Abstract:
An apparatus for communicating exercise resistance includes a carriage assembly with at least one upper and at least one lower pulley. First and second cable ends are reeved around the upper and lower pulleys, respectively, and are coupled to a source of selectable exercise resistance. An exercise member is selectively coupled to the two cable ends such that movement of the exercise member away from the carriage is subject to a first exercise resistance when only one of the cable ends is attached and is subject to a second, greater exercise resistance when both cable ends are attached.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to the field of exercise equipment. More particularly, the invention relates to an exercise device having a cable and pulley system that offers two different levels of resistance at a pull point, independent of the amount of weight selected. 
     2. Background 
     Exercise equipment having a cable and pulley system for lifting a stack of weights has been in use for well over a century. Such equipment comes in a wide variety of designs for performing various exercises. One type of such exercise equipment, exemplified, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,402,504, is particularly suited for upper body exercises. This apparatus has an elongated upstanding frame and a carriage that is movable up and down along vertical posts of the frame. The carriage includes one or more pulleys around which a cable is reeved. The cable is further reeved around upper and/or lower pulleys on the frame and is coupled to a source of exercise resistance, such as a plurality of stacked weights. The cable exits the pulley on the carriage and is connected to a handle or similar pulling device. The height of the handle is readily adjustable by moving the carriage on the vertical posts and locking it into position at the selected height. This permits a wide variety of exercises to be performed for exercising muscle groups of the arms and upper body. The amount of exercise resistance is adjusted by selecting more or fewer stacked weights. The range of available exercise resistance is thus determined by the quantity of available weights. 
     It would be desirable to have exercise resistance selectable over a greater range without requiring a correspondingly greater number of stacked weights. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides an apparatus for communicating exercise resistance comprising a carriage assembly with at least one upper and at least one lower pulley. First and second cable ends are reeved around the upper and lower pulleys, respectively, and are coupled to a source of selectable exercise resistance. An exercise member is selectively coupled to the two cable ends such that movement of the exercise member away from the carriage is subject to a first exercise resistance when only one of the cable ends is attached and is subject to a second, greater exercise resistance when both cable ends are attached. 
     In another embodiment, a set of upper and lower pulleys on a first carriage assembly have a cable end extending between the pulleys and another cable end attached to the carriage by a removable spring clip. The cable ends are coupled to a source of selectable exercise resistance. The cable end extending between the pulleys may be used with exercise handles or bars. An exercise member is associated with a second carriage assembly above or below the first carriage assembly. The cable end extending between the upper and lower pulleys can attach to the second carriage to provide a first exercise resistance to the exercise member. If more resistance is desired, the cable end attached to the first carriage may be removed from the first carriage and attached to the second carriage, providing a greater resistance. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an exercise apparatus incorporating an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  diagrammatically illustrates the cable and pulley arrangement of the exercise apparatus shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a detailed view of a carriage assembly and cable bracket in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a partial perspective view of an exercise apparatus incorporating another embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is another view of the apparatus of  FIG. 4 . 
         FIG. 6  is another view of the apparatus of  FIG. 4 . 
         FIG. 7  is another view of the apparatus of  FIG. 4 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In the following description, for purposes of explanation and not limitation, specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced in other embodiments that depart from these specific details. In other instances, detailed descriptions of well-known methods and devices are omitted so as to not obscure the description of the present invention with unnecessary detail. 
     Referring first to  FIG. 1 , exercise apparatus  10  has a frame comprising a central upright  12 , top member  14 , base member  16  and legs  18  and  20 . Footplate  22  is attached between legs  18  and  20 . A lat bar assembly  24  is attached to top member  14 . Selector tubes  26 ,  28  are attached between lat bar assembly  24  and leg  18  and between lat bar assembly  24  and leg  20 , respectively. 
     Backrest cushion  30  is attached to central upright  12 , as are right handlebar assembly  32  and left handlebar assembly  34 . Arm cushions  36 ,  38  are attached to handlebar assemblies  32 ,  34 , respectively. 
     Carriage assembly  40  is slidably mounted on selector tube  26  and may be positioned at any desired height by means of pull pin  41  engaging with one of a plurality of holes (not shown) in the selector tube. Carriage assembly  42  is similarly slidably mounted on selector tube  28 . A variety of weight resistance exercises may be performed using handles  44  and  46  that are operatively associated with carriage assemblies  40  and  42 , respectively, as more fully described below. Exercise resistance is furnished by a selectorized weight stack  48 . A shroud  49  may partially enclose weight stack  48 . 
     Referring also to  FIG. 2 , the cable and pulley arrangement of apparatus  10  will be described. Looking to the right side of the figure, pulleys  52 R and  54 R are rotatably mounted on carriage assembly  40 . The two ends of cable  50 R are reeved around these two pulleys and are coupled to handle  44 , as will be explained below. Continuing up from pulley  52 R, cable  50 R is reeved around a fixed high pulley  56 R and then around another high fixed pulley  58 R. Cable  50 R then travels downwardly around floating pulley  60 R and then upwardly around high fixed pulley  62 R. Cable  50 R continues down around low fixed pulley  64 R and then around low fixed pulley  66 R. From there, cable  50 R travels upwardly and is reeved around pulley  54 R. The cable and pulley arrangement on the left side of the apparatus is a mirror image of that just described. 
