NZ590362A

NZ590362A - Buffer board mounted under a running belt of a treadmill made out of bamboo strips

Info

Publication number: NZ590362A
Application number: NZ590362A
Authority: NZ
Inventors: Huang-Tung Chang
Original assignee: Huang Tung Chang
Priority date: 2010-03-16
Filing date: 2011-01-07
Publication date: 2012-03-30
Also published as: AT509650A2; SG174673A1; CN102049121B; TR201008728A2; FI20106176A; WO2011120373A3; RO128011B1; DK201100158A; RO128011A2; HUP1100029A2; AT509650A3; CZ2010830A3; CH702889B1; WO2011120373A2; AR081522A1; PL392986A1; EG27053A; AU2010226907A1; SA110310856B1; IE20110069A1

Abstract

A woven bamboo strip buffer board mounted under a running belt for a treadmill, the bamboo is protected by an attached endurable slide plate. The woven bamboo strips can be stacked into a plurality of layers then laminated consisting of transverse and longitudinal strips. The slide plate can textured to provide a massage effect.

Description

<div class="application article clearfix" id="description"> Received at IPONZ on 24 November 2011 Patents Form No. 5 NEW ZEALAND PATENTS ACT 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION Buffer Board for Treadmill We, Huang-Tung Chang, of No. 451 Dadian Rd, Hemei Township, Changhua County 508, Taiwan, hereby declare the invention, for which We pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: 1 Received at IPONZ on 24 November 2011 BUFFER BOARD FOR TREADMILL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention 5 The present invention relates to a buffer board, and more particularly to a buffer board for a treadmill. The buffer board uses bamboo strips to be crosswise knitted to constitute a woven bamboo plate, or uses longitudinal bamboo strips connected side by side and transverse bamboo strips connected side by side to constitute a laminated bamboo board, or uses 10 the woven bamboo plate and the laminated bamboo board to be stacked each other. The upper woven bamboo plate or the laminated bamboo board is attached with an endurable slide board. After being applied with a press force, the surface of the endurable slide board is formed with concave-convex massage pattern. The buffer board enhances a buffer 15 effect and provides a foot massage effect. 2. Description of the Prior Art In general, a conventional treadmill has a buffer board located under a running belt as a support. When the user treads on the running belt, the buffer board bears great applied force. If there is no buffer resilience, the 20 user will feel unconformable. Therefore, an improved treadmill is provided with buffer pads and a buffer device under the buffer board. Besides, a layer of foam is attached on the buffer board and a layer of woven fabric is attached on the layer of foam, providing a smooth turning for a running loop and a comfortable buffer. 25 The restoration effect of the conventional treadmill is not good, its hardness is great, and the deformation capacity of tread is less. The foot joints of the user may be injured easily when running. The buffer board of the conventional treadmill is made of hard material, relying on its resilient material, and the buffer pads at four corners of the 30 treadmill are not enough. Therefore, the buffer device is adapted to assist the buffer effect. However, this structure is complicated and the cost is high. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a buffer board for a treadmill. The buffer board is mounted under a running 5 belt of the treadmill. The buffer board comprises a bamboo strip portion and an endurable slide plate. The bamboo strip portion is composed of a longitudinal bamboo strip and a transverse bamboo strip. The longitudinal bamboo strip and the transverse bamboo strip are crosswise knitted to constitute a woven bamboo plate. The endurable slide plate is 10 attached on the woven bamboo plate. According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a buffer board for a treadmill. The buffer board is mounted under a running belt of the treadmill. The buffer board comprises a bamboo strip portion and an endurable slide plate. The bamboo strip 15 portion is composed of longitudinal bamboo strips which are connected side by side and transverse bamboo strips which are connected side by side. The longitudinal bamboo strips and the transverse bamboo strips are stacked to constitute a laminated bamboo board. The endurable slide plate is attached on the laminated bamboo board. 20 According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a buffer board for a treadmill. The buffer board is mounted under a running belt of the treadmill, and comprises a woven bamboo plate, a laminated bamboo board and an endurable slide board. The woven bamboo plate is composed of a longitudinal bamboo strip and a transverse bamboo strip. 25 The longitudinal bamboo strip and the transverse bamboo strip are crosswise knitted. The woven bamboo plate is attached to the laminated bamboo board. The laminated bamboo board comprises a plurality of longitudinal bamboo strips which are connected side by side and a plurality of transverse bamboo strips which are connected side by side. The 30 laminated bamboo board is attached to the woven bamboo plate. The endurable slide board is attached on the woven bamboo plate. Preferably, the numbers of the longitudinal strip and the transverse strip depend on the weight and the area of a load. Preferably, the woven bamboo plate is constituted by at least one longitudinal bamboo strip and at least one transverse bamboo strip as well as at least one transverse bamboo strip and at least one longitudinal 5 bamboo strip which are crosswise knitted. Preferably, the woven bamboo plate is constituted by one longitudinal bamboo strip and one transverse bamboo strip which are crosswise knitted. Preferably, the woven bamboo plate is constituted by two longitudinal 10 bamboo strips and two transverse bamboo strips which are crosswise knitted. Preferably, the woven bamboo plate is constituted by three longitudinal bamboo strips and three transverse bamboo strips which are crosswise knitted. 15 Preferably, the woven bamboo plate is stacked with at least another woven bamboo plate to constitute a stack of woven bamboo plates. Preferably, the laminated bamboo board is stacked with at least another laminated bamboo board to constitute a composite laminated bamboo board. 20 Preferably, the woven bamboo plate and the laminated bamboo board are stacked and then attached with the endurable slide board 2. Preferably, the endurable slide board on the buffer board is applied with a press force P, such that the surface of the endurable slide board is formed with concave-convex massage pattern according to the pattern of 25 the woven bamboo plate or the laminated bamboo board. Compared to the prior art, the buffer board of the present invention uses the bamboo plate or the laminated bamboo board or both which are then attached with the endurable slide board to provide a better buffer effect and a foot massage effect. 