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Gymnastic machine

Gymnastic machine description/claims

The present invention relates to a gymnastic machine for training a given first body region. In particular, the present invention relates to a gymnastic machine for training a given first body region and comprising a support device of the deformable type for supporting at least a second body region; the support device being able to allow a mobilisation of this second body region.

In the field of sport practice or of motor rehabilitation it is known to equip gymnastic machines with support devices able, in use, to support a user, as in the case of seats or backrests, or to act as rest for a body portion of the user. Consider, for example, stationary bikes or rowing machines, which are typically provided with a respective seat, or benches to be used for supporting a user during vertical lifting of dumbbells or of a barbell. In general, these devices comprise a cushion supported by a rigid structure serving the function of supporting a user, whilst the cushion has the function of interacting with a body portion of the user. In particular, with reference to figure A, this cushion is deformable under the action of the pressure exerted by the user to adapt to the shape of the body portion and to make the support device more comfortable for the user.

At this point it should be noted that these cushions are typically produced by using foam rubber or polyurethane foam, and thus produced with materials provided with limited elasticity and suitable to emphasize an accentuated variation of the rigidity above a given value of the acting specific pressure. Therefore these cushions, in use, can be very rigid and badly affect the mobility of the supported body portion, compromising the correct execution of gymnastic exercises involving a movement of this body portion. The fewer muscles the user employing the gymnastic machine has, the more evident this becomes, and therefore all movements substantially perpendicular to and directed against these cushions will be hampered.

To overcome the problem of the limited possibility of movement with respect to the cushions of the support device, it has been decided to reduce as much as possible the dimension of the contact area between the given body portion and the respective cushion/rest. Consider for example the benches used for vertical lifting of dumbbells or barbells, in which the transverse extension of the support cushion is particularly reduced in such a way as to support only a central region of the user's back so as not to interfere with the movement of the shoulder blades during the execution of the exercise. Unfortunately, this choice does not allow adequate stability for the user during performance of the respective gymnastic exercises. For instance, the execution of a session for training the pectoral muscles on the bench will require observance of the maximum attention and, preferably, the presence of a skilled instructor to maintain the load to be lifted constantly balanced, in order to prevent the user from falling laterally from the bench under the unbalanced action exerted by this load. It is easily understood that standardisation in the dimensions of the benches means that the greater the body size of the user, or the greater the load associated with the barbells, the more unsafe these benches become.

Therefore, in view of the above description, the problem of having available a gymnastic machine equipped with at least a support device which comprises at least a bearing member suitable to interact stably with a user's body portion in such a way as to maximise the contact area, in order to minimise the intensity of the specific pressures reciprocally exchanged, and to allow a mobilisation of the body portion maintained stably in contact with this bearing member, is currently unsolved.

The present invention relates to a gymnastic machine for training a given first body region. In particular, the present invention relates to a gymnastic machine for training a given first body region and comprising a support device of the deformable type for supporting at least a second body region, the support device being able to allow a mobilisation of this second body region.

The object of the present invention is to provide a gymnastic machine provided with a support device for supporting at least a user's body portion, which allows the disadvantages described above to be solved, and which is suitable to satisfy a plurality of requirements that to date have still not been addressed, and therefore, suitable to represent a new and original source of economic interest and capable of modifying the current market of gymnastic machines.

According to the present invention a gymnastic machine is provided, equipped with a support device suitable to interact with at least a user's body portion, whose main characteristics are described in at least one of the appended claims.

Furthermore, the present invention relates to a support device effectively usable in a gymnastic machine for supporting at least a user's body portion.

According to the present invention a support device is provided, whose main characteristics are described in at least one of the appended claims.

Further characteristics and advantages of the gymnastic machine according to the present invention will be more apparent from the description below, set forth with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate at least one non-limiting example of embodiment, in which identical or corresponding parts of the device are identified by the same reference numbers. In particular:

FIG. 1 is a schematic side elevation view of a first preferred embodiment of a gymnastic machine according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view in enlarged scale according to the line II-II of FIG. 1 of a detail extracted from FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows FIG. 2 in two subsequent phases of use.

• Provisional Patent
• Utility Patent

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