Abstract:
An exercise device includes a first elastic material portion having a first face and a second face disposed opposite the first face, a second elastic material portion having a third face and a fourth face disposed opposite the third face, and a plurality of joining regions, wherein the second face of the first elastic material portion attaches to the third face of the second elastic material portion at each joining region. Each joining region is capable of simultaneous multidimensional stretching when subjected to or released from an applied load. An assembly of integrally connected exercise devices includes a first exercise device integrally connected to a second exercise device, wherein a joining region is capable of separation into two smaller joining regions when the first exercise device and the second exercise device are separated.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention generally relates to an exercise device. More particularly, the present invention pertains to an elastic resistive exercise band. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Resistive exercising has long been incorporated into athletic training and therapeutic regimens in order to help prevent injury, enhance performance, and rehabilitate muscles after injury or surgery. Conventional isometric or isotonic exercise devices have been used to provide avenues for strength training and muscle therapy without the cost and space required with more bulky equipment. In particular, many types of single loop bands or single strip bands of elastic material have been developed that allow a user to manually exercise based solely on the resistive action provided by the band. For example, the user may exercise with an endless loop band by holding the band toward one end with a hand or a foot and attaching the other end of the band to a stationary object, such as a door, or holding the other end with another hand or foot. Often, in order to obtain and maintain a proper grip on conventional bands, a user must loop the band multiple times around their hand or foot, or tie knots at an appropriate location in the band. These methods to provide effective handles at appropriate locations along a conventional band often result in damage to the band and/or a localized pressure on the hand or foot area, i.e., a cutting in of the band, due to a significant narrowing of the band in and around the area of the knot. To avoid this digging-in effect of the knotted band, the user may rely almost entirely on a finger grip, for example, rather than mounting the band over a larger portion of an extremity, such as a wrist or ankle. Some users, such as the elderly or those with extensive damage to the muscles of the hands or feet, for example, may not be able to effectively grip the bands and thus may deviate from a therapeutic regimen prescribed by a physician to strengthen and/or rehabilitate damaged muscles and/or cause additional injury to themselves. To alleviate this discomfort, some users may rely on special handles that have to be separately attached to the exercise device, resulting in additional cost and complexity that can be discouraging to users. 
     There is a need for an exercise device that permits easy and efficient use without the need to reconfigure the device with knots or constricting loops, wherein an isotropic nature of the material used to make the device allows the device to easily contour to the shapes of surfaces, providing reduced slip when mounting to various objects, for example, while simultaneously being capable of shaping to the contours of a user&#39;s anatomy for added comfort. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The foregoing needs are met, to a great extent, by the present invention, wherein in some embodiments an exercise device that is capable of overcoming the disadvantages described herein at least to some extent is provided. 
     The present disclosure provides in some embodiments, a device for exercising muscles that relies on the resistive properties of a material used to produce a series of flexible loops. The device can be formed from strips of elastic material periodically joined at select intervals. More particularly, an exercise device includes a first elastic material portion having a first face and a second face disposed opposite the first face, a second elastic material portion having a third face and a fourth face disposed opposite the third face, and a plurality of joining regions, wherein the second face of the first elastic material portion attaches to the third face of the second elastic material portion at each joining region. Each joining region is capable of simultaneous multidimensional stretching when subjected to or released from an applied load. 
     In accordance with other aspects of the present disclosure, an assembly of integrally connected exercise devices includes a first exercise device integrally connected to a second exercise device. Each exercise device includes a first elastic material portion, a second elastic material portion, a plurality of joining regions periodically attaching the first elastic material portion to the second elastic material portion, and a plurality of consecutive loops, each loop defining an open space between consecutive joining regions and between the first elastic material portion and the second elastic material portion, wherein each joining region is capable of separation into two smaller joining regions, the first smaller joining region defining a closed end of the first exercise device and the second smaller joining region defining a closed end of the second exercise device when the first exercise device and the second exercise are separated. 
     In accordance with yet other aspects of the present disclosure, an exercise device includes an elongate strip formed from an elastic material and folded over to form a first portion and a second portion disposed opposite the first portion, and a plurality of joining regions periodically provided along a longitudinal length of the elongate strip to connect areas of the first portion to areas of the second portion and form a plurality of consecutive closed loops. 
