WEIGHT LIFTING BAR

Abstract

A weight lifting bar, such as a pull-up bar is provided. The pull-up bar may be wall-mounted or utilized with a power rack. The bar includes a cylindrical bar, which is typically made of steel. The bar further includes a sand-blasted finish applied to the cylindrical bar. The sand-blasted finish creates a layer over at least a portion of the cylindrical bar.

Description

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/087,968, filed on Oct. 6, 2020, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to an apparatus for exercising and training activities and, more particularly, to an improved weight lifting bar that has improved grip properties, is more durable and is easier to clean and keep sanitized than traditional weight lifting bars.

BACKGROUND

A weight lifting bar, such as a pull-up bar is one of the most common and important pieces of equipment in many commercial and home gyms, including for use in functional fitness training, such as Cross-Fit workouts. As the name implies, a pull-up bar is typically designed for performing pull-ups or chin-ups, which primarily benefit the back muscles but also help work out a wide variety of other major muscle groups, including arms, shoulders, chest and core muscles. Aside from helping in building size and extra strength in the upper body, it can improve core strength. In addition to performing pull-ups and chin-ups, a pull-up bar is capable of being used in a number of other exercises to build strength and endurance.

Commercial gyms are increasingly popular and include numerous weight lifting bars, such as pull-up bars throughout the fitness/weight lifting area. Furthermore, individuals seeking to work out from home often wish to buy a pull-up bar to use in their home or garage. Although a pull-up bar is a popular and essential piece of equipment for most commercial and home gyms, they suffer from certain limitations. For example, traditional pull-up bars may have a powder coated painted finish, which typically involves coating the bar with paint and then applying heat. Powder coated bars eventually become worn and slippery to use even after minimal use.

Alternatively, some bars, such as Olympic bars utilize knurling or cross-hatching. The knurling or cross-hatching becomes quite slick when worn. Furthermore, the knurling or cross-hatching may become slippery when wet, such as from perspiration from an individual working out with the bar. Furthermore, when the gripping surface becomes worn due to repeated use, it will continue to wear down and gets even more slippery, which not only makes it more difficult to perform exercises on the bar, but becomes a safety concern.

To address this issue with traditional pull-up bars as well as other weight lifting bars, such as dead lift bars, Olympic bars, barbells and dumbbells, athletic tape may be used on the bar. However, taped bars are less aesthetically pleasing to view, raise hygiene concerns (which are particularly problematic during a pandemic, such as COVID-19) and leave a glue residue on the bar. As a result, traditional weight-lifting bars must be cleaned frequently and replaced sooner due to the worn gripping surfaces.

Alternatively, an individual may use gloves or grip pads when using a traditional bar that is worn, but this is an additional piece of equipment that must be purchased and gloves are frequently misplaced or lost at the gym or home. Moreover, even with gloves or grip pads, an overly worn bar may still be quite slippery, which makes lifting more difficult and dangerous.

Accordingly, there is a need for an improved weight lifting bar that has improved grip properties and does not easily become worn to improve functionality and durability of the weight lifting bar.

SUMMARY

In accordance with one aspect of the disclosure, a weight lifting bar is provided. The weight lifting bar includes a cylindrical bar and a sand-blasted finish applied to the cylindrical bar.

In one embodiment, the sand-blasted finish creates a layer over at least a portion of the cylindrical bar. The layer may cover substantially an entirety of the cylindrical bar. In another embodiment, the layer covers over half the cylindrical bar.

In another embodiment, the cylindrical bar may be a pull-up bar. The cylindrical bar may be welded to a pair of opposed end pieces. Each of the opposed end pieces may include a flange projecting from each respective end piece. Each of the flanges may be welded to the cylindrical bar.

In yet another embodiment, the pull-up bar may be wall mounted or the pull-up bar may be used with a power rack. The cylindrical bar may be made of bare steel. The sand blasted finish may utilize glass beads.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, a pull-up bar is provided. The pull-up bar includes a first layer and a second layer, wherein the second layer is a sand-blasted finish. In one embodiment, the first layer is a rigid bar. The sand-blasted finish utilizes glass beads. The sandblasted finish extends around the first layer.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the disclosure, a method of providing an enhanced gripping finish to a piece of exercise equipment is provided. The method includes providing the piece of exercise equipment including a cylindrical bar with an outer surface. The method further includes applying a roughed finish to the outer surface of the cylindrical bar.

In one particular embodiment, the roughed finish is applied via sandblasting. The roughed finish may be applied via bead blasting and include glass as the media material.

Further features and advantages of the present disclosure will become evident to those or ordinary skill in the art after a study of the description, figures and non-limiting examples in this document.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of the specification, illustrate several aspects of this disclosure, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a weight rack including a pull-up bar forming one aspect of this disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of a wall-mounted pull-up bar forming one aspect of this disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a front view of a pull-up bar forming one aspect of this disclosure; and

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the pull-up bar forming one aspect of this disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings and photographs that form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration, specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and like numerals represent like details in the various figures. Also, it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that process or other changes may be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure. The following detailed description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the invention is defined only by the appended claims and their equivalents. In accordance with the disclosure, a weight lifting and/or functional fitness bar that utilizes an abrasive (sand) blasting finish is hereinafter described.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 1-4, which are various views illustrating a weight lifting or functional fitness bar 10 that may be utilized in commercial, cross-fit and home gyms. The weight lifting bar may be a variety of different bars, such as a pull-up bar, dead lift bars, Olympic bar, barbell or dumbbell. The weight lifting bar illustrated in FIGS. 1-3 is a pull-up bar 10 is typically made from a rigid material, such as bare or raw steel to withstand the rigors of repeated use by one or more individuals. It should be appreciated that the pull-up bar disclosed herein may be used on weight racks, rigs and wall mounts. As discussed in more detail below, an abrasive or sand blasted process finish is applied to the bar to provide a roughed surface on the raw steel surface. The roughed surface creates enhanced grip, which does not easily wear and retains a sticky grip for individuals to use the bar.

