U.S. patent application number 14/082535 was filed with the patent office on 2015-05-21 for exercise ball.
The applicant listed for this patent is David Wargo. Invention is credited to David Wargo.
Application Number | 20150141220 14/082535 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 53173897 |
Filed Date | 2015-05-21 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150141220 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Wargo; David |
May 21, 2015 |
EXERCISE BALL
Abstract
An exercise ball having a transparent water level indicating
system is disclosed. The exercise ball has a liquid impermeable
shell which creates an interior chamber and forms a covering
surface for the exercise ball. The interior chamber is filled with
a fluid such as water through a valve provided on the liquid
impermeable shell. The valve includes an air tight closure which
prevents the leakage of the fluid during exercise. A transparent
portion provided on the liquid impermeable shell of the exercise
ball indicates a level of the fluid filled within the interior
chamber. The transparent portion includes a plurality of markings
for providing direct indication of a weight of the exercise ball. A
user can directly view the level of the fluid filled in the
exercise ball and thereby can read a present weight of the exercise
ball with the fluid.
Inventors: |
Wargo; David; (Santa Fe,
NM) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Wargo; David |
Santa Fe |
NM |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
53173897 |
Appl. No.: |
14/082535 |
Filed: |
November 18, 2013 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
482/139 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 21/072 20130101;
A63B 2225/62 20130101; A63B 21/0606 20130101; A63B 2210/50
20130101; A63B 21/0602 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
482/139 |
International
Class: |
A63B 21/00 20060101
A63B021/00 |
Claims
1. An exercise ball for practicing at least one exercise
comprising: at least one liquid impermeable shell forming at least
one covering surface of the exercise ball, the at least one liquid
impermeable shell creating an interior chamber of the exercise
ball; at least one liquid filled within the interior chamber of the
exercise ball for practicing at least one exercise; at least one
transparent portion provided on the at least one liquid impermeable
shell of the exercise ball for indicating a level of the at least
one liquid filled within the interior chamber, wherein the at least
one transparent portion includes a plurality of markings for
providing direct indication of a weight of the exercise ball; at
least one small opening provided on the at least one liquid
impermeable shell for filling and/or draining the at least one
liquid, the small opening is closed tight by means of a closure
means; whereby the at least one transparent portion with the
plurality of markings provided on the at least one liquid
impermeable shell of the exercise ball enables a user to directly
view the level of the at least one liquid filled in the exercise
ball and to read a present weight of the exercise ball with the at
least one liquid.
2. The exercise ball of claim 1 wherein the at least one liquid
impermeable shell includes at least one layer and/or a plurality of
layers for providing sufficient strength to the exercise ball for
withstanding the weight of the liquid filled inside the interior
chamber of the exercise ball.
3. The exercise ball of claim 2 wherein the at least one layer
and/or a plurality of layers of the at least one liquid impermeable
shell is stacked together using at least one attaching means
including gluing, hot pressing and/or stitching without losing the
liquid impermeability.
4. The exercise ball of claim 1 wherein the at least one liquid is
filled within the interior chamber of the exercise ball through the
least one small opening using at least one filling pump.
5. The exercise ball of claim 1 wherein the at least one
transparent portion includes a transparent strip having a first end
and a second end extending between a top portion to a bottom
portion of the exercise ball.
6. The exercise ball of claim 5 wherein the first end of the
transparent strip is at a top portion of the exercise ball and a
second end at a bottom portion of the exercise ball, a straight
line connecting the first end and the second end of the transparent
strip forms a diameter of the exercise ball kept in a spherical
shape.
7. The exercise ball of claim 1 wherein the at least one
transparent portion including the transparent strip is formed from
a transparent material selected from a group of materials including
plastic, any transparent elastic and flexible material.
8. The exercise ball of claim 1 wherein the plurality of markings
are provided adjacent to the at least one transparent portion for
providing direct indication of the weight of the exercise ball
filled with the liquid.
