Treadmill providing gait analysis

• US 9,494,446 B2
• Filed: 03/12/2014
• Issued: 11/15/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dyaco International Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Dyaco International Incorporated
• Inventors: Huang, Mao-Ying, Murray, Brian, Chiang, Hao
• Primary Examiner(s): Thanh, Loan T
• Assistant Examiner(s): Fischer, Rae
• Application Number:
  US14/207,124
• Publication Number:
  US 20150174444A1
• Time in Patent Office: 979 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/112 Gait analysis
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2071/0652 Visualisation or indication relating to symmetrical exercise, e.g. right-left performance related to spinal column
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 22/0235 driven by a motor
• 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: A63B 2220/22 Stride length
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/89 Field sensors, e.g. radar systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 22/00 Measuring distance traversed on the ground by vehicles, persons, animals or other moving solid bodies, e.g. using odometers, using pedometers

Abstract

A treadmill is capable of performing a gait analysis and comprises a conveyor belt, a supporting plate, a driving mechanism, and at least two sensing assemblies. The conveyor belt is used for a user to walk or run in place. The driving mechanism drives the conveyor belt to run. The supporting plate supports the conveyor belt. The two sensing assemblies are fixed with the supporting plate, for respectively sensing the user'"'"'s left and right heel strike. A left and right pulse diagram thus can be obtained from the sensing assemblies, and the gait analysis is performed according to the left and right pulse diagram.

Claims

1. A treadmill, comprising:

a conveyor belt on which a user walks or runs in place;

a supporting plate, arranged below the conveyor belt for supporting the conveyor belt;

a driving mechanism driving the conveyor belt to run; and

a left sensing assembly and a right sensing assembly being fixed with a left side and a right side of the supporting plate, respectively, each of the left sensing assembly and the right sensing assembly comprising;

a Hall sensor fixing with a mechanism of the treadmill;

a coupling member being arranged below the supporting plate and fixing with the supporting plate, the running or walking of the user causing vertical movements of the coupling member; and

a magnet fixing with the coupling member and being arranged toward the Hall sensor, the running or walking of the user causing vertical movements of the magnet; and

wherein the hall sensor continually outputs an induction voltage in response to a magnetic field depending on a distance between the magnet and the Hall sensor, and wherein a left pulse diagram and a right pulse diagram plotted by a variation of voltage versus time are respectively obtained by the left sensing assembly and the right sensing assembly while the user runs or walks, allowing a gait analysis to be performed according to the left pulse diagram and the right pulse diagram.

2. The treadmill as set forth in claim 1, wherein the gait analysis comprises a step number of the left and right foot of the user that walks or runs on the conveyor belt.

3. The treadmill as set forth in claim 1, wherein the gait analysis comprises a step frequency of the left and right foot of the user that walks or runs on the conveyor belt.

4. The treadmill as set forth in claim 1, wherein the gait analysis comprises a step length of the left and right foot of the user that walks or runs on the conveyor belt.

5. The treadmill as set forth in claim 1, wherein the gait analysis comprises a step length symmetry index, which is computed by the following formula:

6. The treadmill as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a control panel for displaying the gait analysis.