U.S. patent application number 11/374605 was filed with the patent office on 2007-09-20 for lubricating apparatus for an endless moving belt of an electric treadmill.
Invention is credited to Leao Wang.
Application Number | 20070219066 11/374605 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38518663 |
Filed Date | 2007-09-20 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070219066 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Wang; Leao |
September 20, 2007 |
Lubricating apparatus for an endless moving belt of an electric
treadmill
Abstract
A lubricating apparatus for an endless moving belt of an
electric treadmill includes a base frame with a U-shaped groove
laterally extended across the base frame. The U-shaped groove is
filled with felted wool in which lubricant is contained. After
assembly of the above-mentioned components, the felted wool within
the U-shaped groove is in constant contact with the bottom surface
of the endless moving belt, thereby ensuring a reliable and
long-term lubrication.
Inventors: |
Wang; Leao; (Taiping,
TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
KUO-HSIUNG CHIU
13F., NO.23, JIUN-HO STREET, PEITUN DISTRICT
TAICHUNG
406
TW
|
Family ID: |
38518663 |
Appl. No.: |
11/374605 |
Filed: |
March 14, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
482/54 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 2225/30 20130101;
A63B 22/0235 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
482/054 |
International
Class: |
A63B 22/02 20060101
A63B022/02 |
Claims
1. A lubricating apparatus for an endless moving belt of an
electric treadmill, the treadmill having a base frame with a
U-shaped groove laterally extending across the base frame, the
U-shaped groove being filled with felted wool in which lubricant is
contained whereby, after assembly of the above-mentioned
components, the felted wool within the U-shaped groove is in
constant contact with the bottom surface of the endless moving
belt, thereby ensuring a reliable and long-term lubrication.
2. The lubricating apparatus for an endless moving belt of an
electric treadmill of claim 1, wherein a refill tube is enclosed by
the felted wool while the refill tube is formed with a plurality of
oil outlets, and wherein the refill tube includes an oil filling
hole disposed at the external side of the U-shaped groove.
3. A lubricating apparatus for an endless moving belt of an
electric treadmill, the treadmill having a base frame with a
U-shaped groove laterally extending across the base frame, the
U-shaped groove being pivotally attached by pivoting shafts to the
base frame, the U-shaped groove being filled with felted wool in
which lubricant is contained, the elastic elements are fitted to
the bottom of the U-shaped groove in order to push up the U-shaped
groove for a constant contact with the corresponding surface of the
endless moving belt, whereby, after assembly of the above-mentioned
components, the felted wool within the U-shaped groove is in
constant contact with the bottom surface of the endless moving
belt, thereby ensuring a reliable and long-term lubrication.
4. The lubricating apparatus for an endless moving belt of an
electric treadmill of claim 3, wherein a refill tube is enclosed by
the felted wool while the refill tube is formed with a plurality of
oil outlets, and wherein the refill tube includes an oil filling
hole disposed at the external side of the U-shaped groove.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Fields of the Invention
[0002] The invention relates to a lubricating apparatus for an
endless moving belt of an electric treadmill, and more particularly
to a lubricating apparatus that constantly lubricates the endless
moving belt to ensure a smooth running of the endless moving
belt.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] In general, an electric treadmill usually uses a motor (not
shown in the figure) and a transmission belt (not shown in the
figure) to drive a roller, and the roller drives the treadmill belt
to run, so that a user can successfully perform a running exercise
on the treadmill. To support the user's body weight, a running
board is installed under the treadmill belt, such that when a user
is performing a running exercise, the bottom surface of the
treadmill belt produces a friction with the corresponding surface
of the running board. Since there is a friction produced between
the treadmill belt and the running board, manufacturers usually
have to coat a layer of lubricant on the surface of the running
board to prevent excessive frictions created between the treadmill
belt and the running board that will wear out or damage the
treadmill belt.
