Abstract:
A treadmill including a frame, an endless belt having an upwardly-exposed exercise section, a deck disposed underneath the exercise section of the belt, and a cushion assembly positioned between the deck and the frame for providing cushion in order to reduce high impact loads on the user&#39;s body. The cushion assembly comprises a lever having a first portion that is operably coupled to the deck and a second portion that is rotatably coupled to the frame. The cushion assembly also comprises a resilient member coupled to both the lever and the frame so that the resilient member resists rotation of the lever as the lever is rotated. The elastic deformation of the resilient member provides resistance to displacement of the deck and therefore creates a cushion effect on the user&#39;s feet, ankles and knees as the user&#39;s feet contact the belt.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to a treadmill and, more particularly, to a treadmill with a cushion assembly. 
         [0002]    Indoor exercise is getting more and more popular during recent decades. One popular indoor exercise apparatus is the treadmill. Treadmills commonly include a frame supported on the floor surface, and a console support extending upward from a front end of the frame. Two rollers are positioned at opposite ends of the frame, and an endless belt is trained on the rollers. A deck is positioned under the endless belt. A user may step on the endless belt for walking, running or other exercise purpose. 
         [0003]    The upper portion of the belt is typically supported by the deck beneath the upper surface of the belt. The deck is usually composed of wood in order to provide the required support. Therefore, decks are commonly relatively rigid, which can result in high impact loads on the user&#39;s feet, ankles and knees as the user&#39;s feet contact the belt. These high impact loads are uncomfortable and further can result in unnecessary damage to joints as compared to running on a softer surface. 
         [0004]    Because the typical treadmill has a very stiff, hard running surface and can become uncomfortable for extended periods of running, manufacturers have sought to make the running surface more resilient in an attempt to improve user comfort. While generally successful at reducing impact loads, these approaches have certain disadvantages. In particular, it has been found that there is a substantial advantage in being able to vary the stiffness of the decks in treadmills to accommodate the desires or running styles of different users. As a result there have been a number of attempts to provide mechanisms for varying deck stiffness, an example of which is as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,652,424. The &#39;424 patent discloses a cushion system including a flexible cantilever, a bumper and a movable brace. The flexible cantilever has an end fixedly mounted on the frame by screws, and the bumper is fixedly attached to another end of the flexible cantilever. The brace is movable along the flexible cantilever. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    The present invention provides a treadmill including a frame adapted to be supported on a floor surface, an endless belt having an upwardly-exposed exercise section, a deck disposed between the exercise section of the belt and the frame and a cushion assembly positioned between the deck and the frame for providing cushion in order to reduce high impact loads on the user&#39;s feet, ankles and knees. The cushion assembly comprises a lever having a first portion that is adapted to be rotated and a second portion that is rotatably coupled to the frame wherein the first portion of the lever is operably coupled to the deck. The cushion assembly also comprises a resilient member operably coupled to the lever and the frame wherein the resilient member resists rotation of the lever as the lever is being rotated. The elastic deformation of the resilient member could provide resistance to displacement of the deck and therefore create a cushion effect on the user&#39;s feet, ankles and knees as the user&#39;s feet contact the belt and the deck. 
         [0006]    Another object of the present invention is to provide a cushioned treadmill which is capable of modifying the cushion of the treadmill to accommodate the desires or running styles of different users. The treadmill further comprises an intermediate member operably engageable with both the deck and the lever. The intermediate member could be movably positioned between the deck and the lever to alter cushion of the treadmill. 
         [0007]    Another object of the present invention is to provide a cushioned treadmill which is capable of electronically modifying the cushion of the treadmill to accommodate the desires or running styles of different users. The treadmill further comprises a drive assembly for moving the position of the intermediate member. The drive assembly includes a cable loop, a drive member, and a drive motor which can move the position of the intermediate member via electronic control. 
         [0008]    Independent features and independent aspects of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon review of the following detailed description, claims, and drawings, wherein like elements have like numerals throughout the drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]      FIG. 1  is a side view of a treadmill having a cushion assembly embodying the present invention. 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a side view of a simplified cushion assembly mounted underneath a treadmill. 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is a bottom view of the cushion assembly shown in  FIG. 2 . 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is a side view of the cushion assembly of the treadmill shown in  FIG. 1 , showing an intermediate member near a rotatable coupling of the cushion assembly. 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  is a side view of the cushion assembly shown in  FIG. 4  in a displaced position. 
