Device to Position Dumbbells for Exercise
An apparatus to hold and position dumbbells with adjustment through three dimensions (vertical, horizontal and forward and backward) so as to provide an elevated and precisely positioned starting and ending position for the dumbbells used in a dumbbell exercise. The apparatus may be configured as a stand-alone device, an attachment to another piece of equipment (such as a power rack or bench press) or integrated into another piece of exercise equipment such as a lying/incline/seated press apparatus. It enables adjustment of the dumbbell position by the user while the user is positioned for the exercise, as well as prior to assuming the position for the exercise, to provide precise positioning as desired by each individual user. It features a channeling device which guides a user's hands, wrists and arms when returning the dumbbell to the holder.
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STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENTN/A
REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISC APPENDIXN/A
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the InventionThe invention relates to the field of exercise equipment. Specifically it provides for the flexible positioning of dumbbells for the start and completion of an exercise, similar in concept to racks used to position barbells for exercise.
Description of Related ArtSeveral patents in the prior art show devices which attempt to allow dumbbells to be positioned for the start and finish of an exercise set, specifically U.S. Pat. D495,383 S, and 756,783 B2, however examples of the many differences between the prior art and the present invention include that the prior inventions:
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- Do not allow for precise movement of the device to position the dumbbell while the user is in a position to perform an exercise, unlike the present invention which allows the user to precisely position the dumbbells using both the horizontal and swivel functions, and the option to roll the dumbbells forward and back on the dumbbell holder.
- Do not allow for any adjustment to horizontal positioning except by moving the entire apparatus, unlike the present invention
- Do not allow for the apparatus or a subset of the apparatus to be attached to other devices commonly found in a gym such as a power rack or to be integrated into a specific piece of equipment such as a bench press apparatus, unlike the present invention.
- Do not have an inner “lip” on the dumbbell holder portion of the apparatus to prevent side-to-side slippage of the dumbbell
- Do not have a self-centering hand/arm guide to aid in return the dumbbell to the holder
- Do not allow for the dumbbell holder to be optionally moved further from the field of exercise motion during the exercise after the dumbbell has been removed from the holder for use in the exercise, either via mechanical or manual methods.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,534,198 B1 provides for a degree of positioning and retraction while I the exercise position, but through an entirely different mechanism (casters on the base) than the present invention. It also does not allow for ease of use without the retraction feature or integration into other equipment as shown in the embodiments for the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,149,556 includes a dumbbell holder component with some similarities however the claimed items for the holder do not include an inner lip or a self-centering hand guide, and the rest of the invention is substantially different.
Other patent which attempt to address a sub-set of the intent of the present invention include US patent numbers:
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- U.S. Pat. No. 9,492,701 B1
- U.S. Pat. No. D755,909 S
- U.S. Pat. No. 7,534,198 B1
- U.S. Pat. No. 7,156,783 B2
- U.S. Pat. No. 7,112,163 B2
- U.S. Pat. No. 7,022,053 B2
- U.S. Pat. No. 7,001,314 B1
- U.S. Pat. No. 6,715,728 B2
- U.S. Pat. No. 6,709,370 B1
- U.S. Pat. No. 6,149,556
- U.S. Pat. No. 5,772,561
- U.S. Pat. No. 5,616,108
- U.S. Pat. No. 5,472,397
- U.S. Pat. No. 4,411,459
Given the lack of practicality of any of the above art, none of them have been widely adopted and the current common method of positioning a dumbbell for exercise is overwhelmingly manual, with the dumbbell being lifted from the floor or from a storage rack and then moved into position for the exercise solely by one or more users of the dumbbells. This is a manual, limiting, awkward and potentially dangerous process which the present invention seeks to substantially eliminate.
Additionally, there are numerous devices for positioning a barbell for the start of exercise, however none of these can be used to hold or adjust a dumbbell in a manner in which it can be removed, used for exercise and replaced while the user is in the exercise position. The present invention seeks to create and partially exceed for dumbbells the exercise positioning capability currently available for barbells, which has to this point not been available through prior art.
Another critical advance provided by the present invention is a channeling device which guides the users hands when returning the dumbbell to the holder: all the prior art subjects the user to an extreme risk of injury due to the potential for contact between the user's hand, wrist or arm and the front of the dumbbell holder, and this deficiency alone makes the prior art commercially non-viable due to likely liability risk.
