Belt and deck assembly for an exercise treadmill
First Claim
1. A treadmill assembly comprising:
- an elongated frame having a pair of opposed ends;
a roller rotatably mounted to each of the opposed ends of said frame to extend laterally across said frame;
an endless belt extending over said rollers to form upper and lower spaced apart runs; and
a deck secured to said frame between said rollers and between the runs of said belt wherein said deck is formed with a wax-embedded hardborad adjacent said belt wherein said wax-embedded hardborad is made of wood and forms an outer surface of said deck that said belt contacts, and said wax-embedded hardboard includes a wax that is distributed throughout the body of said hardboard.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A treadmill (10) having a belt (12) and deck (14) with a relatively long, useful lifetime is disclosed. The belt of this assembly has a tread layer (54) formed of PVC plastic or other material that serves as the layer of the belt upon which a person actually steps, and a fabric layer (62). The fabric layer has weft threads (64) that extend laterally across the belt and that are substantially embedded in the plastic material and warp threads (66) that extend longitudinally along the belt that have exposed sections that extend outside of the plastic material. The fabric layer is woven so that the exposed sections of the warp threads are equal to at least 50% of their overall length. The deck of this treadmill is formed with a plywood substrate (70) and a wax-embedded hardboard (72). The substrate provides structural support for the hardboard and the persons using this treadmill. The hardboard serves as the surface along which the belt rides when a person steps on the treadmill.
63 Citations
10 Claims
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1. A treadmill assembly comprising:
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an elongated frame having a pair of opposed ends; a roller rotatably mounted to each of the opposed ends of said frame to extend laterally across said frame; an endless belt extending over said rollers to form upper and lower spaced apart runs; and a deck secured to said frame between said rollers and between the runs of said belt wherein said deck is formed with a wax-embedded hardborad adjacent said belt wherein said wax-embedded hardborad is made of wood and forms an outer surface of said deck that said belt contacts, and said wax-embedded hardboard includes a wax that is distributed throughout the body of said hardboard. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A treadmill assembly comprising:
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an elongated frame having a pair of opposed ends; a roller rotatably mounted on each end of the frame to extend laterally across said frame; a deck secured to said frame and extending between said rollers; and an endless belt located around said rollers and said deck wherein said belt comprises; an upper portion comprising at least one layer of flexible material, said upper portion having top and bottom surfaces defining a thickness, said top surface of said belt upper portion forming an exposed tread surface; and a lower portion comprising a fabric layer attached adjacent to said bottom surface of said belt upper portion, said fabric layer having weft threads that extend across said belt upper portion that are substantially embedded in said belt upper portion and warp threads that extend longitudinally along said belt upper portion, said warp threads having sections that extend under said weft threads into said belt upper portion and exposed sections that extend over said weft threads outside of said belt upper portion and are adjacent said deck, wherein said warp thread exposed sections are equal to at least 50% of the overall length of said warp threads. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9)
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10. A treadmill assembly comprising:
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an elongated frame having a pair of opposed ends; a roller rotatably mounted to each end of the frame to extend laterally across said frame; a deck secured to said frame and extending between said rollers; and an endless belt located around said rollers and said deck, wherein said belt comprises; an upper portion comprising at least one layer of flexible material, said upper portion having top and bottom surfaces defining a thickness, said top surface of said belt upper portion forming an exposed tread surface; and a lower portion comprising a woven layer attached adjacent to said bottom surface of said belt upper portion, said woven layer having weft threads that extend across said belt upper portion that are at least partially embedded in said belt upper portion and warp threads that extend longitudinally along said belt upper portion, said warp threads having sections that extend under said weft threads into said belt upper portion and exposed sections that extend over said weft threads outside of said belt upper portion and are adjacent said deck, wherein said warp threads cross over at least two of said weft threads for each said weft thread they cross under.
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Specification