Abstract:
The bench press allows the user to control the increase and decrease of weights without assistance, so as to achieve maximal physical effect and can safely exercise. The bench press includes a frame having a bench on which the user lies and a support for supporting a barbell, a first cable having an end that is connected to the barbell and hanging the barbell through a first pulley that is rotatably installed in the frame, a second pulley, to which the other end of the first cable is connected, rotatably installed in the frame, a cam-shaped pulley rotated together the second pulley, a second cable having an end connected to the cam-shaped pulley, and a foothold, to which the other end of the second cable is connected, provided in the frame so that the user moves the foothold to pull the second cable.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This application claims priority benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 20-2005-0000021 filed Jan. 3, 2005, the technical disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates to a bench press used to strengthen the chest and arm muscles, and more particularly to a bench press in which a user can control the increase and decrease of weight without assistance, so as to achieve maximal physical effect, and which allows one to safely exercise.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0005]     A bench press is a type of sports equipment, which is used to strengthen the chest and arm muscles. The bench press is operated by lying on a bench, positioning the arms at predetermined intervals, so as to grasp a barbell supported on supports, and then raising and lowering the barbell repeatedly.  
         [0006]     In conventional bench presses, if the user is unable to support the barbell due to exhaustion, resulting from extended lowering and raising of the barbell, injury to the face, chest, or neck frequently occurs, as the user is unable to return the barbell to the supports and drops the barbell.  
         [0007]     As a bench press designed to prevent injury, a bench press in which a protector is provided on a bench to prevent the barbell from being dropped on the face, neck, or chest, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,217,421.  
         [0008]     Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,253,662 discloses a bench press in which a barbell is suspended from one end of a rope or a chain, the weight is suspended from the other end of the rope or chain, and a clutch is disposed at the intermediate portion of the rope or the chain such that the user manipulates the clutch to stop the movement of the rope or the chain.  
         [0009]     However, according to the above conventional bench presses, though injury to the user can be prevented, the exercise effect cannot be enhanced without assistance.  
         [0010]     In order to strengthen the muscles using the bench press, contraction and relaxation of the muscles must be repeated a certain number of times. Particularly, in order to strengthen the muscles with maximum effectiveness, it is preferable to change the weights during the repetition of contracting and relaxing the muscles. Thus, assistance is required to adjust the weight applied to the barbell when the user exercises to strengthen the muscles using the conventional bench presses.  
         [0011]     However, since assistance is not always available, the conventional bench press is deficient in its ability to maximize exercise effects.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0012]     Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above and/or other problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a bench press that a user can adjust the weight of a barbell without assistance so as to achieve effective exercise and to prevent accidents.  
         [0013]     In accordance with the present invention, the above and other objects can be accomplished by the provision of a bench press for strengthening chest and arm muscles, including a frame including a bench on which a user lies and a support for supporting a barbell, a first cable having an end that is connected to the barbell and suspending the barbell through a first pulley rotatably installed in the frame, a second pulley, to which the other end of the first cable is connected, rotatably installed in the frame, a cam-shaped pulley rotated together with the second pulley, a second cable having an end connected to the cam-shaped pulley, and a foothold, to which the other end of the second cable is connected, provided in the frame so that the user moves the foothold to pull the second cable.  
         [0014]     In the bench press claimed in claim  2 , the foothold includes a guide member installed in the frame at an angle, a sliding member slid along the guide member by the user, and a spring for maintaining the tension of the second cable when the second cable is pulled by the sliding member to which the other end of the second cable is connected.  
         [0015]     In the bench press claimed in claim  3 , the guide member of the foothold comprises a stopper for restricting the movement of the sliding member and for preventing the barbell connected to the sliding member from being fallen on the user.  
         [0016]     In the bench press claimed in claim  4 , the height and tilt angle of the bench are freely adjustable. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0017]     These and/or other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0018]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating a bench press according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0019]      FIG. 2  is a side view illustrating the bench press according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0020]     Hereinafter, a bench press according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.  
         [0021]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating a bench press according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, with some components being omitted for clear viewing, and  FIG. 2  is a side view illustrating the bench press according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0022]     As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the bench press according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a frame  10  having a bench  11  (depicted as a hidden line in  FIG. 1 ) on which a user lies. The bench  11  supports the upper half of the body and head of the user.  