           [0014]      FIG. 6  is a side view of the cushion assembly shown in  FIG. 4 , showing the intermediate member farther from the rotatable coupling of the cushion assembly. 
           [0015]      FIG. 7  is a side view of the cushion assembly shown in  FIG. 6  in a displaced position. 
           [0016]      FIG. 8  is a side view of another embodiment of the cushion assembly of the present invention. 
           [0017]      FIG. 9  is a bottom view of the cushion assembly shown in  FIG. 8 . 
           [0018]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view of the cushion assembly shown in  FIG. 8 . 
           [0019]      FIG. 11  is a rear perspective view of another embodiment of the cushion assembly of the present invention. 
           [0020]      FIG. 12  is side view of the cushion assembly shown in  FIG. 11 . 
           [0021]      FIG. 13  is a rear perspective view of another embodiment of the cushion assembly of the present invention. 
           [0022]      FIG. 14  is a side view of another embodiment of the cushion assembly of the present invention. 
           [0023]      FIG. 15  is a rear perspective view of another embodiment of the cushion assembly of the present invention. 
           [0024]      FIG. 16  is side view of the cushion assembly shown in  FIG. 15 . 
       
    
    
       [0025]    Before at least one independent embodiment of the invention is explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or being carried out in various ways. Also, it is understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. 
         [0026]    The use of “including”, “having”, and “comprising” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. The use of “consisting of” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass only the items listed thereafter. The use of letters to identify elements of a method or process is simply for identification and is not meant to indicate that the elements should be performed in a particular order. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0027]      FIG. 1  illustrates a treadmill  100  with a cushion assembly  120  for providing cushion to a user as the user walks or runs on the treadmill  100 . The treadmill  100  comprises a frame  110  adapted to rest on a floor surface. A forward roller  102  and a rear roller  103  are spaced and journalled in the frame  110 . An endless belt  104  is trained on the rollers  102 , 103 . The belt  104  has an upwardly-exposed exercise section extending longitudinally between the rollers  102 ,  103  and adapted to enable a user to exercise thereon. A console support  107  extends upward from the frame  110  and terminates with a console  108 . The console  108  generally is for displaying information to a user of the treadmill  100  and allowing the user to select parameters of operating the treadmill  100  as the user desires. The rollers  102  and  103  are driven by an electronic motor (not shown), and the transmitting speed of the exercise section of the endless belt  104  is controlled by a user via the console  108 . 
         [0028]    A longitudinally-extending deck  106  is disposed underneath the exercise section of the belt  104 . The deck  106  engages the underside of the exercise section of the belt  104  to support the exercise section of the belt  104  while a user exercises on the treadmill  100 . Because the belt  104  is flexible, a user walking or running on the exercise section of the belt  104  can simultaneously cause a downward displacement of the belt  104  and the deck  106 . The cushion assembly  120  is mounted on the frame  110  and is active between the deck  106  and the frame  110  to provide cushion to a user while the user is exercising on the treadmill  100 . In addition to the cushion assembly  120 , the deck  106  may be supported by a series of resilient supports (not shown), or it may be directly supported by the frame  110 . 
         [0029]      FIG. 2  illustrates a simplified embodiment of a cushion assembly  120  mounted to the underside of a treadmill frame  110  and positioned under the deck  106 . The cushion assembly  120  includes a lever  122 , a resilient member  121 , a support member  111 , and an intermediate member  124 . The support member  111  is fixedly connected to the underside of the frame  110 . The support member  111  is surrounded by the resilient member  121 , and the outer surface of the resilient member  121  is attached to one end of the lever  122 . In this embodiment, the intermediate member  124  has been placed between the deck  106  and the lever  122 , although it should be noted that the lever  122  could be designed to directly contact the deck  106 . 
         [0030]    This cushion assembly  120  is designed to resiliently resist vertical deflection of the deck  106 . As the deck  106  is deflected downward, the intermediate member  124  transmits the downward deflection into the lever  122 , which then rotates about the support member  111 . Because the outer portion of the resilient member  121  is being rotated by the lever  122 , and the inner portion of the resilient member  121  is being held stationary by the support member  111 , the resilient member  121  is subjected to torsional loading. Because it is made of a resilient material, the resilient member  121  absorbs energy, dampens vibration, and resists rotation. Because of this resistance to rotation, the lever  122  resists the downward deflection of the deck  106 . 
         [0031]      FIG. 3  illustrates the underside of a treadmill body, showing how the support member  111  is mounted to the treadmill frame  110 , and how the levers  122  are positioned underneath the deck  106 . 
