WO2008040985A1

WO2008040985A1 - Treadmill device

Info

Publication number: WO2008040985A1
Application number: PCT/GB2007/003774
Authority: WO
Inventors: Stephen Colin Brown
Original assignee: The Dezac Group Limited
Priority date: 2006-10-05
Filing date: 2007-10-05
Publication date: 2008-04-10
Also published as: GB0619640D0; EP2068811A1

Abstract

A treadmill device for stimulating and massaging the soles of the feet of a person walking on the treadmill, said treadmill comprises a belt (18) of material supported for movement along an upper walking section and a lower return section, the externally facing surface of said belt carrying a plurality of generally smoothly rounded projections (20).

Description

Treadmill Device

This invention relates to a treadmill device and in particular a treadmill device for providing a moving walking surface stimulating and massaging the soles of the feet of a user walking on the treadmill. It has been known for many years that walking on so-called cobblestones or a flat surface with similar type projections is beneficial and this has been practiced in China for many years. Research published by physiologists at the Oregon Research Institute found that cobblestone-walking leads to significant reductions in blood pressure and improvements in balance. It is thought that the uneven surfaces stimulate acupressure points or 'acupoints' on the soles of the feet, thereby regulating blood pressure. In addition, because it is more challenging, it will also burn more calories.

It is known to lay cobblestone walkways in parks and other public areas so that people may walk over these and enjoy the beneficial effects. It is also known to provide mats with simulated cobblestones to provide a temporary, short, walkway indoors. However the difficulty here is that for practical purposes such as storage, such mats tend to be only a metre or so in length and so the user can only take a couple of paces and so for an extended walk it is necessary to lay several mats end to end. There is therefore a need for a device which is relatively compact yet allows prolonged walking over a cobblestone walkway.

Accordingly, in one aspect, this invention provides a treadmill device for stimulating and massaging the soles of the feet of a person walking on the treadmill, said treadmill comprising a belt of material supported for movement along an upper walking section and a lower return section, the externally facing surface of said belt carrying a plurality of generally smoothly rounded projections.

In this manner the walker may stay stationary whilst the belt passes beneath them and so the duration of the exercising is limited only by the person walking rather than a fixed length of cobblestone walkway. The device may be relatively compact and is therefore suitable for the domestic market as well as commercial or institutional markets.

The generally smoothly rounded projections intended to simulate the effect of the cobbles may be of regular or irregular shape, and may likewise be of regular or irregular distribution on the belt. Preferably, said treadmill comprises two parallel spaced rollers defining between them said upper and said lower sections.

The generally smoothly rounded projections are preferably distributed across a major portion of the external surface. The generally smoothly rounded projections are preferably of cobble-like or pebble-like form. The projections could be of solid material suitably attached to the external surface of the belt or formed as part of the belt but it is preferred that they be injection-moulded plastics simulated cobbles ideally of hollow shell form suitably secured to the belt. The projections may be secured to the belt by a fixing which passes from the internal surface of the belt to the external surface thereof to be connected to the projection.

The resistance to movement of the belt may be adjusted in suitable manner. This could be for example by means of an adjustable brake connected to one of the rollers. Alternatively, the treadmill may include an upper run support surface over which the belt slides and the friction between the internal surface of the belt and the support run may alone be sufficient. In other arrangements, there may be a drive for driving the belt at a speed which may be adjusted according to the desired walking speed of the user. The inclination of the upper walking section to the horizontal may be adjusted away from the horizontal in the upward and/or downward direction.

In one arrangement, the treadmill may include means for heating the belt and/or said projections. Whilst the invention has been described above, it extends to any inventive combination of the features set out above or in the following description.

The invention may be performed in various ways, and an embodiment thereof will now be described by way of example only, reference being made to the accompany drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a general perspective schematic view of a treadmill in accordance with this invention;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the upper run of the treadmill belt, and

Figure 3 is a section view showing one form of possible attachment of the cobble-like projections to the belt.

Referring initially to Figure 1 , the treadmill device of this invention comprises a support frame generally indicated at 10, two spaced parallel rollers 12 and 14, an upper support sheet 16, together defining a run for an endless belt 18 which is provided with a distribution of smoothly rounded projections 20 on its external surface. The arrangement is designed that a user may step onto the treadmill and then walk in a conventional treadmill manner with there being sufficient friction applied between the belt and the support surface 16 to enable the person to walk comfortably. The framework 10 includes support feet 22 and a guard rail 24. Although in many cases upper run of the device may be level, the forward legs 22 may include a jacking arrangement 26 under the control of a controller 28 to allow the inclination of the upper run to be varied the horizontal configuration to be inclined upwardly or downwardly from the horizontal. The controller may also control a brake (not shown) gently braking rotation of one or both of the rollers 12 and 14, and it may also control a motor (not shown) which may drive one or both of the rollers.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the conveyor belt showing the smoothly curved projections 20. These may be in a regular or irregular array and they may be of regular or irregular shape. For ease of manufacture, it is preferred for the projections 20 to be in a regular array.

Figure 3 shows one possible arrangement for attaching the projections 20 to the belt 18. The projections 20 are injection-moulded having on their underside a socket 30 into which the stem 32 of a fixing passing through the belt from the internal surface thereof is secured.

Claims

1. A treadmill device for stimulating and massaging the soles of the feet of a person walking on the treadmill, said treadmill comprising a belt of material supported for movement along an upper walking section and a lower return section, the externally facing surface of said belt carrying a plurality of generally smoothly rounded projections.

2. A treadmill device according to Claim 1 , wherein said treadmill comprises two spaced rollers defining between them said upper and said lower sections.

3. A treadmill device according to Claim 1 and Claim 2, wherein said generally smoothly rounded projections are distributed across a major portion of the external surface.

4. A treadmill device according to any preceding Claim, wherein said smoothly rounded projections are of cobble-like form.

5. A treadmill device according to Claim 4, wherein said smoothly rounded projections comprise injection-moulded plastics simulated cobbles.

6. A treadmill device according to any preceding Claim, wherein the resistance to movement of said belt may be adjusted.

7. A treadmill device according to any preceding Claim, including drive means for driving the belt.

8. A treadmill device according to any preceding Claim, including means of adjusting the inclination of the upper walking section to the horizontal.

9. A treadmill device according to any preceding Claim, including means for heating said belt and/or said projections.

10. A treadmill device substantially hereinbefore described with

reference to and as illustrated in any of the accompanying drawings.