U.S. patent application number 11/227251 was filed with the patent office on 2007-03-22 for foldable treadmill.
This patent application is currently assigned to Forhouse Corporation. Invention is credited to Fu-Chin Chuang, Francis Chung Hwa Pan.
Application Number | 20070066448 11/227251 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37884955 |
Filed Date | 2007-03-22 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070066448 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Pan; Francis Chung Hwa ; et
al. |
March 22, 2007 |
Foldable treadmill
Abstract
A foldable treadmill includes a main member having a base and a
deck fixed to the base, wherein the deck has a running belt and two
handle bars having ends pivoted on the main member. The handle bars
are turned along an axial direction between a first position and a
second position, and the handle bars are also turned toward the
deck to a folded position and turned away from the deck to an
extended position. The handle bars are at an extended status when
the handle bars are moved to the extended position and the first
position, and the handle bars are at a folded status when the
handle bars are moved to the folded position and the second
position. A panel is detachably mounted on the handle bars with a
wire received in the handle bar and connected to a motor in the
deck.
Inventors: |
Pan; Francis Chung Hwa;
(Taichung County, TW) ; Chuang; Fu-Chin; (Changhua
County, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BIRCH STEWART KOLASCH & BIRCH
PO BOX 747
FALLS CHURCH
VA
22040-0747
US
|
Assignee: |
Forhouse Corporation
|
Family ID: |
37884955 |
Appl. No.: |
11/227251 |
Filed: |
September 16, 2005 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
482/54 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 2210/50 20130101;
A63B 22/0235 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
482/054 |
International
Class: |
A63B 22/02 20060101
A63B022/02 |
Claims
1. A foldable treadmill, comprising: a main member having a base
and a deck fixed to the base, wherein the deck has a running belt,
and two handle bars having ends pivoted on the main member, wherein
the handle bars are turned along an axial direction between a first
position and a second position, and the handle bars are also turned
toward the deck to a folded position and turned away from the deck
to an extended position; wherein the handle bars are at an extended
status when the handle bars are moved to the extended position and
the first position, and the handle bars are at a folded status when
the handle bars are moved to the folded position and the second
position.
2. The treadmill as defined in claim 1, further comprising a panel
with at least a screen thereon to be detachably mounted on the
handle bars.
3. The transmission system as defined in claim 2, further
comprising a wire received in the handle bar, wherein the wire has
opposite ends electrically connected to a circuit board in the
panel that controls the screen and a circuit board in the deck that
controls a motor to drive the running belt.
4. The transmission system as defined in claim 1, wherein the base
of the main member is provided with two pivot bases to pivot the
handle bars respectively.
5. The transmission system as defined in claim 4, wherein each of
the handle bars has two holes at opposite sides, and a shaft is
inserted through the pivot base and the holes of the handle
bar.
6. The transmission system as defined in claim 4, wherein the pivot
bases have an opening, and ends of the handle bars enter the
opening when the handle bars are at the folded position.
7. The transmission system as defined in claim 4, wherein the pivot
bases have a bore respectively, and the handle bars have a threaded
bore respectively, and two bolts are screwed into the bores of
pivot bases and the threaded bores of the handle bars respectively
when the handle bars are moved to the extended status.
8. The transmission system as defined in claim 4, wherein each of
the handle bars has a lock received therein, which has a button
extruded out of the handle bar and engaged with bores of the pivot
base when the handle bar is rotated to the first position and the
second position respectively.
9. The transmission system as defined in claim 1, wherein each of
the handle bars has an arch portion.
10. The transmission system as defined in claim 1, wherein the base
is provided with two hooks to hold the handle bars when they are
moved to the folded status.
11. A foldable treadmill, comprising: a main member having a base
and a deck fixed to the base, wherein the deck has a running belt;
two handle bars having ends pivoted on the main member, wherein the
handle bars are also turned toward the deck to a folded position
and turned away from the deck to an extended position, and a panel
with at least a screen thereon to be detachably mounted on the
handle bars; wherein the handle bars are at an extended status when
the handle bars are moved to the extended position, and the handle
bars are at a folded status when the handle bars are moved to the
folded position with the panel being disassembled.
12. The treadmill as defined in claim 11, wherein the handle bars
are turned along an axial direction between a first position and a
second position also.
13. The transmission system as defined in claim 11, further
comprising a wire received in the handle bar, wherein the wire has
opposite ends electrically connected to a circuit board in the
panel that controls the screen and a circuit board in the deck that
controls a motor to drive the running belt.
14. The transmission system as defined in claim 11, wherein the
base of the main member is provided with two pivot bases to pivot
the handle bars respectively.
15. The transmission system as defined in claim 14, wherein each of
the handle bars has two holes at opposite sides, and a shaft is
inserted through the pivot base and the holes of the handle bar,
such that the handle bars are further rotated along an axial
direction thereof.
16. The transmission system as defined in claim 14, wherein the
pivot bases have an opening, and ends of the handle bars enter the
opening when the handle bars are at the folded position.
17. The transmission system as defined in claim 14, wherein the
pivot bases have a bore respectively, and the handle bars have a
threaded bore respectively, and two bolts are screwed into the
bores of pivot bases and the threaded bores of the handle bars
respectively when the handle bars are moved to the extended
status.
18. The transmission system as defined in claim 14, wherein each of
the handle bars has a lock received therein, which has a button
extruded out of the handle bar and engaged with bores of the pivot
base when the handle bar is rotated to the first position and the
second position respectively.
19. The transmission system as defined in claim 1, wherein each of
the handle bars has an arch portion.
20. The transmission system as defined in claim 1, wherein the base
is provided with two hooks to hold the handle bars when they are
moved to the folded status.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates generally to a treadmill, and
more particularly to a foldable treadmill.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] FIG. 1 shows a conventional foldable treadmill 80, which
includes a base 82, two upright shafts 84 projected from a top of
the base 82, a panel 86 mounted on tops of the upright shafts 84
and a deck 88. The deck 88 has its front side pivoted on the
upright shafts 84 respectively, such that the deck 88 can be turned
upwards (shown as the dot line in FIG. 1) to be folded.
[0005] To extend and fold the treadmill, user has to move the deck
88. The deck 88 is too heavier for some children, women or person
with weak power to lift or lower it. In addition, the treadmill is
upright when it is folded, so that the treadmill is easy to tip
when the treadmill is exerted by external force.
[0006] U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,595,556 and 6,189,846 disclose a treadmill
with two foldable handle bars. Such treadmill has no panel. U.S.
Pat. Nos. 6,383,120 and 6,471,622 disclose another treadmill with
two foldable handle bars and a panel pivotally mounted on tops of
the handle bars. The panel has to be turned, and then the handle
bars and the panel are moved toward the deck and rest the panel on
the deck.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The primary objective of the present invention is to provide
a foldable treadmill, which is easy to extend and fold the
treadmill for children, women and person with weak power.
[0008] According to the objective of the present invention, a
foldable treadmill includes a main member having a base and a deck
fixed to the base, wherein the deck has a running belt and two
handle bars having ends pivoted on the main member. The handle bars
are turned along an axial direction between a first position and a
second position, and the handle bars are also turned toward the
deck to a folded position and turned away from the deck to an
extended position. The handle bars are at an extended status when
the handle bars are moved to the extended position and the first
position, and the handle bars are at a folded status when the
handle bars are moved to the folded position and the second
position.
[0009] Another foldable treadmill of the present invention includes
a main member have a base and a deck fixed to the base, wherein the
deck has a running belt. Two handle bars having ends pivoted on the
main member. The handle bars are turned toward the deck to a folded
position and turned away from the deck to an extended position. A
panel with at least a screen thereon is detachably mounted on the
handle bars. The handle bars are at an extended status when the
handle bars are moved to the extended position, and the handle bars
are at a folded status when the handle bars are moved to the folded
position with the panel being disassembled.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] FIG. 1 is a front view of the conventional foldable
treadmill;
[0011] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of preferred embodiment of the
present invention, showing the extending status of the
treadmill;
[0012] FIG. 3 to FIG. 5 are perspective views of the preferred
embodiment of the present invention, showing the procedures of
folding the treadmill;
[0013] FIG. 6 is an exploded view in parts of the preferred
embodiment of the present invention;
[0014] FIG. 7 is a sectional view in parts of the preferred
embodiment of the present invention, showing the layout of the
adjustable gear devices;
[0015] FIG. 8 is a bottom view of a part of the panel of the
preferred embodiment of the present invention, and
[0016] FIG. 9 is a perspective view in parts of the preferred
embodiment of the present invention, showing the handle bar being
folded.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0017] As shown in FIG., a treadmill of the preferred embodiment of
the present invention comprises:
[0018] A main member 10 includes a base 12 and a deck 34. The base
12 has a U-shaped main frame 14 and a transverse frame 16 connected
to the main frame 14. The main frame 14 is provided with two stands
18 and two wheels 20 on a bottom thereof and two pivot bases 22 on
a top thereof. Each of the pivot bases 22 has a U-shaped plate with
an opening 24 and three bores 26, 28 and 30 (seeing FIG. 6). The
main frame 14 is provided with a hook 32. The deck 34 has its front
side fixed to the base 12. The deck 34 is provided with a running
belt 36 to be driven by a motor (not shown).