         [0032]    Referring to  FIG. 4 , the cushion assembly  120  of the treadmill  100  shown in  FIG. 1  is illustrated. The cushion assembly  120  is positioned under the deck  106  and coupled to the frame  110  of the treadmill  100 . The cushion assembly  120  includes a lever  122  having a first portion  127  and a second portion  126 . The cushion assembly  120  also comprises a resilient member  121  having a portion operably coupled to the second portion  126  of the lever  122  and another portion coupled to the frame  110 . It should be understood by people skilled in the art that the resilient member  121  could be a single cushion component, or could be a plurality of cushions working in combination to cushion the deck, absorb energy, dampen vibration, and/or resist displacement of the lever. 
         [0033]    In this embodiment, the lever  122  further comprises a bracket  123  extending from the second portion  126  of the lever  122 , and the frame  110  further comprises a support member  111  mounted thereon. The support member  111  is preferably a square tube which has four surfaces for engagement of the resilient member  121 . It should be understood by people skilled in the art that the support member  111  could be in other polygon shapes, where the purpose of the polygon shape is to provide surfaces for engagement of the resilient member  121 . Therefore, the second portion  126  of the lever  122  is rotatably coupled to the frame  110  and can have a rotational movement relative to the support member  111 . More particularly, the resilient member  121  has a portion engaged or attached on the inner portion of the bracket  123  and another portion engaged on the outer portion of the support member  111 . That is, the resilient member  121  is constrained and operably engaged with the bracket  123  and the support member  111  to provide resistance to the rotational movement of the second portion  126  of the lever  122 . Materials for the resilient member  121  could be rubber, gel, fluid, spring, and so on, where the important characteristics of the material are its abilities to absorb energy, dampen vibration, resist displacement and/or provide resilience or cushioning. The illustrated cushion assembly  120  further comprises an intermediate member  124  positioned between the deck  106  and the lever  122 . The intermediate member  124  is engaged with both the deck  106  and the lever  122 . One of the purposes of the intermediate member  124  is to transmit the impact loads of a user from the deck  106  to the lever  122 . The impact loads could also be transmitted to the lever  122  without having the intermediate member  124 . For example, the lever  122  can have an extending portion from the first portion  127  to operably contact the deck  106 . 
         [0034]    Now referring to  FIG. 5 , a displacement d of the deck  106  and a rotating angle a of the lever  122  are illustrated. When a user exercises on the treadmill  100  shown in  FIG. 1 , there is a downward impact load acted on the belt  104  and the deck  106 . The impact load causes the displacement d of the deck  106 . The orientation of the displacement d is substantially vertical. Because the intermediate member  124  is engaged with the deck  106  and the lever  122 , the displacement d of the deck  106  causes a corresponding downward movement of the intermediate member  124  which indirectly causes the rotational displacement of the second portion  126  of the lever  122 . In other words, the substantially vertical deck displacement d is transmitted into a substantially rotational displacement a in the second portion  126  of the lever  122 . Because the second portion  126  of the lever  122  has rotational movement relative to the frame  110 , the resilient member  121  constrained inside the bracket  123  has a correspondent torsional deformation. The torsional deformation of the resilient member  121  provides resistance to the rotational movement of the lever  122  and ultimately provides cushion to a user of the treadmill  100 . Different torsional coefficients of the resilient member  121  will cause different resistance to the rotational movement of the lever  122 . Because the resilient member  121  is elastically deformed, it is not necessary for the lever  122  and the intermediate member  124  to have elastic characteristics. Even if the lever  122  and the intermediate member  124  are substantially rigid or stiff, the cushion assembly  120  can still provide sufficient cushion to a user of the treadmill  100 . 
         [0035]    In the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the intermediate member  124  is positioned close to the second portion  126  of the lever  122 . The intermediate member  124  transmits the substantially vertical motion of the deck  106  to the lever  122 , which causes rotation of the cushion assembly  120 .  FIG. 4  shows the lever  122  in its start position, and  FIG. 5  shows the lever  122  in a displaced position. 
         [0036]      FIGS. 6 and 7  illustrate the same embodiment of the cushion assembly  120  as is shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , but with the intermediate member  124  moved farther away from the second portion  126  of the lever  122 . The intermediate member  124  transmits the substantially vertical motion of the deck  106  to the lever  122 , which causes rotation of the cushion assembly  120 .  FIG. 6  shows the lever  122  in its start position, and  FIG. 7  shows the lever  122  in a displaced position. 
