Site News  |   Monitor Keywords  |   Monitor Archive  |   Organizer  |   Account Info  |

Folding treadmill

Folding treadmill description/claims

1. Technical Field

This invention generally relates to exercise equipment. More particularly, the invention relates to treadmills. Specifically, the invention relates to an electrically driven treadmill which includes an inclination adjustment mechanism, is foldable and includes a storage box that resembles a coffee table.

2. Background Information

There is a growing trend in the fitness industry for equipment that is suitable for use in the home, especially pieces of equipment such as treadmills. One of the key issues that people face when treadmills and similar pieces of equipment are brought into their homes is that of space. A good quality treadmill will provide a runner with a running deck that is in the order of at least 20 inches wide by 57 inches in length. In order to provide this adequate running deck, the actual machine itself will range from around 65 inches in length to 91 inches in length and have a width of 32 to 34 inches. Obviously, the treadmill also needs to be provided with a floor clearance space surrounding the actual machine in order to allow a person to get safely on to and off from the running deck.

If the home owner has sufficient space, in a basement for example, a fixed track and frame type of treadmill may be the most suitable form in that they tend to be the most stable. However, exercising alone in a basement away from the center of activity in the home tends to be tedious. Additionally, because the treadmill is out of sight, it is easy for one to forget to exercise on a regular basis. Bringing this type of space-utilizing device into a living room or family room causes two problems. Firstly, these pieces of equipment are not aesthetically pleasing and would be considered to be an eyesore in such a communal type of room. Secondly, the space in the room that is occupied by such devices is unacceptable.

Consequently, many manufacturers have attempted to address these issues by providing home-use treadmills that are foldable so that they will take up less space. Many of these foldable treadmills are also movable so they can be stored in a closet or under a bed and brought out only when needed. The home-use models tend to have a main base that contains the motor and a front frame and which supports the handles. The track is typically pivotally connected to the front frame. An additional motor may be provided to raise and lower the track. This frame must be stable as the track is not rigidly connected to the base so that it can pivot upwardly to reduce the horizontal footprint of the treadmill. The home-use models may also be provided with wheels or gliders so that the treadmills can be wheeled under beds or into closets, even though they may weigh well over 150 lbs.

An additional problem caused by these home-use models is that they do not come preassembled. The track, base and handles are disconnected to keep the size of the shipping container to a minimum. A homeowner must therefore assemble the treadmill themselves or must have the retailer do the assembly for them. The machines must also be broken down and reassembled if the homeowner moves.

The prior art includes numerous versions of folding treadmills. Allemand, U.S. Pat. No. 4,757,987, for example, teaches a portable, manually-operable treadmill that includes a housing comprising two sections that are pivotally connected together. Each section of the housing includes a plurality of rollers. A continuous-loop track extends around the rollers of both sections of the housing and when a user walks on the upper surface of the belt, both the track and rollers are caused to move. A telescoping handle is pivotally mounted at a front end of the housing. The treadmill further includes a first support leg that is pivotally mounted to the front end of the housing. A second support leg is pivotally connected to the rear end of the front section of the housing, and a third support leg is pivotally connected to the front end of the back section of the housing. The treadmill disclosed in this patent has several disadvantages including the fact that it is not motorized and is instead manually driven. Additionally, the track and rollers form a fairly rigid and inflexible surface that will not act as an effective shock absorbent running surface. This lack of shock absorbence will also be enhanced by the nature of the support legs provided on the machine and may lead to shin-splints and other related injuries of the user. Furthermore, as seen most clearly from FIG. 4 of the patent, the support legs are pivotally connected to the housing. As such, there is a risk that at least the front support leg might collapse under vigorous use of the treadmill, once again leaving the exerciser open to potential injury. When the treadmill is to be stored, the handle is collapsed and rotated downwardly onto the upper surface of the front section of the housing. The back section of the housing is then pivoted forwardly to cover both the handle and the front section. In view off the fact that the folded treadmill is designed to be carried from one place to another by way of a handle, this treadmill is unlikely to be of sufficient strength and durability to be used by a runner or walker of any substantial weight.

