Pull rope friction type exercising device

Claim 2

A pull rope exercising device comprising: a. a body member, b. a length of rope passing through said body member for lengthwise running movement therethrough, both ends of said rope extending outwardly from said body member and adapted to have pulling forces applied thereto, c. a pair of friction devices carried by said body member and operable respectively to apply friction to said rope to resist said lengthwise running movement of said rope in respectively opposite directions, d. actuating means operable by a pulling force on either end of said rope to actuate the friction device resisting movement of said rope in that direction and to deactivate the other of said friction devices, and e. a pair of adjusting means each operable to adjust the degree of friction applied to said rope by one of said friction devices, said adjusting means being independently operable whereby said device may be set to require unequal rope loads to move said rope in relatively opposite directions.

Claim 3

An exercising device as recited in claim 1 wherein one of said adjusting means is operable to adjust both of said friction devices equally, and wherein the other of said adjusting means is operable to override said one adjusting means to limit the degree of friction applied to said rope by only one of said friction devices.

Claim 4

An exercising device as recited in claim 2 wherein the degree of friction applied to said rope by both of said friction devices is regulated equally by said one adjusting means, and wherein said other adjusting means is operable only to further reduce the friction applied to said rope by the friction device controlled thereby.

Claim 5

An exercising device as recited in claim 1 wherein each of said friction devices includes a bearing surface fixed in said body member and a member carried movably in said body member for movement toward said bearing surface, said rope passing between said member and said bearing surface, and said member being engaged by said rope whereby to be moved toward said bearing surface by tension on said rope in one direction, whereby to clamp said rope frictionally therebetween to resist lengthwise movement thereof, and to be moved away from said bearing surface by tension on said rope in the opposite direction, and wherein said adjusting means constitutes a pair of independently adjustable stops each operable to limit the motion of one of said movable members toward its associated bearing surface.

Claim 6

An exercising device as recited in claim 4 wherein one of said stops is operable to limit the movement of both of said movable members toward their associated bearing surfaces, and wherein the other of said stops is operable to further limit the movement of only one of said movable members toward its associated bearing surface.

Claim 7

An exercising device as recited in claim 4 with the addition of manually actuated means operable to regulate the movement of said movable members of said friction devices independently of the operation of said stops.

Claim 8

An exercising device as recited in claim 4 wherein the said movable members of said friction devices constitute the respectively opposite end portions of a generally cylindrical rocker pivoted in said body member at its midpoint on a transverse axis, said rope being wound about said rocker to pass around one end portion thereof, then cross over the midpoint thereof and around the other end portion thereof, the end portions of said rope extending transversely from said rocker in the same general direction, said bearing surfaces being disposed respectively adjacent the respective end portions of said rocker at the side thereof opposite to the direction of extension of the rope ends from said rocker, whereby portions of said rope pass between each end portion of said rocker and its associated bearing surface, and are adapted to be selectively frictionally clamped therebetween responsively to tilting of said rocker in relatively opposite directions, and wherein said stops constitute members adjustably secured to said body member and each operable to limit variably the tilting of said rocker in one direction.

Claim 9

An exercising device as recited in claim 6 wherein one of said stop members may be positioned to limit the pivoting of said rocker equally in either direction from a central or neutral position with respect to said bearing surfaces, and wherein the other of said stop members may be positioned to further limit the pivoting of said rocker in only one direction from said neutral position.

Claim 10

An eXercising device as recited in claim 6 with the addition of manually actuated means operable to regulate the tilting motion of said rocker independently of the action of said stops.