Abstract:
A pace setting device having a cylinder, top circular slab, a circular wall, an enclosed region; a piece of material connected at the top circular slab and a cuff at the cylinder base. The device has multiple springs connected between the cylinder and the piece of material holding the piece of material and the cylinder together. The piece of material serves as a large touching zone for athletic pace setting. A row of LEDs arranged within cavities that perforate the circular cylindrical wall are lighted by a battery having a snap terminal connected to a first jumper connection and a push button device operable to activate a lighting circuit made of the row. The first jumper connection is connected to two resistors that are respectively connected to two sets of differently colored LEDs and a second jumper connection having connections to both sets of LEDs and the push button device.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     N/A 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
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     COPYRIGHT NOTICE 
     A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or patent disclosure as it appears in the United States Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrights whatsoever. 
     BACKGROUND 
     (1) Field of the Invention 
     Relating to improvements in training mechanisms used in exercise regimens for both men and women. More specifically, relating to improvements in devices utilizing a pace setting aid. 
     (2) Existing Technologies 
     There are many computer based pace setting equipment in existence that time the movements of persons in various sports. Optical measuring devices capture the movement of athletes and translate the detected data into pace setting and measuring outputs. However, the inclusion of computers, sensors and auxiliary equipment is expensive and cumbersome. Thus, what is needed is a simple device that can easily facilitate setting and maintaining the pace of exercises in an inexpensive and simple fashion. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A cylindrical pace setting device having a cavity filled by a door at a base region forming a space for adhesion of circuit elements at the interior surface of an enclosed region (top interior, bottom interior, interior walls); at the opposite side of the door is a circular top wall that has a small central opening for insertion of a switch. A Velcro activated cuff is connected to the back of the cylinder. The device has multiple springs connected between the cylinder and the piece of material holding the piece of material and the cylinder together. The piece of material serves as a large touching zone for athletic pace setting. A row of LEDs arranged within cavities that perforate the surface of the circular cylindrical wall are lighted by a battery having a snap terminal connected to the first jumper connection and a push button device operable to activate the lighting circuit. The first jumper connection is connected to two resistors that are respectively connected to two sets of differently colored LEDs and a second jumper connection having connections to both sets of LEDs and the push button device. 
     The internal parts are glued, taped, arranged in molded plastic slots, bolted (nut and bolt), snap-in plastic part moldings or combinations of the foregoing. Further, the springs are connected to the piece of material and to the cylinder&#39;s top circular slab that has been integrated with a circular wall and an enclosed region therein. The springs can be glued, taped, the ends of each inserted in slots for holding it in place or combinations of the foregoing. 
     The large piece of material is a hemisphere or similar type of surface for easy accessibility during athletic training. In particular, the hemisphere is a representation of a sports item so as to situate the item in the particular field where training occurs such as soccer, basketball or similar sports. Additionally, the piece of material is substantially similar to the size of the enclosed region of the cylinder, in other words, of a size that it is of nearly the same size as the enclosed region as practical. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates the application of an embodiment as applied to the legs of an athlete showing various features. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates various external and internal structures of an embodiment as taught herein. 
         FIG. 3  illustrates an electrical circuit overview showing various electrical components of an embodiment. 
         FIG. 4  illustrates an electrical circuit diagram of an embodiment showing the interrelation between various electronic parts. 
         FIG. 5  illustrates an electrical circuit overview showing various other features of electrical components of an embodiment. 
         FIG. 6  illustrates various connection schemes used in an embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The following is a detailed description of the preferred embodiment with respect to  FIGS. 1-5 . 
