Abdominal exercise equipment

Abstract

To provide an abdominal muscle training machine which allows training of abdominal muscles to be performed simply and can stably apply laterally equal loads to the abdominal muscles.SOLUTION: A support base 2 and a presser 3 connected to the top ends of right and left guide rods 5 provided upright side by side on the support base 2 are arranged facing vertically, with coil springs 4 interposed between the support base 2 and the presser 3. An abdominal muscle training machine 1 allows a user to perform abdominal muscle training by pressing the presser 3 toward the support base 2 by an action of making the chest and the thighs approach each other. In such a constitution, only a space to be seated is required to simply perform the abdominal muscle training, and the presser 3 can be moved vertically in parallel with the support base 2 by the right and left guide rods 5, which suppresses occurrence of right and left bias of the loads to the abdominal muscles.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an abdominal muscle exercise device for training abdominal muscles. [Background technology]

[0002] Many abdominal muscle training devices have been proposed. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a device that includes a slide post with left and right grips at the upper end, a thigh positioning member through which the slide post is inserted so as to be movable up and down, and a compression spring that urges the slide post upward relative to the thigh positioning member. The user can train their abdominal muscles by pressing down on the grips while holding the thigh positioning member between their thighs. Furthermore, by switching the grips between the upper and lower ends of the slide post, it is possible to train not only abdominal muscles but also arm strength and chest muscles. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Utility Model Registration No. 3171341 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the conventional configuration of Patent Document 1 mentioned above, the grips protrude to the left and right from support portions provided at the upper end of the slide post, and the force applied to the left and right grips acts on the compression spring via the slide post. Therefore, it is desirable to apply force as evenly as possible to the left and right grips. However, since there is often a difference in muscle strength between the left and right sides of a person, the force is easily biased to one side. In particular, with conventional configurations in which the grips are grasped, the influence of arm strength is likely to cause a bias to the left and right. Repeated application of such biased force causes a misalignment in the vertical operating direction, which leads to a problem of a bias in the load on the abdominal muscles.

[0005] The present invention proposes an abdominal muscle exercise device that can stably apply an equal load to the abdominal muscles on both sides. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present invention provides an abdominal muscle exercise device comprising: a support base body; left and right guide rods arranged side by side on the support base body and capable of expanding and contracting in the vertical direction; a pressure body connected to the upper ends of the guide rods and disposed above the support base body facing the support base body; and one or more coil springs interposed between the support base body and the pressure body and elastically contracting as the support base body and the pressure body are brought closer together; with the support base body fixed in a predetermined position, the user trains the abdominal muscles by pressing the pressure body toward the support base body with their arms as they bring their chest and thighs closer together.

[0007] In this configuration, the movement of the support base body and the pressure body toward or away from each other occurs along the extension and retraction direction of the left and right guide rods, so the direction of movement is limited to the extension and retraction direction. As a result, even if an uneven force acts on the pressure body, the force can be supported by the left and right guide rods, allowing the pressure body and the support base body to move stably along the extension and retraction direction of the guide rods. Therefore, according to the configuration of this embodiment, the occurrence of misalignment in the operating direction can be suppressed compared to the conventional configuration described above, and the occurrence of an uneven load on the abdominal muscles can be suppressed, allowing for proper abdominal muscle training to be performed stably over a long period of time.

[0008] Furthermore, the configuration of the present invention allows the user to train their abdominal muscles by sitting down and placing the support base body on their thighs and pressing the pressure body with their arms. Thus, the configuration of the present invention allows abdominal muscle training in any space where one can sit. Furthermore, the device is easy to carry, allowing for convenient training.

[0009] In the abdominal muscle exercise device of the present invention described above, a configuration is proposed in which a pair of pressing portions is provided on the upper surface of the pressing body against which the user's arms are pressed, and the coil spring is provided directly below each pressing portion.