9. The exercise ball of claim 1 wherein the plurality of markings
provided adjacent to the at least one transparent portion of the
exercise ball indicates the weight of the liquid filled exercise
ball in kilograms
10. The exercise ball of claim 1 wherein the plurality of markings
enables the user to directly read the weight of the exercise ball
by comparing the level of the liquid seen through the transparent
strip against the plurality of markings provided on an outer
surface of the at least one liquid impermeable shell.
11. The exercise ball of claim 1 wherein a volume of the at least
one liquid filled within the interior chamber of the exercise ball
determines a weight of the exercise ball for a plurality of
exercises, the plurality of exercises can be performed with
different weights by filling and/or draining the liquid.
12. The exercise ball of claim 1 wherein the at least one liquid is
filled within the interior chamber of the exercise ball through the
at least one small opening and closed tight using the closure
means.
13. The exercise ball of claim 1 wherein the at least one liquid
filled within the interior chamber of the exercise ball includes
water, the at least one liquid is colored to easily detect at least
one level of the liquid through the at least one transparent
portion.
14. A method of using an exercise ball for practicing at least one
exercise comprising the steps of: providing the exercise ball for
practicing at least one exercise by filling in a liquid; filling
the exercise ball with a liquid through at least one small opening
provided on at least one liquid impermeable shell forming at least
one covering surface of the exercise ball; checking the weight of
the exercising ball through a transparent portion provided on the
liquid impermeable shell of the exercise ball; closing the at least
one small opening using a closure means, the closure means seals
the at least one small opening liquid tight; and employing the
exercise ball for performing a plurality of exercises by a
user.
15. The method of claim 14 wherein the liquid is filled through the
at least one small opening provided on the at least one liquid
impermeable shell using a pumping means, the at least one liquid
impermeable shell forming the at least one covering surface of the
exercise ball.
16. The method of claim 14 wherein the at least one small opening
provided on the at least one liquid impermeable shell is closed
tight using the closure means to employ the exercise ball for
performing a plurality of exercises, the plurality of exercises can
be performed with different weights by filling and/or draining the
liquid.
17. The method of claim 14 wherein the liquid is filled through the
at least one small opening into an interior chamber defined by the
at least one liquid impermeable shell, a volume of the liquid
filled within the interior chamber of the exercise ball determines
a weight of the exercise ball desired by the user for an
exercise.
18. The method of claim 14 wherein a weight of the exercise ball is
determined using the level of liquid filled within the interior
chamber seeable through the transparent portion and reading the
corresponding markings.
19. The method of claim 14 wherein the liquid filled within the
interior chamber enables an erratic movement of the exercise ball
thereby allowing exercising of a plurality of muscle groups of the
user.
20. The method of claim 14 wherein the exercise ball is available
in a plurality of sizes for performing different exercises, the
plurality of sizes of the exercise ball includes small, medium and
large for holding up to weights 15 kg, 20 kg and 40 kg
respectively.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] The present invention generally relates to an exercise ball
and in particular the present invention relates to a fluid filled
ball suitable for exercising.
[0002] Balls, exercise bags, and other small and medium weighted
equipment have been conventionally utilized for sport, exercise and
health purposes. Exercises involving throwing, lifting, rolling,
kicking, and catching such objects, as well as aiming the objects
towards goals or other people are known to increase exercising
activities of a single muscle or different muscle groups involved
in the process. Many exercising equipment and tools involving in
such exercise activities are provided with rigid and heavy weights.
Most such equipment and tools have been intended for use is poorly
adapted for use with flexible body and weights. Those objects that
are adapted for use with adjustable weights possess poor
flexibility and are thus not capable of bouncing or deforming
during exercise.
[0003] Certain balls have been adapted for use by filling in water.
However, such balls typically have components that are
water-impermeable and highly rigid. The use of such rigid
components results in the balls with fixed amount of filled water,
resulting in loss of weight control option of the ball.
Additionally, water-impermeable and highly rigid components result
in low deformability of the ball upon handling, which can result in
the limited movement of the muscle groups during exercise. In some
case the rigid outer layer of the ball may be painful upon impact
while exercising. Moreover, the existing exercising balls do not
have any means for adjusting the weight for a particular exercise.
For example, for lifting exercises one need to use a heavy weight
ball and for throwing and similar exercises the users need a more
lightweight highly resilient ball that can bounce erratically and
unpredictably off a solid surface thereby avoiding possible injury
to the users. Furthermore, the watertight exercise balls available
in the market do not have a feature to determine the exact weight
of the ball with the filled in liquid. So the users cannot adjust
the weight of the exercise ball as desired for different exercises
as the total weight of the ball is unknown.
[0004] Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide an
exercise ball having a flexible water impermeable covering and
having a means for adjusting the amount of water inside the cavity
of the exercise ball.
[0005] A preferred object of this invention is to provide a safe,
flexible and cheaper exercise ball that can easily be used by
exercisers for small, medium and large weights.
[0006] It is another object of the present invention is the
provisions for measuring the weight of the exercise ball during use
without the need for any weight measuring equipment.
[0007] It is another object of the present invention is to easily
increase and/or decrease the weight of the exercise ball as desired
by the user.
[0008] It is yet another object of the present invention is to
obtain an exercise ball having an erratic movement for the training
of different muscle groups.
[0009] It is still another object of this invention to produce an
exercise ball that is safe and provides an effective way of
training different muscles in user's body.
[0010] These and other objects of this invention will become
apparent by the description of the invention below.
SUMMARY
[0011] The present invention provides an exercise ball having an
impermeable shell forming a covering surface and creating an
interior chamber of the exercise ball. A fluid is filled within the
interior chamber of the exercise ball through a small opening or
valve provided on the impermeable shell of the exercise ball. The
small opening or valve is provided with a tight closing means for
tightly closing the small opening or valve and ensure the fluid to
be sealed within the interior chamber of the exercise ball. A
transparent portion in the form of a transparent strip made from
transparent plastic is provided on the liquid impermeable shell of
the exercise ball for indicating a level of the fluid filled within
the interior chamber. The transparent portion includes a plurality
of markings for providing direct indication of a weight of the
exercise ball. The weight of the exercise ball depends upon the
amount of fluid such as water filled inside the interior chamber of
the exercise ball and a user can see the level of water filled
within the interior chamber through the transparent portion or the
transparent strip provided on the impermeable shell. The user can
set the desired weight of the exercise ball suited for the
particular exercise by draining extra amount of water from the
chamber or filling in the exercise ball with water through the
small opening or valve. The transparent portion with the plurality
of markings provided on the liquid impermeable shell of the
exercise ball enables the user to directly view the level of the at
least one liquid filled in the exercise ball and to directly read
the present weight of the exercise ball with water.
[0012] The advantages of the present invention include, without
limitation, that it is cheaper and are safer than different
exercising equipment available in the market and can effectively be
utilized by the users to gain strength and fitness. The erratic
movement of water inside the exercise ball enables a variety of
muscle movements than the existing instruments. In addition, the
erratic nature of the exercise ball require more concentration form
the side of the user and this results in attaining good workouts
for various muscle groups. The exercise ball is safe and provides
an effective way of training different muscles in user's body.
[0013] The objects and advantages of the embodiments herein will
become readily apparent from the following detailed description
taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] FIG. 1 illustrates a front view of an exercise ball having a
transparent portion with markings for indicating weight and level
of a liquid filled within an interior portion the exercise ball
according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
[0015] FIG. 2 illustrates a flow chart of a method of using the
exercise ball for practicing at least one exercise according to a
preferred embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0016] In the following detailed description, a reference is made
to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which
the specific embodiments that may be practiced is shown by way of
illustration. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail
to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and
it is to be understood that the logical, mechanical and other
changes may be made without departing from the scope of the
embodiments. The following detailed description is therefore not to
be taken in a limiting sense.
