Patent Publication Number: US-4369969-A

Title: Body exercising device

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a body exercising device. More particularly, it relates to an exercising device which has a support, a pivotally mounted bracket element, and an eccentrically pivotable user supporting element. 
     Exercising devices of the above-mentioned general type are known in the art. One of such exercising devices is disclosed, for example, in the German Pat. No. 2,420,826. The device disclosed in that patent has two disk-shaped bracket elements located near one another and each provided with an eccentrically mounted user supporting element. When each hand is supported on a respective one of the supporting elements, the arms can perform swinging movements, and when each foot is supported on a respective one of the supporting elements, the legs can perform the swinging movement, for exercising and making stronger the user&#39;s body. The known device, however, has the disadvantage in the fact that it cannot be utilized for some special exercises. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device for body movement exercises which avoids the disadvantages of the prior art. 
     More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an exercising device which is particularly suitable for therapy of persons with hip, pelvis and vertebral injuries. 
     It is also another object of the present invention to provide an exercising device which can be utilized for therapeutic gymnastics of paraplegic or partially paralyzed persons. 
     In keeping with these objects, and with others which will become apparent hereinafter, one feature of the present invention resides, briefly stated, in a body exercising device which has a support, a bracket element pivotally mounted on the support, and a user supporting element eccentrically pivotally mounted on the bracket element, wherein the user supporting element is formed as a plate-shaped seat for a user, and pivot axes of the bracket element and the supporting element extend in a substantially vertical direction. 
     In accordance with another advantageous feature of the present invention, the distance between the pivot axes of the bracket element and supporting element can be adjusted so that the device can be utilized in especially universal manner and adjusted to the movement possibilities of individual patients. In this case the device can also be advantageously utilized for movement therapy of joint rheumatism-arthritis. A person who is to exercise sits on the seat face of the user supporting element and the latter performs circular movements while being guided in the bracket element. 
     In accordance with still another advantageous feature of the present invention, the pivot axes of the bracket element and supporting element extend parallel to one another and can be adjusted so as to change their angle relative to a setting surface of the support. Thereby the device can be considerably adjusted in correspondence with the flexibility of the verterbrae. 
     In accordance with a further feature of the present invention, the axis of at least one of the bracket element and supporting element can be adjusted so that in one position it extends parallel to the axis of the other element and in another position it is inclined to the latter. 
     Still a further feature of the present invention resides in that the seat face of the supporting member can be adjusted in a vertical direction relative to the setting surface of the support. Thereby, the device can be adjusted to the dimension of the user&#39;s body. 
     Yet another feature of the present invention is that at least one handle may be provided on the support for the user&#39;s safety. It is advantageous when two such handles are arranged at two opposite sides of the support in the region of the supporting element. The handle may be bracket-shaped and overlap the seat surface similar to the handles utilized on some amusement park vehicles. Such a handle can be easily grasped by a user and then either by the arm alone or with the aid of the foot, circular body movements can be performed and repeated in a dozed manner. 
     Further, the position of the handle or handles relative to the support can be adjusted, particularly for patients with strong body restraint. In this case, such patients can utilize the device safely. 
     The weight of the device may be kept as small as possible when the support is formed as a tubular frame provided with three, advantageously four, legs arranged on its setting surface, and a bearing element is mounted on the frame for supporting the rotatable bracket element. For space-economical storage and for transportation, the tubular frame may be foldable or disassemblable. 
     The bearing element may be formed, for weight-saving purposes, of two plates which are mounted on tubular members of the tubular frame and are parallel to the setting surface of the frame in spaced relationship with the latter. 
     For providing stable construction of the tubular frame, the latter may include a substantially trapezoidal base frame part having downwardly extending legs, a tubular member extending upwardly from the wider end of the base frame part and bent horizontally to support the plates of the bearing element, and a bracing member supporting the tubular member and extending toward the narrower end of the base frame part. 
     For safe operation of the device, the support can be provided with a foot-supporting member, which is formed for example as a U-shaped bracket extending at an angle to the base frame part. 
     An additional feature of the present invention is that for adjusting the distance between the axes of the bracket element and the supporting element, the bracket element may be formed as a U-shaped guide with an upwardly open recess, a bearing part of the supporting element is pivotally mounted in the recess, and the bearing part is displaceable relative to the U-shaped guide. 
     It is advantageous when the U-shaped guide is provided with an opening through which at least one mounting screw extends for adjustable mounting of the bearing part. 
     The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawing. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
     FIG. 1 is a side view of a body exercising device in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a plan view of the body exercising device shown in FIG. 1 with an optional handle shown in dotted lines; 
     FIG. 3 is a view showing a section taken along the line III--III in FIG. 1; and 
     FIG. 4 is a view showing a section taken along the line IV--IV in FIG. 1. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     A body exercising device has a support which is identified by reference numeral 1, a bearing element identified by reference numeral 2 and arranged at the height of knees, and a bracket element 3 supported by the bearing element 2. A user supporting element 5 has a bearing part 4 pivotally supported on the bracket element 3. As can be seen from the drawings, a pivot axis 6 of the bracket element 3 and a pivot axis 7 of the supporting element 5 extend parallel to one another in a vertical direction. 
     A support 1 is composed of tubular members and has a substantially trapezoidal base part 8 provided with legs downwardly extending from the base part 8 in the regions of its corners. The legs 9 together form a setting surface 10 for the exercising device, with which the device is placed onto a floor 11. Two tubular members 12 extend upwardly from the wider side of the base part 8 and are bent horizontally at their upper end. The bearing element 2 includes two parallel plates 13 and 14 which are spaced from one another, of which the plate 13 is supported on the bent horizontal portions of the tubular members 12. The plates 13 and 14 of the bearing element 2 are parallel to the setting surface 10 of the support 1. 
     The tubular members 12 are supported by inclined tubular members 15 which in turn are connected with and supported on a U-shaped foot-supporting member 16. Thereby they are also supported on the base part 8 of the support 1. The thus designed support 1 is very stable and at the same time has a very small weight. 
     As can be seen from FIG. 4, the bracket element 3 is U-shaped and has a downwardly extending cylindrical guiding part 17. The guiding part 17 extends through the plates 13 and 14 of the bearing element 2 and is pivotable about the pivot axis 6. The plates 13 and 14 are reinforced in the bearing region by plates 18 and 19 and connected with one another by screws 20. The U-shaped bracket element 3 is open upwardly and forms a receiving recess 21 in which a bearing part 4 for pivotally supporting the supporting element 5 is received. The supporting element 5 is plate-shaped and formed as a seat. More particularly, it has an upper plate-shaped surface. As can be seen from FIGS. 1 and 3, the bearing part 4 is held in the bracket element 3 adjustably with the aid of schematically shown screws 22. Thereby, the distance 23 between the pivot axes 6 and 7 can be adjusted. The supporting element 5 has a cylindrical pin 24 which is pivotally guided in the bearing part 4. The end face of the pin 24 abuts against a ball 25 for reducing the friction. 
     For safely exercising of a user, the support 1 may be provided at its one side or at its both sides with a handle 26. The handle 26 can be mounted on the support 1 detachably and adjustably. The device may also be equipped with the handles later on. 
     When the bearing part 4 tilts in the recess 21, the pivot axis 7 of the supporting element 5 can be inclined relative to the pivot axis 6 of the bracket element 3, if it is desirable to provide a further therapeutic effect. 
     It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of constructions differing from the types described above. 
     While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a body exercising device, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention. 
     Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for varous applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention.