Abstract:
A treadmill system having a side work surface at a height convenient for a user access for working. The treadmill also has a safety rail that runs longitudinally. A safety belt that may be worn by a user is anchored to the side rail. In one embodiment, the side rail height and the belt are configured to support the weight of the user in case of a fall.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    The present application is a utility of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/842,397, filed on Sep. 6, 2006. 
     
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    This invention relates to exercise equipment and, in particular, a treadmill having functionalities in addition to an adjustable running surface. 
         [0003]    Walking and running are two popular forms of exercise. They use substantially all muscles of the body and require very little mental concentration. Individuals who enjoy walking and running as forms of exercise also find that they are a therapeutic form of exercise as well. Therefore, treadmills have become popular because they may provide a programmable running surface with adjustable inclines and speeds in a very compact space indoors so that individuals may walk and/or run inside in a controlled environment during inclement weather. In addition, many runners prefer running on treadmills to running on pavement, which can be hard on their knees and other joints. 
         [0004]    However, as the world becomes more hectic, it has become increasingly difficult for individuals to maintain an exercise schedule, indoors or outdoors. Demands in the workplace include not only high stress, but also prolonged office hours. Office workers spend more time sitting at their desks, often with poor posture, and developing long-term back issues and undesired weight-gain, while, at the same time finding less and less time to exercise. With all the other demands of life such as family, friends, chores and hobbies, exercise often falls lower on the priority list of office workers. When this occurs, office workers may skip exercise as a part of their daily routine and, as a result, their health is compromised. 
         [0005]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,813,947 to Densmore, U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,839 to Corkum, U.S. Pat. No. 6,224,516 to Disch, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,283,896 to Grunfeld et al. are some other attempts that have been made to incorporate exercise equipment with computers, work stations, or other activity stations. However, with such distractions as computers, work stations or other activity stations, safety is compromised and a user of such inventions may be prone to falling down and sustaining injuries. 
         [0006]    Therefore, it would be desirable if the user could find a way to safely incorporate exercise into the workday, without sacrificing time that is already dedicated to the other demands of their lives. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0007]    The present invention is a treadmill system comprising a treadmill having a running surface with at least one work surface adjacent to the treadmill. The invention includes at least one handrail along the length of the running surface and a safety belt anchored to the at least one handrail. The anchor for the safety belt can slide along the at least one handrail. The system provides a way to incorporate exercise into a workday without sacrificing safety or any additional time that is already dedicated to other demands of an individual&#39;s life. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]      FIG. 1  is an isometric view of a treadmill system according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is a plan view of the system of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is a side view of the system of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is a view of the safety belt of the system of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  is a view like  FIG. 4 . 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  is a top view of the safety rail of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0014]      FIG. 7  is a view taken on section line VII-VII of  FIG. 6 . 
           [0015]      FIG. 8  is a view taken on section VIII-VIII of  FIG. 6 . 
           [0016]      FIG. 9  is a view like  FIG. 7  showing the safety belt attachment unengaged. 
           [0017]      FIG. 10  is an isometric view of the safety rail of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0018]      FIG. 11  is an isometric view of another embodiment of the invention. 
           [0019]      FIG. 12  is a close-up view of area XII of  FIG. 11 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0020]    In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention, and it is to be understood that structural, logical, or procedural changes may be made to the specific embodiments disclosed without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. 
         [0021]    Refer now to  FIGS. 1 through 3 , which illustrate an embodiment of the present invention. A treadmill  10  has a desired length L and width W of a walking surface  15 . Two safety rails  20  are mounted longitudinally along both lateral sides of the treadmill  10 . They are mounted on vertical supports  22  above the treadmill walking surface  15  at a height H within an arm&#39;s reach of the user when the treadmill  10  is in use. The safety rails  20  may be grasped by the user to obtain stability on the treadmill  10 . The safety rails  20  are also used for anchoring a safety belt  25  that may be worn around a user&#39;s waist to inhibit the user from falling down onto the running surface of the treadmill. The safety belt  25  will be described in further detail below. 
         [0022]    Along the left and right lateral sides of the treadmill  10 , there are respective left and right work surfaces  30 ,  40 . A control panel  45  for the treadmill  10  is shown recessed into the right work surface  40 , although it may be located elsewhere within arm&#39;s reach of the user. 
         [0023]    At the front of the treadmill, there is a front work surface  50 . The front work surface  50  may be tilted, as shown in  FIG. 2 , in an adjustable fashion such that a user may face work materials at a selected angle. 
         [0024]    Along the perimeter of all work surfaces  30 ,  40 ,  50 , there is a pencil stop ledge  35 . All of the work surfaces  30 ,  40 ,  50  are placed at a height Z above the surface  15  that is convenient to the user for working. The left and right work surfaces  30 ,  40  have a depth V and length Y and the front work surface  50  has a depth D and a length X sufficient for placing desired office working materials such as papers, books, office supplies, a telephone, and a computer. 
