Training Apparatus
A training apparatus for performing a training of a rectus abdominis muscle. The training apparatus including an operation arm supported to be swingable by receiving a contact pressure from an arm of a user. A rotary section is provided carrying a load of a weight stack and supported to be rotatable by a swing of the operation arm. A seat section is provided to be swingably supported. A push section is provided to be swingably supported, and arranged to swing the seat section while supporting the seat section at a lower end portion of the seat section. In the training apparatus, the push section swings in one of a first state uncooperative with a rotation of the rotary section and a second state cooperative with the rotation of the rotary section.
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This invention relates to improvements in a training apparatus for training or exercising a muscle of a certain body part, and more particularly to improvements in a crunch training apparatus for strengthening the rectus abdominis muscle or the abdominal muscle.
Referring now to a perspective view of
In
The seat section 901 includes a seat 904 adjustable for height, and a lower back pad 905 adjustable in a fore-and-aft direction toward the seat 904. Additionally, a foothold 906 having a plurality of bars 907 with which the user (who is to train his rectus abdominis muscle in the use of the training machine 9) can engage his feet is provided in front of the seat section 901.
The crank arm 902 is shaped to be gently curved to the side of the seat section 901 generally at the center of the longitudinal direction of the crank arm 902. Further, the crank arm 902 is extended parallel with the seat 904 of the seat section 901 at its upper end region and provided with a breast round pad 908 thereat, while connected to a counterweight 909 at its lower end region. The breast round pad 908 is pivotally attached at its one end portion to a connecting member 913 which connects a cable 912 to the weight stack 911 of the load application device 91.
Then, how to use the training machine 9 will be discussed. First of all, the user sits on the seat 904 upon adjusting the height of the seat 904 and the position of the lower back pad 905. The user engages his feet with any of the bars 907 of the foothold 906 and leans forward with folding the breast round pad 908 in his arms, upon which the crank arm 902 is pivotally moved forward about a pivot axis or pivot shaft to which the crank arm 902 is pivotally attached. With this, a load of the weight stack 911 of the load application device 91, previously determined, is applied on the user's rectus abdominis muscle thereby permitting the training of the rectus abdominis muscle.
The training machine 9 as discussed above is disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2730881.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONHowever, drawbacks have been encountered in conventional crunch training machines. More specifically, in the conventional crunch training machines such as the above-mentioned training machine 9 the load of the weight stack 911 tends to concentrate on the upper part of the rectus abdominis muscle, so that sometimes the user is not able to strengthen the whole of the rectus abdominis muscle evenly unless familiar with handling the training machine 9.
In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide an improved training apparatus for rectus abdominis muscle which apparatus can effectively overcome drawbacks encountered in conventional training machines.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved training apparatus for rectus abdominis muscle which apparatus is effective for a beginner.
An aspect of the present invention resides in a training apparatus for performing a training of a rectus abdominis muscle. The training apparatus comprises an operation arm supported to be swingable by receiving a contact pressure from an arm of a user. A rotary section is provided carrying a load of a weight stack and supported to be rotatable by a swing of the operation arm. A seat section is provided to be swingably supported. A push section is provided to be swingably supported, and arranged to swing the seat section while supporting the seat section at a lower end portion of the seat section. In this training apparatus, the push section is adapted to swing in one of a first state uncooperative with a rotation of the rotary section and a second state cooperative with the rotation of the rotary section.
Referring now to the accompanying drawings, an embodiment of a training apparatus according to the present invention is illustrated by the reference numeral 1.
The training apparatus 1 is a crunch training apparatus for training the rectus abdominis muscle and includes an operation part 2 and a load application device 3.
The operation part 2 has an operation arm 11, a rotary section 12, a seat section 13 and a push section 14. The operation arm 11 is so provided as to swing by receiving a contact pressure from the arms of the user who is to train his rectus abdominis muscle in the use of the training apparatus 1. The rotary section 12 carries a load of a weight stack 82 of the load application device 3 and can be rotated by the operation arm 11. The seat section 13 is provided in order that the user sits thereon. The push section 14 is arranged to swing while supporting a lower end portion of the seat section 13 thereby swinging the seat section 13, which is allowed either when the push section 14 is in a state cooperative with the rotation of the rotary section 12 (a cooperative state) or when the push section 14 is in a state uncooperative with the same (a uncooperative state). Further, a switching device 4 is provided as a device which allows switching between the cooperative and uncooperative states.