         [0037]    As shown in  FIG. 7 , the position of the intermediate member  124  is positioned much farther away from the second portion  126  of the lever  122 . The rotating angle a can be the same as  FIG. 5  but the displacement d of the deck  106  is significantly increased. 
         [0038]    It can be assumed that the maximum downward force applied to the deck  106  by a user of the treadmill will remain a constant, regardless of the position of the intermediate member  124  on the lever  122 . As shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the intermediate member  124  is positioned close to the second portion  126  of the lever  122 . Because of the short distance between the intermediate member  124  and the point of rotation of the lever  122 , a very small displacement d causes a large change in angle a, which in turn causes the torque in the resilient member  121  to reach equilibrium with the torque created by the downward force of the deck  106  on the lever  122 . In comparison, in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the intermediate member  124  is positioned farther away from the second portion  126  of the lever  122 . Because of this longer distance between the intermediate member  124  and the point of rotation of the lever  122 , a larger change in angle a is needed before the torque in the resilient member  121  reaches equilibrium with the larger torque created by the downward force of the deck  106  on the lever  122 . And because the change in angle a is greater, and the distance between the intermediate member  124  and the point of rotation is also larger, the linear displacement d of the deck is also larger. Therefore, the intermediate member  124  could be positioned at different positions along the lever  122  to modify the resistance to the displacement d of the deck  106 . Looking at this design in another way, when the intermediate member  124  is positioned farther away from the second portion  126  of the lever  122 , the resistance to the displacement d of the deck  106  is smaller and the cushion effect is soft. When the intermediate member  124  is positioned closer to the second portion  126  of the lever  122 , the resistance to the deck  106  is greater and the cushion effect is hard. 
         [0039]      FIGS. 8-10  illustrate a drive assembly  130  for moving the position of the intermediate member  124  to modify the resistance to displacement of the deck  106 . The driving assembly  130  includes a cable loop  136  and a drive member  134 . A first portion of the cable loop  136  is connected to the intermediate member  124  as the broken line shown in  FIG. 8 , and a second portion of the cable loop  136  is connected to the drive member  134  as shown in  FIG. 9 . Because the cable loop  136  is in a loop arrangement, movement of the drive member  134  can be used to move the intermediate member  124  is either direction. Movement of the drive member  134  changes the position of the intermediate member  124  and provides different resistance to displacement of the deck  106 . As shown in  FIG. 10 , the drive member  134  is moveably mounted on a guide  137  which is mounted on the frame  110 . The drive assembly  130  further comprises a drive motor  131  mounted on the frame  110 , a tube  132  extended from the drive motor  131 , and a drive rod  133  coupled between the tube  132  and the drive member  134 . Action of the drive motor  131  moves the drive member  134 , which moves the cable loop  136  to change the position of the intermediate member  124 . The use of the drive motor  131  provides a more convenient way to modify the resistance to displacement of the deck  106 . In this embodiment, a user can electronically modify the cushion effect of the treadmill  100  via the console  108 . 
         [0040]      FIGS. 11 and 12  illustrate a different embodiment of the present invention. The frame  110  as shown in  FIG. 12  further comprises a rod  212  mounted thereon and a support member  211  fixedly mounted on one portion of the rod  212 . A cushion assembly  220  is arranged between the support member  211  and the deck  106 . The cushion assembly  220  comprises a resilient member  221  and a lever  222 . The lever  222  has a first portion  227  and a second portion  226 . The resilient member  221  has a first portion fixedly mounted on the second portion  226  of the lever  222  and a second portion fixedly mounted on the support member  211  which is part of the frame  110 . Therefore, the second portion  226  of the lever  222  is rotatably coupled to the support member  211  via the resilient member  221 . In this embodiment, the resilient member  221  is substantially cylindrical. As shown in  FIG. 12 , the second portion  226  of the lever  222  can rotate about the rod  212  while the first portion  227  of the lever  222  is rotated. Because both portions of the resilient member  221  are fixedly mounted, the resilient member  221  twists and elastically deforms to provide resistance to displacement of the deck  106  as the lever  222  is rotated. In this embodiment, an intermediate member  224  extends from the deck  106  as is shown in  FIG. 12 , or the intermediate member  224  could extend from the lever  222 , similar to the arrangement of the intermediate member  124  disclosed in  FIGS. 4-7 . In other embodiments, intermediate members could also be omitted. That is, the first portion  227  of the lever  222  could directly contact the under side of the deck  106  without an intermediate member. The displacement of the deck  106  causes both rotation and displacement of the first portion  227  of the lever  222  and also causes elastic deformation of the resilient member  221  to provide resistance. 
         [0041]      FIG. 13  illustrates another embodiment of the present invention. The design comprises a rod  312  mounted to the frame (not shown) and a support member  311  fixedly mounted on the central portion of the rod  312 . A cushion assembly  320  is arranged for providing cushion to a user. The cushion assembly  320  comprises a resilient member  321  and a lever  322 . The lever  322  has a first portion  327  and a second portion  326 . The resilient member  321  has a first portion fixedly mounted on the second portion  326  of the lever  322  and a second portion fixedly mounted on the support member  311 . When the lever  322  is rotated, the resilient member  321  is twisted and the second portion  326  of the lever  322  is rotated about the rod  312 . The second portion  326  of the lever  322  further comprises a bracket  323  assembled to the second portion  326  of the lever  322  by screws. The purpose of the bracket  323  is for clamping the first portion of the resilient member  321  to the second portion  326  of the lever  322 . Similar to the embodiment disclosed in  FIG. 11 , the resilient member  321  will be twisted and elastically deformed to provide resistance to displacement of the deck  106  as the lever  322  is rotated. The differences are that the resilient member  321  is laterally extended and is penetrated through and supported by the rod  312 . The lateral extension of the resilient member  321  allows the shear stresses to be spread over a larger volume and could increase the maximum rotatable displacement available from this cushion assembly  320 . 
         [0042]    Now referring to  FIG. 14 , another embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. The frame as shown in  FIG. 14  further comprises a support member  411  fixedly mounted thereon. A cushion assembly  420  is arranged to provide cushion to the deck  106 . The cushion assembly  420  comprises a resilient member  421  and a lever  422 . In this embodiment, the lever  422  has a first portion  427  and a second portion  426  which is pivoted to the support member  411 . The resilient member  421  is mounted between the lever  422  and the frame  110 . An intermediate member  424  is located between the deck  106  and the first portion  427  of the lever  422 . The intermediate member  424  is substantially rigid and movable along the lever  422 . Because the second portion  426  of the lever  422  is pivotally connected to the support member  411 , the first portion  427  of the lever  422  will be rotated when the deck  106  suffers some downward displacement. The resilient member  421  is elastically compressed to provide resistance to the displacement of the deck  106 . As mentioned previously, the position of the intermediate member  424  could be adjusted along the lever  422  to modify the resistance to displacement of the deck  106 . In this embodiment, there are other ways to modify the resistance to displacement of the deck  106 . It would also be possible to horizontally move the position of the resilient member  421  along the lever  422 . When the resilient member  421  is positioned closer to the second portion  426  of the lever  422 , the resistance to the deck  106  would be decreased and the cushion effect would be soft. The cushion effect would be hard when the resilient member  421  is positioned farther away from the second portion  426  of the lever  422 . It would also be conceivable to have a stationary intermediate member  424  (or no intermediate member  424 ) and a stationary resilient member  421 , and instead move the lever  422  and the support member  411  relative to the stationary resilient member  421  to increase or decrease the cushion effect. 
         [0043]      FIGS. 15 and 16  illustrate another embodiment of the present invention. The frame  110  as shown in  FIG. 16  further comprises a rod  512  mounted thereon and a support member  511  fixedly mounted on one portion of the rod  512 . A cushion assembly  520  is arranged between the support member  511  and the deck  106 . The cushion assembly  520  comprises a resilient member  521 , an intermediate member  524 , a pin joint  527 , and a connection plate  522 . The resilient member  521  has a first portion fixedly mounted to the connection plate  522  and a second portion fixedly mounted on the support member  511 , which is part of the frame  110 . The deck  106  is fixedly mounted to the intermediate member  524 , which is pivotally connected to the connection plate  522  via the pin joint  527 . Vertical displacement of the deck  106  is transmitted through the intermediate member  524  and the pin  527  into rotational displacement in the connection plate  522 . Because both portions of the resilient member  521  are fixedly mounted, the resilient member  521  will be twisted and elastically deformed to provide resistance to displacement of the deck  106  as the connection plate  522  is rotated. 
         [0044]    The foregoing description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. Furthermore, the description is not intended to limit the invention to the form disclosed herein. Consequently, variations and modifications commensurate with the above teachings, and the skill or knowledge of the relevant art, are within the scope of the present invention. The embodiments described herein are further intended to explain best modes known for practicing the invention and to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the invention in such, or other, embodiments and with various modifications required by the particular applications or uses of the present invention.