Smartbell

Abstract

This disclosure relates generally to a light weight exercise apparatus includes a support including a portion of the lower arm of the user and a second part extending from the first part and having first and second portions. The center and holding portion further includes a grip portion attached to and extending across the width of the retaining portion to be gripped by the hand of the user. The invention is an exercise hand weight structure designed for extended-time type exercises having an elongate body member with a soft, resilient central hand portion, and a hand engaging member resiliently connected at each end of the body member, said hand engaging member extending outwardly transversely to the body member and then generally parallel thereto to pass around the back of the hand preferably between the knuckles and wrist of a user to hold the hand resiliently between the central hand portion of the body member and the hand engaging member. The invention on the top as described is focused on portability and use on the run where and when required.

Description

BACKGROUND

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to exercise equipment. More particularly, this invention pertains to an adjustable barbell or dumbbell of improved, compact and light weight construction. This invention relates to hand weights and particularly to hand weights adapted for prolonged or extended use in exercises with the feature of being light and portable.

The new invention is based on using the dumbbells at the uttermost convenience due to light weight, holding weights through lock pin and factor of portability.

Description of the Related Art

Dumbells have long been used for exercise purposes. in general, dumbbells forms heretofore available have been designed for use in arm, shoulder and chest development in a standing position. The dumbbells which have heretofore been available have been quite satisfactory for such purposes. Typical of such dumbbells are the conventional pair of rounded weights on opposite ends of a straight rod for gripping whose cross section is circular or slightly elliptical.

There have been modifications of this conventional shape heretofore proposed to extend the usefulness of these devices to increase their effect on strengthening the muscles of the hands and fingers. Typical of such devices are those illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 660,962; 742,393; 756,480, 734,062; 1,229,658 and 1,138,459. None of these devices, however is satisfactory for use in the correct performance of aerobic exercises in which hundreds or even thousands of repetitions of movement are involved as compared with the relatively few repetitions of conventional dumbbells.

Hand weights or arm exercisers are used by joggers to provide more effective use of workout time by exercising the hands, wrist, and arms while running or jogging. Proper use of the hand weights is essential to a proper workout. The inclusion of a biofeedback mechanism incorporated into the hand weight improves the effectiveness of any such workout.

Exercise has been found to he highly effective in adapting the body, particularly its heart muscle and skeletal muscles, to utilize oxygen at higher rates. Running, jogging and walking have accordingly achieved a new dimension in physical fitness regimens. The effectiveness of this training may be augmented to a surprising degree by loading the limbs of the person doing the exercise. Hand and leg weights serve this purpose well; however, the limiting factor in the use of conventional dumbbells is the gripping power of the hand which tends to fatigue more rapidly than the large muscle masses of the arms and legs.

In order for a hand weight or dumbbells to be acceptable for portability, choice of weights and also for use in aerobic exercises it must be:

• • a) capable of supporting exercise of long duration;
  • b) or prevent undue spasm of the arm and hand musculature by a soft, yet firm hand engaging means extending over the back of the hand;
  • c) capable of releasing the hand muscles from the necessity and burden of gripping a dumbbell shaft continuously, so as to promote optimal circulation of blood, reduce the likelihood of untoward elevation of blood pressure and promote prolonged exercise;
  • d) able to support the continuation of very rapid arm movements of extreme amplitude, including a succession of abrupt starts and stops which would be traumatic to skin, muscles, ligamentous and joint structure of the hand if not protected;
  • e) permits the exerciser to determine his pulse count without removing the weight from the hand;
  • f) suitable for all ambulatory exercises involving both arms and legs, i.e. walking and running: and
  • g) ensure the safe use of the dumbbell during exercise in which the hands attain an inordinately high velocity. During such exercise the anti-fugal force involved tends to cause the weight to be disengaged from the gripping hand, increases the exerciser's concern and effort and diminishes his freedom of motion.

The current invention is based on the theme of a hand weight which is highly satisfactory for factor of portability, use in aerobic and light weight exercises and adjustability of number of weights irrespective of the make and type. It satisfies all of the foregoing requirements. Its form is such that the hand can be relaxed periodically and the constant isometric contraction of the hand and forearm muscles, which is a severe limit in prolonged exercise with dumbbells, is reduced markedly. This relaxation serves to increase the blood flow to the gripping fingers and to reduce greatly the likelihood of the muscle spasm which frequently aborts such exercises prematurely when using conventional dumbbells and like weights. With all previous embodiments in the field did not provide such facilitation and hence the idea has its own novelty.

SUMMARY

The invention is portable light weight dumbbells having a standard grip point with the feature of adding more weights on either side. The dumbbells can be used at any place home, office, gym or even on the travel. The dumbbells are designed in a manner to adjust and hold different weights due to the sleek 2 inch outer diameter and multiple holes to adjust more weights. A proper pin is designed to lock the weights when required.

The invention provides a hand weight having a generally cylindrical elongate hand portion, a hand engaging means engaged at each end of said hand portion, projecting outwardly and sidewise to pass around the back of a user's hand, preferably between the knuckles and wrist. The hand portion is covered with a soft, resilient member and may be contoured to conform generally to the shape of a user's hand and fingers when in the gripping position.

The hand engaging means is attached to the hand portion and preferably extends generally transversely from the ends of the hand portion and parallel to the hand portion and is preferably padded over its length and resiliently connected to the ends of the hand portion. The hand portion may be made of the same metal material with gripping area and gripping portion may he formed of resilient plastic such as foam preferably, closed cell foam, having a central axial steel shaft extending there through and the hand engaging means may also be of formed resilient plastic such as foam, having a central axial steel shaft preferably of generally flattened C-shape not connected to the shaft of the hand. portion except by the formed resilient plastic of the hand portion and/or the hand engaging portion.

The light weight dumbbells are designed for home use and also for use at the gym. This invention is for a lightweight dumbbell that is small enough to fit in a bag pack and can be easily carried. The idea is to have the portability of the invention and can be used at any place or gym as they are designed to hold most of the standard weights and the weights can be locked with a safety key. The invention is a pair of dumbbells to be used for the purpose of workout and they have a diameter of 2 inch at the outer side to get weights of different sizes fit as required.

While a specific embodiment has been shown and described, many variations are possible. With time, additional features may be employed. The particular shape or configuration of the platform or the interior configuration may be changed to suit the system or equipment with which it is used.

This Summary is provided merely for purposes of summarizing some example embodiments, so as to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the subject matter described herein. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the above-described features are merely examples and should not be construed to narrow the scope or spirit of the subject matter described herein in any way. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter described herein will become apparent from the following Detailed Description, Figures, and Claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Detailed descriptions of the preferred embodiment are provided herein. It is to be understood, however, that the present invention may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but rather as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed system, structure or manner.

In light of the disadvantages of the prior art, the following summary is provided to facilitate an understanding of some of the innovative features unique to the present invention and is not intended to be a full description. A full appreciation of the various aspects of the invention can be gained by taking the entire specification, claims, drawings, and abstract as a whole.

The current invention is based the modern trend toward physical fitness and personal weight reduction has resulted in a vast number of various types of exercise machines, most of them large and awkward rowing machines, stationary bicycles or weight lifting devices. Rather than purchase these machines and share space for them in their home, many people desiring exercise have joined fitness clubs which have these machines and are also equipped with less aggressive types of equipment such as the dumbbells, low tension hand grip and pull strings. The exercises are supervised and are very beneficial but, unfortunately, many of these people find these fitness clubs inconvenient or too costly and quit them, intending somehow to continue their exercise at home.

The dumbbell enables its user to exercise at home, workplace or any random nearest gym. The dumbbell is relatively lightweight and is easy to use by either hand, by both hands. Users of conventional dumbbells rely upon the weight of the dumbbells for muscle training. In this invention, the dumbbell weight is relatively light and not a factor because stimulation and toning of the muscles of the body relies upon the number of weights been mounted on the dumbbell easily.

In this system of invention, the body portion of the dumbbell preferably consists of a hand holding portion and a pair of spaced and integrally formed rims or flanges of 2 inch diameter. The outer surfaces or faces of the flanges are of course parallel so that the weights can fit adjacent in the 2 inch diameter. The dumbbell is designed in a manner that weights may firmly sit against the dumbbell. The opposite faces of the flanges are suitably tapered or gradually thickened toward the center thereof so as to present a smooth surface to the hand of the user. By forming the center of the hand holding portion slightly larger in diameter than the ends, the hand grip portion is placed.

To effectually prevent the dumbbell' from moving in the hand while exercising, the invention is designed in a manner that the grip portion form can handle the plurality of finger receiving depressions. It is a well-recognized fact that greater benefit is derived in exercising from devices of this nature when they are light weight and designed with proper grip.

The disks or weights are preferably to be of die-cast so that they may be uniform in shape and weight when attached to the dumbbells, however this is not compulsory. The outer edge are of the invention is made of 2 inches, as based on experience most of the most of the weights can be tapped and adjusted to this diameter. Different weight can be attached and then locked through designed keys. Multiple holes are given at the exterior end of the dumbbell so that weights from any gym and type can be locked in. The central located openings at the ends of the dumbbells are of slightly larger diameter than the threaded portion of the lock screws in order to facilitate the easy removal or replacement with respect thereto.

