Add-on weight kit for a selectorized dumbbell

[0001] This invention relates to exercise equipment and, more particularly, to selectorized dumbbells having a plurality of nested weights, a handle, and a movable selector for coupling a desired number of weight plates to each end of the handle to enable easy adjustment of the exercise mass.

[0002] U.S. Pat. No. 5,637,064 to Towley et al, which is assigned to the assignee of this invention, discloses an existing selectorized dumbbell that is known as the PowerBlock®. In this dumbbell, there are eight nested weights each of which comprises a left weight plate and a right weight plate that are joined together by a pair of front and rear rails. The left and right weight plates of the nested weights are disposed in left and right weight plate stacks that are spaced apart from one another by the length of the front and rear rails. The rails of successive nested weights are longer and lower than the rails of the weight immediately to the inside to allow the weights to be nested together in the aforementioned manner.

[0003] The selectorized dumbbell disclosed in the 064 patent includes a handle that is dropped down into the gap between the left and right weight plate stacks. Each end of the handle includes a plurality of slots that are located such that one slot is below each of the rails. A selector comprising a U-shaped connecting pin having a pair of spaced, parallel connecting prongs is provided with the prongs of the connecting pin being insertable into the slots beneath the rails of one of the nested weights. When the user then lifts the handle, the handle will carry with it the all of the nested weights whose rails lie above the rail of the selected weight. Thus, the user can easily adjust the total weight carried by the handle, to adjust the exercise mass of the dumbbell, simply by repositioning the connecting pin from one set of slots to another.

[0004] A selectorized dumbbell of the type noted above can be adjusted from a minimum weight to a maximum weight. Some users might never progress beyond the maximum weight provided by the dumbbell. However, other users might reach the point where the maximum weight provided by the dumbbell is no longer enough for their exercise needs—their strength has improved so much that they have outgrown the dumbbell they originally purchased. While such a user could then purchase a larger and heavier dumbbell having a higher maximum weight, and manufacturers of such dumbbells would typically offer a few different dumbbells of different sizes for this purpose, the originally purchased dumbbell effectively becomes redundant or unnecessary. In this scenario, the user has obviously had to pay twice to purchase two different dumbbells.

[0005] To address this problem, the manufacturer of the PowerBlock® selectorized dumbbell has marketed a kit of add-on weights to allow the user to incrementally add further weight to the originally purchased dumbbell when the maximum weight of that dumbbell is now too light for the user's needs. Such a kit is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,769,762 which is also owned by the assignee of this invention.

[0006] The add-on weights of the 762 patent have a significantly different construction from the weights in the base dumbbell shown in the 064 patent. The add-on weights of the 762 patent still have spaced left and right weight plates, but such weight plates are no longer joined together by a pair of front and rear rails. Instead, the left and right weight plates are joined together by a bottom channel having front and rear walls with the front and rear walls of the various weights in the add-on kit horizontally overlying one another when the weights in the add-on kit are nested together. Various unique sets of holes and slots are placed in the front and rear walls of the channels. A second connecting pin is then inserted through one selected set of such holes and slots to additionally attach a desired number of the add-on weights of the 762 patent to the handle of the dumbbell. The number of such add-on weights that are attached change depending upon which set of holes and slots receives the second connecting pin.

[0007] While the 762 patent discloses an effective way of adding more weight to an existing, previously purchased dumbbell, it does require the user to manipulate and position two separate connecting pins, namely the U-shaped connecting pin provided with the dumbbell and the second, single pronged connecting pin provided with the kit of add-on weights. Moreover, each of these connecting pins employs a different pinning technique. The U-shaped connecting pin simply slides into one set of a series of vertically spaced sets of slots provided in the handle to position the connecting pin beneath the side rails of a selected weight in the series of nested weights. On the other hand, the single pronged connecting pin has to be inserted into one set of a series of horizontally spaced sets of holes and slots provided in the bottom channels of the weights themselves. This difference in pinning techniques is potentially confusing, particularly to a relatively new user of the dumbbell.

