Quiet Bumper Plate

Abstract

A disk shaped quiet bumper plate for a barbell has a rim of elastomeric material with a shock absorber region. The shock absorber region has a circumferential row of evenly spaced transverse holes. The material between the holes forms radial walls which act as shock absorbers when the bumper plate is dropped. This reduces noise without unduly increasing bounce.

Claims

1. A quiet bumper plate comprising: a) an elastomeric rim, said elastomeric rim comprising a shock absorber region, said shock absorber region comprising a first circumferential row of evenly spaced first holes that pass transversely through said rim; b) a solid elastomeric body radially inside said elastomeric rim; c) a solid hub radially inside said solid elastomeric body; and d) a metal collar radially inside said solid hub, said collar describing a bar hole of about 1 inch in radius such that said bar hole will fit on a bar of a barbell wherein: e) said quiet bumper plate has a disk shape; and f) said quiet bumper plate has a radius in the range of 8.75 to 9.75 inches such that said bumper plate will be suitable for use in weightlifting.

2. The quiet bumper plate of claim 1 wherein said bumper plate has a radius of about 8.89 inches such that said bumper plate is suitable for competition weightlifting.

3. (canceled)

4. (canceled)

5. The quiet bumper plate of claim 1 wherein said shock absorber region has a durometer in the range of Shore A 60 to Shore A 90.

6. (canceled)

7. The quiet bumper plate of claim 1 wherein: a) said solid elastomeric body has a durometer in the range of Shore A 70 to Shore A 90; and b) said solid hub has a radius of about 4.26 inches.

8. The quiet bumper plate of claim 1 wherein: a) said first holes have a width in the range of 0.5 to 0.75 inches; and b) said first holes have a spacing in the range of 0.75 to 1.5 inches.

9. The quiet bumper plate of claim 1 wherein: a) a clearance between said first holes and a cylindrical outer radial surface of said quiet bumper plate is in the range of 0.06 to 0.25 inches.

10. The quiet bumper plate of claim 1 wherein said rim has a thickness and said thickness is in the range of 1.4 to 3.75 inches.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0015] FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a conventional bumper plate.

[0016] FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of an embodiment of a quiet bumper plate.

[0017] FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a quite bumper plate.

[0018] FIG. 4 is a side perspective view of an embodiment of a quiet dumbbell.

[0019] FIG. 5 is a side perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a quiet dumbbell.

[0020] FIG. 6 is a side perspective view of an embodiment of a quiet kettlebell.

[0021] FIG. 7 is a front perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a quiet kettlebell.

[0022] FIG. 8 is a side perspective view of a crescent shock absorber.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] The detailed description describes non-limiting exemplary embodiments. Any individual features may be combined with other features as required by different applications for at least the benefits described herein.

[0024] As used herein, the term about means plus or minus 10% of a given value unless specifically indicated otherwise.

[0025] As used herein, the term shaped means that an item has the overall appearance of a given shape even if there are minor variations from the pure form of said given shape.

ALTERNATIVE EMBODIMENTS

[0026] FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of an alternative quiet bumper plate 300. This is similar to the quiet bumper plate of FIG. 2 except the shock absorber region 302 comprises first holes 304 with an elongated inverted trapezoidal shape. The first holes are evenly spaced circumferentially. Radial walls 306 are formed between the holes. The radial walls have a relatively wide base and narrow top.

[0027] FIG. 4 is a side perspective view of a quiet dumbbell 400. The dumbbell comprises a conventional hexagonal weight dumbbell 404 with a shock absorber 402 wrapped around each weight. The dumbbell may be made of metal and the shock absorber may be made of an elastomer. The holes in the shock absorber are similar to the holes in the quiet bumper plate of FIG. 2.

[0028] FIG. 5 is a side perspective view of an alternative quiet dumbbell 500. The dumbbell comprises a conventional hexagonal weight dumbbell 404 with a shock absorber 502 wrapped around each weight. The dumbbell may be made of metal and the shock absorber may be made of an elastomer. The holes in the shock absorber are similar to the holes in the quiet bumper plate of FIG. 3.

[0029] The shock absorbers for either quiet dumbbell may have flat outer surfaces for stacking (not shown).

[0030] FIG. 6 is a side perspective view of a quiet kettlebell 600. The kettlebell comprises a conventional kettlebell 604 with several shock absorber crescents 602 wrapped around the weight. The kettlebell may be made of metal and the shock absorber crescents may be made of an elastomer. The holes in the shock absorber crescents are similar to the holes in the quiet bumper plate of FIG. 2. The crescents may be attached to the kettlebell by any known means, such as gluing. 8 crescents are provided radially and join at the bottom of the kettlebell. Sufficient crescents are applied so that the metal kettlebell within the crescents does not hit the ground when dropped.

[0031] FIG. 7 is a front perspective view of an alternative quiet kettlebell 700. The kettlebell comprises a conventional kettlebell 604 with several shock absorber crescents 702 wrapped around the weight. The kettlebell may be made of metal and the shock absorber crescents may be made of an elastomer. The holes in the shock absorber crescents are similar to the holes in the quiet bumper plate of FIG. 3. The crescents may be attached to the kettlebell by any known means, such as gluing. 8 crescents are provided radially and join at the bottom of the kettlebell.

[0032] Flat sheets of elastomers with shock absorber regions may be used as mats. The shock absorber regions may be similar to the ones described above. Thus when a weight is dropped on the mat, the mat will suppress noise without unduly increasing bounce. The shock absorber mats may be made by extrusion.

Example 1

[0033] FIG. 8 is a side perspective view of a crescent shock absorber 800 made according to the current invention. The crescent has a thickness 810 of about 1 inch. It has a height 812 of about 1 inch. It has an arcuate shape with a crescent angle 806 of about 90. The radius of curvature to the inside surface 808 is about 8.75 inches. Thus the crescent would conform to the outer curvature of the prior art bumper plate of FIG. 1. A single row of evenly spaced hexagonal first holes 811 is provided. The hole spacing 814 is about 1 inch. The hole width 816 is about 0.63 inches. The radial walls between the holes each have a width 818 of about 0.38 inches. The skin thickness 822 is about 0.13 inches. A first half of a reclosable 3M DualLock fastener 804 is provided on the inside surface of the crescent. The first half was mated to the corresponding second half of the DualLock fastener that was bonded to the outer radial surface of a conventional bumper plate similar to the one shown in FIG. 1. The crescent was formed by molding a thermoplastic elastomeric compound, Stantoprene 101-64 (item 802). The rated durometer of the Stantoprene was Shore A 69.

[0034] A first test was done with a conventional barbell weighing 135 lb. The barbell had a bumper plate on each end of the style shown in FIG. 1. The barbell was dropped from a height of 410 inches onto a rubber stall mat covering a poured concrete floor. The noise of the impact was measured with a decibel meter. 136 dB was recorded when the barbell was dropped without any crescent shock absorbers on the bumper plates.

[0035] A second test was run with four crescent shock absorbers attached to the outer radial surfaces of the bumper plates on the barbell using the DualLock fasteners. The crescents wrapped around the outer surface of each bumper plate. The drop test was repeated. The noise recorded was only 95 dB without an undue increase in bounce.

CONCLUSION

[0036] While the disclosure has been described with reference to one or more different exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the disclosure. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt to a particular situation without departing from the essential scope or teachings thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the disclosure not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention.