Exercise devices – Involving user translation or physical simulation thereof – Treadmill for foot travel
Reexamination Certificate
1997-12-22
2001-05-01
Richman, Glenn E. (Department: 3764)
Exercise devices
Involving user translation or physical simulation thereof
Treadmill for foot travel
C482S051000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06224516
ABSTRACT:
DESCRIPTION
The invention relates to office and work furniture with a table top or work bench top and a support frame supporting said top, wherein the support frame is supported on the floor by at least two legs or at least one support surface.
Office and work furniture oft his type is known in a number of variations and designs, including special designs for different office tasks, e.g. as drawing tables, standing desks, and in particular also as desks for computer workstations. Also known in the art is special furniture for teller stations and counters in banks, post offices, railway stations, etc., which can be arranged side by side in the form of rows and positioned in a straight line or a curved pattern.
Moreover, similar workplace furniture of conventional or special design is known in the art for carrying out manual work, for example for watchmakers, opticians or precision mechanics, also for sewing and pressing, or for manual work in general.
Based on office and work furniture of this type, it is the object of the invention to provide exercise opportunities people working at these workplaces to exercise their leg muscles so that this leg exercise can also be performed during working hours or during shorter or longer work breaks, for example when waiting until new documents or information arrive, or also during other planned short work breaks.
The object of the invention is solved with respect to such office and work furniture in that a treadmill exercising device which has the form of a moveable continuous conveyor belt is disposed in a rest position within the three-dimensional space defined by the furniture, and that the treadmill exercising device can be moved and/or tilted into its operating position on the floor in front of the table top or work bench top and locked in this position.
By combining the exercise device with a office and work furniture of this type, the exercise device with a moveable continuous conveyor belt can have wide ranging applications in offices and shops and also in private households. More particularly, the invention can aid significantly in improving the fitness of persons at their workplace, since the lower body muscles can be exercised not only during brief work interruptions but also during the work. This invention advantageously supports the daily exercise needs of people working in a sitting or standing position while taking up little space. The exercise device can also be fitted in a manner known in the art with a recording device for recording the duration of and the performance during the running exercise.
A treadmill exercising device adapted for this purpose can advantageously include a support frame and a continuous conveyor belt guided by two deflection rolls supported in the support frame, wherein the continuous conveyor belt can be constructed from rubber or from lamellar elements. In addition, at least one of the deflection rolls of the treadmill exercising device can include a motor drive which can be an electric motor disposed within the support frame and a transmission device for transmitting the torque to the drive shaft of the deflection roll.
In the region between the deflection rolls of the upper run of the conveyor belt, the device is advantageously provided with support elements for the conveyor belt, which preferably has a flat non-slip support surface with a slideway lining. For improving the belt movement, rotatable rolls distributed across the area can be supported in the support surface; the RPM of the motor drive is preferably adjustable. The support frame which is laterally enclosed by side covers, can include slider or roller elements.
The significant features of the invention are related to the various possibilities for arranging or placing the treadmill exercising device in spatial relationship inside of or proximate to office and work furniture so that the worker is not interrupted in his/her normal and task-oriented work when the exercise device is not in use. This significant object of the invention can be solved in many different ways.
With office furniture having the form of a standing desk with a table top or work bench top which is fixed or which can be raised and lowered and tilted, the treadmill exercising device in the standing desk can be pulled or moved out of the rest position near a bottom region on the floor and placed into the operation position in front of the furniture. The treadmill exercising device can be pulled out manually, in particular if the treadmill exercising device is provided with slider or roller elements.
In an advantageous embodiment, a motor-driven horizontal displacement device can be placed in the bottom region of the standing desk and connected to the treadmill exercising device for moving the treadmill exercising device between the rest position and the operating position by remote control. This is accomplished with a horizontal displacement device comprising toothed rails attached on both sides in the bottom region and cooperating with the motor-driven toothed pinions supported on the treadmill exercising device.
In another modified embodiment, the horizontal displacement device is disposed on both sides in the bottom region and includes motor-driven continuous traction means guided over deflection rolls, wherein the treadmill exercising device is releasably connected to the lower run of the continuous traction means through a rib.
In another embodiment of the horizontal displacement device, the horizontal displacement device is a linear motor or a hydraulic piston actuator.
A group of office and work furniture in the form of a writing desk, which can also have a table top or work bench top which is fixed or which can be raised and lowered and tilted, and wherein the desk can also include a foot space and a container disposed on one side or on both sides of the foot space, the treadmill exercising device can initially be pulled out from its rest position underneath the container, where the device is guided in lateral guides in the bottom region on the floor, and displaced into a ready position in front of the container, and by subsequently displaced transversely from the ready position into the operating position midway in front of the table top or work bench top.
With this arrangement and design, the user of the treadmill adapted for the writing desk can move the device from the rest position into the operating position with two simple manipulations.
In a significant improvement, the treadmill exercising device can be moved transversely in the lateral guides from the rest position into a ready position with the help of a motor-driven transverse displacement device and subsequently moved longitudinally from the ready position into the operating position with the help of a motor-driven longitudinally displacement device.
By driving the two displacement operations with motors, the user working at the desk can move the treadmill exercising device into the operating position at the workplace and exercise his/her legs while standing up. If the worker wishes to continue his/her work, the worker can also move the height-adjustable table top or work bench top into the proper height and/or tilt position with a motor drive by pushing a button.
In yet another modification of this embodiment, the treadmill exercising device can be tilted by 180° about a vertical axis from its rest position underneath the container in the bottom region into the horizontal operating position with the help of a tilting device. In a preferred arrangement, the lower portion of treadmill exercising device is prevented from rotating from its rest position underneath the container by being connected to a tiltable vertical drive shaft which is rotatably secured to the writing desk, thereby enabling the treadmill exercising device to be manually rotated with a handle about 180° between the rest position and the operating position and vice versa.
With this advantageous and simplified construction of the device, the device can be moved into the operating position with just a single manipulation. According
Feiereisen Henry M.
Richman Glenn E.
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