GYMNASTIC APPARATUS WORKED BY THE MUSCULAR STRENGTH OF THE PATIENT
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Gustaf Zander, Doctor Medicine, of Stockholm, in the
Kingdom of Sweden, for an Invention of "GYMNASTIC APPARATUS WORKED
BY THE MUSCULAR STRENGTH OF THE PATIENT."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Gustaf Zander at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 24th January 1881.
GUSTAF ZANDER, Doctor Medicine, of Stockholm, in the Kingdom of Sweden.
"GYMNASTIC APPARATUS WORKED BY THE MUSCULAR STRENGTH OF THE
PATIENT."
This Invention relates to gymnastic apparatus worked by different muscles of the
patient.
As the muscles act upon levers (the bones) the effect of their action in the various
steps of movement is modified according to the mechanical principles of the lever, and
therefore my apparatus are constructed in such a manner that the resistance made
by the apparatus is in strict accordance with these above mentioned principles.
An arrangement for obtaining the flexion and extension of the fore arm
according to my Invention is as follows:-The patient exercising himself sits on a
seat which can be raised or lowered to the proper position; on either side of him is
a shaft, on which is fixed a lever provided with a moveable handle which is grasped
by the patient. These shafts are put in movement by the flexion of his arms, and
raise by means of pulleys and steel bands regulating levers provided with weights.
The position of the weights along the regulating levers determines the resistance
opposed by the apparatus to the muscular action of the man. Counterweights are
provided acting in opposition to the above mentioned levers and weights, whereby
the resistance of the apparatus may be reduced to a minimum or completely
balanced. The extension or flexion of the fore arm is effected accordingly as the
hereinabove mentioned handle is arranged above or below the level of the patient's
elbow.
When the object is to effect the flexion of the muscles of the legs, the apparatus

page_text: is constructed in the form of a chair, and the patient sits with his legs projecting
horizontally, or nearly so, over a rocking shaft which lies transversely under his
knees. A cushion stands at his back, and the lower parts of his legs are placed in
two adjustable forks connected by means of a curved arm with the rocking shaft on
which the regulating lever is fixed. A moveable cushion is arranged above the
thighs for the purpose of keeping them fixed.
To use the apparatus the patient bends his legs, and by this movement raises the
regulating lever. A counterweight is provided to balance the curved arm and the
forks. When the muscles of the legs are to be extended the patient sits so that his
knees are bent, and the hereinabove mentioned forks are arranged so as to be in
front of the lower part of his legs. To use the apparatus the man raises his legs,
and consequently the regulating lever.
To produce lateral flexion of the trunk the arrangement is such that the patient
seats himself on an adjustable seat in such a way that the ends of a curved bar
engage in the bends of his arms, his fore arms being turned upwards.
The exercise consists in bending the trunk from one side to the other against the
resistance offered to this movement by a weighted lever in connection with the
curved bar. The throw and position of the lever can be limited or regulated by
stops.
In order to act on the different parts of the spine, the curved bar may be fixed in
various positions in relation to its axis of rotation.
To exercise the muscles which are connected with the torsion of the trunk the
arrangement is as follows:-The patient after taking his place on the seat has a
belt buckled above his thighs; a curved bar which can be fixed and adjusted on a
vertical rod supports his back, its curved ends being surrounded if desired by his arms.
The seat is fixed to the top of a vertical shaft capable of partial rotation or oscil-
lation in bearings. On the same shaft is a support for the feet at a convenient
height and also two loose pulleys. The upper pully carries two arms each pierced
with a hole at its outer end. The seat is provided with devices which allow of its
being attached to one of these arms. Around the upper pulley passes an endless
band which also partly surrounds two loose pulleys on a horizontal shaft and the
lower pulley on the vertical shaft. This belt may be attached to the pulleys by
rivetting or other convenient means. The regulating lever is fixed on the horizontal
shaft between the hereinabove mentioned pulleys, which carry each on their
exterior sides a carrier which engages with an arm on the shaft.
::
The object of this part of my apparatus is to exercise and strengthen the muscles
which are employed to affect the rotation of the trunk. Which ever way the
patient turns one or other of the carriers of the pulleys engages with an arm'on the
horizontal shaft and raises the regulating lever, which can be adjusted at various
heights by stops.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Gustaf Zander in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 19th
July 1881.
GUSTAF ZANDER, Doctor Medicine, of Stockholm, in the Kingdom of Sweden.
