US20110009243A1

US20110009243A1 - Anti-pinch safety device of treadmill

Info

Publication number: US20110009243A1
Application number: US12/458,403
Authority: US
Inventors: Shen Yi Wu
Original assignee: Strength Master Fitness Tech Co Ltd
Current assignee: Strength Master Fitness Tech Co Ltd
Priority date: 2009-07-10
Filing date: 2009-07-10
Publication date: 2011-01-13

Abstract

In an anti-pinch safety device of a treadmill, the treadmill includes a frame, front and rear rollers installed on both opposite ends of the frame, and a retainer installed at a distal end of the rear roller. The anti-pinch safety device includes a clamp portion disposed at both ends of the anti-pinch safety device separately and accommodated in the retainer, and a distal end of rear roller is connected to the clamp portion. The retainer has a retaining space greater than the external dimension of the clamp portion and a screw hole is disposed at a distal end of the rear roller, and an adjusting bolt is screwed with a screw hole at a distal end of the rear roller for moving and adjusting the rear roller and the clamp portion when turning the adjusting bolt to maintain a fixed interval between the anti-pinch safety device and the treadmill belt.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a treadmill structure, in particular to an anti-pinch safety device of a treadmill.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a treadmill belt is generally mounted around two rollers of a treadmill and driven by gravitational stepping and motor operation, so as to achieve the exercise and fitness effect, but the treadmill belt will become loosened gradually and affect the use of the treadmill after it has been used for a period of time, and thus it is necessary to tighten the treadmill belt again. The tightness of a treadmill belt can be adjusted in a way as shown in FIG. 6, wherein positions of the rollers 61 are adjusted directly to tense and tighten the treadmill belt 62, but a conventional treadmill usually comes with no protection device at an end of the treadmill belt 62, and the treadmill belt 62 is run at a high speed, so that the users, people around or children may be injured easily by touching the treadmill belt 62 by mistake or their fingers may even be rolled into treadmill belt 62 in a worse case. Therefore, the conventional treadmill structure still has a safety issue of its use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is a primary objective of the present invention to provide an anti-pinch safety device of a treadmill, wherein the anti-pinch safety device is moved with together a roller synchronously, and a fixed interval is maintained between the roller and the anti-pinch safety device to prevent rubbing the treadmill belt due to a too-small interval or pinching a human body due to a too-large interval.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide an anti-pinch safety device of a treadmill, wherein the anti-pinch safety device and an axle of the roller are made of an electrically conductive material, such that when the treadmill belt is operated and electrostatic charges produced by rubbing the treadmill belt with a human body will be conducted directly from a distal end of the axle of the roller or directly from the anti-pinch safety device to a ground wire of the treadmill to enhance electrostatic conductivity, so as to effectively reduce damages to electronic components of the treadmill due to the electrostatic charges.
To achieve the foregoing objectives, the present invention provides an anti-pinch safety device of a treadmill, and the treadmill comprises a frame, front and rear rollers installed at both opposite ends of the frame, and a treadmill belt mounted around the front and rear rollers.
The frame includes a retainer with a retaining space and installed at a distal end of each rear roller on both sides of the frame separately, a penetrating hole disposed axially on the retainer, an anti-pinch safety device having a clamp portion formed at both ends of the anti-pinch safety device separately, and installed into the retainer on both sides of the frame, wherein a distal end of the roller is connected to the clamp portion, and the clamp portion includes a through hole corresponding to the penetrating hole, and a distal end of the rear roller includes a screw hole corresponding to the through hole, and an adjusting bolt is passed through the penetrating hole of the retainer and the through hole of the clamp portion and screwed to a screw hole at a distal end of the roller, and the retainer has a retaining space greater than the external dimension of the clamp portion for moving and adjusting the rear roller and the clamp portion while rotating the adjusting bolt, and a fixed interval is maintained between the anti-pinch safety device and the rear roller.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an assembled structure of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a structure of the present invention viewing from another angle;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of using a treadmill when a treadmill belt is in a loose state in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of using a treadmill when a treadmill belt is in a tense state in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of adjusting the tightness of a treadmill belt of a conventional treadmill.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 for an anti-pinch safety device of a treadmill in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the treadmill comprises a frame 11, a front roller (not shown in the figure) and a rear roller 22 installed at both opposite ends of the frame 11, and a treadmill belt 31 mounted around the front and rear rollers 22, wherein a driving motor (not shown in the figure) is installed to move the treadmill belt 31 cyclically, such that a user can run in place on the treadmill belt 31 to achieve the fitness exercise effect.
The present invention is characterized in that the frame 11 includes a retainer 12 installed on two opposite sides of a distal end of the rear roller 22, and the retainer is U-shaped and has two opposite side plates 13 and a bottom plate 14 for enclosing and defining a retaining space 15, and the retainer 12 has a penetrating hole 16 axially penetrated through the two side plates 13.
