Abstract:
A weight lifting power cage for use by a weight lifter includes a floor frame assembly including a pair of side floor frames, a front lateral floor frame member, and a rear lateral floor member. A carriage is carried by the side floor frames and is movable simultaneously vertically and front to back. The carriage retains a weight bar mount for retaining a weight bar spanning between each side frame. The weight bar is movable by the carriage vertically and front to back. The movable carriage also carries a pair of vertical weight rack bars. An engagement mechanism enables the weight lifter to rack the weight bar from a weight lifting position without stepping forward or backward.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    None 
       STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH 
       [0002]    Not applicable. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    The present invention generally relates to weight lifting cages for free weights and more particularly to a weight lifting cage having a movable carriage with slave racking capability. 
         [0004]    Safety is always a concern to weight lifters, especially as the amount of weight approaches and passes the body weight of the weight lifter. Even lesser amounts of weight can be dangerous if the lifter loses control of the weight bar. For that reason, a spotter often is employed to assist the lifter should the amount of weight being lifted prove uncontrollable or should the lifter lose his/her balance while lifting weights. Often, however, a spotter is unavailable to the lifter and other safety means need to be employed. 
         [0005]    One such other safety means is a weight lifting apparatus, often referred to as a power rack or power cage, such as is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,215,510 or in U.S. Pat. No. 5,669,859. Such power cages are designed for the lifter to lift free weights without the need for a spotter. Power cages generally include a pair of side frames interconnected by a back frame. Each side frame carries a carriage, movable front to back and up and down. A weight bar runs laterally and is carried by the movable carriage. The lifter can add any desired amount of free weights to the weight bar and stand within the cage. The lifter can lift the bar while being able to step slightly forward and slightly backward within the cage, while simultaneously lifting the weight bar up and down. The dual-movable carriage permits such dual movement. 
         [0006]    In one power cage model (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,669,859), each vertical side bar of the front and back frames have a series of outwardly projecting pins while the weight bar carriage has outwardly projecting hooks. The lifter can move to the front or to the back of the power cage and rack the weight bar by engaging the hooks onto the pins. 
         [0007]    An improved power cage with slave rack is disclosed in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 7,374,516, which discloses a weight lifting power cage for use by a weight lifter and includes a frame assembly, a carriage, weight rack bars, and an engagement mechanism. The frame assembly includes a pair of side frames and a rear lateral frame interconnecting the pair of side frames. A carriage is carried by the side frames and is movable simultaneously vertically and front to back, i.e., depthenally. The carriage also carries a weight bar mount for retaining a weight bar spanning between each side frame. The weight bar is movable by the carriage vertically and depthenally, i.e., front to back. The movable carriage also carries a pair of vertical weight rack bars. An engagement mechanism enables the weight lifter to rack the weight bar from a weight lifting position without stepping forward or backward by dint of the rack bars also being mounted on the movable carriage. 
         [0008]    The present invention is addressed to improving the weight lifting power cage of the &#39;516 patent by eliminating much of the cage and the upper sliding mechanism to provide a simpler design with less parts (weight) and expense. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY 
       [0009]    A weight lifting power cage for use by a weight lifter includes a floor frame assembly for placing on a floor and including a pair of parallelly spaced-apart side members each having a front end and a rear end; a pair of parallelly spaced-apart lateral members spanning between the side member front ends and the side member rear ends. Each frame assembly side member carries a lower slide bar and a pair of locking moving carriage assemblies. Each carriage assembly has a top end and is carried by the frame assembly side members. The carriage assemblies move front to rear during lifting by a weight lifter while the floor frame assembly remains stationary. The carriage assemblies have a pair of spaced-apart vertical slide bars which remain vertical as the carriage assembly moves front to rear; a weight bar spanning between each vertical slide bar; a pair of weight bar mount assemblies, each slidably mounted to vertical slide bar. The weight bar mount assemblies are affixed to the weight bar for vertical movement of the weight bar along the vertical slide bar. A pair of vertical weight rack bars is carried by the movable carriage and is located in spaced-apart adjacency from the weight bar and from the vertical slide bars. Alternatively, the vertical weight rack bars could carry a hook and slot mechanism for racking the weight bar. In both embodiments, an engagement mechanism is carried by the weight bar and is engagable with the weight rack bars. The engagement mechanism is activated by the weight lifter to rack the weight bar from a weight lifting position by the weight lifter rotating or flipping the wrists. A rigid overhead frame connector assembly spans between and connecting the carriage assemblies. The weight bar movable vertically and front to back, and said weight bar and weight rack bars movable together front to back. 
