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Inversion device

Inversion device description/claims

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to inversion devices, specifically to inversion devices for inverting and supporting a person for exercise.

2. Description of the Related Art

In the related art, inversion devices are often used for inverting a person for exercise and/or health benefits related to the back and spine. Earlier uses of inversion devices for exercise often included hanging oneself from a bar by ones legs and/or using boots fitted with hooks for attachment to suspension bars. Other devices generally comprise a frame and a support pivotally mounted on the frame such that a person may be supported thereon for pivotal movement between an upright position and an inverted position.

However, such devices failed to provide the convenience and safety required by consumers. For example, the devices generally require a person to pivot themselves in a rearward direction from the upright position to the inverted position such that the person faces upward as they are pivoted. This often results in a situation where the person is pivoted in an uncontrolled manner which may result in ingur as there is no fixed support structure within reach of the person as they are pivoted.

Accordingly, people have endeavored to provide enhanced inversion devices. Some improvements have been made in the field. Examples include but are not limited to the references described below, which references are incorporated by reference herein:

U.S. Pat. No. 4,214,790, issued to Sieber, discloses an orthopedic reclining chair that is reclinable to a position in which the body of the occupant is substantially inverted, the occupant being retained in the chair by means of a lap belt engaging the upper surface of the thighs whereby to support the weight of the head and torso through the hip joints so as to apply traction to the spine of the occupant. Preferably the heating unit comprises an integral backrest and seat, together with a support for the lower portions of the legs, the seating unit being rockably suspended from a frame relative to which it may be pulled rearwardly from an equilibrium semi-reclining position to its substantially inverted position.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,410,176, issued to Miller, discloses a tilt bed exercise device for rotating a human into inverted posture that is provided with a pair of pivot bearings holding a rotatable tilt bed comprising a human torso conforming support with a beam extending therefrom and terminating in a rail canted at an angle wherein the proximal end of the rail is anterior of the user's ankles and the distal end is posterior to the user's ankles. A foot supporting means is slidably attached to the canted rail with selectable fixed locations suitable for different size humans. The user's ankles are held by supporting means including a hook on each ankle support engageable with the foot supporting means. A pivot stop is provided for the tilt bed wherein the foot supporting means is rotated past the vertical plane through the axis of the pivot bearings.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,739,749, issued to Lindley, discloses an orthospinal chair for exercising the spinal column and back muscles by placing tension on the spine through partial inversion. The orthospinal chair allows partial inversion of a person in a supine, bent-knee position at an easily controllable angle. The user of the orthospinal chair is retained in a supine, bent-knee position by a restraining strap secured across the hip area which allows the person to apply tension while in a partially inverted position to relieve back pain and strengthen back muscles.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,915,101, issued to Cuccia discloses a rotatable treatment table for effecting extensions and flexions of the spine. The treatment table includes a weighted platform adapted to rest upon a floor. Rigid support elements having upper and lower ends are provided. Further provided is an extensible elevation member having a lower and an upper end, the lower end secured to the platform, in which the rotational movement of the upper end of the extensible elevation member relative to the lower end occurs. Yet further provided is a rectangular supportive frame proportioned to extend beyond the length of the body of a patient. The rigid support is pivotally secured near its center of gravity to the upper end of the rigid elevation member. Further, it is pivotally secured to the upper end of the extensible elevation member. The pivotal securements permit the support frame to define a selectable curved path relative to the platform. Also included in the treatment table is a center and lower back support assembly transversely mounted to the rigid frame near to the upper ends of the extensible elevation members, the center of gravity of the patient being located substantially within the extent of the assembly within the rigid frame.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,334,123, issued to Rutherford, discloses a rearwardly tiltable chair set sturdily in a frame. The chair allows a user thereof to tilt back and thereby decompress the spine. The user may subsequently engage in exercises that flex, stretch, and strengthen the spine and its accompanying tendons, ligaments and muscles. The user is tilted back to a limited degree so that while the spine is allowed to decompress, blood does not rush to the head. The chair is pivotably held by the frame and tilts easily backward or forward so that the user can easily control his position. In an alternative embodiment, a resistive element is interposed between the back of the chair and the floor so that the user can exercise by pressing back upon the resistive element with the upper torso. A gauge may be coupled to the resistive element to measure the force applied by the user to the resistive element.

The inventions heretofore known suffer from a number of disadvantages, which include: being difficult for a user to use alone; having dangerous jutting parts; and/or failing to provide sufficient comfort.

What is needed is an inversion device that solves one or more of the problems described herein and/or one or more problems that may come to the attention of one skilled in the art upon becoming familiar with this specification.

The present invention has been developed in response to the present state of the art, and in particular, in response to the problems and needs in the art that have not yet been fully solved by currently available inversion devices, and other exercise devices. Accordingly, the present invention has been developed to provide an inversion device for exercise.

In one embodiment of the invention, there is an inversion device for inverting and supporting a person, including: first and/or second support frames, spaced one from the other, each frame may include: a front leg member that may have a curved handle portion near a middle of the front leg member and/or providing a handle thereby; and/or a rear leg member. The front and/or rear leg members may be coupled together and/or have a downwardly divergent relationship. The inversion device also may also include: a top cross member that may be coupled to each of the first and/or second support frames and/or spacing the first support frame from the second support frame; a thigh pad that may be coupled to the top cross member and/or rotatable about a long axis of the top cross member with respect to the first and/or second support frames; and/or a bottom cross member that may be fixedly coupled to a bottom end of each of the front leg members.

In another embodiment of the invention, a top surface of the thigh pad may be substantially curved. In still another embodiment of the invention, the bottom cross member may be U-shaped. In yet another embodiment of the invention, the curved handle portion may be U-shaped and/or may protrude from the respective support frame. In still yet another embodiment of the invention, the inversion device may include: a third U-shaped support frame that may be rotatably coupled to the rear leg members; and/or a calf pad, that may be coupled to the third support frame. In even another embodiment of the invention, the inversion device may further include a pair of leg support members that may be coupled to the front leg members and/or the rear leg members, respectively. In even still another embodiment of the invention, the leg support members may be selectively coupled to the front leg members.

In even yet another embodiment of the invention, there is an inversion device for inverting and supporting a person, including: first and/or second support frames, spaced one from the other, each frame may include: a front leg member, each front leg member may have a handle member that may be coupled near a middle of the front leg member and/or extending outwardly therefrom providing a handle thereby; and/or a rear leg member. The front and/or rear leg members may be coupled together and/or have a downwardly divergent relationship. The inversion device may also include: a top cross member that may be coupled to each of the first and/or second support frames and/or spacing the first support frame from the second support frame; a thigh pad that may be coupled to the top cross member and/or rotatable about a long axis of the top cross member with respect to the first and/or second support frames; and/or a U-shaped bottom cross member that may be fixedly coupled to a bottom end of each of the front leg members.

In an additional embodiment of the invention, the handle members may be angularly coupled to the respective front leg members and/or extend upwardly therefrom. In even additional embodiment of the invention, the leg support members may be selectively coupled to the front leg members.

Reference throughout this specification to features, advantages, or similar language does not imply that all of the features and advantages that may be realized with the present invention should be or are in any single embodiment of the invention. Rather, language referring to the features and advantages is understood to mean that a specific feature, advantage, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, discussion of the features and advantages, and similar language, throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, refer to the same embodiment.

Furthermore, the described features, advantages, and characteristics of the invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize that the invention can be practiced without one or more of the specific features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other instances, additional features and advantages may be recognized in certain embodiments that may not be present in all embodiments of the invention.

These features and advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter.

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