FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a portable exercise bar. The bar is particularly useful for individuals wishing to practice ballet and dance exercise at home or on the go. The portable exercise bar is designed for easy attachment to and removal from a standard door without requiring permanent modifications to the door or otherwise causing unsightly marks or damage to the door. Further, the portable exercise bar is lightweight and easy to install and uninstall. For individuals who travel or want a simpler solution to costly, permanent installations, the present device is a convenient and cost-effective alternative. The invention described herein is useful in home gyms, hotel rooms, offices, garages, and any other location with a common door. The field of the invention encompasses but is not limited to athletic training equipment, personal exercise equipment, and equipment for dance and ballet studios.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is quite common for people engaged in dance, ballet, barre exercises, Pilates® exercises, and general fitness movements requiring position and strength to use a bar or railing for maintaining balance. In addition to helping a person to keep balanced, a bar or railing also provides a place for a person to perform elevated stretches of a leg or arm. The bar or railing also provides a point for rest or relaxation between exercise routines.

Traditionally, the exercise bar or railing is permanently installed on the wall around the edge of a room. However, such an arrangement is not only costly and requires a dedicated space but it is complexly unamenable to semi-permanent uses and travel situations. Although there are prior art configurations for non-wall based bars or railings, these solutions suffer from numerous disadvantages, including that they are heavy, cumbersome, and difficult to set up. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 9,295,866 to Kwo discloses a portable ballet bar exercise device that utilizes an oversized base with a braced, hinged pedestal supporting an exercise bar at a single attachment point. Although this device is portable, it is also cumbersome and suffers from a single attachment point that is prone to rotational stresses about the point of attachment, especially when there is a downward pressure at the extremities of the exercise bar. Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 10,010,735, also to Kwo, discloses a roller-type ballet bar with expandable legs. Although this device is also portable, it is large and cumbersome. Furthermore, this second Kwo device is not easily packed and transported for situations where the user may be travelling via airplane or train, where luggage size is a consideration. The U.S. Patent Application No. 2020/0114190 of Tuller also discloses a portable barre exercise device. Like the Kwo devices, this portable bar demands a large floor footprint and is unwieldy. These prior art devices have unique characteristics for someone desiring a portable ballet bar but they all suffer from being unwieldy, cumbersome, heavy, difficult to set up or inconvenient for light travel.

There exists a need for a portable exercise bar that offers solid support across the length of the bar and is easily packed and set up for non-permanent installations. There further exists a need for a portable exercise bar that is easily moveable and does not require a large floor footprint. In addition, there exists a need for an exercise device that is easily supported both vertically and horizontally on a common door without causing unsightly marks or damage to the door. Finally, there exists a need for a portable exercise bar that is lightweight and easy to pack and transport yet still offers solid functionality across the entire bar without worry about tipping or unbalancing the bar.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a portable exercise bar. In particular, the invention relates to a lightweight, portable exercise or ballet bar that a person can use to obtain balance and positional support during an exercise routine, especially routines involving the lifting and balancing of one's legs. In addition, the exercise bar can be securely attached to a common door using lightweight straps that provide securing anchoring in both vertical and horizontal directions. The present device is inherently stable and can be used on any type of common door. The portability of the device avoids the costs and inconvenience of having to install permanent wall-mounted supports in a dedicated exercise room. The portable exercise bar of the present invention is uniquely adapted for travelers because the device is compact and lightweight.