[0017] The present invention relates to liquid filled balls and in
particular the present invention relates to an exercise ball
suitable for exercising and sports. In broad embodiment, the
present invention is an exercise ball for practicing at least one
exercise or sport is disclosed. Referring to FIG. 1, a front view
of the exercise ball 100 having a transparent portion 104 with
markings for indicating weight and level of a liquid filled within
an interior portion the exercise ball is disclosed. A liquid
impermeable shell 102 forms at least one covering surface or an
exterior surface of the exercise ball 100. The liquid impermeable
shell 102 creates an interior chamber of the exercise ball 100.
Liquid is filled within the interior chamber of the exercise ball
100 and the amount of liquid determines the weight of the exercise
ball 100 for different exercises.
[0018] According to a preferred embodiment of the present
invention, the liquid impermeable shell 102 of the exercise ball
100 is formed from a plastic material which is reinforced, liquid
impermeable and having sufficient strength to hold the pressure and
weight of the liquid inside the exercise ball 100 while doing a
wide variety of exercises by a user. The liquid is fillable inside
the liquid impermeable shell 102 of the exercise ball 100 through a
small opening 106 provided on the reinforced plastic body of the
exercise ball 100. After filling the liquid up to a desired level
inside the interior cavity, the small opening 106 is closed tight.
This prevents the liquid from leaking out of the exercise ball 100
while doing a variety of exercises by the user. The transparent
portion 104 provided with the exercise ball 100 is used for
checking the level of liquid inside the interior cavity. The
transparent portion 104 is in the form of a small transparent strip
made of transparent plastic. The transparent plastic window of the
exercise ball 100 allows the user to see the level of liquid inside
the interior cavity of the exercise ball. In a preferred embodiment
of the present invention, the transparent portion 104 of the
exercise ball 100 is provided with a plurality of markings. These
marking are used for knowing the exact weight of the exercise ball
100 by the user at any point of exercise. The markings are includes
weight of the ball represented in kilograms and by looking on to
the level of liquid through the transparent strip or the
transparent portion 104, the user can directly read the weight of
the exercise ball 100. The exercise ball 100 needs to be held on
the hand or on a plain surface to obtain a horizontal level of the
liquid inside the interior cavity of the exercise ball 100. This
horizontal level of the liquid is compared against the markings on
the transparent portion 104 of the exercise ball 100 for obtaining
the correct reading of the weight of the exercise ball 100. In one
embodiment of the present invention, the liquid inside the interior
cavity of the exercises ball 100 is water. Water is filled through
the small opening 106 on the exercises ball 100 and is closed water
tight using a closure means.
[0019] In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the
liquid impermeable shell 102 of the exercise ball 100 is fabricated
from any elastic rubber type material which is reinforced, liquid
impermeable and having sufficient strength to hold the pressure and
weight of the liquid inside the exercise ball 100 while doing a
wide variety of exercises by the user. The flexible material of the
liquid impermeable shell 102 allows the user to safely and easily
perform different exercises for various body parts and associated
muscles. The opening or valve 106 makes it very easy to fill and
empty the exercise ball 100. The exercise ball 100 of the present
invention allows the users to perform a variety of hardcore
exercises which can only be accomplished using expensive exercising
equipment. The exercise ball 100 is cheaper and is safer than
different exercising equipment available in the market and can
effectively be utilized by the user to gain strength and fitness.
The water inside the exercise ball 100 allows them to move
erratically and thus enables a variety of muscle movements than the
existing instruments. In addition, the erratic nature of the
exercise ball 100 require more concentration form the side of the
user for obtaining good results from the workouts. Accidental
falling of the exercise ball 100 on body parts such as legs, while
doing exercise, do not hurt since the unbreakable and cushioned
nature of the water filled exercise ball 100 protects the user. The
exercise ball 100 is safe and provides an effective way of training
every muscle in user's body.