Designed two pairs of dumbbells are designed light enough to carry in a bag or by hand, but are strong and durable enough to withstand wear and tear. The main feature of the design is customizability. The dumbbells would be available according to customers need in terms of their weight and gym they are using. The ends are designed with a 2 inch diameter to fit the weights in the gym. There are several holes in the ends where the weights are attached and further through the use of round wire lock pin the weights can be held at their place.

Different number of holes at the end of the invention are made to fits different groups of weights. As the design is based on the concept of portability and customizability, the invention named “Smartbell” can take on different weight plates for exercise. Weight plates of 25 lb, 10 lb, 5 lb, 2.5 lb etc., can be adjusted to the invention. The number of holes at the end provides the facilitation of adjusting different type of weights irrespective of the make or gym. As the invention is designed on the bulk weight plate holes, which are mostly 2 inch in diameter so the ends of the Smartbell are kept at 1⅞th inch for attachment, locking, safety and easy removal.

It will be readily understood therefore that dumbbells formed in this novel manner may be readily manufactured upon a high production basis as for example by the die-casting method for the body portion, the wire lock key. The main aspect of the invention is light-weight product and adjustability to numerous weights with the factor of safety through the wire lock key pin.

Having described the invention in detail, those skilled in the art will appreciate that modifications may be made to the invention without departing from its spirit. Therefore, it is not intended that the scope of the invention be limited to the specific embodiment illustrated and described. Rather, it is intended that the scope of this invention be determined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING

FIG. 1 is the front view of smartbell displaying the grip area and the dumbbell without weights.

FIG. 2 is showing the wire lock key in expanded and separate view. The figure is displaying the pattern of locking and the manner it would be look in the smartbell.

FIG. 3 is the view of the lock bar with its wire. This would be inserted in the holes on the side of the smartbell and lock the attached weights.

FIG. 4 is the front aerial view of the smartbell with weight attached to the dumbbell and locked through the wire lock.

FIG. 5 is the front aerial view of the smartbell with weight attached to the dumbbell and locked through the wire lock.

Claims

1. A hand weight structure particularly adapted for aerobic and related extended-time exercises comprising an elongate rapid body member of sufficient weight for use in aerobic exercise having a surrounding soft, resilient central hand portion, where the ends of said body member extend from said central hand portion, a rigid three sided member adapted to overlay the back and sides of a hand, and a soft resilient hand engaging means surrounding said three sided member and engaging the ends of said body member at each side of said central hand portion, said hand engaging means having sufficient resilience so as to urge said rigid member toward said elongated body member thus engaging the hand between the three sided member and body member in a soft, frictional engagement.

2. A hand weight as claimed in claim 1 wherein the hand engaging means is a generally flattened D-shaped member having openings at opposite ends for engaging the ends of the hand portion and having a rigid member centrally thereof spaced from and generally parallel to the hand portion.

3. A hand weight dumbbell pair, with the provision of holding weights on either side.

4. A hand weight dumbbell as claim 3, is extremely lightweight for easy handling and customizable skins to fit 2 inch weights provided by the gym or fitness center.

5. A hand weight dumbbell as claims 1, 3 & 4 is lightweight but rigid and durable to handle the wear tear during portability.

6. As per claim 1-5, the invention is designed keeping the advantage of portability and lightweight and customizable to use at any gym, home or workplace.

7. A dumbbell comprising a main element including a hand gripping portion and end disks on such hand gripping portion, the main element having an axial bore opening through, the ends thereof, such bore having end portions of relatively reduced diameter of approximately and interiorly threaded, the central portion of the bore being of relatively enlarged diameter and smooth, screw-rods threaded to cooperate with the threaded portions of the bores and having terminal operating heads of materially less diameter than that of the end disks, and series of independent weight disks of a diameter greater than that of the end disks and designed to he held by the screw rods between such end disks and the terminal heads of the rods, said weight being formed with central openings to receive the screw rods, whereby when the dumbbell is resting on a surface the full contact is borne by the edges of the weight disks alone.

8. 7. A hand weight as claimed in claims above wherein the hand engaging means exerts resilient pressure on the hand of a user sufficient to hold the hand weight in place with the fingers relaxed and to maintain the users blood, circulation and pressure unaffected.

9. A hand weight as claimed in claims above wherein the elongate body member is adapted to receive interchangeable weights at each end.