Wrist exerciser

• US 5,800,311 A
• Filed: 12/03/1997
• Issued: 09/01/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 07/25/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nano-Second Technology Co Limited (Nano-Second Technology)
• Original Assignee: P. S. Chuang
• Inventors: Chuang, P. S.
• Primary Examiner(s): RICHMAN, GLENN E
• Application Number:
  US08/984,043
• Time in Patent Office: 272 Days
• Field of Search: 482/1, 482/2, 482/4, 482/5, 482/44, 482/45, 482/49, 482/50, 482/92, 482/106, 482/108, 482/135-137, 482/902, 601/23, 601/33, 601/40
• US Class Current: 482/44
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2071/0625 Emitting sound, noise or music
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 21/005 using electromagnetic or electric force-resisters
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 21/22 Resisting devices with rotary bodies A63B21/0608 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 21/222 by overcoming gyroscopic forces, e.g. by turning the spin axis
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 23/03508 For a single arm or leg, A63B21/0726 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 23/14 for wrist joints
• CPC Class Codes: F21L 13/06 with mechanical drive, e.g. spring
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 33/008 Leisure, hobby or sport articles, e.g. toys, games or first-aid kits; Hand tools; Toolboxes
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2115/10 Light-emitting diodes [LED]

Abstract

A wrist exerciser includes a spherical hollow casing having a top opening and a bottom opening. A ring is received within the casing and substantially coincident with a great circle of the casing and concentric with and rotatable about a first axis of the casing. A rotor is received within the ring and rotatably supported on the ring, having a central bore coaxial with and rotatable about a second axis of the casing that is substantially normal to the first axis. The rotor has a circumferential groove formed on the outer surface thereof with light emitting diodes (LEDs) equally spaced therein. A magnet is also disposed in the groove. The central bore of the rotor is partitioned into chambers which cause sound during the rotation of the rotor. A generator includes a ring magnet fixed to the ring and coaxial with the second axis and two coils fixed to the rotor and corresponding to the ring magnet for generating electrical current to power the LEDs during the rotation of the rotor by cutting through magnetic line of force of the ring magnet. A counter is attached to the bottom opening of the casing, including a proximity detector actuateable by the magnet in the groove and a photo sensor actuateable by the light of the LEDs which respectively detect the rotations of the rotor at different speed ranges. A rope is windable around the groove via the top opening of the casing for driving the rotor to rotate.

Claims

1. A wrist exerciser comprising a spherical casing having a first axis and a second axis substantially perpendicular to each other, a ring received within the spherical casing to be concentric with and rotatable about the first axis with respect to the casing and a spherical rotor received within the ring and having a rotational axis co-linear with the second axis to be rotatable about the second axis with respect to both the casing and the ring, the rotor having an outer surface on which a circumferential groove is formed with a driving hole formed in the groove, a flexible rope having a rigid end receivable in and engageable with the driving hole. The flexible rope being windable around the outer surface of the rotor along the groove through a top opening formed on the casing so that the rotor is driven to rotate about the second axis by pulling to unwind the rope from the rotor, light generation means mounted on the rotor to emit light during the rotation of the rotor.

2. The wrist exerciser as claimed in claim 1, wherein the light generation means comprises electrically driving lighting elements disposed in the groove and electrical generator means which supplies an electrical current to the lighting elements.

3. The wrist exerciser as claimed in claim 2, wherein the generator means comprises at least one coil of conductive wire fixed on the rotor to be in electrical connection with the lighting elements and a magnet fixed to the ring and having magnetic line of force, the magnet being positioned corresponding to the coil so that the rotation of the rotor moves the coil to cut through the magnetic line of force of the magnet and thus induce an electrical current in the conductive wire of the coil which is supplied to light the lighting elements.

4. The wrist exerciser as claimed in claim 3, wherein the generator means comprises two coils provided on two opposite sides of the rotational axis of the rotor.

5. The wrist exerciser as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a counter for detecting the rotation of the rotor and counting rotation turns of the rotor.

6. The wrist exerciser as claimed in claim 5, wherein the casing comprises a bottom opening and wherein the counter comprises a surface which is attached to the bottom opening of the casing, the surface having a photo sensor mounted thereon to be corresponding to the light generation means and actuateable by the light emitted by the light generation means so as to obtain the rotation turns of the rotor, the counter comprising a display to show number of the rotation turns.

7. The wrist exercise as claimed in claim 5, wherein the casing comprises a bottom opening and wherein the counter comprises a surface which is attached to the bottom opening of the casing, the surface having a proximity detector mounted thereon to be corresponding to and actuateable by a magnet fixed in the groove of rotor so as to obtain the rotation turns of the rotor, the counter comprising a display to show number of the rotation turns.

8. The wrist exerciser as claimed in claim 5, wherein the casing comprises a bottom opening and wherein the counter comprises a surface which is attached to the bottom opening of the casing, the surface having a photo sensor mounted thereon to be corresponding to the light generation means and actuateable by the light emitted by the light generation means so as to obtain the rotation turns of the rotor in a first range of rotational speed of the rotor, the counter further comprising a proximity detector mounted on the surface thereof to be corresponding to and actuateable by a magnet fixed in the groove of the rotor so as to obtain the rotation turns of the rotor in a second range of the rotational speed of the rotor, the speed of the second speed range being smaller than that of the first speed range, the counter comprising a display to show number of the rotation turns.

9. The wrist exerciser as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rotor comprises a central bore substantially co-axial with the central axis of the rotor with at least one partition plate fixed therein to divide the bore into a plurality of chambers serving to generate a sound during the rotation of the rotor.

10. The wrist exerciser as claimed in claim 9, wherein the rotor has at least two partition plates intersecting each other along the central axis fixed in the central bore thereof to divide the bore into a plurality of chambers serving to generate a sound during the rotation of the rotor.

11. The wrist exerciser as claimed in claim 9, wherein each of the chambers comprises a weight block fixed therein.

12. The wrist exerciser as claimed in claim 2, wherein the lighting elements comprise light emitting diodes.

13. The wrist exerciser as claimed in claim 2, wherein the lighting elements emit lights of different colours.

14. The wrist exerciser as claimed in claim 2, wherein the light generation means comprises four lighting elements equally spaced along the groove.

15. A wrist exerciser comprising a spherical casing having a first axis and a second axis substantially perpendicular to each other, a ring received within the spherical casing to be concentric with and rotatable about the first axis with respect to the casing and a spherical rotor received within the ring and having a rotational axis co-linear with the second axis to be rotatable about the second axis with respect to both the casing and the ring, the rotor having an outer surface on which a circumferential groove is formed with a driving hole formed in the groove, a flexible rope having a rigid end receivable in and engageable with the driving hole, the flexible rope being windable around the outer surface of the rotor along the groove through a top opening formed on the casing so that the rotor is driven to rotate about the second axis by pulling to unwind the rope from the rotor, a counter being provided to count the rotations of the rotor about the second axis.

16. The wrist exerciser as claimed in claim 15, wherein the casing comprises a bottom opening and wherein the counter comprises a surface which is attached to the bottom opening of the casing, the surface having a photo sensor mounted thereon to be corresponding to a light generation device mounted within the groove for generating a light and actuateable by the light emitted by the light generation device so as to obtain the rotation turns of the rotor, the counter comprising a display to show number of the rotation turns.

17. The wrist exercise as claimed in claim 15, wherein the casing comprises a bottom opening and wherein the counter comprises a surface which is attached to the bottom opening of the casing, the surface having a proximity detector mounted thereon to be corresponding to and actuateable by a magnet fixed in the groove of rotor so as to obtain the rotation turns of the rotor, the counter comprising a display to show number of the rotation turns.

18. The wrist exerciser as claimed in claim 15, wherein the casing comprises a bottom opening and wherein the counter comprises a surface which is attached to the bottom opening of the casing, the surface having a photo sensor mounted thereon to be corresponding to a light generation device mounted within the groove for generating a light and actuateable by the light emitted by the light generation means so as to obtain the rotation turns of the rotor in a first range of rotational speed of the rotor, the counter further comprising a proximity detector mounted on the surface thereof to be corresponding to and actuateable by a magnet fixed in the groove of rotor so as to obtain the rotation turns of the rotor in a second range of the rotational speed of the rotor, the speed of the second speed range being smaller than that of the first speed range, the counter comprising a display to show number of the rotation turns.

19. The wrist exerciser as claimed in claim 18, wherein the light generation device comprises electrically driving lighting elements disposed in the groove and electrical generator means which supplies an electrical current to the lighting elements.

20. The wrist exerciser as claimed in claim 19, wherein the generator means comprises at least one coil of conductive wire fixed on the rotor to be in electrical connection with the lighting elements and a magnet fixed to the ring and having magnetic line of force, the magnet being positioned corresponding to the rotor so that the rotation of the rotor moves the coil to cut through the magnetic line of force of the magnet and thus induce an electrical current in the conductive wire of the coil which is supplied to power the lighting elements.