[0020] The exercise ball 100 is available in different sizes such
as small, medium and large for accommodating more water and thereby
increasing the overall weight of the ball. The small size exercise
ball 100 is available up to weights of 15 kg, whereas medium sized
exercise ball 100 is available up to weights in the order of 25 kg
and large size exercise ball 100 can carry up to 40 kg of weight by
filling in the liquid such as water through the opening 106
provided on the liquid impermeable shell 102 of the exercise ball
100. Each of these different sized exercise balls 100 includes the
transparent portion or strip 102 and are marked accordingly, based
on the weight of the filled water. The users of the exercise ball
100 can perform different exercises including lifting and the
exercise ball 100 can also be used as a regular gym ball. The
exercise ball 100 improves the concentration of the users. The
exercises using the exercise ball 100 requires more handling
concentration for doing exercises since it moves erratically
because of the filled water. The users can decide the amount of
water to be filled with in the interior cavity of the exercise ball
100, the less water filled in the exercise ball 100 requires more
concentration from the user's end for doing the exercise. The
exercise ball 100 can be used by different types of users as the
weight of the ball can be set according to each user's requirement
and by checking through the transparent portion or strip 102 and
the corresponding markings.
[0021] According to yet another embodiment of the present
invention, the exercise ball 100 can be filled with air and can be
used as a normal gym ball for acting as a support for different
types of exercises. The exercise ball 100 is used for exercise by
the user and works by the sloshing water acts as the resistance and
creates a destabilizing force. The more water is filled inside the
interior cavity of the exercise ball 100 it will be heavier, more
stable and will be easy to handle. For doing concentrated muscle
exercises, the exercise ball 100 is filled up to around half way
capacity or up to 3/4 of the total capacity of the exercise ball
100. This reduces the overall weight of the exercise ball but
reduces the handling due to the strong destabilizing force. The
exercise ball 100 is available in small, medium and large
varieties. The small size exercise ball 100 is available up to
weights of 15 kg, whereas medium sized exercise ball 100 is
available up to weights in the order of 25 kg and large size
exercise ball 100 can carry up to 40 kg. The small exercise ball
100 can be used like medicine balls and the large ones are more
like sandbags or mini atlas stone and the medium sized exercise
ball 100 can be used either way. The medium ball is also suitable
for power and conditioning. The medium ball bridges the gap between
the small and large, the majority of exercises that the user can do
with both the large and small work well with the medium ball. With
throwing/catching exercises the user may need to catch the ball
with his/her whole body and absorb the force with a squat not with
his/her arms. The large exercise ball 100 handling is harder than
the medium or small balls due to the increased size and weight. The
large ball goes up to 40 kg and is therefore useful for strength,
power and strength endurance. The spherical shape of the exercise
ball 100 enables the user to perform a wide range of exercise which
cannot be performed with normal exercise tools.
[0022] FIG. 2 illustrates a flow chart of a method of using the
exercise ball 100 for practicing at least one exercise according to
a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The method of
using an exercise ball 100 for practicing at least one exercise
comprises the steps indicated in FIG. 2. The method starts by
getting an exercise ball 100 in a deflated state as shown in block
110. For practicing at least one exercise the exercise ball 100
need to be filled up with a required volume of liquid such as
water. As illustrated in block 112, water is filled inside the
interior cavity of the exercise ball 100 through at least one small
opening 106 provided on at least one liquid impermeable shell 102.
The liquid impermeable shell 102 may also acts as a covering
surface of the exercise ball 100. The weight of the exercise ball
100 is determined by the volume of the liquid filled inside the
interior cavity of the impermeable shell 102. As depicted in block
114, the weight of the exercising ball 100 can be checked by seeing
the level of the liquid through a transparent portion 104 provided
on the liquid impermeable shell 102 of the exercise ball 100. The
liquid level on the transparent portion 104 or the transparent
strip is compared with the markings provided adjacent to the strip
for determining the weight of the exercise ball 100. As the volume
of liquid increases the level of liquid seen through the
transparent portion 104 also rises, hence a user can directly read
the weight of the exercise ball 100 in kilograms The liquid is
filled through the small opening using a pumping means and after
reaching the required amount of weight of the exercise ball 100,
the user can close the at least one small opening 106 using a
closure means provided with the opening, as described in block 116.
