Passive-type treadmill

Abstract

A passive-type treadmill is disclosed which includes a closed-loop belt rolling around two spaced apart rollers for providing a substantially horizontal running platform, a first and a second support-rail parallel to each other, rigidly coupled to a frame of the running platform and extended upward, a first and a second handrail adjustably attached to the first and the second support rail, respectively, and a first and a second handle protruding from the first and the second handrail, respectively, the first and the second handle being separated and positioned in front of a user at approximately his or her shoulder height in operation by adjusting the first and the second hardrail.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/818,750, filed 21 Nov. 2017, entitled “PASSIVE-TYPE TREADMILL”, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates generally to a physical exercise apparatus, and, more particularly, to a passive-type treadmill.

Treadmills are widely utilized for performing vigorous exercise indoors and at a stationary position. Such treadmills typically include an elongated closed-loop belt driven by rollers and supported by an underlying rigid deck. The rollers are often driven by an electric motor, typically at an adjustable speed. However, such motorized treadmills are often noisy as a runner pounds the running deck, and can be dangerous if the runner lost a step. What desired is a treadmill that is both quiet and safe.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a side-view of a passive-type treadmill according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a passive-type treadmill according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates a towel rack structure for the treadmill of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates a load control structure for the treadmill of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates an alternative passive-type treadmill according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates yet another alternative passive-type treadmill according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The drawings accompanying and forming part of this specification are included to depict certain aspects of the invention. A clearer conception of the invention, and of the components and operation of systems provided with the invention, will become more readily apparent by referring to the exemplary, and therefore non-limiting, embodiments illustrated in the drawings, wherein like reference numbers (if they occur in more than one view) designate the same elements. The invention may be better understood by reference to one or more of these drawings in combination with the description presented herein.

DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure relates to a passive-type treadmill. A preferred embodiment of the present disclosure will be described hereinafter with reference to the attached drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side-view of a passive-type treadmill 110 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. A person 102 walks on platform 122 leaning slightly forward supporting his upper body with his hands on a handrail 142. The platform 122 is covered by a closed-loop belt rolls around two spaced apart rollers 125 and 128. The belt is supported by a substantially rigid deck (not shown). According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the rollers 125 and 128 is not motorized, so that the person 102 uses his feet to push the belt backward for exercise purposes.

As shown in FIG. 1, the platform 122 is mounted to a frame 115. A support member 132 for the handrail 142 is also mounted to the frame 115. The connections between the support member 132 and the frame 115 as well as the handrail 142 are substantially rigid. As shown in FIG. 1, the handrail has two sections 142 and 145. The handrail section 145 is relatively horizontal oriented compared to the handrail section 142. The reason for the handrail section 142's more upright orientation is because the person 102 pushes against the handrail section 142 during exercise, so that the closed-loop belt can roll clockwise referring to FIG. 1. In embodiments, an angle between the handrail section 142 and a surface of the platform 122, Φ, is larger than 45 degrees and preferably about 60 degrees.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a passive-type treadmill according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. A running or walking platform 222 is mounted to frames 215 and 217, which are rigidly connected to support members 232 and 234. The support members 232 and 234 are extended to upright handrails 242 and 244, respectively. The handrails 242 and 244 are connected by a horizontal bar 251. As users of the treadmill may have different height, and the same user may want to switch hand positions, the treadmill of the present disclosure also provides horizontal handles 262 connected between the handrail 242 and a handrail 254. The handrail 254 is substantially parallel to the handrail 242 and an end of the handrail 254 is connected to the horizontal bar 251. Similarly, horizontal handles 264 are connected between the handrail 244 and a handrail 258. The handrail 258 is substantially parallel to the handrail 244, and an end of the handrail 258 is also connected to the horizontal bar 251. There is a gap between the handrails 254 and 258, so that a treadmill user's frontal view will not be blocked. In embodiments, the support members 232 and 234, the handrails 242, 244, 254 and 258, the horizontal bar 251 and the handles 262 and 264 are made of steels and connected by welding.

Referring again to FIG. 2, the treadmill of the present disclosure also provides rods 272 and 274 for stretching out a towel 277 in front of a user (not shown) to catch sweat. Providing the towel 277 is advantageous because the user may have to use both hands to hold onto the handles 262 and 264, and it will not be easy for the user to use a hand to wipe off sweat during exercise.

