Patent Publication Number: US-8974354-B1

Title: Landmine apparatuses

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     The present disclosure relates to and claims priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/583,086, filed Jan. 4, 2012, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD AND BACKGROUND 
     The present disclosure relates to exercise equipment including weight training equipment. The present disclosure arose during continuing development efforts in the field of exercise equipment. 
     SUMMARY 
     This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in limiting the scope of the claimed subject matter. In some examples, a landmine apparatus has a mounting base, a receptacle for receiving a weight bar, the receptacle being coupled to the mounting base and being rotatable about a horizontal axis and in 360 degrees about a vertical axis. A vertical pivot connects the receptacle to the mounting base such that the receptacle is retained in a single horizontal plane while rotating about the vertical axis. Some examples provide means for connecting the receptacle to the mounting base such that the weight bar is rotatable about the horizontal axis while being retained in a single vertical plane and rotatable in 360 degrees about the vertical axis while being retained in a single horizontal plane. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Examples of landmine apparatuses are described with reference to the following drawing figures. The same numbers are used throughout the drawing figures to reference like features and components. 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a landmine apparatus. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the landmine apparatus of  FIG. 1  receiving a weight bar. 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded view of the landmine apparatus. 
         FIG. 4  is a side view of the landmine apparatus. 
         FIG. 5  is a top view of the landmine apparatus. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     In the present description, certain terms have been used for brevity, clearness, and understanding. No unnecessary limitations are to be inferred therefrom beyond the requirement of the prior art because such terms are used for descriptive purposes only and are intended to be broadly construed. The different apparatuses described herein may be used alone or in combination with other apparatuses. Various equivalents, alternatives, and modifications are possible within the scope of the appended claims. 
       FIGS. 1-5  depict a landmine apparatus  10  for use in the strength equipment and/or functional training equipment fields. The landmine apparatus  10  has a mounting base  12  and a receptacle  14 . The receptacle  14  is coupled to the mounting base  12  in a manner such that it is rotatable about a horizontal axis H and is rotatable in 360-degree motion about a vertical axis V. Rotation about the horizontal axis H is shown at arrows  16  in  FIGS. 1 and 4 . Rotation in 360 degrees about the vertical axis V is shown at arrows  18  in  FIGS. 1 and 5 . 
     A horizontal pivot  21  connects the receptacle  14  to the mounting base  12  such that the receptacle  14  is retained in a single vertical plane while rotating about the horizontal axis H. In this example, the receptacle  14  is connected to a bearing tube  30 , which in turn is connected to a yolk assembly  26 . The bearing tube  30  is rotatable in the yolk assembly  26  in approximately 180-degree motion about the horizontal axis H. A roller bearing  60  ( FIG. 3 ) is disposed in the bearing tube  30 . The roller bearing  60  can include a bearing shaft  62  and opposing bearings  64 . A spacer  66  is disposed on the outer circumference of bearing shaft  62  for spacing the bearing shaft  62  from the inner surface of the bearing tube  30 . Outer spacers  68  are disposed against the bearings  64 . Bolt and washer assemblies  70  attach the respective components so that the bearing tube  30  is pivotably attached to the noted yolk assembly  26 . 
     A vertical pivot  23  connects the receptacle  14  to the mounting base  12  such that the receptacle  14  is retained in a single horizontal plane while rotating about the vertical axis V. In this example, a vertical shaft  72  ( FIG. 3 ) extends from the yolk assembly  26  into the mounting base  12  and is rotatable about the vertical axis V through the noted 360-degree motion. The vertical shaft  72  is supported on the mounting base  12  by a pair of flange bearings  22 . In other examples, one or more than two flange bearings  22  could be employed. The flange bearings  22  are connected to the mounting base  12  by bolts  25 , and nuts  27  with washers  29  therebetween. 
     The receptacle  14  has a tubular cavity  32  for receiving a weight bar  34  ( FIG. 2 ). A protective insert  36  is disposed on the receptacle  14  to separate the receptacle  14  and the weight bar  34 , thus protecting the respective components from damage. In this example, the protective insert  36  is a guide sleeve that is made of plastic. The guide sleeve is inserted in the tubular cavity  32  at the free end of the receptacle  14 . 
     A latch mechanism  38  locks the weight bar  34  in place when it is inserted in the tubular cavity  32  of the receptacle  14 . In this example, the latch the mechanism  38  has an arm  40  that is pivotally connected to the receptacle  14 . The arm  40  has a first end  44  and a second end  42 . The first end  44  is pivotally connected to the receptacle  14  by a bracket and pin connection  46 . The second end  42  of the arm  40  has a finger  48  for engaging with the weight bar  34 , and specifically with the end flange  50  of the weight bar  34 . One or more than one fingers  48  can be employed. A spring  51  biases the arm  40  so that the finger  48  engages the weight bar  34  and retains the weight bar  34  towards engagement in the tubular cavity  32  of the receptacle  14 . A cam surface  45  on the second end  42  of the arm  40  is cammed outwardly away from the receptacle  14 , against the bias of spring  51  by the end flange  50  of the weight bar  34 , when the weight bar  34  is inserted into the receptacle  14 . The bias of the spring  51  forces the arm  40  back towards the receptacle  14  once the end flange  50  passes by the cam surface  45 . 
     The present disclosure thus provides a landmine apparatus  10  having a mounting base  12  and a receptacle  14  for receiving a weight bar  34 , the apparatus  10  including means for connecting the receptacle  14  to the mounting base  12  so that the weight bar  34  is rotatable about a horizontal axis H and rotatable in 360-degree motion about a vertical axis V. Providing such freedom of rotation of the weight bar  34  allows freedom to the user to be in various positions with respect to the apparatus  10 . The vertical and horizontal pivots  23 ,  21  advantageously provide stability to the apparatus  10  by retaining the receptacle in the noted planes during rotation. The latch mechanism  38  safely locks the weight bar  34  with respect to the apparatus  10  and the protective insert  36  prevents damage to the respective weight bar  34  and receptacle  14 . 
     Although only a few examples have been described in detail above, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in the examples without materially departing from this invention. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this disclosure as defined in the following claims. In the claims, means plus function clauses are intended to cover the structures described herein as performing the recited function and not only structural equivalents, but also equivalent structures. Thus, although a nail and a screw may not be structural equivalents in that a nail employs a cylindrical surface to secure wooden parts together, and whereas a screw employs a helical surface, in the environment of fastening wooden parts, a nail and a screw may be equivalent structures. It is the express intention of the Applicant not to invoke 35 U.S.C. §112, paragraph 6, for any limitations of any of the claims herein, except for those in which the claim expressly uses the words “means for” together with an associated function.