The operation arm 11 includes a main arm 21, a back pad 22, a pair of elbow pads 23 and a pair of handles 24. The main arm 21 is formed U-shaped as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
Further, the switching device 4 includes the first grip 66 and a second grip 67 as shown in
The first grip 66 is provided including the first cylindrical member 68, a first shaft 69, a first spring 70 and a first knob 71. The first cylindrical member 68 is connected to the outer peripheral surface of the sleeve 61. The first shaft 69 is inserted in the first cylindrical member 68 in the axial direction of the first cylindrical member 68, and attached at its one end to the obstruction member 63. The obstruction member 63 is formed to have a diameter larger than that of the first shaft 69 and smaller than the inner diameter of the first cylindrical member 68, and is biased in the direction of the sleeve 61 by the first spring 70 housed in the first cylindrical member 68. Additionally, the obstruction member 63 is adapted to be fastened by a second shaft 73 included in the second grip 67, at the time of bringing the push section 14 being uncooperative with the operation of the rotary section 12. Further, as shown in
The second grip 67 is provided including a second cylindrical member 72, the second shaft 73, the second spring 74, a spring seat 75 and a second knob 76. The second cylindrical member 72 is connected to the outer peripheral surface of the first cylindrical member 68 of the first grip 66. The second shaft 73 is inserted in the second cylindrical member 72 in the axial direction of the second cylindrical member 72, and additionally biased by the second spring 74 housed in the second cylindrical member 72 in order to fasten the obstruction member 63 in the first cylindrical member 68 at least when bringing the push section 14 into the uncooperative state. The spring seat 75 is attached to the second shaft 73 to receive the contact pressure from the second spring 74, thereby biasing the second shaft 73. The second knob 76 is a knob which is to be pulled by the user and is attached to one end section of the second shaft 73 protruding from a bottom of the second cylindrical member 72. The second knob 76 is to be pulled when bringing the push section 14 being cooperative with the motion of the operation arm 11. With this, the obstruction member 63 is released from the state fastened by the second shaft 73 and is inserted into the sleeve 61 through the side bore 65 by virtue of the biasing force of the first spring 70, as shown in
As shown in
Referring to
At the beginning of the abdominal muscle training, the seat 41 as shown in
On the other hand, in a case of performing the training while bringing the push section 14 being cooperative with the operation of the operation arm 11, the push section 14 is previously brought into the cooperative state by the switching device 4. More specifically, when the second knob 76 of the second grip 67is pulled in the direction indicated in
Technical ideas (a) to (d) disclosed in the above embodiment will be discussed together with advantages obtained thereby.
(a) A training apparatus for performing a training of a rectus abdominis muscle comprises an operation arm supported to be swingable by receiving a contact pressure from an arm of a user. A rotary section is provided carrying a load of a weight stack and supported to be rotatable by a swing of the operation arm. A seat section is provided to be swingably supported. Additionally, a push section is provided to be swingably supported, and arranged to swing the seat section while supporting the seat section at a lower end portion of the seat section. In this training apparatus, the push section is adapted to swing in one of a first state uncooperative with a rotation of the rotary section and a second state cooperative with the rotation of the rotary section.
(b) The training apparatus as discussed in the idea (a) further comprises a switching device for switching the push section between the first and second states. The switching device includes a sleeve pivotally attached to the rotary section and formed with a side bore. A main shaft is provided to be pivotally attached to the push section and inserted in the sleeve. Additionally, an obstruction member is provided arranged to be insertable into the sleeve through the side bore of the sleeve thereby switching between ensuring and obstructing an insertion path defined in the sleeve for the main shaft. In the training apparatus of the idea (b), the push section is brought into the first state uncooperative with the rotation of the rotary section so to be swingable when the obstruction member ensures the insertion path for the main shaft, or into the second state cooperative with the rotation of the rotary section so as to be swingable when the obstruction member is inserted into the sleeve through the side bore to obstruct the insertion path.