[0008] One aspect of this invention relates to an add-on weight kit for a selectorized dumbbell. The weight kit has a first set of a plurality of nested weights that include a plurality of horizontal rails that overlie one another in at least one vertically extending rail array, a first handle having an array of vertically spaced openings that are aligned with spaces below the rails in the rail array, and a selector comprising a connecting pin that includes at least one connecting prong that is horizontally insertable into one of the vertically spaced openings on the handle to slide below the rail of a selected weight to thereby couple the selected weight and all other weights whose rails lie above the rail of the selected weight to the handle. The add-on weight kit comprises a second set of a plurality of nested weights that include a plurality of horizontal rails that overlie one another with the rails of the second set being arranged to underlie the rails of the first set to form a downward continuation of the rail array of the first set when the first and second sets of weights are used together. The kit also includes a second handle that is taller than the first handle. The second handle has a bottom portion that includes a plurality of vertically spaced openings that are aligned with spaces below the rails of the second set of weights for reception of the connecting prong in the same manner as the connecting prong is received in the openings on the first handle. The second handle is used in place of the first handle when the first and second sets of weights are used together such that reception of the connecting prong below the rail of a selected weight in the second set of weights will couple the selected weight in the second set, all other weights in the second set whose rails lie above the rail of the selected weight in the second set, and all of the weights of the first set to the handle to thereby allow the total weight of the dumbbell to exceed what would have been obtainable from the first set of weights alone.

[0014] A selectorized dumbbell known in the prior art is indicated generally as 2 in FIGS. 1 and 2. Dumbbell 2 is of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,637,064 and 7,775,947, which are hereby incorporated by reference. See in particular the dumbbell disclosed in FIGS. 6-12 of the 947 patent and the accompanying description thereto. While such patents may be referred to for a complete description of dumbbell 2, a review of the basic components of dumbbell 2 is in order herein.

[0015] Referring first to FIG. 2, dumbbell 2 comprises eight nested weights 4a-4h, a handle 10, and a selector 12. Each nested weight 4 comprises a left weight plate 61 and a right weight plate 6r that are joined together in a laterally spaced apart orientation by a front rail 8f and a rear rail 8r that connect weight plates 6l and 6r together. Beginning with the innermost weight 4a and working one's ways to the outermost weight 4h, rails 8 get progressively longer and connect to the weight plates 6 at progressively lower vertical elevations to allow weights 4 to nest together with left weight plates 61 being adjacent to one another in a left stack and right weight plates 6r being adjacent to one another in a right stack. Thus, front rails 8f and rear rails 8r are each arranged in a truncated pyramidal shaped array on the front and back sides, respectively, of dumbbell 2.

[0016] Handle 10 has a left end 141 and a right end 14r that are joined together in a laterally spaced apart orientation by a central hand grip 16 and a plurality of cross tubes 18. Each handle end 14 has a vertical array of slots 20 that are identically positioned on each handle end 14. In each array of slots 20, one slot 20 is positioned to be aligned with a gap 22 formed between vertically adjacent rails 8 by reduced diameter sections 24 of rails 8. Gap 22 provides access to slot 20 for the reception of a portion of selector 12. In addition, each array of slots 20 has one slot 20 provided above the reduced diameter sections 24 of rails 8 of innermost weight 4a. Thus, while there are eight weights 4 that form arrays of eight front and rear rails 8, there are nine slots 20 in each end 14 of handle 10.

[0017] Selector 12 is a U-shaped connecting pin 26 having a pair of laterally spaced apart connecting prongs 28 connected to a base 30. Each connecting prong 28 has overlying upper and lower forks 32u and 321. Forks 32u and 321 of prongs 28 are designed to straddle the reduced diameter sections 24 of the front rail 8f of a selected weight to slide into the sets of slots 20 that are immediately below and above such reduced diameter sections 24. Prongs 28 will pass through the length of slots 20 until the free ends thereof come out the other side and straddle the reduced diameter sections 24 of the rear rail 8r of the selected weight. FIG. 1 shows connecting pin 26 having been inserted into handle 10 such that it straddles the rails 8 of outermost weight 4h.

[0018] Preferably, the double forks 32 of each connecting prong 28 are flexible for the shock absorption reasons set forth in the 947 patent, which has been incorporated by reference herein. However, such flexibility as well as the double fork construction of each connecting prong 28 could be dispensed with in favor of the type of connecting pin shown in the 064 patent, namely a U-shaped connecting pin in which each connecting prong 28 is a single rigid member. With such a connecting pin, the uppermost slot 20 above the rails 8 of innermost weight 4a would not longer be needed in each end 14 of handle 10. Only eight slots 20 would be needed with each slot 20 being aligned with gap 22 beneath each rail 8.

