Patent Description:
A treadmill is also called a running machine and refers to an exercise machine that may provide an exercise effect of walking or running in a narrow space via a belt that rotates on a caterpillar. Because treadmills may enable walking or running exercise indoors at moderate temperatures regardless of weather, the demand for such machines has rapidly increased recently.

The treadmills may be classified into a powered treadmill in which a track unit rotates by a separate driving unit and a non-powered treadmill in which a track unit rotates by the user's movement without a separate driving unit.

Because the non-powered treadmill does not require a separate driving unit, it may be arranged at various positions as compared to the powered treadmill.

Recently, in such non-powered treadmills, various attempts have been made to allow users to feel as if they are actually exercising on floors.

For example, for natural rotation of the non-powered treadmill, attempts have been made to reduce the rotational friction force of the track unit or to reduce the weight of the track unit in consideration of the rotational inertia of the track unit.

However, even when the weight of the track unit has been reduced, it has still been difficult to completely reduce the rotational inertia of the track unit.

One or more embodiments include a non-powered treadmill capable of minimizing the rotational inertia of a track unit by reducing the weight of a rotation device rotating the track unit.

According to the invention, the problem is solved by the treadmill of claim <NUM>. The treadmill comprising:.

In an embodiment, the rotation member may include a wheel member having a diameter greater than a diameter of the first bearing.

In an embodiment, each of the pair of rotation support units may include: a support shaft fixed to the frame structure; and a bearing assembly arranged at the wheel member such that the wheel member may be rotatable with respect to the support shaft.

In an embodiment, the bearing assembly may include: at least one second bearing; and
a connection boss for connecting the second bearing to the wheel member.

In an embodiment, the at least one second bearing may include: a bearing capable of rotating in both directions; and a one-way bearing arranged coaxially with the bearing and restricted to rotate in one direction.

In an embodiment, the connection boss may be arranged to be fixed to the wheel member.

In an embodiment, the bearing assembly may include an insertion hole into which the support shaft is inserted, and the rotation support unit may further include a first stopper arranged around the support shaft to guide an assembly position of the bearing assembly when the bearing assembly is installed at the support shaft through the insertion hole. In an embodiment, the rotation support unit may further include a second stopper coupled to an end portion of the support shaft such that the bearing assembly may not deviate from the support shaft.

In an embodiment, a material of the wheel member may be lighter than a material of the connection boss and the support shaft.

In an embodiment, the track unit may include an upper region having a curved shape, and the plurality of first bearings may be arranged to correspond to the curved shape of the upper region of the track unit.

In an embodiment, the belt may include: an upper region; a lower region arranged under the upper region; and a front region and a rear region connecting the upper region to the lower region, and each of the pair of rotation members may include a plurality of third bearings arranged to guide a movement of at least one of the front region and the rear region.

In an embodiment, each of the pair of rotation members may further include a guide roller arranged between the plurality of third bearings and configured to prevent the belt from vibrating in a direction perpendicular to the rotation direction.

In an embodiment, an arrangement of the plurality of third bearings may have a curved shape such that the upper region may smoothly switch to the lower region.

In an embodiment, each of the pair of rotation support units may include a second bearing installed at the frame structure, each of the pair of rotation members may include: a wheel member; and an insertion shaft fixed to the wheel member and inserted into the second bearing, and the insertion shafts of the pair of rotation members may be coaxially arranged spaced apart from each other.

In an embodiment, the track unit may be configured to rotate by a user's foot movement.

Other aspects, features, and advantages other than those described above will become apparent from the accompanying drawings, the appended claims, and the detailed description of the disclosure.

These general and particular embodiments may be implemented by using a system, a method, a computer program, or a combination of the system, the method, and the computer program.

According to the non-powered treadmills of the invention, the rotational inertia of the track unit may be minimized by reducing the weight of the rotation device rotating the track unit.

