WO1999039775A1

WO1999039775A1 - Device for exercising while doing office work, watching tv, etc.

Info

Publication number: WO1999039775A1
Application number: PCT/US1998/009618
Authority: WO
Inventors: William Rovinsky; Ilya Zborovsky
Original assignee: William Rovinsky; Ilya Zborovsky
Priority date: 1998-02-04
Filing date: 1998-05-09
Publication date: 1999-08-12

Abstract

This invention is a device for exercising while doing office work, having a rigid frame (108) mountable on a central column of a chair, having a plurality of exercising elements (114, 118) connected with the rigid frame, and engaged by a user for exercising corresponding parts of a user's body.

Description

Device for Exercising While Doing Office Work Watching TV etc

Description

Field of Invention

The present invention relates to a device for exercising, in particular for such a device which can be used for exercising while doing office work in an office, watching TV at home, etc

Background Art

It is well known that exercising is very important for maintaining persons health, and many exercising devices have been developed Usually the exercising devices used outside home are separate devices which are located in special exercising places, etc Even home exercising devices are separate devices designed and arranged so that a user has to use the exercising device and can not simultaneously sit on a sofa, a chair, etc It is therefore believed that it is advisable to develop such an exercising device which can be used when a user does his office work while sitting on a chair when a user watches TV sitting on a chair at home, etc One of such devices is disclosed in our U S patent no 5 599,760 It is believed that these devices can be further improved SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of present invention to provide an

exercising device which is an improvement of existing devices.

In keeping with these objects and with others which will become

apparent hereinafter, one feature of present invention resides, briefly stated,

in an exercising device which has a member cooperating with a chair and the like, and at least one elastic stretchable element attachable to said member and graspable by a user so as to stretch the stretchable element and

therefore to exercise.

In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, the

member is formed as a flexible strap member which is attachable to the chair

and the like.

In accordance with another embodiment the member is formed as a central column of a chair, and a plurality of exercising elements are connected with an extending form said rigid frame so as to be engaged by

a user and provide exercising for a user

When the device is designed in accordance with the present - mvention it is easily mountable on a office chair in an office so that a person can do his officework while exercising, on a regular home chair so that a person can sit on the chair and watch TV while exercising, etc

In accordance with a further embodiment with the member is formed a seat placeable on a seat of a chair, etc , and provided with exercising means

When the exercising device is designed in accordance with this feature it can be placed on a seat of a chair, etc , then the user sits on the device and exercises with corresponding exercising means

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the present invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings

Brief Description of the Drawings

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an exercising device in accordance with the present invention with a user using it on a chair having a central column

Figure 1a is a view substantially corresponding to the view of Figure 1 but showing the exercising device on a chair with legs,

Figure 2 is an exploded view of the inventive exercising device,

Figure 3 is a view substantially corresponding to the view of Figure 1 but showing another modification of the inventive exercising device,

Figures 3a and 3b are perspective views showing the chair of the inventive exercising devices in accordance with two embodiments,

Figures 4 and 5 are front views showing the inventive exercising device mounted on a chair,

Figures 6 and 7 are views showing details of the inventive exercising device

Figures 8 8a and 9 are views showing a further embodiment of the inventive exercising device Figures 10 and 11 are views showing a device for exercising

two legs,

Figures 12 and 13 are views showing a storing unit for the

exercising device;

Figure 14 is a view schematically showing another modification of a device for exercising mounted on a chair in a perspective view with a

user during exercising;

Figure 15 is a perspective view of the exercising device of figure 14 in accordance with the present invention,

Figure 16 is an enlarged view of a mounting frame of the inventive exercising device of Figure 14;

Figure 17 is a view showing a further embodiment of the exercising device in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 18 is a perspective view of an exercising device of another embodiment in an operative condition arranged on a chair with a

user using the device, Figure 19 is a side view of the inventive exercising device of

Figure 18

Figure 20 is a detail of Figure 2 on an enlarged scale,

Figure 21 is a rear view of the exercising device of Figure 18,

Figure 22 is a plan view from the above of the inventive exercising device of Figure 18,

Figure 23 is a view of the inventive exercising device of Figure 18 from below,

Figure 24 is a view showing the exercising device of Figure 18

in a folded, inoperative position,

Figure 25 is a perspective view showing the unfolded inventive exercising device of Figure 18 on a chair and