         [0025]      FIG. 4  illustrates a plan view of the safety belt  25  in an engaged position. The safety belt  25  has a belt portion  125  for wearing around the user&#39;s waist, and has a first plate  111  that, on a first side, attaches the belt portion  125  to an attachment cord  112  which is anchored to the safety rail  20 . On a second side of the belt portion, padding  113  may be provided to prevent the plate  111  from rubbing against the user and increase the comfort of the user. 
         [0026]    The safety belt  25  also has a draw string  114  for adjusting the length of the belt portion  125  according to the width of the user&#39;s waist. If the user&#39;s waist is thicker, the draw string  114  may be adjusted to accommodate the user&#39;s waist. If the user&#39;s waist is thinner, the draw string  114  may be pulled to narrow the safety belt  125  to accommodate the user&#39;s waist, and tied to hold the adjustment. 
         [0027]    The safety belt  25  also includes a locking mechanism  115  attached to a second plate  121  for locking the safety belt onto the user&#39;s waist. To remove the safety belt  25 , the locking mechanism  115  may be disengaged, by flipping the locking mechanism  115  over, as shown in  FIG. 5 , thereby releasing the second plate  121  to unlock the safety belt  125 . 
         [0028]      FIGS. 6 through 8  and  FIG. 10  are views of a portion of the safety rail  20 . The safety rail  20  has a trench  225  opening to the top surface of the rail  20 . The trench  225  has within it holes  226  at spaced at a predetermined distance P from each other. A J-bracket attachment  130  curls over the rail  20  and has a stopper  135  that engages a lip portion  137  to inhibit the attachment  130  from being entirely removed from the rail  20  during use. The attachment  130  also has a tab  131  that sits within the trench  225 . When the attachment  130  is moved along the rail  20  and placed at a desired location along the rail  20 , the tab  131  sits within a hole  226  in the trench  225 , anchoring the attachment  130  at that location. 
         [0029]    To move the attachment  130  to a different location along the trench  225 , the attachment  130  may be disengaged by lifting the attachment  130  so that the tab  131  is fully withdrawn from the hole  226  and the attachment  130  may slide along the rail  20  to another hole  226 , as shown in  FIG. 9 . 
         [0030]      FIGS. 11 and 12  illustrate another embodiment of the present invention. A treadmill  110  is shown having pipe handrails  120  mounted longitudinally along both lateral sides of the treadmill  110 . The pipe handrails  120  are mounted above the treadmill  110  at a height K. 
         [0031]    The safety belt  325  is suspended from the handrails  120  by a pair of slide rings  124  which slide along the pipe handrails  120 . When worn around a user&#39;s waist, the safety belt  325  provides additional protection against the user falling down onto the running surface of the treadmill  110 . The safety belt  325  is anchored by the attachment cord  112  to the pipe handrails  120  at a height K sufficient to inhibit the torso of a fallen user from severely impacting the treadmill surface  315 . This embodiment is particularly desirable for inhibiting heavier users from falling down and making injurious bodily contact with the running surface  315  of the treadmill  110 . The dimensions and materials of the attachment cord  112 , the vertical supports  22 , the rails  120 , the rings  124  and the belt  325 , and associated structure are engineered to have sufficient strength to accomplish this purpose. 
         [0032]    The pipe handrail  120  has an outer diameter φ 1  and may be raised to a height along the treadmill such that it will support a user from falling down onto the surface  315  of the treadmill  110 . The height K and length of the attachment cord  112  may be adjustable for accommodating different size users. For example, the vertical supports  22  may have telescoping sections that can be fixed at different heights with hole and pin arrangements (not shown). 
         [0033]    A slide ring  121  having an inner diameter φ 2  attaches to a safety belt and slides freely along the pipe handrail  120 . The inner diameter φ 2  of slide ring  121  is greater than the outer diameter φ 1  of the pipe handrail  120 . 
         [0034]    It should be noted that although the pipe handrail  120  and slide ring  121  are both illustrated with a generally circular configuration, the invention is not limited to such a configuration. The pipe handrail may have a square, elliptical, rectangular or other configuration and the slide ring may have the same or a different configuration while maintaining an inner dimension that is larger than the outer dimension of the pipe handrail so that the slide ring may slide back and forth along the pipe handrail. 
         [0035]    If a computer monitor  55 , other computer accessories, and/or a telephone  56  are desired on the work surfaces  132 ,  140 ,  150 , the work surfaces  132 ,  140 ,  150  may optionally be provided with holes through which wiring may connect to a hard drive that may be stored under the work surface or other wall sockets. The work surfaces  132 ,  140 ,  150  may also be provided with recesses for placement of the surface-top accessories. 
         [0036]    While various embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example, and not limitation. It will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art that various changes in form and detail can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, the present invention should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments.