US3475020A - Rocking platform exerciser - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 28, 1969 E mf T g ii. mm MW E. K. SCHAUERTE United States Patent US. Cl. 272-56 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An exercising appliance includes a pair of curved rockers spanned by a platform upon which a person may stand in various selected positions and rock the appliance back and forth by simulating different walking motions while pushing and pulling with his arms on one of a pair of hand holds extending transversely of the rockers above the platform. Relatively wide upwardly opening entryways between the two hand holds enable easy access to and from the appliance by the aged and the infirmed. Rollers are mounted on axles at each end of the appliance to cushion the rocking motion at the end of each stroke and to facilitate transportation of the appliance from place to place.

This invention relates to an exercising appliance particularly well suited for use by paralytics, rheumatics and semi-invalids for flexing and exercising various body muscles and joints to promote muscle development and reduce stiffness, but also equally useful in a program of general physical fitness to maintain good body condition and reduce excess weight. More specifically, the invention pertains to an exercising appliance of the type which is rocked back and forth on a supporting surface in response to the occupant pushing and pulling on the appliance while shifting his weight in a manner corre lated with the rocking motion.

The general object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved exercising appliance of the above character which lends itself to the performance of a wider variety of more advantageous exercises and which, at the same time, is better adapted for use by persons of differing ages and physical conditions than prior devices of the same general type.

A more specific object is to provide an extremely versatile exercising appliance on which a person in a standing position may place his feet in various selected positions and simulate different walking motions while pushing and pulling with his arms to rock the appliance back and forth.

Another object is to make possible the use of such an appliance in a sitting position as well as a standing position to increase the number of exercises which may be performed and to accommodate persons unable to stand.

Still another object is to construct the appliance in such a manner as to enable a person to enter and leave the appliance without stooping or stepping vertically.

A further object is to facilitate transportation of the appliance between different locations.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred and exemplary embodiment taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a new and improved exercising appliance embodying the novel features of the present invention; and

FIGS. 2 to 6 are schematic side elevational views of the appliance shown in FIG. 1 and illustrating several different ways of exercising with the device.

While the invention has been shown and will be described in some detail with reference to a particular embodiment thereof, there is no intention that it thus be limited to such detail. On the contrary, it is intended here to cover all modifications, alternatives and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

As shown in the drawings, the invention is embodied in an exercising appliance 10 of the type adapted to be rocked back and forth on a floor or other supporting surface by a person occupying the device and imparting the rocking motion by movement of his body. Such an appliance is especially well suited for use by partially paralyzed persons for strengthening impaired muscles and developing improved muscle tone, by persons afflicted with rheumatism for flexing and loosening inflamed joints, and by other persons in need of various types of physical rehabilitation. In addition, the appliance may be used in a day-to-day plan of exercising as an aid in developing a healthy, well-conditioned body and losing excess body weight.

In accordance with the present invention, the appliance 10 is constructed in a novel manner to enable exercising in several different ways so that a person can either perform a number of widely varied exercises to provide allaround physical conditioning or else can perform only one or two exercises best suited to his individual needs or capabilities. Moreover, the appliance is arranged so as to be easily usable by children, elderly persons and persons of limited maneuverability. For these purposes, the appliance includes a pair of arcuately curved rockers 11 interconnected by a substantially arcuate platform assembly 12 on which a person may stand in various and different selected positions. The user may rock the appliance back and forth by sequentially shifting his weight from one leg to another and/or by pushing and pulling on a pair of hand holds 13 and 14 disposed above the rockers. The relative disposition and arrangement of the parts of the appliance are such that wide entryways 15 (FIG. 1) extending downwardly nearly to the level of the floor are formed at each side of the appliance to allow easy access to and from the latter by the aged and the infirmed.

In the present instance, the rockers 11 extend parallel to each other in transversely spaced relation and each is made of a tubular piece of metal bowed vertically along its longitudinal axis to form a downwardly convex central portion 16 (FIG. 1) substantially tangent to the floor and a pair of upwardly extending end portions 17 normally spaced above the floor. While the rockers could be made arcuate in configuration throughout their entire length, it is preferred that short segments near the ends of the rockers be flattened somewhat to give stability to the appliance as it approaches the end of each rocking stroke and thus preclude any possibility of it tipping over endwise.

The platform assembly 12 herein comprises front and back end platforms 18 and 19 and a central platform 20 each formed by a series of tubular bars extending transversely between the rockers 11 and connected to the latter by suitable fasteners. As shown most clearly in FIGS. 1 and 3, the bars of the central platform extend between the arcuate central portions 16 of the rockers and are spaced from each other substantially along the are defined by the rockers. Each of the end platforms is spaced about ten inches from the central platform so that the bars of the end platforms lie between the upwardly extending end portions 17 of the rockers. With this arrangement, the end platforms are disposed above and inclined away from the central platform to facilitate rocking the appliance by a pumping of the legs as will appear more clearly below. It is evident that the platform assembly 12 could be a continuous series of bars or even an arcuately curved metal sheet, but the disclosed construction is preferred because of its ease and economy of manufacture and its lightness of weight.

Herein, the hand holds 13 and 14 are formed by the crossbars of a pair of U-shaped members or supports 22 having substantially upright legs 23 upstanding from the rockers adjacent the extreme ends of the end platforms 18 and 19 and fastened to the rockers 11 by brackets 24. The hand holds 13 and 14 are disposed approximately level with the waist of an adult of average height so that they may be grasped by the hands of a person standing in an upright position with his arms extending downwardly. A crossbar 25 extending between the legs 23 of each support below the main hand hold adds rigidity to the support and also may serve as a hand hold for a child exercising with the appliance. Each support 22 is maintained in its upright position by U-shaped supports or braces 26 formed with legs extending upwardly from the rockers at each side and spanned by crossbars attached to the legs 23. It will be seen that the braces of each pair are spaced longitudinally from each other to define the relatively wide and long entryways in each side of the appliance so that a semi-invalid may move into and out of the same without stepping over longitudinally extending bracing of significant height. To increase the number of exercises possible on the appliance and also to adapt the latter for use by persons unable to stand for long periods of time, a seat 27 extends between the upper portions of one pair of braces and overlies the end platform 19.

As shown most clearly in FIG. 1, the extreme ends of the rockers 11 are connected to each other by transversely extending axles 28 which journal small rubber wheels 29. By lifting one end of the appliance 10, the opposite end may be rolled along the floor on the wheels to facilitate transportation of the appliance between different locations. In addition, the wheels engage the floor as the appliance is rocked back and forth to act as a cushion and to prevent the floor surface from being marred by the ends of the rockers.

Some of the different exercises that can be performed on the appliance 10 are illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 6. As shown in FIG. 1, a person may grasp the forward hand hold 13 and stand with one foot posiitoned on the central platform and his other foot placed on the forward end platform 18. Then, by simulating a walking or pumping motion, i.e., rocking on the feet and flexing and bending the knees and, at the same time, by pushing and pulling on the hand hold, the appliance will be rocked back and forth on the rockers 11. It will be seen that, in this particular exercise, the appliance may be rocked forwardly and rearwardly by first pushing downwardly with the forward leg and then pulling rearwardly on the hand hold. Exerting enough force to touch the rollers 29 at each end of the appliance to the floor produces a substantial flexing of the spine and the knees and requires the forward leg and the arms to push and pull, respectively, in opposition to the occupants body weight.

A reversal of the previous exercise is shown in FIG. 2 in which one foot is placed on the central platform 20 and the other foot is disposed on the back platform 19. In this instance, a substantial push with the arms and shoulders is required to rock the appliance forwardly while rearward rocking is produced primarily by pushing downwardly and rearwardly with the back leg. The motions of the body are essentially the same as in the exercise shown in FIG. 1 except that the arms must exert a greater pushing force. It will be apparent that each of these exercises requires the occupant to bend forwardly and rearwardly about the waist to produce the rocking motion.

