Portable exercise ball-and-stick apparatus

Abstract

A portable exercise ball-and-stick apparatus includes a base having an upper surface with a centrally-located concave spherical region located within the upper surface, a ball able to be located in the centrally-located concave spherical region of the base and a rod affixed to the ball for freely moving the ball within the centrally-located concave spherical region of the base. Preferably, the includes an additional concave spherical region having a spike centrally located in the additional concave spherical region with the spike extending vertically from a central region of the additional concave spherical region for receiving in a complementary slot situated longitudinally and on a side of the opposite from which the rod extends from said ball for when the exercise apparatus is not being used. Preferably, the rod includes a hand grip at the end of the rod distal to the ball with the hand grip being able to rotate or swivel relative to the rod.

Claims

1. A portable exercise ball-and-stick apparatus, comprising: a base having an upper surface with a centrally-located concave spherical region located within the upper surface; a ball locatable in the centrally-located concave spherical region of said base; and, a rod affixed to said ball for freely moving said ball within the centrally-located concave spherical region of said base, wherein said base further includes an additional concave spherical region having means for permitting retention of said ball within said additional concave spherical region when said ball is not located within said centrally-located concave spherical region, wherein said means for permitting retention of said ball within said additional concave spherical region includes a spike centrally located in said additional concave spherical region with said spike extending vertically from a central region of said additional concave spherical region for being received in a complementary slot situated longitudinally and on a side of said ball opposite from which said rod extends from said ball.

2. The portable exercise ball-and-stick apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said rod is removably affixed to said ball.

3. The portable exercise ball-and-stick apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said rod is removably affixed to said ball via a threaded-screw connection.

4. The portable exercise ball-and-stick apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said rod includes a handle or hand grip located at an end of said rod distal from said ball for gripping the rod.

5. The portable exercise ball-and-stick apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said handle or said hand grip of said rod includes means for rendering said handle or said hand grip rotatable relative to said rod.

6. A portable exercise ball-and-stick apparatus, comprising: a base having an upper surface with a centrally-located concave spherical region located within the upper surface; a ball locatable in the centrally-located concave spherical region of said base; a rod affixed to said ball for freely moving said ball within the centrally-located concave spherical region of said base; and, a handle or hand grip coaxially located and surrounding an end of said rod distal from said ball for gripping said rod, said handle or hand grip permitting a user of said portable exercise ball-and-stick apparatus to simultaneously grip said handle or hand grip and encircle said rod with a single hand, wherein said base further includes an additional concave spherical region having means for permitting retention of said ball within said additional concave spherical region when said ball is not located within said centrally-located concave spherical region, wherein said means for permitting retention of said ball within said additional concave spherical region includes a spike centrally located in said additional concave spherical region with said spike extending vertically from a central region of said additional concave spherical region for being received in a complementary slot situated longitudinally and on a side of said ball opposite from which said rod extends from said ball.

7. The portable exercise ball-and-stick apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said rod is removably affixed to said ball.

8. The portable exercise ball-and-stick apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said rod is removably affixed to said ball via a threaded-screw connection.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

(1) In the drawing figures, wherein similar features are denoted with similar reference numerals throughout the several views:

(2) FIG. 1 is an elevational view of the portable ball-and-stick exercise apparatus of the present invention;

(3) FIG. 2 is a prospective view of the portable ball-and-stick exercise apparatus of FIG. 1;

(4) FIG. 3 is a prospective view of the base of the ball-and-stick exercise apparatus of the present invention without the ball and rod, as illustrated in FIG. 1;

(5) FIG. 4 is a plan view of the base of the ball-and-stick exercise apparatus of the present invention without the ball and rod, as illustrated in FIG. 3;

(6) FIG. 5A is a prospective view of a portion of the stick of the ball-and-stick exercise apparatus of the present invention showing the ball with a slot in the side of the ball opposite the rod for receiving a spike for retaining the ball-and-stick when not in use;

(7) FIG. 5B is a perspective view of the ball-and-stick exercise apparatus of the present invention showing the ball-and-stick able to be swiveled within a concave spherical portion of the base;

(8) FIG. 6A is a perspective view of the ball-and-stick exercise apparatus of the present invention showing the ball-and-stick with a handle for gripping by a user at the end of the stick distal from the ball; and,

(9) FIG. 6B is a partial, exploded perspective view of the handle of the stick having an extension extending from the handling for insertion into a hollow portion of the distal end of the stick for allowing the handle or hand grip to be swiveled by a user relative to the stick.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES AND PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(10) Turning now, in detail, to an analysis of the accompanying drawing figures, FIG. 1 presents an elevational view of the portable ball-and-rod exercise apparatus 10 of the present invention, which includes a base 12 with ball 14 located in a partial and concave spherical region 16, as best seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, with a rod or stick 18 being affixed to ball 14 and extending vertically therefrom. Rod 18 preferably includes a handle or hand grip 20 for a user to grip the upper portion of rod 18 when exercising. Ball 14 sits in the concave spherical region 16 of base 12, so that rod 18 is freely movable when seated in the concave spherical region of the base. The rod 18 is, preferably, about five to seven feet in length and weighs forty or fifty pounds, though the invention is not limited to a rod having these physical characteristics. The rod is preferably made of dense steel, iron or other metal or material of sufficient weight to provide meaningful weight resistance for exercising. A user is able to move rod 18 either from side-to-side or in any direction, without limitation, since ball 14 uninhibitedly sits within the concave spherical region 16 of the base 12.

(11) FIG. 2 is a prospective view of the portable ball-and-rod exercise apparatus 10 of FIG. 1 having base 12, ball 14 resting in the concave spherical region 16 of base 12 and with rod 18, having handle or hand grip 20, extending therefrom. As able to be seen in FIG. 2 is a second, off-of-center concave spherical region 22 having rod or spike 24 centrally located in spherical region 22 and extending upward therefrom. In a preferred embodiment, ball 14 is provided with an opening or slot 23 therein (as seen in FIGS. 5A and 5B), which slot 23 is situated longitudinally and on the side of the ball opposite from which the rod 18 extends. At the conclusion of a period of exercise, the user can position the rod 18 for placing the spike 24 of the additional concave spherical region 22 within the longitudinal slot 23 of the ball 14, which is opposite the rod 18 used for free rotation of the ball 14 for exercising, for allowing the ball-and-rod combination to be retained during periods of non-use.

(12) FIGS. 3 and 4 are prospective and plan views, respectively, of base 12 without ball 14 having rod 18 seated within the central concave spherical region 16 of base 12. As able to be seen from FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, base 12 further includes a cutout 26 for use as a handle for carrying base 12 separate and apart from the rod 18 having ball 14. Various types of handles or grips 20 are conceivable and possible for readily allowing the user to carry base 14. The base may be made of any durable material, such as a plastic material or a metal.

(13) FIG. 5A best illustrates the ball 14 having slot 23 in the side of the ball, which is longitudinally opposite the stick or rod 18, for receiving spike 24 (as best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4) for retaining the ball-and-stick combination when the user is not using the exercise apparatus.

(14) FIG. 5B shows slot 23 of ball 14 may also be seen in FIG. 5B with the ball-and-stick combination being within the concave spherical region 16 of base 12.

(15) FIG. 6A shows rod or stick 18 with a handle or hand grip 20 for gripping the handle by a user at the end of the stick distal from the ball 14. Preferably, the handle or hand grip 20 is able to swivel or rotate relative to stick 18, so that a user need not adjust his grip during exercise. There are many potential ways for rendering the hand grip rotatable vis--vis the stick or rod the present invention. One way is to provide hand grip 20 with an extension 21 (as illustrated in FIG. 6B) and is able to be placed (and retained) within a hollow portion of the distal end of stick 18, thereby permitting rotation of the hand grip vis--vis rod 18.

(16) While only several embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many modifications may be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof