U.S. patent number 3,598,404 [Application Number 04/839,174] was granted by the patent office on 1971-08-10 for exercising apparatus including pivotally connected weight-supporting units.
Invention is credited to George E. Bowman.
United States Patent |
3,598,404 |
Bowman |
August 10, 1971 |
EXERCISING APPARATUS INCLUDING PIVOTALLY CONNECTED
WEIGHT-SUPPORTING UNITS
Abstract
Calf-exercising apparatus including a unit for each leg, with
each unit including a foot-engaging platform for supporting the
weight of the user. The elevational and lateral angles of each
platform are independently adjustable, so that the attitude of each
platform can be varied and controlled, and thereby provide a wide
range of settings whereby the user can selectively choose the
degree of difficulty and amount of stress that is required to
perform the exercises. The foot-engaging platforms are provided on
separate units that are pivotally connected to one another, and the
structures are collapsible to a relative compact form for
convenience of storage.
Inventors: |
Bowman; George E. (Country Club
Hills, IL) |
Family
ID: |
25279046 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/839,174 |
Filed: |
July 7, 1969 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
482/80 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B
23/03533 (20130101); A63B 23/085 (20130101); A63B
2023/006 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A63B
23/08 (20060101); A63B 23/04 (20060101); A63B
23/00 (20060101); A63B 23/035 (20060101); A63b
023/04 () |
Field of
Search: |
;272/57D,59 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Pinkham; Richard C.
Assistant Examiner: Dror; Richard
Claims
What I claim is:
1. Calf exercising and developing apparatus comprising: platform
means provided by a pair of units positioned alongside one another,
each unit having an independent foot-engaging surface for
supporting the weight of the user of the apparatus and for
distributing the weight of the user over both of the units;
connecting means securing said units to one another, said
connecting means including a first member extending from one of
said units toward the other of said units and a second member
extending from the other of said units toward said one unit, and
pivot means securing said members to one another for movement about
a vertical axis, whereby the foot-engaging surfaces of said units
can be moved from a position disposed in parallelism with one
another to positions where said foot-engaging surfaces are disposed
at different lateral angles with respect to one another; brace
means engageable with the floor for stabilizing said platform
means; separate means associated with each unit for independently
adjusting the elevational angle of the platform means of each unit
relative to said brace means, so that each of said platform means
can be moved between an initial collapsed position and a selected
inclined position, whereby the slope of said foot-engaging surfaces
can be varied as desired; and separate means associated with each
unit for positively, yet releasably, retaining each of the platform
means in the selected inclined position to provide a stable
structure upon which exercises can be performed, said separate
retaining means allowing the foot-engaging surfaces of said units
to be positioned at different elevational angles, if desired.
2. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 including means extending
upwardly from said units providing a handgrip whereby the user of
the apparatus can stabilize himself on said units.
3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 including means pivotally
connecting said platform means to said brace means, so that said
platform means and brace means can be folded relative to one
another into internested relationship, whereby a compact structure
is provided for storage purposes.
4. Apparatus as set forth in claim 3 in which said platform means
includes a wall at each side thereof that extends downwardly from
said foot-engaging surface, said brace means being defined by a
U-shaped member having a central floor-engaging bight portion and
spaced legs extending perpendicularly with respect to said central
portion, each leg being pivotally connected to a wall of said
platform means intermediate the length of the wall and each leg
having a length adapted to position the central portion adjacent
the end of the platform means when said platform means and brace
means are folded into internested relationship.
5. Apparatus as set forth in claim 4 in which said adjusting means
includes an opening in each sidewall of the platform means, a
plurality of spaced openings in each leg of the brace means, each
opening in one of the legs being aligned with a corresponding
opening in the other of the legs, and means for impaling the
openings in said legs and sidewalls when they are placed in
registry, said retaining means cooperating with said impaling means
to retain said impaling means in position.
6. Apparatus as set forth in claim 3 in which said platform means
includes a wall at each side thereof that extends downwardly from
said foot-engaging surface, said base means includes spaced-upright
walls having said sidewalls pivotally connected thereto, and
wherein said adjusting means includes slot means in at least one of
said walls and a follower movable in said slot means to engage and
support said platform means, said retaining means cooperating with
said follower to return said follower at a selected position in
said slot.
