Patent ID: 7229391

Claim:
In a resistance exercise machine, a resistance mechanism comprising: an axle on the machine; a plurality of resistance packs arranged on said axle for rotation, said packs having resistance elements which resist rotation of said packs and which provide increasing resistance upon increasing rotation of said packs; a cam on the machine supported for pivotal movement and coupled with said resistance packs to effect rotation of said packs upon pivotal movement of said cam, said cam having an outer end portion which is arranged to provide a lever arm having an increasingly greater length upon increasing pivotal movement of said cam; a pulley on the machine supported for rotation about an axis offset from said axle; a transmission element coupling said pulley with said cam to effect pivotal movement of said cam upon rotation of said pulley, said transmission element engaging said outer end portion of said cam; and an actuator element coupled with said pulley and accessible for manual displacement thereof in a manner to effect rotation of said pulley, with said resistance packs acting to resist said displacement and said cam being pivoted increasingly to at least partially compensate for the increasing resistance provided by said packs upon increasing rotation of said pulley.