Abstract:
A folding collapsible treadmill is disclosed to include a base, two standing posts fastened pivotally with the base, an instrument panel fastened pivotally with the standing posts, screw bolts adapted to lock the instrument panel and the standing posts in the operative position respectively.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    (a) Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention relates to a treadmill and, more particularly, to a folding collapsible treadmill that can be folded up to reduce its space occupation when not in use.  
           [0003]    (b) Description of the Prior Art  
           [0004]    A regular treadmill comprises a base on which the user treads, two standing posts bilaterally located on the front end of the base, an instrument panel fixedly fastened to the standing posts at the top for indicating distance, time, and other designated functions, and two handrails fixedly connected between the standing posts and the frame of the base at two sides. The instrument panel has a handlebar for holding by the user treading upon the base. The standing posts can be unlocked and turned to a collapsed position to reduce the storage space of the treadmill. However, because the instrument panel is fixedly fastened to the standing posts and disposed in a sloping direction for easy viewing by the user, the instrument panel cannot be closely attached to the standing posts or the base when the standing posts set in the collapsed position. Therefore, this design of treadmill still occupies much storage space when collapsed.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is the main object of the present invention to provide a folding collapsible treadmill, which can be folded up and received in a collapsed position to reduce its space occupation when not in use. According to one aspect of the present invention, the folding collapsible treadmill comprises a base, two standing posts fastened pivotally with the base, an instrument panel fastened pivotally with the standing posts, and screw bolts adapted to lock the instrument panel and the standing posts in the operative position respectively. According to another aspect of the present invention, two detachable handrails are bilaterally coupled between the base and the standing posts. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0006]    [0006]FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a folding collapsible treadmill according to the present invention.  
         [0007]    [0007]FIG. 2 is another elevational view of the present invention after removal of the cover shell from the base.  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 3 is a perspective exploded view in an enlarged scale of a part of the base and the standing posts according to the present invention.  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing the standing posts fastened to the base according to the present invention.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 5 is a schematic front view showing the standing posts fastened to the base according to the present invention.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 6 is a perspective exploded view of a part of the instrument panel and the standing posts according to the present invention.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 7 is a side view of the present invention.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 8 is similar to FIG. 7 but showing the handrails removed.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 9 is a schematic drawing showing the connection between the bottom plate of the instrument panel and the standing posts according to the present invention.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 10 is a schematic drawing showing the folding action of the folding collapsible treadmill according to the present invention.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 11 shows the folding collapsible treadmill collapsed according to the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0017]    Referring to FIG. 1, a folding collapsible treadmill in accordance with the present invention is shown comprised of a base  1  upon which the user treads, two standing posts  2 , a first transverse mounting bar  21 , a second transverse mounting bar  25 , two handrails  3 , and an instrument panel  4 .  
         [0018]    The base  1  comprises a treading belt  11 , a transmission mechanism  12  located on one end, namely, the front end (see FIG. 2), a transverse locating frame  13  transversely provided at the front end and sloping in one direction, and two upright supports  14  disposed near the two distal ends of the transverse locating frame  13  (see FIG. 3). The transverse locating frame  13  has two mounting holes  131  respectively disposed near the two distal ends, and two screw holes  132  corresponding to the mounting holes  131 . The upright supports  14  each have a mounting hole  141 .  
         [0019]    The standing posts  2  are respectively inserted into the mounting holes  131  of the transverse locating frame  13 , each having a transverse mounting hole  22  near the bottom. Screw bolts  23  are respectively inserted through the transverse mounting holes  22  of the standing posts  2  and threaded into the screw holes  132  of the transverse locating frame  13  to fixedly secure the standing posts  2  to the transverse locating frame  13  of the base  1 . The first transverse mounting bar  21  is fixedly fastened to the standing posts  2  at a lower side, having two end holes  211  axially aligned in the two distal ends and respectively fastened to the mounting holes  141  of the upright supports  14  by a respective screw  24  (see FIGS. 4 and 5). The second transverse mounting base  25  is fixedly fastened to the standing posts  2  at an upper side (see FIG. 6). The standing posts  2  each have a top mounting flange  26 , which has a horizontal mounting hole  261  and a vertical mounting hole  262  for the mounting of the instrument panel  4 .  
         [0020]    The handrails  3  are bilaterally detachably coupled between the standing posts  2  and the base  1  (see FIG. 7). Preferably, each handrail  3  is formed of multiple detachable parts. If desired, the handrails  3  can be detached from the treadmill (see FIG. 8).  
         [0021]    The instrument panel  4  is adapted to indicate distance, time, and other designated functions, having a handlebar  41  for holding by the user treading on the treading belt  11  of the base  1 . The bottom plate  42  of the instrument panel  4  has horizontal mounting holes  421  and vertical mounting holes  422  respectively fastened to the horizontal mounting holes  261  and vertical mounting holes  262  of the top mounting flanges  26  of the standing posts  2  by screw bolts  43  and  44 , two openings  45 , which receive the top ends of the standing posts  2  (see FIGS. 6 and 9). Further, the horizontal mounting holes  421  are respectively formed in a respective lug  451  at one side of the corresponding opening  45  (see FIG. 6).  
         [0022]    When not in use, the handrails  3  are detached from the treadmill (see FIG. 8), and then the screw bolts  44  are removed from the top mounting flanges  26  of the standing posts  2  and the bottom plate  42  of the instrument panel  4 , and then the instrument panel  4  is turned about the screw bolts  43  through 90° and closely attached to the standing posts  2  (see FIG. 10), and then the screw bolts  43  are removed from the mounting flanges  26  of the standing posts  2  and the bottom plate  42  of the instrument panel  4 , and then the standing posts  2  are respectively turned about the screw bolts  24  through 90° and closely attached to the base  1  (see FIG. 11). When collapsed, the treadmill requires less storage space. Further, screw bolts A, bushes B, and washers C are used with the screw bolts  23 ,  24 ,  43 , and  44  for installation. A cover shell  15  is fastened to the base  1  to protect the transmission mechanism  12 , and to keep the transmission mechanism  12  from sight. The cover shell  15  has two recessed portions  151 , which receive the standing posts  2  in the collapsed position (see FIG. 11).  
         [0023]    A prototype of folding collapsible treadmill has been constructed with the features of FIGS.  1 ˜ 11 . The folding collapsible treadmill functions smoothly to provide all of the features discussed earlier.  
         [0024]    Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.