FIG. 3 illustrates a towel rack structure for the treadmill of the present disclosure. The towel rack structure includes a rod 272 inserted in a hole 315 through a mounting member 312. The rod 272 can frictionally slide in and out of the hole 315 to accommodate different towel sizes. The mounting member 312 is attached to the support member 232. In embodiments, the mounting member 312 can pivot around a pin 325, and be locked at a certain position. As a result, the rod 272 can be held at a substantially horizontal position during an exercise session, and be held at a substantially vertical position when the treadmill is not used. In an embodiment, the pin 325 has threads in one end for being screwed into the support member 232.

Referring again to FIG. 3, a clip 342 is provided on the support member 232 near the mounting member 312, and another clip 352 is provided to a near end of the rod 272. The clip 342 is exemplarily attached to the support member 232 by a rivet 345. The clip 352 is exemplarily attached to the rod 272 by a rivet 355. Alternatively, the clip 342 can be attached to a far end of the rod 272 instead. The clips 342 and 352 can be used to secure a towel to the rod 272.

Although FIG. 3 illustrates only one half of the towel rack structure, an ordinary skilled in the art would recognize that the other half of the towel rack structure can be symmetric to the structure shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 4 illustrates a load control structure for the treadmill of the present disclosure. A part of a closed-loop belt 402 is shown around the roller 125. The belt 402 frictionally engages the roller 125, i.e., when a top portion of the belt 402 moves backward under the push from a user, the roller 125 rotates around a shaft 415 in a clockwise direction. The shaft 415 engages a load control device 435 through a taut cable 422, so that the load control device 435 can apply variable load to the belt 402. As shown in FIG. 4, with the use of the taut cable 422, the load control device 435 can be mounted higher than the roller 125, which can then be mounted as close to the ground 400 as possible. In embodiments, a gap between a lower portion of the belt 402 and the ground can be maintained at approximately 10 millimeters.

FIG. 5 illustrates an alternative passive-type treadmill 502 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The passive-type treadmill 502 has a pair of upright support-rails 512 and 514 rigidly mounted to the frames 215 and 217, respectively. In an embodiment, the support-rails 512 and 514 are substantially parallel to each other and have substantially the same length and are connected by a substantially horizontal bar 540 which serves to maintain rigidity of the structure. An exercise monitor 552 is exemplarily mounted to the horizontal bar 540. As shown in FIG. 5, the support-rails 512 and 514 exemplarily lean forward by, e.g., 10 degrees.

Referring to FIG. 5 again, a handrail 523 is extended upward from the support-rail 512. A handle 534 is mounted perpendicularly to and near a top of the handrail 523. In an embodiment, both the support-rails 512 and the handrail 523 have a rectangular cross-section with the handrail 523's cross-section slight smaller than that of the support-rail 512, so that the former can be inserted in the later. As both the handrail 523 and the support-rail 512 are substantially straight, the handrail 523 can slide up and down for adjusting a height of the handle 534 so that the handle 534 is positioned at approximately shoulder height of a user. In an embodiment, the handrail 523 can be locked into a position by a spring-loaded pin secured thereto and can be inserted into one of the holes 517 positioned along a length of the support-rail 512. A user can press in the spring-loaded pin to unlock the handrail 523 to allow it to slide along the length of the support-rail 512.

Similarly, a handrail 525 is slidably engaged with the support-rail 514, and a handle 536 is mounted near a top of the handrail 525. In embodiments, the handrails 523 and 525 have approximately the same length. In an embodiment, the handles 534 and 536 are parallel to each other but are separated so that when the handrails 523 and 525 are lowered, the handles 534 and 536 will not interfere with the exercise monitor 552. In operation, the handles 534 and 536 are positioned approximately in the same straight line.

