Liquid-Filled Exercise Device with Variable Grip for Balance Training
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing exercise devices fail to effectively engage smaller muscle groups of the forearms and hands while providing a full range of motion and balance training, often requiring additional weights or stability devices, and lack versatility and safety features.
Innovation Solution
A spherical exercise device with a moldable, non-rupturable thermoplastic polymer outer membrane filled with destabilizing liquid, featuring integrated handles and knobs for grip strengthening, and adjustable straps for secure attachment to the user's body, allowing for dynamic exercises without additional weights and providing unpredictable inertia for balance training.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If standard handles are used in exercise devices, then ease of holding is improved, but engagement of smaller muscle groups of forearms and hands is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different handle designs with varying surface areas and shapes to target specific muscle groups. Larger handles engage forearm muscles while smaller knobs or grips engage hand muscles, creating local quality variations that selectively recruit different muscle groups based on grip size and shape.
Solution Approach 2:
The exercise device is segmented into multiple grip options including handles, knobs, and grips of different sizes. This segmentation allows users to select specific grip types to target particular muscle groups, enabling independent engagement of hand and forearm muscles through varied grip configurations.
2Weight of moving object
If water is used as filler in exercise devices, then weight can be adjusted and storage volume reduced, but device stability increases due to internal baffles or gel formation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a dynamic fluid filler that changes state or movement characteristics during exercise. The fluid can shift, slosh, or change viscosity in response to motion, providing dynamic instability that challenges balance and coordination while maintaining adjustable weight through fluid volume control.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes physical parameters of the filler material, such as temperature, viscosity, or phase state, to modulate its stabilizing effect. By adjusting these parameters, the device can transition between more stable and less stable states, allowing control over both weight and stability characteristics during different exercise phases.
3Device complexity
If water filled balls without handles are used, then simplicity is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to difficulty in handling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the simplicity of a water-filled ball with integrated handle structures. The handles are incorporated directly into the ball design, combining the stability and adjustability of fluid-filled devices with the ease of handling provided by attached grips, eliminating the need to choose between simplicity and operability.
4Stability of the object's composition
If arms are occupied holding water filled ball, then balance training is improved, but ability to engage in other training activities is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the support function by providing multiple attachment options including body straps and positioning systems that distribute the device across different body parts. This allows users to secure the device without occupying both arms, freeing them to perform activities requiring hand usage while maintaining balance training benefits.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables effective engagement of smaller muscle groups, full range of motion, and balance training with reduced stress on joints, while being cost-effective, versatile, and safe for various exercises and rehabilitation phases.
Implementation Method 1
providing unpredictable inertia for balance training
Implementation Method 2
moldable, non-rupturable thermoplastic polymer outer membrane
Data Source
AI summary
An exercise device having a water-tight, interior compartment into which a destabilizing liquid can be added to fill the device to a desired weight, such as by indicated on weight marks provided on an exterior surface of the exercise device. The device is capable of being filled with the destabilizing liquid via a water port of the device, which may be releasably securable to a water hose or faucet. The destabilizing liquid filling the interior compartment of the exercise device provides resistance to muscular movement and provides destabilization of the device as an aid in improving a user's balance and coordination. Handles and/or at least one protruding knob are provided on the exterior surface of the exercise device, and/or padded straps are provided on the exterior surface of the exercise device for attaching the device to the user's limbs or back. One side of the device may be flattened and padded to increase comfort for the user when the device is attached to the user's body.