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Bar with sliding handgrips for resistance exercise devicesRelated Patent Categories: Exercise Devices, User Manipulated Force Resisting Apparatus, Component Thereof, Or Accessory Therefor, Utilizing Weight Resistance, Handheld Bar With Weight At Each End (e.g., Barbell, Dumbbell, Etc.) Or Component ThereofBar with sliding handgrips for resistance exercise devices description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060276314, Bar with sliding handgrips for resistance exercise devices. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] The present application is a continuation-in-part of copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/691,733, filed Oct. 22, 2003, which has been allowed. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The present invention relates to a resistance exercise device and, more particularly, to a bar having a pair of handgrips slidably mounted thereon, the bar being adapted to be attached to a resistive force such as weights. [0004] 2. Prior Art [0005] Resistance exercise devices are well represented in the art. Perhaps the most common such device is the barbell in which weights are removably attached to opposing ends of an elongate bar. An exerciser grips the bar with both hands and moves the bar and weights through a range of motion against the force of gravity. In most such barbell devices, the handgrips are a knurled or textured portion on the outer surface of the bar and necessarily remain stationary with respect to the bar throughout the movement (repetition). Brasher, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,585,229, discloses an exercising apparatus including a bar having a pair of rings slidably connected thereto. Handgrips for gripping by the hand of the user are positioned within, and rotatably connected to, each of the rings. A cable connects the two rings to one another for maintaining each ring at an equal distance from the end of the bar. The assembly permits the handgrips to both rotate and move laterally during a repetition. A disadvantage of the Brasher device is that the oval bar employed to mount the cable-supporting pulleys upon has a high profile and does not have the familiar appearance and feel of a conventional (stationary handgrips) barbell wherein the bar is not oval but substantially cylindrical. [0006] Dibrowski, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,978,122 discloses a barbell wherein the handgrips are concentrically and slidably mounted on a bar and are free to rotate and slide axially. The axial motion of the handgrips is constrained by laterally disposed springs concentrically mounted on the bar, and by medially disposed stops. The springs are connected to the lateral ends of the handgrips and to the weight bar. The springs are passive centering devices that serve to generally maintain the handgrips equidistant from the center of the bar. In the event the bar tilts during a lift, the lower spring will extend and the higher spring will compress. There is no constraining interconnection of the handgrips to maintain their axial position on the bar equidistant from the center of the bar. Accordingly, due to the compressibility and extensibility of the springs, the Dibrowski device may become unbalanced when the handgrips are not equidistant from the center of gravity of the weighted bar as, for example, when the bar is tilted. [0007] Another barbell-type resistance exercise device wherein the bar includes slidably mounted handgrips is disclosed by Troutman in U.S. Pat. No. 5,152,731. While the Troutman device permits the position of the handgrips to shift in an axial direction during a repetition, as with Dibowski, the handgrips are not interconnected to keep the handgrips equidistant from the center of gravity of the bar. Each grip includes a number of bearings that allow the grip to slide along the bar without resistance. The grips and bar include complementary anti-rotation apparatus that prevents the grips from rotating about the longitudinal axis of the bar. A number of adjustable stop members may also be placed on the bar to limit the axial travel of the grips. It is common for one arm of an exerciser to be stronger (or more fatigued) than the other. As a result, when an exerciser lifts the bar, one hand will lag relative to the other hand during the lift, tilting the bar from the horizontal. While a slight tilt is normally not a problem, with the Troutman device the bar will slide sideways through the handgrips in the direction of the lower hand. This, in turn, shifts more weight over the more fatigued or weaker arm, causing it to drop further and with weight shifted off of the stronger arm, it will rise faster causing a rapidly increasing tilt in the bar. The result is that the Troutman bar can quickly slide to one side causing the lower arm to collapse, cause muscle strain, or even cause the exerciser to fall off of the bench. [0008] Nearly 20 years ago, Pearson, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,535, disclosed an upper body building machine with a pair of linked sliding handles affixed to a bar. The body building machine enables a user to exercise the chest, back shoulders and other upper body muscles. The machine comprises a rigid frame adapted to be disposed upon a supporting surface such as a floor. The frame comprises a bottom, a top, and a pair of spaced-apart, generally parallel sides extending upwardly from the bottom to the top. Each of the sides includes a rigid, elongated guide rod extending between the frame bottom and the frame top. The machine further includes weight bar extending generally horizontally across the machine between the sides; the weight bar being mounted to enable vertical displacement thereof by a user. The direction of travel of the weight bar is constrained by the guide rods. The ends of the weight bar are adapted to be affixed to, and stressed by, suitable weights. The weight bar has a pair of handles coupled to the weight bar. The handles have bearing collar portions coaxially and slidably coupled to the weight bar permitting horizontal movement with respect thereto and twistable portions associated with the collar portions adapted to be grasped by the hands of the user, thereby concurrently permitting generally horizontal hand/arm movement and hand/wrist rotation with up and down vertical displacements of the weight bar. Cables interlinking the handles provide means for synchronizing horizontal movements of the handles along the weight bar. The handgrips (i.e., "handles") are mounted on the bearing collars and are rotatable about an axis that is perpendicular to the axis of the weight bar. The relative angle of rotation of the handgrips with respect to one another is not synchronized which is undesirable for some exercises. The handgrip linking means (cables) are not disposed to abut the weight bar and, accordingly, the