Hammer et al discloses a low-profile folding treadmill that is motorized in his U.S. Pat. No. 6,471,622. This treadmill is more rugged in its design and includes an elongated base with a handle pivotally mounted at a front end thereof. A continuous loop track is retained around a forward and a rearward roller mounted in the base. A motor is operationally connected to the forward roller to rotate the same and thereby drive the belt. The treadmill also includes inclination legs proximate the front end of the treadmill for selectively lifting the front end of the treadmill upwardly so that the runner can run up an incline. One or more castors and/or gliders are provided on the lower surface of the base to enable the user to move the treadmill across a surface in order to store the same. The treadmill is folded up by collapsing the handle over the base. The unit is designed to be a low profile treadmill having a total height of no more than 8 inches from the surface upon which the base stands. The treadmill may therefore be slid across the surface and under a bed for example.

Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 6,830,540 to Watterson et al, teaches a motorized treadmill that comprises a frame onto which is mounted a telescoping handle and a two-section tread base. A front end of a first section of the base is pivotally connected at a first pivot point to the frame. The second section of the base is pivotally connected to a rear end of the first section at a second pivot point. During operation, the first and second sections of the base are coplanar and preferably are locked together by a pair of locking pins. The treadmill also includes a motorized mechanism for lifting the front end of the treadmill upwardly so that the runner can run up an incline. The treadmill may be folded for storage in one of two ways. Firstly, the first and second sections of the base are kept in a locked planar orientation relative to each other. The locked and elongated base is then rotated out of contact with the floor surface and toward the handle. Secondly, the first and second sections may be unlocked from each other. The base is then lifted upwardly in the region of the second pivot point. This causes the second section to pivot inwardly toward the first section until the lower surfaces of the first and second sections come into abutting contact with each other. The folded base is now pivoted about the first pivot point to lift the entire base off the floor surface and toward the handle. Some of the disadvantages of this design are that the locking pins are provided in a region where the runner's feet will habitually be landing. The repetitive impact may tend to lead to early deterioration of these locking pins and subsequent sagging of the base in its mid-section. While the treadmill may be folded up and the handles telescoped inwardly, the overall size and configuration of the device are still bulky. The treadmill is, however, provided with a pair of wheels to allow it to be wheeled across a surface for storage purposes.

It is, however, more likely that if a person has wheeled their treadmill into some sort of storage location to keep it out of the way, they will be less inclined to retrieve the treadmill in order to exercise because of the effort involved in setting the treadmill back in an appropriate location. There is therefore a need in the art for a treadmill that is substantial and sturdy in construction that is foldable to reduce the amount of space it occupies when not in use, but which does not need to be placed in storage in order to enhance the aesthetic appearance of the room.

The device of the present invention comprises an electrically driven, continuous track treadmill. The treadmill has a frame that includes a first section with a second section pivotably connected to a rear end thereof. The treadmill is adjustable between an operational position where the first and second sections are substantially horizontally aligned, and a folded position where the second section is pivoted onto said first section such that an upper surface of the second section abuts an upper surface of the first section. A handle is pivotally connected to the first section of the frame and extends upwardly away therefrom when the treadmill is in the operational position and pivots into abutting contact with a lower surface of the second section when the treadmill is in the folded position. The treadmill preferably is also provided with an inclination adjustment assembly that is selectively activatable to move the frame of the treadmill between a neutral position, a positively inclined position and a negatively inclined position relative to the floor surface upon which the treadmill rests. The treadmill is further provided with a shell configured to resemble a coffee table that is positionable over/or around the treadmill when in the folded position. The treadmill therefore can be stored in plain sight.

The preferred embodiments of the invention, illustrative of the best mode in which applicant has contemplated applying the principles, are set forth in the following description and are shown in the drawings and are particularly and distinctly pointed out and set forth in the appended claims.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the folding treadmill in accordance with the present invention shown in a fully folded position;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the treadmill of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional side elevational view of the treadmill in the fully folded position, and having the motor cover removed for clarity;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional perspective view of the treadmill shown in FIG. 3;

• Provisional Patent
• Utility Patent

• What Is a Patent?
• What Is a Trademark or Servicemark?
• What Is a Copyright?
• Patent Laws