Figure 26 is a perspective view of the unfolded inventive

exercising device without the chair Best Mode of Carrying Out the Invention

As can be seen from Figures 1 and 1a, an exercising device in accordance with the present invention can be arranged on a chair having a central column as well as on a chair having four legs

An exercising device in accordance with present invention includes a flexible strap element which is identified with reference numeral 1 it has one end which can be formed in a loop 2 connected by a connecting structure for example a velcro connection, a pin or the like The exercising device further has an elastic stretchable element 4 formed for example as a stretchable cord The elastic element 4 has a first end 5 which is passed through the free end of the strap element 1 It also has an opposite end provided with a handle 6 and the like The exercising device can have several such sets of elements

As can be seen from Figure 1 the loop 2 of the strap element 1 is fitted on a central column of a chair and extends from the central column outwardly, while the stretchable element 4 extends even further A user can grasp the handle 6 and stretch the stretchable element 4 so as to exercise his hand On the other hand, the user can pass his foot into a loop 7 provided on another elastic element 4 and roll it on a roller on the floor and the like so as to exercise his foot While in the embodiment of Figure 2 each strap element has its own stretchable element, in the embodiment of Figure 3 there is one strap element 1 and a plurality of stretchable elements 4' provided with handles 7', 6' Therefore when the strap element is fitted on the central column, all elastic elements 4' with the handles 6', 7' can be utilized by a user for exercising

As can be seen from Figure 4, the strap elements are located under a seat part of the chair and the elastic elements can be pulled upwardly by a user sitting on the chair After the use the elastic elements can be detachably attached to a lower surface of the seat of the chair, for example by a velcro connection 9 including one part glued to the lower surface of the chair and another part connected with the handle 6 and engageable with the first part by interengaging hooks and loops, as well known in the art

As can be seen from Figure 6, the strap element is adjustable as to its length For this purpose, it is passed through a buckle 10 having a plurality of openings and its free end is moved farther or closer relative to the buckle 10 Therefore the length of the strap element can be adjusted as needed so that the flexible element is located beyond the seat part of the chair As can be seen from Figure 7 the elastic element 4 can be attached to the handle 6 by providing several layers at the end of the loop of the elastic element and then fixing them together

Figures 8, 8a and 9 show the exercising device attachable to a chair which has no central column In this case, the strap elements 11 can be wound around the legs of the chair, and the elastic stretchable elements 12 are connected with the strap elements A central axle 13 can be provided at the bottom surface of the chair and connected with it for example by strips 14 The strap elements can be attached to the central axle, for example by nuts This way the exercising device can be used also for chairs without the central column

As can be seen from Figure 10, the exercising device can be provided for exercising two legs It has a main belt 21 which can be wound around the central column and fixed by a buckle 22 and two elastic elements 23 formed for example as elastic tubes and connected with the belt The free end of the elastic element 23 are connected each with a supporting platform 24 which can roll on a roller 25 and has a foot receiving receptacle 26 The user can insert both feet in the receptacles 26 and support them on the platform 24 and thereafter stretch the elastic elements 23 by rolling the units 24 25 26 on the floor and the like As shown in Figures 12 13, as well as Figures 3a and 3b, a receiving element 31 can be mounted on the central column by a tie-wrap having a plurality of slots The receiving element 31 is cup-shaped and upwardly open After the exercising, the elastic elements and the handles or foot receiving elements can be introduced and stored in the receiving element 31

An exercising device in accordance with present invention has show in Figures 14-16 a rigid frame each identified as a whole with reference numeral 101 The frame 101 has two wall plates 102 and 103 which are adapted to be located at two opposite sides of a central column 104 of a chair and rigidly connected with one another, for example by screws 105 extending through the corresponding openings of the wall plates 102 and 103 and provided with nuts One of the wall plates 103 is a part of a substantially rectangular member which has another wall plate 106 fixedly connected with a wall plate 103 by transverse plates 107 Therefore, a rigid and sturdy rectangular structure 103 106 107 is formed It is necessary to support the exercising elements which will be explained in detail later on

