Apparatus for human strength-training

Abstract

Current resistance strength-training machines for humans that use structural links and hinges to transfer resistance to muscles constrain the resisted range of motions of the bones of the body's limbs and trunk at their skeletal joints to one rotational degree of freedom. Alternatively, current strength-training cable-and-pulley machines limit biomechanical movements to two rotational axes against vector-resultant resistance. Unconstrained, the humerus, for example, rotates at its shoulder joint in three directions: pitch, yaw, and roll. Similarly, the radius and ulna can rotate at their elbow joint in two directions: pitch and roll. This invention creates a class of resistance strength-training machines that will provide greater efficiency and effectiveness during exercise by allowing the simultaneous combination of any pair of, or all of, pitch, yaw, and roll motions, each resisted separately, of a single bone or group of bones, such as the vertebrae, primarily about a connected, projected, or virtual skeletal joint.

1 . A class of resistance strength-training exercise apparatus that, by virtue of independent mechanical motions, distributed application of resistance, and constrained exercise motion paths, isolates, allows, and resists separately, neither as a force or moment vector component nor as a resultant of other applied forces or moments, each of two or more independent, or mutually exclusive, pitch, yaw, or roll motions, whether simultaneous or sequential, of a skeletal bone, or group of bones, of one limb of, or of the trunk or neck of the human body primarily about a single connected, projected, or virtual skeletal joint comprising: 
 a structural framework that mounts to, or rests upon, the floor; and    one or more mechanical rotation and/or linear or planar-curvilinear translation joints, and structural links that are supported by the structural framework; and adjustable constant or variable, shared or independently-distributed resistance(s) to rotation and/or linear or planar-curvilinear translation of the mechanical joints through passive means, such as by weights, friction, or magnetic effect, or active, as by powered, devices; and    mechanisms to allow the human user to rotate or translate respectively the mechanical rotation joint or functionally-equivalent linear, or planar-curvilinear, translation joint(s) independently against said resistance or multiple resistance loads; and    a first mechanical rotation joint or functionally-equivalent linear, or planar-curvilinear, mechanical translation joint(s) whose respective axis/axes of rotation or linear or planar-curvilinear translation is/are in a first direction; and    a mechanism to allow one skeletal bone, or group of bones, of a human limb or trunk to rotate about its, or their, connected, projected, or virtual skeletal joint in a first motion whose axis of rotation is parallel to, or has a vector component parallel to, the axis of rotation of the first mechanical rotation joint or perpendicular to, or projected-perpendicular to, the axis of translation of an alternative first functionally-equivalent translation joint(s) or perpendicular to, or projected-perpendicular to, a tangent to the planar-curvilinear translation of an alternative functionally-equivalent translation joint(s); and    a second mechanical rotation joint, or secondary function of the first mechanical rotation joint such as that of a spherical bearing, whose axis of rotation is in a direction, possibly projected, perpendicular to, projected-perpendicular to, or with a vector component perpendicular, or projected-perpendicular to, the respective axis of rotation of the first mechanical rotation joint or, for the functionally-equivalent alternative case of a second mechanical linear translation joint(s) with its (their) axis/axes of linear or planar-curvilinear translation parallel, or tangent-parallel, to the axis of the first mechanical rotation joint or perpendicular to, projected-perpendicular to, or tangent-perpendicular to, the axis/axes of motion of the first alternative functionally-equivalent mechanical linear or planar-curvilinear translation joint; and    a mechanism to allow said bone or bones of said limb or trunk to rotate simultaneously with its/their first skeletal rotational motion about said skeletal joint in a second skeletal motion whose axis of rotation is parallel to, or has a vector component parallel to, the second machine axis of rotation or, for the case of a functionally-equivalent translation joint(s), perpendicular to, or projected-perpendicular to, its/their second machine axis of translation or perpendicular, or projected-perpendicular, to a tangent(s) to its/their second machine axis of planar-curvilinear translation(s); and    where biomechanically applicable, a third mechanical rotation joint, or tertiary function of the first mechanical rotation joint, such as that of a spherical bearing, whose axis of rotation is in a direction perpendicular to, projected-perpendicular to, or with a vector component perpendicular to, or projected-perpendicular to, the plane or projected plane of said two orthogonal axes of rotation of the said mechanical rotation joints, or for the functionally-equivalent alternative case of a third mechanical linear or planar-curvilinear translation joint(s), whose axis/axes, or tangent axis/axes, of translation is/are parallel to the said plane of the perpendicular, or projected-perpendicular, axes of rotation of the said first and second mechanical rotation joints, or perpendicular to, or projected-perpendicular to, the axis of a rotation of a first mechanical rotation joint and parallel to the axis of translation of a second mechanical translation joint; and    where biomechanically applicable, a mechanism to allow said bone, or bones, of said limb to rotate about said skeletal joint in a third motion whose axis is parallel to, or has a vector component parallel to, the third axis of said mechanical rotation or perpendicular to, or projected-perpendicular to, the third axis of said mechanical translation    A class of strength-training exercise apparatus as claimed in  claim 1  further comprising:    an integrated or an alternative means to allow simultaneous or sequential rotations of two similar human skeletal bones, or group of bones, of opposing limbs, one on each side of the body, each about its respective proximate connected or virtual skeletal joint; and    a possible mechanical means to distribute independently or to share mutually all or any sources of rotational resistance between the two said opposing skeletal bones or group of bones; and    a possible integrated or alternative means to isolate all rotational resistance alternately or exclusively to one or both of said skeletal bones, or group of bones, of said limbs; and    ergonomic body supports to facilitate the performance of exercise by the user through use of the apparatus; and a possible means to guide the skeletal motion of the user along an ideal exercise path.