Patent Publication Number: US-2004058785-A1

Title: Treadmill with an automatically foldable treadbase

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001] This application claims priority of Taiwanese application no. 091214891, filed on Sep. 20, 2002.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002] 1. Field of the Invention  
       [0003] The invention relates to a treadmill, more particularly to a treadmill with an automatically foldable treadbase.  
       [0004] 2. Description of the Related Art  
       [0005] Treadmills are indoor exercising equipments preferred by many users. However, conventional treadmills are difficult to store and occupy much space because of their irregular shapes and bulky sizes.  
       [0006] To solve this problem, various designs for treadmills with foldable treadbases are currently available on the market. Conventional treadmills with foldable treadbases allow users to manually fold or unfold the treadbases of the treadmills.  
       [0007] One problem with the treadmills having manually foldable treadbases is that the treadbases are difficult to manually lift to the folded state and may cause back strain or other injury. Heavy treadbases are also hazardous when released from the folded state as they will rapidly fall and could injure the user.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008] Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a treadbase that can be folded and unfolded automatically.  
       [0009] According to the present invention, a treadmill comprises a base frame, a treadbase, a support bar unit, and a drive unit. The base frame has front and rear frame ends. The treadbase has front and rear base ends, and includes a treading member disposed above the base frame. The support bar unit has a first bar portion pivoted to the treading member, and a second bar portion pivoted to the base frame. The drive unit includes power unit mounted on the base frame, and a telescopic arm that has a front arm end coupled to the treadbase and a rear arm end connected to the power unit. The drive motor is operable so as to extend forward or retract rearward the front arm end of the telescopic arm. Rearward retraction of the front arm end results in movement of the front base end toward the rear frame end and in upward folding movement of the treadbase. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
     [0010] Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:  
     [0011]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the first preferred embodiment of a treadmill according to the present invention;  
     [0012]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the first preferred embodiment with a treadbase in an upright folded state;  
     [0013]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the second preferred embodiment of a treadmill according to the present invention;  
     [0014]FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of the second preferred embodiment with a treadbase in an inclined unfolded state;  
     [0015]FIG. 5 is a schematic side view of the second preferred embodiment with the treadbase in a horizontal unfolded state;  
     [0016]FIG. 6 is a schematic side view of the second preferred embodiment with the treadbase in an upright folded state; and  
     [0017]FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the third preferred embodiment of a treadmill according to the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
     [0018] Before the present invention is described in greater detail, it should be noted that like elements are denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the disclosure.  
     [0019] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the first preferred embodiment of a treadmill according to the present invention is shown to include a base frame  1 , a treadbase  2 , a support bar unit  4 , and a drive unit  3 .  
     [0020] The base frame  1  has front and rear frame ends  114 ,  113 , and includes left and right frame portions  11  and a connecting frame portion  12  that interconnects the left and right frame portions  11  at the rear frame end  113 . Each of the left and right frame portions  11  has an inner surface  112  formed with a slide rail  111  that extends from the front frame end  114  toward the rear frame end  113 . An upright prop  14  for mounting a control panel has a lower end portion secured to the base frame  1  at the front frame end  114 .  
     [0021] The treadbase  2  includes a treading member  20  that has left and right base portions  21 ,  22  and connecting base portions  23 ,  24  that interconnect the left and right base portions  21 ,  22  and that serve as front and rear base ends of the treadbase  2 . The treading member  20  is disposed above the base frame  1 . The connecting base portion  23  is provided with rollers  34  that are coupled slidably and respectively to the slide rails  111 .  
     [0022] The support bar unit  4  includes left and right bars  41  adjacent to a respective one of the left and right frame portions  11  of the base frame  1 . Each of the left and right bars  41  has a first bar portion  412  that is connected pivotally to a respective one of the left and right base portions  21 ,  22 , and a second bar portion  411  that is connected pivotally to the connecting frame portion  12  of the base frame  1 .  
     [0023] The drive unit  3  includes a drive motor  33  and a telescopic arm. The drive motor  33  is mounted pivotally on the connecting frame portion  12  of the base frame  1 . The telescopic arm includes an internally threaded sleeve tube  31  and a screw rod  32 . The sleeve tube  31  has one end which serves as a front arm end  311  of the telescopic arm and which is connected pivotally to the connecting base portion  23  of the treading member  20 . The screw rod  32  is inserted threadedly and telescopically into the sleeve tube  31  and has one end that serves as a rear arm end  312  of the telescopic arm and that is connected to and driven rotatably by the drive motor  33 .  
