Convertible Foldable Exercise Cot

Abstract

A foldable exercising cot having an articulated body support section and a center joint brace releasably fastened to a leg member for use in a rigid chair configuration or as a slant board, and spring means for holding the brace aside for use of the cot as an exercising cot; and a hinged support leg of greater span than the body support section of the cot releasably secured to the other leg member for use as an exercising cot or a rigid chair and releasable for use of the cot as a slant board or a beach chair, the releasable leg being pivotable to a pullup bar position.

Description

This invention relates to a foldable exercising cot which is convertible to chair and slant board configurations.

Exercising cots are known having articulated body support sections which are supported between the articulated joint and the ends of the sections, as illustrated in U.S. Pat. to Goodman et al. No. 2,938,572 and Sellner, No. 3,043,591. Such cots are difficult to enter for use as an articulated cot because of the tendency to fold upon the person attempting to enter upon the cot. They also are of limited utility as exercise devices and are not easily convertible to other uses.

This invention provides an exercise cot which may be easily converted to a rigid chair configuration before entering on it and which is easily converted from a rigid chair configuration to a flexible, articulated exercising cot by a person already occupying it. It also provides an exercise cot which is easily converted to a beach chair or slant board and which is provided with a leg which is usable as a pullup bar in the slant board configuration. These advantages are obtained with a construction having support legs hingedly secured to the articulated body support portion in a manner to allow easy replacement of the fabric and to provide clearance between moving parts to minimize the hazard of pinched fingers of the user. The cot is also easily foldable for carrying or storage as a single unit, without removable frame members which are subject to loss or damage when separated from the cot.

For further consideration of what is believed to be novel and inventive, attention is directed to the drawings and the following specification and claims describing a preferred embodiment of the invention and the manner and process of making and using it.

FIG. 1 of the drawings is a side, elevational view of convertible cot, according to the claimed invention, in a rigid chair configuration.

FIG. 2 is a side, elevational view of the cot of FIG. 1 in a flexible exerciser device configuration with an alternate position shown in dashed lines.

FIG. 3 is a detail perspective of a special hinge and support structure used in the cot of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a side, elevational view of the convertible cot of FIG. 1 in a rigid slant board configuration with one of the leg members in a pullup bar position, and a man shown in dashed lines using the bar.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the convertible cot of FIG. 1 in a beach chair configuration with a woman shown in the chair in dashed lines.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the cot of FIG. 1 in folded configuration for transportation or storage.

FIG. 7 is a front view of the retractable brace for converting the cot from a rigid chair to an exerciser.

Referring to the drawings, a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 1 having first and second body supporting sections comprising a pair of U-shape tubular frame elements 11 and 12 joined at their open ends in pivotal connections by a pair of hinges 13. A fabric 14, such as canvas, covers the tubular frame elements at the respective sides thereof and stretches therebetween to support a user's body. The fabric 14 is preferably short of the ends 15, 16 of the tubular frame elements to allow room to grasp or use such ends, as will appear.

The cot is supported on first and second leg members 17 and 18 at points intermediate the articulated joint hinges 13 and the ends 15, 16 by hinges 21, 22, shown in greater detail in FIG. 3. Leg member 18 is rigidly supported on the floor or ground by a tubular U-shape leg support brace 23, the open end of which is pivotally attached to the second leg member by a pair of hinges 19 for folding and storage of the cot and by straps 24 fastened to the leg member 18 by hinges 20 and the brace 23 to form a rigid triangular truss. One of the fasteners for the strap 24 is an easily releasable fastener such as a wing nut 25 or a snap fastener so that folding of the brace for storage or carrying is facilitated. The closed end of the brace 23 is provided with a catch or clip 26 for receiving the lower end of the first leg member 17.

To rigidly support the cot in a chair configuration as shown in FIG. 1, a joint brace 27 is fastened at or near the hinges 13 with a cross portion serving to maintain the hinge joints spaced whereby to maintain the fabric taut. The brace 27 is provided with catch loops 28 at its respective sides adapted to hook onto corresponding hooks 31 on the leg brace 23. A spring 32 is fastened between the side of the first frame element 11 and the joint brace by eyes 29, 30 to normally hold the catch loop 28 in the hook 31 when in a chair configuration as shown in FIG. 1.

The spring 32 also facilitates conversion of the cot to an exerciser configuration as shown in FIG. 2 while a person is sitting in the cot, holding the released brace out of the way as the cot is flexed about the pivotal hinges 21, 22, as shown in FIG. 2, from the lower position shown in dashed lines to the upper position shown in solid lines. To convert the cot from the rigid configuration of FIG. 1 to the articulated configuration of FIG. 2, one sitting on the cot leans back slightly to relieve the hooks 31 of pressure of the loops 28 and with one hand moves the brace 27 out of the hooks 31. Further leaning back will raise the hinges, and the brace 27 is then released to be held in retracted position by the spring 32 as shown in FIG. 2.

Another form of exercise unit is obtained by lifting the first leg 17 from the leg brace while the joint brace is in the rigid hooked position shown in FIG. 1. The hinge structure allows the first leg to either lay on the floor converting the cot into a rigid slant board or the leg may be swung completely around the end of frame member 11 to an overhead position to constitute it a pullup bar as shown in FIG. 4. In this configuration, a person may lie on the slant board cot with toes hooked under the second frame horizontal segment for situps or may use the horizontal portion of the first leg for pullups as shown in FIG. 4.

The cot may be converted to a beach chair by moving the spring-biased joint brace toward the second leg member from a slant board configuration to swing the second body supporting section of the cot to near vertical for use as a back support as shown in FIG. 5. It may also be folded into a compact carrying configuration shown in FIG. 6 for minimum space storage.

The special hinge design shown in detail in FIG. 3 comprises a cylindrical, or saddle, bracket 33 adapted to be fastened by sheet metal screws through the fabric to a frame element 11 or 12. The screws are easily removable for changing the fabric 14. The bracket is fastened by a rivet 34 to a pivoted saddle 35 on the leg 17 or 18, spacing the frame element from the leg to avoid possible pinching of fingers, and, because of the side mounting, allowing the leg to clear the end of the frame element when moved to a beach chair configuration shown in FIG. 5 or when moved to a pullup bar position as shown in FIG. 4.

Claims

Having disclosed the invention and the best mode contemplated by us for making or using it, we claim:

1. A convertible exercising cot comprising, in combination:

first and second body supporting sections pivotally interconnected to form a cot hinged intermediate the ends thereof;

first and second leg members pivotally attached to the respective first and second sections intermediate their respective ends and pivotally interconnected to support the cot;

a joint brace pivotally attached to the cot between the points of attachment thereto of the leg members and detachably connected to the second leg member at a point remote from its attachment to the first section; and

means spaced from the pivotal attachment of said leg members to said sections for securing the joint brace in a position detached from the second leg member.

2. A cot according to claim 1 wherein the means for securing the joint brace is a spring.

3. A cot according to claim 1 and comprising catch means for releasably securing the joint brace in a support position.

4. A cot according to claim 1 having a hook on the joint brace for securing the joint brace in a support position and spring means for holding the joint brace in said support position.

5. A convertible exercising cot comprising, in combination:

first and second body supporting sections pivotally interconnected to form a cot hinged intermediate the ends thereof;

first and second leg members pivotally attached to the respective first and second sections intermediate their respective ends and pivotally interconnected to support the cot;

a joint brace attached to the cot between the points of attachment thereto of the leg members, and adapted to vertically support the joint;

said first leg member being pivotally attached to the first section at the outsides thereof and of U-shape having a horizontal portion and being of sufficient length to clear the end of the first section whereby, when the cot is in a slant board position supported from the floor on the second leg member and the joint brace, the first leg may be pivoted to a position above the first section to constitute its horizontal portion a pullup bar.

6. A cot according to claim 5 wherein the first and second body supporting sections comprise first and second U-shape frame members pivotally interconnected at their open ends and wherein each of said leg members is attached to the respective side portions of the U-shape frame members by a saddle supported hinge having a saddle support portion affixed to said side portion and a hinge portion supported outwardly therefrom and attached adjacent the end of a leg member.

7. A cot according to claim 6 comprising a body supporting fabric secured to the respective side portions of each of the U-shape frame members and passing between said side portions and each of said saddle support portions.