[0010] In this configuration, when the user applies force by pressing their arm against the pressing portion, the force can be applied in the direction of the spring's elastic contraction, which further reduces the occurrence of misalignment as in the conventional configuration. Furthermore, the force of the coil spring can be used directly to load the abdominal muscles, allowing for training that makes efficient use of the force of the coil spring. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] The abdominal muscle exercise device of the present invention can prevent misalignment between the pressing body and the support base body, allowing for proper and stable abdominal muscle training. In addition, abdominal muscle training can be easily performed anywhere. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a front view showing an abdominal muscle exercise device 1 according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] 1A is a plan view of an abdominal muscle exercise device 1, and FIG. 1B is a plan view showing the abdominal muscle exercise device 1 with the pressure plate omitted. [Figure 3] 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a pressing member 3 of the abdominal muscle exercise device 1 is pressed down. [Figure 4] 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a state in which the abdominal muscle exercise device 1 is housed inside the cover 41. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The abdominal muscle exercise device 1 of the embodiment is for training the abdominal muscles, and as shown in Figures 1 and 2, it comprises a support base body 2 that is approximately rectangular in plan view, four guide rods 5 each erected at the corners of the support base body 2, approximately rectangular pressure bodies 3 connected to the upper ends of each guide rod 5, and two coil springs 4 interposed between the support base body 2 and the pressure bodies 3.

[0014] The support base body 2 is composed of a rectangular, flat pedestal portion 11 and a rectangular frame-like mounting lower frame portion 12 fixed onto the pedestal portion 11. The mounting lower frame portion 12 is used to mount the guide rods 5 to the pedestal portion 11 and is fixed to the pedestal portion 11. The lower ends of the guide rods 5 are fixed to the four corners of the mounting lower frame portion 12, and each guide rod 5 stands upright. In this way, the four guide rods 5 are arranged parallel to each other at the four corners of the support base body 2.

[0015] The guide rod 5 comprises a cylindrical guide tube portion 15 that opens upward, and a guided rod portion 16 that is inserted into the guide tube portion 15 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction, and the lower end of the guide tube portion 15 is fixed to the lower mounting frame portion 12. The upper portion of the guided rod portion 16 protrudes upward from the guide tube portion 15, and the upper end of the guided rod portion 16 is fixed to the upper mounting frame portion 22 of the pressing body 3. The guide rod 5 is provided with a stopper means (not shown) to prevent the guided rod portion 16 from slipping out upward from the guide tube portion 15.

[0016] The pressing body 3 is composed of a rectangular, flat main plate portion 21 and a rectangular upper mounting frame portion 22 fixed to the underside of the main plate portion 21. The upper mounting frame portion 22 is used to attach the upper end of the guide rod 5 to the main plate portion 21, and is fixed to the main plate portion 21. The upper end of the guided rod portion 16 of the guide rod 5 is fixed to the four corners of the upper mounting frame portion 22. In this embodiment, the main plate portion 21 of the pressing body 3 and the pedestal portion 11 of the support base body 2 have the same rectangular shape in a plan view, and are arranged parallel to each other.

[0017] Furthermore, two circular recessed pressing portions 24 are formed side by side in the left-right direction on the upper surface of the main plate portion 21 of the pressing body 3. These pressing portions 24, 24 are provided at positions symmetrical with respect to the center of the main plate portion 21.

[0018] The two coil springs 4, 4 are arranged side by side, directly below the pressing portions 24, 24 of the pressing body 3. Each coil spring 4 expands and contracts in the vertical direction, with its lower end connected to the upper surface of the pedestal portion 11 of the support base body 2 inside the lower mounting frame portion 12 and its upper end connected to the lower surface of the main plate portion 21 of the pressing body 3 inside the upper mounting frame portion 22. These coil springs 4 position the support base body 2 and the pressing body 3 opposite each other with a predetermined gap in the vertical direction.

[0019] This abdominal muscle exercise device 1 has two guide rods 5 on each side, and two coil springs 4 arranged side by side between the left and right guide rods 5. As described above, the guide rod 5 is configured such that the guide tube portion 15 is fixed to the support base body 2 and the guided rod portion 16 is fixed to the pressing body 3 and is slidable along the longitudinal direction (vertical direction) of the guide tube portion 15. Therefore, the guide rod 5 expands and contracts in the vertical direction as the guided rod portion 16 moves up and down. Furthermore, because the four guide rods 5 are arranged side by side at each of the four corners of the support base body 2 and the pressing body 3, the support base body 2 and the pressing body 3 move in the vertical direction while maintaining a parallel state. With this configuration, by pressing the pressing body 3 downward to compress the coil springs 4, the pressing body 3 can move downward while maintaining a parallel state between the pressing body 3 and the support base body 2. When the force pressing the pressing body 3 downward is released, the pressing body 3 moves upward due to the biasing force of the coil spring 4, while maintaining the parallel state between the pressing body 3 and the support base body 2, and returns to its normal state (original position).

[0020] In the abdominal muscle exercise device 1 of this embodiment, for example, a user seated on a chair can train their abdominal muscles by placing their thighs on the support base body 2 and pressing their left and right elbows against the pressing portions 24 of the pressing body 3 to press downward. When the pressing body 3 is pressed downward against the biasing force of the coil spring 4, the pressing body 3 is moved downward by the guide rod 5 while remaining parallel to the support base body 2. This allows the pressing body 3 to move downward in parallel even if the pressing force applied to the pressing body 3 is uneven between the left and right, thereby preventing uneven loads on the abdominal muscles. Furthermore, in the configuration of this embodiment, the pressing portions 24 on which the user's arms (elbows) rest are provided. This prevents the user's arms from shifting position when pressing the pressing portions 24 downward, making it easier to apply equal force to both the left and right sides. Therefore, the effect of this embodiment, that is, the occurrence of imbalance between the left and right loads on the abdominal muscles, can be further improved.

[0021] Furthermore, in the configuration of this embodiment, the coil spring 4 is disposed directly below the pressing portion 24, so that when pressing the pressing portion 24, the biasing force of the coil spring 4 can be applied directly to the user, allowing the abdominal muscles to be trained efficiently.

[0022] The configuration of this embodiment allows the user to similarly train their abdominal muscles by placing the support base body 2 on the seat of a chair on which they are sitting. Alternatively, abdominal muscle training can be performed similarly by placing the support base body 2 on the thighs or the floor while sitting on the floor. In this way, the abdominal muscle exercise device 1 of this embodiment allows abdominal muscle training anywhere, for example, as long as there is space to sit. Furthermore, it is easy to carry, allowing for convenient abdominal muscle training.

[0023] 4, the abdominal muscle exercise device 1 of this embodiment can also be used housed inside a cushioned cover 41. By using the device housed inside the cover 41 in this way, the support base 2 and the pressing member 3 can be prevented from coming into direct contact with the user's body, thereby reducing the physical strain that would otherwise result from such contact. Furthermore, because the cover 41 covers the entire abdominal muscle exercise device 1, it can also prevent the user's body or clothing from getting caught in the coil spring 4 that expands and contracts during abdominal exercise.

[0024] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and can be modified as appropriate within the scope of the present invention. For example, the dimensions and shapes of the components constituting the abdominal muscle exercise device can be modified as appropriate. Specifically, the support base body and the pressure body may be approximately elliptical, arc-shaped, or U-shaped. In the above-described embodiment, two coil springs are provided, but the number of coil springs is not limited to this and can be changed as appropriate, such as one or three. In the above-described embodiment, four guide rods are provided at each of the four corners of the support base body and the pressing body, but this is not limited to this, and two guide rods may be provided on each of the left and right sides. In the above-described embodiment, a recessed pressing portion is provided on the upper surface of the pressing body, but this is not limiting, and for example, the pressing portion may be formed of a cushioning material attached to the upper surface of the pressing body. Alternatively, the pressing portion may be formed by providing a recess on the upper surface of the pressing body and attaching a cushioning material to the recess. [Explanation of symbols]

[0025] 1. Abdominal exercise equipment 2 Support base 3 Pressing body 4 coil springs 5 Guide rod 24 Pushing part

Claims

1. A support base body; left and right guide rods arranged side by side on the support base body and capable of extending and retracting in the vertical direction; a pressing body disposed above the support base body so as to face the support base body, and to which an upper end of the guide rod is connected; one or more coil springs interposed between the support base body and the pressing body, and elastically compressed when the support base body and the pressing body are brought relatively close to each other; Equipped with This abdominal muscle exercise device allows a user to train their abdominal muscles by pressing a pressure body toward a support base body through the action of bringing their chest and thighs closer together, and when the support base body and the pressure body are close together, the guide rod contracts and the upper and lower ends of the guide rod are positioned between the support base body and the pressure body.

2. The pressing body has a pair of pressing portions on its upper surface against which the user's arms are pressed, 2. The abdominal muscle exercise device according to claim 1, wherein a coil spring is provided directly below each of the pressing portions.

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