The ThighMaster is an exercise product designed to shape one's thighs .
10-492: The device is essentially two pieces of metal tube bent in a loop and connected with a hinge . The intended use is to put the ThighMaster between the knees and squeeze them together. This exercises the hip adductors . The simple mechanism allows exercising any suitable muscle where a small angle can be created to press it, for example the biceps (elbow flexion) or the hamstrings (knee flexion). Advertisements emphasized that
20-457: A hinge, rather than a simpler device such as a slide, is to prevent the separation of adjacent components. When no bending stresses are transmitted across the hinge, it is called a zero moment hinge . A variety of self-actuating, self-locking hinges have been developed for spacecraft deployable structures such as solar array panels, synthetic aperture radar antennas, booms, radiators, etc. Deployable structure A deployable structure
30-448: Is a mechanical bearing that connects two solid objects, typically allowing only a limited angle of rotation between them. Two objects connected by an ideal hinge rotate relative to each other about a fixed axis of rotation , with all other translations or rotations prevented; thus a hinge has one degree of freedom . Hinges may be made of flexible material or moving components. In biology , many joints function as hinges, such as
40-416: Is a structure that can change shape so as to significantly change its size. Examples of deployable structures are umbrellas , some tensegrity structures, bistable structures , some Origami shapes and scissor-like structures. Deployable structures are also used on spacecraft for deploying solar panels and solar sails . Space-based deployable structures can be categorized into three primary classes:
50-600: The OED , the English word hinge is related to hang . Other types of hinges include: Since at least medieval times, there have been hinges to draw bridges for defensive purposes for fortified buildings. Hinges are used in contemporary architecture where building settlement can be expected over the life of the building. For example, the Dakin Building in Brisbane , California ,
60-503: The "ThighMaster" name by Joshua Reynolds (often erroneously credited as the inventor), who also made a great deal of money with his version of the Mood ring . Reynolds is an heir to the fortune of R. J. Reynolds , founder of R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company . This sports-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This tool article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Hinge A hinge
70-575: The ThighMaster could be used while doing something else. The infomercials featured people watching television and exercising with the ThighMaster at the same time. It was mainly advertised in the 1990s by the actress Suzanne Somers . The ThighMaster was invented in Sweden by then-physical medicine intern (later "Dr.") Anne Marie Bennstrom (Prescott) as the "V-Bar" physical therapy device. It later received US design patent number 343882S as "physical exerciser." It achieved commercial success when marketed under
80-496: The elbow joint. Ancient remains of stone, marble, wood, and bronze hinges have been found. Some date back to at least Ancient Egypt , although it is nearly impossible pinpoint exactly where and when the first hinges were used. In Ancient Rome , hinges were called cardō and gave name to the goddess Cardea and the main street Cardo . This name cardō lives on figuratively today as "the chief thing (on which something turns or depends)" in words such as cardinal . According to
90-406: The first is the articulated structure class wherein rigid members contain sliding contact joints or are folded at hinge points and pivot to deploy, often locking into place. The second class consists of on-orbit assembly where a device is fabricated and/or mechanically joined in space to form the structure. The final class is high strain structures (often composed of High strain composites ) wherein
100-489: Was designed with its entrance ramp on a large hinge to allow settlement of the building built on piles over bay mud . This device was effective until October 2006, when it was replaced due to damage and excessive ramp slope. Hinges appear in large structures such as elevated freeway and railroad viaducts, to reduce or eliminate the transfer of bending stresses between structural components, typically in an effort to reduce sensitivity to earthquakes . The primary reason for using
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