U.S. patent application number 10/341268 was filed with the patent office on 2004-07-15 for adjustable cushioning apparatus for a treadmill.
Invention is credited to Wang, Leao, Wu, Peter.
Application Number | 20040138030 10/341268 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32711482 |
Filed Date | 2004-07-15 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040138030 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Wang, Leao ; et al. |
July 15, 2004 |
Adjustable cushioning apparatus for a treadmill
Abstract
The present invention relates to an adjustable cushioning
apparatus for a treadmill. A height-adjustable device is mounted on
a base portion to work with a transmission assembly of a motor and
two lifting elements for adjusting the inclination of the frame
portion. Meanwhile, both sides of the base portion are pivotably
connected with an adjustable cushioning element, respectively. The
actuation shafts of the adjustable cushioning elements are
pivotably secured to the top of the lifting elements. When weight
is placed onto the frame portion, the adjustable cushioning
elements are able to provide proper cushioning effect. Moreover,
two adjustable cushioning elements are driven by an adjustment
motor set. So the operator can preset the cushioning force via the
console. A displacement detector is installed at both sides of the
base portion, respectively, for detecting the displacement amount
of the frame portion being forced. Thereafter, the detection data
are transmitted back to the console for giving orders to the
respective adjustment motor set to make corresponding reaction.
Thus, the cushioning forces of the adjustable cushioning elements
are constantly adjusted to the value predetermined by the
operator.
Inventors: |
Wang, Leao; (Taiping,
TW) ; Wu, Peter; (Taiping, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Kuo-Hsiung Chiu
13F., No.23, Jiun-Ho Street
Peitun District
Taichung
406
TW
|
Family ID: |
32711482 |
Appl. No.: |
10/341268 |
Filed: |
January 14, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
482/54 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 22/0221 20151001;
A63B 22/0228 20151001; A63B 22/0023 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
482/054 |
International
Class: |
A63B 022/02 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A adjustable cushioning apparatus for a treadmill having a base
portion and a frame portion, the base portion further having a
handrail fixed at both sides of the base portion and extending
upwardly therebetween, a console being mounted on the handrail, the
frame portion including a first motor for working with a drive belt
and a belt wheel to rotate a front roller, a running belt extending
around the front roller and a rear roller so that the running belt
makes an in-place continuous rotation about the frame portion, a
supporting board being disposed under the running belt, a pair of
pivoting shaft assemblies being interposed between the frame
portion and the base portion for pivotably connecting to the both
portions, the adjustable cushioning apparatus comprising: a) two
adjustable cushioning elements pivotably connected to both sides of
the base portion, respectively; and b) actuation shafts pivotably
secured to the bottom at a corresponding place of the frame
portion; whereby, when weight is placed onto the frame portion, the
adjustable cushioning elements are able to provide proper
cushioning effect.
2. The adjustable cushioning apparatus of claim 1 further
comprising: a) an adjustment motor set for driving two adjustable
cushioning elements such that the operator can preset the
cushioning force via the console; and b) a displacement detector
installed at both sides of the base portion, respectively, for
detecting the displacement amount of the frame portion being forced
whereby the detection data are transmitted back to the console for
giving orders to the respective adjustment motor set to make
corresponding reaction such that the cushioning force of the
adjustable cushioning elements is constantly adjusted to the value
predetermined by the operator.
3. A adjustable cushioning apparatus for a treadmill having a base
portion and a frame portion, the base portion further having a
handrail fixed at both sides of the base portion and extending
upwardly therebetween, a console being mounted on the handrail, the
frame portion including a first motor for working with a drive belt
and a belt wheel to rotate a front roller, a running belt extending
around the front roller and a rear roller so that the running belt
makes an in-place continuous rotation about the frame portion, a
supporting board being disposed under the running belt, a pair of
pivoting shaft assemblies being interposed between the frame
portion and the base portion for pivotably connecting to the both
portions, the base portion of the treadmill further including a
second motor such that a transmission assembly works with two
lifting elements to adjust the inclination of the frame portion,
the adjustable cushioning apparatus comprising: a) two adjustable
cushioning elements pivotably connected to the top of the lifting
elements, respectively; and b) actuation shafts pivotably secured
to the bottom at a corresponding place of the frame portion;
whereby, when weight is placed onto the frame portion, the
adjustable cushioning elements are able to provide proper
cushioning effect.
4. The adjustable cushioning apparatus of claim 3 further
comprising: a) an adjustment motor set for driving two adjustable
cushioning elements such that the operator can preset the
cushioning force via the console; b) a displacement detector
installed at both sides of the base portion, respectively, for
detecting the displacement amount of the frame portion being forced
whereby the detection data are transmitted back to the console for
giving orders to the respective adjustment motor set to make
corresponding reaction such that the cushioning force of the
adjustable cushioning elements is constantly adjusted to the value
predetermined by the operator.
5. The adjustable cushioning apparatus of claims 1 and 3 wherein
the adjustable cushioning element is operated in such a way that
the cushioning force is manually adjusted.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a new and improved design
of an adjustable cushioning apparatus for a treadmill, and more
particularly, to an apparatus which utilizes adjustable cushioning
elements, an adjustment motor set and a displacement detector.
Therefore, the operator is able to use the console to choose a
desired cushioning level according to his own preference or the
physician's instructions, thereby increasing the comfort in use of
the treadmill.
[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art
[0004] In general, the treadmill is provided with cushioning
apparatuses at suitable places for achieving a proper cushioning
effect and enhancing the comfort of the operator during a workout
session. Meanwhile, a protection mechanism has been developed for
preventing both feet of the operator from being injured due to the
too large reactive force of the platform of the treadmill. It will
be particularly beneficial to the operator if hydraulic or
pneumatic cylinders are used to provide more excellent cushioning
effect. A few prior arts such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,591,147, U.S. Pat.
No. 5,184,988, U.S. Pat. No. 4,974,831, U.S. Pat. No. 4,984,810,
U.S. Pat. No. 5,072,928, U.S. Pat. No. 5,372,559, etc. have
disclosed the application of hydraulic or pneumatic cylinders to
the treadmill.
[0005] Although the above-mentioned prior arts have advantages of
more excellent protection effect and greater comfort, they all
don't have any automatic mechanism for adjusting the cushioning
force by operators themselves to meet their own different
requirements. In brief, a operator with heavier weight would feel
that the cushioning force is too slight while a operator with
lighter weight could feel that it is too strong if the cushioning
force is fixed at a certain extent. Besides, different operators
are their own subjective feeling about the cushioning strength no
matter how strong or light the cushioning force is. In addition,
some operators have special rehabilitation requirements thereto.
Accordingly, the prior arts are required for improvement.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] It is a primary object of the present invention to remove
the above-mentioned drawbacks and to provide an adjustable
cushioning apparatus for a treadmill that employs hydraulic or
pneumatic cylinders as cushioning source. The difference between
the prior art and the present invention lies in that the cushioning
element of the present invention is adjustable. Meanwhile, the
present invention further utilizes an adjustment motor set and a
displacement detector such that the operator can use the console
connected with the adjustment motor set and the displacement
detector. Therefore, the desired cushioning level can be
predetermined according to the preference of the user or the
physician's instructions via special control keys. During the
exercise session, the data regarding the exceeding or lacking
amount of displacement of the frame portion measured by the
displacement detectors at either side will be independently
transmitted back to the console. After the processing of the
microprocessor (not shown), the adjustment motor set commands the
adjustable cushioning element to make proper adjustment, thereby
achieving expected object.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] The accomplishment of this and other objects of the
invention will become apparent from the following description and
its accompanying drawings of which:
[0008] FIG. 1 is a side view of a preferred embodiment of the
present invention;
[0009] FIG. 2 is a perspective partial view of the preferred
embodiment of FIG. 1; and
[0010] FIG. 3 is a side view of FIG. 1 after adjustment of the
inclination of the frame portion.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0011] First of all, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a preferred
embodiment of the present invention is shown.
[0012] The treadmill 10 includes a base portion 20 and a frame
portion 30. A handrail 21 is fixed at both sides of the base
portion 20 and extends upwardly therebetween. A console 22 is
mounted on the handrail 21. The frame portion 30 includes a first
motor 31 for working with a drive belt 32 and a belt wheel 33 to
rotate a front roller 34. A running belt 36 extends around the
front roller 34 and a rear roller 35 so that the running belt 36
makes an in-place continuous rotation about the frame portion 30. A
supporting board 37 is disposed under the running belt 36 such that
the operator can stand thereon to take the walking, jogging or
running exercise. Moreover, a pair of pivoting shaft assemblies 23
is interposed between the frame portion 30 and the base portion 20
for pivotably connecting to the both portions.
[0013] Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the base portion 20 of the
treadmill 10 includes a second motor 40. A transmission assembly 41
works with two lifting elements 42 to adjust the inclination of the
frame portion 30. Meanwhile, both sides of the base portion 20 are
pivotably connected with an adjustable cushioning element 50,
respectively. The actuation shafts 51 of the adjustable cushioning
elements 50 are pivotably secured to the top of the lifting
elements 42. When weight is placed onto the frame portion 30, the
adjustable cushioning elements 50 are able to provide proper
cushioning effect.
[0014] Moreover, two adjustable cushioning elements 50 are driven
by an adjustment motor set 52 such that the operator can preset the
cushioning force via the console 22. A displacement detector 53 is
installed at both sides of the base portion 20, respectively, for
detecting the displacement amount of the frame portion 30 being
forced. Thereafter, the detection data are transmitted back to the
console 22 for giving orders to the respective adjustment motor set
52 to make corresponding reaction. Thus, the cushioning forces of
the adjustable cushioning elements 50 are constantly adjusted to
the value predetermined by the operator.
[0015] The first motor 31, the second motor 40, the adjustment
motor set 52 and the displacement detector 53 mentioned above are
connected to the console 22 via an electronic circuit (not shown)
and controlled by a microprocessor (not shown) within the console
22. Accordingly, the operator can determine all parameters, such as
exercise duration, speed, inclination of the frame portion and the
cushioning force, via the control keys (not shown) on the console
22.
[0016] During the exercise session, the forces applied by both feet
of the operator to the frame portion 30 could be different.
Therefore, the data measured by the displacement detector 53 will
be different as well. The displacement detectors 53 of the
adjustable cushioning elements 50 independently send the respective
detection signal back to the console 22. According to the real data
measured by the displacement detectors 53 together with the preset
value of the operator, the adjustment motor sets 52 are
independently controlled to make a timely reaction. Therefore, the
adjustable cushioning elements 50 can be duly adjusted to provide
the same cushioning forces for meeting different requirement of
operators.
[0017] In fact, the adjustment motor set 52 further includes a
motor and a gearbox. Due to the rotation of the output shaft of the
motor and the deceleration by the gearbox, the adjusting knob can
be conveniently used for a smooth adjustment. This is a common
technique so that no further descriptions thereto are given
hereinafter.
[0018] Many changes and modifications in the above-described
embodiment of the invention can, of course, be carried out without
departing from the scope thereof. Accordingly, to promote the
progress in science and the useful arts, the invention is disclosed
and is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended
claims.
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