Parameter sensing system for an exercise device
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A treadmill, comprising:
- a frame;
a deck assembly supported by the frame, the deck assembly including a longitudinally extending deck, at least first and second rollers, and a belt positioned about the deck and the first and second rollers;
at least one deck deflection sensor coupled to the deck, the deck deflection sensor being a contactless displacement sensor including an electrical intermediate device and a non-cylindrical arrangement of transmit and receive windings;
a control system operably coupled to the at least one deck deflection sensor, wherein at least one deck deflection sensor is a plurality of spaced apart deck deflection sensors, wherein each deck deflection sensor produces a signal representative of the deflection of a separate region of the deck, and wherein the control stem is configured to process the signals from the deck sensors and to differentiate between the deck sensors, wherein the control system is configured to determine specific operating characteristics of a user of the treadmill based upon the signals from the deck deflection sensors from the separate regions of the deck; and
a drive assembly coupled to one of the rollers and the control system, wherein the control system sends a speed signal to the drive assembly to adjust the speed of the belt based upon at least one operating characteristic of the user.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A treadmill includes a frame, a deck assembly, at least one deck deflection sensor, and a control system. The deck assembly is supported by the frame. The deck assembly includes a longitudinally extending deck, at least first and second rollers, and a belt positioned about the deck and the first and second rollers. The deck deflection sensor is coupled to the deck. The deck deflection sensor is a contactless displacement sensor including an electrical intermediate device and an aerial. The control system is operably coupled to the at least one deck deflection sensor.
129 Citations
76 Claims
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1. A treadmill, comprising:
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a frame; a deck assembly supported by the frame, the deck assembly including a longitudinally extending deck, at least first and second rollers, and a belt positioned about the deck and the first and second rollers; at least one deck deflection sensor coupled to the deck, the deck deflection sensor being a contactless displacement sensor including an electrical intermediate device and a non-cylindrical arrangement of transmit and receive windings; a control system operably coupled to the at least one deck deflection sensor, wherein at least one deck deflection sensor is a plurality of spaced apart deck deflection sensors, wherein each deck deflection sensor produces a signal representative of the deflection of a separate region of the deck, and wherein the control stem is configured to process the signals from the deck sensors and to differentiate between the deck sensors, wherein the control system is configured to determine specific operating characteristics of a user of the treadmill based upon the signals from the deck deflection sensors from the separate regions of the deck; and a drive assembly coupled to one of the rollers and the control system, wherein the control system sends a speed signal to the drive assembly to adjust the speed of the belt based upon at least one operating characteristic of the user. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63)
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41. The treadmill of claim one and 1, wherein the second predetermined value correlates a weight of at least 30 pounds.
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64. A treadmill, comprising:
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a frame; a deck assembly supported by the frame, the deck assembly including a longitudinally extending deck, at least first and second rollers, and a belt positioned about the deck and the first and second rollers; at least one deck deflection sensor coupled to the deck, the deck deflection sensor being a contactless displacement sensor including an electrical intermediate device and a non-cylindrical arrangement of transmit and receive windings; and a control system operably coupled to the at least one deck deflection sensor, wherein control system is configured to automatically shutdown the treadmill if the signal produced by the deck deflection sensor drops below a predetermined value for a predetermined amount of time and wherein the predetermined value of the signal produced by the deck deflection sensor corresponds to a non-zero weight of less than 70 pounds.
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65. A treadmill, comprising:
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a frame; a deck assembly supported by the frame, the deck assembly including a longitudinally extending deck, at least first and second rollers, and a belt positioned about the deck and the first and second rollers; at least one deck deflection sensor coupled to the deck, the deck deflection sensor being a contactless displacement sensor including an electrical intermediate device and a non-cylindrical arrangement of transmit and receive windings; and a control system operably coupled to the at least one deck deflection sensor, wherein at least one deck deflection sensor is a plurality of spaced apart deck deflection sensors, wherein each deck deflection sensor produces a signal representative of the deflection of a separate region of the deck and, and wherein the control system is configured to process the signals from the deck sensors and to differentiate between the deck sensors, wherein the control system is configured to determine specific operating characteristics of a user of the treadmill based upon the signals from the deck deflection sensors from the separate regions of the deck and, wherein the operating characteristics are selected from the group consisting of stride length, user'"'"'s speed, user'"'"'s deck impact pattern, stride diagnostics, user'"'"'s lateral position, user'"'"'s longitudinal position and combinations thereof.