7. Apparatus as set forth in claim 6 wherein said retaining means
includes a plurality of spaced detent surfaces in said slot means
for positively locating and holding said follower.
8. Apparatus as set forth in claim 6 wherein said slot means is
defined by an internal slot in at least one wall.
9. Apparatus as set fourth in claim 6 wherein said slot means is
defined by aligned, identically shaped slots in said upright walls.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
One of the most popular calf-developing exercises is the so-called
"toe-up" exercise, where the exerciser rises up on his toes and
then back down again to particularly stress the muscles of the
lower leg. To increase the stress to the calf muscles in performing
toe-up exercises, it has been common for exercisers to perform the
toe-up exercise after placing the exerciser's toes on a vertical
elevation, such as a book or a stair. The use of books and other
similar objects has proven to be very unsatisfactory, because of
the unsteady nature of the support. The use of stairs or the like
in performing toe-up exercises has also not been satisfactory,
because a stair usually provides such a large vertical elevation
that it is dangerous to the exerciser, particularly when barbells
or weights are being used to increase the stress to the lower leg
muscles.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The apparatus of the present invention provides a unique structure
upon which toe-up exercises can be performed to develop the calves
of the exerciser in a progressive manner with complete safety. More
particularly, the apparatus of the present invention includes foot
support platforms that are adjustable about a vertical or
elevational angle with retention means being provided for
positively, yet releasably, retaining the platform means in the
selected position. By gradually increasing the elevational angle of
the platform means, an exerciser, with or without weights, can
build up the calf muscles to the desired point. The platform means
for each foot are individually adjustable, so that different
stresses can be imparted to the calf of each leg, in the event of
unequal development, as for example in the case of a diseased limb.
Furthermore, the foot-supporting platforms of the present invention
may be splayed inwardly or outwardly with respect to one another,
to bring different muscles into play during performance of the
toe-up exercises. The structures of the present invention are all
foldable into a compact unit, so as to occupy a minimum amount of
space during storage.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the
exercising apparatus of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the structure illustrated in
FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 1,
and showing the foot-supporting platforms in an adjusted position
in broken lines; and
FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken generally along
line 4-4 of FIG. 1.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
While the invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different
forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described
in detail a preferred embodiment of the invention, with the
understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an
exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not
intended to limit the invention to the embodiment illustrated. The
scope of the invention will be pointed out in the appended
claims.
Referring now to the drawings in detail, the exercising apparatus
illustrated in FIGS. 1--4 is indicated in its entirety by reference
numeral 10, and the apparatus 10 includes a pair of laterally
spaced, identical units 12, one unit for each foot of the
exerciser. Each unit 12 includes a foot-supporting platform means
14 adjustably mounted upon a floor-engaging brace means 16.
Connecting structure 18 joins both of the units 12 together into a
unitary structure, as will hereinafter appear.
Each of the platform means 14 may be formed by stamping a sheet of
metal, or the like, and the sheet must be of sufficiently heavy
gauge to support the weight of the exerciser supplemented by a
relatively large additional weight, because of the common practice
of performing toe-up exercises with weights and barbells. Each
platform means 14 includes an upwardly facing, generally
rectangularly shaped foot-engaging surface 20, and the forward end
of the foot-engaging surface is preferably sloped downwardly as
shown at 22 to facilitate mounting of the apparatus with a barbell.
Elongate cutouts or slots 23 are provided at the forward portion of
the foot-engaging surface 20 and the inclined portion 22 to
accommodate the sides of the brace means 16 as will hereinafter
appear. A grid pattern may be stamped into the foot-engaging
surfaces 20 to provide a tread for preventing the exerciser from
slipping upon the apparatus and alternatively, a nonslip surface 24
(FIG. 4) may be secured to the upper surface of each of the
platform means.
Sidewalls 26 extend downwardly from the lateral edges of the
foot-supporting surface 20, and a backwall 28 extends downwardly
from the rearward edge of the foot-engaging surface. The forward
edges of the sidewalls 26 are tapered at 30 to facilitate pivotal
movement of the platform 14 relative to the brace means 16, and the
rearward portion of sidewalls 26 are provided with downwardly
facing notches 32 to accommodate the means for retaining the
platforms in an elevated position, when the units 12 are stored.
The forward portions of sidewalls 26 are provided with aligned
holes for reception of a pivot pin, as will hereinafter appear. As
mentioned above, the platforms 14 can be formed by stamping, and
alternatively, the platforms can be formed by die casting.
Brace means 16 are identical, and are each in the form of a
shallow, upwardly open pan that includes a rectangularly shaped
floor-engaging portion 34, upright sidewalls 36, and an upright
rear wall 38. Braces 16 are also preferably formed of a relatively
heavy gauge metal material that may be manufactured by diecasting,
stamping, or the like. The forward portions of sidewalls 36 are
provided with aligned holes for reception of transverse pivot pins
40, which impale the opening in walls 26 and 36 to mount the
platform means 14 upon the brace means 16 in a manner such that the
elevational angle of the platform means can be varied and adjusted.
As can be best seen in FIG. 4, the sidewalls 26 of the platform
means 14 are positioned outwardly of the sidewalls 36 of the brace
means 16, and in a like manner, the rearward wall 28 of the
platform means 14 is positioned slightly outwardly of the rear
walls 38 of the brace means 16, when the platform means are pivoted
into the collapsed storage position.
Retention means is provided for retaining the platform means 14 in
the selected position of adjustment for performance of the toe-up
exercises, and conveniently, the retention means is associated with
the means 18 for connecting the two units 12 into a unitary
structure. As can be best seen in FIG. 4, retention members 42
extend outwardly from each unit 12 toward one another, and the
retention members 42 have flattened end portions 44 with openings
therein positioned in registry. The flattened end portion 46 of an
optional, generally L-shaped exerciser-stabilizing member 48 may be
positioned on top of flattened end portions 44, and flattened
portion 46 also has an opening that is positioned in registry with
the openings in the flattened end portions 44 of the retention
members 42. As is evident from FIGS. 1 and 2, a gripping member 50
may be provided at the upper end of stabilizing member 48, so that
the exerciser can steady himself during the performance of the
toe-up exercises. A bearing screw 52 extends upwardly through the
aligned openings in flattened portions 44 and 46, and a nut 54 is
threaded upon the upper end of screw 52. As is evident from FIG. 3,
the connection provided by bearing screw 52 and nut 54 provides a
means whereby the lateral angle of the units 12 may be adjusted
relative to one another. To effect the adjustment of the lateral
angle, it is necessary only to loosen nut 42 and to pivot the units
12 into the desired angular orientation relative to one another,
whereupon the nut 54 is tightened to positively retain the units in
the selected position.
As can be best seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, slot means 56 is provided in
each of the sidewalls 36 of the brace means 16, and the slot means
are identically shaped and horizontally aligned. The slot means 56
in the illustrated embodiment is internal, i.e., within the
confines of the sidewalls 36 as opposed to being on the upper edge
thereof, and each slot means 56 includes a plurality of spaced,
slightly inclined portions 58 connected by generally upright detent
portions 60. Slots 56 have a width slightly in excess of the
diameter of members 42, so that the braces 16 can be moved relative
to the members 42. As can be best seen in FIG. 4, stop means 62,
such as a C-washer, or the like, is provided in an annular groove
in the members 42, and the inner side of each of the units 12 butts
up against the stops 62. The outermost end of each member 42 has an
outwardly facing internally threaded opening 64 that is adapted to
receive the externally threaded portion of a nut 66. As is evident
from FIG. 4, nut 66 has a portion of reduced diameter 68 that has
essentially the same diameter of member 42, so that when the
selected detent surface 60 is positioned against the member 42, the
lower edges of the sidewalls 26 of the platform means 14 will bear
upon member 42 and the nut surface 68 to retain the platform means
in the selected position of angular adjustment. Notches 32 have a
width that is slightly in excess of the diameter of members 42, so
that when the members 42 are positioned at the end of the slots 56,
the platform members 14 can be folded into compact nested
relationship upon the braces 16. Nut 66 can be tightened to bear
against the outer sidewall 16 of the platform means 14 to
positively retain the platforms in the collapsed storage
position.
* * * * *