U.S. patent number 3,591,173 [Application Number 05/002,007] was granted by the patent office on 1971-07-06 for head stand support.
Invention is credited to Eli Joseph Cossman.
United States Patent |
3,591,173 |
Cossman |
July 6, 1971 |
HEAD STAND SUPPORT
Abstract
An exercise stand constructed from three C-shaped tubular
members and readily disassembled for storage and shipping. Two of
the members form sides and support a pair of shoulder pads and the
third couples and spaces the two side members, the three members
being keyed against relative rotation and held together by bolts
carried by the shoulder pads.
Inventors: |
Cossman; Eli Joseph (Studio
City, CA) |
Family
ID: |
21698818 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/002,007 |
Filed: |
January 12, 1970 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
482/142;
135/67 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B
21/00047 (20130101); A63B 21/00054 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A63B
23/00 (20060101); A63b 023/02 () |
Field of
Search: |
;272/60,58 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Pinkham; Richard C.
Assistant Examiner: Dror; Richard
Claims
I claim as my invention:
1. An exercise stand comprising:
two generally C-shaped side members each having generally parallel
legs connected by a crosspiece;
a generally C-shaped coupling member having two legs dimensioned to
telescope with corresponding legs of said side members, and having
a crosspiece for joining said side members together in laterally
spaced upright planes when said two legs are telescoped with said
corresponding legs;
and two shoulder pads mountable above said corresponding legs and
including fasteners for extending through said two legs and said
corresponding legs thereby to couple said members rigidly
together.
2. An exercise stand as set forth in claim 1 wherein said fasteners
comprise at least one bolt secured to each of said shoulder pads,
said bolt projecting through aligned holes carried by said two legs
and said corresponding legs whereby said bolts secure said pads to
said corresponding legs and couple said members rigidly
together.
3. An exercise stand as set forth in claim 1 wherein each of said
shoulder pads comprise:
a generally rectangular and substantially rigid base having upper
and lower surfaces;
a resilient cushion mounted on said upper surface;
and a cover encasing said cushion and base, said cover being
adhesively bonded to said lower surface of said base.
4. An exercise stand as set forth in claim 3 wherein each of said
fasteners include at least one bolt secured to said base and
projecting downwardly from said lower surface, said two legs and
said corresponding legs having aligned holes for receiving said
bolt whereby said members are coupled rigidly together.
5. An exercise stand as set forth in claim 1 wherein said
corresponding legs are shorter than the other of said parallel legs
and each of said corresponding legs has a pair of spaced holes
alignable with a pair of spaced holes carried by each of said two
legs, said hole pairs being located such that after telescoping
said two legs with said corresponding legs and aligning said hole
pairs, said crosspiece of said coupling member and the free end of
said other of said parallel legs are substantially vertically
aligned.
6. An exercise stand as set forth in claim 5 wherein said fasteners
comprise a pair of spaced bolts secured to each of said shoulder
pads and extending downwardly therefrom for extending through said
aligned hole pairs.
7. An exercise stand as set forth in claim 1 wherein the
telescoping legs of said side members and said coupling member have
longitudinal means thereon keying the members against relative
rotation.
8. An exercise stand as set forth in claim 7 wherein said keying
means comprise interfitting longitudinal ribs and grooves.
9. An exercise stand as set forth in claim 7 wherein said
telescoping legs are tubular, and said keying means comprise
interfitting longitudinal ribs and grooves formed by similarly
grooving said legs.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an exercise stand and, more
particularly, to a portable exercise stand for performing yoga-type
exercises and the like.
Numerous devices have been proposed for exercise stands or
platforms to facilitate the practice of yoga exercises, and
particularly head stands. Heretofore proposed exercise stands of
this type, however, have generally been limited to rigid unitary
structures which are not readily adapted for disassembly and
transportation from one place to another.
Further, many prior art apparatus are quite bulky and complex in
structure, such apparatus being relatively expensive to manufacture
and difficult to store and ship as a result of their relatively
large size.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention resides in an exercise stand which is simple
in structure, inexpensive to manufacture and light in weight, and
in which the main structural components are of substantially the
same shape and overall size so as to be capable of being arranged
flat for compact shipping in knocked-down form. Moreover, the stand
is designed for quick and easy assembly with a relatively small
number of parts which, when coupled together, form a rigid and
stable stand.
More specifically, the preferred embodiment of the exercise stand
comprises three C-shaped members, two of which form laterally
spaced, upright side members of the stand and the third
constituting a transverse coupling for telescoping with and
interconnecting the two side members. Shoulder pads mountable on
the upper portions of the side members include fasteners for
securing the transverse member to the side members and completing
the rigid assembly as an incident to the mounting of the shoulder
pads on the stand. Inwardly extending longitudinal ribs in the
outside telescoping portions of the stand interfit with
longitudinal grooves on the inside portions to key the members
against rotation.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent
from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with
the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the novel exercise stand of the
present invention;
FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the exercise stand of FIG. 1
illustrating its manner of use;
FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along the
line 3-3 of FIG. 2; and
FIG. 4 is a view of the exercise stand of FIG. 1 shown disassembled
and arranged for packing for storage or shipping.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
As shown in the drawings for purposes of illustration, the present
invention is embodied in an exercise stand 10 of the type primarily
designed to facilitate head stand exercises and the like, such as
performed by persons who practice yoga. In this instance, the
exercise stand is placed against a vertical support 12, such as a
wall, and the user places his head between a pair of shoulder pads
14 on the stand with his shoulders resting thereon and his hands on
opposite sides, and raises his feet to assume a head stand
position, his feet ultimately resting against the wall with his
body vertically supported wholly by the shoulder pads and steadied
by his hands.
