Orbital resistance-adjustable sphere exercising apparatus
First Claim
1. An orbital resistance-adjustable sphere exercising apparatus comprising:
- a) a sphere cradle having a base that includes a means for supporting three evenly-spaced sphere friction pads,b) a sphere that is supported by the three sphere friction pads and having an upper inner-pole cavity,c) means for adjusting the friction that is equally applied to said sphere by the three sphere friction pads, andd) a telescoping pole assembly comprising;
(1) an inner pole having an upper end and a lower end, wherein the lower end is inserted into the inner-pole cavity on said sphere and attached thereto by an attachment means,(2) an outer pole having an upper end and a lower end, wherein the lower end is slidably inserted over the inner pole and retained thereon at a selectable height by a height adjusting means, and(3) an articulated handle attached by an attachment means to the upper end of the outer pole, wherein the combination of the handle, telescoping pole assembly and the friction produced by said sphere allows several exercising routines encompassing a full range-of-motion to be performed.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An orbital resistance-adjustable sphere exercising apparatus (10) that is designed to allow several exercise routines to be performed through several planes and range-of-motion at selectable friction levels. The apparatus (10) consists of four major elements: a sphere cradle (12), a sphere (116), a set of three sphere friction pads (42, 54, 94) and a telescoping pole assembly (126). The sphere cradle (12) includes a base (14) that has attached three sphere support frames (32, 52, 92) that are evenly spaced and that each have attached the friction pads (42, 54, 94) that interface with and support the sphere (116). The sphere cradle (12) also includes a sphere friction adjusting rod (104) that when rotated clockwise the three sphere support frames (32, 52, 92) simultaneously extend inward allowing the friction applied by the three friction pads (42, 54, 94) to the sphere (116) to increase. Likewise, when the rod (104) is rotated counter-clockwise the applied friction is reduced.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. An orbital resistance-adjustable sphere exercising apparatus comprising:
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a) a sphere cradle having a base that includes a means for supporting three evenly-spaced sphere friction pads, b) a sphere that is supported by the three sphere friction pads and having an upper inner-pole cavity, c) means for adjusting the friction that is equally applied to said sphere by the three sphere friction pads, and d) a telescoping pole assembly comprising; (1) an inner pole having an upper end and a lower end, wherein the lower end is inserted into the inner-pole cavity on said sphere and attached thereto by an attachment means, (2) an outer pole having an upper end and a lower end, wherein the lower end is slidably inserted over the inner pole and retained thereon at a selectable height by a height adjusting means, and (3) an articulated handle attached by an attachment means to the upper end of the outer pole, wherein the combination of the handle, telescoping pole assembly and the friction produced by said sphere allows several exercising routines encompassing a full range-of-motion to be performed. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. An orbital resistance-adjustable sphere exercising apparatus comprising:
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a) a sphere cradle comprising; (1) a base having an equilateral triangular shape, a lower surface, an upper surface, a plurality of base mounting bores, a first truncated apex, a second truncated apex and a third truncated apex, (2) a first sphere support frame having a lower edge in alignment with the lower surface of the base, an upper edge, and a first sphere friction pad opening located adjacent the upper edge, wherein the first sphere support frame is fixedly attached by an attachment means to the first truncated apex, (3) a first sphere friction pad having an inner concave surface and an outer surface having a protrusion dimensioned to be inserted and frictionally held within the first sphere friction pad opening, (4) a second sphere support frame having a lower edge in alignment with the lower surface of the base, an upper edge, and a second sphere friction pad opening located adjacent the upper edge, wherein the second sphere support frame is fixedly attached by an attachment means to the second truncated apex, (5) a second sphere friction pad having an inner concave surface and an outer surface having a protrusion dimensioned to be inserted and frictionally held within the second sphere friction pad opening, (6) a first side panel fixedly attached by an attachment means between the first sphere support frame and the second sphere support frame, (7) a second side panel having a first edge fixedly attached by an attachment means, to the first sphere support frame and a second edge that terminates at a first edge of the third truncated apex, (8) a third side panel having a first edge fixedly attached by an attachment means to the second sphere support frame and a second edge that terminates at a second edge of the third truncated apex, (9) a cross-member attached inward and across the second edges of the second and third side panels respectively, with the cross-member having an inner surface and an outer surface, with the inner surface having a bolt-head retaining cavity that interfaces with a bolt bore extending therethrough, (10) a pressure adjusting threaded bolt inserted into the bolt bore, with the bolt head captively held within the bolt-head retaining cavity and the threaded section of the bolt extending outward from the plane of the third truncated apex, (11) a third sphere support frame having a lower edge in alignment with the lower surface of the base between the second edges of the second and third side panels, an upper edge, a third sphere friction pad opening located adjacent the upper edge and a bolt bore in alignment with the threaded bolt, (12) a third sphere friction pad having an inner concave surface and an outer surface having a protrusion dimensioned to be inserted and fricitonally held within the third sphere friction pad opening, (13) a washer inserted into the threaded section of the pressure adjusting threaded bolt, (14) a sphere friction adjusting rod having an inner surface and an outer surface, wherein the inner surface having a threaded cavity that is threaded into the threaded section of the pressure adjusting threaded bolt, with the inner surface interfacing with the washer, wherein when the rod is rotated clockwise, the third sphere support frame moves inward, thus allowing the three sphere friction pads to simultaneously extend inward and each apply an equal inward pressure, likewise;
when the rod is rotated counter-clockwise the equal inward pressure is reduced,b) a sphere having a vertically-centered, combination bore and cavity comprising an upper inner-pole cavity followed sequentially downward by a bolt bore and a bolt head cavity, c) a telescoping pole assembly comprising; (1) an inner pole dimensioned to be inserted into the upper inner-pole cavity on said sphere, said inner pole having an upper end and a lower end, with the lower end having a threaded bore that accepts a threaded bolt inserted through the bolt bore on said sphere, (2) an outer pole dimensioned to be slideably inserted over the inner pole, said outer pole having an upper end and a lower end, (3) means for retaining the outer pole at a selectable height with respect to the inner pole, and (4) a handle attached to the upper end of the outer pole by a handle attachment means, wherein when the handle is grasped, the combination of said telescoping pole assembly and said sphere allow several exercising routines encompassing a full range-of-motion to be performed. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification