Circular sporting article

• US 4,690,401 A
• Filed: 09/30/1985
• Issued: 09/01/1987
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/1984
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Life Environment Research Laboratories
• Original Assignee: Life Environment Research Laboratories
• Inventors: Cho, Shoji
• Primary Examiner(s): Apley, Richard J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bahr, Robert W.
• Application Number:
  US06/781,481
• Time in Patent Office: 701 Days
• Field of Search: 272/93, 272/135, 272/137, 272/141, 272/142, 272/143, 272/68, 267/30, 267/152
• US Class Current: 482/122
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 21/0004 Exercising devices moving as a whole during exercise bar bells or dumb bells A63B21/072; on wheels A63B22/20
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 21/026 Bars; Tubes; Leaf springs A63B21/023 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 21/045 having torsion or bending or flexion element
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 21/4035 for operation by hand
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 21/4043 Free movement, i.e. the only restriction coming from the resistance A63B21/00043, A63B21/072 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2208/12 specially adapted for children
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 23/03508 For a single arm or leg, A63B21/0726 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 23/03533 With separate means driven by each limb, i.e. performing different movements
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 23/12 for upper limbs or related muscles, e.g. chest, upper back or shoulder muscles bench press exercises A63B21/078; for teaching music G09B15/06
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 23/1209 Involving a bending of elbow and shoulder joints simultaneously

Abstract

A circular sporting article comprising a core material in a ring shape made of a long and narrow strip of spring steel and a flexible covering material to cover said circular core material and having an overall diameter approximately corresponding to the shoulder length of a user and a sectional diameter which can be easily grasped by a user, which can be used by adults or children for improving their arm or leg strength or grasping power.

Claims

1. A circular sporting article comprising (a) a core material in a ring shape made of concentric adjacent windings of a long and narrow strip of spring steel having two ends, (b) a flexible covering material to cover said circular core material, (c) at least one fitting fixing the two ends of the strip of spring steel with respect to one another, and (d) at least one fitting slidably holding the concentric windings of the strip of spring steel to allow the windings to slide circumferentially with respect to one another, said article having an overall diameter approximately corresponding to the shoulder length of a user and a sectional diameter which can be easily grasped by a user.

2. A circular sporting article as claimed in claim 1 wherein the carbon content of the spring steel is approximately 0.7% and the spring steel is oil-tempered.

3. A circular sporting article as claimed in claim 1 wherein the spring steel is 0.8-1.0 mm in thickness.

4. A circular sporting article as claimed in claim 1 wherein the spring steel is wound in three layers.

5. A circular sporting article as claimed in claim 1 wherein the spring steel forming core material is slidable in the covering material when the spring steel is deformed.

6. A circular sporting article as claimed in claim 1 wherein the flexible covering material is made of synthetic resin or rubber.

7. A circular sporting article as claimed in claim 6 wherein the rubber is compound rubber made of natural rubber and synthetic rubber.

8. A circular sporting article as claimed in claim 1 having a repulsive power of 3-7 kg.

9. A circular sporting article as claimed in claim 1 wherein the overall diameter is 30-60 cm.

10. A circular sporting article as claimed in claim 1 wherein the sectional diameter is 10-20 mm.

11. The circular sporting article of claim 1 wherein there is one fitting fixing the ends of the strip of spring steel, there are three fittings slidably holding the concentric windings of the strip of spring steel, and the four fittings are symmetrically located around the circumference of the core material.