         [0010]    Advantages of the present design include the elimination of upper guide rods with consequent less friction compared to the power cage of U.S. Pat. No. 7,374,516. Another advantage is that the disclosed machine uses less material, so there is less material for packing and shipping. Yet another advantage is a weight machine fitted with exterior shrouds or covers that is both stylistic and function in that they move with the safety spotter. Yet a further advantage is the elimination of lower guide rods as required in U.S. Publication No. 2009/0124469. These and other advantages will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art based on the disclosure set forth herein. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION 
         [0011]    For a fuller understanding of the nature and advantages of the present invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0012]      FIG. 1  is an isometric view of the weight lifting power cage; 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  is a front view of the weight lifting power cage of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  is an overhead view of the weight lifting power cage of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  is a side view of the weight lifting power cage of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0016]      FIG. 5  is a bottom view of the weight lifting power cage of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0017]      FIG. 6  is a rear view of the weight lifting power cage of  FIG. 1  showing weight being carried by the weight bar; and 
           [0018]      FIG. 7  is partial sectional view of the weight lifting power cage with covers shown in phantom. 
       
    
    
       [0019]    The drawings will be described in further detail below. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0020]    Definitional terms appropriate for the present invention include:
       “weight lifting power cage” or “power cage” means a frame assembly retaining a weight bar, upon which free weights can be secured, such as are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,215,510, 5,669,859, and 7,374,516.   “rack” means to place a weight bar, barbell, or other weight lifting assembly to a stationary or home position.   “vertical” means both upwardly and downwardly in a generally vertical direction.   “lateral” means side to side.   “depthenally” means front to back, back to front, or forwardly and rearwardly.   “weight bar” means a generally horizontal bar, often made of metal, upon which weights, often called “free weights”, can be secured for a weight lifter or lifter to perform a series of repetitive movements of the weight bar as part of an exercise program or regimen, most often associated with body builders.       
 
         [0027]    Initially, the drawings primarily show a purchaser or user of the disclosed weight lifting power cage would encounter the disclosed weight lifting power machine with aesthetic covers in place, such as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Such covers do not interfere with the operation of the power cage and provide a degree of protection from some moving parts. Thus, such covers are for both aesthetic and safety purposes. Importantly, the covers or shrouds move along with the safety spotter. Of importance to the stability of the disclosed machine is the degree of rigidity built into the components that permits elimination of extra bars and guide rods required in the prior art. 
         [0028]    Referring initially to  FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  6 , a weight lifting power cage,  10 , is shown for retaining a weight bar,  12 , which can carry free weights,  62  and  64 , as illustrated in  FIG. 6 . Power cage  10  is formed from a pair of spaced-apart side carriage assemblies,  14  and  16 . A rigid overhead frame connector assembly,  18 , connects side carriage assemblies  14  and  16  by spanning between carriage assembly  14  and carriage assembly  16 . A floor assembly,  20 , carries side carriage assemblies  14  and  16 . Floor assembly  20  is composed of a pair of parallelly spaced-apart side floor members,  22  and  24 . The front ends of floor assembly side floor members  22  and  24  and connected by a lateral floor member,  26 . A floor lateral member,  28 , connects the rear ends of floor assembly side members  22  and  24 . 
         [0029]    While a rectilinear floor frame assembly has been illustrated and used for descriptional purposes, other floor frame assembly designs can be used in accordance with the disclosure set forth herein. For example, a flat plat or a triangular frame assembly can carry the side members. For present purposes, it only important that a floor frame assembly be provided to support the disclosed weight lifting machine and to carry the side members along which the carriage assemblies slide. 
