Patent Publication Number: US-2022225724-A1

Title: Base for use on a treadmill and method

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a rolling base for use on a treadmill, and in particular for virtual sports systems. 
     BACKGROUND 
     There exist systems and devices directed towards replicating sports activities for training and exercise purposes. These systems exist in various forms. Various exercise machines are designed to replicate their corresponding activities to various degrees. For example, stationary bikes may be used to replicate outdoor cycling activities. A stationary bike may be equipped or paired with a visual display of a cycling route. The visual display may be affected by the actions of the user, such as progressing at a speed determined by the speed of the user as calculated by the device. 
     Other examples of these systems include devices like the Wii Fit®, where a visual display and one or more controllers permit a user to replicate a sporting activity and interactively engage with a visual representation of the activity on the visual display. 
     Canadian Patent Application No. 2,966,911 published on Nov. 13, 2017 discloses footwear and boards with rollers for sporting and gaming purposes which are intended for use on a moving treadmill. 
     SUMMARY 
     There is provided a base for use on a treadmill, the base comprising three or more first ball bearing assemblies, each of the three or more first ball bearing assemblies comprising a ball and a mounting assembly and one or more lower ball bearing assemblies, each of the one or more lower ball bearing assemblies comprising a ball and a mounting assembly, wherein each of the one or more lower ball bearing assemblies extends downwards from a plane defined by a subset of three of the three or more first ball bearing assemblies, and an intersection of a vertical projection of the one or more lower ball bearing assemblies onto the plane lies within the convex hull of the subset of three of the three or more first ball bearing assemblies, thereby allowing the base to pivot in multiple directions around the one or more lower ball bearing assemblies when placed on a flat surface. 
     In various embodiments, there may be provided one or more of: the base being a sole and the sole being integrally formed with a piece of sports footwear; the base being removeably attachable to a piece of sports footwear; the base being a lower surface of a board; the board being a snowboard; the base being used in combination with a snowboarding boot; the three or more first ball bearing assemblies being arranged as two rows of ball bearing assemblies and the at least one or more lower ball bearing assemblies lying between the two rows of ball bearing assemblies; the three or more first ball bearing assemblies being arranged as at least three consecutive rows of ball bearing assemblies on the base or sole and the one or more lower ball bearing assemblies being positioned between each consecutive pair of rows of ball bearing assemblies; the base being used in combination with a treadmill control, the treadmill control being mountable and electrically connectable to the treadmill to control at least one of speed, elevation, and surface variations of the treadmill; each of the one or more lower ball bearing assemblies being larger than three or more first ball bearing assemblies; each of the one or more lower ball bearing assemblies being situated downwardly relatively to the subset of three of the three or more of the first ball bearing assemblies; each mounting assembly of the three or more first ball bearing assemblies and of the one or more lower ball bearing assemblies comprising a mounting socket and a spring. 
     There is provided a method of using a rolling base on a treadmill, comprising a user standing on a rolling base on an operating treadmill and providing a graphical simulation of a sports activity through a display, wherein the rolling base comprises three or more first ball bearing assemblies, each of the three or more first ball bearing assembly comprising a ball, and a mounting assembly, and the rolling base further comprises one or more lower ball bearing assemblies, each of the one or more lower ball bearing assemblies comprising a ball and a mounting assembly, each one of the one or more lower ball bearing assemblies projecting down from a plane defined by three or more of the ball bearing assemblies. 
     In various embodiments, the method may further comprise one or more of: controlling operation of the treadmill according to the events occurring in the simulation of a sports activity; wherein controlling operation of the treadmill comprises one or more of controlling the speed, altitude, tilt and surface features of the treadmill; detecting a part of a user and processing the location of a part of the user as a control input for the simulation of a sports activity; wherein detecting a part of a user comprises detecting the location or orientation of a piece of sports footwear worn by the user; wherein detecting a part of a user comprises detecting the location or orientation of one or more of the user&#39;s limbs, trunk, and head. 
     In a further embodiment there is provided a base or sole for a piece of footwear for use on a treadmill, the base or sole comprising four ball bearing assemblies arranged in a rectangular distribution on the base or sole, each of the four ball bearing assemblies comprising a ball and a mounting assembly; and one or more lower ball bearing assemblies arranged within the rectangular distribution, each of the one or more lower ball bearing assemblies projecting downwards from the rectangular distribution of ball bearing assemblies and comprising a ball and a mounting assembly. 
