Treadmill

• US 5,209,710 A
• Filed: 03/20/1992
• Issued: 05/11/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/1991
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nihon Kohden Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nihon Kohden Corporation
• Inventors: Shimizu, Masaharu, Terasawa, Harutoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Apley, Richard J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): RICHMAN, GLENN E
• Application Number:
  US07/853,972
• Time in Patent Office: 417 Days
• Field of Search: 482/51, 482/54, 482/900, 482/901, 482/903, 482/8, 119/29, 128/25 R, 128/25 B, 128/779, 128/782, 364/413.01, 364/561
• US Class Current: 482/54
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 22/02 with movable endless bands , e.g. treadmills other training appliances for running on the spot A63B69/0028
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 22/0242 with speed variation

Abstract

A treadmill has a belt provided with a running surface and rotated in a predetermined direction at a set running speed, wherein a foot landing on the running surface is detected, a landing time distance between landing times is measured, and a stride is calculated from the running speed of the running surface and the landing time distance measured and indicated or recorded on an output device.

Claims

1. A treadmill comprising:

a belt provided with a running surface and rotated in a predetermined direction at a set running speed;

landing detection means for detecting foot landings on said running surface;

timer means for measuring the landing time distance between the landing times detected;

stride calculating means for calculating a stride from the running speed of said running surface and said landing time distance measured; and

output means for outputting the calculated stride.

2. A treadmill according to claim 1, wherein said landing detection means detects an instantaneous speed reduction at each foot landing using a rotational speed sensor for a belt driving motor.

3. A treadmill according to claim 1, wherein said landing detection means detects an instantaneous increase in the driving current of a belt driving motor at each foot landing.

4. A treadmill according to claim 1, wherein said landing detection means comprises a vibration detector provided on said running surface.

5. A treadmill according to claim 1, wherein said landing detection means comprises an action detector attached to a trainer.

6. A treadmill comprising:

a belt provided with a running surface and rotated in a predetermined direction at a set running speed;

landing detection means for detecting foot landings on said running surface;

timer means for measuring the landing time distance between the landing times detected;

stride calculating means for calculating a stride from the running speed of said running surface and said landing time distance measured;

average stride calculating means for calculating an average stride of the strides calculated for a predetermined number of steps; and

output means for outputting said stride calculated.

7. A treadmill according to claim 6, wherein said average stride calculating means calculates an average stride by successively obtaining a moving average for a predetermined number of steps.

8. A treadmill according to claim 6, wherein said average stride calculating means intermittently calculates average strides for every predetermined number of steps.

9. A treadmill according to claim 6, further comprising stride discriminating means for distributing the strides calculated for a predetermined number of steps to a stride group of even numbers of steps and a stride group of odd numbers of steps so that said average stride calculating means respectively calculates the average strides of the even and odd stride groups, which are discriminated.

10. A treadmill comprising:

a belt provided with a running surface and rotated in a predetermined direction at a set running speed;

landing detection means for detecting foot landings on said running surface;

timer means for measuring the landing time distance between the landing times detected;

stride calculating means for calculating a stride from the running speed of said running surface and said landing time distance measured;

average stride calculating means for calculating an average stride of the calculated strides from the running speed of said running surface, the calculated landing time distance and a predetermined number of steps; and

output means for outputting the calculated average stride.