The anti-pinch safety device 41 includes a sheet main body 42, and the main body 42 is bent upwardly to form a containing portion 43, and a U-shaped clamp portion 44 is protruded outwardly from each of the two opposite ends of the main body 42, and the clamp portion 44 also includes two opposite side plates 45 and a bottom plate 46, and a retaining space 15 formed by the retainer 12 is greater than the external dimension defined by the two side plates 45 of the clamp portion 44, such that the anti-pinch safety device 41 can be installed transversally into the retainer 12 on the two opposite sides of the frame 11 by both ends of the clamp portion 44, and a through hole 47 is disposed separately on the two side plates 45 of the clamp portion 44 and corresponding to the penetrating hole 16 of the retainer 12.
The rear roller 22 includes an axle 23 exposed from the rear roller 22, and a bearing 24 installed between the axle 23 and the rear roller 22, such that the rear roller 22 can rotate the axle 23, and an end of the axle 23 of the rear roller 22 is accommodated between the two side plates 45 of the clamp portion 44 and passed through a screw hole 25 corresponding to the through hole 47 of the clamp portion 44, and an adjusting bolt 26 is passed through the penetrating hole 16 of the retainer 12 and the through hole 47 of the clamp portion 44 and screwed with the screw hole 25 of the axle 23 of the rear roller 22 in order to fix the rear roller 22 and the clamp portion 44 of the anti-pinch safety device 41 into the retainer 12 of the frame 11 at the same time. If the rear roller 22 is accommodated and installed in the clamp portion 44, a fixed interval 51 will be formed between the rear roller 22 and an upwardly bent side of the main body 42.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the retaining space 15 of the retainer 12 is greater than the external dimension of the clamp portion 44 of the anti-pinch safety device 41, and the bottom plate 46 of the clamp portion 44 is abutted and coupled to the bottom plate 14 of the retainer 12, such that when a user wants to adjust the treadmill belt 31, the user simply turns the adjusting bolt 26 to screw and connect the adjusting bolt 26 and drive the rear roller 22 to move the clamp portion 44 of the anti-pinch safety device 41 along the bottom plate 14 of the retainer 12 (as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5) in order to adjust the position of the rear roller 22 in the clamp portion 44. Since the anti-pinch safety device 41 and the rear roller 22 are moved together synchronously, therefore a predetermined fixed interval 51 is formed between the rear roller 22 and the upwardly bent side of the main body 42, and the invention can prevent rubbing the treadmill belt 31 due to a too-small interval or pinching a human body due to a too-large interval.
It is noteworthy to point out that the axle 23 of the rear roller 22, the main body 42 and the clamp portion 44 of the anti-pinch safety device 41 are made of an electrically conductive material, or surfaces of the anti-pinch safety device 41 and the axle 23 of the rear roller 22 are coated with electroplated conductive material, such that when the user jogs on the treadmill and rubs the treadmill belt 31 to produce electrostatic charges, the electrostatic charges will be conducted from the axle 23 of the rear roller 22 or directly from the anti-pinch safety device 41 to a ground wire (not shown in the figure) of the treadmill to achieve the effects of enhancing the electrostatic conductivity, reducing damages to electronic components of the treadmill due to the electrostatic charges effectively, and prevent electrostatic charges from being accumulated to the user's body. The present invention also has an effect of conducting electrostatic charges, in addition to the anti-pinch function.
Since a side of the main body 42 of the anti-pinch safety device 41 is bent upwardly to form the containing portion 43 disposed below the fixed interval 51 which is formed by the treadmill belt 31 mounted onto the rear roller 22 and the upwardly bent side of the main body 42, and the containing portion 43 is opposite to the fixed interval 51, such that if dusts or foreign matters fall onto the treadmill belt 31, the operation of the treadmill belt 31 will collect the dusts or foreign matters into the containing portion 43 through the fixed interval 51, so as to provide a dust collecting effect.
In addition, the present invention allows users to hold the upwardly bent side of the main body 42 of the anti-pinch safety device 41 to provide an easy transportation effect.
The present invention has the following advantages:
1. The anti-pinch safety device of the present invention is moved together with the rear roller synchronously, and thus a fixed interval can be maintained between the treadmill belt mounted onto the rear roller and the upwardly bent side of the main body to avoid any safety issue caused by a too-large or too-small interval.
2. The anti-pinch safety device of the present invention and the axle of the rear roller are made of an electrically conductive material, or the surfaces of the anti-pinch safety device and the axle of the rear roller are coated with an electroplated conductive material, such that if the treadmill belt is operated, electrostatic charges produced by the friction of a human body will be conducted to the ground wire of the treadmill from the end of the axle of the roller or directly from the anti-pinch safety device to enhance the electrostatic conductivity, so as to effectively reduce damages to electronic components of the treadmill due to the electrostatic charges, and avoid possible electric shocks caused by the electrostatic charges accumulated onto the user's body.
3. The present invention includes the containing portion formed by bending a side of the main body upwardly, such that if dusts or foreign matters fall onto the treadmill belt, the operation of the treadmill belt will collect the dusts or foreign matters into the containing portion through the fixed interval to provide a dust collecting effect.
4. The present invention allows users to hold the upwardly bent side of the main body of the anti-pinch safety device 41, so as to provide an easy transportation effect.
Of course, the anti-pinch safety device of the present invention can be installed at a position of a distal end of the front roller installed to the frame or the anti-pinch safety device of the invention can be installed between the distal ends of the front and rear rollers of the frame at the same time according to the actual requirements. While the invention has been described by means of specific embodiments, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention set forth in the claims.

Claims

1. An anti-pinch safety device of a treadmill, the treadmill comprising a frame, front and rear rollers installed at both opposite ends of the frame, and a treadmill belt mounted around the front and rear rollers, characterized in that the frame comprises a retainer with a retaining space installed at a position of both sides of an end of the rear roller separately, and a penetrating hole formed axially on the retainer, and the anti-pinch safety device comprises a clamp portion formed at both ends of the anti-pinch safety device individually and installed to the retainers on both sides of the frame respectively, and an end of the rear roller is coupled with the clamp portion, and the clamp portion has a through hole disposed thereon and corresponding to the penetrating hole, and the rear roller has a screw hole disposed at an end of the rear roller and corresponding to the through hole, and an adjusting bolt is passed through the penetrating hole of the retainer and the through hole of the clamp portion and screwed with the screw hole at an end of the rear roller, and the retainer has a retaining space greater than the external dimension of the clamp portion, such that when the adjusting bolt is turned, the rear roller and the clamp portion are adjusted and moved, and a fixed interval is maintained between the anti-pinch safety device and the rear roller.

2. The anti-pinch safety device of a treadmill as recited in claim 1, wherein the retainer and the clamp portion are substantially U-shaped and include two opposite side plates and a bottom plate individually, and the retaining space formed by the retainer is greater than an external dimension defined by the two side plates of the clamp portion, and if the clamp portion is disposed in the retainer, the bottom plate of the clamp portion is abutted and coupled to the bottom plate of the retainer.

3. The anti-pinch safety device of a treadmill as recited in claim 1, wherein the anti-pinch safety device includes a sheet main body, and the clamp portion is protruded outwardly and separately from both distal ends of the main body, and a side of the main body is bent upwardly to form the fixed interval between the upwardly bent side and the rear roller.

4. The anti-pinch safety device of a treadmill as recited in claim 3, wherein the upwardly bent side of the main body forms a containing portion, and the containing portion is disposed below the fixed interval.

5. The anti-pinch safety device of a treadmill as recited in claim 1, wherein the end of the rear roller, and the main body and the clamp portion of the anti-pinch safety device are made of an electrically conductive material.

6. The anti-pinch safety device of a treadmill as recited in claim 1, wherein surfaces of the end of the rear roller, and the main body and the clamp portion of the anti-pinch safety device are coated with an electroplated conductive material.