       FIG. 1  illustrates the application  100  of an embodiment as applied to the legs of an athlete showing various features. A (plastic, non-rigid or foam) hemisphere  110  of material is attached through the use of several glued springs  120  to a wide top surface  130  (PVC or similar material); this serves as a top portion for a reversed (PVC or similar plastic) cylinder  140  that has a hollow internal area for insertion of electrical components. The springs  120  are glued to the top  130  of the hollow cylinder  140 . Alternatively the springs&#39; ends are threaded into corresponding slots that are found at the top of the hollow cylinder  140 . Similarly, the springs  120  are either glued or connected to the underside of the hemisphere (plastic, non-rigid or foam) using corresponding slots. The cylinder  140  has two banks of LED lights  150  alternatively RED and WHITE that are placed in a plurality of cavities arranged around the circumference of the cylinder  140  such that the cavities perforate the cylinder allowing for each of the LEDS  150  to be in electrical connection with other components of the circuit as taught below. An attachment cuff(s)  160  made of a generic material such as polyester, cotton, spandex or similar material is shown having VELCRO material sewn into or otherwise attached to it in a conventional fashion. VELCRO is a brand name of fabric hook-and-loop fasteners; the cuff  160  has a matching set ( 170 , 180 ) arranged on an external side of the cuff  170  and on an inner side  180  of the cuff  160  so as to enable engagement of the VELCRO material by user interaction with the cuff placing one over the other. The cuff  160  is attached to the external face of the bottom side of the cylinder  140  through the use of glue; alternatively plastic bolt and nut combination perforating the bottom of the cylinder will accomplish the same. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates various external and internal structures of an embodiment as taught herein. The top surface  200  of cylinder  220  is as shown in  FIG. 2A . Just below the top surface  200  is a row of red and white LED lights  210  extending from the inside of the cylinder through the cylinder material and breaching the outside surface of the cylinder  220  so as to provide a light indication as discussed below. Springs  230  are glued or inserted in slots on the top surface  200  of the cylinder and at the bottom side of hemisphere  240 . The bottom surface of the hemisphere  240  is in contact with a push button switch  250  that is utilized to practice the invention. The switch  250  is situated in a hole central to the top surface slab and between the springs; it can be glued or taped to the slab  200 . When a user pushes down upon the surface of the hemisphere  240  it presses down upon the top surface of the push button switch that slides down upon application of sufficient pressure to the top of the hemisphere. The pushbutton switch thus enables the activation of the banks of LED lights  210  through the use of electronic circuitry described in further detail in  FIGS. 3-5 .  FIG. 2B  shows a top down view of the symmetrical arrangement of four springs  230  about the center where the push button switch is centrally located. Similarly, when user pressure is no longer applied to the hemisphere  240  the springs push back upon it and the hemisphere moves upwards and as a consequence the switch  250  returns to its off position; as a result, the LED lights  210  are deactivated.  FIG. 2C  shows a hinged door  270  arrangement and mechanical clasp  280  that closes the enclosed region within the cylinder.  FIG. 2D  shows an outer door  290  that is taped or glued in place forming an enclosed space in the cylinder for the storage of electrical components.  FIG. 2E  shows a typical push button part for the circuit.  FIG. 2F  shows a typical taping arrangement for the circuit. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates an electrical circuit overview showing various electrical components of an embodiment. A half dozen red  300  and a half dozen white  310  LEDs are arranged in a circle about the cylinder previously described.  FIG. 3  only shows how these components are arranged about the surface of the cylinder not their specific electrical connections; that will be shown with respect to  FIGS. 4-5 . Jumper interconnects  320  and  330  are shown having three connection points and realized in WAGO part #859-403. A push button switch  340  is shown schematically as radio shack part #275-1547 that is used to make electrical connection and complete the circuit. A 9V battery  350  and snap-on battery terminal  360  are shown in the figure as ULTRALAST/PART #55039849 and RADIO SHACK/PART #270-325. The 9V battery serves as the only power source for the LOW GLOW device. When applied to the inner cylinder enclosed space, the various electrical components disclosed herein are taped or glued according to the wiring circuitry layout of  FIGS. 3-4  in a convenient fashion according to the implementation. The walls of the cylinder, underneath, i.e., inside of the top slab and the bottom region (door or door edge area) may also be used to tape the devices herein. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates an electrical circuit diagram of an embodiment showing the interrelation between various electronic parts. A three-connection jumper WAGO part #859-403 node  400  connects three circuit legs in parallel. The first leg connects through a load resistor  410  herein shown as a 100 ohm resistor RADIO SHACK/PART 271-1108 that connects to a set  430  of six RADIO SHACK/PART 276-017 WHITE LEDs; this set  430  is itself an arrangement of parallel LEDs as shown in the drawings. Typically, the LEDS are 25 mA rated LEDS and are finally connected to another three connection jumper  450  interconnect WAGO part #859-403. In a similar fashion the second leg of the circuit connected to jumper interconnect  400  has a current limiting resistor  420  herein shown as a 330 ohm resistor RADIO SHACK/PART 271-1113 that connects to a set  440  of six RADIO SHACK/PART 276-026 RED LEDs; this set  440  is itself an arrangement of parallel LEDs as shown in the drawings. Typically, the LEDS are 28 mA rated LEDS and are finally connected to another three connection jumper  450  interconnect WAGO part #859-403. The final leg of the circuit has a push button  460  connected in series with a 9 Volt battery as shown. When a user applies pressure to the hemisphere of material the pushbutton is depressed, as a consequence it activates the circuit described above. Current flows from the battery through the two banks of LEDS lighting up the area around the external part of the hollow cylinder previously described. Thus, this light indicates to a user that a particular pace is being kept and so an instructor or group of athletes can maintain timing during an exercise regimen. When a user releases the pressure on the hemisphere of material the springs push back on the hemisphere returning it to its original location. In this fashion, the push button switch is no longer in the active position and current ceases to flow in the circuit and as a consequence the lights turn off. 