structure has an awkward, relatively high profile. Further, the weight bar is not adapted to be free-standing and is adapted for use only with the other structural features of the machine. [0009] Surprisingly, a bar for a resistance-type exercise device combining the most desirable features of prior art exercise bars to provide a bar that overcomes the limitations of each of the prior art bars has not been suggested or disclosed in the art. There remains a need for a bar having slidably mounted handgrips for use with an exercise device wherein the handgrips are either nonrotatable or rotatable only around the axis of the bar, has a low profile and remains balanced throughout the range of motion of an exerciser. SUMMARY [0010] It is an object of the present invention to provide a resistance exercise device and a bar for use with the resistance exercise device. The bar comprises slidably mounted handgrips that are mounted to move only in an axial direction parallel to the long axis of the bar. In a preferred embodiment, the resistance exercise device of the present invention comprises: (a) an elongate bar having first and second ends and a midpoint therebetween; (b) weight attachment means affixed to the bar either adjacent to the first and second ends and disposed equidistant from the midpoint of the bar, or at the middle of the bar, the weight attachment means being operable for removably attaching weights or another resistive force to the bar; (c) first and second handgrips slidably and concentrically mounted on the bar and disposed equidistant from the midpoint of the bar wherein the handgrips are preferably nonrotatable and can be moved on the bar in an axial direction (i.e., parallel to a longitudinal axis of the bar); and (d) handgrip coupling means connecting the first handgrip to the second handgrip, the coupling means being operable for maintaining the first and second handgrips equidistant from the midpoint of the bar when the first and second handgrips are moved in an axial direction. Each of the handgrips may also include adjustable braking means operable for either dampening or preventing the sliding action of the handgrips with respect to the bar. Alternatively, the adjustable breaking means can be affixed, either temporarily or permanently, to the bar such as by clamping, the braking means thereafter being operable for adjustably applying resistance to motion of either the pulleys or the belt(s) without contacting the handgrips. [0011] In another aspect, the present invention provides a method for an exerciser to perform an exercise comprising the steps of: (a) presenting a resistance exercise device as described above; then (b) positioning the exerciser's body with respect to the bar of the resistance exercise device and grasping the first and second handgrips with the exerciser's respective hands; then (c) applying a force to the first and second handgrips with the hands in opposition to the resistive force. The method can be used for performing an exercise selected from the group consisting of bench press, shoulder press, bicep curl, triceps (press-downs or extensions), rows (upright, seated, bent-over or lying), shoulder shrugs, wrist curls, front or lateral raises, pullovers, pull-downs, deadlifts and latissimus contractions. [0012] In a further embodiment, the bar includes floor supporting means and can be used for performing pushups. In yet a further embodiment, the bar includes wall attachment means and can be employed for performing pull-ups. The pull up version can be floor-mounted. In yet a further embodiment, the bar may include floor, wall or machine mounting means with the handgrip(s) replaced by footgrip(s) to perform a variety of exercises including leg presses, leg curls, leg extensions, and various abdominal exercises. [0013] The various embodiments of the invention provide advantages over traditional exercise devices. Since the hands (or legs) are not constrained to fixed paths of motion during exercise movements, more natural exercise movements are possible with the bar of the present invention resulting in reduced joint stress and strain. The sliding handgrips (or footgrips) also provide an increased range of motion during exercise movements thereby exercising more muscle fibers as compared to traditional exercises. New, heretofor unavailable exercise movements and variations are also made possible by the bar of the present invention. Adding variation to routine exercise movements has been proven to stimulate muscle growth. Since the handgrips (or footgrips) remain equidistant from the center of gravity, symmetrical loading of the left and right sides is always maintained during exercise movements. Finally, the ability of the handgrips (or footgrips) on the invention to slide during exercise movements leads to maximum muscle fiber recruitment since additional muscles are needed to stabilize and control a given motion during the exercise movements. [0014] The features of the invention believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. However the invention itself, both as to organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof may be best understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0015] FIGS. 1(a)-(c) are a sequence of drawings illustrating various instantaneous (i.e., "snap-shot") hand positions that may occur during a lifting repetition using an exercise device in accordance with the present invention. [0016] FIG. 2(a) is an elevational view of a bar for performing a resistance exercise in accordance with the present invention wherein the handgrips are slid toward one another and are disposed medially on the bar. [0017] FIG. 2(b) is an elevational view of a bar for performing a resistance exercise in accordance with the present invention wherein the handgrips are slid away from one another in an axial direction and are disposed laterally on the bar. [0018] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional front view of a central portion of a bar for a resistance exercise device in accordance with the present invention showing the disposition of the handgrip bearings. [0019] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the bar and handgrip of FIG. 3 taken along section line 4-4 illustrating the elongate grooves in the outer surface of the bar underlying the handgrip(s). [0020] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a bar for an exercise device in accordance with the present invention with the resistive force attachment means and handgrip removed to expose detail. Continue reading about Bar with sliding handgrips for resistance exercise devices... Full patent description for Bar with sliding handgrips for resistance exercise devices Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Bar with sliding handgrips for resistance exercise devices patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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