[0005] Since the running board and treadmill belt keep rubbing with
each other, the lubricant will be used up gradually, and the
lubricating effect will diminish. Therefore, users have to ask the
maintenance people of the manufacturer or distributor to apply
lubricants to the treadmill and maintain the normal operation of
the treadmill belt, after the treadmill has been used for a while.
The lubricating process has to be done by an experienced
technician, since many components (such as the protective bottom
chassis, the roller, and the treadmill belt) of the treadmill have
to be removed before the lubrication can be made. To avoid damages
to the treadmill during the process of disassembling and
reinstalling the components of the treadmill, it is recommended to
ask professional people or experienced technician to handle the
lubrication.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] In view of the inconvenient lubricating procedure of the
prior art, the inventor of the present invention based on years of
experience in the related industry to conduct extensive researches,
and finally invented a lubricating apparatus for an endless moving
belt of an electric treadmill. Therefore, it is a primary object of
the invention to add a U-shaped groove containing a lubricant, and
use the U-shaped groove together with a felted wool having a good
absorbability to provide a lubrication at the bottom surface of the
endless moving belt, in addition to applying a lubricant to the
surface of the running board before the electronic treadmill is
shipped out of the factory. Such arrangement can greatly extend the
effective lubricating time and reduce the trouble of lubricating
the treadmill.
[0007] Another objective of the present invention is to allow users
to add and refill the lubricant according to a simple and easy
method to save unnecessary maintenance cost. In the present
invention, an oil filling pipe is wrapped by a wool felt, and the
oil filling hole of the oil filling pipe is disposed at an
appropriate position at an external side of the U-shaped
groove.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] The accomplishment of this and other objects of the
invention will become apparent from the following description and
its accompanying drawings of which:
[0009] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of
the present invention fitted to a treadmill;
[0010] FIG. 2 is a top view in accordance with the invention of
FIG. 1;
[0011] FIG. 3 is a longitudinally sectional view in accordance with
the invention of FIG. 1;
[0012] FIG. 4 is a schematic drawing of a refill tube in accordance
with the invention; and
[0013] FIG. 5 is a schematic drawing of another embodiment of the
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0014] First of all, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a treadmill 10
includes a base frame 20 with a U-shaped groove 30 laterally
extended across the base frame 20. The U-shaped groove 30 is filled
with felted wool 40 in which lubricant is contained. After assembly
of the above-mentioned components, the felted wool 40 within the
U-shaped groove 30 is in constant contact with the bottom surface
of the endless moving belt 14, thereby ensuring a reliable and
long-term lubrication.
[0015] When the operator stands on the endless moving belt 14 for a
walking exercise, the lubricant within the felted wool 40 will be
continuously attached to the bottom surface of the endless moving
belt 14 due to the siphon action. In this way, an effective
lubrication between the endless moving belt 14 and the platform 12
is ensured.
[0016] As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the operator can easily refill
the U-shaped groove 30 with lubricant. In order to reduce the
unnecessary maintenance cost, a refill tube 50 can be enclosed by
the felted wool 40 while the refill tube 50 is formed with a
plurality of oil outlets 52. Moreover, the refill tube 50 includes
an oil filling hole 54 disposed at the external side of the
U-shaped groove 30. Besides, a cock body 56 is employed to block up
each of the oil filling holes 54. When the operator wants to refill
the U-shaped groove 30 with the lubricant, it is only required to
open a protection cover (not shown) at the bottom of the treadmill
10 and to pull out the cock body 56. In this way, the convenience
and the practicalness can be ensured.
[0017] Referring to FIG. 5, elastic elements are fitted to the
bottom of the U-shaped groove 30 in order to push up the U-shaped
groove 30 for a constant contact with the corresponding surface of
the endless moving belt 14. Moreover, the U-shaped groove 30 can be
pivotally attached to the base frame 20 by pivoting shafts 32.
[0018] Many changes and modifications in the above-described
embodiments 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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