Referring to <FIG>, <FIG>, and <FIG>, in the non-powered treadmill <NUM> according to embodiments, a track unit <NUM> may be driven by the foot movement of a user. The non-powered treadmill <NUM> may refer to a treadmill in which the track unit <NUM> is drivable in a non-powered manner and may include a treadmill in which other components other than the track unit <NUM>, for example, an output unit <NUM> and the like, are driven by power. The non-powered treadmill <NUM> may be referred to as a manual treadmill.

The non-powered treadmill <NUM> comprises a frame structure <NUM>, a track unit <NUM> rotatable with respect to the frame structure <NUM>, and a rotation device <NUM> rotatably supporting the track unit <NUM>. The non-powered treadmill <NUM> may further include a handle unit <NUM> that may be gripped by the user and an output unit <NUM> that may display the exercise results.

The frame structure <NUM> may maintain the shape of the non-powered treadmill <NUM> and may include a center frame <NUM> and a side frame <NUM> arranged at both side portions of the center frame <NUM>. The side frame <NUM> may be covered by a side cover <NUM>.

The center frame <NUM> may include a left frame <NUM>-<NUM>, a right frame <NUM>-<NUM>, and a gap maintaining unit <NUM>-<NUM>.

The track unit <NUM> comprises a plurality of slats <NUM>. The plurality of slats <NUM> may be arranged adjacent to each other in a first direction (Y direction) that is the rotation direction of the track unit <NUM>. Each of the plurality of slats <NUM> may extend in a second direction (X direction) perpendicular to the rotation direction of the track unit <NUM>.

The plurality of slats <NUM> may be connected by a connection member, for example, a pair of belts <NUM>. The pair of belts <NUM> may be arranged at both end portions of the plurality of slats <NUM>.

The slats <NUM> connected by the belts <NUM> may form a closed loop. The belts <NUM> may be wound around the rotation device <NUM> to be rotated. As the belts <NUM> rotate, the slats <NUM> connected by the belts <NUM> may be rotated.

The weight of the track unit <NUM> including the slats <NUM> and the belts <NUM> may be about <NUM> to about <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG>, the rotation device <NUM> comprises a pair of bearing trains <NUM> rotatably installed at the frame structure <NUM>, a front rotation module <NUM> arranged at a front side of the pair of bearing trains <NUM>, and a rear rotation module <NUM> arranged at a rear side of the pair of bearing trains <NUM>.

One bearing train <NUM> among the pair of bearing trains <NUM> may be installed at the left frame <NUM>-<NUM> and the other bearing train <NUM> may be installed at the right frame <NUM>-<NUM>.

The bearing train <NUM> comprises a plurality of first bearings <NUM> arranged along the rotation direction of the belt <NUM>. The bearing train <NUM> may further include a guide roller <NUM> arranged between the plurality of first bearings <NUM>.

The track unit <NUM> may include an upper region having a curved shape. In other words, a running surface thereof may have a curved shape. For this, the plurality of first bearings <NUM> of the bearing train <NUM> may be arranged to correspond to the curved shape of the upper region of the track unit <NUM>.

However, the upper region of the track unit <NUM> may not necessarily have a curved shape, and as illustrated in <FIG>, the upper region of the track unit <NUM> may have a flat shape. In this case, although not illustrated in the drawings, the plurality of first bearings <NUM> may be arranged to correspond to the shape of the upper region of the track unit <NUM>.

Referring back to <FIG>, the front rotation module <NUM> and the rear rotation module <NUM> may be rotatably installed at the frame structure <NUM>.

At least one of the front rotation module <NUM> and the rear rotation module <NUM> may include a pair of rotation members <NUM> arranged spaced apart from each other in a direction perpendicular to the rotation direction and a pair of rotation support units <NUM> supporting the pair of rotation members <NUM>.

The pair of rotation members <NUM> may include a pair of wheel members <NUM> arranged spaced apart from each other in a direction perpendicular to the rotation direction of the track unit <NUM> and having a diameter greater than the diameter of the first bearing <NUM> of the bearing train <NUM>.