FIG. 6 illustrates yet another alternative passive-type treadmill 602 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The passive-type treadmill 602 has a pair of handrails 642 and 646 coupled to the support-rails 512 and 514 through a pair of mounting plates 623 and 626, respectively. The mounting plate 623 is exemplarily welded to a top of the support-rail 512. The handrail 642 is pivotally attached to the mounting plate 623 by a pin 631 which is securely inserted in a hole on the mounting plate 623 and a hole near a first end of the handrail 642, so that the handrail 642 can rotate around the pin 631. In order to secure the handrail 642 to a desired position, a screw 612 is inserted in one of a plurality of positioning holes 634 in the mounting plate 623 and tightly screwed into a hole in the handrail 642. A handle 653 for being held by a user's left hand is exemplarily welded to a second end of the handrail 642 opposite to the first end. Keeping the handrail 642 rotatable is to fit the treadmill 602 for users of different heights.

Similarly, the handrail 646 is pivotally attached to the mounting plate 626 by a pin 635 and secured to a desired position by a screw (not shown) through one of a plurality of positioning holes 638 in the mounting plate 626. The mounting plate 626 is exemplarily welded the support-rail 514. A right-hand handle 657 is exemplarily welded to an end of the handrail 646 opposite to a pivotal end thereof.

Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in one or more specific examples, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the scope of the invention, as set forth in the following claims.

Claims

1. A passive-type treadmill comprising:

a closed-loop belt rolling around two spaced apart rollers for providing a substantially horizontal running platform;

a first and a second support-rail parallel to each other, rigidly coupled to a frame of the running platform and extended upward;

a first and a second handrail adjustably attached to the first and the second support rail, respectively; and

a first and a second handle protruding from the first and the second handrail, respectively, the first and the second handle being separated and positioned in front of a user at approximately his or her shoulder height in operation by adjusting the first and the second handrail.

2. The passive-type treadmill of claim 1 further comprising a substantially horizontal crossbar connected between the first and the second support-rail.

3. The passive-type treadmill of claim 2 further comprising an exercise monitor mounted on the crossbar.

4. The passive-type treadmill of claim 1, wherein the first and second support-rail have approximately the same length.

5. The passive-type treadmill of claim 1, wherein the first and second handrail have approximately the same length.

6. The passive-type treadmill of claim 1, wherein the adjustably attached includes the first and the second handrail slidably engaging the first and the second support-rail, respectively.

7. The passive-type treadmill of claim 6, wherein the first and the second support-rail lean forward by a predetermined angle.

8. The passive-type treadmill of claim 6 further comprising a first spring-loaded pin attached to the first handrail and capable of being inserted into one of a first plurality of holes on the first support-rail for locking the first handrail to a desired position of the first support-rail; and a second spring-loaded pin attached to the second handrail and capable of being inserted into one of a second plurality of holes on the second support-rail for locking the second handrail to a desired position of the second support-rail.

9. The passive-type treadmill of claim 8, wherein the first and the second plurality of holes have the same number of holes and each hole in the first plurality of holes horizontally corresponds a hole in the second plurality of holes.

10. The passive-type treadmill of claim 1, wherein the adjustably attached includes the first and the second handrail pivotally engaging the first and the second support-rail, respectively.

11. The passive-type treadmill of claim 10 further comprising a first and a second mounting plate rigidly connected to the first and second support-rail, respectively, with the first and the second handrail pivotally attached to the first and the second mounting plate, respectively.

12. The passive-type treadmill of claim 11 further comprising a first pin securely inserted in a hole in the first mounting plate and a hole in the first handrail, wherein the first handrail can rotate around the first pin; and a second pin securely inserted in a hole in the second mounting plate and a hole in the second handrail, wherein the second handrail can rotate around the second pin.

13. The passive-type treadmill of claim 12 further comprising a first screw fastening the first mounting plate to the first handrail through one of a plurality of holes in the first mounting plate; and a second screw fastening the second mounting plate to the second handrail through one of a plurality of holes in the second mounting plate.

14. The passive-type treadmill of claim 1, wherein the first and the second handrail are substantially parallel to each other.

15. The passive-type treadmill of claim 1, wherein the first and second handle are aligned in substantially the same straight line.

16. The passive-type treadmill of claim 1, wherein the first and the second handle are substantially parallel to the running platform.

17. The passive-type treadmill of claim 1, wherein the first handle is substantially perpendicular to the first handrail; and the second handle is substantially perpendicular to the second handrail.

18. The passive-type treadmill of claim 1, wherein one of the rollers is coupled to a load control device

19. The passive-type treadmill of claim 17, wherein the load control device operates in a principle selected from the group consisting of wind, magnet and friction.