Improvements in Exercising Apparatus.
Year: 1897

page_text: George, Grenada, British West Indies.]
Improvements in Exercising Apparatus.
I, GERALD STANLEY PHILIP, Geographical and Educational Publisher, of
32, Fleet Street, in the City and County of London, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement: -
My invention for improvements in exercising apparatus relates to exercising
apparatus, such as dumb-bells, Indian-clubs, wands, etc., which are held in the hands
of the person, and is designed to provide mechanism contained in or attached to the
apparatus, by which a musical note may be struck at any desired moment during
the movements of the same. It is also designed to provide a series of dumb-bells
or similar exercising devices of this character, each of which shall strike a different
note in the octave, thus providing for the playing of a tune during the use of the
apparatus by a number of persons.
In the accompanying sheet of illustrative drawings: Fig. 1 is a side elevation
of a dumb-bell provided with apparatus for striking a musical note, constructed
in accordance with my invention; and Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same partly
in section, showing the internal mechanism.
In the drawing, 2 represents an ordinary dumb-bell, one of the bulb-shaped
ends 3 of which is partially cut away and provided with a bell 4, which is struck
by a hammer 5 secured at the end of an arm 12 of a lever 6 pivotted at 15 and
whose other arm 13 works between the stops 16 and passes through an opening in
a curved metal strip 14 which is carried by a lever 7 pivotted within the dumb-
bell and having an operating handle or knob 8 projecting through the handle of
the dumb-bell. On depressing the knob 8 the arm 13 of the lever 6 is raised and
raises the hammer 5 forcing it against the bell 4. The dumb-bell is suitably cored
out to receive the mechanism, the lever being pivotted within a small hollow
casting 9 which is forced into the cavity of the dumb-bell. Secured within this
casting is a bent spring 10, which bears upon the lever and normally holds the
hammer out of contact with the bell, which is secured to the end of the casting
by a screw 11.
It is apparent that while a dumb-bell of this description is being used, a note
may be struck by depressing the knob upon the lever, and that if a series of
eight dumb-bells are employed each striking a different note in the octave, when
these dumb-bells are used by a number of persons, simple tunes may be played
by their actuating the striking mechanism at suitable intervals. Additional
dumb-bells may be employed for striking sharps or flats of the notes, and mechanism
of some similar character may be employed on other exercising apparatus.
I therefore do not wish to restrict myself to any particular exercising apparatus,
nor any particular mechanism for producing the musical note, as I consider myself

page_text: the first to employ in an exercising apparatus a sound-producing device having an
operating handle connected thereto.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
1. An exercising device, such as a dumb-bell, having a bell thereon, a knob or
handle supported upon the device, and an operative connection between said
handle and the hammer of the bell.
2. A dumb-bell having a bell secured thereto, and a projecting knob connected
to and arranged to actuate the hammer of the bell, substantially as described.
Dated this 2nd day of November 1897.
WHEATLEY & MACKENZIE,
40, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Agents.