Patent Publication Number: US-6663543-B2

Title: Combined pulling and bending chest exerciser

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a chest exerciser, more particularly to a chest exerciser which provides combined bending and pulling exercise functions. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional chest exerciser  1  which includes a pair of handles  101  and a connecting spring  102  interconnecting the handles  101 . To exercise a person&#39;s arms, the person grips the handles  101  and exerts a force against restoring force of the spring  102 , for bending the spring  102  and for moving the handles  101  closer to each other. The spring  102  thus supplies a resisting force to resist the bending action of the exerciser. FIG. 2 illustrates a conventional chest pull  2  which includes a pair of handles  201  and a plurality of extension springs  202  extending between the handles  201 . To perform a chest-expanding exercise, a person grips the handles  202  and exerts a pulling force for pulling the handles  202  in opposite directions away from each other, against restoring force of the extension springs  202 . The extension springs  202  thus supply a resisting force to resist the pulling action of the exerciser. 
     However, each of the aforementioned chest exerciser  1  and chest pull  2  can only perform a single exercise mode, i.e., the bending exercise mode or the pulling exercise mode. Moreover, the resisting forces supplied by the springs  102 ,  202  are not adjustable to suit different persons who require different amounts of exercise. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to provide a combined pulling and bending chest exerciser which provides combined bending and pulling exercise functions. 
     Accordingly, the chest exerciser of the present invention includes a hollow seat and a pair of lever members. The hollow seat has front and rear ends, top and bottom walls extending between the front and rear ends, and curved left and right side walls interconnecting the top and bottom walls and extending between the front and rear ends. Each of the side walls has a horizontally extending slide groove formed therethrough and extending therealong. The slide groove has a front groove end proximate to the front end of the hollow seat, and a rear groove end proximate to the rear end of the hollow seat. Each of the side walls has an outer wall surface opposite to the other one of the side walls. Each of the lever members includes an inner shaft which has a pivot end extending through the slide groove in a respective one of the side walls of the hollow seat and connected pivotally to the hollow seat for pivoting about a vertical pivot axis transverse to the top and bottom walls, an outer tube sleeved co-axially on the inner shaft and having an abutment end abutting against the outer wall surface of the respective one of the side walls of the hollow seat, and a resistance unit for providing resistance to relative axial movement between the inner shaft and the outer tube. The outer wall surface of each of the side walls of the hollow seat is defined by a curve, wherein points on the curve increase in distance relative to the pivot axis of a respective one of the lever members from the rear groove end to the front groove end. The outer tube of each of the lever members is operable for moving relative to the inner shaft in an axial direction away from the hollow seat against action of the resistance unit. The outer tube of each of the lever members is further operable for moving the inner shaft pivotally about the pivot axis to enable the inner shaft to slide along the slide groove in the respective one of the side walls from the rear groove end toward the front groove end, thereby enabling the outer wall surface of the respective one of the side walls to push the abutment end of the outer tube for moving the outer tube axially relative to the inner shaft against the action of the resistance unit. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: 
     FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional chest exerciser when in use; 
     FIG. 2 illustrates a conventional chest pull when in use; 
     FIG. 3 is a partly-sectioned fragmentary top view of a first preferred embodiment of the chest exerciser of the present invention; 
     FIG. 4 is a partly-sectioned fragmentary front view of the first preferred embodiment; 
     FIG. 5 is a schematic top view of the first preferred embodiment, when operated for performing a pulling exercise mode; 
     FIG. 6 is another schematic top view of the first preferred embodiment, when operated for performing a bending exercise mode; 
     FIG. 7 is another partly-sectioned fragmentary front view of the first preferred embodiment, illustrating how resisting force supplied by a spring is adjusted; and 
     FIG. 8 is a partly-sectioned fragmentary front view of a second preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, a first preferred embodiment of the combined pulling and bending chest exerciser of the present invention is shown to include a hollow seat  10  and a pair of lever members  20 . 