Finally, there are numerous types of devices for storing dumbbells in a fitness facility, however none of them are intended or can practically be used to position the dumbbell for the beginning and end of an actual exercise set. An example of these storage-only types of devices is shown in U.S. Pat. Des. 262,776.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention comprises a mechanism to position dumbbells for the start and completion of an exercise set so that the need to lift the dumbbells from the floor, storage rack or other location while in position to perform the exercise is eliminated. This allows dumbbells to be used for strength training in a way similar to how barbells are currently used. It is distinguished from prior art by features including, but not limited to 1) the inclusion of three dimensional positioning (as opposed to simply vertical positioning) 2) the design of the dumbbell holder which allows the dumbbells to be rolled forward or backwards by the user while in position for the exercise for even more precise positioning, 3) the option to attach the dumbbell holders to an existing piece of equipment such as the commonly found “power rack”, 4) the option to attach a second holder which allows the dumbbell to be safely returned to the rack in a case where the user cannot, perhaps due to fatigue or preference, return the dumbbell to the top position on the rack, 5) the option to retract and restore the position of the dumbbell holder during the exercise by means such as a foot control or spring mechanism, 6) a channeling design which guides the user's hand when returning the dumbbell to the holder to reduce risk of injury and the effort required by the user to replace the dumbbell on the device, and 7) a dumbbell holder which allows the dumbbell to be held in position prior to the user assuming the position for the exercise while also allowing the user to move the dumbbell forward and backward on the holder and side-to-side by moving the holder through a horizontal arc while in position for the exercise. Two of the dumbbell holders are required to allow the user to position a dumbbell for each hand, and they may either be configured as “stand alone” units which are positioned on either side of a standing, seated or lying user, incorporated as fixed components of a weightlifting apparatus such as a bench-press rack, incorporated as components of a custom integrated stand, or attached to a separate mounting source such as a wall or power rack.
- 1. Vertical adjustable support
- 2. Dumbbell Holder
- 3. Example Dumbbell
- 4. Horizontal Rotational Adjustment
- 5. Rotating and Forward/Backward Attachment
- 6. Width Adjustment Brace
- 7. Vertical Adjustment Pin
- 8. Vertical Adjustment Holes
- 9. Floor Stand
- 10. Example Power Rack Vertical Support
- 11. Attachment/Vertical Adjustment Pins
- 12. Swivel joint
- 13. Horizontal Rotation Plane
- 14. Support arm (optionally adjustable, as shown)
- 15. Dumbbell Holder
- 16. Horizontal dumbbell rest
- 17. Guide apparatus attachment plates
- 18. Hand Guides
- 19. Center Support
- 20. Upper swiveling support arm
- 21. Lower swiveling support arm
- 22. Base
- 23. Wheels
- 24. Upper Dumbbell holder
- 25. Lower dumbbell holder
- 26. Flat bench press
- 27. Dumbbell holders
Prior to the exercise, the user would position the dumbbell holder (2) with the dumbbell in the position desired by the user to remove the dumbbell from the stand at the start of the exercise, and to return the dumbbell to when the exercise repetitions are completed. To accomplish this positioning, the invention would be positioned in a general location near the position of the exercise such that further adjustment to achieve the exact location desired by the user could be achieved by use of the invention's vertical and horizontal adjustments, both prior to assuming the position of the exercise, and, for the horizontal rotation shown in arc (4), while in the position of the exercise. Vertical positioning would occur by adjusting the Support Arm(s) (5) on the vertical support member (1) and could be done either prior to or after placing the dumbbell in the dumbbell holder, especially if a ratchet or similar mechanism was used to lift and lower the support arm. Horizontal positioning could occur by swiveling the support arm/dumbbell holder combination (2, 5) around the center support (within the range of support provided by the base). Several options exist for implementing he swivel function such as having the vertical supports rotate in the base (shown in this example) or having the support arms (5) swivel around the vertical supports (1). Further horizontal positioning of the dumbbell holder could occur by adjusting the length of the support arm (5) using an adjustment mechanism such as the telescoping arm with adjustment pin and pin-holes as shown in
The space between the two horizontal portions of the dumbbell holder (2) is wide enough to allow the hand of the user to pass between them when removing or replacing the dumbbells. Additionally, the user could easily position the dumbbells in a precise location by rotating the holder horizontally while in the position required by the exercise allowing precise tailoring of the dumbbell positions. The dumbbell holder supports have a front angle to secure the dumbbells from rolling off and to aid in the return of the dumbbells at the completion of the exercise, and would also have an inner “lip” as shown to provide additional side-to-side positioning stability. The rear plate on the dumbbell holder (2) braces the dumbbell at the rear in the direction away from the user. All user-facing surfaces which the user's hand or arm could contact when returning the dumbbell could optionally have padding to provide further protection against injury. These surfaces would include the front “lip” of the dumbbell holder (2) and the hand channel device (18).
The invention thus provides precise three-dimensional positioning of the dumbbells which can be tailored to the desired position for each hand of the user with final adjustment occurring while the user is in the position of the exercise. Vertical positioning is accomplished by adjusting the holder arms on the vertical center stand. In the embodiment shown, pin adjustment (7) holes in the vertical support (8) is shown for the vertical adjustment, however other forms of adjustment could optionally be incorporated (e.g., a ratchet mechanism).
Wheels or another type of rolling device such as casters or rollers could be placed on one or both support stand bases (9) to facilitate moving the device and also to facilitate adjusting the width between the support and hence the positioning of the dumbbell support devices. The width between the vertical supports (1) could be adjusted by means of one or more telescoping braces (6).
The lower of the two dumbbell holder/arms (21, 25) would allow the user to return the dumbbell to a lower position if they were unable or did not desire to return the dumbbell to the upper position on the rack (20, 24). Optional wheels/rollers/casters (23) on the base of the unit (22) allow the unit to be easily rolled from one position to another.
In this example of the base (22) configuration, 180 degrees of swivel adjustment is allowed for, however the invention could support 360 degrees of swivel support by use of any base configuration that provided support stability through 360 degrees of travel, or any other range desired in manufacture.
In this embodiment, the invention is implemented by attaching the vertical supports (22) similar to those shown in
Optionally, any of these embodiments may include the ability to retract the support via the horizontal and/or vertical planes via mechanisms such as a foot-controlled lever or a spring mechanism, after the dumbbell is removed from the support to begin the exercise.
Claims
1. A dumbbell support apparatus for positioning dumbbells to be used in exercise comprising: A dumbbell holder with support and adjustment mechanisms to position a dumbbell horizontally and vertically to enable the initiation and completion of dumbbell exercises with precise positioning through three dimensions as tailored by each individual user. Dimensions and ranges of adjustment are claimed which allow a user to position dumbbells through three dimensions (vertical, horizontal, forward and backward) prior to assuming the position of the exercise, and to further adjust the dumbbells while in position for the exercise via further movement of the dumbbells by rolling or sliding the dumbbells on the holders or via horizontal or vertical movement of the holders. Vertical positioning is accomplished via adjustment of the dumbbell holding apparatus on a vertical support, and horizontal adjustment is accomplished via a combined swivel and telescoping holder/support apparatus.
2. An apparatus for positioning dumbbells as recited in claim 1 configured as a free-standing device which can be positioned for use next to other exercise equipment such as an exercise bench.
3. An apparatus for positioning dumbbells as recited in claim 1 configured so that the dumbbell positioning apparatus is implemented as an integrated part of another piece of exercise equipment, such as a bench press or shoulder press type of apparatus.
4. An apparatus for positioning dumbbells as recited in claim 1 which may include an “attachment style” configuration where the dumbbell holder and positioning apparatus is attached to a vertical support such as found in the commonly used “power rack” type of exercise equipment.
5. An apparatus for positioning dumbbells as recited in claim 1 optionally configured with both upper and lower support racks so that the dumbbells can either be returned to the upper or lower position at the end of the exercise, or lowered to the floor at the conclusion of the exercise.
6. An apparatus for positioning dumbbells as recited in claim 1 configured with independent positioning for each of the upper and lower racks to allow precise and flexible placement of the dumbbells at both the beginning and end of an exercise set.
7. An apparatus for positioning dumbbells as recited in claim 1 configured with a horizontal swivel function which enables a mechanism which retracts the support once the exercise is begun using the outward swivel function, such as by spring-loading or by a foot-controlled lever, and optionally returns the support to a desired position at the end of the exercise set.
8. An apparatus for positioning dumbbells as recited in claim 1 with freedom of vertical travel which enables pin-based vertical adjustment or enables a mechanical vertical adjustment mechanism, for example a ratchet mechanism, hydraulic mechanism, or screw mechanism.
9. An apparatus for positioning dumbbells as recited in claim 1 configured with two support structures for the dumbbell holders using a brace linking two of the vertical supports and creating a temporary or permanent attachment between the units, the width between which can be adjusted such as by means of a telescoping support attached between the vertical support.
10. A dumbbell holder with two support surfaces for each side of the dumbbell, an inner “lip” on the surface supporting each side of the dumbbell which prevents side-to-side slippage of the dumbbell, and a restraining surface at the rear of the holder above the level of the dumbbell supports.
11. A dumbbell holder with a channeling device which guides the user's hands into position when returning the dumbbell to the rack via angled or curved material which the user's hand, wrist or arm will contact to guide the return of the dumbbell and to center the user's hand between the dumbbell supports.
12. A dumbbell holder with protective padding on the surfaces of the channeling device facing the user when returning the dumbbell to the holder.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 23, 2016
Publication Date: Jun 28, 2018
Inventor: Vincent Gabriel Shaw, JR. (Davidsonville, MD)
Application Number: 15/390,394