     [0024] When it is desired to fold the treadbase  2 , the drive motor  33  is operated so as to rotate axially the screw rod  32  in a clockwise direction, which causes the screw rod  32  to thread into the sleeve tube  31 . This results in rearward retraction of the front arm end  311  relative to the connecting frame portion  12 . This, in turn, pulls the connecting base portion  23  and causes the rollers  34  to slide along the slide rails  111  toward the rear frame end  113  of the base frame  1 . Due to the pivotal connection of the support bars  41  to the treading member  20  and the base frame  1 , the treadbase  2  rotates about a pivot axis (A), which results in upward folding movement of the rear base end of the treadbase  2 , until the treadbase  2  reaches an upright folded state, as best shown in FIG. 2.  
     [0025] Accordingly, when the drive motor  33  is operated so as to rotate axially the screw rod  32  in a clockwise direction, the screw rod  32  is threaded out of the sleeve tube  31 , thereby resulting in forward extension of the front arm end  311  relative to the connecting frame portion  12 , sliding movement of the rollers  34  along the slide rails  111  toward the front frame end  114 , and downward unfolding movement of the rear base end of the treadbase  2  until the latter reaches a horizontal unfolded state (not shown). Thus, movement of the treadbase  2  between the folded and unfolded states can be done automatically.  
     [0026]FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate the second preferred embodiment of a treadmill according to the present invention. When compared with the first preferred embodiment, the treadbase  2  of this embodiment further includes a lifting frame member  25 . The lifting frame member  25  includes a pair of lifting bards  251 , each having a first frame portion  2511  and a second frame portion  2512 , and a first crossbar  253  that interconnects the second frame portions  2512  of the lifting bars  251 . The first frame portions  2511  of the lifting bars  251  of the lifting frame member  25  are pivoted to the left and right base portions  21 ,  22  of the treading member  20 , respectively. In addition, the first crossbar  253  of the lifting frame member  25 , which serves as the front base end of the treadbase  2  in this embodiment, is provided with the rollers  34  for coupling slidably to the slide rails  111  of the base frame  1 . The first crossbar  253  is thus movable between the front and rear frame ends  114 ,  113  of the base frame  1 . Moreover, the front arm end  311  of the telescopic arm is connected pivotally to the first crossbar  253  of the lifting frame member  25 .  
     [0027] With further reference to FIG. 5, the treadmill further comprises a releasable fastening unit  26  for fastening immovably and selectively the lifting frame member  25  to the treading member  20 . The fastening unit  26  has a first fastening lug  261  provided on the treading member  20 , a second fastening lug  262  provided on the first crossbar  253  of the lifting frame member  25 , a fastening screw  263 , and a nut  264 . The fastening screw  263  and the nut  264  can be used to fasten together the lugs  261 ,  262 , thereby fastening immovably the first crossbar  253  of the lifting frame member  25  to the treading member  20 .  
     [0028] When the fastening unit  26  releases the first crossbar  253  of the lifting frame member  25  from the treading member  20 , the drive motor  33  can be operated so as to rotate the screw rod  32  for rearward retraction or forward extension of the front arm end  311  of the telescopic arm. This, in turn, results in sliding movement of the rollers  34  along the slide rails  111  to raise or lower the treading member  20  relative to the base frame  1 . Thus, the inclination of the treadbase  2  can be varied automatically in this embodiment to suit the user&#39;s requirements.  
     [0029] When the fastening unit  26  fixes the first crossbar  253  of the lifting frame member  25  to the treading member  20 , extension and retraction of the front arm end  311  of the telescopic arm due to the operation of the drive motor  33  results in movement of the treadbase  2  between the folded and unfolded states, as best shown in FIG. 6. The operation is similar to that of the first preferred embodiment and will not be detailed further for the sake of brevity.  
     [0030]FIG. 7 illustrates the third preferred embodiment of a treadmill according to the present invention. When compared with the second preferred embodiment, the lifting frame member  25  further includes a second crossbar  254  that interconnects the left and right lifting bars  251  and that is parallel to the first crossbar  253 . The front arm end  311  of the telescopic arm is connected pivotally to the second crossbar  254  of the lifting frame member  25 . Since the operation of this embodiment is similar to that described hereinabove in connection with the second preferred embodiment, a detailed description of the same will be dispensed with herein for the sake of brevity.  
     [0031] It has thus been shown that the treadmill of this invention includes a treadbase  2  that can be folded and unfolded using the drive motor  3 . The inclination of the treadbase  2  can also be varied using the same motor in the second and third embodiments of this invention. Accordingly, the user can fold, unfold, and vary the inclination of the treadbase  2  of the treadmill without undue physical strain. Further, the telescopic arm and the drive motor  33  cooperate to prevent rapid falling of the treadbase  2  during an unfolding operation, thereby making the treadmill of this invention safer to use as compared with conventional treadmills.  
     [0032] While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.