     The hollow seat  10  has front and rear ends  101 ,  102 , horizontal top and bottom walls  103 ,  104  extending between the front and rear ends  101 ,  102 , and curved lateral side walls  12  extending between the front and rear ends  101 ,  102  and interconnecting the top and bottom walls  103 ,  104 . Each of the side walls  12  has a horizontally extending slide groove  13  extending therealong and formed therethrough. The slide groove  13  has a front groove end  131  proximate to the front end  101  of the hollow seat  10 , and a rear groove end  132  proximate to the rear end  102  of the hollow seat  10 . The hollow seat  10  is symmetric with respect to a vertical plane of symmetry  11  that is transverse to the top and bottom walls  103 ,  104  and that passes through the front and rear ends  101 ,  102 . The hollow seat  10  further has a vertical post  105  which extends between the top and bottom walls  103 ,  104  and which is disposed on the plane of symmetry  11 . The vertical post  105  has a torsion spring  14  sleeved thereon. 
     Each of the lever members  20  includes a tubular inner shaft  21 , an outer tube  23 , and an intermediate tube  22  disposed between the inner shaft  21  and the outer tube  23 . The inner shaft  21  has a pivot end  211  which extends through the slide groove  13  in a respective one of the side walls  13  and into the hollow seat  10 . The pivot end  211  is provided with an end cap  212  which has an outer surface formed with a spring engaging groove  2121  for engaging a respective one of two opposite legs  141  of the torsion spring  14 . The pivot end  211  is pivoted to the hollow seat  10  by means of a vertical pivot pin  15  that is fastened to the top and bottom walls  103 ,  104  and that extends between the top and bottom walls  103 ,  104  such that the inner shaft  21  is pivotable relative to the hollow seat  10  about an axis of the pivot pin  15 . The inner shaft  21  of each of the lever members  20  slides along the slide groove  13  in the respective one of the side walls  12  when pivoted about the pivot pin  15 . In this embodiment, the pivot pins  15  of the lever members  20  are parallel to each other, and are disposed symmetrically with respect to the plane of symmetry  11 . Each of the side walls  12  of the hollow seat  10  is defined by a curve, wherein points on the curve increase in distance relative to the axis of the pivot pin  15  of the respective one of the lever members  20  from the rear groove end  132  to the front groove end  131 . The inner shaft  21  further has a distal end opposite to the pivot end  211  and formed with an end block  213  with an octagonal cross-section. 
     The intermediate tube  22  confines an axial hole with an octagonal cross-section so as to be sleeved non-rotatably on the end block  213 . The intermediate tube  22  has a first end formed with a radially and inwardly projection annular flange  221 , and an externally threaded second end portion  222  sleeved non-rotatably on the end block  213 . The intermediate tube  22  has an outer wall surface formed with an axially extending keyway  223 . A compression spring  214  is disposed within the intermediate tube  22  and is sleeved on the inner shaft  21 . The compression spring  214  has one end abutting against the annular flange  221 , and an opposite end abutting against the end block  213  so as to be limited between the annular flange  221  and the end block  213 . The outer wall surface of the intermediate tube  22  is further provided with indicia  224  which provide information to indicate the amount of resisting force supplied by the compression spring  214 . The outer tube  23  is sleeved on the intermediate tube  22 , and has an abutment end  231  which is provided with a metal corner sleeve  232  and which abuts against the outer wall surface of a respective one of the side walls  12  of the hollow seat  10 . The corner sleeve  232  is made of copper, and is formed with a hole for extension of the inner shaft  21  therethrough. The outer tube  23  has an inner wall surface formed with an axially extending key projection  233  which engages the keyway  223  in the outer wall surface of the intermediate tube  22  to guide axial movement of the intermediate tube  22  relative to the outer tube  23  and to prevent relative rotation between the intermediate tube  22  and the outer tube  23 . The outer tube  23  further has an operating end  236  opposite to the abutment end  231  and provided with an adjustment knob  24  which has a rotary head portion  242  exposed from the outer tube  23 , and a tubular section  243  extending from the head portion  242  and into the operating end  236  of the outer tube  23 . The head portion  242  has a shoulder  241  abutting against an end face  235  of the operating end  236  of the outer tube  23 . The tubular section  243  is internally threaded, and engages threadedly the second end portion  222  of the intermediate tube  22 . The outer tube  23  is further formed with a window  234  for inspecting the indicia  224 . 
