CA2387149A1 - Fitt-flex strength trainer - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides an improved portable exercise device that utilizes one or a combination of different sized elastic resistance tubes providing varied resistances.
The portable exercise device weighs less than 500 grams and can fit into a 22 cm x 16 cm pouch for easy storage and transport. The device can be anchored to the users foot, to a door or to a pole. By pulling and pushing the elastic resistance tube, the user is able to create the resistance required to perform a vast array of upper and lower body exercises causing muscles and bones to strengthen.
The portable exercise device lets users exercise a vast array of muscle groups at varying resistance levels in a variety of different settings.

Description

:~r. ~ti BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Portable exercise devices have long been known and widely used to exercise, strengthen and tone a person's muscular structure. These various devices have drawbacks which limits their usefulness such as, they may restrict exercise of various muscle groups, may not provide varying resistance levels, lack portability, heavy in weight, large in size, inconvenient for storage, lack of adaptability to different users, lack the versatility to perform specific exercises, difficult to use, expensive and functions in limited locations.
One such apparatus is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,322,483 issued November 27, 2001 to Rotella. The Rotella apparatus is used for various exercisEa by taking a single elastic band and passing it through loops that are affixed iro a doorframe.
U.S. Pat. No 5,766,118 issued Jun 16, 1998 to Connor. The Connor apparatus is used for developing the abdominal muscle group. The Connor apparatus attaches to a vertical surface such as a door or wall using a clamp and includes elastic resistance bands and a harness that is pulled to exercise the muscles.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,601,518 issued Feb 11, 1997 to Weintraub discloses a portable exercise device that comprises two bases. Each of these bases attaches to the top and bottom of a door respectively. A bar is pivotally mountE:d to the bottom base. The bar is attached to a strap on one end and a longitudinally extending biasing means on the other. By pulling on a rod attached to the strap, the user can exercise his or her muscles.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,571,064 issued Nov 5, 1996 to Holm discloses an exercise device which includes a loop for attachment to an anchoring structure and its associated frame, such as a door, which loop receives the elastic cord, which elastic cord is connected to a handle assembly.

;u~ ~ti U.S. Pat. No. 5,254,065 issued on October 19,1993 to Pollock discloses a fastening strap configured as a loop securable between a door and its associated frame.
The strap is used for support of exercise.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,830,365 issued on May 16, 1989 to March discloses an exercise device for home use for attachment to a suitable surface, such as a door, having a vertical tubular housing with spring mechanism and moulded piston assembly inside, to which is attached a rope with various handle means for exercise.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,662,563 issued on Sep 2, 1997 to Maerzke discloses a portable exercise device comprising a flexible elastic material strap grippE;d by three rods held together by removable caps at each end.
It is apparent that an exercise apparatus that overcomes all the limitations of the exercise apparatus described above would be advantageous.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is an improved portable exercise device that can be anchored to a person's foot, a door, a pole or other suitable structures so to allow usage in several different locations. The device is comprised of variable sizes of elastic resistance tubes that are connected to a handle assembly on one end and a footpad assembly on the other end. The device allows for various sizes of elastic resistance tubes to be attached alone or in combination offering very light to very heavy resistance levels so to adapt to different user's physical strengths. The users may exercise by applying force and stretching the elastic resistance tube. The device is light weight and is easily compacted and stored (in a woman's purse for example) for easy transport.

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In the drawings, which form a part of this specification, Fig. 1 is a front view of the portable exercise device with a single elastic resistance tube attached.
Fig. 2 is a side view of the portable exercise device with a single elastic resistance tube attached.
Fig. 3 is a view of an assembled portable exercise device when doubling the elastic resistance tubes by passing the elastic resistance tubes through the webbing loop on the footpad assembly and attaching both ends to the handle assembly.
Fig. 4 is a diagram of the attachment mechanism that secures thE: connection device to the elastic resistance tube.
Fig. 5 is a side view of a swivel hook with three elastic resistance tubes attached.
Fig. 6 is a diagram of the portable exercise device being anchored to a doorframe by pinching the rubber footpad into a "u" shape, placing it in the doorframe at the desired height and closing the door on the webbing.
Fig. 7 is a diagram of a person performing an upper body exercise by anchoring the footpad assembly to a doorframe and pulling the handle towards the body.
Fig. 8 is a diagram of a person performing a lower body exercises by inserting the handle assembly into the doorway and closing the door on the webbing. The users foot is passed through the footpad assembly opening and tightened to the leg with a buckle.
Fig. 9 is a view of a person utilizing the portable exercise device to perform an upper body exercise and using his/her foot as an anchor.

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Fig. 10 is a view of the portable exercise device configured for an upper body exercise by wrapping it around a pole and passing the handle assembly through the footpad assembly hole.
Fig. 11 is a view of a portable exercise device configured for lower body and leg exercises by wrapping it around a pole and passing the footpad assembly through the handle assembly hole.
DETAILED DISCRIPTION OP THE INVENTION
The handle assembly (1 ) is comprised of a foam handle (2) that provides a comfortable grip like surface to prevent slipping and a wide surface area to accommodate one or two-handed exercises. A durable swivel hook (5) is connected to the bottom of the handle assembly (1 ) that allows users to easily attach or detach one or more elastic resistance tubes (7) at the same time to increase or decrease resistance as shown in Fig. 5 (28). During an exercise, the swivel hooks (5 & 13) prevent the elastic resistance tubes (7) from becoming twisted, allowing a large range of motion and consistent resistance. A 61 cm x 2.5 cm piece of durable nylon webbing (3) is passed through the centre of the foam handle (2) and is attached to a durable swivel hook (5). The nylc>n webbing (3) offers very light, durable and compactable characteristics and is sewn with a heavy nylon thread (4). The opening between the swivel hook (;i) and the foam handle (2) is known as the handle assembly opening (20) and can be used to secure the portable exercise device to a pole as shown in fig. 11.
The elastic resistance tube assembly (6) is comprised of a 56 cm long elastic resistance tube (7) commonly constructed of latex rubber. The elastic resistance tubing is manufactured in different diameters and wall thickness so to provide different resistance levels and is easily distinguished from one another by colour. A
durable 2 cm connection device (8 & 9) is attached to each end of the elastic resistance tube (7) via an attachment mechanism (fig. 4). The attachment mechanism (fig. 4) consists of passing approximately 3cms of an elastic resistance . . ;if n i .

tube (7) though a narrow opening (24) in the bottom of the connection device (8 8~ 9), doubling back and cinching the two tubes together with a durable nylon tie strap (25). A 1 cm plastic bead (26) is then glued inside the end of the elastic resistance tube causing a bulge (27) so to prevent the nylon tie strap from slipping.
In the event that the nylon tie strap (25) should slip or break, the plastic bead is large enough so that it will not pass through the bottom of the connection device (8 & 9) and becomes a safety feature. Covering the attachment mechanism (fig.
4) is two 2.5 cm pieces of shrink tubing (10 & 11 ) that act as a cover and protects against wear.
The footpad assembly (12) is comprised of a durable swivel hook (13) that attaches to one or more elastic resistance tubes (7) as shown in fig. 9 (28). Attached to the bottom of the footpad assembly (12) is a rubber footpad (18). The rubber footpad (18) performs several functions, it acts as a pad so to provide comfort, durability, and stability when using the foot as an anchor as shown in fig. 9 (33), it acts as a stopper (fig. 6 29) when anchoring the portable exercise device to a doorway by pinching the rubber footpad into a "u" shape, inserting it into the door and closing the door on the webbing as shown in fig. 5 & 6 (30). The rubber footpad also serves as a brace when performing leg exercises by placing the foot through the footpad assembly opening (19), sliding it up the leg and cinching it snug to the leg by adjusting the 2.5 cm buckle ( 17) as shown in fig. 8 (31 ). Durable nylon webbing (15) is used to connect the components together. The nylon webbing (15) offers very light, durable and compactable characteristics and is sewn with a heavy nylon thread (14). A 5 cm webbing loop (16) located just below the swivel hook (13) is used when doubling one or more elastic resistance tubes (7), as shown in fig.
3 (23), by passing one end of the elastic resistance tube (7) through the webbing loop (16), as shown in fig. 3. (21 ), and attaching both ends of the elastic resistance tubes to the swivel hook (5) on one handle assembly (1 ), as shown in fig. 3 (22). This function allows the user to double the resistance level and shorten the portable exercise device.

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A variety of upper body exercises can be performed by utilizing the users foot as an anchor by inserting either foot into the footpad assembly opening (19) and onto the rubber footpad ( 18) as shown in fig. 9. To shorten the distance between the foot and the hands, the user can simply step on the elastic resistance tube with the other foot to gain the desired length. The device can be attached to a doorframe by pinching the rubber footpad into a "u" shape (fig. b (29)), placing it at the desired height around the door and shutting the door on the nylon webbing (fig. 7 (30)). The portable exercise device can also be attached 'to a pole by wrapping the footpad assembly (12) around a pole, passing the handle through the footpad assembly opening (19) and cinching it tightly to the pole as shown in fig. 10. By using one of these methods of anchoring the footpad assembly (12), the user is able to create resistance by pushing or pulling the foam handle (2) causing the elastic resistance tube (7) to stretch and in doing so exercise a wide range of upper body muscle groups.
For lower body and leg exercises, the handle assembly (1 ) attaches to a door by closing the door on the handle webbing (3) as shown in fig. 8 (32), or attaches to a pole by wrapping the handle assembly (1 ) around a pole and passing the footpad assembly (12) through the handle assembly opening (20) and cinching the handle assembly tightly to the pole as shown in fig. 11. The user then passes either foot through the footpad assembly opening (19), slides the rubber footpad (18) up the leg to the desired position and tightens the buckle (17) for a snug fit. By using these methods to anchor the handle assembly (1 ) the user is able to exert force by pushing and pulling causing the elastic resistance tube to stretch. This action allows the user to perform several different lower body exercises.
The portable exercise device is designed to strengthen, tone and rehabilitate muscles. It has also been proven that resistance training helps to build strong bones, and prevent against degenerative bone loss and osteoporosis.

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The portable exercise device is suitable for a wide variety of people including male and female adults, children, teenagers, and the elderly. Physiotherapist, doctors and personal trainers are able to use the portable exercise device with their patients and clients in a clinical and gym setting as well as recommend it for home use.
This invention provides an improved portable light weight exercise device that allows users to vary the resistance levels, exercises a vast array of muscle groups, in a variety of settings whether it be at home, work, gym, clinic, on a trip, or outside.
A main benefit of this device is its versatility and ease of use allowing the user to design and execute a workout program that suites their needs. After the user has completed his/her exercises, the 500 gram portable exercise device can be quickly and easily bundled up, placed into a 22 cm x 16 cm pouch and easily transported and stored in a purse, briefcase, luggage or pocket for example.

Claims (5)

1. A portable exercise device comprising: a handle assembly, an elastic band assembly and a footpad assembly, a handle assembly comprising of a handle which is attached by a strap to a hook for the attachment and detachment of one or a combination of elastic band assemblies;
an elastic band assembly comprising of an elastic band with a connection device attached to each end which one end connects to a handle assembly and the other end of the elastic band assembly connects to the footpad assembly;
a footpad assembly comprising of a hook that allows for the attachment of one or a combination of elastic bands assemblies which is attached by a strap to a footpad.

2. The portable exercise device claimed in claim 1, wherein the handle assembly hook swivels.

3. The portable exercise device claimed in claim 1, wherein the footpad assembly hook swivels.

4. The portable exercise device claimed in claim 1, wherein the connection device attached to each end of the elastic band assembly by an attachment mechanism which comprises of a an elastic band, a connection device which the elastic band passes through, a tie strap that binds the end of the elastic band to the elastic band before the connection device, and an object located in the end of the elastic band causing a bulge.

5. The portable exercise device claimed in claim 1, wherein the footpad assembly comprises of a flexible footpad, an adjustment buckle, a swivel hook, and a loop.