Each of the pair of belts <NUM> may include an upper region <NUM>, a lower region <NUM> arranged under the upper region <NUM>, and a front region <NUM> and a rear region <NUM> connecting the upper region <NUM> to the lower region <NUM>.

The wheel member <NUM> may guide the movement of at least one of the front region <NUM> and the rear region <NUM> of the belt <NUM>.

<FIG> and <FIG> are a perspective view and a cross-sectional view for describing a front rotation module <NUM> of a non-powered treadmill <NUM> according to embodiments. <FIG> is an assembled perspective view illustrating a rotation member <NUM> and a rotation support unit <NUM> of the front rotation module <NUM> of <FIG>, and <FIG> and <FIG> are exploded perspective views illustrating the rotation member <NUM> and the rotation support unit <NUM> of <FIG> at different angles.

Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, the pair of rotation support units <NUM> support the pair of rotation members <NUM> such that the pair of rotation members <NUM> may rotate individually. The pair of rotation members <NUM> may be rotated independently of each other by the pair of rotation support units <NUM>.

The rotation support unit <NUM> comprises a support shaft <NUM> fixed to the frame structure <NUM> and a bearing assembly <NUM> arranged at the wheel member <NUM> such that the wheel member <NUM> may be rotatable with respect to the support shaft <NUM>.

The support shaft <NUM> is fixed to the frame structure <NUM> through a support block <NUM>. The support block <NUM> may be arranged inside the center frame <NUM>. As the support shaft <NUM> is fixed by the support block <NUM> arranged inside the center frame <NUM>, an end portion of the support shaft <NUM> may be aligned with a side surface of the center frame <NUM>.

However, the support shaft <NUM> may not necessarily be fixed to the frame structure <NUM> through the support block <NUM> and may be directly fixed to the frame structure <NUM> when necessary.

Referring to <FIG>, the bearing assembly <NUM> may include an insertion hole <NUM> into which the support shaft <NUM> may be inserted. The bearing assembly <NUM> may be installed at the support shaft <NUM> through the insertion hole <NUM> along the extension direction of the support shaft <NUM>.

The bearing assembly <NUM> may include at least one second bearing <NUM> and a connection boss <NUM> for connecting the second bearing <NUM> to the wheel member <NUM>.

The at least one second bearing <NUM> may include a bearing <NUM> capable of rotating in both directions and a one-way bearing <NUM> arranged coaxially with the bearing <NUM>.

The one-way bearing <NUM> may rotate in one direction but may restrict rotation in the other direction. Accordingly, the one-way bearing <NUM> may restrict the rotation of the wheel member <NUM> in one direction As the rotation of the wheel member <NUM> in one direction is restricted, the track unit <NUM> may be prevented from rotating in a direction opposite to the intended direction.

A first stopper <NUM> may be installed around the support shaft <NUM>. The first stopper <NUM> may have a C-type ring structure.

The first stopper <NUM> may guide the assembly position of the bearing assembly <NUM> when the bearing assembly <NUM> is installed at the support shaft <NUM> through the insertion hole <NUM>. The first stopper <NUM> may prevent the bearing assembly <NUM> from being excessively inserted inwardly.

A second stopper <NUM> may be coupled to an end portion of the support shaft <NUM>. The second stopper <NUM> may have a bolt structure.

The second stopper <NUM> may restrict the movement of the bearing assembly <NUM> such that the bearing assembly <NUM> installed at the support shaft <NUM> through the insertion hole <NUM> may not deviate from the support shaft <NUM>.

An inner ring of the second bearing <NUM> may be fixed to the support shaft <NUM> and an outer ring thereof may rotate with respect to the inner ring.

The connection boss <NUM> may be arranged around the second bearing <NUM> and may be fixed to the outer ring of the second bearing <NUM>. As an example, the connection boss <NUM> may be arranged to be fixed to the wheel member <NUM> by a fixing member <NUM>. However, the fixing method of the connection boss <NUM> is not limited thereto and may be variously modified. For example, as illustrated in <FIG>, a connection boss 335A may be integrally formed with the wheel member <NUM> and fixed to the wheel member <NUM>.

The connection boss <NUM> may include a metal material.

When the wheel member <NUM> rotates, the connection boss <NUM> fixed to the wheel member <NUM> and the outer ring fixed to the connection boss <NUM> may rotate with respect to the inner ring.

The material of the wheel member <NUM> may be lighter than the material of the connection boss <NUM> and the support shaft <NUM>. For example, when the material of the connection boss <NUM> and the support shaft <NUM> is a metal material, the material of the wheel member <NUM> may be a plastic material.

As described above, because the front rotation module <NUM> has a structure in which the pair of rotation members <NUM> rotate individually, the weight of the front rotation module <NUM> may be reduced.

If the front rotation module <NUM> has a structure in which the pair of rotation members <NUM> are fixed to one rotation shaft to rotate together with the rotation shaft instead of rotating individually, the front rotation module <NUM> may be influenced by the weight of the rotation shaft.

On the other hand, the front rotation module <NUM> according to embodiments may remove the influence of the weight of the rotation shaft because it has a structure in which the pair of rotation members <NUM> are not fixed to the rotation shaft. Accordingly, the weight of the rotation device <NUM> rotating the track unit <NUM> may be reduced and the rotational inertia of the track unit <NUM> may be minimized.

Meanwhile, in the above embodiments, an example in which the support shafts <NUM> of the pair of the rotation support units <NUM> are spaced apart from each other has been mainly described; however, the present disclosure is limited thereto.

<FIG> is a perspective view for describing a rotation member <NUM> and a rotation support unit 300A of a non-powered treadmill <NUM> according to other embodiments. For example, as illustrated in <FIG>, a pair of support shafts <NUM> of a pair of rotation support units 300A according to embodiments may be connected to each other by a connection shaft <NUM>. The pair of support shafts <NUM> and the connection shaft <NUM> may have an integrated structure.

Also, in the above embodiments, an example in which the pair of rotation members <NUM> rotate individually in the front rotation module <NUM> has been mainly described; however, the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

<FIG> and <FIG> are perspective views for describing a rotation member <NUM> and a rotation support unit <NUM> of a non-powered treadmill <NUM> according to other embodiments.

For example, a pair of rotation members <NUM> may be configured to rotate individually in a rear rotation module 153A as illustrated in <FIG>, or a pair of rotation members <NUM> may be configured to rotate individually in both a front rotation module 152B and a rear rotation module 153B as illustrated in <FIG>.

In the above embodiments, it has been mainly described that the pair of rotation members <NUM> are the wheel members <NUM>; however, the pair of rotation members <NUM> may be implemented in various forms. <FIG> is a partial side view for describing a rotation member 200A and a rotation support unit 300B of a non-powered treadmill <NUM> according to other embodiments. <FIG> is a partial side view for describing a rotation member 200A and a rotation support unit 300B of a non-powered treadmill <NUM> according to other embodiments.

For example, as illustrated in <FIG>, in the non-powered treadmill <NUM> according to embodiments, in at least one of the front rotation module <NUM> and the rear rotation module <NUM>, each of the pair of rotation members <NUM> may include a plurality of third bearings <NUM>. A guide roller <NUM> configured to prevent the belt <NUM> from vibrating in a direction perpendicular to the rotation direction may be arranged between the plurality of third bearings <NUM>.

The third bearing <NUM> may be rotatably supported by the rotation support unit 300B installed at the frame structure <NUM>.

The plurality of third bearings <NUM> may be arranged to guide the movement of at least one of the front region <NUM> and the rear region <NUM> of the belt <NUM>.

