Leonardo Corporation

Spiraflex Inc.

William N Nelson

Paul S Francis

Teryl K Rouse

A resistance mechanism suitable for applications such as resistance exercise equipment, cable reels, garage doors and other equipment requiring a resistive force. Resistance packs include circular rims and central hubs connected by deformable spokes. The packs are stacked in pairs with the rims in each pair pinned together and the hubs rotatable relative to one another. Each hub has a spline connection with the hub of the next resistance pack in the adjacent pair. This provides a series arrangement of the resistance packs which allows a long extension of the actuator with the spokes of each pack being deformed only slightly. A spiral pay out pulley for the cord assists in avoiding varying resistance with extension of the cord. The mechanism includes a preload system for applying a preload force to the resistance packs and a visual indicator for indicating the level of the preload force. An alternative construction involves forming the resistance packs in a single base having a pair of the resistance devices housed together. The devices may include arms connected by peripheral portions to provide loops that are looped around walls on the base to avoid a need for a bonded connection of the arms to the rims.

Resistance mechanism with series connected resistance packs

A resistance mechanism suitable for resistance exercise equipment. Resistance packs include circular rims and central hubs connected by deformable spokes. The packs are stacked in pairs with the rims in each pair pinned together and the hubs rotatable relative to one another. Each hub has a spline connection with the hub of the next resistance pack in the adjacent pair. This provides a series arrangement of the resistance packs which allows a long extension of the actuator with the spokes of each pack being deformed only slightly. A spiral pay out pulley for the cord assists in avoiding varying resistance with extension of the cord. A preload mechanism which allows an initial preload resistance to be set includes a large gear connected with the stack of resistance packs and a smaller gear meshing with the large gear. A pivotal pawl urged against the teeth of the large gear allows the gear to turn in a direction to initially deform the spokes to preset the initial resistance level. The pawl locks the gear against rotation in the opposite direction. A visual indicator operated by the smaller gear aligns with graduation marks on a scale to indicate the level of the initial resistance.

Growing community of inventors

Kansas City, MO, United States of America

William N Nelson