OAR-BUFF: A full body exercise system that produces greater benefits than weights or gym machines and doesn't use dangerous potential or kinetic energy

Abstract

A unique full body exercise experience is provided by embodiments that produce user controlled resistance that can be assigned verbally, remotely by electronic means or manually. The embodiments can sense hand and foot location and then automatically change the resistance according to those locations, or by spoken word or programmed time. Exercise resistance can be offered in the three dimensions of space. Muscle groups can be exercised in complementary fashion with movements that fully stress the muscles. Two-movement exercises can be repeated endlessly or complicated ensembles in 3-space can be strung together, all with unlimited, user-defined changes of resistance. Every movement that is possible to perform with free weights or universal gyms is available to the user. Movements that are impossible with weights are easily performed with great safety. There has never been anything like this.

I claim: 
     
         1 . A physical exercise apparatus comprising:
 (a) in combination, at least one element, element  1 , having at least one surface portion, surface  1 , that is in forced, user controllable, frictional contact with at least one other surface portion, surface  2 , of an at least one other element, element  2 , where at least one of said surface portions, being either convex or concave or planar, is selected from the group consisting substantially of a sphere and a cylinder and a cone and a plane, with at least either element  1  or element  2  able to be slidably or rotatably displaced along the interface of the said at least two surfaces, and
 (3) apparatus of  claim 1  further comprising means for a user to manually convey to at least one of said elements in frictional contact an urging effort to slide, rotate or otherwise pass along while in forced contact with a surface of another of said at least one element. 
   (b) apparatus of  claim 1  further comprising in combination, at least elements  1  and  2  being forced together at their said surface portions,  1  and  2 , by at least one effect or device that is selected from the group consisting of magnetism and vacuum and gravitational attraction of a weight and motors and solenoids and piezoelectric materials and pneumatic cylinders and gas pressure and liquid pressure and screws and springs and elastic bands and levers and cams and wedges and equivalents of said at least one effect or device, and
 (5) apparatus of  claim 1  further comprising means for applying or controlling said effect or device, thus facilitating exercise. 
   
     
     
         6 . A method of exercising the body, comprising:
 7. (a) providing at least two elements, each having at least one surface portion in friction-producing contact with at least one surface portion of at least one other of said at least two elements, with at least one of said surface portions able to be slid or rotated or passed along a mutual interface of the said surface portion in contact with it,   8. (b) the apparatus of  claim 6  further comprising providing at least one of said surface portions in forced contact to either be substantially planar or a convex or concave portion selected from the group consisting of sphere and cylinder and cone,   9. (c) the apparatus of  claim 6  further comprising providing that said elements having said surfaces in forced contact have said surfaces held together during exercise by way of at least one effect or device that is selected from the group consisting of magnetism and gravitational force and vacuum and motors and solenoids and piezoelectric materials and pneumatic cylinders and gas pressure and liquid pressure and screws and springs and elastic bands and levers and cams and wedges and equivalents of said at least one effect or device,   10. (d) the apparatus of  claim 6  further comprising inputting information used in controlling said friction-producing forced contact by way of a device selected from the group consisting of speech processor and gyroscope and accelerometer and computer and optical movement sensor and sound detector and brainwave processor and eye movement processor and electrical switch and pressure sensitive resistor and rheostat and capacitance detector and telephone and optical or acoustic ranging/locating system and equivalents thereof,   11. (e) the apparatus of  claim 6  further comprising conveying manually a user's urging to at least one said element of the at least two said elements by way of an implement or construction selected from the group consisting of lever and bar and arbor and crank arm and belt and flexible member under tension and handhold and hand/foot placement zone and foot/ankle attaching device.   Whereby exercise can occur.   
     
     
         12 . A bodily exercise system that can operate in three dimensions and can be controlled automatically, comprising:
 13. The exercise system of  claim 12  wherein at least one surface portion on each of a plurality of elements is held in friction-generating contact with at least one other of said surface portions while there is relative movement between them.
 14. The exercise system of claim  13  wherein at least one of said surface portions is either convex or concave or planar and is chosen from the group consisting of sphere and cylinder and cone and plane. 
 15. The exercise system of claim  13  wherein at least one of the said surface portions is held in contact with at least one other of said surface portions by way of an effect or device chosen from the group consisting of magnetism and vacuum and gravitational force and motors and solenoids and pneumatic cylinders and air cylinders and liquid pressure and screws and levers and cams and springs and elastic bands and equivalents of said effect or device. 
 16. The exercise system of claim  13  wherein at least one of said surfaces of the said at least one element is caused to undergo its said relative movement by an urging device chosen from the group consisting of lever and bar and arbor and crank arm and flexible device under tension and handhold and foot or ankle attachment or zone. 
   17. The exercise system of  claim 12  wherein said automatic control is brought about by at least one device chosen from the group consisting of speech processor and gyroscope and accelerometer and optical movement sensor and computer and cell phone and electrical device and equivalents.
 18. The exercise system of claim  17  wherein said speech processor and computer or equivalent can recognize and carry out commands that are either factory preset or remotely issued or user defined in order to control said friction generated at said surfaces. 
 19. The exercise system of claim  17  wherein said gyroscope, accelerometer or optical movement sensor or equivalent tracks and reports to said computer or equivalent the amount and direction of movement of either said urging device or the at least one said surface. 
 20. The exercise system of claim  17  wherein said automatic control is performed by a computing device or equivalent that utilizes a timing program and/or receives and interprets data from said speech processor or gyroscope or optical movement sensor, said computing device then controlling said effect or device that holds said mated surfaces in various degrees of frictional contact.