Abstract:
A wall mount for use with exercise cords is secured to a wall and provides spring clips at multiple elevations for the attachment of the exercise cord. Each spring clip has a central curved portion that extends through a slot formed in the wall mount to provide an attachment point to which the exercise cords can be clipped with a caribiner. The wall mount is secured to the wall with a material-specific anchor. The cords may be quickly and easily attached and reattached to the spring clips at plural elevations for a large number of resistive exercise options.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENTS 
   Not applicable 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates exercise equipment and more particularly to devices for securing exercise cords to walls. 
   There has been tremendous growth in the number of fitness facilities and gyms. Many of these facilities are elaborately equipped, with a full range of equipment for strength and aerobic exercising. These facilities satisfy the needs of adults who have the resources and desire to work out using the best equipment. The equipment at these facilities has improved as well, but is generally designed, sized and selected with the adult member in mind 
   Not everyone has those resources for taking advantage of these facilities, and some have not perceived the need to work out. The elderly and the very young, in particular, may not be able to afford monthly dues at fitness facilities or be able to operate the adult-sized equipment safely. In addition, children need to develop a positive attitude toward exercise for exercise&#39;s sake at an early age. 
   The activity levels of children have tended to decline in recent years as a result of reduced time allocated for physical education and recess from many schools. There is also an increase in sedentary activities of children, such as watching television and playing with computer games, which compete with outdoor play time. In addition, the diet of children has worsened. Fats and sugars have increased in relation to complex carbohydrates and protein sources. As an inevitable result, the percentage of children who are overweight has tripled in the last twenty years. 
   Few schools have the resources—or the space—for a full line of fitness equipment, certainly not in the quantity needed for the school population. Furthermore, adult-sized fitness equipment would be of little use in the early grades because of biomechanics and complex adjustments. 
   Thus there remains a need for a way to introduce children in the younger grades to exercise, particularly resistance exercise, that is simple, inexpensive, requires minimal facilities space, and is safe for children to use and not likely to cause injury when not in use. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   According to its major aspects and briefly recited, the present invention is a wall mount for exercise cords. The wall mount has a first side that is secured to the wall and provides spring clips at multiple elevations, each spring clip having a central curved portion that extends through a slot formed in the wall mount from the first side to an opposing second side for providing a site for the attachment of an exercise cord. The first side is anchored to a wall using expansion bolts or other material specific securement that provides proper anchoring. The cords may be quickly and easily attached and reattaached to the spring clips using caribiners. A large number of exercises can thus be done using exercise cords at different elevations. The cords come in various resistances to stretching so that smaller children or those who are deconditioned can use cords with less resistance and larger children or those with greater physical capacity can use cords with increased resistance. 
   An important feature of the present invention is the fact that it is anchored in the wall securely. Prior art wall mounts rely on screws or on pinching a strap or handle between a door and a doorframe. The present wall mount is fastened into masonry or studs by using material-specific anchors and bolts or equivalent providing additional security against coming loose. 
   The location of the securement sites of the wall mount proximate to the exercise cord attachment sites is another important feature of the present invention. This co-location puts less strain on the wall mount and relatively more on the securement when the exercise cords are pulled. 
   Another important feature of the present invention is the spring clips that are used for attaching the exercise cords. The central curves of these spring clips protrude from the rear of the mount and brace against the rear side of the wall mount when the exercise cord is pulled. 
   Still another important feature of the present invention is the shape of the wall mount. It is formed to have a low profile, with no sharp edges. The bolts that hold the wall unit to the anchors are recessed within the wall mount rim so that people brushing past the mounts are not exposed to the sharp edges of the bolts. The rings are protected on either side by a raise area forming shoulders on either side of the central portion of the spring clips so that clothing, for example, does not get caught on the spring clips. 
   Another feature of the present invention is the use of fixed elevations for the spring clips. Fixing the elevations, but allowing plural elevations, allows the user choices of elevations for different exercises. It also simplifies the construction and eliminates moving parts and maintenance. 
   These and other features and their advantages will be apparent to those skilled in the art of transmission line voltage measurement from a careful reading of the Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments accompanied by the following drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
     In the drawings, 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the wall mount according to a preferred embodiment; 
       FIG. 2  is a cross sectional view of the wall mount of  FIG. 1 , taken along lines  2 - 2 ; 
       FIG. 3  is a cross sectional view of the wall mount of  FIG. 1 , taken along lines  3 - 3 ; and 
       FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5  illustrate two exercises that can be done with a wall mount according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention is a wall mount for use with exercise cords. It is a system that includes the wall mount, the exercise cords and the hardware for attaching the exercise cord to the wall mount. 
   The term exercise cord is intended to include any flexible, resilient device with a major dimension much longer than its minor dimension and that increases resistance the farther it is stretched (up to its elastic limit). Exercise cords include tubes, cylinders and flat straps that are made of rubber, whether synthetic or natural, or other rubber-like material. The preferred prior art exercise cords are in the form of bungee cords with handles affixed to each end. They are available with different resistances to stretching and are often color coded to indicate the particular resistance level of each cord. Other types of exercise cords are commonly called rubber tubes. 
   The prior art exercise cord is modified in the present invention for some exercises by combining it with a clip. To facilitate clipping the exercise cord to the wall mount, it is convenient to slip a caribiner over one end of the cord, center the caribiner between the ends of the exercise cord and then secure the caribiner in the centered location with a “hog ring,” which is a short wire or wires bent around the bungee cord near the caribiner and crimped, thus holding the caribiner in position in the center of the bungee cord, as illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . The hog ring can be covered with tape or other wrap for a more finished appearance if desired. 
