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US 2008/0176716 A1Published application
Vertical Lumbar Stretching Machine and Method
OwnerJohn P. Boreninventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A machine and method for conditioning and strengthening the human frame, and particularly the lumbar muscles of the lower back and pelvic region. The user-controlled machine has a single restraint strap which wraps around the user's pelvic region and connects to both sides of a support structure. The single restraint strap may be positioned high or low about the user's pelvic region while the user faces forward, backward, or sideways relative to the support structure. The user causes the single restraint strap to be drawn tightly about the pelvic region, thereby restraining the pelvic region against the support structure. This isolates the lumbar muscles and permits the user to conduct specific lumbar muscle conditioning and strengthening exercises while remaining in an upright position.
Claims20
An exercise machine (10) for stretching the human body comprising,
- a vertical support structure (20) arranged and designed with a vertical contact area (22) to receive a user's pelvic region thereagainst when a user stands upright adjacent to said support structure, said vertical contact area having two vertical sides;
- a single restraint strap (12) having two end portions with one end portion un-releasably connected to a moveably disposed first member (19) of said support structure positioned adjacent to one vertical side of said vertical contact area and with another end portion un-releasably connected to a moveably disposed second member (24) of said support structure positioned adjacent to another vertical side of said vertical contact area, said single restraint strap comprising two sections (15, 17) which couple using a coupling mechanism (11, 13) at a position along said strap between said first and second members;
- said two sections of said single restraint strap being arranged and designed to couple around a user's pelvic region when a user stands upright adjacent to said support structure;
- and
- a support structure actuator (16) connected adjacent to said first and second members and arranged and designed to adjust a vertical height of said first and second members of said support structure by vertically moving said first and second members, said vertical movement of said first and second members also vertically moving said single restraint strap relative to said support structure and to a user when a user stands upright adjacent thereto by moving the two end portions of said single restraint strap;
- whereby, when a user stands upright adjacent to said vertical contact area of said support structure and couples said two sections of said single restraint strap around said user's pelvic region, said user's pelvic region is restrained against said vertical contact area of said support structure by said single restraint strap at said vertical height adjusted by said support structure actuator.
3 more elements
An exercise machine (10) for stretching the human body comprising,
- a vertical support structure (20) arranged and designed with a vertical contact area (22) to receive a user's pelvic region thereagainst when a user stands upright adjacent to said support structure, said vertical contact area having two vertical sides;
- a single restraint strap (12) having two end portions with one end portion un-releasably connected to a moveably disposed first member (19) of said support structure positioned adjacent to one vertical side of said vertical contact area and with another end portion releasably connectable to a moveably disposed second member (24) of said support structure positioned adjacent to another vertical side of said vertical contact area;
- said single restraint strap being arranged and designed to be disposed around a user's pelvic region when a user stands upright adjacent to said support structure;
- and
- a support structure actuator (16) connected adjacent to said first and second members and arranged and designed to adjust a vertical height of said first and second members of said support structure by vertically moving said first and second members, said vertical movement of said first and second members also vertically moving said single restraint strap relative to said support structure and to a user when a user stands upright adjacent thereto by moving the two connected end portions of said single restraint strap;
- whereby, when a user stands upright adjacent to said vertical contact area of said support structure and connects said releasably connectable end portion of said single restraint strap around said user's pelvic region and to said second member, said user's pelvic region is restrained against said vertical contact area of said support structure by said single restraint strap at said vertical height adjusted by said support structure actuator.
3 more elements
An exercise method for stretching the human body comprising the steps of,
- standing a user upright adjacent to a vertical contact area (22) of a vertical support structure (20), said vertical contact area arranged and designed to receive a user's pelvic region and having two vertical sides;
- disposing a single restraining strap (12) around said user's pelvic region, said single restraining strap having two end portions;
- releasably connecting said first end portion to a moveably disposed first member (24) of said support structure positioned adjacent to one vertical side of said vertical contact area, said second end portion being un-releasably connected to a moveably disposed second member (19) of said support structure positioned adjacent to another vertical side of said vertical contact area;
- controlling a support structure actuator (16) connected adjacent to said first and second members to vertically move said single restraint strap to a desired vertical height relative to said user;
- and
- controlling a support structure actuator (26) connected adjacent to said first and second members to horizontally move said first and second members and said first and second end portions connected thereto away from said user, thereby tightly restraining said user's pelvic region against said vertical contact area at said desired vertical height.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.