Exercise apparatuses and methods of using the same
First Claim
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1. An exercise footwear apparatus, comprising:
- a self-expanding sole assembly movable between an expanded configuration and a compressed configuration, the sole assembly comprising;
a lower sole portion;
an upper sole portion movable with respect to the lower sole portion; and
an expansion mechanism configured to allow the self-expanding sole assembly to begin to collapse an appreciable amount after a user steps onto the self-expanding sole assembly and after a substantial portion of the user'"'"'s weight is supported by the sole assembly, and the expansion mechanism is configured to expand the sole assembly after removal of the substantial portion of the user'"'"'s weight, wherein the expansion mechanism does not provide an appreciable propelling force as the user steps off a support surface, and wherein the expansion mechanism is configured to provide a resistive force that controls collapse of the sole assembly; and
wherein a magnitude of the propelling force, if any, is less than about 50% of a maximum magnitude of the resistive force.
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Abstract
An exercise apparatus includes a pair of step-up apparatuses wearable on feet of a user. Each step-up apparatus is configurable between an expanded configuration and a compressed configuration to simulate a selected motion when the user wearing the pair of step-up apparatuses travels by foot. One of the step-up apparatuses moves towards the expanded configuration while the other step-up apparatus moves towards the compressed configuration.
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Citations
29 Claims
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1. An exercise footwear apparatus, comprising:
a self-expanding sole assembly movable between an expanded configuration and a compressed configuration, the sole assembly comprising; a lower sole portion; an upper sole portion movable with respect to the lower sole portion; and an expansion mechanism configured to allow the self-expanding sole assembly to begin to collapse an appreciable amount after a user steps onto the self-expanding sole assembly and after a substantial portion of the user'"'"'s weight is supported by the sole assembly, and the expansion mechanism is configured to expand the sole assembly after removal of the substantial portion of the user'"'"'s weight, wherein the expansion mechanism does not provide an appreciable propelling force as the user steps off a support surface, and wherein the expansion mechanism is configured to provide a resistive force that controls collapse of the sole assembly; and wherein a magnitude of the propelling force, if any, is less than about 50% of a maximum magnitude of the resistive force. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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8. An exercise device comprising a sole assembly configured to support a user, the sole assembly including
a lower sole portion; -
an upper sole portion; and a self-expanding actuating mechanism configured to prevent the sole assembly from collapsing an appreciable amount until a substantial portion of the user'"'"'s weight is supported by the sole assembly, wherein the sole assembly has a first state of operation to provide a first rate of collapse and a second state of operation to provide a second rate of collapse after the actuating mechanism has partially collapsed at the first rate of collapse, the second rate of collapse is substantially greater than the first rate of collapse, and wherein the actuating mechanism includes at least one elongated member pivotally coupled to the upper sole portion and the lower sole portion. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11)
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12. An exercise system, comprising:
a pair of step-up apparatuses wearable on feet of a user, each step-up apparatus configurable between an expanded configuration and a compressed configuration to simulate a selected motion when the user wearing the pair of step-up apparatuses travels by foot, at least one of the step-up apparatuses including a sensor, a controller communicatively coupled to the sensor, the controller being configured to command the at least one step-up apparatus to keep the at least one step-up apparatus from collapsing an appreciable amount until most of the user'"'"'s weight is supported by the at least one step-up apparatus, the controller is programmed to begin to collapse the at least one step-up apparatus based on at least one signal from the sensor, and an expansion mechanism configured to allow the step-up apparatus to begin to compress an appreciable amount after a user steps onto the step-up apparatus, wherein the expansion mechanism is configured to expand the step-up apparatus after removal of a substantial portion of the user'"'"'s weight, and wherein the expansion mechanism does not provide an appreciable propelling force as the user steps off a support surface and is configured to provide a maximum resistive force that controls collapse of the step-up apparatus; and wherein a magnitude of the propelling force, if any, is less than about 50% of a maximum magnitude of the resistive force. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
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24. An exercise footwear apparatus, comprising:
a sole assembly comprising; a lower sole portion; an upper sole portion movable towards the lower sole portion to move the sole assembly from an expanded configuration to a compressed configuration; and a mechanism configured to prevent an appreciable amount of collapse of the sole assembly until after a substantial portion of a user'"'"'s weight is supported by the sole assembly, and the mechanism is configured to expand the sole assembly after removal of the substantial portion of the user'"'"'s weight, wherein the mechanism does not provide an appreciable propelling force as the user steps off a support surface and is configured to provide a maximum resistive force that controls collapse of the sole assembly, and wherein a magnitude of the propelling force, if any, is less than about 50% of a maximum magnitude of the resistive force. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
Specification