to the peripheral camming surface  92  of the cam unit  86  and extends upwardly to engage a pulley  94  that is mounted to the upper portion of the arch  18  via a pulley mounting bracket  96 . The belt  90  then extends downwardly to attach to lifting rod  53  via a mounting bracket  98 .  
         [0031]    In operation, the exerciser selects a desired resistance from the weight stack  50 . At this point the movement arms  62   a ,  62   b  are in the upper forward position illustrated in solid line in FIG. 1. The exerciser then sits upon the seat  34  and adjusts the thigh pad  38  to a comfortable height. The exerciser then grasps the handles  72  of the handle assembly  70  and pulls downwardly and rearwardly to the lower rearward position illustrated in FIG. 1 in dotted line. Doing so causes the movement arms  62   a ,  62   b  to pivot about the pivot pins  66 . This pivotal movement also draws the belt attachment finger  68  downwardly, which draws the belt  82  over the pulley  84 . This action of the belt  82  causes the cam unit  86  to rotate about the pivot  87  (this pivotal movement is counterclockwise from the vantage point of FIG. 1). The rotation of the cam unit  86  causes the belt  90  to be taken up on the camming surface  92 . The portion of the belt  90  attached to the lifting rod  53 , and in turn to the weights  52 , is drawn upwardly, thereby providing resistance to the exerciser.  
         [0032]    Notably, the ball joints  76  enable the user to hold the handles  72  in a variety of different positions that can exercise different portions of the body. For example, the handles  72  can be rotated about the axes defined by their respective extension rods  74  and therefore may be oriented vertically, horizontally, or some intermediate position, each of which will cause different muscle groups to be exercised. For example, if the handles  72  are held vertically (see FIGS. 2 and 4), the latissimus dorsi are emphasized, while a horizontal orientation of the handles  72  (see FIGS. 3 and 5) causes exercise of the lower trapezius to be more intense.  
         [0033]    In addition, the presence of the ball joints  76  enables the extension rods  74  to veer outwardly (away from the center of the body) during exercise, again providing exercise to different muscle groups in the body. In particular, the inclusion of the extension rods  74  between the ball joints  76  and the handles  72  allows the exerciser to position the handles farther apart than the typical width of a human body (for example the handles  72  may be separated by between 6 and 36 inches, with a permissible separation distance of at least 24 inches being preferred) while still enabling the handles  72  to be turned and/or raised during exercise. Thus, with the handles  72  drawn to a position adjacent the shoulders or chest (see FIGS. 2 and 3), exercise of the latissimus dorsi may be emphasized, while drawing the handles  72  to a position 2 inches outside the shoulders (see FIGS. 4 and 5) can exercise the anterior and posterior deltoids more intensely.  
         [0034]    Moreover, the ball joints  76  enable the exerciser to pull the handles  72  to different elevations on the body. For example, FIGS. 2-5 demonstrate the pulling motion of the exerciser drawing the handles  72  to the chest level of the exerciser, while FIG. 6 illustrates the exerciser bringing the handles  72  to a position behind the exerciser&#39;s head, which can bring the trapezius and rhomboids into the exercise.  
         [0035]    Those skilled in this art will appreciate that other structures, such as rubber joints, cable joints, universal joints, hook and loop joints, chain links, or dual axis joints, may be used in place of the ball joints  76 . The replacement structures should be capable of allowing the extension rods  74  to rotate at least partially about vertical, longitudinal and transverse axes.  
         [0036]    Further, the configuration of the cam unit  86  controls the resistance curve experienced by the exerciser during exercise. Fundamentally, it is desirable to vary the resistance experienced by the exerciser at different points during movement; otherwise, the magnitude of resistance necessary to provide a strengthening workout to a muscle or muscle group may be too high to enable the user to move the movement arm through positions in the full range of motion in which the user enjoys a lower mechanical advantage. In the illustrated embodiment, the non-circular surface  92  of the cam  86  causes the resistance experienced by the exerciser to follow the resistance curve illustrated in FIG. 10. Those skilled in this art will recognize that, although a non-circular cam is preferred to provide a varying resistance curve to the machine  10 , other structures, such as four-bar linkages and the like, can also be employed to vary the resistance of the machine during exercise.  
         [0037]    The foregoing is illustrative of the present invention and is not to be construed as limiting thereof. Although exemplary embodiments of this invention have been described, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in the exemplary embodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of this invention. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this invention as defined in the claims. The invention is defined by the following claims, with equivalents of the claims to be included therein.