The arrangement of the plurality of third bearings <NUM> may have a curved shape such that the upper region <NUM> may smoothly switch to the lower region <NUM>. As an example, the arrangement of the plurality of third bearings <NUM> may be a portion of a circular shape as illustrated in <FIG>, and as another example, the arrangement of the plurality of third bearings <NUM> may be a portion of an ellipse as illustrated in <FIG>. As described above, when the rotation member <NUM> includes the plurality of third bearings <NUM>, the rotation member <NUM> may be arranged in various shapes other than a circular shape. Accordingly, an arrangement suitable for natural rotation of the belt <NUM> may be freely implemented and also the size and height of the non-powered treadmill <NUM> may be reduced by reducing the size occupied by the rotation member <NUM>.

Also, in the above embodiments, a structure in which the outer ring of the second bearing <NUM> rotates in a state where the inner ring of the second bearing <NUM> is fixed to the support shaft <NUM> in each of the pair of rotation support units <NUM> and 300A has been mainly described. However, the pair of rotation support units <NUM> may be variously modified as long as there are within the range of supporting the pair of rotation members <NUM> to rotate individually.

<FIG> is an exploded perspective view for describing a rotation member 200B and a rotation support unit 300C of a non-powered treadmill <NUM> according to other embodiments.

For example, as illustrated in <FIG>, a second bearing <NUM> of the rotation support unit 300C may be installed at the frame structure <NUM>, and the rotation member 200B may include a wheel member <NUM> and an insertion shaft <NUM> fixed to the wheel member <NUM> and inserted into the second bearing <NUM>.

The insertion shaft <NUM> may pass through the second bearing <NUM> and a third stopper <NUM> may be arranged at an end portion thereof. The position movement of the rotation member 200B may be restricted by the third stopper <NUM>.

In a state where the insertion shaft <NUM> of the rotation member 200B is inserted into the second bearing <NUM>, as the rotation member 200B rotates, the inner ring of the second bearing <NUM> may rotate with respect to the outer ring thereof.

In <FIG>, one insertion shaft <NUM> among a pair of insertion shafts <NUM> is illustrated and the other insertion shaft <NUM> is not illustrated; however, the other insertion shaft <NUM> may also have the same structure.

The pair of insertion shafts <NUM> may be coaxially arranged spaced apart from each other.

Meanwhile, in the above embodiments, the non-powered treadmill in which the track unit is driven by the user's foot movement has been mainly described; however, the present disclosure is not limited thereto and may also be applied to a powered treadmill in which a track unit is driven by power or to a hybrid treadmill in which a track unit may be driven in both powered and non-powered manners.

Claim 1:
A treadmill (<NUM>) comprising:
a frame structure;
a track unit (<NUM>) rotatable with respect to the frame structure; and
a rotation device (<NUM>) arranged at the frame structure to rotatably support the track unit
wherein the track unit includes:
a plurality of slats (<NUM>) arranged along a rotation direction of the track unit; and
a pair of belts (<NUM>) arranged at both end portions of the plurality of slats to connect the plurality of slats to each other,
the rotation device includes:
a pair of bearing trains (<NUM>) rotatably installed at the frame structure and including a plurality of first bearings (<NUM>) arranged along a movement direction of the belt to guide a movement of an upper region of the pair of belts; and
a front rotation module (<NUM>) and a rear rotation module (<NUM>) rotatably installed at the frame structure and respectively arranged at a front side and a rear side of the pair of bearing trains,
at least one of the front rotation module and the rear rotation module includes:
a pair of rotation members (<NUM>) arranged spaced apart from each other in a direction perpendicular to a rotation direction thereof; and
a pair of rotation support units (<NUM>) supporting the pair of rotation members such that the pair of rotation members rotate individually, and
each of the pair of rotation support units includes:
a support shaft (<NUM>);
a support block (<NUM>) configured to fix the support shaft to the frame structure; and
a bearing assembly (<NUM>) arranged at the rotation member such that the rotation member is rotatable with respect to the support shaft.