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66. A treadmill, comprising:
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a frame; a deck assembly supported by the frame, the deck assembly including a longitudinally extending deck, at least first and second rollers, and a belt positioned about the deck and the first and second rollers; at least one deck deflection sensor coupled to the deck, the deck deflection sensor being a contactless displacement sensor including an electrical intermediate device and a non-cylindrical arrangement of transmit and receive windings; and a control system operably coupled to the at least one deck deflection sensor, wherein the control system is configured to prevent the treadmill from operating until a signal received from the at least one deck deflection sensor exceeds a predetermined magnitude.
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67. A treadmill, comprising:
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a frame; a deck assembly supported by the frame, the deck assembly including a longitudinally extending deck, at least first and second rollers, and a belt positioned about the deck and the first and second rollers; at least one deck deflection sensor coupled to the deck, the deck deflection sensor being a contactless displacement sensor including an electrical intermediate device and a non-cylindrical arrangement of transmit and receive windings; and a control system operably coupled to the at least one deck deflection sensor, wherein the control system is configured to supply an alternating electrical signal to the transmit windings; and
wherein the treadmill further includes first and second electrical intermediate devices secured to the right and left legs of the user, respectively, each intermediate device configured to produce a variation in the mutual inductance existing between the transmit and receive windings in response to a change in the relative position of the intermediate device to the windings.
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68. A treadmill, comprising:
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a frame; a deck assembly supported by the frame, the deck assembly including a longitudinally extending deck, at least first and second rollers, and a belt positioned about the deck and the first and second rollers; at least one deck deflection sensor coupled to the deck, the deck deflection sensor being a contactless displacement sensor including an electrical intermediate device and a non-cylindrical arrangement of transmit and receive windings; and a control system operably coupled to the at least one deck deflection sensor; a drive assembly coupled to one of the first and second rollers, the drive assembly including a plurality of components configured to rotate about a common axis during use; and at least one aerial coupled to the frame and positioned adjacent to at least one of the components of the drive assembly, the aerial including a second non-cylindrical arrangement of transmit and receive windings, wherein the control system is configured to produce a variation in the mutual inductance of the transmit and receive windings during use as the components moves relative to the at least one aerial, the variation in mutual induction produced by the relative movement of the component to the at least one aerial correlating to the speed of the treadmill.
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69. A treadmill, comprising:
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a frame; a deck assembly supported by the frame, the deck assembly including a longitudinally extending deck, at least first and second rollers, and a belt positioned about the deck and the first and second rollers; at least one deck deflection sensor coupled to the deck, the deck deflection sensor being a contactless displacement sensor including an electrical intermediate device and a non-cylindrical arrangement of transmit and receive windings; and a control system operably coupled to the at least one deck deflection sensor, wherein the deck assembly has a forward end and at least first and second rollers,;
wherein the treadmill further includes a lift assembly coupled to the frame, the lift assembly comprising;
an incline actuator and an actuating arm, the actuating arm coupled to the forward end of the deck assembly;at least one aerial positioned proximate the forward end of the deck, the aerial including second transmit and receive windings, wherein the control system is configured to supply an alternating electrical signal to the second transmit and receive windings; and a second electrical intermediate device coupled to the forward end of the deck, the intermediate device configured to produce a variation in mutual inductance existing between the transmit and receive windings in response to a change in the relative position of the intermediate device to the windings.
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70. A treadmill, comprising:
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a frame; a deck assembly supported by the frame, the deck assembly including a longitudinally extending deck, at least first and second rollers, and a belt positioned about the deck and the first and second rollers; at least one deck deflection sensor coupled to the deck, the deck deflection sensor being a contactless displacement sensor including a set of transmit winding and a set of receive windings, the transmit winding configured to move independently of the receive windings upon deflection of the deck assembly, wherein the at least one deck deflection sensor is at least four deck deflection sensors positioned in spaced-apart locations about the deck; and a control system operably coupled to the at least one deck deflection sensor. - View Dependent Claims (71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76)
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Specification