     Referring to FIGS. 3 and 5, before the lever members  20  are applied with an external force by the user, the inner shafts  21  are biased by the torsion spring  14  to move toward the rear groove ends  132  such that the lever members  20  are disposed at an angular relationship of 180°. To perform a pulling exercise with the use of the chest exerciser of the present embodiment for expanding the chest of the user, the operating ends  236  of the outer tubes  23  of the lever members  20  are gripped by the hands of the user and are pulled away from each other. Since the end wall  236  on the operating end  235  of the outer tube  23  of each of the lever members  20  abuts against the head portion  242  of the operating knob  24 , and since the operating knob  24  engages threadedly the intermediate tube  22 , the pulling force is transmitted to the intermediate tube  22  to result in axial movement of the intermediate tube  22  together with the outer tube  23  relative to the inner shaft  21  in a direction away from the hollow seat  10  and the other one of the lever members  20 , thereby moving the annular flange  221  closer to the end block  213  of the inner shaft  21  against the restoring force of the compression spring  214 . The compression spring  214  in each of the lever members  20  thus supplies a resisting force to resist the pulling action applied by the user. 
     Referring to FIGS. 3 and 6, to perform a bending exercise with the use of the chest exerciser of the present embodiment for exercising muscles of a person&#39;s arms, the operating ends  236  of the outer tubes  23  are gripped by the person, and the levers  20  are moved pivotally about their respective pivot pins  15  to enable the inner shaft  21  to slide along the slide grooves  13  from the rear groove ends  132  toward the front groove ends  131  against the biasing action of the torsion spring  14 , for moving the lever members  20  closer to each other. Since the abutment ends  231  of the outer tubes  23  abut against the outer wall surfaces of the side walls  12 , the outer tubes  231  are pushed by the outer wall surfaces of the side walls  12  to move axially relative to the inner shafts  21  and to move farther from their respective pivot pins  15  during pivoting movement of the lever members  20  from the rear groove ends  132  toward the front groove ends  131 . The intermediate tubes  22  move with the outer tubes  23  to dispose the annular flanges  221  closer to the end blocks  213  of the inner shafts  21  against the restoring force of the compression springs  214 . Likewise, the compression spring  214  in each lever member  20  supplies a resisting force to resist movement of the outer tube  23  along the outer surfaces of the respective side wall  12 , thereby resisting the bending action applied by the person. 
     Referring to FIG. 7, to adjust the resisting force supplied by the compression springs  214 , the adjustment knobs  24  are rotated to cause linear and axial movement of the intermediate tube  22  relative to the inner shaft  21  and the outer tube  23  so as to move the annular flanges  221  toward or away from the end blocks  213  of the inner shafts  21  to set an initial restoring force of each of the compression springs  214 . The initial restoring force is indicated using the indicia  224 , which move with the intermediate tube  22  during the adjustment operation and which can be inspected through the window  234 . 
     Referring to FIG. 8, in a second preferred embodiment, the inner shafts  21 ′ of the levers members  20 ′ have pivot ends  211 ′ which are pivoted to the hollow seat  10 ′ at a common pivot pin  15 ′ such that the inner shafts  21 ′ are pivotable relative to the hollow seat  10 ′ about their respective pivot axes, which are co-axial The pivot pin  15 ′ has the torsion spring  14 ′ sleeved thereon and is disposed on the plane of symmetry of the hollow seat  10 ′. The torsion spring  14 ′ has two legs  141 ′ engaging the pivot ends  211 ′ of the inner shafts  21 ′, respectively. The second preferred embodiment is operated in a manner similar to the previous embodiment. The chest exerciser of the present invention provides the following advantages: 
     (1) The chest exerciser is operable for performing both pulling exercise mode and bending exercise mode. The compression spring  214  provided in each of the lever members  20  acts to resist both the pulling action and the bending action applied by the user. 
     (2) By simply operating the adjustment knobs  24 , the resisting force supplied by the compression springs  214  can be adjusted to suit different persons who require different amounts of exercise. 
     In the illustrated embodiments, the compression spring  214  in each of the lever members  20  serves as a resistance unit to resist relative axial movement between the inner shaft  21  and the outer tube  23 . However, the resistance unit in the chest exerciser of the present invention should not be limited to the compression springs. Alternatively, a pneumatic resistance unit may be provided between an inner piston shaft and an outer tubular cylinder. The outer tubular cylinder may be formed with air inlet and air outlet valves which are operable to adjust air flow therethrough so as to adjust the resisting force supplied by the pneumatic resistance unit for resisting relative axial movement between the inner piston shaft and the outer tubular cylinder. 
     While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.