         [0030]    The respective frame members can be affixed together to form floor assembly  20  by a variety of techniques, such as, for example, bolts, welds, rivets, screws, or any similar joining technique. The same is true for the connection of rigid overhead frame connector  18  to carriage assemblies  14  and  16 . The precise joining technique is unimportant, so long as requisite rigidity and strength are achieved for the intended weight lifting purposes of the inventive power cage. Also, such frame members often are formed from metal for strength and durability; although, other materials of construction are possible. Other than using nylon or other friction-reducing materials where appropriate, the entire power cage typically is constructed from metal, i.e., primarily constructed from metal. 
         [0031]    Referring now to  FIGS. 3 and 5 , rigid overhead frame connector  18  is seen to include a rigid central beam or bar,  30 , which connects to floor assembly side members  22  and  24 . A pair of rigid angle bars,  36  and  38 , provide additional support for this overhead assembly with respect to carriage assembly  16 ; and a pair of rigid angle bars,  40  and  42 , provide additional support for this overhead assembly with respect to carriage assembly  14 . Overhead frame beam  30 , then, is seen to be very rigid. Such extreme rigidity, along with the slidable connection of the carriage assemblies to floor frame  20  dispel with the need for a frame assembly, as required in U.S. Pat. No. 7,374,516, a Skilken-style assembly, Smith or other fixed cage mechanism, or other type of power cage design of the art. A pair of rigid chin-up bars,  32  and  34 , connect to beam  30  and enable the user to perform exercises, such as, for example, chin-ups, leg lifts, and the like. 
         [0032]    Referring now to  FIGS. 4 and 7 , the details of the carriage assemblies is detailed. Construction nominally is the same as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,374,516, so only a brief description will be given herein. 
         [0033]    Carriage assemblies  14  and  16  weight bar  12  and enable a lifter to exercise using weight bar  12 . Since each carriage assembly is the same, only carriage assembly  14  will be described. Running along the length (depthenal length) of floor assembly  22  is a lower slide bar,  44 . A linear bearing assembly,  46 , surrounds lower slide bar  44  and also is connected to a vertical slide bar,  48 , and vertical rack bar,  50 . Linear bearing assembly  46  and lower slide bar  44 , along with rigid overhead frame connector  18  provide all of the necessary stability to power cage assembly  10 , enabling a lifter to carry exercise with weight bar  12 . 
         [0034]    Linear bearing assembly  46  may include linear bearings, rollers, or similar mechanisms. Linear bearing assembly  46  carries a stop pin (not shown) which can be engaged to prevent linear bearing assembly  46  from moving along the extent of slide bar  44 , whereby the inventive power cage becomes a traditional “Smith” or fixed power cage mechanism. Alternatively, linear bearing assembly could be replaced with a guide sleeve or similar mechanism, as those skilled the art will appreciate. 
         [0035]    Vertical rack bar  50  bears a series of projecting rack pins, such as, for example, pin  52 . Now, weight bar  12  carries a latch assembly,  60 , which is rotatable about weight bar  12  and matable with rack pin  52 , as well as the other rack pins carried by vertical rack bar  50 . Latch assembly  60  is shown as a U-shaped assembly; although, a variety of shapes are operable. The same is true of the rack pins, which can be formed in a variety of shapes. 
         [0036]    Latch assembly  60  is only one suitable engagement mechanism for racking weight bar  12 . Other suitable engagement mechanisms are known in the art. For example, a slot and hook arrangement could be used to rack weight bar  12 . The skilled artisan can envision additional engagement mechanisms based on the disclosure set forth herein. 
         [0037]    So long as latch assembly used can catch the weight bar, the desired racking purpose is achieved. That is, should the lifter desire to cease lifting weight bar  12 , the lifter need only move weight bar  12  slightly to the rear of the lifter and engage the rack pins with the latch assemblies to rack weight bar  12 . The lifter can accomplish racking simply by rotating the hands forwards or backwards depending upon orientation of the lifter, either under normal or emergency (imminent loss of control of weight bar  12 ) conditions, to rack weight bar  12 . 
         [0038]    While the invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment, those skilled in the art will understand that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims. In this application all units are in the metric system and all amounts and percentages are by weight, unless otherwise expressly indicated. Also, all citations referred herein are expressly incorporated herein by reference.