U.S. patent number 3,659,845 [Application Number 05/027,287] was granted by the patent office on 1972-05-02 for exercise treadmill and belt support apparatus.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Quinton Instrument Company. Invention is credited to Wayne E. Quinton.
United States Patent |
3,659,845 |
Quinton |
May 2, 1972 |
EXERCISE TREADMILL AND BELT SUPPORT APPARATUS
Abstract
A simplified treadmill and belt support used for exercise
purposes and for use as part of an ergometric system. An endless
belt is driven over a support surface composed of a fabric such as
canvas which is impregnated with wax. A suitable drive assembly
causes continuous movement of the belt.
Inventors: |
Quinton; Wayne E. (Seattle,
WA) |
Assignee: |
Quinton Instrument Company
(Seattle, WA)
|
Family
ID: |
21836805 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/027,287 |
Filed: |
April 10, 1970 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
482/7; 198/804;
482/54 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B
22/02 (20130101); A63B 22/0285 (20130101); A63B
2225/30 (20130101); A63B 22/0235 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A63B
22/00 (20060101); A63B 22/02 (20060101); A63b
023/06 () |
Field of
Search: |
;198/184
;272/69,56.5SS |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Pinkham; Richard C.
Assistant Examiner: Stouffer; R. T.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An exercise treadmill assembly comprising an endless belt, drive
means for moving said belt, and support means disposed beneath a
portion of the path traveled by said belt including an irregular
surface at least a portion of which is wax coated, said belt being
made of nylon and said support means including a piece of canvas
having its upper surface impregnated with wax.
2. In an exercise treadmill, a movably mounted belt and a support
assembly for said belt, said support assembly comprising a section
of rough textured material having a wax coating there-on, and
substantially planar support means disposed beneath said material
adapted to hold said material in a substantially planar position
beneath a portion of the path of travel of the belt of the
treadmill.
3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said material is canvas.
4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said wax is carnauba wax.
5. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said support means includes a
sheet of wood.
6. In combination, a movably mounted belt, drive means for moving
the belt, and means opposite one face of the belt defining a
surface to support a portion of the belt against deflection normal
to the face of the belt, which surface has a piece of interwoven
fibrous material secured in superposition thereon, the fibrous
strands of which define open-ended recesses therebetween, which
recesses have a low melting point thermoplastic lubricant material
deposited therein, which lubricant material coats the defining
fibers of the recesses and is in a solidified state assumed from a
fused in situ condition on the fibrous material.
7. The combination according to claim 6 wherein the surface is
planar and substantially rigid, and the fibrous material is
directly secured thereto.
8. The combination according to claim 7 wherein the fibrous
material is bonded to the surface.
9. The combination according to claim 6 wherein the lubricant
material is a wax.
10. The combination according to claim 6 wherein the deposits of
lubricant material substantially fill the recesses but are slightly
depressed in the direction of the surface and with respect to
portions of the strands defining the respective recesses, so that
said portions are elevated relatively thereabove to form high
points for contact with the belt.
11. The combination according to claim 10 wherein the elevated
portions are also coated with the lubricant material.
Description
Various types of ergometric systems are in use at the present time.
Treadmills having a moving endless belt are widely used in such
systems as well as in connection with exercise programs in general.
In such treadmill assemblies an endless belt is driven at a
selected speed so that an individual on the belt is forced to move
at the rate determined by belt movement. Various types of treadmill
assemblies are available with numerous arrangements being provided
to support the belt beneath the feet of the user. The power
required to drive the belt is dependent on the frictional forces
involved and thus most treadmills utilize relatively expensive
roller and bearing assemblies beneath the section of belt where the
user walks or runs. It would be desirable to have a system wherein
belt friction remains low without going to the expense of rollers
or other similar arrangements.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a
treadmill assembly having an improved support surface for the
endless belt thereof.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a treadmill
assembly utilizing an improved support surface for the endless belt
and wherein such support surface requires a minimum of
maintenance.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide a low
cost support surface for the belt of a treadmill exercise
apparatus.
The above and additional advantages are achieved through use of a
system wherein a material such as canvas having a relatively rough
surface is impregnated with a lubricant such as wax and is
positioned beneath the portion of the endless belt walked upon by
the user. The impregnation of the material is preferably done
through the application of heat to cause the wax to melt and flow
into the material. It has been found that if the amount of wax used
is controlled so that the resultant composite material made of
cloth and wax is irregular, the frictional forces involved are
reduced.
The above and additional advantages and objects of the invention
will be more clearly understood from the following description when
read with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein,
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exercise treadmill assembly
embodying the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a sectional side view of the belt and support apparatus
illustrated in FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a greatly enlarged cross-sectional view of the belt and
support material located therebeneath.
Turning now to the drawings it will be seen that the inventive
concepts are incorporated in a treadmill assembly having an endless
belt 10 which passes around the end rollers 11 and 12 supported on
shafts 11A and 12A. The roller 12 is driven at a selected speed by
a suitable drive mechanism (generally an electric motor and gear
system) of the type which per se is well known in the art. A
control panel 13 permits the user to select the speed at which the
belt 10 is driven. The portion of the belt indicated at 10A is
supported by the upper flat portion 14A of the support frame 14
which carries the shafts 11A and 12A. It will be seen that when the
equipment is in use with a person walking or running on the belt,
the upper portion of the belt 10A will be repeatedly impacted
against the support surface 14. As the belt is driven the weight of
the individual then continues to press the belt 10 against the
supporting surface located beneath the belt. Frictional forces
between the belt 10A and the support surface tend to generate heat
which has in the past created various types of problems unless
elaborate bearing and support systems are provided.
In accordance with the teachings of the present invention the flat
support surface 14A is covered by a composite structure illustrated
as being made of a rectangular piece of plywood 18 having a rough
textured cloth material such as canvas 19 adhered thereto. In FIG.
3 the cloth 19 is held to the wood 18 by any suitable glue 20. The
portion of the canvas surface 19 over which the belt 10 runs is
impregnated with a suitable wax 21. Carnauba wax has been found to
work well.
The plywood 18 can be held to the steel frame 14 in any suitable
manner. The countersunk screws 22 work well and permit easy removal
of the support surface assembly for maintenance or replacement.
It is preferable that the rough textured material 19 be impregnated
with wax only to the extent necessary to coat the entire upper
surface without destroying the textured aspects of the surface.
That is, it will be observed in FIG. 3 that the wax impregnated
material still has high points and valleys even though the entire
surface is wax coated. While applicant is not certain as to all of
the reasons why this arrangement results in a greatly reduced
amount of friction being involved when a person walks or runs on
the endless belt, it is believed that part of the reason may be due
to the fact that the belt 10 rides on the high points of the
composite support surface. The wax in the area of increased
pressure may tend to melt momentarily due to this increased
pressure. Any such melting would of course terminate shortly after
the initiation thereof since the belt as soon as being driven
against the support surface would move rearwardly (to the left in
the drawings) and hence the pressure would be reduced on that area.
Regardless of the reasons it has been found in practice that the
frictional forces do not create a heat problem when this
arrangement is used.
While various materials can be utilized it has been found in
practice that canvas or similar cloth having a rough textured
surface works well in combination with a nylon belt 10. Thus not
only is the manufacturing cost low by comparison to the cost
involved in the manufacture of other support surfaces typically
used in treadmill assemblies, but it has also been found in
practice that the upkeep associated with the resulting structure is
negligible. While the wax can be of various types and applied in
different ways it has been found in practice that ground carnauba
wax spread over the canvas material, and then melted in place
through the use of a hot iron, produces a highly desirable support
surface. One such treadmill assembly using this arrangement as the
bearing surface has provided trouble-free service for several
thousand miles of "walking" without any need for replacement or
re-waxing of the surface.
* * * * *