30 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 3 Fig. 1A is a perspective view of a woven bamboo plate according to a first embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 1B is a perspective view of a woven bamboo plate according to a second embodiment of the present invention; 5 Fig. 1C is a perspective view of a woven bamboo plate according to a third embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 1D is a perspective view of a woven bamboo plate according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a schematic view showing a stack of woven bamboo plates 10 which are stacked and bound together; Fig. 3 is a schematic view showing a buffer board which is constituted by at least one layer of woven bamboo plate; Fig. 3A is a cross-sectional view of a buffer board which is constituted by at least one layer of woven bamboo plate; 15 Fig. 4 is an exploded view of a laminated bamboo board according to another embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 4A is a schematic view showing a buffer board which is constituted by at least one layer of laminated bamboo board; Fig. 4B is a schematic view showing a buffer board which is constituted 20 by at least one layer of laminated bamboo board and at least one layer of woven bamboo plate; Fig. 4C is a cross-sectional view showing a buffer board which is constituted by at least one layer of laminated bamboo board and at least one layer of woven bamboo plate; 25 Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the present invention applied to a treadmill; and 4 Fig. 5A is a cross-sectional view showing a further embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of 5 example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings. As shown in Figs. 1A, 1B and 1C, the present invention uses bamboo strips 10 to constitute a bamboo plate 1', 1", 1"'. The bamboo strips 10 includes at least one longitudinal bamboo strip 11 and at least one transverse bamboo strip 12 which are crosswise knitted with each other. 10 The bamboo plate 1', 1", 1'" is attached with an endurable slide plate 2 to constitute a buffer board 4, as shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 3A. The bamboo plate 1', 1", 1"' has resilience and a better restoration character as the buffer board 4 for a running belt 51 of a treadmill 5 so that the user can run comfortably. 15 Referring to Figs. 1A, 1B and 1C, the numbers of the longitudinal bamboo strip 11 and the transverse bamboo strip 12 depend on the weight of a desired load so as to provide an appropriate buffer effect. Referring to Fig. 1A, the bamboo plate 1' is crosswise knitted by one longitudinal bamboo strip 11 and one transverse bamboo strip 12. 20 Referring to Fig. 1B, the bamboo plate 1" is crosswise knitted by two longitudinal bamboo strips 11 and two transverse bamboo strips 12. Referring to Fig. 1C, the bamboo plate V" is crosswise knitted by three longitudinal bamboo strips 11 and three transverse bamboo strips 12. Referring to Fig. 1D, the bamboo plate 1"" is crosswise knitted by one 25 longitudinal bamboo strip 11 and two transverse bamboo strips 12 as well as by one transverse bamboo strip 12 and two longitudinal bamboo strips 11. According to the aforesaid knit ways, the bamboo plate 1"" can be 5 crosswise knitted by at least one longitudinal bamboo strip 11 and at least one transverse bamboo strip 12 as well as by at least one transverse bamboo strip 12 and at least one longitudinal bamboo strip 11. Various knit ways may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the 5 present invention. Accordingly, the required numbers of the longitudinal bamboo strips 11 and the transverse bamboo strips 12 are analogized by the desired buffer effect. No matter what type of bamboo plate 1', 1", V", V'" is generally called a woven bamboo plate 1. Therefore, the at least one longitudinal 10 bamboo strip 11 and the at least one transverse bamboo strip 12 are able to disperse tread impact, providing a balance buffer effect. Referring to Figs. 2, 3, and 3A, the woven bamboo plate 1 in a stack according to the woven bamboo plate 1', 1", 1"' of the aforesaid embodiments can be constituted by at least one layer of the woven 15 bamboo plate 1', 1", 1"' depending on a desired thickness and strength, and then attached with the endurable slide plate 2 so as to strengthen the buffer board 4, 4' and maintain its resilience. Figs. 3 and Fig. 3A show a second embodiment of the buffer board 4'. The endurable slide plate 2 is attached on the woven bamboo plate 1', 1", 20 1"' or the woven bamboo plate 1 in a stack. Referring to Fig. 4 and Fig. 4A, the bamboo strips 10 comprises a number of longitudinal bamboo strips 11 or transverse bamboo strips 12 which are connected side by side. The bamboo strips 10 are stacked one by one to constitute a laminated bamboo board 3. The laminated bamboo 25 board 3 is attached with the endurable slide board 2 to constitute a buffer board 4". Referring to Fig. 4, the laminated bamboo board 3 comprises the longitudinal bamboo strips 11 which are connected side by side and the transverse bamboo strips 12 which are connected side by side. 6 Referring to Fig. 4A, a composite laminated bamboo board 31 comprises more than one layer of the laminated bamboo board 3. Referring to Fig. 4B and Fig. 4.C, a buffer board 4"' comprises at least one layer of woven bamboo plate 1', 1", 1"', at least one layer of laminated 5 bamboo board 3 and the endurable slide board 2 which are stacked one by one. Referring to Fig. 4A, Fig. 4B and Fig. 4C, the endurable slide board 2 on the buffer board 4, 4', 4", 4"' can be applied with a press force P, such that the surface of the endurable slide board 2 is formed with 10 concave-convex massage pattern according to the pattern of the woven bamboo plate 1', 1", 1"' or the laminated bamboo board 3. Referring to Fig. 5 and Fig. 5A, the buffer board 4, 4', 4", 4"' is disposed under the running belt 51 of the treadmill 5. The woven bamboo plate 1', 1", 1"' or the stack of woven bamboo plates 1, the laminated 15 bamboo board 3 or the composite laminated bamboo board 31 is disposed on a plurality of buffer pads 41 to provide a better resilience and a better buffer effect, so that the user can tread on the running belt 51 comfortably. Besides, the concave-convex massage pattern can massage the foot of the user. 20 Although particular embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the present invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims. 25 7 Received at IPONZ 16 February 2012 </div>

Claims

<div class="application article clearfix printTableText" id="claims"> WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A buffer board (4) for a treadmill (5), mounted under a running belt (51) of the treadmill (5), the buffer board (4) comprising a bamboo strip portion and an endurable slide plate (2), the bamboo strip portion being composed of at least two longitudinal 5 bamboo strips (11) and at least two transverse bamboo strips (12), wherein the longitudinal bamboo strips (11) and the transverse bamboo strips (12) are crosswise knitted to form a woven bamboo plate (1), the endurable slide plate (2) being attached to the woven bamboo plate (1).

2. The buffer board (4") for a treadmill (5) as claimed in claim 1 wherein the 10 longitudinal bamboo strips (11) are connected side by side and the transverse bamboo strips (12) are connected side by side, the longitudinal bamboo strips (11) and the transverse bamboo strips (12) being stacked to form a laminated bamboo board (3), the endurable slide plate (2) being attached to the laminated bamboo board (3).

3. A buffer board (4") for a treadmill (5), as claimed in claim 1, mounted under a 15 running belt (51) of the treadmill (5), comprising: a bamboo strip portion including the woven bamboo plate (1) composed of at least two longitudinal bamboo strips (11) and at least two transverse bamboo strips (12) being crosswise knitted, the woven bamboo plate (1) being attached to a laminated bamboo board (3)the laminated bamboo board (3) comprising a plurality of longitudinal 20 bamboo strips (11) which are connected side by side and a plurality of transverse bamboo strips (12) which are connected side by side; and the endurable slide plate attached to the bamboo strip portion.

4. The buffer board (4) for a treadmill (5) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the woven bamboo plate (1"") is constituted by a plurality of single longitudinal strips and a 25 plurality of single transverse strips which are crosswise knitted.

5. The buffer board (4) for a treadmill as claimed in claim 1, wherein the woven bamboo plate (1") is constituted by groups of two longitudinal bamboo strips (11) and groups of two transverse bamboo strips (12) which are crosswise knitted.

6. The buffer board (4) for a treadmill as claimed in claim 1, wherein the woven 30 bamboo plate (1"') is constituted by groups of three longitudinal bamboo strips (11) and groups of three transverse bamboo strips (12) which are crosswise knitted.

7. The buffer board (4) for a treadmill (5) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the woven bamboo plate (1"') is stacked with at least another woven bamboo plate (1) to constitute a stack of woven bamboo plates (1). 35 8. The buffer board (4) for a treadmill (5) as claimed in claim 2 or 3, wherein the

Received at IPONZ 16 February 2012 laminated bamboo board (3) is stacked with at least another laminated bamboo board (3) to constitute a composite laminated bamboo board (31).

9. The buffer board (4) for a treadmill (5) as claimed in claims 1, 2 or 3, wherein a top endurable slide plate (2) of the buffer board (4) forms a textured surface due to the 5 woven bamboo plate (1) or the laminated bamboo board (3), to thereby provide a massage effect. 9 </div>