     These and other aspects of the device and method are set out in the claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
       Embodiments will now be described with reference to the figures, in which like reference characters denote like elements, by way of example, and in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a bottom view of a base or sole attached to or integral with a piece of sports footwear according to an embodiment comprising four ball bearing assemblies and one lower ball bearing assembly. 
         FIG. 2  is a bottom view of a base or sole attached to or integral with a piece of sports footwear according to an embodiment comprising four ball bearing assemblies and two lower ball bearing assemblies. 
         FIG. 3  is a bottom view of a base or sole attached to or integral with a piece of sports footwear according to an embodiment comprising four ball bearing assemblies and three lower ball bearing assemblies. 
         FIG. 4  is a bottom view of a base or sole attached to or integral with a piece of sports footwear according to an embodiment comprising six ball bearing assemblies and two lower ball bearing assemblies. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a user on a treadmill wearing sports footwear with an attached or integral base or sole according to an embodiment. 
         FIG. 6  is a side view of a piece of sports footwear with an integral base or sole according to an embodiment. 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a piece of sports footwear with an integral base or sole according to an embodiment. 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a user on a treadmill wearing sports footwear affixed to a board according to an embodiment. 
         FIG. 9  is a bottom view of a board attached to a piece of sports footwear according to an embodiment. 
         FIG. 10  is a partial cross-section of a ball bearing assembly according to an embodiment. 
         FIG. 11  is a partial cross-section of a ball bearing assembly according to an embodiment. 
         FIG. 12  is a side view of a piece of sports footwear with an integral sole according to an embodiment. 
         FIG. 13  is a side view of a base attachable to a piece of sports footwear, according to an embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In this description various directional terms are employed, including directional terms adopted from anatomical terminology. Longitudinal is taken to mean ‘in the lengthwise direction’, which, in the context of the foot, refers to the direction from heel to toe. Width is taken to refer to the direction that is perpendicular to the lengthwise direction and that is not vertical. Vertical is used in its common sense and, when used in reference to parts of a shoe or foot herein assumes that the shoe or foot is resting flat and upright on the ground. The word ‘lateral’ is used in its anatomical sense, meaning away from the midline of the body in the width direction. The word ‘medial’ is also used in its anatomical sense, meaning towards the midline of the body in the width direction. In the context of the foot and footwear, the lateral direction on a left foot or left shoe is towards the left and the medial direction on a left foot or left shoe is towards the right. Conversely, the lateral direction on a right foot or right shoe is towards the right and the medial direction on a right foot or right shoe is towards the left. A sports boot may be any boot such as those used in alpine sports, such as downhill skiing or snowboarding or other comparable activities, such as water sports like water skiing, wake boarding and surfing. 
     In the embodiments of  FIGS. 1-9, 12 and 13 , there are provided various embodiments of a base  10 . The base  10  may be a sole of a piece of sports footwear  11  as shown in  FIG. 7 . The base  10  may be attachable to sports footwear  11  as shown in  FIGS. 1-4 and 13  or may be integrally formed with sports footwear  11  as shown in  FIGS. 5-7, and 12 . The base  10  may be attachable to or integrated into a lower surface of a sports board such as a snowboard or surfboard as shown in  FIGS. 8 and 9 . 
     In the embodiments in  FIGS. 1-4 , the base  10  comprises three or more ball bearing assemblies  12 , each ball bearing assembly  12  comprising a ball  14  and a mounting assembly  16 . Each mounting assembly  16  comprises a mounting socket  18  for receiving the ball  14 , and a spring  19  within the mounting socket  18  providing an opposing force to the compressive force between the ball  14  and the base  10 .  FIG. 10  illustrates an exemplary ball bearing assembly  12 . The three or more ball bearing assemblies  12  may rest in a single plane. In some embodiments three or more ball bearings assemblies  12  may define two or more lines of ball bearing assemblies  12 , in which each line of ball bearing assemblies may or may not rest in a shared plane, as illustrated in  FIGS. 1-4 . 
     The base also comprises a lower ball bearing assembly  20 , the lower ball bearing assembly  20  comprising a ball  22  and a ball bearing mounting assembly  24 . The ball bearing mounting assembly  24  comprises a mounting socket  26  for receiving the ball  22 , and a spring  28  providing an opposing force to the compressive force between the ball  22  and the base.  FIG. 11  illustrates an exemplary lower ball bearing assembly  20 . The lower ball bearing assembly  20  may provide a ball  22  that projects further out of the base than the balls of the ball bearing assemblies. The greater projection may, alternatively or in addition, be provided by the ball  22  having a larger radius than the balls  14  of the ball bearing assemblies  12 . In some embodiments, the greater projection may be provided by the lower ball bearing mounting assemblies  24  projecting from a common plane of a subset of three or more of the ball bearing assemblies  12 , as illustrated in  FIG. 12 . 
     In some embodiments, the ball  22  of the lower ball bearing assembly  20  may project further out of the base than the balls of the ball bearing assemblies only when the base  10  is in use and bearing weight, for example, by having springs with different compression-resisting forces in the lower ball bearing assembly than the other ball bearing assemblies. In some embodiments, the ball and mounting assembly of the ball bearing assemblies may be recessed more deeply into the base than those of the lower ball bearing assembly. In some embodiments, the base may have curvature or angular structure such that only a ball  22  of the lower ball bearing assembly  20  and a subgroup of the balls  14  of the ball bearing assemblies  12  contact level ground at the same time, as illustrated in  FIG. 7 . This may occur, for example, where a lower ball bearing assembly is positioned at the apex of a base with convex curvature and three or more ball bearing assemblies are distributed approximately equidistantly around the lower ball bearing assembly. 
     The lower ball bearing assembly may be located at a point in the base that is centralized in one or more of the longitudinal and width dimensions of the footwear. In general, the lower ball bearing assembly may be positioned at a point inwardly displaced from an edge of the base. In some embodiments, there may be two or more lower ball bearing assemblies, each lower ball bearing assembly  20  projecting out from the base relative to the ball bearing assemblies  12 . 
       FIG. 6  illustrates a plurality of lower ball bearing assemblies  20  projecting downwards relative to a plurality of ball bearing assemblies  12 . The projection of the one or more lower ball bearing assemblies may provide a multiplicity of contact positions in which at least one ball  22  is in contact with the ground and at least two balls  14  are in contact with the ground for each of the pieces of sports footwear  11  to produce a base on which the user&#39;s weight may rest. With at least one lower ball bearing assembly  20  and three or more ball bearing assemblies  12  there may be two or more possible contact arrangements. Each contact arrangement involves the sports footwear  11  being oriented at a different angle relative to the ground due to the projection of the lower ball bearing assembly  20 . This may allow the user to rock in one or more direction on the sports footwear to produce a leaning effect, replicating the rocking and leaning that the user might experience using a snowboard or skis in alpine sports and comparable activities, such as water sports like water skiing, wake boarding and surfing. For water sports like water skiing, wake boarding and surfing, sports footwear may be provided as sandals or other lightweight footwear providing a base. In some embodiments, a surfboard may be provided as a base with integrated ball bearing assemblies and lower ball bearing assemblies without accompanying straps or footwear structure. In such embodiments, the board with integrated base may be used barefoot or in footwear without attachments to the board. Exemplary arrangements of boards  104  with integrated bases  10  are illustrated in  FIGS. 8 and 9 . 
     In some embodiments, two or more lower ball bearing assemblies may be positioned approximately along a central longitudinal axis of each base. This configuration may provide two or more contact positions. In a first one of these contact positions, the ball bearing assemblies situated laterally from the central longitudinal axis contact the surface and one or more ball bearing assemblies situated medially from the central longitudinal axis are raised from the ground. In a second one of these contact positions, the ball bearing assemblies situated medially from the central longitudinal axis contact the surface and one or more ball bearing assemblies situated laterally from the central longitudinal axis are raised form the ground. 
     In general, embodiments of the base  10  may comprise three or more ball bearing assemblies  12  distributed around the base  10 . The base  10 , and ball bearing assemblies  12  may rest in a common plane, though this is not necessary. For example, the base  10  may have a surface conforming to a shallow inverted dome, wedge or pyramid. The ball bearing assemblies  12  are distributed so that the convex hull of a subset of three of the ball bearing assemblies  12  has at least a two-dimensional area or a three-dimensional volume. One or more lower ball bearing assemblies  20  may be each either (i) positioned within the convex hull of the distribution of the balls  14  and extending downwards or projecting outwards such that a contact surface of a ball  22  extends outside of the convex hull formed by a plurality of the ball bearing assemblies  12 , or (ii) positioned so that a vertical path from the center of the ball  22  intersects the convex hull defined by the subset of three of the ball bearing assemblies  12 . 
     When the base  10  is in use with the sports footwear  11  (either by being integrated with or attached to the footwear), it provides a piece of sports footwear that may be used to simulate various sports activities, including skiing, snowboarding, roller blading, skateboarding, and roller skiing. When used to simulate board sports, the base  10  of each of the left and right pieces of footwear may be connected with a rigid structure to form the lower surface of the board. For example, a base  10  may be integrated into a single rigid board  104  to simulate snowboarding as illustrated in  FIGS. 8 and 9 . In such an example the base  10  and board  104  may be integrated with or attachable to snowboard boots. The base  10  and board  104  may be removeably attachable to one or more pieces of sports footwear  11 . 
     A plurality of ball bearing assemblies may be arranged as two rows of ball bearing assemblies  12  and at least one lower ball bearing assembly  20  between the two rows of ball bearing assemblies  12 . In one particular embodiment, illustrated in  12 , a base  10  may be provided as the base of a piece of footwear, the base  10  having four ball bearing assemblies  12  arranged in a rectangular or square distribution on the base, each of the four ball bearing assemblies comprising a ball  14  and a mounting assembly  16 . In this particular embodiment, one lower ball bearing assembly  20  is arranged within the rectangular distribution, the lower ball bearing assembly projecting downwards relative to the ball bearing assemblies and comprising a ball  22  and a mounting assembly  24 . 
     In some embodiments a plurality of ball bearing assemblies may be arranged as at least three rows of ball bearing assemblies  12  on the base  10 , with one or more lower ball bearing assemblies  20  between each row of ball bearing assemblies  12 , as illustrated in  FIG. 4 . 
     In a preferred embodiment, illustrated in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 13 , a base  10  may be provided as a sole attachable to a piece of sports footwear, such as a ski boot or snowboarding boot. The bases in both  FIGS. 1 and 13  may have the same configuration and placement of ball bearing assemblies as described in  FIG. 12 . 
     The base  10  may be provided as a sole with attachment mechanisms such as straps, hook and loop fasteners such as Velcro™, laces, and buckles, among others. In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 13 , the base  10  is attachable by a set of straps. A midfoot strap  30  wraps around the midfoot of a boot and inserts into buckle  32 . The midfoot strap  30  and buckle  32  secure the boot (not shown) at the midfoot and hindfoot area. A pair of longitudinal straps  34  and  36  wrap from the heel around the front of the foot. A buckle at the end of strap  36  receives the end of strap  34 , which may be inserted into buckle  37  up to a depth necessary to obtain sufficient tightness to secure the boot in the longitudinal direction. A forefoot strap  38  inserts into buckle  40  to secure the forefoot of the boot. A heel portion  42  secures the backend of the footwear and, in combination with longitudinal straps  34  and  36 , prevents relative longitudinal motion of the boot  11  (not shown) and base  10 . 
     When a base  10  is attachable to a piece of sports footwear  11 , as illustrated in  FIG. 13 , it may be designed to be attachable to footwear of any of a variety of sizes or configurations. In such embodiments, the user may use the base  10  in combination with their own conventional sports footwear, such as their own pair of ski boots. In embodiments where the base  10  is structured as a board with attachment mechanisms, it may be attachable to a corresponding set of board footwear, such as the user&#39;s own snowboarding boots. The base in  FIG. 13  may be designed to be adjustable in length and width to fit different sizes of sports footwear. The tightness of the attachment mechanisms may be varied to accommodate different sizes of sports footwear and different desired tightness of the base on the sports footwear. A slidable or extendable platform that may sit on top of the base to allow for expansion and contraction of the platform to accommodate different sizes of sports footwear. Different ranges of sizes of sports footwear may be accommodated by one size of base. Different sizes of bases may be constructed to fit various different potential ranges of sizes of sports footwear. 
