BACKGROUND Related Field

[0001] The subject matter discussed herein relates generally to jump ropes used for both exercise and play, and is particularly concerned with a jump rope handle.

Related Background

[0002] Jump ropes generally consist of a rope or cable with handles at its opposite ends and are used for skipping by adults and children, both as a recreation or as a high performance aerobic or cardiovascular exercise. In my prior US Pat. No. 9,320,932, a high performance exercise jump rope is described which comprises a cable attached at opposite ends to handles via a swivel assembly.

[0003] Skipping or jumping rope routines are common and popular for both play and exercise. In particular, athletes and others commonly use rope skipping or jumping in high performance exercise or workout routines for conditioning purposes. Jump rope exercising is also popular as a cross-training exercise which can be performed at different intensity and skill levels. Jump rope handles with swivel attachment to the rope or cable allow the rope to swivel or turn about its central longitudinal axis relative to the handle during skipping. In general, a jump rope handle should have a comfortable grip which resists slipping, and a swivel attachment to the rope which allows smooth swiveling of the cable or rope.

SUMMARY

[0004] According to one aspect, a jump rope handle is provided which comprises a hollow handle member of metal or other rigid material having a bore and opposite first and second ends, the bore having a swivel mounting portion extending to the second end of the handle member, and a swivel assembly mounted in the swivel mounting portion of the bore, the swivel assembly comprising a shoulder bolt having an enlarged head, a shaft having a smooth, unthreaded outer surface of a first diameter extending from the enlarged head to the second end of the handle member, an end connector or end nut secured to the shaft and located outside the bore at the second end of the handle member, the end connector having a cross-hole or other connecting device for connection to one end of a jump rope, and first and second rotatable bearings mounted between the smooth outer surface of the shaft and the handle bore and configured for allowing substantially free rotation of the shoulder bolt in the handle bore.

[0005] In one embodiment, the shoulder bolt has a smaller diameter end portion projecting out of the handle bore and the end cap has a bore in which the end portion engages to secure the end cap to the shoulder bolt by means of adhesive, threaded engagement, or the like.

[0006] In one embodiment, the handle is formed of metal or other rigid material and the bore is a through bore extending between the first and second ends, with the first end being open to reduce the overall handle weight. In one embodiment, the handle has an outer surface with a plurality of spaced annular grooves, and a corresponding number of resilient O-rings are engaged in respective annular grooves with each O-ring projecting partially out of the respective groove to form grips for a user gripping the handle.

[0007] Other features and advantages will become more readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art after reviewing the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a jump rope handle;

[0009] FIG. 2 is a left side elevation view of the jump rope handle member of FIG.

1 with the end cap of FIG. 1 omitted, the right side being a mirror image thereof;

[0010] FIG. 3 is an end elevation view of the handle member of FIG. 2, in the direction 3-3 of FIG. 2;

[0011] FIG. 4 is an outer end perspective view of the jump rope handle of FIG. 1;

[0012] FIG. 5 is an exploded view illustrating the separated parts of the jump rope handle of FIG. 1; and

[0013] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the jump rope handle on the lines 6-6 of

FIG. l . DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0014] The subject matter described herein is taught by way of example implementations. Various details have been omitted for the sake of clarity and to avoid obscuring the subject matter. The examples shown and described below are directed to a jump rope handle with a swivel assembly for smooth rotation of an attached jump rope about the longitudinal axis of the rope during skipping.

[0015] After reading this description it will become apparent to one skilled in the art how to implement the invention in various alternative embodiments and alternative applications. However, although various embodiments of the present invention will be described herein, it is understood that these embodiments are presented by way of example only, and not limitation. As such, this detailed description of various alternative embodiments should not be construed to limit the scope or breadth of the present invention.

[0016] FIGS. 1 to 6 illustrate a jump rope handle 10 adapted for connection to one end of a jump rope or cable with the other end of the jump rope attached to an identical handle. In the illustrated embodiment, handle 10 comprises a handle member 12 having an internal bore 14 and first and second ends 15, 16, and a swivel assembly 18 rotatably engaged in an end portion of the internal bore and having an end nut or connector 19 outside the second end 16 of the handle member. End connector 19 has a generally cylindrical portion with a flattened outer end portion 20 having a cross hole 22 extending transverse to the longitudinal axis of the swivel assembly. An end of a jump rope or cable may be secured to end connector 19 via hole 22 in any suitable manner, for example via a cable connector as described in my US Patent No. 9,320,932, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Alternatively, the end of a jump rope or cable may be simply extended through hole 22 and retained by means of a knot or stop on the end of the rope. Other devices for connecting the jump rope to the swivel assembly. A suitable fixed cap 25 may be secured in the outer or first end 15 of the handle member to close the through bore 14.

[0017] As best illustrated in FIGS. 1, 5 and 6, handle member 12 is hollow and bore 14 is a through bore with an open outer end 25 at the first end 15 of the handle. In one embodiment, the majority or main part of handle member 12 is of relatively lightweight but strong metallic material such as aluminum alloy or stainless steel. The use of a rigid and relatively high strength material allows the handle walls to be relatively thin, as seen in FIG. 6. Additionally, leaving the outer end open with no end cap further reduces the overall handle weight. Through bore 14 is of stepped diameter, and has an end portion 26 in which the swivel assembly 18 is seated. Swivel assembly 18 basically comprises a shoulder bolt 28 having an enlarged head 30, a shaft 32 having a smooth, unthreaded outer surface extending from the enlarged head through bore end portion 26 to the end 16 of the handle member, and end connector or nut 19 secured to the shaft 32 and located outside the bore at the second end 16 of the handle member. First and second identical rotatable bearings 34, 35 are mounted between the smooth outer surface of shaft and stepped seats 36, 37 in bore end portion 26. Bearings 35 and 36 are configured for allowing substantially free and smooth rotation of the shoulder bolt in the handle bore. In one embodiment, the bearings 34, 35 may be Annular Bearing Engineering Committee (ABEC) class 7 precision bearings. As illustrated in FIG. 6, end connector or nut 19 has a threaded bore 38 at its inner end, and a reduced diameter, threaded end portion 40 projects from the smooth internal portion of the shaft and is in threaded engagement in bore 38 to rigidly secure connector 19 to shaft 32. In alternative embodiments, shaft 32 may be secured to connector 19 by other fastening means such as adhesive or welding, but the threaded engagement outside the handle bore 14 allows for separation of the parts as in Fig. 5 for both initial installation and maintenance purposes.

[0018] In the illustrated embodiment, the outer surface of the handle member is also of stepped diameter, and includes spaced portions 42, 44 of substantially equal diameter and a small, reduced diameter waist portion 45 between portions 42, 44. Each portion 42, 44 has a set of three spaced grooves 45, and a respective elastomeric or rubber O-ring 46 is seated in each of the grooves. As seen in FIGS. 1, 2, 5 and 6, the O-rings 46 extend out of the respective grooves to provide gripping formations for the user's hand. The use of O-ring grips instead of outer elastomeric gripping inserts or sleeves further reduces the weight of the jump rope handles and makes them easy to use in a jump rope assembly. The combination of smooth metal and rubber O-rings and the overall outer handle shape of FIG. 1 and 2 also creates an aesthetically pleasing, ornamental external appearance to the handle member.

[0019] In one embodiment, the length of the handle member 12 was around 5.0 to

5.5 inches, the largest diameter portion of the outer surface had a diameter of around 0.9 to 1.0 inches, the smallest diameter of the swivel mounting portion 26 had a diameter of around 0.30 inches, and the swivel bearing seats 36 and 37 had a diameter of around 0.39 to 0.40 inches. [0020] The smooth shoulder bolt 28 of the swivel assembly that both bearings rest upon in the above embodiment creates tighter tolerance and relatively high performance which is enhanced by having an end connector or head for attachment to the rope or cable which is located completely outside the handle bore. This allows for fast and smooth swiveling or rotation of the attached rope or cable relative to the handle.

[0021] The above description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles described herein can be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is to be understood that the description and drawings presented herein represent a presently preferred embodiment of the invention and are therefore representative of the subject matter that is broadly contemplated by the present invention. It is further understood that the scope of the present invention fully encompasses other embodiments that may become obvious to those skilled in the art and that the scope of the present invention is accordingly limited by nothing other than the appended claims.