US2842365A - Physical exerciser - Google Patents

Description

July 8, 1958 w 'r. F. KELLEY 2,842,365

PHYSICAL EXERCISER Filed Feb. 7, 1956 INVENTOR 720M F. KELLEY ATTORNEY Unite States Pate PHYSICAL EXERCISER Thomas F. Kelley, New York, N. 1.

Application February 7, 1%6, Serial No. 564,035,

3 Claims. (Cl. 272-69) This invention relates to exercising devices, and more specifically to new and useful improvements in exercising devices of a type upon which one may tread in simulated walk or run movements; and it is the object of this invention to produce a device of this type upon which one may execute an exercise simulating mans natural walk or run movements and doing so without exerting excess strains that are unnatural to this type of exercise.

Another object of this invention is to produce a more simple, attractive and portable exercising device of this type, which also may be economical to produce, so as to be more available to every household, conveniently presenting to more people the opportunity of partaking of this beneficial type of exercise in privacy.

It is a further object to produce a device that can be used in conjunction with doing other time-consuming things, as carrying on a conversation, listening to the radio, looking at a television program, and so forth.

It is a further object to provide a device of the character described which is simple and inexpensive in construction, light in weight and easily transportable.

It is a further object to produce a device of the character described in which varying degrees of resistance to the bodily movement may be obtained without the need of mechanical adjustment.

In a natural walk or run movement, a treaders body is displaced to a new area by passing over the foots bearing surface, whereas in exercising devices of a treadmill type the treaders body is retained to a small given area and the foots bearing surface moves under the body in a simulated walk or run movement.

In prior devices of the treadmill type, the treading surface is inclined and designed to move under the foot of the user, and generally it takes either the form of an endless belt mounted on rollers or a plurality of rollers laid side by side. In either case, some arrangement is made to adjust the resistance of the movement of the treading surface in order to control the amount of exercise.

In accordance with the invention, it has been found that these difliculties can be overcome by making the treading surface of a suitable shape and immovable, with a properly selected lubricant, so that the foot of the user may slide down over the surface against the sliding resistance, without moving the surface.

It has further been found that the adjustment of the degree of exercise may be obtained without altering the surface if different portions of the surface are of differing inclinations to the horizontal.

The invention accordingly comprises the device hereinafter described and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the treading block with the user and the handles shown in dotted lines; Fig. 2 is similar to Fig. 1, but showing a modification of the treading surface; Fig. 3 is a side elevation; Fig. 4 is an end elevation of a similar device having a modified shape of treading surface; and Figs. 5 and 6 are respectively similar views showing a further modification.

Referring now to Fig. l, the numeral 10 represents the body of the device which may be of general box-like construction except that its upper surface 11 is of upwardly concave cylindrical shape. I have found that the most satisfactory shape is obtained if the cylinder has its axis substantially in alignment with the hip joint of the user, as shown at 12.

For convenience in use, I prefer to mount near one end of the body handles 13 which extend upwardly and at the top downwardly as shown, so as to be readily grasped by the user.

In use, the user will ordinarily wear socks and the surface lll will be coated with a suitable anti-friction lubricant. The lubricant which I have found most satisfactory is powdered borax, which gives just about sufficient friction to make the exercise pleasant at a normal rate of speed.

By reason of the fact that the surface is curved, the user has the choice of climbing up a little further on the hill in front of him, and thereby increasing the strenuousness of the exercises, or of contenting himself with shorter steps for less vigorous action.

As the foot strides toward the bottom and the next step is taken, the rear foot tends to climb slightly on the rear end of the device as the next step is taken forward.

The action we have thus described can be varied from a very mild form to a very strenuous exercise at will. Moreover, since there are no moving parts and since the socks slide noiselessly over the surface, under the influence of the lubricant, the whole action is so quiet that it does not interfere with listening to the radio, television, conversation, or with a persons reading.

In the construction shown in Fig. 2, the from half of the treading surface is in a downwardly inclined plane instead of the cylindrical surface previously described. This permits a somewhat longer stride if desired.

In the construction shown in Figs. 3 and 4, this tread surface is curved slightly downwardly in cross-section in the middle to give it a hollow trough efiect tending to keep the feet from sliding off the outer edges of the body 10, if any particular user finds a tendency to do so.

In Figs. 5 and 6, a further modification is provided to overcome this difiiculty, if the user should find it necessary, and in this device grooves 15 may be cut in the surface 11 tending to hold the feet from sliding sideways.

From the foregoing construction, it will be seen that the device is quite simple to manufacture; that it is quiet because it has no movable parts; and that this degree of exercise can be readily adjusted by climbing higher on the high side of the surface 11 at each step, without the need of any adjusting mechanism.

What I claim is:

1. An exerciser comprising a base structure having a treading surface of substantially the length of a step of a user, said surface being inclined upwardly from the bottom toward each end to form a front and rear portion, and having a slick surface over which the feet of the user may slide, and the surface being such that lines normal to the two portions of the surface intersect substantially at the waist of the user of the device.

2. A device in accordance with claim 1, having handles supported from the base in position to be grasped by the person treading on its surface.

3. An exerciser in accordance with claim 1 in which the treading surface is substantially cylindrical.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 897,722 Day Sept. 1, 1908 1,290,562 Jacquot Jan. 7, 1919 1,406,765 Shackle Feb. 14, 1922

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