The exercising elements attached to the frame 101 include two rod elements 108 extending through the frame or more particularly through its wall plates 102 103 and 106 and fixed for example by screws Therefore, -l ithe rods 108 are firmly and non-flexibly connected with the frame 101 The rods 108 have a horizontal part and a vertical part A telescopable bracket with two rods 109 insertable into the vertical parts of the rods 108 is provided with a neck exercise element 110 at its upper end The neck exercising element 110 is an elastic element, while the rods 109 of the bracket and/or the vertical parts of the rods 108 are substantially springy A user can abut his neck against the exercising element 110 and deflect the rods 109, 108 backwardly with overcoming a resistance to the user's neck Therefore, the user's neck is exercised

The exercising device further has a lumbar support 111 which can be formed as an elastic, for example plastic foam roller The roller 111 is connected by an oval connecting element 112 with the vertical parts of the rods 108 In the operative position shown in Figure 14, the lumbar support 111 is located on the front surface of the back part of the chair for supporting a lumbar area of the user, so that a user can rest against the lumbar support 111 , and also exercise by compressing it with the user's back The parts of the element 112 can be connected with the upper parts of the rods 108 by loops which firmly but movably embrace the upper parts of the rods 108, to adjust the vertical position of the lumbar support 111 by moving the element 111 up or down The device further has two hand exercising elements including elongated substantially horizontal bars 113 connected with the frame 101 and provideo at their ends with handles 114 which are connected with the bar 113 by an elastic cord 115 or the like When a user holds the handles 114, he can stretch the elastic cords 115 so as to exercise his arms The handles 114 can be mounted on further bars 113' telescopably connected with the bars 13 to adjust the horizontal length of the structure 113, 113' and to be accommodated to any chair.

The device further has a leg exercising element including an elastic cord 116 connected with the mounting frame 101 and provided at its free end with a loop 117 formed for introducing a foot and mounted on a roller 118 A user can put his foot into the loop and stretch the cord 116 while rolling the loop with the foot on the roller 118, thus exercising its leg as disclosed in our patent no 5,599,260 As can be seen of from the drawings, the bars 113 are connected with the transverse plates 107 of the rectangular member of the mounting frame, while the cord 116 is connected with the front wall part 106

Figure 17 shows a further embodiment of the exercising device The frame here is identified with reference numeral 101' and fixed to a box under the seat of the chair for example by screws Horizontal bars 113' are telescopably connected with the frame 101 ' The elastic cord 115' are connected with the bars 113' and carry the handles 114'

In this construction the bars 113' can move horizontally so as to reach the edges of the seat, and thereby when a user pulls the cord 115' they do not interfere with the seat of the chair

An exercising device in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention shown in Figures 18-26 is composed of two parts including a seat part 201 and a back part 202 The seat part 201 has a lower surface provided with a projection 203 When the seat part is arranged on a seat of a chair, it rests on the projection 203 and therefore can swing relative to a vertical axis on the projection so that portions of a peripheral edge of the seat part 201 move closer toward an upper surface of the chair seat or farther from it An elastic element 204 is further arranged under the seat part 201 and extend completely or partially over its periphery It can be held within a rounded projection 205 at the edge of the seat part 201 and for example glued to its inner surface Therefore when the seat part 201 swings on the projection 203, a corresponding portion of the elastic element 204 is compressed or relaxed When a user puts its weight onto the corresponding portion of the peripheral area of the seat part 201 and therefore onto a corresponding portion of the elastic element 204, he exercises his body correspondingly

The back part 202 of the exercising device is connected with the seat part 201 by a hinge 206 which can be formed as a conventional

hinge including interengaging portions of the parts 201 and 202 with a pin surrounded by the interengaging portions, as well known in hinges An

elastic lumbar support 207 is connected with the back part 202 In particular,

it is connectsd to the part 202 by a hinge so that it is turnable and also so that it can move upwardly and downwardly in Figure 18 For this purpose,

the hinge which connects the lumbar support 207 with the seat part 202 can slide vertically in a guide provided in the part 202 The back part 202 is provided with an opening 208 In the position shown in Figure 20 in solid

lines the lumbar support 207 is located behind the rear surface of the back

part 202, while in the position shown in broken lines, the lumbar support 207

is lifted upwardly, then turned through the opening 208 and is located at the front surface of the back part 202 so as to form a lumbar support for a user sitting on the seat part 201 The lumbar support can be formed as elastic

roller for exercising by compressing the roller

As shown in Figure 21 rod members 209 are arranged at the

rear side of the back parts 202 Each rod includes an immovable rod part which is fixed to the rear surface of the back part 202 and a movable part which is telescopably movable in the immovable rod part A neck support 210 is mounted on the upper end of the movable rod part 209 At least the portion of the rod can be formed springy When a user applies a pressure by his neck against the neck support 210, the rod members 209 can bend and at the same time exert a certain resistance to the user's neck for exercising purposes Either the movable rod part and/or the immovable rod part can be springy

A plurality of exercising elements for exercising legs and hands are further provided as shown for example in Figure 23 These exercising elements include at least two hand exercising elements each having an elastic cord 211 and a handle 212 When a user takes a handle 212 and stretches the cord 211 , he exercises his hands Each elastic cord is connected to a side area of the seat part 201 and extends through a small groove The connection can be performed by any means, such as screw, a pin, etc

The exercising elements further includes one leg exercising element with a stretchable elongated cord 213 and a loop 215 for insertion of a foot and arranged on a rotatable roller 216 The loop 215 with the rotatable roller 216 is disclosed in our previous patent 5,590,266 When a user inserts its foot into the loop 215 and rolls the loop 215 with the foot on the roller 216 on a floor and the like, he performs corresponding exercising of his leg The cord 214 can be connected to the seat part 201 similarly to the cord 211 and extend through the groove

In the assembled position shown in Figure 24, the leg and hand exercising elements are inserted into an inner hollow of the seat part 201 in a space which is not occupied by the elastic element 204 and then the back part 202 is turned around and covers the seat part 201 from below

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of constructions differing from the types described above

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a device for exercising while doing office work, watching tv etc, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention

Without further analysis the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims

Claims

C L A I M S

1 A device for exercising while doing office work watching TV, etc , comprising a member cooperating with a chair and the like, and a plurality of exercising elements connected with said member and engageable by a user so that said exercising element can be engaged and used for exercising when a user sits on the chair and the like

2 A device as defined in claim 1 , wherein said member is a flexible star element attachable to a part of the chair and the like, said exercising elements being formed as an elastic stretchable element which can be stretched by a user for exercising

3 A device as defined in claim 2 and further comprising a plurality of such elastic stretchable elements each connected with said flexible strap element 4 A device as defined in claim 2, wherein said strap element includes a plurality of strap members said elastic stretchable element includes a plurality of elastic stretchable element, each of said elastic stretchable elements being connected with a respective one of said strap members, each of said strap members being fittable on the central column of the chair and the like

5 A device as defined in claim 2, and further comprising means for adjusting a length of said strap element and including a buckle through which said strap element is passed, so as to adjust its length

6 A device as defined in claim 2, wherein said elastic stretchable element has a handle and an end connectable with said handle and provided with several layers fixed with one another in said handle

7 A device as defined in claim 2 wherein said strap element has a portion which is fittable around a central column of the chair and the

like 8 A device as defined in claim 2 wherein said strap element has a portion which is fittable on a leg of the chair and the like

9 A device as defined in claim 8, wherein said strap element has a plurality of strap members fittable on the legs of the chair and the like

10 A device as defined in claim 9, and further comprising a central member fixable to a lower surface of the chair and the like, said strap members being connectable with said central member

11 A device as defined in claim 1 , wherein at least one of said stretchable elements includes a leg exercising element having a stretchable member with one end connected with a chair and another end having a member engageable by a foot and a roller on which said member engeable by the foot together with the foot is rollable on a floor surface and the like 12 A device as defined in claim 1 and further comprising another elastic stretchable element both said stretchable elements being provided with foot receiving members mounted on a foot supporting platform and rolling on a roller

13 A device as defined in claim 1 , and further comprising means for receiving and storing said elastic stretchable elements after the use

14 A device as defined in claim 13, wherein said means is formed as a receptacle mountable on a central column of the chair

15 A device as defined in claim 14 wherein said receptacle is cup-shaped and upwardly open 16 A device as defined in claim 1 wherein said member is formed as a rigid frame mountable on a central column of a chair or the like, said exercising elements being connected with said rigid frame and engageable by a user for exercising of corresponding parts of a user's body

17 A device as defined in claim 16, wherein said rigid frame has two wall parts adapted to be arranged at opposite sides of the central column and fixedly connected with one another so as to be fixed on the central column

18 A device as defined in claim 17, wherein one of said wall parts is formed as a substantially rectangular fixed member including a third wall part connected with said one two first-mentioned wall parts by transverse wall parts so as to form a rigid rectangular structure

19 A device as defined in claim 16 wherein at least one of said exercising elements includes a neck exercising element, said neck exercising element including a substantially springy member having one end connected with said rigid frame and another free end provided with a neck supporting element so that a user can press his neck against a neck supporting element to deflect said springy member against a resistance from said springy member to the user's neck

20 A device as defined in claim 19, wherein said substantially springy member is telescopably extendable in a vertical direction

21 A device as defined in claim 16, wherein said exercising elements include a lumbar supporting element provided with a connecting element connected with said frame and adapted to go around a back of a chair so that said lumbar support is located at a front side of the back of the chair and a user's can abut against said lumbar supporting element 22 A device as defined in claim 21 wherein said connecting element is vertically adjustable relative to said frame

23 A device as defined in claim 16, wherein at least one of said exercising elements is formed as a hand exercising element including a stretchable member having one end connected with said fixed frame and another end provided with a handle graspable by a user so as to stretch said stretchable element

24 A device as defined in claim 23, and further comprising a connecting element which connects said stretchable member with said frame and which is horizontally adjustable

25 A device as defined in claim 16 wherein at least one of said exercising elements includes a leg exercising element having a stretchable member with one end connected with said fixed frame and another end having a member engageable by a foot and a roller on which said member engeable by the foot together with the foot is reliable on a floor surface and the like

26 A device as defined in claim 16, wherein said frame has means for attaching to a box under a chair seat and is provided with horizontally αisplaceable telescopable elements each connected with a respective one of said exercising elements

27 A device as defined in claim 1 , wherein said member is formed as a seat part adapted to be placed on a seat of the chair or the like, said seat part having a projection extending downwardly so that when said projection rests on an upper surface of the seat of the chair the seat part can swing, and an elastic element located at a lower side of said seat part so that when said seat part swings said elastic element is compressed and relaxed depending on an area of application pressure under the action of a user's weight sitting on said seat part 28 A device as defined in claim 27 wherein said elastic element extends over at least a portion of a periphery of a lower surface of said seat part and around said projection

29 A device as defined in claim 27 wherein said seat part has a peripheral edge which is bent downwardly so as to at least partially surround said elastic element

30 A device as defined in claim 1 , wherein said exercising elements are connected with said seat part

31 A device as defined in claim 30, wherein said exercising elements include a hand exercising element 32 A device as defined in claim 31 wherein said hand exercising element includes an elastically stretchable cord-like member and a handle connected to its free end

33 A device as defined in claim 30, wherein said exercising element include a leg exercising element

34 A device as defined in claim 33, wherein said leg exercising element has a first end connected with said seat part and a second end provided with a handle

35 A device as defined in claim 27 and further comprising a back part which is pivotally connected with said seat part and is turnable relative to said seat part between an inoperative position in which said back part closes said seat part as coextensive with said seat part and an operative position in which said back part extends substantially perpendicular to seat part so that a user can sit on said seat part and support his back against said back part

36 A device as defined in claim 35, and further comprising a lumbar supporting element connected with said back part

37 A device as defined in claim 36, wherein said back part has an opening, said lumbar supporting element being movable through said opening between an inoperative position which is located behind a rear surface of said back part and an operative position in which is located in front of said back part in said operative position of said back part so as to provide a lumbar support for a user 38 A device as defined in claim 35 and further comprising a neck exercising element connected with said back part for exercising a user neck and back

39 A device as defined in claim 38, wherein said neck exercising element includes a neck supporting element and at least one springy rod connected with said back part in a springy fashion so as to bend under the action of a pressure applied by a user's neck and then at the same time to apply a resistance to the user's neck

30 A device as defined in claim 39, wherein said rod like element is telescopable and includes two rod parts telescopably movable relative to one another between a folded position in which said rod parts are inserted into one another and an operative position in which they are withdrawn from one another so as to lift said neck supporting, element to a level of the user's neck