Mechanical Arm Wrestler

This invention relates to games and/or exercising devices, since it is usable either purely for pleasure or as an arm muscle exerciser.

The invention is a mechanical arm wrestler allowing the user thereof to wrestle against a mechanical arm having a strength variable at will. The arm wrestler comprises a base, a fluid cylinder mounted on the base, a crank arm pivotably mounted on the base, a rod pivotably connecting the crank arm to the rod of the fluid cylinder, first means for releasably holding the crank arm in the ready condition, second means for providing a preselected pressure in the fluid cylinder, and third means for venting the fluid in the cylinder when either the mechanical arm wrestler or the individual wrestling against it has won the game.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a mechanical arm wrestler according to this invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional plan view of the mechanical arm wrestler of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of the mechanical arm wrestler of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a view along line 4--4 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a view along line 5--5 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged, framentary front view of a portion of the mechanical arm wrestler of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged, fragmentary side view of the portion of the mechanical arm wrestler shown in FIG. 6.

The mechanical arm wrestler shown in the drawings broadly comprises a base 10, an air cylinder 12 mounted on the base 10, a crank arm 14 pivotably mounted on the base 10, two rods 16 pivotably connecting the crank arm 14 to the air cylinder 12, means 18 for releasably holding the crank arm 14 in the ready condition, means 20 for providing a preselected air pressure in the air cylinder 12, and means 22 for venting the air in the air cylinder 12 when the crank arm 14 has pivoted from its ready condition by a pre-determined amount. Each of the foregoing elements will be further described subsequently herein in appropriate detail.

The exact shape and composition of the base 10 is completely non-critical to the invention. Its function is merely to hold the other elements of the arm wrestler in appropriate spatial relationship, and it can conveniently be separately supplied by the end user rather than supplied with the other elements. However, the illustrated base 10 is particularly appropriate when the arm wrestler is sold for home use, since it can easily be set down on top of a rumpus room table whenever it is desired to use the device. In this embodiment, the base 10 is provided with integral bracing posts 24 for grasping by the user's free hand, with a removable cover 26 preventing inadvertent contact with the working parts of the arm wrestler, with resilient pads 28 positioned to protect the hand of a user of the arm wrestler at either extremity of the travel of the crank arm 14, and with resilient pads 29 positioned to protect the user's elbow.

The air cylinder 12 has a piston 30 therein and a rod 32 carried by the piston 30 and extending from one end of the cylinder 12. The dimensions of the compartments of the air cylinder and of the crank arm 14 and the rods 16 are preferably chosen so that the linear extremities of the travel of the rod 32 correspond to the angular extremities of the travel of the crank arm 14. Such air cylinder are readily available commercially, and accordingly the air cylinder 12 will not be described herein in further detail. Of course, the air cylinder 12 could be replaced by any other type of fluid cylinder with appropriate adjustments in the other components of the arm wrestler.

The crank arm 14 is pivotably mounted on the base 10 in bearings 34. As may be best seen in FIG. 4, it comprises a first portion 36 extending between the air cylinder 12 and the base 10 in a direction transverse to the motion of the rod 32, second portions 38 connected to the first portion 36 at either end and extending to a point 40 remote from the base 10 and in a plane perpendicular to the base 10 and containing the first portion 36 when the arm wrestler is in its ready condition, third portions 42 connected to the second portions 38 at their ends remote from the first portion 36 and extending from the point 40 to a point 44 adjacent the base 10 and in the previously mentioned plane when the arm wrestler is in its ready condition, and fourth portions 46 which are approximately the length of a human forearm, which are connected to the third portions 42 at their ends remote from the second portions 38, and which extend from the point 44 to a point 48 remote from the base 10 and in the previously mentioned plane when the arm wrestler is in its ready condition. As is best seen in FIGS. 6 and 7, the crank arm 14 is preferably made in three pieces pivotably joined at axes through the points 44 to permit the fourth portions 46, which are the mechanical arm's forearms, to pivot slightly in the direction perpendicular to the direction of play to allow the user of the arm wrestler to preset the fourth portion 46 with which he is to wrestle to a comfortable angle. Wing nuts 50 are provided on the bolt 51 which constitutes the axis to maintain the pre-selected angle, and stops 52 are provided on the fourth portions 46 to keep them from flopping down to the plane of the base 10 when the wing nuts 50 are not tightened down. Preferably also the second and third portions 38 and 42 each comprise as shown a first subportion which is perpendicular to the base 10 when the arm wrestler is in its ready condition and a second subportion which is parallel to the base 10 at all times, but the crank arm 14 could obviously be made in other shapes - for instance, with the second and third portions 38 and 42 joined in a V-shape rather than in a U-shape. Also, the ends of the fourth portions 46 adjacent the points 48 can be made in the shape of a human hand and can even be provided with an articulated "wrist" to give added realism. Moreover, collars 53 made of hard rubber or the equivalent are preferably provided on one or both of the fourth portions 46 to positively limit angular movement of the crank arm 14 to protect the user's hand.

As best seen in FIGS. 2 and 4, an example of the connecting means is the rods 16 which are pivotably connected to the crank arm 14 via bearings 54 at the point 40. The arm wrestler preferably further comprises a brace 56 mounted on the rod 32 and extending in the direction transverse to the motion of the rod 32. The rods 16 are pivotably connected to the brace 56 via bearings 58 and lie in a plane perpendicular to the base 10 and to the first portion 36. The brace 56 preferably extends on both sides of the rod 32 as shown, and the device is symmetrical with respect to a plane of symmetry perpendicular to the base 10 and containing the rod 32 so that it can conveniently be used by either a right-handed or a left-handed player.

The means 18 for releasably holding the crank arm 14 in the ready condition can take on many different forms. As exemplary of such forms, a latch 60 pivotably mounted on the base 10 at 62 and a peg 64 on the adjacent one of the fourth portions 46 are shown. The latch 60 holds the crank arm 14 in the ready condition, and the peg 64 prevents the latch 60 from sliding down the crank arm 14. However, when the crank arm 14 is pivoted fractionally counterclockwise in FIG. 3 during play, the latch 60 drops to the base 10, thereafter permitting the crank arm 14 to pivot clockwise to the full extent of its travel.

The means 20 for providing a preselected air pressure in the air cylinder 12 can vary widely depending on the use to which the device is to be put. If, for instance, it is to be used as a coin-operated device in a "penny arcade" or the like, it could be a fairly elaborate subsystem hooked up to a central source of compressed air or to a compressed air pump. The illustrated embodiment, however, is designed primarily for "at home" use, and it employs simple, inexpensive, but sturdy components for this structure. These elements comprise a foot-operated air pump 66, such as the "Ram Pump" manufactured by the Ram Division of Intermarket, Inc., an air line 68 leading from the air pump 66 to a releasable one-way valve 70, a pressure reservoir 72, a pressure meter 74 (which is preferably calibrated in foot-pounds needed to overcome the torque exerted by the fourth portions 46 of the crank arm 14 rather than in the pressure inside the air cylinder 12), a manually operable pressure release valve 76, and an air line 78 leading from the pressure reservoir 72 to the air cylinder 12. Of course, a separate pressure reservoir 72 is unnecessary if the air cylinder 12 itself has a sufficient reservoir capacity, and the pressure reservior 72 can be cubical in shape or set at right angles to the air cylinder 12 in order to save space inside the cover 26. In use, the manually operable pressure release valve 76 is preferably set to a value just above that selected for each wrestling. (Alternatively, the manually operable pressure release valve 76 can be replaced by a pressure release valve which automatically adjusts itself to a value just above the pressure value present in the air cylinder 12 at the beginning of each use of the arm wrestler.) Then, as the user forces the crank arm 14 counterclockwise in FIG. 3, the piston 30 moves inwardly, compressing the air and beginning to increase the torque exerted by the cylinder 12 on the crank arm 14. However, the manually operable pressure release valve 76 is set to vent such over-pressure, and the pre-selected torque remains constant. On the other hand, as the air cylinder forces the crank arm 14 clockwise in the illustrated embodiment, the piston 30 moves outwardly, decompressing the air and decreasing the torque exerted by the air cylinder 12 on the crank arm 14, facilitating the user's task in fighting the arm back to the angular position where it started moving clockwise. (Of course, in a more elaborate device it would be possible to automatically compensate for the decompression of the air, maintaining a constant pressure regardless of the angular position of the crank arm 14.)

The means 22 for venting the air in the air cylinder 12 when the crank arm 14 has pivoted from its ready condition by a pre-determined amount can also take on many different forms. However, in the exemplary device shown in the drawings it comprises two quick-release, plunger-operated dump valves 80 mounted on an air line 82 in indirect communication with the air cylinder 12, two actuating toggles 84 mounted on the crank arm 14 inside the removable cover 26 in position to actuate the dump valves 80 when the crank arm 14 has pivoted from its ready condition by a pre-determined amount (which need not be equal) in either direction, and two quick-release, plunger-operated dump valve 86 mounted on air lines 88 in indirect communication with the air cylinder 12. The dump valve 86 are thumb operated (and may, accordingly, conveniently be placed on top of the bracing post 24, in which case the air lines 88 are fed up through the body of the bracing posts 24) and are provided to be operated both when the user gives up in the middle of a contest and when it is desired to reset the arm wrestler after having won. (The latter use is necessitated by that fact the air must be admitted into the air cylinder 12 in order to easily return the crank arm 14 to its upright condition. Accordingly, the dump valves 86, in contrast to the dump valves 80, should be two-way valves.)

While the present invention has been illustrated by a detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail can be made therein without departing from the true scope of the invention. For that reason, the invention must be measured by the claims appended hereto and not by the foregoing preferred embodiment.