[0019] The user can easily adjust the total weight or exercise mass of dumbbell 2 by inserting selector 10 into different locations on handle 10. In the position shown in FIG. 1, all eight weights 4a-4h will be coupled to handle 10 for use in performing an exercise since the rails 8 of nested weights 4 each abut with portions of the weight 4 immediately above one another. Thus, picking up rails 8 of a selected weight 4 in the array of nested weights 4a-4h will pick up the selected weight 4 and all the other weights 4 whose rails 8 lie above rails 8 of the selected weight 4. For example, if connecting pin 26 is inserted to straddle rails 8 of the fourth weight 4d, then the four weights 4a-4d will be coupled to handle 10 by connecting pin 26.

[0020] Weight plates 6 of nested weights 4 of dumbbell 2 all have a uniform height h relative to one another. The lower edges of weight plates 6 all terminate in a common plane indicated as x in FIG. 1. This is true regardless of how many nested weights 4 are coupled to handle 10. Thus, dumbbell 2 of the prior art has a consistent cross-sectional profile from front to back regardless of the total weight provided by dumbbell 2. The only change in dumbbell 2 as the total weight changes is the length of dumbbell 2. As the total weight of dumbbell 2 increases, dumbbell 2 simply gets progressively longer from side to side as more left and right weight plates 6l and 6r of more nested weights 4 are added to each end 14l and 14r, respectively, of handle 10.

[0021] Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, this invention relates to an add-on weight kit 40 for supplementing or extending the maximum total weight previously provided by dumbbell 2. Weight kit 40 is used with the nested weights 4 and selector 12 of dumbbell 2. However, handle 10 originally supplied with dumbbell is not used when weight kit 40 is used. Instead, a new handle 42 provided as part of weight kit 40 is used in place of handle 10.

[0022] Handle 42 that is part of weight kit 40 is in concept and structure similar to handle 10 such that the parts of handle 42 that are common to handle 10 will be referred to with the same reference numerals as used with respect to handle 10. The major difference is that the ends 14l and 14r of handle 42 have downwardly extending vertical extensions 44 that include two sets of additional slots 46. Slots 46 are identical to slots 20, but have essentially just been added to handle 42 beneath the previously existing slots 20 in the vertical extensions 44 of handle 42.

[0023] In addition to new handle 42, add-on weight kit 40 includes an additional set 47 of nested weights 4, i.e. a ninth nested weight 4i and a tenth nested weight 4j. Nested weights 4i and 4j are similar to nested weights 4a and 4h. For example, the left and right weight plates 6l and 6r of nested weights 4i and 4j have the same front to back width and the same rounded top as weight plates 6l and 6r of nested weights 4a-4h, but they have a taller height h1 as compared to their height h in nested weights 4a-4h. Because of this additional height h1, each nested weight 4i and 4j has more mass than each nested weight 4a-4h and accordingly provides an incrementally larger weight adjustment than each weight 4a-4h. The height h1 of all nested weights 4i and 4j in weight kit 40 is uniform relative to each other such the lower edges of weight plates 6 of nested weights 4i and 4j all terminate in a common plane x2 that is lower than the plane x1 that dumbbell 2 would have had if weight kit 40 had not been used.

[0024] In order to use weight kit 40, the user takes dumbbell 2 and removes handle 10 therefrom. The set of nested add-on weights 4i and 4j are placed on a support surface, such as the top of a support stand, and the nested weights 4a-4h are then dropped down into nested weights 4i-4j such that weights 4a-4j are now all nested together as a single unit. When so nested, the lower edges of nested weights 4i-4j will engage against the support surface while the lower edges of nested weights 4a-4h will actually be spaced up above the support surface, as shown in FIG. 4. The taller handle 42 that is part of weight kit 40 will then be dropped down into the gap between the stacks of left and right weight plates 6l and 6r.

[0025] Preferably, the nested weights 4a-4h would always reside within the nested add-on weights 4i-4j regardless of whether handle 10 or handle 42 is used. Keeping weights 4a-4j continually nested together minimizes clutter and saves significant time. The user need only exchange one handle 10 or 42 for the other and does not need to disturb or rearrange the set of nested weights 4a-4j at all once they are initially nested together. A support stand (not shown) can be sold having a support surface comprising an upwardly facing tray that is long enough to encompass and support thereon the total length of the complete set of nested weights 4a-4j from one to the other end thereof.

[0026] When handle 42 is in use within the complete set of nested weights 4a-4j, the same selector 12 in the form of U-shaped connecting pin 26 can now be used to select one or both of the add-on weights 4i-4j, which selection will necessarily carry with it all of the weights 4a-4h, for coupling to handle 42. All the user need do is to slide connecting pin 26 into a vertically adjacent pair of slots 20 and/or 46 such that prongs 28 of connecting pin 26 straddle the reduced diameter sections 24 of rails 8 of the selected weight 4i-4j.

[0027] This significantly enhances ease of use of dumbbell 2 and makes weight selection more intuitive. The need for two separate connecting pins is obviated. All the user need do is to use connecting pin 26 that is normally provided with dumbbell 2. Moreover, the pinning technique for all the weights 4, whether such weights 4a-4h are part of the original dumbbell 2 or part of weight kit 40, is the same, i.e. sliding prongs 28 into a pair of slots on each end of handle 42. The user need not remember or even know how to insert two different connecting pins into weights have different pinning techniques. There is now only a single connecting pin and a single pinning technique, greatly simplifying use and adjustment of dumbbell 2 with or without add-on weight kit 40.

[0028] Handle 42 is shown in FIG. 3 in a form in which it is used only to connect add-on weights 4i and 4j to handle 42. Enough slots 20 on left end 141 of handle 42 have been blocked off by blocking walls 48 so that connecting pin 26 can no longer be used to pin any of the original weights 4a-4h to handle 42. Of course, when such weights 4a-4h are nested within the set of add-on weights 4i and 4j, pinning weight 4i or both weights 4i and 4j to handle 42 will necessarily pick up and carry all the weights 4a-4h due to the abutting engagement between each rail 8 and the rail 8 immediately thereabove. With handle 42 as depicted in FIG. 3, if the user wishes to revert to exercise with a lighter weight provided only by some or all of the original weights 4a-4h, handle 42 would be removed and replaced with the originally provided handle 10.

[0029] The reason for making handle 42 usable only for direct pinning of add-on weights 4i and 4j is that handle 42 when used for direct pinning of some or all of weights 4a-4h ends up supporting such weights 4a-4h above the support surface engaged by the bottom of handle 42. The bottom of handle 42 is in the x2 plane while the weights 4a-4h have their lower edges in the higher x1 plane. If handle 42 is dropped or laid down hard when loaded in this manner, damage can occur to a connecting pin 26 having flexible connecting prongs 28 due to a shearing action that occurs between weights 4a-4h and connecting prongs 28.

[0030] However, if connecting pins 28 are rigid or are made from a strong enough flexible material, it would not be necessary to block off slots 20 on handle 42. In this case, blocking walls 48 would be removed and handle 42 would have slots 20 that are completely open all the way through each side 14l and 14r of handle 42. Any combination of the original weights 4a-4h as well as the add-on weights 4i and 4j could then be pinned by connecting pin 26 to handle 42 of add-on kit 40. In this case, the user might simply replace original handle 10 with handle 42 of add-on kit 40 and leave add-on kit 40 permanently in place within the dual sets of nested weights 4a-4j shown in FIG. 4. Even in this event, if the user were to retain original handle 10, he or she could always switch back and forth between handle 10 and handle 42 depending upon the user's preference. Some users might prefer the somewhat more vertically compact form of dumbbell 2 that results when the shorter original handle 10 is used if the user simply needs an amount of weight that is provided by some combination of the original weights 4a-4h.

[0031] Various modifications of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. While the add-on weight kit 40 has been shown as comprising two additional add-on weights 4i and 4j, kit 40 could comprise more than two such weights 4i and 4j with the vertical extensions 44 and the numbers of slots 46 on each end of handle 42 being increased accordingly. However, regardless of the number of weights 4 in add-on kit 40, all of the weights 4 in the add-on kit will have the same uniform height h1 relative to one another such that their lower edges align on a common plane x2 that is lower than plane x1 of base dumbbell 2. Weight plates 6 of weights 4 in add-on kit 40 could also be thicker than weight plates 6 of weights 4 in dumbbell 2 in addition to being taller as shown in FIG. 4, or could have a thickness that is the same as weight plates 6 of weights 4 in dumbbell 2.

[0032] Accordingly, the scope of this invention is to be limited only by the appended claims.