     Cable  68  is attached to floating pulley  60 R and travels down and around low fixed pulley  70 R. Cable  68  then travels upwardly and around high fixed pulley  72 R and then back down and around pulley  74  on the top of weight stack  48 . Again, the left side of the apparatus is a mirror image with cable  68  travelling upwardly from pulley  74 , around high fixed pulley  72 L, then downwardly and around low fixed pulley  70 L, and then upwardly to where it is attached to floating pulley  60 L. 
     From  FIG. 2 , it can be seen that pulling on either end of cable  50 R, or on either end of cable  50 L, will be resisted by one-fourth of the weight of weight stack  48 . Pulling on both ends of cable  50 R simultaneously, or on both ends of cable  50 L simultaneously, will be resisted by one-half of the weight of weight stack  48 . 
     Details of right side carriage assembly  40  are shown in  FIG. 3 . It will be understood that left side carriage assembly  42  is a mirror image of assembly  40 . A first end  76  of cable  50 R exits between a first upper pulley  52 R on carriage assembly  40  and a first lower pulley  78 R. Similarly, a second end  80  of cable  50 R exits between a second upper pulley  82 R and a second lower pulley  54 R. The first end  76  of cable  50 R is inserted through ball stop  84  and is secured to bracket  86  by bolt  88 . The second end  80  of cable  50 R has a small ball fitting  90  that may be inserted into slot  92  of bracket  86 . If the second end  80  is not secured to the bracket  86 , it is retained between pulleys  82 R and  54 R by ball stop  94 . Handle  44  (shown in  FIG. 1 ) is coupled to a bracket  86 . As previously explained, the first end  76  of cable  50 R is secured to bracket  86 , so that pulling on the handle will draw out cable  50 R from between pulleys  52 R and  78 R. Pulling in this manner will be resisted by one-quarter of the weight of weight stack  48 . If ball  90  is inserted into slot  92 , thereby securing the second end  80  of cable  50 R to bracket  86 , pulling on handle  44  will be resisted by one-half of the weight of weight stack  48 . When using one cable end (¼ resistance), the user gets twice the amount of cable travel as when using both cable ends (½ resistance). Functional exercises that simulate body movements of sports activities movements require more travel, whereas traditional training exercises such as lat pull downs require more resistance. 
     In a variation of the above-described embodiment, the carriage assemblies could each have two pulleys instead of four. In this case, it would be preferred that the two pulleys would be slightly offset from each other axially so that the cable from either pulley would clear the other pulley during use. In this variation, the upper end of the cable would be reeved around the upper pulley and the lower end of the cable would be reeved around the lower pulley. For example, this could be accomplished by modifying carriage assembly  40  shown in  FIG. 3  to omit pulleys  78 R and  82 R. Suitable cable guides or brackets could then be provided to interface with ball stops  84  and  94  to prevent the cable ends from slipping past pulleys  52 R and  54 R. As in the previously described embodiment, each cable end could be used independently or together to achieve a desired resistance ratio. 
     Another embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in  FIGS. 4-7 . A first carriage assembly  102  has a pair of pulleys  104 ,  106  rotatably mounted thereon. First cable end  108  exits between pulleys  104  and  106  and may be coupled to a handle  110  or a bar (not shown) for performing various exercises. The first carriage assembly  102  is adjustable up and down a slider shaft  112  and is lockable at various positions along the slider shaft. A second carriage assembly  114  is disposed on slider shaft  112  above the first carriage assembly  102 . The second carriage assembly  114  has an exercise press bar  116  associated with it. A second cable end  118  is releasably attached to eye  120  on the second carriage assembly  114 . The second carriage assembly slides up and down the slider shaft and may be locked in a stowed position at the top of the slider shaft when not in use as shown in  FIG. 5 . It should be understood that an exercise apparatus incorporating this embodiment of the invention will preferably have two of the previously described arrangements—one each for the left and right sides of the body. 
     When using the press bar  116  associated with the second carriage assembly, the second carriage assembly  114  is lowered from its stowed position at the top of the slider shaft and rested on top of the first carriage assembly  102 . Attaching the first cable end to eye  122  on the second carriage assembly  114  with the second cable end attached to eye  124  on the first carriage assembly  102  as shown in  FIG. 6  provides a first exercise resistance to the press bar. Attaching the second cable end to eye  120  on the second carriage assembly as shown in  FIG. 7  provides a second, greater resistance to the press bar. 
     The configuration shown in  FIGS. 4-7  could be reversed with the second carriage assembly located below the first carriage assembly, in which case an exercise bar attached to the second carriage assembly could be used as a pull bar. In this case, the stowed position for the second carriage assembly would be at the bottom of the slider shaft. 
     It will be recognized that the above-described invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics of the disclosure. Thus, it is understood that the invention is not to be limited by the foregoing illustrative details, but rather is to be defined by the appended claims.