     There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, certain embodiments of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof, herein may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional embodiments of the invention that will be described below and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. 
     In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of embodiments in addition to those described and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein, as well as the abstract, are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. 
     As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a perspective view of an exercise device in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates an enlarged perspective view of an exercise device in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a front view of the exercise device shown in  FIG. 2 , in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a left side view of the exercise device shown in  FIG. 3 , in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 5  illustrates a top view of the exercise device shown in  FIG. 2 , in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The invention will now be described with reference to the drawing figures, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout. 
     Various aspects of an exercise device may be illustrated by describing components that are coupled, attached, and/or joined together. As used herein, the terms “coupled”, “attached”, and/or “joined” are used to indicate either a direct connection between two components or, where appropriate, an indirect connection to one another through intervening or intermediate components. In contrast, if a component is referred to as being “directly coupled”, “directly attached”, and/or “directly joined” to another component, there are no intervening elements present. 
     Relative terms such as, for example, “lower” or “bottom”, “upper” or “top”, “end” or “ends”, “face” or “base”, may be used herein to describe one element&#39;s relationship to another element illustrated in the drawings. It will be understood that relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of an exercise device in addition to the orientation depicted in the drawings. By way of example, if aspects of an exercise device shown in the drawings are turned over, elements described as being on the “bottom” side of the other elements would then be oriented on the “top” side of the other elements. The term “bottom” can therefore encompass both an orientation of “bottom” and “top” depending on the particular orientation of the apparatus. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a perspective view of an exercise device  10 , in accordance with aspects of the present invention. The device  10  may include a base portion  12  and a top portion  14 . The base portion  12  and top portion  14  may be formed from any suitable natural rubber or synthetic material to impart the material properties discussed herein, such as a thermoplastic elastomeric material that provides a high degree of elasticity, resists tearing, and maintains a desired shape and flexibility when generally at rest even after extensive repetitive stretching. 
       FIG. 1  also illustrates that the base portion  12  and the top portion  14  may be connected at joining regions along their length, such that a plurality of loops  16  are formed between the base portion  12  and the top portion  14 . The loops  16  may be formed by connecting the base portion  12  and the top portion  14  in any suitable fashion, such as, for example, by heat bonding, radio frequency or ultrasonic welding, and/or through use of various adhesive applications. In accordance with yet other aspects of the present disclosure, any suitable tool or device may be used for forming a joining region  18 , including brackets, for example, that allows the joining region to have a homogeneous elongation substantially similar to the elongation properties of the other portions of the exercise device  10 . As illustrated in the exemplary device  10  in  FIG. 1 , there are eight loops  16  formed periodically along the length of the device  10 , each individual loop  16  being separated by a joining region  18 . In accordance with aspects of the present disclosure, there may be between 6 and 12 loops along the length of an exercise device, with each loop  16  being about 6 in. in length when unexpanded, but any suitable number of loops  16  can be used. Additionally, although the loops  16  shown in  FIG. 1  are of the same general dimensions, the loops  16  may vary in size individually such that various patterns of varying sized loops  16  may be combined to form an exercise device  10 . For example, alternating 4 in. and 6 in. loops  16  or 6 in. loops with a 12 in. center loop may be used. 
       FIGS. 2-5  illustrate various views of an enlarged portion of the exercise device  10  to illustrate general concepts that may apply to the device  10  as a whole. For example, although shown as open loops in  FIG. 1 ,  FIGS. 2 and 4  illustrate that the loops  16  may lie flat when, for example, the exercise device  10  is in a general state of rest or, in particular, when the exercise device  10  is in a state of use, under tension, and the particular loop  16  is not being used as a loop or handle. Accordingly, when in the closed state, a loop  16  is actually a two-layered feature that provides redundancy in the event of a tear or rips in one of the base portion  12  and the top portion  14 . The redundancy provides a measure of safety for the device, preventing injury that might otherwise occur in a unitary design when the single layer of material snaps, unexpectantly releasing resistance during an exercise and/or causing a part of the exercise device  10  to snap toward the user in a dangerous manner. Even in the event of a full tear through the exercise device  10 , such as by way of a sharp edge on a stationary support being used with the device, one of the base portion  12  or the top portion  14  will tend to tear first, alerting the user to the situation with only a partial release of the resistive force, enabling the user to avoid serious injury during use. Moreover, the redundant nature of the dual-layered design minimizes in general the impact or “snap-back” of a snapped or released exercise device  10  that may occur during general use. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , in general, the base portion  12  can be formed from a longitudinal length of elastic material having a first end  20  and a second end  22 , and the top portion  14  can also be formed from a second longitudinal length of material having a first end  24  and a second end  26 . For example, the process of making the device  10  may include linearly feeding from a spool of material the top portion  14  to overlay the base portion  12  also linearly fed from a second spool of material. The material may be a sheeting material, for example, or a tubing material that is fed longitudinally from the spools. The material used for the base portion  12  and the top portion  14  is preferably the same, however, each portion  12  and  14  may use material having different material characteristics. A bonding process, such as heat sealing or application of an adhesive, may be performed to connect the base portion  12  and the top portion  14  at predetermined intervals, and defining the joining regions  18  of the exercise device  10 , which may be spaced at equal intervals or intervals of varied length. In accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure, the longitudinal area of particular joining regions  18  may be double bonded, for example, at predefined intervals, such as every eighth joining region. Although any joining region may define an area that upon separation forms two ends of two individual exercise devices  10 , double-bonding may be used if added strength is desired for the ends of the exercise devices. In some therapeutic regimens, for example, the exercises to be performed may disproportionally rely on using the end loops of the exercise device  10 , in which case the added strength imparted by double bonding may be desirable. Doubling the bonded area may increase the strength of the two smaller joining regions forming the ends of the separated exercise devices. Although referred to herein as double-bonding, double-bonding may refer to any increase in the bonding area of a joining region over the bonding area of similar joining regions. 
     The joining regions  18 , which may appear ridged as in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , may be formed to have any desired appearance in accordance with the configuration of the machining tools. The ridges may serve to provide visual guidance for cutting or separating the bonded elastic layers devices at one of the joining regions, permitting customization of an exercise device or separation of one exercise device from an assembly of multiple exercises devices. 
     In accordance with other aspects of the present disclosure, rather than a ridged crimping tool, a crimping tool may be used that provides for any suitable smooth, textured, and/or embossed surface appearance. The material of the base portion  12  and the top portion  14  may be configured to have a smooth, textured, and/or embossed surface appearance. 
     In accordance with yet other aspects of the present invention, large spools, rolls or folded stacks, for example, of a series of connected exercise devices  10  may be provided, whereupon a practitioner may individually remove an individual exercise device  10  from the assembly by cutting through one of the joining regions  18  at a desired length. The practitioner may thus control the individual length of each exercise device  10  to suit a particular user&#39;s needs while maintaining a compact arrangement for storage. Alternately, the spool length of connected exercise devices  10  may be scored along joining regions  18  at particular lengths to enable easy and efficient removal of an individual exercise device  10  from the larger collection of spooled exercise devices. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , a notch  30  may be provided along one or both longitudinal sides of the base portion  12  and/or top portion  14  between consecutive joining regions  18 . Each notch  30  corresponds to an unnotched region  32  in the opposing base portion  12  or top portion  14 . In this manner, a user may easily grip the unnotched region  32  in order to separate the base portion  12  from the top portion  14  to form a loop  16 . Although shown to be parabolic in shape, the notch  30  may be formed in any shape that creates an aesthetically pleasing appearance when viewed in the context of the overall appearance of the exercise device  10 . The notch  30  may be centered along a particular longitudinal side of the base or top portions, with one notch  30  formed on one side of the device  10  in the base portion  12  and another notch  30  formed on the opposing side of the device  10  in the top portion  14 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . In accordance with yet other aspects of the present invention, the notch or notches  30  may be formed at any point along the longitudinal sides of the base and top portions  12  and  14  respectively. 
     The consecutive loops  16  on the exercise device  10  allow for quick positioning of the device  10  when mounting the device to an object, for example. Rather than having to tie the device  10  around an object, one end of the device  10  may be quickly wrapped around a suitable mounting portion of the object and routed through one of the loops  16 , preferably near the other end of the device  10 . Continued pulling on the first end of the device  10  may then simply cinch a portion of the device  10  closed around the mounting portion of the stationary object. To quickly remove the exercise device  10 , the user simply releases the active end of the device  10  and pulls on the loop  16  through which the exercise device  10  was originally threaded. The threaded loop  16  eventually disengages the active end and releases the active end to freely dismount the exercise device  10  from the object. 
     A user generally relies on the resistive nature of the material used to construct the base portion  12  and top portion  14  of the exercise device  10 . In this manner, the base portion  12  and/or top portion  14  may be composed of an elastic material having a certain thickness and/or that is dimensioned to impart a particular range of resistance to a user exercising with the device. In this manner, an identification system may be used to indicate a series of exercise devices having progressive levels of resistance. For example, a system of numbers, colors, letters, symbols, patterns, or any other appropriate marking may be used to indicate a system of exercise devices having progressive levels of resistance. 
     In accordance with other aspects of the present invention, the elastic material used to construct the base portion  12  and top portion  14  may be an isotropic material capable of stretching similarly in any direction. The isotropic nature of the material allows the material to easily contour to the shapes of surfaces, providing better grip when mounting to various objects, for example, while simultaneously being capable of shaping to the contours of a user&#39;s anatomy. The isotropic material may thus provide a more effective and comfortable resistive type exercise apparatus, and allow a greater range of exercises to be performed using the device. 
     In addition, the elastic nature of the material provides for a homogeneous stretch and recovery of loaded portions of the exercise device, the material stretching similarly under an applied load across both the joining regions and loops to provide a consistent progression for the user without a bottoming out or abrupt stop that is often experienced when using a conventional exercise device. For example, conventional exercise devices comprising a fabric component in combination with elastic webbing experience a specific endpoint limitation due to the inelastic nature of the fabric material, causing the abrupt stop or bottoming out sensation that can be uncomfortable to a user and limiting the range of exercises that can be performed using the device. During recovery, the nature of the elastic material of the present invention providing a consistent elongation across the joining regions and the loops allows for a smooth and consistent recovery of the exercise device back toward the rest state. Furthermore, exercise devices based on a fabric component are subject to an increased wear of the fabric material, which can change the intended level of resistance and the consistency of elongation over time with respect to the exercise device. In addition, fabric based devices are often much more slippery making mounting the device on an object in accordance with the methods disclosed herein much more dangerous and less effective for performing a broader range of exercises. 
     Although the exercise device  10  may be mounted to a stationary object, such as a door handle, for example, the exercise device  10  may also be cinched in the manner described above around a user&#39;s torso, for example, or various portions of the legs and arms. In this manner, a user may be free to quickly and efficiently use the exercise device  10  in a wide variety of ways to perform a wide variety of resistance type exercises. In addition, by providing a series of consecutive loops  16 , the exercise device  10  provides multiple positions for gripping the exercise device  10 , reducing the need for a wide variety of exercise device  10  lengths to accommodate the many different anatomical dimensions for a wide array of users. In addition, the smaller radius of curvature of the consecutive loops  16  provided on the exercise device, when compared to a traditional endless loop band, for example, provides a generally more secure grip when the loop  16  is used during any range of exercises. 
     Other advantages of the exercise device  10  include that use of the loops  16  of the exercise device  10  are more intuitive to an unfamiliar user when compared to an endless open band, for example. Moreover, a user may more easily use the loops  16  to appropriately grip the exercise device  10  without having to tie knots in the device, knots that can apply substantial digging pressure due to the applied pressure of a narrowed band material against a user&#39;s body. The user may rely on the open sides of a loop  16  to more naturally and ergonomically mount the exercise device on a hand, foot, wrist, ankle, or any other suitable portion of a user&#39;s body, and to use the exercise device  10  comfortably and efficiently and in accordance with instructions. The ease of use and efficiencies realized through use of the exercise device  10  may permit users to more quickly move through a series of exercises or routines, which may result in increased user compliance and higher sustained heart rate. 
     The many features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the detailed specification, and thus, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such features and advantages of the invention which fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. Further, because numerous modifications and variations will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation illustrated and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to falling within the scope of the invention.