   A caribiner is a clip having a generally oval shape but being slightly wider at one end and having a pivoting gate along one side that opens only inwardly (see  FIG. 1 ). Other clips that will allow the user to attach the exercise cord to a closed ring safely and securely would be equivalent. 
   Once the caribiner is attached to the exercise cord, it can be clipped to any one of the plural points of attachment provided by the wall mount. 
   Referring now to  FIGS. 1-5 , a wall mount  10  according to the present invention preferably is formed in thirty inch lengths and may thus be mounted in pairs, spaced apart, arranged vertically (as shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 ) on a wall  12 , to provide plural attachment sites  14  for an exercise cord  20 . Wall mount  10  may be made of any strong, rigid material including metals and metal alloys such as aluminum and steel or of plastic or composite materials such as engineering grades of nylon and fiberglass-reinforced plastic or combinations thereof. Most preferably, it is injection-molded of plastic and formed to engage wall  12 , that is, lying generally flat against wall  12 . 
   Wall mount  10  has plural securement sites  22 , preferably three, and plural exercise cord attachment sites  14 , also preferably three, and most preferably with a securement site  22  proximate to each cord attachment site  14  so that the direction exercise cord  20  is being pulled is only slightly displaced from the direction of the tension provided by the securement to wall  12 . Moreover, plural securement sites  14  help to assure that if one securement site  14  fails, other securement sites can continue to hold fast. 
   Each wall securement site  22  is formed to define a shallow circular recess  24  dimensioned to be deep enough to receive a washer  30  and the head  32  of a bolt  34 , with both lying within recess  24  and not extending above a rim  38  of wall mount  10 . 
   Wall mount  10  is attached to wall  12  using securements appropriate for the type of wall structure, material and the level of force the user expects to exert on exercise cords  20 . Many schools, for example, use cinderblock or other masonry for interior and exterior support walls in gyms and in hallways. Therefore using bolts  34  and expansion bolts  44 , as shown, or Molly bolts or other bolts that, when installed, apply an additional force against the direction of pull are preferred, whether that is by use of expansion bolts  44  that have teeth or increased frictional forces by exerting a greater normal force on masonry  46 , or, for walls that have support studs should be used. Most preferably, the securement should provide additional security against coming loose from wall  12  than the threads of screws. 
   From the front of wall mount  10  ( FIG. 1 ), exercise cord  20  attachment sites  14  appear to present a ring, insofar as a continuous portion of a wire appears extending through a slot  50  in a raised area  52  of wall mount  10 . The “ring” is actually a central curve  56  in a triply curved stiff spring clip  58 , preferably made of steel. Wall mount  10  in the vicinity of slots  50  is raised to form flanges or shoulders  60  on either side of central curve  56  to prevent clothing from snagging on spring clip  58 . 
   The ends  64 ,  66  of spring clip  58  lateral to central curve  56  are curved in a direction that is the reverse of that of central curve  56  so as to engage first side  68  of wall mount  10 , where they are glued in place and will press against first side  68  when a pulling force is exerted on central curve  58 . 
   It is important that spring clip  58  not slip through slot  50  when subject to a pulling force. Several features combine to prevent this from happening. First, spring clip  58  is stiff and of heavy gage steel. Second, spring clip  58  is much longer than slot  50  is wide, being nearly as wide as the width of wall mount  10 , and slot  50  is only as thick as the spring clip  58  to make it extremely difficult for lateral ends  64 ,  66 , of spring clip  58  to be forced together directly or overlappingly to allow spring clip  58  to be pulled through slot  50  from first side  68  to a second side  62 . Third, internal structure  70  of wall mount  10  adjacent to spring clip  58  and the adhesive  74  holding it in place prevent spring clip  58  from twisting. 
   The raised area  52  (with respect to wall  12  on which wall mount  10  is attached) surrounding spring clip  58 , in addition to providing space for spring clip  58  itself, and protection against snagging of clothing, helps to hold spring clip  58  in place and in alignment. The exterior surface of wall mount  10 , including rim  38 , is curved elsewhere as well so as not to snag clothing or skin. Central curve  56  of spring clip  58  is the portion of wall mount  10  that extends farthest from wall  12 . 
   Exercise cord  20  is attached to spring clips  58  using a caribiner  76  that is in turn secured in place to exercise cord using a hog ring or rings  80  to hold caribiner  76  in place, as described above. 
   Referring now to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , there are illustrated but two of many different exercises that are possible using the present wall mount  10  and exercise cord  20 .  FIG. 4  shows the user doing an exercise called a “high fly” at the midpoint of the exercise. Exercise cord  20  is attached at an upper attachment site  14 . 
     FIG. 5  illustrates a user doing an exercise called a “low pull up” in the starting and finishing position. Exercise cord  20  is attached at a lower attachment site  14 . 
   These and other exercises that can be done with the present system can improve strength, cardio-respiratory conditioning, flexibility, and muscle endurance. 
   It is intended that the scope of the present invention include all modifications that incorporate its principal design features, and that the scope and limitations of the present invention are to be determined by the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. It also should be understood, therefore, that the inventive concepts herein described are interchangeable and/or they can be used together in still other permutations of the present invention, and that other modifications and substitutions will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing description of the preferred embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention.