Abstract:
A portable combination exercise mat adjustable for varying degrees of difficulty is disclosed. The exercise mat combines abdominal, aerobic, weight lifting, and resistance exercises. The exercise mat is easy to produce, compact in size, inexpensive, and readily transportable.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to floor exercise mats and more particularly to an exerciser that seeks to combine cardio, muscular development and abdominal exercises in one portable device. 
         [0003]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0004]    There exist numerous types of exercisers ranging in cost from a few hundred dollars to many thousands of dollars. Often, these exercisers are limited to just one or a few exercise routines, and when enabled to do more tend to be large, heavy, expensive, occupy lot of space and cannot be easily transported. In case where an exerciser is relatively inexpensive and portable, it also tends to be very limited in the number of routines it is capable of performing. Typical of such exercisers are chest expanders that have springs positioned between two hand grips and can be used primarily to develop arm and chest muscles. Limited elongation of the springs and the design of the hand grips make it cumbersome to use these devices to develop any other muscle groups. Similar to these exercisers are stretchable elements, usually made of rubber or similar materials, but also suffering from similar limitations as the chest expanders. Other exercisers employing flexible loops that also usually include handles exist but seem to have difficulties in adopting the loops to the hand or the foot of the user. 
         [0005]    A typical exercise mat is a heavy stationary device that may be used to do primarily sit-up type of exercise, thus developing primarily abdominal muscles. Even in case where a mat is portable, its functionality remains limited. Of the aerobic stepper exercisers presently in existence, some are single height and some are adjustable. Some also come with storage compartments for other items, such as weights. While these exercisers provide for good aerobic workout they lack the ability to develop abdominal muscles. 
         [0006]    Examples of patented devices which are illustrative of such exercisers are U.S. Pat. Nos.: 6,220,994; 5,697,870; 6.623,270; 6,935,382; 4,905,990. 
         [0007]    The exercise system according to the present invention solves all the above shortcomings by providing for aerobic, abdominal and chest, arm and leg muscle development in one inexpensive, compact and easily portable device. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    The primary purpose of the present invention is to provide a simple, affordable and portable exercise system that enables development of many muscle groups. 
         [0009]    It is an object of the present invention to combine several mat sections to accommodate different types of exercises. 
         [0010]    It is another object of the present invention to connect the mat sections to each other and enable easy folding and transportation. 
         [0011]    Still another object of the present invention is to provide one or more steps in one of the mat sections. 
         [0012]    It is an object of the present invention to provide an incline in one of the mat sections. 
         [0013]    Yet another object of the present invention is to employ soft material in different mat sections and firm material in step section of the mat. 
         [0014]    Still a further object of the present invention is to provide for an adjustable incline in one of the mat sections. 
         [0015]    Another object of the present invention is to provide for adjustable height of the step section. 
         [0016]    It is another object of the present invention to have two steps in one of the mat sections. 
         [0017]    Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a non-slip surface on the step section of the mat. 
         [0018]    Still another object of the present invention is to provide for an absorbent material on top of mat sections. 
         [0019]    Another object of the present invention is to provide a device for anchoring feet while performing abdominal exercises. 
         [0020]    A further object of the present invention is to provide an exercise system that is affordable, easy to store and requires minimal storage space. 
         [0021]    These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become obvious to those with ordinary skill in the art after having studied the following drawings, description and the claims. 
         [0022]    It is understood that while the drawings and the following discussion relate to a particular embodiment of the present invention, this embodiment merely represents what is presently regarded as the best mode of practicing the invention, and other modifications may be made to the particular embodiment without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0023]      FIG. 1  shows the side view of an embodiment of the exercise mat. 
           [0024]      FIG. 1A  is another side view of an embodiment of the exercise mat. 
           [0025]      FIG. 1B  shows the exercise mat with one step up and the other step down. 
           [0026]      FIG. 1C  is the bottom view of the exercise mat. 
           [0027]      FIG. 2  shows the exercise mat in its storage condition. 
           [0028]      FIG. 3  shows the step support detail in vertical position. 
           [0029]      FIG. 3A  shows the step support detail in its horizontal position. 
           [0030]      FIG. 4  shows the foot straps on the steps. 
           [0031]      FIG. 5  shows external set of foot strap with weights. 
           [0032]      FIG. 6  shows the detail of the frame. 
           [0033]      FIG. 7  shows a resistance exercise band. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0034]    The side view exercise mat  10  of this invention is first shown in  FIG. 1 , where  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18  and  22  are transverse sides of horizontal sections connected to each other by a strip  38  and  13 ,  15 ,  17 ,  19  and  21  are the longitudinal sides. Any material may be used for strip  38  as long as facilitates the folding process and has sufficient strength to support the horizontal sections while the exercise mat  10  is being transported. A person skilled in the art will be able to choose proper material to accomplish the dual purposes. Transverse sides  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18  and  22  and longitudinal sides  13 ,  15 ,  17 ,  19  and  21  may be made of any material strong enough to support a person and yet soft enough to facilitate the exercise process. A frame  30  shown in  FIG. 1D  would preferably be added between the transverse and longitudinal sides in order to increase the overall strength of the exercise mat  10 . The frame  30  may be made of lightweight material like aluminum, plastic or other materials of similar strength. Typically, an injection molded foam or other soft material would be fitted between the transverse and longitudinal sides. 
         [0035]    An aerobic exercise step  23  is formed by longitudinal sides  20  and transverse sides  19 . Most commonly a person will step on and off the step from ground level in order to accomplish an aerobic work out. While there may be only one step  23 , two steps  23  are preferred. Typically, the space between the sides of step  23  is filled with material firm enough to support the stepping action of a person stepping on and off the step  23 . Attached to the step  23  are supports  22 . Preferably, supports  22  are of adjustable height. The section of the step  23  that the supports  23  are attached to should be strengthened to better support the stress exerted by the weight of the person exercising. This may be accomplished by using hard plastic, aluminum, light steel or a similar material. 
         [0036]    The transverse sides  18  and longitudinal sides  21  form an insert  25 . The insert  25  may be made of soft padded material or it may be just a vinyl strap. If padded material is employed, the ends of the insert  25  should be beveled for a better fit with step  23 . 
         [0037]    The support  24  provides an adjustable angle incline to accommodate variety of abdominal exercise needs. The support  24  is preferably installed between mid point of the section and the distal end  25 . The angle adjustment should help accomplish varying levels of difficulty that different users may wish to employ. The section of the exercise mat where supports  24  attach to should be appropriately strengthened to support the weight of the person exercising. 
         [0038]    Shown in  FIG. 1A  is the exercise mat  10  in its horizontal position. The beveled edge  26  of the insert  25  and the beveled edge  28  of the step  23  are also shown. 
         [0039]      FIG. 1B  shows the exercise mat  10  in flat position except for the step  23  being in a vertical position. The exercise mat  10  may be used in this position for abdominal or stepping exercises. 
         [0040]    Shown in  FIG. 1C  is the exercise mat  10  with one of the steps  23  in the horizontal position and the other step  23  in the vertical position allowing for certain leg exercises. 
         [0041]    Turning now to  FIG. 1D , the bottom view of the exercise mat  10  is displayed. Shown is the installation framework  34  for supporting the incline supports  36 , frame  30 , fill material  32 , installation framework  42  for installing the step  23  supports  42 . While supports  23  and  36  may be individual supports as shown, they may be of other shapes that are suitable for this construction. A person skilled in the art will be able to choose proper materials and support shapes to provide sufficient support and stability. 
         [0042]      FIG. 2  shows the exercise mat  10  in its folded for storage or transport state. The handle  50  is used to carry the exercise mat  10 . The handle  50  may be come in form of an attachment or it may be an integral part of the exercise mat  10 . 
         [0043]    Shown in  FIG. 3  are the details of support  36 . The support  36  rotates around the axis  52  and is attached to the framework  34 . The support  36  is capable of locking in its horizontal and its fully extended vertical position. There are many commercially available devices that can be employed for this purpose. Preferably support  36  is adjustable in height. 
         [0044]      FIG. 3A  shows the support  36  in its closed horizontal position. 
         [0045]    Shown in  FIG. 4  are optional straps  58  that may be attached to step  23  in order to facilitate some abdominal exercises. 
         [0046]      FIG. 5  shows an external set of weights  60  comprising foot straps  64  and handles  62 . The weights  60  would be placed on top of steps  3  in order to provide greater resistance needed for persons of different weight while performing abdominal exercises. 
         [0047]    Shown in  FIG. 6  is the exposed section of frame  30 . The frame  30  is surrounded by a cutout in a typically molded plastic material  32 . This section of frame  30  may be suitable located in many positions on the exercise mat  10  in order to enable attachment of resilient materials or springs  70  shown in  FIG. 7 , where  72  is the attachment mechanism for attaching resilient materials or springs  70  to frame  30  and  74  is the handle for pulling on the resilient materials or springs  70  while exercising.