Portable hand grip

Abstract

A portable hand grip for use with an exercise bar, and having a flexible pad with a first means for securing attached to a first end and a second means for securing attached to a second end such that when the flexible pad is wrapped around the exercise bar, the first means for securing is joined with the second means for securing such that the top surface of the flexible pad provides a continuous smooth surface around the bar. There is no overlapping of the first end and the second end of the flexible pad. The two ends may be secured with one or more magnets, notched teeth, or Velcro. In an alternative embodiment, the top surface of the flexible pad may have an ergonomic style of finger/palm shape, and the bottom surface may be textured to give a more secure and non-slip grip on the exercise bar.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] Cross-Reference to Related Applications

[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. application Ser. No. 60/212,290, filed Jun. 19, 2000.

[0003] 1. Field of the Invention

[0004] This invention relates to hand grips, and more specifically, to a portable hand grip that easily wraps around and is removed from an exercise bar.

[0005] 2. Related Art

[0006] A secure grip is extremely important when using weightlifting equipment, such as dumbbells or a weightlifting bar, because it may prevent the user from accidently dropping the equipment. A secure grip also allows the user to lift more weight and to increase the number of repetitions performed during a particular exercise.

[0007] There are several prior grips that are intended to assist a user in exercising with weightlifting equipment. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,775,756 to Rozenich, a secure gripping system is disclosed that is a gripping pad wrapped around an exercise bar. The principle disadvantage with this gripping pad is that the two ends of the pad must overlap, thereby creating a bump or rise in the pad on the exercise bar. This overlapping is very uncomfortable to the user and may interfere with the user's lifting. In addition, the pad only uses the natural adhesion of the pad material to hold the two ends together, thereby further requiring the overlapping of the two ends. Therefore, there is a need for a hand grip or pad for use with an exercise bar wherein the ends of the hand grip do not overlap.

[0008] In U.S. Pat. No. 4,867,444 to Castillo, a hand grip is disclosed that has a slot extending radially through the grip to allow the grip to be spread apart and put onto and removed from an exercise bar. The disadvantage with this grip is that there is no means for securing the edges of the slot together to prevent the slot from opening and falling off of the exercise bar. Therefore, there is a need for a hand grip or pad for use with an exercise bar wherein the edges of the hand grip are secured together to prevent their separation during use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The hand grip of the present invention solves the problems associated with the prior art by providing a hand grip pad that wraps around an exercise bar wherein the two ends of the hand grip do not overlap. The hand grip is a flexible pad with a first means for securing attached to a first end and a second means for securing attached to a second end such that when the flexible pad is wrapped around the exercise bar, the first means for securing is joined with the second means for securing such that the top surface of the flexible pad provides a continuous smooth surface around the bar. The two ends may be secured with one or more magnets, notched teeth, or Velcro. In an alternative embodiment, the top surface of the flexible pad may have an ergonomic style of finger/palm shape, and the bottom surface may be textured to give a more secure and non-slip grip on the exercise bar.

[0010] The principle advantage to using a hand grip of the present invention is that by eliminating the overlapping of the ends, there is no bump, or rise, in the hand grip to interfere with the user's exercise. In addition, the hand grip will not fall off the exercise bar or slip easily out of position. The hand grip is truly portable in that it is easily put on and removed from an exercise bar, allowing a user to use a single pair of hand grips on many different types of exercise bars.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0011] The present invention is described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements. Additionally, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the drawing in which the reference number first appears.

[0012] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portable hand grip of the present invention;

[0013] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the portable hand grip secured to an exercise bar;

[0014] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the portable hand grip;

[0015] FIG. 4 is a planar side drawing of the placement of hand grips on a weight bar;

[0016] FIGS. 5A-C are perspective drawings showing the different means for securing the ends of a hand grip; and

[0017] FIG. 6 is a planar view showing an alternative hand grip.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the present invention and shows a hand grip 100 being a flexible pad about 5 inches square having a first end 108, second end 110, top surface 102 and bottom surface 112. A first means for securing is attached to the first end 108 and a second means for securing is attached to the second end 110.

[0019] In operation, a user wraps the hand grip 100 around a bar 202, e.g., an exercise bar shown in FIG. 2, such that the bottom surface 112 of the flexible pad is in contact with the bar 202, and joins the first end 108 with the second end 110 by connecting the first means for securing with the second means for securing. The hand grip 100 wraps around the bar 202 such that the first end 108 and the second end 110 of the hand grip 100 do not overlap each other. It is essential that the first end 108 of the hand grip 100 does not overlay or overlap the second end 110 and that the two ends 108, 110 join together so that the top surface 102 is a continuous smooth surface around the bar 202. Typically, as shown on FIG. 4, a user will use two hand grips 100, one for each hand, at a first point 402 and a second point 404 on a bar 202 that correspond to the user's natural placement of his/her hands when lifting.

[0020] The preferred means for securing the first end 108 and the second end 110 of the hand grip 100 comprises notched teeth wherein both the first end 108 and the second end 110 interlock. In this embodiment, the first means for securing the first end 108 are a plurality of first notched teeth 114a,b and first spaces 116a-c that correspond to the pattern of the second notched teeth 104a-c and second spaces 106a-b that comprise the second means for securing the second end 110. See FIG. 2 and FIG. 5B. Specifically, the first notched teeth 114a,b fit within the second spaces 106a-b and the second notched teeth 104a-c fit within the first spaces 116a-c. The hand grip 100 is shown having two first notched teeth 114a,b and three second notched teeth 104a-c for convenience purpose only. It would be readily apparent to design and make the hand grip 100 of the present invention having any number of first notched teeth 114a-b and second notched teeth 106a-c.

[0021] An alternative means for securing the first end 108 and the second end 110 of a hand grip 302 is shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 5A which comprises two magnets. In this alternative embodiment, the first means for securing the first end 108 is a first magnet 304 and the second means for securing the second end 110 is a second magnet 306. Therefore, in operation, when brought together the first magnet 304 and the second magnet 306 are magnetically sealed, thereby holding the hand grip 302 in place around a bar 202.

[0022] In another alternative embodiment, the first means for securing the first end 108 is a plurlaity of first magnets 502 and the second means for securing the second end 110 is a plurality of second magnets 504. There are preferably two or more first magnets 502 and second magnets 504, such as commercially available magnetic "nibbles." Also, the second magnets 504 may be positioned on the outer surface of the second end 110 or may be recessed in one or more apertures in the second end 110 such that when secured together, the first magnets 502 are hidden within the aperture(s) of the second end 110.

[0023] The hand grip 100 is described in terms of notched teeth and magnets for convenience purpose only. It would be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the relevant art to secure the first end 108 and the second end 110 of the flexible pad by any comparable means, such as Velcro.

[0024] The hand grip 100 is made of a flexible material that can bend around a bar. Also, the hand grip 100 is made of foam rubber or a gel composite such that the pressure applied by a user's hand is distributed throughout the pad. The hand grip 100 can also be comprised of "sponge" like material as a means for cushioning the user's hand and alleviating any hand pain when exercising.

[0025] In addition, as shown in FIG. 6, an alternative hand grip 600 may have a bottom surface 604 that is rough, or is otherwise textured, so that the hand grip 600 does not slip out of place during its use on a bar 202. Also, the top surface 602 of the hand grip 600 may feature an ergonomic style of finger/palm shape to add comfort and control to the user.

[0026] All references to materials and dimensions are for convenience purpose only. It would be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the relevant art to use comparable materials and dimensions when making a hand grip 100.

CONCLUSION

[0027] While various embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A portable hand grip for use with a bar, comprising: a flexible pad having a first end, a second end, a top surface, and a bottom surface; a first means for securing attached to said first end of said flexible pad; and a second means for securing attached to said second end of said flexible pad, wherein when said flexible pad is wrapped around the bar, said first means for securing is joined with said second means for securing such that said top surface of said flexible pad provides a continuous smooth surface around the bar.

2. The portable hand grip according to claim 1, wherein said bottom surface is textured.

3. The portable hand grip according to claim 1, wherein said top surface has an ergonomic style of finger/palm shape.

4. The portable hand grip according to claim 1, wherein said first means for securing is a first magnet and said second means for securing is a second magnet such that when joined together, said first magnet is magnetically joined with said second magnet.

5. The portable hand grip according to claim 1, wherein said first means for securing is one or more first notched teeth and said second means for securing is two or more second notched teeth such that when joined together, said first notched teeth interlock with said second notched teeth.

6. The portable hand grip according to claim 1, wherein said first means for securing is two or more first magnets and said second means for securing is two or more second magnets such that when joined together, said first magnets are magnetically joined with said second magnets.

7. The portable hand grip according to claim 6, wherein said first end has a plurality of apertures, each said aperture containing one said first magnet.

8. The portable hand grip according to claim 1, wherein said first means for securing and said second means for securing is Velcro.

9. The portable hand grip according to claim 1, wherein said flexible pad is selected from the group consisting of: rubber, foam, gel composite, and sponge material.

10. The portable hand grip according to claim 1, wherein said flexible pad is about 5 inches square.

11. A method for using a portable hand grip on a bar, said method comprising the steps of: a. wrapping a portable hand grip around the bar, said portable hand grip being a flexible pad having a first end, a second end, a top surface, and a bottom surface, a first means for securing attached to said first end of said flexible pad, and a second means for securing attached to said second end of said flexible pad, wherein said bottom surface of said flexible pad is in contact with the bar; and b. joining said first means for securing said first end of said flexible pad with said second means for securing said second end of said flexible pad such that said top surface of said flexible pad provides a continuous smooth surface around the bar.

12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising the step of: c. removing said portable hand grip from the bar.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein said first means for securing is a first magnet and said second means for securing is a second magnet, and said step (b) comprises magnetically joining said first magnet with said second magnet.

14. The method according to claim 11, wherein said first means for securing are one or more first notched teeth and said second means for securing are two or more second notched teeth, and said step (b) comprises interlocking said first notched teeth with said second notched teeth.

15. The method according to claim 11, wherein said first means for securing is two or more first magnets and said second means for securing is two or more second magnets, and said step (b) comprises magnetically joining said first magnets with said second magnets.

16. The method according to claim 11, wherein said first means for securing and said second means for securing is Velcro, and said step (b) comprises securing the Velcro.