[0019] Two handle bars 38 have ends pivoted on the pivot bases 22
respectively. The handle bars 38 are rotated along an axial
direction d between a first position (shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3)
and a second position (shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5). The handle bars
38 also are turned between an extended position (shown in FIG. 2,
FIG. 3 and FIG. 4) and a folded position (shown in FIG. 5). We
define an extended status of the handle bars 39 (FIG. 2) when they
are at the extended position and the first position and a folded
status (FIG. 5) when they are at the folded position and the second
position. Each of the handle bars 38 has an arched portion 40 for
user to hold when they are at the extended status. Each of the
handle bars 38 has a connector 42 at free ends thereof.
[0020] As shown in FIG. 6, each of the handle bars 38 has two holes
44 at opposite sides and a bore 46 and a threaded bore 48 above the
holes 44. Two bolts 50 are inserted through the pivot bases 22 and
the holes 44 of the handle bars 38, and then are screwed into the
deck 34, such that the handle bars 38 can be rotated between the
first position and the second position and turned between the
extended position and the folded position. Each of the handle bars
38 is provided with a lock 52, as shown in FIG. 7, which has a
button 54 and a U-shaped spring portion 56. The locks 52 are
received in the handle bars 39 respectively with the spring
portions 56 against the handle bars 39 and the distal ends of the
buttons 54 extruded out of the handle bars 39 via the bores 46.
When the handle bars 39 are moved to the extended position and
rotated to the first position or the second position, the buttons
54 are engaged with the bores 26 or 28 respectively to position the
handle bars 38. When the handle bars 38 are moved to the extended
position and rotated to the first position (the handle bars 38 are
at the extended status), the threaded bores 48 of the handle bars
38 is aligned with the bores 28 of the pivot bases 22 respectively,
such that user may screw bolts 58 into the bores 28 and the
threaded bores 48 respectively to fix the handle bars 38 at the
extended status.
[0021] A panel 60 has a screen, switches and buttons (not shown)
thereon and has a circuit board (not shown) therein. The screen,
switches and buttons are electrically connected to the circuit
board, such that user can control the treadmill running by setting
the switches and buttons and see some information on the screen. As
shown in FIG. 8, the panel 60 has two holes (only show one of which
in FIG. 8) at a back. The connectors 42 of the handle bars 38 can
be inserted into the holes 62 and fixed by bolts to fix the panel
60 to the distal ends of the handle bars 38. A wire 66 is received
in the handle bar 38 with opposite ends extruded out of the handle
bar 38 via the opposite ends of the handle bar 38. The circuit
board in the panel has a wire 72 to be electrically connected to
the wire 66 via a plug 68 and a socket 70. The other end of the
wire 66 is electrically connected to a circuit board (not shown) in
the deck 34 that is electrically connected to the motor, such that
user can control the motor by setting the switches and buttons on
the panel 60.
[0022] FIG. 2 shows the handle bars 38 at the extended status and
the panel 60 fixed on the handle bars 38. To fold the treadmill of
the present invention, the panel 60 is disassembled and looses the
bolts 50 first (FIG. 3). Next, rotate the handle bars 38 to the
second position (FIG. 4), and then turn the handle bars 38 to the
folded position and hook the handle bars 38 by the hooks 32 (FIG.
5). After above step, the treadmill of the present invention is at
the folded status. When the handle bars 38 are turned to the folded
positions, seeing FIG. 9, the ends of the handle bares 38 enter the
openings 24 of the pivot bases 22 respectively. In practice, the
handle bars 38 are moved to the second position and the folded
position simultaneously. User may extend the handle bars from the
folded status to the extended status by the reverse steps.
[0023] In conclusion, to extend and fold the treadmill of the
present invention, user has to move the handle bars rather than the
deck, such that children and women can afford the job. In addition,
the deck of the treadmill of the present invention always lies on
the ground when it is at extended status and at folded status, so
that the treadmill has no risk of tip.
[0024] In above preferred embodiment, the treadmill is a motorized
treadmill. The handle bars of the present invention may be applied
to non-motorized treadmill also, which does not have the motor.
Some of the non-motorized treadmill may not have the panel
* * * * *