The closure means seals the at least one small opening 106 very
tight so that liquid may not leak out through the opening even
after performing a variety of exercises by the user. Finally, after
sealing the exercise ball 100 using the closure means, the exercise
ball 100 can be employed for performing the plurality of exercises
such as lifting, rolling etc by the user as shown in block 118.
[0023] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the at
least one liquid impermeable shell 102 of the exercise ball 100
includes at least one layer and/or a plurality of layers for
providing sufficient strength to the exercise ball 100 for
withstanding the weight of the liquid filled inside the interior
chamber of the exercise ball 100. The at least one layer and/or a
plurality of layers of the at least one liquid impermeable shell
102 is stacked together using at least one attaching means such as
gluing, hot pressing and/or stitching without losing the liquid
impermeability of the exercise ball 100. A liquid filling pump is
used to fill the liquid such as water within the interior chamber
of the exercise ball 100 through the least one small opening 106.
The liquid is filled till the required weight of the exercise ball
100 is reached. The handling of the exercise ball 100 during
exercise depends directly on the amount of liquid filled inside the
exercise ball 100. The more liquid is filled inside the exercise
ball 100 the better will be the handling. So the exercise ball 100
with less amount of liquid will require the user to put in more
concentration while doing different exercises. This in turn will
improve the muscle building or training capability of the exercise
ball 100 and its exercising effectiveness.
[0024] The at least one transparent portion 104 includes a
transparent strip made from preferably thin and flexible materials
like plastic having a first end and a second end extending between
a top portion to a bottom portion of the exercise ball 100. If a
straight line is drawn connecting the first end and the second end
of the transparent strip, the line form a diameter of the exercise
ball 100, when it is kept in a spherical shape. In another
embodiment of the present invention, the at least one transparent
portion 104 includes the transparent strip formed from a
transparent material selected from a group of materials including
plastic, any transparent elastic and flexible material. The
plurality of markings enables the user to directly read the weight
of the exercise ball 100 by comparing the level of the liquid seen
through the transparent strip against the plurality of markings
provided on an outer surface of the at least one liquid impermeable
shell 102. The volume of the liquid filled within the interior
chamber of the exercise ball determines the weight of the exercise
ball 100 for a plurality of exercises. In addition, the plurality
of exercises can be performed with different weights by filling
and/or draining the liquid through the small opening 106. According
to yet another embodiment, the liquid filled within the interior
chamber of the exercise ball 100 includes water, or any other
liquid, that is colored to easily detect the level of the liquid
through the at least one transparent portion 104. The liquid filled
within the interior chamber of the exercise ball 100 enables an
erratic movement of the exercise ball 100 during exercise and
thereby allows exercising of a plurality of muscle groups of the
user. The exercise ball 100 is made available in a plurality of
sizes for performing different exercises. The plurality of sizes of
the exercise ball 100 includes small, medium and large types for
holding up to weights 15 kg, 20 kg and 40 kg respectively.
[0025] The exercise ball 100 is good for developing many different
exercises and also works very well with exercising of muscle
groups. The exercise ball 100 can be used for improving
conditioning, stability, strength and even team building. Since the
exercise ball 100 moves erratically, each exercise engages many
muscle groups. The spherical shape of the exercise ball 100 allows
for slightly more random movement of the water. The water can move
freely because the open space in the exercise ball 100 is easier
for the water to access. This makes the exercise ball 100 ideal for
developing functional strength at lower reps and great for
conditioning at higher reps. Because of its spherical shape, the
water will always rush back to the lowest point of the exercise
ball 100 i.e. the center of the bottom to level itself out using
the effect of gravity. So during a quick straight up--straight down
movement, water will part from the center in opposing directions
then come crashing together when these `parts` collide as they rush
to compete for that lowest point, they create an erratic,
unpredictable and unstable environment.
[0026] The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will
so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that
others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or
adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without
departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such
adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be
comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the
disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology
or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description
and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have
been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in
the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced
with modification within the spirit.
[0027] Although the embodiments herein are described with various
specific embodiments, it will be obvious for a person skilled in
the art to practice the invention with modifications.
* * * * *