Hand and finger exerciser

Abstract

A hand and finger exerciser comprising a parallel bar inner frame slidably supported for reciprocating movement within the plane of an outer frame to which one of the crossbars of the inner frame is anchored by a plurality of rubber bands. A sleeve rotatably mounted on the opposite parallel crossbar of the inner frame is adapted to be gripped by four fingers of the user's open hand whose palm and thumb engage the adjacent bar of the outer frame. The sleeve rotates as the user closes his hand and thus facilitates natural movements of the fingers for optimum therapeutic exercising of tendons and muscles of the hand and forearm. The uniformly transversely spaced rubber bands are looped over adjacent bars of the inner and outer frames and the ends of each band are looped over an anchor pin on the outer frame for easy removal or attachment by the user without special tools. The inner frame as well as the rubber bands and anchor pins are disposed inside the outer frame, thus resulting in a compact mechanism.

I claim: 
     
       1. A hand exerciser comprising an outer frame having a pair of longitudinally spaced cross bars,   an inner frame supported on and within said outer frame for reciprocative movement in a common plane and having a pair of longitudinally spaced cross bars,   one of the cross bars of said inner frame having a rotatable finger grip thereon,   tensioning means coupling the other cross bar of the inner frame to the adjacent cross bar of the outer frame, and   a plurality of transversely spaced anchor means mounted on one of said coupled cross bars substantially across the width of the inner frame,   said tensioning means comprising a rubber band for each of said anchor means, each of said bands being looped around the other of said coupled bars and having its opposite ends looped over the same anchor means.     
     
     
       2. The exerciser according to claim 1 in which said one of the cross bars is a cylinder with a predetermined diameter, said finger grip comprising a cylindrical sleeve having a diameter slightly greater than said predetermined diameter. 
     
     
       3. The exerciser according to claim 1 in which said anchor means abut the other of said coupled cross bars at one limit of movement of the inner frame relative to the outer frame, said bands being in tension when the inner frame is at said limit of movement. 
     
     
       4. The exerciser according to claim 3 in which the outer frame cross bar opposite said adjacent cross bar has a flat outer surface, and friction means on said surface. 
     
     
       5. A hand exerciser comprising an outer rectangular frame having longitudinally spaced cross bars and laterally spaced posts secured to and spacing said cross bars apart,   an inner frame having longitudinally spaced cross bars and laterally spaced side posts between said first named side posts and secured to and spacing said inner frame cross bars apart, said inner frame cross bars having aligned openings therein through which said side posts of the outer frame extend, whereby the inner frame is reciprocally movable longitudinally within said outer frame,     tensioning means for elastically coupling an outer frame cross bar to the adjacent cross bar of the inner frame,   a plurality of laterally spaced pegs mounted on one of said coupled cross bars between and parallel to the outer frame posts,   said tensioning means comprising an endless rubber band for each of said pegs, each of said bands being looped around the other of said coupled cross bars with opposite ends of the band anchored on the same peg,     the inner frame cross bar opposite the coupled bar of the inner frame being cylindrically shaped and having a predetermined diameter,   a cylindrical sleeve rotatably mounted on said cylindrically shaped cross bar whereby the user's fingers on said sleeve tend to roll therewith around the latter cross bar when the hand is closed and opened.   
     
     
       6. The exerciser according to claim 5 with at least three pegs and bands uniformly spaced across the span between the side posts of the outer frame, said pegs abutting the adjacent cross bar at one limit of movement of the inner frame, said bands being in tension when the inner frame is at said limit of movement. .Iadd. 7. A hand exerciser comprising an outer frame having a pair of longitudinally spaced cross bars with one cross bar adapted to fit in the palm of the hand, an inner frame supported on and within said outer frame for reciprocative movement in a common plane, said inner frame having means defining a pair of longitudinally spaced cross bars, a single elongate, cylindrical, rotatable finger grip carried by said inner frame and mounted for free rotation about the axis of the one of the defined cross bars of said inner frame adjacent said one cross bar of the outer frame,   tensioning means coupling the other cross bar of the inner frame to the other cross bar of the outer frame, and   a plurality of transversely spaced individual discrete anchor and stop means mounted on one of said coupled cross bars,   said tensioning means comprising  at least one elastic band looped around the other of said coupled bars and having its ends anchored to said discrete anchor means, said anchor and stop means serving to limit the travel of the inner frame and prevent impact of the other cross bar of the inner frame against the elastic band. .Iaddend..Iadd. 8. A hand exerciser comprising an outer rectangular frame having longitudinally spaced cross bars one of which is adapted to fit in the palm of the hand and laterally spaced posts secured to and spacing said cross bars apart,   an inner frame having longitudinally spaced cross bars and laterally spaced side posts between said first named side posts, said side posts of said inner frame supporting said inner frame cross bars in spaced apart relation, said inner frame cross bars having openings therein through which said side posts of the outer frame extend, whereby the inner frame is reciprocally movable longitudinally within said outer frame,     a single cylindrical sleeve freely rotatable about the one of the cross bars of said inner frame adjacent said one of the cross bars of the outer frame to form a grip to be grasped within all the fingers of a user's hand,   tensioning means for elastically coupling the other outer frame cross bar to the other cross bar of the inner frame,   a plurality of laterally spaced pegs mounted on one of said coupled cross bars between and protruding toward said adjacent cross bar,   said tensioning means comprising at least one elastic band, said elastic band being looped around the other of said coupled cross bars with the ends thereof anchored to the pegs, said pegs additionally serving to limit the travel of the inner frame to prevent impact of the other cross bar of the inner frame against said at least one elastic band. .Iaddend.