U.S. patent application number 11/001488 was filed with the patent office on 2005-05-19 for tread board.
This patent application is currently assigned to CHYUAN SHENG PLYWOOD CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Wang, Chin-Yi.
Application Number | 20050107220 11/001488 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34577495 |
Filed Date | 2005-05-19 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050107220 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Wang, Chin-Yi |
May 19, 2005 |
Tread board
Abstract
A tread board for supporting a tread belt of a treadmill
includes a plate body that has a bottom surface, and a top surface
adapted to be placed beneath an inner surface of the tread belt,
and a lubricating surface layer that covers the top surface and
that includes a lubricant and a porous matrix body retaining the
lubricant.
Inventors: |
Wang, Chin-Yi; (Taichung
Hsien, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
WEBB ZIESENHEIM LOGSDON ORKIN & HANSON P.C.
700 Koppers Building
436 Seventh Avenue
Pittsburgh
PA
15219-1818
US
|
Assignee: |
CHYUAN SHENG PLYWOOD CO.,
LTD.
|
Family ID: |
34577495 |
Appl. No.: |
11/001488 |
Filed: |
December 1, 2004 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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60530694 |
Dec 17, 2003 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
482/54 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 2225/30 20130101;
A63B 22/02 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
482/054 |
International
Class: |
A63B 022/02 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Nov 13, 2003 |
TW |
092220115 |
Claims
I claim:
1. A tread board for supporting a tread belt of a treadmill,
comprising: a plate body having a bottom surface, and a top surface
adapted to be placed beneath an inner surface of the tread belt;
and a lubricating surface layer covering said top surface and
including a lubricant and a porous matrix body retaining said
lubricant.
2. The tread board as claimed in claim 1, wherein said plate body
is made of wood.
3. The tread board as claimed in claim 1, wherein said plate body
is made of plastic.
4. The tread board as claimed in claim 1, wherein said plate body
is made of metal.
5. The tread board as claimed in claim 1, wherein said porous
matrix body is a polymer matrix body.
6. The tread board as claimed in claim 1, wherein said porous
matrix body is a metal matrix body.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims priority of U.S. Provisional
Application No. 60/530,694, filed on Dec. 17, 2003.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The invention relates to an exercising apparatus, more
particularly to a tread board secured on a frame of a
treadmill.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional treadmill is shown to
include a treadmill frame 1, a tread board 2 secured on a bottom
portion of the treadmill frame 1, two shafts 3 mounted pivotally
and respectively on two sides of the tread board 2, and a tread
belt 4 trained on the shafts 3. The tread belt 4 has atop part
supported by the tread board 2 for treading by the user in an
exercising drill.
[0006] Conventional tread boards 2 are largely made of wood,
plastic, or steel plates. In general, the conventional tread board
2 is further provided with a wear-resistant surface layer 201,
which serves to reduce friction between the tread belt 4 and the
tread board 2. The wear-resistant surface layer 201 may be formed
from melamine, UV paint (ultraviolet dry coating), oil paint,
baking paint, etc. In use, a lubricating agent (such as silicone,
wax, grease, or other lubricants) is applied to the wear-resistant
surface layer 201 by spraying so as to provide lubrication between
the tread belt 4 and the wear-resistant surface layer 201 to
thereby reduce friction therebetween.
[0007] Since the lubricating agent is applied externally to the
wear-resistant surface layer 201, the lubricating effect will not
last long. Once the lubricating effect vanishes, the electric
current consumption of a motor 5 that drives the tread belt 4 will
increase, thereby resulting in an adverse effect on the entire
electric control system of the treadmill and thereby causing damage
to the treadmill.
[0008] Furthermore, while lubricating grease can be added to the
treadmill, since the space between the tread belt 4 and the tread
board 2 is small, addition of lubricating grease is difficult.
Besides, the lubricating grease cannot be applied evenly over the
entire tread board 2. Thus, external addition of lubricating grease
cannot effectively reduce friction.
[0009] There has been proposed a tread board that has a top surface
formed with grooves for holding lubricating grease so as to provide
a lubricating effect. However, it is necessary to add the
lubricating grease before use. Besides, the lubricating grease will
leak from the tread board if the amount of lubricating grease added
is excessive. Furthermore, such a tread board construction is not
suitable for a treadmill which is upwardly foldable. In addition,
the provision of grooves in the top surface of the tread board will
render the top surface of the tread board uneven so that friction
between the tread belt and the tread board is increased
undesirably.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to
provide a tread board, which can release a lubricant from a surface
layer thereof during operation of a tread belt so as to reduce
friction between the tread board and the tread belt.
[0011] According to this invention, a tread board for supporting a
tread belt of a treadmill includes: a plate body having a bottom
surface, and a top surface adapted to be placed beneath an inner
surface of the tread belt; and a lubricating surface layer covering
the top surface and including a lubricant and a porous matrix body
retaining the lubricant.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] Other features and advantages of the present invention will
become apparent in the following detailed description of the
preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings,
of which:
[0013] FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a conventional
treadmill in an assembled state;
[0014] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a treadmill incorporating a
preferred embodiment of a tread board according to the invention;
and
[0015] FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the preferred embodiment taken
along line 3-3 of FIG. 2.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0016] Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the preferred embodiment of a
tread board 200 according to the present invention is shown to be
secured on a frame 110 of a treadmill 100 for supporting a tread
belt 120. The tread board 200 includes a plate body 10 and a
lubricating surface layer 20.
[0017] The plate body 10 is secured on the frame 110, and has a
bottom surface 11, and a top surface 12 opposite to the bottom
surface 11 and adapted to be placed beneath an inner surface 130 of
the tread belt 120. The plate body 10 may be made of wood, plastic,
or metal.
[0018] The lubricating surface layer 20 covers the top surface 12
of the plate body 10 below the inner surface 130 of the tread belt
120. The lubricating surface layer 20 includes a lubricant 22 and a
porous matrix body 23 retaining the lubricant 22. The porous matrix
body 23 may be a polymer matrix body that is formed using resin as
a primary raw material, or a metal matrix body that is formed using
metal powder as a primary raw material. During fabrication of the
lubricating surface layer 20, the lubricant 22 is mixed with the
primary raw material, which is applied to the top surface 12 of the
plate body 10, is leveled, and is allowed to harden. Preferably,
the lubricant 22 may be a liquid lubricant, such as grease. The
lubricating surface layer 20 thus formed has the aforesaid porous
matrix body 23 with numerous minute pores 21. The lubricant 22
fills the pores 21, and is distributed evenly throughout the porous
matrix body 23.
[0019] In use, when the treadmill 100 is in operation and the user
treads the tread belt 120, the tread belt 120 and the tread board
200 will come into frictional contact, which results in the
generation of heat. This in turn results in enhanced flow of the
lubricant 22, which will move upward to provide lubrication between
the inner surface 130 of the tread belt 120 and the lubricating
surface layer 20, thereby reducing friction between the tread belt
120 and the tread board 200. In addition, electric current
consumption can be reduced; the useful lives of the motor and
electric control system of the treadmill 100 can be prolonged; and
noise due to frictional rubbing can be reduced.
[0020] Furthermore, since the lubricating surface layer 20 is
capable of releasing the lubricant 22, a preferred effect of
lubrication between the inner surface 130 of the tread belt 120 and
the lubricating surface layer 20 is ensured. There is no need for
the user to add any lubricant before using the treadmill 100, which
is very convenient in terms of use. Besides, the tread board 200
can be adapted for use in various types of treadmills.
[0021] While the present invention has been described in connection
with what is considered the most practical and preferred
embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to
the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various
arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest
interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and
equivalent arrangements.
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