(c) In the training apparatus as discussed in the idea (b), the switching device further comprises a device for taking the obstruction member to one of a first position ensuring the insertion path for the main shaft and a second position obstructing the insertion path, and a device for fastening the obstruction member taken to one of the first and second positions.
(d) In the training apparatus as discussed in the idea (a), the operation arm is arranged to be adjustable for a starting position at which the swing of the operation arm starts.
According to the ideas (a) to (d), in a case where the push section is not made cooperative with the rotary section, the load of the weight stack is applied to the upper part of the user's abdominal muscle when the operation arm is pivotally moved. On the other hand, in a case where the push section is made cooperative with the rotary section, the user is brought into such a posture as to lean forward at his lower back when the operation arm is pivotally moved, which transmits the load of the weight stack to the upper and lower parts of the user's abdominal muscle. Particularly according to the idea (c), it is allowed to reliably bring the push section being uncooperative with the rotary section while reliably bringing the push section being cooperative with the rotary section. Additionally, according to the idea (d), the extent of the user's forward-leaning is adjustable.
In addition to the above, according to the ideas (a) to (b), an abdominal muscle training can be effectively performed even if the user is a beginner. Particularly according to the idea (d), the abdominal muscle training can be further effectively performed.
As discussed above, the training apparatus 1 according to the present invention makes it possible to train the rectus abdominis muscle readily and evenly, which is effective even for a beginner.
The entire contents of Japanese Patent Application P2006-131423 (filed May 10, 2006) are incorporated herein by reference.
Although the invention has been described above by reference to certain embodiments and examples of the invention, the invention is not limited to the embodiments and examples described above. Modifications and variations of the embodiments and examples described above will occur to those skilled in the art, in light of the above teachings. For example, the switching device according to the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned arrangement. More specifically, it will be understood that the switching device for switching between the cooperative and uncooperative states may be arranged for a left-handed user, though it is discussed to be arranged for a right-handed user in the training apparatus 1. The scope of the invention is defined with reference to the following claims.
Claims
1. A training apparatus for performing a training of a rectus abdominis muscle, comprising:
- an operation arm supported to be swingable by receiving a contact pressure from an arm of a user;
- a rotary section carrying a load of a weight stack and supported to be rotatable by a swing of the operation arm;
- a seat section swingably supported; and
- a push section swingably supported, and arranged to swing the seat section while supporting the seat section at a lower end portion of the seat section,
- wherein the push section swings in one of a first state uncooperative with a rotation of the rotary section and a second state cooperative with the rotation of the rotary section.
2. A training apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a switching device for switching the push section between the first and second states, the switching device comprising:
- a sleeve pivotally attached to the rotary section and formed with a side bore;
- a main shaft pivotally attached to the push section and inserted in the sleeve; and
- an obstruction member arranged to be insertable into the sleeve through the side bore of the sleeve thereby switching between ensuring and obstructing an insertion path defined in the sleeve for the main shaft,
- wherein the push section is brought into the first state uncooperative with the rotation of the rotary section so to be swingable, when the obstruction member ensures the insertion path for the main shaft, and
- wherein the push section is brought into the second state cooperative with the rotation of the rotary section so as to be swingable, when the obstruction member is inserted into the sleeve through the side bore to obstruct the insertion path.
3. A training apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the switching device further comprises:
- a device for taking the obstruction member to one of a first position ensuring the insertion path for the main shaft and a second position obstructing the insertion path; and
- a device for fastening the obstruction member taken to one of the first and second positions.
4. A training apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the operation arm is adjustable for a starting position at which the swing of the operation arm starts.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 27, 2008
Publication Date: Apr 29, 2010
Applicant: SENOH KABUSHIKI KAISHA (Tokyo)
Inventor: Katuyuki Inaizumi (Kashiwa-shi)
Application Number: 12/258,952
International Classification: A63B 23/02 (20060101); A63B 21/062 (20060101);