The pull-up bar 10 includes a cylindrical bar 20, which may be welded to a pair of opposed end pieces 30, 40. The cylindrical bar is typically made of steel. The end pieces 30, 40 include a flange 50, 60 projecting from the end piece and welded to the pull-up bar 10 for providing additional strength and reinforcement. The end pieces 30, 40 may be affixed to a wall (W), power rack or cage 80. Fasteners, such as bolts may be used to affix the end pieces 30, 40 to the wall, power rack or cage.

The pull-up bar 10 includes a sandblasted process finish 70 creating a second layer 100 over the base steel layer 90. The sand blasted finish provides enhanced grip properties and facilitates pivoting movement of the individual's hands during the transitional phase of pull-ups.

Sandblasting is a process of forcing solid particles across a hard surface at high speeds using compressed air in order to smooth a rough surface, roughen a smooth surface, shape a surface or remove surface contaminants.

In this case, sandblasting is used on the pull-up bar 10 to create a second layer 100, i.e., a rough surface to promote better grip for the individual using the bar. The second layer 100 may cover substantially an entirety of the first or base layer 90. Alternatively, the second layer 100 may cover over half the first or base layer 90. In yet another embodiment, the second layer 100 may cover about half the first or base layer 90. Importantly, the sand blasting process is a quick and efficient solution to improve the grip properties of the metal bar, without diminishing the appearance of the bar.

It should be appreciated that the sandblasting process may vary based on the type of medium used and the particulars about the media, i.e., type, shape, size, hardness and density as well as air velocity of the blasting process. For example, it is known to use silica sand or silicon dioxide, soda, steel grit, glass bead, plastic beads, garnet, aluminum oxide and others as the media. Other variables in the sandblasting process includes the type of nozzle used for the blasting and the pressure applied for the blasting process. The sandblasted process finish 90 does not easily wear out and retains a sticky/raised grip. The sand blasting process described herein utilizes glass beads to create a sticky mill or frosted finish to the bar. The blast process is known as bead blasting.

Typically, a traditional pull-up bar includes a grip that is merely clear or powder coated over bare steel, also known as black pipe, which does not have the grip properties of the sandblasted process finish described herein. Instead, conventional power-coated bars become slippery after repeated use and must be replaced.

Advantageously, the pull-up bar 10 with the sandblasted process finish may be used for multiple years without wearing down, i.e., it retains a good grip. Furthermore, the enhanced grip from the sandblasted process finish does not require the individual to use leather and/or cloth grip hand protection appliances on their hands during use of the bar. However, if an individual desires to use gloves, grip pads or chalk to enhance grip, the sandblasted process finish described herein may complement the use of the gloves, grip pads or chalk to improve the grip. The sandblasted process finish decreases the likelihood of an individual's hands and calluses tearing and/or bleeding, which is common with other traditional bars. Finally, it should be appreciated that the sandblasting finish may be used on other pieces of gym equipment, such as barbells and dumbbells.

The foregoing descriptions of various embodiments have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. These descriptions are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. The embodiments described provide the best illustration of the inventive principles and their practical applications to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the disclosure in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.

Claims

1. A weight lifting bar, comprising:

a cylindrical bar; and

a sand-blasted finish applied to the cylindrical bar.

2. The weight lifting bar of claim 1, wherein the sand-blasted finish creates a layer over at least a portion of the cylindrical bar.

3. The weight lifting bar of claim 1, wherein the layer covers substantially an entirety of the cylindrical bar.

4. The weight lifting bar of claim 1, wherein the layer covers over half the cylindrical bar.

5. The weight lifting bar of claim 1, wherein the cylindrical bar is a pull-up bar.

6. The weight lifting bar of claim 1, wherein the cylindrical bar is welded to a pair of opposed end pieces.

7. The weight lifting bar of claim 6, wherein each of the opposed end pieces include a flange projecting from each respective end piece.

8. The weight lifting bar of claim 7, wherein each of the flanges is welded to the cylindrical bar.

9. The weight lifting bar of claim 5, wherein the pull-up bar is wall mounted.

10. The weight lifting bar of claim 5, wherein the pull-up bar is used with a power rack.

11. The weight lifting bar of claim 1, wherein the cylindrical bar is made of bare steel.

12. The weight lifting bar of claim 1, wherein the sand blasted finish utilizes glass beads.

13. A pull-up bar, comprising:

a first layer; and

a second layer, wherein the second layer is a sand-blasted finish.

14. The pull-up bar of claim 13, wherein the first layer is a rigid bar.

15. The pull-up bar of claim 13, wherein the sand-blasted finish utilizes glass beads.

16. The pull-up bar of claim 13, wherein the sandblasted finish extends around the first layer.

17. A method of providing an enhanced gripping finish to a piece of exercise equipment, comprising:

providing the piece of exercise equipment including a cylindrical bar with an outer surface; and

applying a roughed finish to the outer surface of the cylindrical bar.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the roughed finish is applied via sandblasting.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the roughed finish is applied via bead blasting.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the bead blasting utilizes a glass media.