Human Flag Exercise Device

This application claims priority to Taiwanese Invention patent application No. 113122550, filed on Jun. 18, 2024, and Taiwanese Invention patent application No. 114106605, filed on Feb. 21, 2025, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.

The disclosure relates to an exercise device, and more particularly a human flag exercise device.

Nowadays, common street workouts may involve bodyweight training using park facilities such as pull-up bars, the ground, ladders, etc. Common street workouts include the human flag, the planche, the front lever, the muscle-up, etc.

However, those exercises require significant physical strength and excellent performance because an individual's own bodyweight is used as a resistance against gravity. For ordinary exercisers, those exercises are highly difficult moves, and a conventional exercise device may not be adequate enough for the ordinary exercisers to practice and achieve those highly difficult moves.

Therefore, an object of the disclosure is to provide a human flag exercise device that can alleviate the drawback of the prior art.

According to the disclosure, the human flag exercise device includes a frame unit, a support pad unit, an assistance unit, and a grip bar unit. The support pad unit is movably mounted to the frame unit and movable relative to the frame unit in an up-down direction, and includes a support pad module. The assistance unit is mounted to the frame unit and connected to the support pad unit.

The assistance unit is operable to urge the support pad unit to move upward. The grip bar unit includes a grip frame that is mounted to the frame unit and that is operable to move relative to the frame unit in a left-right direction. The grip frame is spaced apart from the support pad module in a front-rear direction. The grip frame includes a plurality of horizontal grip rods that are spaced apart from each other in the up-down direction and that extend in the left-right direction.

It should be noted herein that for clarity of description, spatially relative terms such as “top,” “bottom,” “upper,” “lower,” “on,” “above,” “over,” “downwardly,” “upwardly” and the like may be used throughout the disclosure while making reference to the features as illustrated in the drawings. The features may be oriented differently (e.g., rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative terms used herein may be interpreted accordingly.

Referring to, an embodiment of a human flag exercise deviceaccording to the present disclosure includes a frame unit, a support pad unit, an assistance unit, an auxiliary cushion unit, and a grip bar unit.

The frame unitincludes a bottom frame, a front framethat is connected to the bottom frame, a side framethat is connected to the front frameand the bottom frame, and a reinforcement member.

In this embodiment, the front frameincludes an upper rodthat extends in a left-right direction (Z), a lower rodthat extends in the left-right direction (Z) and that is spaced apart from the upper rodin an up-down direction (Y), and two front vertical rodsthat are spaced apart from each other in the left-right direction (Z) and that are disposed between the upper rodand the lower rod. The upper rodhas an upper rail portion. The lower rodhas a lower rail portion, and the lower rail portionis formed with a plurality of grip frame position holes(see). The left-right direction (Z) is perpendicular to the up-down direction (Y).

In this embodiment, the side frameincludes an upper horizontal rodthat extends in a front-rear direction (X) and that is connected to the upper rod, an intermediate crossbarthat is parallel to the upper horizontal rodand that is connected to one of the front vertical rods, a rear postthat is disposed on the bottom frameand that is connected to the upper horizontal rodand the intermediate crossbar, two guide rodsthat are spaced apart from each other in the front-rear direction (X) and that are disposed between the intermediate crossbarand the bottom frame, and four stop membersthat are arranged in pairs and that are located below the support pad unit. Each pair of the stop membersare disposed on a respective one of the guide rods. The rear postcorresponds in position to the one of the front vertical rodsin the front-rear direction (X). The front-rear direction (X) is perpendicular to the left-right direction (Z) and the up-down direction (Y).

In this embodiment, the front frameand the side frameare connected to each other to cooperatively form an L-shaped structure. The reinforcement memberinterconnects the upper rodand the upper horizontal rodto interconnect a top end of the front frameand a top end of the side frame. The reinforcement membermay reinforce the L-shaped structure.

Referring to, the support pad unitis movably mounted to the frame unitand movable relative to the frame unitin the up-down direction (Y), and includes a connection framethat is movably mounted to the side frameand movable relative to the side framein the up-down direction (Y), and a support pad modulethat is mounted to the connection frame.

Referring to, the connection frameincludes a connection seatthat is movably mounted to the guide rodsof the side frameand movable relative to the guide rodsin the up-down direction (Y), a connection rodthat is mounted to the connection seatand that is operable to move relative to the connection seatin the up-down direction (Y) (i.e., a position of the connection rodrelative to the connection seatis adjustable in the up-down direction (Y)), and an up-down position pin.

In this embodiment, the connection seathas a base portionthat is movably mounted to the guide rodsof the side frameand movable relative to the guide rodsin the up-down direction (Y), and a tubular sleeve portionthat is disposed on the base portion. The base portionincludes eight rollersthat are arranged in pairs, and that are in rolling contact with the guide rods.

In this embodiment, the connection rodhas a vertical rod portionon which the tubular sleeve portionof the connection seatis sleeved, and a horizontal rod portionthat is connected to the vertical rod portionand that extends in the left-right direction (Z). The vertical rod portionis formed with a plurality of up-down position holesthat are spaced apart from each other in the up-down direction (Y). The horizontal rod portionis formed with a plurality of left-right position holesthat are spaced apart from each other in the left-right direction (Z).

The up-down position pinis operable to be inserted in the tubular sleeve portionof the connection seatand a selected one of the up-down position holesto position the connection rod.

In this embodiment, referring to, the support pad moduleincludes a mount seatthat is mounted to the connection rodand that is operable to move relative to the connection rodin the left-right direction (Z), a support padthat is mounted to the mount seatand that is operable to move relative to the mount seatin the front-rear direction (X), a left-right position pin, and two front-rear position pins.

The mount seatis mounted to the horizontal rod portionof the connection rod, is operable to move relative to the horizontal rod portionof the connection rodin the left-right direction (Z), and has a slide sleeve portionthat is sleeved on the horizontal rod portionof the connection rod, and two front-rear guide rail portionsthat are spaced apart from each other in the left-right direction (Z), that are disposed on the slide sleeve portion, and that extend in the front-rear direction (X). The left-right position pinis operable to be inserted in the slide sleeve portionof the mount seatand a selected one of the left-right position holesto position the mount seat.

The support padhas a pad portionthat is for a user's body to abut against, and two slide block portionsthat are spaced apart from each other in the left-right direction (Z), that are mounted to a bottom surface of the pad portion, and that are respectively and slidably connected to the front-rear guide rail portionsof the mount seat. The slide block portionsextend in the front-rear direction (X). One of the slide block portionsis formed with a plurality of front-rear position holesthat are spaced apart from each other in the front-rear direction (X).

Each of the front-rear position pinsis operable to be inserted in one of the front-rear guide rail portionsof the mount seatand a selected one of the front-rear position holesof the one of the slide block portionsof the support padto position the support pad. In this embodiment, because the slide block portionsof the support padare respectively connected to the front-rear guide rail portionsof the mount seat, the front-rear position pinsare inserted in two of the front-rear position holesof the one of the slide block portionsof the support pad(i.e., any two of the front-rear position holesselected by the user) and the respective one of the front-rear guide rail portionsof the mount seatto position the support pad. It is noted that, in some embodiments, each of the number of the front-rear position pins, the number of the slide block portions, and the number of the front-rear guide rail portionsmay not be two, and may be one or more.

As shown in, the user may move the connection rodupward or downward relative to the connection seat, and then position the connection rodby the up-down position pin, so as to adjust a position of the support padof the support pad modulein the up-down direction (Y). Similarly, the user may move the mount seatleftward or rightward relative to the connection rod, and then position the mount seatby the left-right position pin, so as to adjust the position of the support padof the support pad modulein the left-right direction (Z). In addition, as shown in, the user may move the support padforward or backward relative to the mount seat, and then position the support padby the front-rear position pins, so as to adjust the position of the support padin the front-rear direction (X). Thus, the user may adjust the position of the support padin the up-down direction (Y), the left-right direction (Z), and the front-rear direction (X) to an appropriate position according to the user's body proportions.

