The present invention relates to an exercise machine, preferably of isotonic type.
The fitness sector today offers an extremely wide variety of exercise machines. These machines can be divided broadly into two categories: isotonic machines and cardiovascular machines.
Isotonic machines normally comprise a working position for the user who uses his/her physical power to apply a force that is opposed by gravity acting on a set of passive elements forming what is normally called a weight stack.
In the present invention, the working position is the location where the user places his/her body, whether seated or standing, which means that this position coincides with an area where the weight of the user's body is supported by the ground, with or without a footplate.
Machines of this type have a portal frame which is located in a vertical plane and which accommodates a plurality of blocks, each having a predetermined weight. The user selects the number of blocks to be used for the required exercise, thus creating a stack of desired weight which applies the resistant force that must be overcome by the user's muscular strength; between the resistant force and the active part of the exercise apparatus there is usually a connecting element, normally consisting of a cord or cable wound several times around pulleys and designed to carry the resistant force to the point where the user must apply his/her physical power to overcome it.
Thus, in the above type of solution, the resistant force is provided by gravity. Alternatively, more complex machines may be used in which the resistant force is produced by a motor or alternator connected to a source of electric power and providing controlled torque.
Whichever the solution adopted, exercise machines of this kind (as generally used for recreational, rehabilitation and similar applications) are designed in such a way that the user competes against himself/herself. In other words, the user has to perform a training protocol without any active opponent, which, in the long run, may lead to deconcentration or even refusal to perform exercises according to established rules.
Another disadvantage is that the correct performance of the protocol depends entirely on the user and it is therefore difficult to control the uniformity of the training or to assess (unless this is done in separate stages) the individual progress of two or more trainees, such as, for example, the members of a sports team or persons required to reach a minimum fitness level.
The present invention therefore has for an object to overcome the above mentioned disadvantages by providing an exercise machine that allows users to train not in isolation but in association with other users so as to able to interact with each other while performing an exercise.
According to the invention, this object is achieved by an exercise machine as defined in the main appended claim 1. A machine according to the preamble of claim 1 is described in US-A-4 627 617.
The advantages achieved by the invention lie essentially in the fact that the users training simultaneously on the same machine not only follow a predetermined protocol but also have the opportunity of measuring their strength against each other, thus reducing the risk of demotivation and providing a competitive stimulus to achieving the targets set by the protocol.
Another advantage is that of permitting the activities of different trainees following the same or similar training programmes to be standardised, thus making it possible to assess the effectiveness of a programme on different individuals.
Further advantages are achieved thanks to the characteristics defined in the dependent claims.
The technical characteristics of the invention, with reference to the above aims, are clearly described in the claims below and its advantages are apparent from the detailed description which follows, with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention provided merely by way of example without restricting the scope of the inventive concept, and in which:
With reference to Figure 1, an exercise machine according to the invention, in its most general configuration of kinematic components, essentially comprises the following:
Advantageously, as shown in the diagram of Figure 1, the transmission mechanism may consist wholly or partly of a set of rigid levers joined to each other and, if necessary, combined with cable mechanisms, as described in more detail below.
In all its preferred embodiments, the machine is preferably equipped with a load sensor designed to indicate a value (and, if necessary, a threshold) of the force load applied by the users.
Figure la schematically illustrates the connection between the user positions. The length of the connection can be adjusted by means of a motor M designed to move the pin 23x of a pulley 22 vertically in the direction indicated by the arrow F, thus shifting the actuators between the initial positions 3 and 3a.
Preferably, the cable 24 is also equipped with load sensors 224, load cells 226 and dampers 225.
Figure 2 is a graph showing an example curve representing the load C applied by the user, measured by a sensor and displayed by a display unit indicated schematically by the reference letter D in Figure 2, compared to a reference level R representing the training programme, in such a way as to stimulate the users, individually and in competition with each other, to keep up with the programme.
Still with reference to Figure 2, the invention also contemplates the possibility of a progressive indication of the load C by the display unit D or by a separate unit in order to enable the users to check the level they have reached at any point in time.
It should be stressed that all the embodiments described below are offered purely as examples of the inventive concept without thereby limiting the possibility of extending the concept to other solutions, all falling within the scope of the appended claims. This is intended as confirmation of the possibility of extending the inventive concept to a wide range of different machines.
Moreover, in all the embodiments, the means for connecting the user positions may comprise means for adjusting the length of the connection according to the physical characteristics of the users.
The connecting means may also include elastic means or dampers to smooth the transient effects of passing from an active force to a resistant force and vice versa.
Figures 4, 4a and 4b illustrate yet another embodiment of the invention.
The machine comprises a base 401 mounting an upright 400 consisting preferably of a tube, for example with an oval cross section, acting as a guide for a work unit 404.
Advantageously, the single upright structure 403 enables the users to move all the way round the machine and to change their positions relative to the actuators to perform different exercises.
The work unit 404, slidable along the guide 403, may be fixed in position by a locking element 405, consisting, for example, of a clamp screw that moves as one with the work unit 404 and engages by contact or interference with the vertical guide 403.
At the top end 420 of the upright 400 there are two pulleys 409 positioned horizontally side by side, whilst another two transmission pulleys 410 are positioned at the bottom end, close to the base 401.
The sliding work unit 404 is in turn equipped with four pairs of opposing vertical plates 406, between which there are mounted, preferably rotating about vertical axes, four supports 408 arranged in pairs on opposite sides of the upright 403 and each mounting a pair of pulleys 407 with horizontal axes and positioned over each other vertically.