Should the occupant desire to exercise his legs to a greater extent, he may assume the position shown in FIG. 3 in which one foot is placed on each of the end platforms 18 and 19. By letting his hands rest freely on the hand hold 13 and relaxing his arms, a person may force his legs to do all of the work of rocking the appliance simply by bending his knees and alternately shifting his weight from one leg to another. This exercise is particularly suitable for strengthening the ankles and for conditioning the calves and thighs.

In contrast, the exercise illustrated in FIG. 4 may be performed when it is desired to force the arms to most of the work thereby to develop the arm biceps and the shoulders. To perform this exercise, the person places both feet on the central platform 20 and pushes and pulls on the hand hold 13 while allowing his body to sway back and forth in unison with the rocking motion of the appliance.

Exercising of the back and lower spine may be achieved most effectively by occupying the appliance 10 as shown in FIG. 5. The person sits on the seat 27 with his feet placed on the forward platform 18 and rocks the appliance back and forth by pushing and pulling on the hand hold 13 with his arms. Such pushing and pulling causes the trunk of the body to bend back and forth about the waist and produces a considerable amount of stress at the base of the spine.

Still another exercise is illustrated in FIG. 6 in which the occupant assumes a sidewise position in the appliance 10 and places both feet on the central platform 20. With his arms extending from the sides of his body and braced relatively stiflly against each of the hand holds 13 and 14, a person may rock the appliance by oscillating his shoulders and swaying sidewise about the waist like a pendulum to shift the weight of his trunk toward alternate end platforms 18 and 19. It is evident that one foot could be placed on one of the end platforms or that the legs could be spread with each foot on an end platform so that the legs also would be exercised.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the new and improved exercising appliance 10 of the present invention, while being extremely simple in construction, lends itself both to an all-around program of physical development and also to a number of specialized exercises particularly beneficial to the handicapped. While only the various positions that may be assumed have been shown in the drawings, it will be realized that the body may be subjected to several different exercises, flexures and stresses in each position by varying the forces exerted by the individual limbs.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an exercising appliance adapted to be rocked back and forth on a supporting surface in various selected Ways to exercise different muscles of a person occupying and rocking the appliance, the combination of, a pair of transversely spaced and elongated rockers, each of said rockers being vertically bowed along its longitudinal axis and having an arcuately curved and downwardly convex central portion normally tangent to the supporting surface and upwardly sloping end portions extending in opposite directions from said central portion and normally spaced above the supporting surface, a platform assembly extending between and rigidly connected to said rockers for supporting a person in a standing position, said platform assembly having a center portion extending between the central portions of said rockers and having end portions disposed above the level of said center portion and being inclined upwardly from the latter, a pair of upright supports upstanding from each one of said rockers with one support of each pair being located adjacent one end portion of its respective rocker and with the other support of each pair being located adjacent the other end portion of its respective rocker, the supports of each pair being spaced longitudinally from each other and defining an upwardly opening entryway extending upwardly from said platform assembly at the respective side of the appliance to facilitate entering and leaving the appliance, and a pair of hand holds extending transversely of the rockers with one of the hand holds being fastened to the supports upstanding from one end portion of the rockers and with the other hand hold being fastened to the supports upstanding from the other end portion of the rockers, each of said hand holds being spaced above said platform assembly and being located intermediate the ends of the rockers in positions to be grasped by the hands of a person standing in a substantially upright position on the center portion of said platform assembly, whereby the appliance may be rocked back and forth by simulating a walking motion While pulling and pushing on at least one of the hand holds.

2. An exercising appliance as defined in claim 1 further including transverse axles extending between the extreme ends of said rockers, and resiliently flexible rollers journaled for rotation on said axles to facilitate transportation of said appliance.

3. An exercising appliance as defined in claim 1 in which each of said hand holds comprises the crossbar of a U-shaped member spanning the rockers and having legs secured to each of the rockers, each of said supports comprising a U-shaped brace having legs secured to one of the rockers and having a crossbar attached to one of the legs of the U-shaped member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner R. W. DIAZ, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

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