         [0023]     The frame  10  includes a pair of supports  12  for supporting a barbell  13 . The supports  12  serve to hold the barbell  13  when the user does not exercise.  
         [0024]     The frame  10  includes a first pulley  14  rotatably installed at the upper side of the frame  10  and a second pulley  15  rotatably installed to a rotating shaft  17  at the lower side thereof.  
         [0025]     One end of a first cable  20  is connected to the barbell  13  and the other end of the first cable  20  is connected to the second pulley  15 . The barbell  13  can be hung on the frame  10  by the cable  20  extended through the first pulley  15 . The first cable  20  is preferably made of a material, such as rope, chain, or the like, with minimal elasticity, so that it is not elongated when load is applied.  
         [0026]     In the frame  10 , a first roller  18  for maintaining tension in the cable is installed between the first pulley  14  and the second pulley  15 .  
         [0027]     The second pulley  15  to which the other end of the first cable  20  is connected is rotatably installed to the lower side of the frame  10 . A cam-shaped pulley  16  is installed to the rotating shaft  17  of the second pulley  15 . Namely, the second pulley  15  and the cam-shaped pulley  16  have a common rotating shaft  17 .  
         [0028]     One end of a second cable  30  is connected to the cam-shaped pulley  16  and the other end of the second cable  30  is connected to a foothold  40 . The second cable  30  is preferably made of a material, such as rope, chain, or the like, with minimal elasticity, so that it is not elongated when load is applied, like the first cable  20 .  
         [0029]     In the frame  10 , a second roller  19  for maintaining the tension of the second cable  30  is installed between the cam-shaped pulley  16  and the foothold  40 .  
         [0030]     The foothold  40  to which the other end of the second cable  30  is connected is provided at the position of the frame  10  on which the user&#39;s feet are placed. In other words, the foothold  40  is disposed at the left end portion of the frame  10  as seen in  FIG. 2 .  
         [0031]     The foothold  40  includes a guide member  41  installed to the frame  10  at a predetermined angle, and a sliding member  42  sliding along the guide member  41 .  
         [0032]     The other end of the second cable  30  is connected to the sliding member  42  of the foothold  40 . The sliding member  42  is pressed in the direction in which the second cable  20  is pulled by a spring  43  such that constant tension is applied to the second cable  20 .  
         [0033]     A pair of steps  44 , on which the user can place his/her feet, is attached to the sliding member  42  so that the user strengthens his/her feet so as to press the steps  44  and then the sliding member  42  can move along the guide member  41 .  
         [0034]     The sliding member  42  is connected to the barbell  13  via the second cable  30 , the cam-shaped pulley  16 , the rotating shaft  17 , the second pulley  19 , and the first pulley  20 . As such, the user presses and moves the sliding member  42  so as to lift the barbell  13 , and, conversely, the user can lift and lower the barbell  13  to move the sliding member  42 .  
         [0035]     It is preferred that a stopper (not shown) for restricting the movement of the sliding member  42  is provided to the guide member  41  of the foothold  40 . The stopper restricts the movement of the sliding member  41  so that the barbell  13  connected to the sliding member  42  is prevented from falling on the face, neck, or chest, as described above.  
         [0036]     The bench press constructed as describe above is operated in the following manner.  
         [0037]     First the user lies on the bench  11  and lifts the barbell  13  supported by the supports  11 . When the barbell  13  is moved upward, the sliding member  42  of the foothold  40  connected to the barbell  13  via the first cable  20 , the second pulley  15 , the rotating shaft  17 , the cam-shaped pulley  16 , and the second cable  30  can be moved by the resilient force of the spring  43  regardless the user strengthens his/her feet to press the sliding member  42  of the foothold  40 .  
         [0038]     As seen in  FIG. 2 , if assuming the left direction as a withdrawing direction and the right direction as an advancing direction when the sliding member  42  moves along the guide member  41 , the sliding member  42  is moved in the withdrawing direction by the spring  43  when the user lifts the barbell  13  as described above, and is moved in the advancing direction when the user lowers the barbell  13 .  
         [0039]     As such, since a proper tensile force is maintained in the first and second cables  20  and  30  by the spring  43  while repeating the actions of lifting and lowering the barbell  13 , the first and second cables  20  and  30  can be prevented from being separated from the first and second pulleys  14  and  15 , the cam-shaped pulley  16 , or the first and second rollers  18  and  19 .  