     The base  10  may be used in combination with a treadmill  102  ( FIG. 5 ) and treadmill control (not shown). The treadmill control may be mountable and electrically connectable to the treadmill  102  to control at least one of speed, elevation, and surface variations of the treadmill.  FIG. 5  illustrates a user  100  standing on a treadmill  102  wearing footwear  11  with integrated bases  10 . Controlling elevation of the treadmill  102  may include one or more of raising the whole surface and adjusting the height of one or more corners or edges relative to corners or edges of the treadmill. Controlling surface variations of the treadmill may comprise producing bumps, ridges, trenches and divots, among other shapes and types of variations. Surface variations in the treadmill  102  may be produced by one or more actuators in the treadmill structure. 
     The treadmill  102  may be coordinated with a simulation of the selected sport, in which a user  100  traverses simulated terrain. The simulation may be displayed to the user on a graphical display or a screen (not shown). Such a screen may be attached to or separate from the treadmill. In one embodiment, the graphical display may be projected onto a surface by a projector. When the user  100 , within the simulation, approaches and moves onto features of the simulated terrain, the treadmill be controlled to produce changes in the speed, elevation, and surface variations of the treadmill. For example, in a skiing simulation as the skier goes over a rugged and steep slope, the treadmill may be adjusted to increase the speed, raise the back end of the treadmill while lowering the front end of the treadmill  102  to tilt the user forward, and create a bumpy surface in the treadmill belt. 
     There may be one or more sensors either on the treadmill  102  or elsewhere in the space which may sense the location of one or more of the user  100 , the base  10 , a board  104 , and sports footwear  11 . Surface features on sports footwear  11  may be used to improve the sensitivity of the sensors to the location and orientation of the sports footwear. For example, a pattern of dots or a set of divots may be provided on the sports footwear and may be observed by the sensors and then used by a processor to identify the position and orientation of the footwear  11  on the treadmill  102 . Sensors may also be used to identify other objects, including the user or parts of the user  100 . In one such embodiment, the input of the sensors may be used by a processor to recognize the locations and orientations of the limbs, trunk and/or head of the user  100 . 
     The processor may use location and orientation data to adjust the user&#39;s simulation. For example, in a skiing simulation if the user rotates turns their feet each counter clockwise from straight and leans left in a manner that would produce a left turn when skiing on a slope, the processor may use that information to adjust the simulation so that the user observes a left turn in the graphical simulation. 
     A method of using a rolling base on a treadmill is provided, comprising a user standing on a rolling base on an operating treadmill and providing a graphical simulation of a sports activity through a display, wherein the rolling base comprises three or more first ball bearing assemblies, each of the three or more first ball bearing assembly comprising a ball, and a mounting assembly; and the rolling base further comprises one or more lower ball bearing assemblies, each of the one or more lower ball bearing assemblies comprising a ball and a mounting assembly, each one of the one or more lower ball bearing assemblies projecting down from a plane defined by three or more of the ball bearing assemblies. 
     The method may comprise controlling operation of the treadmill according to the events occurring in the simulation of a sports activity, wherein controlling operation of the treadmill comprises one or more of controlling the speed, altitude, tilt and surface features of the treadmill. In a step, a system may detect a part of a user and process the location of the part of the user as a control input for the simulation of a sports activity. 
     In embodiments of a method, detecting a part of a user may comprise detecting the location or orientation of a piece of sports footwear worn by the user. Detecting a part of a user might also or alternative comprise detecting the location or orientation of one or more of the user&#39;s limbs, trunk, and head. 
     Immaterial modifications may be made to the embodiments described here without departing from what is covered by the claims. 
     In the claims, the word “comprising” is used in its inclusive sense and does not exclude other elements being present. The indefinite articles “a” and “an” before a claim feature do not exclude more than one of the feature being present. Each one of the individual features described here may be used in one or more embodiments and is not, by virtue only of being described here, to be construed as essential to all embodiments as defined by the claims.