       FIG. 5  illustrates an electrical circuit overview showing various other features of electrical components of an embodiment.  FIG. 5A  illustrates how the Red LEDs cathodes are arranged together and how the Red anodes are arranged together.  FIG. 5A  indicates that the White LEDs cathodes and anodes are arranged together like their red counterparts. Once the red and white LEDs are connected in parallel with conventional electrical wiring the individual lights are placed inside the cavities along the inner surface of the cylinder. Each of the lights exits its respective cavity just enough so as to be visible externally; they are arranged so as to alternate white red white to red about the cylinder; to finish off the attachment of the device, glue and or tape hold the electric wiring and LEDs to the inner surface of the cylinder.  FIG. 5B  illustrates how a pushbutton switch has connections both to the 9V power source and jumper interconnection  450 .  FIG. 5C  illustrates how jumper interconnection  400  has three connection devices from the battery, the 330 ohm and 100 ohm resistors. Similarly,  FIG. 5D  shows how jumper interconnection  450  has three connection devices from the pushbutton  460 , from the last RED LED in the circuit and from the last WHITE LED in the circuit.  FIG. 5E  shows a typical 9V power source  470 ,  350  having a snap-on connection  360 . The snap-on connector as its name implies snaps-on to the terminals of the battery; the other terminals of the connector  360  go to the pushbutton  460  and to the jumper interconnection  400 . 
       FIG. 6  shows various attachment mechanism used in various implementations. The first view  600  has an item (power supply and snap connector) glued  605  to the inner surface of the cylinder. It may also be taped or located on the internal bottom surface (door or door edge area) or inner top of the cylinder. The next view  610  shows how the LEDs are wired by skipping one LED in between whereby the electric wiring between each member of a set is taped  615  to the wall of the inner cylinder. The next view  620  has a plastic slot  625  for the push button whereby physical snap-in effects the connection. The plastic slot is molded right out of the internal piece of the cylinder or is itself glued to the inner surface. The next view  630  shows the end of spring can be loaded into a small notch or hole and glued therein  635 . The next view  640  shows how in one implementation bolt(s), nut(s) and or glue  645  are used to connect the cuff member(s) to the internal and external surface of the cylinder bottom. In this particular, implementation the cuff member is divided into two pieces with Velcro hooks and loops located on a different one and corresponding appropriate sides of the two pieces. Glue and or bolt fasteners hold the cuff pieces to the backside of the cylinder as shown. A door opens and closes between them facilitating access to the internal electrical parts. Optionally, one cuff may be laid across the back of the device. 
     The two jumper interconnects, battery and terminal are glued and or taped to the inner bottom, sides and or top of the cylinder depending upon the needs of the implementation. The push button switch is situated in a hole and is glued and or taped to the center interior top of the cylinder; alternatively, a slot is provided with a metal threading to ensure the fit of the device. Other connection schemes have any of the various parts internal to the cylinder being designed to be glued and or taped and or screwed in a metal sheath, placed in molded slots with a mechanical connection either through glue, physical compression with a plastic ‘snap-in’ effect whereby the plastic or metal holder expands to hold the device and then snaps on to a particular item, or bolt and nut type connection or combinations of the foregoing. However, the preferred system is gluing the various devices to internal surfaces and taping them for a good fit. The entire LOW-GLOW device is designed to be worn on the leg or the arm either as a single device or with a duplicate device on the other limb. The hemisphere of (plastic, non-rigid or foam) material is a representation of a sports item such as a soccer ball or basketball. 
     The invention has thus been described in such clear and precise terms as to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to understand its fundamental principles.