         [0040]     Since the user does not need to use the foothold  40  in the initial state of the exercise (that is, before the muscles become severely fatigued), the user does not have to place his/her feet on the steps  44 . However, the user may exercise in a state of placing the feet on the steps  44  even in the initial state.  
         [0041]     When the user repeats the actions of lifting and lowering the barbell  13  and the user&#39;s muscles become fatigued to the extent that the user can no longer lift the barbell  13 , the user places his/her feet on the foothold  40  and presses the foothold  40  so as to withdraw the sliding member  42  to lift the barbell  13 .  
         [0042]     As such, by using the muscles of the arms, chest, and feet simultaneously, it is possible to obtain the same effect as decreasing the weight of the barbell  13 . In other words, the strength of the user&#39;s arms required to lift the barbell  13  is decreased in correspondence to the strength of the user&#39;s feet required to lower the sliding member  42 .  
         [0043]     Thus, the user can continue to exercise in a state that the weight of the barbell  13  is decreased as much as a predetermined weight so that the strength of the chest and arm muscles can be maximized.  
         [0044]     Moreover, since the force with which the user withdraws the sliding member  42  is transmitted to the barbell  13  via the cam-shaped pulley  16 , it is possible to achieve physical effect better than that achieved when the force is transmitted to the barbell  13  via the conventional circular pulley. The shape of the cam-shaped pulley  16  is not limited to the shape depicted in the drawings, but the shape of the cam-shaped pulley  16  is preferably determined to maximize the physical effect.  
         [0045]     Even when the user exercises using the barbell  13  or accidentally drops the barbell  13 , due to fatigue, during placing the barbell  13  on the supports  12  after the exercise, the user can restrict the movement of the sliding member  42  using the feet so as to prevent the damage due to the falling barbell  13 .  
         [0046]     Further, as described above, if the stopper for restricting the movement of the sliding member  42  is provided to the guide member  41 , the user can be prevented from injury due to the falling barbell  13  even when the user does not restrict the movement of the sliding member  42  of the foothold  40  by his/her feet.  
         [0047]     In the preferred embodiment, although the drawings show that the bench  11  is firmly fixed by the frame  10  and the second roller  19  is attached to the lower surface of the bench  11 , a supporting structure for supporting the bench  11  may be constructed to freely change the height and a tilt angle of the bench  11 . At this time, the second roller  19  is preferably attached to a fixed portion of the frame  10 , instead of attaching the second roller  19  to the lower surface of the bench  11 .  
         [0048]     As described above, according to the present invention, a bench press that a user adjusts the weight of a barbell without assistance and that maximal physical effect can be achieved and injury to the user is prevented is provided.  
         [0049]     According to the present invention, since the user puts his/her feet on and presses the steps  44  of the foothold  40  so as to withdraw the sliding member  42  and to lift the barbell  13 , the user decreases the weight of the barbell  13  without assistance for the final repeat of lifting and lowering the barbell  13  as a key factor for strengthening muscles by two or three times and continues to exercise, so that the strength of the chest and arm muscles can be maximized and the user can achieve the maximal physical effect.  
         [0050]     Further, according to the present invention, even when the user fails to do the final repeat or accidentally drops the barbell  13 , the user can restrict the movement of the sliding member  42  of the foothold  40  by foot so as to prevent the user from being injured due to the falling barbell  13 .  
         [0051]     Moreover, according to the present invention, in the case that the stopper for restricting the movement of the sliding member  42  is provided to the guide member  41 , the user is surely prevented from injury due to the falling barbell  13  even when the sliding member  42  of the foothold  40  is not restricted by the user&#39;s feet.  
         [0052]     As described above, when exercising using the bench press according to the present invention, since the user can lift the barbell  13  using leg muscles even when the user cannot lift the barbell  13  using the chest and arm muscles further, the user can keep exercising without fear of injury.  
         [0053]     Further, according to the present invention, since the force with which the user withdraws the sliding member  42  is transmitted to the barbell  13  via the cam-shaped pulley  16 , the user can achieve the physical effect much better than when the force is transmitted to the barbell  13  via a conventional circular pulley.  
         [0054]     Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.