Advantageously, the rotation of the supports enables users to easily perform exercises requiring the actuators to be moved apart as well as exercises in which the users have to change their positions relative to the actuators by moving around the machine.
In the embodiment illustrated, the work unit 404 mounts all the pulleys 407 which are therefore adjustable as one.
It will be understood, however, that the invention also contemplates that the height of the pulleys might also be adjusted independently at the two sides of the upright, in such manner as to individually vary one or both of the pulling points of one or both of the users.
The machine also comprises two cables 412, 412' passing through respective pulleys 407, 409, 410 and actuated by opposite pairs of handles 414a /414b and 415a / 415b operated by two users (not illustrated in the drawings) standing on opposite sides of the upright 403 at the schematically illustrated exercise positions labelled 413.
It will be understood that the handles might be substituted by actuators or handlebars of any kind suitable for performing the exercise.
Looking in more detail, the cables 412, 412' constitute a twin-cable arrangement, that is to say, a double path of twin cables each of which, with reference, for example, to the cable 412, is fixed at one end to a first actuator 414a, passes through the overlaid pulleys 407 of one support 408 positioned at a first side of the upright 403 and, in succession, through the corresponding upper and lower pulleys 409 and 410 to connect up with the opposite actuator 414b after passing through the central overlaid pulleys 407 of the support 408 at the opposite side of the upright 403.
An identical path through the corresponding central, upper and lower pulleys 407, 409 and 410, is followed by the second cable 412' which connects the opposing actuator 415a and 415b.
In the embodiment being described, there are two of each of the pulleys 407, 409, 410 on each side of the machine so as to enable two users to exercise both arms at the same time, but without thereby excluding the possibility of having a single pulley or more than two pulleys, according to requirements.
During operation, the two users, each in his/her exercise position 413, grip the actuators on the corresponding side of the machine, and alternately pull the two actuators (for example, 414a and 415a) in such that the two users, thanks to the path followed by the cables 412 and 412', oppose each other in alternately pulling the actuators.
On a machine constructed in this way, the two users may oppose or second each other in performing different types of exercises for the purposes of muscular strengthening, cardiovascular training, muscular stretching or even proprioceptive training in which one of the two users tests the balance of the other.
Further, thanks to the adjustability of the vertical position of the work unit 404 and to the rotatability of the supports 408, the point and angle at which the cable is pulled outwards, that is to say, the direction of the force applied by the users, can be varied according to the type of exercise and to the part of the body to be exercised.
It follows that the upper or the lower pulley in the pairs of pulleys 407 mounted on the work unit 404 is activated according to the position of the work unit relative to the user's grip.
Further, the length of the cables 412 / 412' pulled out of the machine can be adjusted to suit the type of exercise which the users have to perform, and according to the distance from the machine required by the exercise.
Looking in more detail, the length of the cable 412/412' that can be pulled out of the machine can be adjusted by making the cable follow a path such that, on leaving the lower pulley 410, it winds one or more times around a corresponding pulley 419, mounted on idle rollers on the upright 403 and then proceeds along the path described above towards the upper pulley 409 and from there to the opposite actuator.
With this solution, each turn around the pulley 419 corresponds to a reduction of the active length of the cable 412/412', that is to say, the extent to which the cable can be pulled out of the machine using the opposite actuator 414a,b and 415a,b.
According to another characteristic of the machine, the upper pulleys 409 are mounted in a protective guard 427 and are connected to a dynamo 423 which powers a lamp 422 located above the user work positions 413.
When the lamp switches on, it provides an indication of the speed at which the exercise is being carried out and may also constitute a performance target to be achieved.
In addition, the base 401, which must normally have a certain weight to guarantee machine stability, may consist of a hollow container 426 equipped with a filler opening 425, so that the machine itself is relatively light for transportation purposes but, once positioned, can be weighted down by filling the container with liquid (or sand or other suitable material) to increase the stability of the machine during use. To facilitate handling, the machine of Figure 4 may also be equipped with wheels 424 fitted to the edge of the base 401 slightly off the ground so as to touch the ground only if the upright 403 is tilted to enable it to be moved from one place to another.
In the embodiments described above, an additional resistant force, consisting, for example, of traditional weights, may be applied to one or both sides of the machine besides the alternate active /resistant force applied by the users. This would compensate for excessive differences in strength between the two users.
By way of example, Figures 3a and 3b schematically illustrate a machine according to the invention in which a set of weights P, variable in number and composition according to requirements, is applied to one of two user positions.
In the embodiment of Figure 3a, the weights are positioned close to one of the actuators 3, so as to increase the resistant force applied to the other actuator.
In Figure 3b the weights P are applied to one of the two actuators by means of an additional system of cables 24 and pulleys 22.
Looking in more detail at the embodiment illustrated in Figure 3b, the pulleys of the additional system have two grooves so that the actuator concerned is connected to the other actuator through a first cable 24 passing around one groove in the pulleys 22 and to the weight stack P through a second cable passing around the other groove in the same pulleys.
Obviously, the weight stack P may be varied according to requirements and may be applied to one or both user positions.
Figure 3b also shows a load cell CC advantageously applied to a point 29 where one of the pulleys 22 is fixed to the frame 1.
In this case, the load cell is applied to the point where the pulley located at the centre of symmetry is attached to the frame but it may be fitted at any other suitable position.
This solution offers the advantage of measuring the load in a structurally and functionally simple manner.
The invention described has evident industrial applications and can be subject to modifications and variations without thereby departing from the scope of the claims.