In accordance with the present invention, the exercise stand is
constructed of three substantially similar C-shaped members 18, 20
and 22, the design and structure resulting therefrom being such
that the stand may be shipped in flat, knocked-down condition and
subsequently quickly and easily assembled for use. By virtue of the
novel construction of the present invention, the exercise stand is
relatively light in weight while exhibiting sufficient strength and
rigidity in use, and is formed with a minimum number of simple
parts for economical manufacture and low cost.
To the foregoing ends, two of the C-shaped members 18 and 20 are
disposed in laterally spaced and parallel upright planes and
positioned to form the sides of the stand 10 as shown in FIGS. 1
and 2 with the crosspiece 24 of each "C" vertically disposed and on
the front side of the stand, and with the vertically spaced legs 26
and 28 of each member extending rearwardly from the lower and upper
ends of the associated cross-piece. The third C-shaped member 22 is
horizontally disposed with the legs 30 and 32 of the "C" extending
forwardly from the crosspiece 36 and coupled in telescoped relation
with the upper legs of the upright members. The shoulder pads 14
are placed on top of the upper legs and include fasteners 34
thereon which extend through both the upper legs 28 and the
coupling legs 30 and 32 to secure the three members rigidly
together.
As best seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, the upright side members 18 and 20
have upper, generally horizontal legs 28 which herein are shorter
than the lower horizontal legs 26. The upper and lower legs of the
two side members are joined by cross legs 24 which are of the same
length so that the upper surfaces of the two upper legs lie in a
common horizontal plane. The legs 30 and 32 of the coupling member
22 are preferably of the same length, this length being such that
when the stand is assembled, the rear surface of the crosspiece 36
of the coupling member will be vertically aligned with the rear
ends of the lower legs of the side members. This enables the stand
to be placed flush against the wall 12 during the performance of
exercises.
In this instance, the legs 30 and 32 of the coupling member 22 have
outer diameters dimensioned to slide within the upper legs 28 of
the side members 18 and 20, the coupling member being telescoped
with the upper legs to both couple the side members together and
laterally space them relative to each other. Preferably, all three
members are formed from a rigid, lightweight material, the side
members typically being formed from 1 inches steel tubing and the
coupling member from 3/4 inches steel tubing. Herein, a pair of
plugs 25 of suitable design is inserted in the ends of the lower
legs 26 to prevent dirt or foreign matter from entering the hollow
tubing of the side members.
The legs 30 and 32 of the coupling member 22 each have a pair of
spaced through holes 38 (See FIG. 4) which are alignable with
corresponding holes 40 through the upper legs 28 of the side
members 18 and 20. After telescoping the legs 30 and 32 of the
coupling member 22 into the upper legs, the coupling member is
moved until the holes therethrough are aligned with the holes
through the upper legs. After aligning the holes, the pads 14 and
their associated fasteners 34, herein downwardly projecting bolts,
are positioned over the upper legs 24 and 26 and the bolts are
aligned with the holes and moved therethrough thus securing the
side members and the coupling member together. An inwardly
extending longitudinal rib 42 in each leg 28 fits into an aligned
longitudinal groove 43 in each leg 30, 32 to key the legs against
rotation, the grooves and the ribs being similarly formed by
grooving the tubing as shown most clearly in FIG. 3.
As best seen in the sectional view of FIG. 3, each of the pads 14
is formed from a resilient cushion material 44, such as a plastic
or rubber foam, mounted on a rectangular wooden base 46 and held in
place as a unitary assembly by an outer cover 48 of any suitable
material, preferably a calendered plastic material exhibiting a
smooth surface which is both durable and washable, secured to the
underside of the base by a suitable adhesive.
The bolts 34 are positioned through, and secured by any suitable
means to the wooden base 46 of the pads 14 prior to final assembly
of the cushion material 44 and cover 48, thereby to become an
integral part of the pads and thus further simplify assembly and
disassembly of the exercise stand 10. Further, an arcuate channel
50 extends longitudinally along the underside of each pad and is
dimensioned to overlie a portion of the outer surface of the upper
legs 28 for more rigid mounting of the pads on the stand 10.
A pair of nuts 52 is threaded onto the lower ends of the bolts 34
to firmly secure the pads 14 to the upper legs 28 of the side
members 18 and 20. The bolts both prevent the coupling member from
being pulled out of the upper legs and also prevent the side
members from rotating relative to the coupling member. Thus, the
exercise stand 10 is coupled rigidly together, the pad-carried
bolts not only serving to secure the pads to the side members, but
also rigidly holding the coupling member 22 in place within the
upper legs of the side members.
With this construction, disassembly of the exercise stand 10 is
accomplished simply by removing the nuts 52 and lifting the pads 14
and 16 to remove the bolts 34 from the aligned holes 38 and 40,
thereby releasing the coupling member 22 so that it may be pulled
outwardly from the upper legs 28 of the side members 18 and 20.
Conversely, reassembly is performed simply and easily by reversing
the disassembly steps.
As illustrated in FIG. 4, by virtue of the novel design of the
present invention, the disassembled exercise stand 10 can be
packaged for transportation in a very compact package (not shown),
thus making transportation and storage easier and more readily
undertaken. The three C-shaped members can be arranged flat around
the shoulder pads for shipping in a minimum of space. In addition,
it will be evident that the present invention provides an exercise
stand which is simple in structure and light in weight and which
may be readily assembled and disassembled with a minimum of effort
and time. Further, the novel construction of the present invention
makes it economical to manufacture and rigid and stable in use.
While a specific embodiment has been illustrated and described, it
will be apparent that modifications and variations therein may be
effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the
invention.
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