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US 8,986,179 B2Granted
Exercise apparatus for working core muscles
AssigneeP & L GmbH & Co. KG
InventorLouis G. Cares
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An exercise apparatus used to work core muscles such as one's abdomen, obliques, and lower back. The exercise apparatus includes a framework, a leg brace, and a waist support. In some embodiments, the leg brace is motorized, the waist support is motorized, or both the leg brace and the waist support are motorized.
Claims15
An exercise apparatus, comprising:
- a framework that includes a first side frame and a second side frame;
- a waist support connected to said first and second side frames and extending from said first side frame to said second side frame to thereby support a user between said side frames in a horizontal position relative to a ground surface upon which the framework is situated such that the user may be suspended by the waist support in the horizontal position above the ground surface along a longitudinal axis that is generally parallel to the ground surface;
- said waist support including at least one movable element permitting the user to rotate about the longitudinal axis relative to the first and second side frames, wherein said at least one movable element comprises a belt looped at said first and second side frames;
- a leg brace connected to said framework and being spaced from said waist support along the longitudinal axis, said leg brace being configured such that, when the user is supported by the waist support in the horizontal position with the user's legs passing under the leg brace, the leg brace engages the user's legs at a location on the user's legs opposite the ground surface to thereby prevent upward movement of the user's legs;
- and
- at least one drive mechanism operatively connected to at least one of said leg brace or said waist support, wherein, upon actuation of said at least one drive mechanism, said at least one drive mechanism transmits movement to said at least one of said leg brace or said waist support, and the movement is transferred to the user via said at least one of said leg brace or said waist support, and the user's body is turned to different exercise positions.
3 more elements
An exercise apparatus, comprising:
- a framework having a first side frame and a second side frame located on an opposite side of said framework with respect to said first side frame;
- a waist support including a belt and at least one drive mechanism, said belt looped at said first and second side frames and extending laterally between said first and second side frames to thereby support a user between said side frames in a horizontal position relative to a ground surface upon which the framework is situated such that the user may be suspended by the waist support in the horizontal position above the ground surface along a longitudinal axis that is generally parallel to the ground surface, and said at least one drive mechanism interconnected with said belt in order to transmit movement to said belt when said at least one drive mechanism is actuated;
- and
- a leg brace connected to said framework and being spaced from said waist support along the longitudinal axis, said leg brace being configured such that, when the user is supported by the waist support in the horizontal position with the user's legs passing under the leg brace, the leg brace engages the user's legs at a location on the user's legs opposite the ground surface to thereby prevent upward movement of the user's legs;
- wherein, in use, the user is supported in the horizontal position only by engagement of the user's lower torso and legs with the exercise apparatus such that the user can rotate about the longitudinal axis without support of the user's upper torso by the exercise apparatus.
2 more elements
An exercise apparatus, comprising:
- a framework having a first side frame and a second side frame located on an opposite side of said framework with respect to said first side frame;
- a leg brace connected to said framework;
- and
- a waist support connected to said framework and located longitudinally away from said leg brace, said waist support including a first roller, a second roller, and an endless belt, said first roller connected to said first side frame, said second roller connected to said second side frame, and said endless belt looped around said first and second rollers and traversing laterally across said framework between said first and second side frames such that a user may be supported by said belt between said side frames in a horizontal position relative to a around surface upon which the framework is situated;
- wherein said belt has a width such that, when in use, said belt engages the user only at the user's waist section;
- and
- wherein, in at least one exercise position, a backside of the user's legs bears against said leg brace and a frontside of the user's waist bears against said endless belt, and in this position a frontside of the user's body is generally directed toward the ground surface.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.