Treadmill exerciser

• US 4,687,195 A
• Filed: 02/06/1984
• Issued: 08/18/1987
• Est. Priority Date: 02/06/1984
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: BowFlex, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Tri-Tech, Inc. (TTFI Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Potts, Lanny L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Apley, Richard J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Crow, S. R.
• Application Number:
  US06/577,171
• Time in Patent Office: 1,289 Days
• Field of Search: 272/69, 272/70, 272/93, 184/70 R, 184/74, 184/71.1, 184/184, 184/187, 193/35 A, 198/327, 198/326
• US Class Current: 482/52
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 21/00069 Setting or adjusting the resistance level; Compensating for a preload prior to use, e.g. changing length of resistance or adjusting a valve
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 21/015 including rotating or oscillating elements rubbing against fixed elements
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 21/225 with flywheels
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 22/04 with movable multiple steps , i.e. more than one step per limb, e.g. steps mounted on endless loops, endless ladders steppers with cantilevered support elements pivoting about an axis A63B22/0048
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/17 Counting, e.g. counting periodical movements, revolutions or cycles, or including further data processing to determine distances or speed
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 482/901 having computer circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 482/902 Employing specific graphic or video display

Abstract

A treadmill exerciser involving an upwardly and rearwardly sloping treadmill having a plurality of steps which are activated by the weight of a person "walking" up them. The tread portion and the riser portion of each step are connected at both ends by hinges to each other and to endless chains which permit the steps to move or fold around end sprockets as the steps move from an upper inclined course of the chains to a lower inclined return course, and vice versa. A speed control mechanism, driven by one of the chains, employs a gyroscopic flywheel which cooperates with a non-rotatable but axially slidable brake drum to provide even, continuous step movement and a controlled start-up. The flywheel drives a plastic cylinder composed of plastic fingers which fly out, under centrifugal force, into contact with the inner surface of the brake drum thus preventing further increased speed for the user. With the brake drum in one axial position, the plastic fingers become partially disengaged allowing for rapid step speed; when the brake drum is moved to an opposite axial position, step movement is halted. The brake drum can be adjusted to positions between the above two axial positions to provide a controlled speed of movement compatible with the interests or needs of the operator. A control panel, mounted between the top of the tubular handrail shafts, provides operating, goal-setting, and health related information.

Claims

1. A treadmill exerciser having a frame shaped in the form of a staircase, a first sprocket shaft mounted for rotation around a substantially horizontal axis and journaled in the frame in the upper portion thereof and towards the rear thereof, a second sprocket shaft mounted for rotation around a substantially horizontal axis and journaled in the frame below and forward of said first sprocket shaft, a first pair of sprockets mounted on the ends of said first sprocket shaft for keyed rotation in spaced apart and substantially vertical planes, a second pair of sprockets mounted on the ends of said second sprocket shaft for keyed rotation in spaced apart and substantially vertical planes, a pair of continuous chains mounted adjacent the sides of said frame and drivingly engaging the first set of sprockets with the second set of sprockets, each chain being provided with a plurality equidistantly spaced apart hinge links, each hinge link being adapted to receive therethrough one end of a hinge shaft, the hinge links on each chain being in horizontal aligment with the hinge links on the other chain, a plurality of steps mounted on the chains and adapted to move therewith, each step having a normally vertical riser portion and a normally horizontal tread portion, the upper end of the riser portion of each step being connected to the forward end of the tread portion of said step by means of a first hinge, the lower end of each riser portion being connected to the rear of the tread portion of an adjacent step by means of a second hinge, a hinge shaft passing through each pair of aligned hinge links in said chains and through said second hinge, whereby when a person places his weight on a tread portion of a step adjacent the lower end of the frame, the steps will move in a downward direction along the upper course of the chains and in an upper direction along the lower course of the chains, and whereby when the person exerts his weight on the tread portion on successively higher steps, the steps will continue to move in a downward direction along the upper course of the chain and in an upper direction along the lower course of the chain such that the steps, as they traverse around the upper and lower sprockets, will fold at an acute angle around the first and second hinges.

2. A treadmill exerciser as set forth in claim 1 wherein said frame includes a pair of inclined tracks mounted adjacent the pair of chains, a roller mounted on the outer end of each hinge shaft, said rollers adapted to engage and roll along said tracks as the steps move downwardly with the upper course of said chains.

3. A treadmill exerciser as set forth in claim 1 including a speed control mechanism comprising an output shaft journaled for rotation in said frame, a flywheel keyed to said output shaft, means for driving said output shaft in response to the rotation of said sprocket shafts, a non-rotatable brake drum movably axially towards and away from said flywheel, a cylindrical plastic member connected to said flywheel and having a plurality of flexible plastic fingers thereon adapted to engage the inner surface of said brake drum, means for moving said brake drum towards and away from said flywheel whereby, in one axial position of said brake drum, the plastic fingers become partially disengaged from the inner surface of the frake drum to permit rapid step speed and whereby, when the brake drum is moved to an opposite axial position towards said flywheel, the plastic fingers firmly engage the inner surface of said brake drum to halt step movement.

4. A treadmill exerciser as set forth in claim 3 wherein a step-up transmission is provided in the means for driving the output shaft in response to the rotation of said sprockets.

5. A treadmill exerciser as set forth in claim 3 wherein an external control handle is mounted on the frame, a control shaft journalled for rotation in the frame and rotated by said control handle, and linkage means operated by said control shaft to move said brake drum axially with respect to said flywheel.

6. A treadmill exerciser as set forth in claim 1 wherein said frame is provided with a pair of tubular hand rails at the sides thereof and a control panel mounted at the top of the frame and adjacent the rear between the hand rails to provide operating, goal-setting, and health related information.