"GYMNASTIC APPARATUS WORKED BY THE MUSCULAR STRENGTH OF THE
PATIENT."
This Invention relates to gymnastic apparatus worked by different muscles of
the patient, and has for object to exercise the muscles, and to produce different
mechanical effects on the human frame. These apparatus I term apparatus for
active movements, because they are put in movement by the force itself of the
man whose muscles they are to exercise.
As the muscles act upon levers (the bones), the effect of their action in the
various steps of movement is modified according to the mechanical principles of
the lever, and therefore my apparatus are constructed in such a manner that the
resistance made by the apparatus is in strict accordance with the above mentioned
principles, and is proportioned to the variation which the muscular power of the
man undergoes by reason of the divers positions occupied by his limbs. The lever
allows of the work of the different muscles being proportioned to their variable
power. Its length and the mass of a weight, which can be shifted along it
according to circumstances, furnishes either the maximum or the minimum of
resistance required for each muscle in passing through all the intermediate positions.
To shew the practical application of the regulating lever, which characterises the
apparatus for active movements, I adjoin the accompanying Sheets of Drawings,
where Fig. 1 is a front elevation, and Fig. 2 an end elevation of an apparatus
according to my Invention for obtaining, or effecting, or inducing the flexion and
extension of the fore arm, whereby the apparatus is for that purpose worked or
operated. The patient exercising himself by means of the apparatus sits upon the
the seat a, which can be raised or lowered by means of the crank wheel b to bring
the elbows of the patient into such a position that they are at the level of the
shaft c, c, and rest against the cushions d, d. On each of the shafts c, c, is fixed
a lever e provided with a moveable handle f, which is grasped by the patient, and
by means of which he, by the flexion of his arms, puts in movement the shaft c, c,
and raises by the aid of the pulleys and bands or chains g the regulating levers h, h,
with their weights i, i. By adjusting the positions of the weights on the regulating
levers, the resistance opposed by the apparatus to the muscular action of the person
using it may be regulated at will. By means of the weights k, k, the weights of
the levers h, h, may be counterpoised, and their resistance reduced or completely
balanced. The weights m, m, are provided to counterbalance the levers e, e, and
their handles f, f. When it is desired to obtain, or effect, or induce the extension
of the fore arm, the levers e, e, are reversed upon the shafts c, c, and are arranged
as shown in dotted lines. In this position the patient by the action of his arms
causes the levers e, e, to descend by a movement involving the extension of his
arins, and thereby raises the regulating levers as in the preceding case. The two
sets of bands g, g, l, l, are provided in order that the regulating levers may be
raised whether the shafts c, c, are turned in one direction or the other. As the
pulleys to which the bands are attached are fast upon their respective shafts, it
follows that when one band or chain is tightened the other is thrown loose.
Fig. 3 is a front elevation, and Fig. 4 an end elevation of an apparatus according
to my Invention for effecting, or obtaining, or inducing the flexion of the legs,
whereby the apparatus is for that purpose worked or operated.
The apparatus is constructed in the form of a chair, and the patient sits with
his legs projecting horizontally, or nearly so, over a rocking shaft which lies

page_text: transversely at the height of his knees. A cushion 6 stands at his back, and the
lower parts of his legs are received in two adjustable forks c, c, connected by means
of a curved arm & with the rocking shaft a, on which is fixed the regulating lever e.
A moveable cushion f is arranged above the thighs for the purpose of keeping them
fixed. The counterweight g serves to balance the arm d and the forks c.
To put the apparatus in movement the patient bends his legs, and by this action
raises the regulating lever.
Fig. 5 is a front elevation, and Fig. 6 a side elevation of an apparatus according
to my Invention for effecting, or obtaining, or inducing the extension of the legs.
The framework of the apparatus is similar to that just described.
The patient sits so that his knees are bent in such a way that his legs form
approximately a right angle with his thighs, and the forks c, c, are arranged so as
to be in front of the bottom or lower parts of his legs. To put the apparatus in
movement the man raises his legs, and by this action elevates the regulating lever.
Fig. 7 is a front elevation, and Fig. 8 a side elevation of an apparatus according
to my Invention for obtaining or inducing the lateral flexion of the trunk.
The patient seats himself on the adjustable seat a, which can be raised by means
of the hand wheel b into such a position that the bends of his arms, when his
forearms are turned sharply upwards, may engage with the ends of the curved
bar c.
This bar is connected to the shaft e, upon which is a lever i that engages
by means of a carrier pink with the pulley h. This pulley is loose upon the shaft e
and carries two bands or chains.g, p, connected to the pulley on the shaft upon
which is the regulating lever f, consequently the motion of the shaft e in either
direction is transferred by one or other of the bands to the shaft. The exercise
consists in bending the trunk from one side to the other, and the resistance offered
to this movement by the regulating lever may be arranged to act either from left
to right or from right to left. In the arrangement represented in the Drawing the
resistance makes itself felt when the patient bends to the left, since by the
movement of the curved bar round the shaft e, the regulating lever f is raised by
the steel band g connected to the pulley h. If it is desired to diminish the bending
angle of the curved bar the regulating lever is raised, and a pin is introduced into
one of the holes of the guide in order to limit its travel. In order to act upon
different parts of the spine, the curved bar, which is counterbalanced by the
weight n, may be fixed in various positions in relation to its axis of rotation.
When it is desired that the resistance should make itself felt during the lateral
bending of the trunk from left to right, the pin k is disengaged from the pulley h
and the shaft e turned until this pink comes in front of the hole o in the pulley h,
when it is again engaged. By this operation the curved bar is put into a second
position opposite and symmetric to its first position.
Fig. 9 is a side elevation, and Fig. 10 a plan of an apparatus, according to my
Invention, for effecting or inducing the torsion of the lower part of the trunk by
which the apparatus is operated.
The patient takes his place on the seat a, and has a belt b buckled above his
thighs. The curved bar c, which can be fixed and adjusted on the vertical rod d,
is held at such a height that it supports his back, its curved ends being surrounded
by his arms. The seat is fixed to the top of a vertical shaft e capable of partial
rotation or oscillation in the bearings f & g. On the same shaft is an adjustable
support for the feet, and also two pulleys i & k; the upper pulley carries two
arms &m, each pierced with a hole at its outer end. The seat is provided with
a bracket or device n, whereby it may be attached to either of the arms l, m.
Around the upper pulley i passes an endless band, which also partly surrounds the
two loose pulleys o and p on the horizontal shaft, and the pulley k on the vertical
shaft e. This band may be attached to the pulleys by rivetting or other convenient
means. The regulating lever q is fixed on the horizontal shaft between the
pulleys o and p, and is not provided with a moveable counterweight but has
instead two fixed counterweights & s; t & n are carriers connected to the
pulleys & p, and so arranged as to engage with the weights & s when the

page_text: pulleys are rotated. The object of this apparatus is to exercise and strengthen
the muscles which are employed to affect the rotation of the trunk. In the
arrangement of the apparatus represented in the Drawing, the resistance of the
lever is encountered when the patient turns his trunk from left to right, thereby
rotating the seat and the pulley i connected thereto. This movement is com-
municated by the band to the pulleys o & p, and to the loose pulley k, and the
carrier is forced against the arm or weight r, and consequently raises the
regulating lever. When it is desired to exercise the muscles of the patient in
the opposite direction the seat is turned into the position shown in dotted lines,
and is fixed to the arm m. In this case the regulating lever is raised by the action
of the carrier u. If it is desired to limit the angle through which the body shall
turn, the regulating lever is raised and a pin is passed into one of the holes of the
guide v, thereby reducing the travel of the said lever.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and the manner in
which it is to be or may be performed or carried into practical effect, I would have
it understood that what I claim as secured to me under the Letters Patent
hereinbefore in part recited is,-
1. The use, for exercising the muscles and producing mechanical effects on the
human frame, of apparatus to be worked or operated by the muscles of the person
using it, constructed in such way that the resistance opposed by the apparatus to
the muscular force in the various stages of movement is modified according to the
mechanical principles of the lever, substantially as described.
2. A gymnastic apparatus worked or operated by the flexion or by the extension
of the forearm, substantially as described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2 of the
Drawings.
3. A gymnastic apparatus worked or operated by the flexion of the legs,
substantially as described with reference to Figs. 3 and 4 of the Drawings.
4. A gymnastic apparatus worked or operated by the extension of the legs,
substantially as described with reference to Figs. 5 and 6 of the Drawings.
5. A gymnastic apparatus worked or operated by the lateral flexion of the
trunk, substantially as described with reference to Figs. 7 and 8 of the Drawings.
6. A gymnastic apparatus worked or operated by the torsion of the lower part
of the trunk, substantially as described with reference to Figs. 9 and 10 of the
Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Gustaf Zander, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Ninth day of July, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and eighty one
GUSTAF ZANDER. (L.S.)