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US 8,556,783 B1Granted
Exercise resistance methods and apparatus
OwnerStephen P. Ihli, Mark A. Krullinventors
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An exercise apparatus includes a cable that is extracted from a housing when the extraction force is sufficient to rotate a drum that is rotatably mounted within the housing. A brake material is sandwiched between the drum and a tension band to provide adjustable resistance to rotation of the drum. A knob is rotated to adjust tension in the tension band without affecting tension in the brake material. Indicia on the knob cooperate with indicia on a secondary display member to show changes in the resistance level as the knob rotates through more than one complete revolution relative to the housing.
Claims20
An exercise apparatus, comprising:
- a frame;
- a drum rotatably mounted on the frame for rotation about an axis, wherein the drum defines a circumferential perimeter;
- a tension band disposed about at least a portion of the perimeter of the drum;
- a braking strip disposed between the tension band and the drum;
- a tension adjustment mechanism interconnected between the tension band and the frame, and operable to adjust tension in the tension band without affecting tension in the braking strip, wherein the tension adjustment mechanism includes a bolt rotatably mounted on the frame for rotation about a bolt axis, and a slide block threaded onto the bolt and secured to the tension band;
- and
- a force receiving member operatively connected to the drum, wherein movement of the force receiving member is linked to rotation of the drum, and a re-directional bearing is rotatably mounted on the frame for rotation about a bearing axis, and a flexible cable is interconnected between the force receiving member and the drum, and an intermediate portion of the flexible cable is routed through the re-directional bearing, and an angle of at least ninety degrees is defined between the bolt axis and the bearing axis where the bolt and the flexible cable extend away from the frame.
4 more elements
An exercise apparatus, comprising:
- a frame;
- a drum rotatably mounted on the frame for rotation about an axis, wherein the drum defines a circumferential perimeter;
- a tension band disposed about at least a portion of the perimeter of the drum;
- a braking strip disposed between the tension band and the drum;
- a tension adjustment mechanism interconnected between the tension band and the frame, and operable to adjust tension in the tension band without affecting tension in the braking strip;
- a first resistance display member movably mounted on the frame and linked to movement of the tension adjustment mechanism;
- a second resistance display member movably mounted on the frame and linked to movement of the tension adjustment mechanism, wherein indicia on the first resistance display member and indicia on the second resistance display member cooperate to show a relative resistance setting in response to operation of the tension adjustment mechanism;
- and
- a force receiving member operatively connected to the drum, wherein movement of the force receiving member is linked to rotation of the drum.
6 more elements
An exercise, comprising:
- a frame;
- a drum rotatably mounted on the frame, wherein the drum defines a circumferential perimeter;
- a tension band disposed about at least a portion of the perimeter of the drum;
- a braking strip disposed between the tension band and the drum;
- a tension adjustment mechanism interconnected between the tension band and the frame, and operable to adjust tension in the tension band without affecting tension in the braking strip;
- a knob rotatably mounted on the frame and linked to the tension adjustment mechanism, wherein the knob cooperates with the frame to indicate resistance to rotation of the drum in increments associated with orientation of the knob;
- a force receiving member operatively connected to the drum, wherein movement of the force receiving member is linked to rotation of the drum;
- and
- a resistance display member movably mounted on the frame and linked to the knob, wherein the resistance display member cooperates with the frame to indicate resistance to rotation of the drum in increments associated with rotation of the knob past a point of complete revolution.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.