As shown inand, the assistance unitis mounted to the frame unitand is connected to the support pad unit. The assistance unitis operable to urge the support pad unitto move upward.

In this embodiment, the assistance unitincludes a plurality of counterweight blocksthat are disposed on the side frameand that are stacked in the up-down direction (Y), two pulleysthat are rotatably mounted to the intermediate crossbarof the side frameand that are spaced apart from each other in the front-rear direction (X), a connection rope, and an adjustment rod module. The connection ropehas a first end portionthat is connected to the base portionof the connection seatof the connection frameof the support pad unit, a second end portionthat is connected to at least one of the counterweight blocks, and an intermediate portionthat interconnects the first end portionand the second end portion, and that extends around the pulleys(i.e., the intermediate portionat least partially surrounds the pulleys). The support pad unitis located between the grip bar unitand the counterweight blocksin the front-rear direction (X). The counterweight blocksare distal to the grip bar unitand proximate to the rear postof the side framein the front-rear direction (X).

In this embodiment, the assistance unitis used to provide an upward supporting force (F) (see) to the support pad moduleof the support pad unitin the up-down direction (Y). When the user selects a certain number of the counterweight blocks, the adjustment rod moduleis operable to link the selected counterweight block(s)so that the selected counterweight block(s)may move together. The second end portionof the connection ropeis connected to the selected counterweight block(s)via the adjustment rod module. The user may connect the second end portionof the connection ropeto different numbers of the counterweight blocksto adjust magnitude of the upward supporting force (F). Weight of the selected counterweight blocksis equal to the upward supporting force (F).

As shown inand, the auxiliary cushion unitis mounted to the bottom frame, and is located between the support pad unitand the grip bar unitin the front-rear direction (X). The auxiliary cushion unitincludes an auxiliary cushionthat extends in the left-right direction (Z), and a plurality of support legsthat interconnect the auxiliary cushionand the bottom frame. The auxiliary cushionis adapted for the user's upper limb to abut against.

Referring, the grip bar unitincludes a grip framethat is mounted to the front frameof the frame unitand that is operable to move relative to the front framein the left-right direction (Z), and a grip frame position pin. The grip frameis spaced apart from the support pad modulein the front-rear direction (X).

In this embodiment, the grip frameincludes an upper slide memberthat extends in the left-right direction (Z) and that is slidably connected to the upper rail portionof the upper rod, a lower slide memberthat extends in the left-right direction (Z) and that is slidably connected to the lower rail portionof the lower rod, two upright rodseach of which interconnects the upper slide memberand the lower slide member, a plurality of horizontal grip rodsthat are spaced apart from each other in the up-down direction (Y) and that extend in the left-right direction (Z), a vertical grip rodthat extends in the up-down direction (Y) and that is spaced apart from the horizontal grip rodsin the left-right direction (Z), and a plurality of connection horizontal rodsthat extend in the left-right direction (Z).

The upright rodsare spaced apart from each other in the left-right direction (Z) and extend in the up-down direction (Y). The horizontal grip rodsare disposed between the upright rods, and are located between the upper slide memberand the lower slide memberin the up-down direction (Y). The vertical grip rodis spaced apart from one of the upright rodsin the left-right direction (Z). The connection horizontal rodsare spaced apart from each other in the up-down direction (Y), and are disposed between the vertical grip rodand the one of the upright rods.

The grip frame position pinis operable to be inserted in the lower slide memberand a selected one of the grip frame position holesto position the grip frame.

As shown in, the user may move the grip frameleftward or rightward relative to the front frame, and then position the grip frameby the grip frame position pin, so as to adjust a position of the grip framein left-right position (Z). In this way, the user may adjust the position of the grip framein the left-right position (Z) to an appropriate position according to the user's body proportions.

Thus, referring to, when the user uses the embodiment to train for a human flag, the user may lie on his/her side first, rest his/her hip on the support padof the support pad module, and push the support pad moduledownward with his/her own weight. Then, the user may slightly bend his/her elbow and rest his/her elbow on the auxiliary cushion. Afterwards, the user may open his/her arms and grab two of the horizontal grip rodsof the grip frame. At this time, a portion of the counterweight blocksthat is selected by the user and that is connected to the connection rope(a total weight of the portion of the counterweight blocksis usually less than the user's bodyweight) is lifted as the support pad unitdescends. Then, as shown in, when the user exerts strength to grab the two of the horizontal grip rodsand to maintain his/her body in a position parallel to the ground, the portion of the counterweight blocksconnected to the connection ropemoves downward due to gravity to provide the upward supporting force (F), thereby causing the support pad unitto rise and assist the user in raising his/her body in the up-down direction (Y) via the support pad modulethereof. The user may thus be able to keep his/her lower arm away from the auxiliary cushion. Consequently, the user may easily achieve the human flag because a portion of the user's bodyweight is supported by the upward supporting force (F) resulting from the weight of the portion of the counterweight blocks. In addition, the user may choose to grab the vertical grip rod(see), instead of the horizontal grip rods, with both hands to perform the human flag, thereby training different muscles in the arms with different grabbing positions.

It may be understood that, because the upward supporting force (F) is equal to the weight of the selected counterweight block(s), when the user selects a larger number of the counterweight blocks, the upward supporting force (F) becomes greater, which makes it easier for the user to achieve the human flag. Conversely, in order to enhance training effects, the user may select a smaller number of the counterweight blocks.

Through the above description, advantages of the human flag exercise deviceaccording to the present disclosure can be summarized as follows.

1. By virtue of the support pad unitbeing connected to the assistance unit, the assistance unitmay provide the upward supporting force (F) to the user when the user uses the human flag exercise deviceto train for the human flag. Therefore, the user may exert less strength. In addition, because the user's body is supported by the support pad module, a center of gravity of the user's body is more stable, which facilitates the user to continuously hold himself/herself in the human flag position, thereby improving the training effects.

2. By virtue of the position of the grip framebeing adjustable in the left-right direction (Z), and by virtue of the position of the support padbeing adjustable in each of the up-down direction (Y), the left-right direction (Z), and the front-rear direction (X), users with different body proportions may easily adjust the grip frameand the support padto an optimal strength-exerting position for themselves, which makes the human flag exercise deviceuser-friendly.

3. By virtue of the support pad unitcooperating with the auxiliary cushion unitto provide support, the user's hip and elbow/arm are supported when the user prepares to do the human flag, which makes it easier for the user to achieve the human flag smoothly.

In summary, the human flag exercise deviceof the present disclosure may assist the user by allowing the user to achieve the human flag with less strength, and help the user to continuously hold himself/herself in the human flag position, thereby improving the training effects. Moreover, the human flag exercise deviceis adjustable to suit different users, has a wide range of applications, and is user-friendly. Therefore, the purpose of the present disclosure is indeed achieved.

In the description above, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details have been set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiment(s). It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that one or more other embodiments may be practiced without some of these specific details. It should also be appreciated that reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” an embodiment with an indication of an ordinal number and so forth means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic may be included in the practice of the disclosure. It should be further appreciated that in the description, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of various inventive aspects; such does not mean that every one of these features needs to be practiced with the presence of all the other features. In other words, in any described embodiment, when implementation of one or more features or specific details does not affect implementation of another one or more features or specific details, said one or more features may be singled out and practiced alone without said another one or more features or specific details. It should be further noted that one or more features or specific details from one embodiment may be practiced together with one or more features or specific details from another embodiment, where appropriate, in the practice of the disclosure.

While the disclosure has been described in connection with what is (are) considered the exemplary embodiment(s), it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiment(s) but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.