Patent Application
20100029444
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a treadmill or jogging machine, and more particularly to a foldable support frame for a treadmill.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional support frame for a treadmill comprises a bottom bracket mounted on two opposite sides of a platform of the treadmill, a substantially inverted U-shaped handle support mounted on the bottom bracket and located at the front end of the platform, and an instrument panel mounted on the top of the handle support. In practice, the support frame is used to support the platform. A control circuit (not shown) is mounted on the bottom of the platform and is connected electrically to the instrument panel by electric wires. The electric wires in turn extends through the bottom of the platform, the bottom bracket and the handle support to connect the instrument panel. The bottom bracket has a bottom provided with two through holes aligning with the handle support to allow passage of the electric wires.
However, a worker has to hold the handle support, and another worker has to extend the electric wires through the through holes of the bottom bracket and the handle support to connect the electric wires to the instrument panel, so that assembly of the support frame needs two workers aid, and the support frame cannot be assembled easily and quickly. In addition, the handle support is soldered on the bottom bracket after assembly of the electric wires and the instrument panel, thereby causing inconvenience in maintenance of the electric wires and the instrument panel.
The present invention is to mitigate and/or obviate the disadvantage of the conventional foldable support frame for a treadmill.
The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a foldable support frame for a treadmill, wherein the support frame is assembled easily and quickly.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a foldable support frame for a treadmill, wherein each of the two support arms is pivotable relative to the respective pivot seat to be parallel with the bottom bracket, and the lower end of each of the two support arms is movable to detach from the respective limit protrusion and align with the respective gap of the bottom bracket to facilitate the user mounting the electric wires from the lower end of each of the two support arms and the respective gap of the bottom bracket.
A further objective of the present invention is to provide a foldable support frame for a treadmill, wherein the user only needs to unscrew each of the two locking screws from the respective screw bore of the bottom bracket to release the respective locking bracket and the respective support arm from the bottom bracket so as to move each of the two support arms to the parallel state for maintenance of the electric wires and the instrument panel, so that the user can mount and repair the electric wires and the instrument panel by himself without needing other person& help.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a foldable support frame for a treadmill, comprising a bottom bracket, two opposite pivot seats mounted on the bottom bracket, two opposite limit protrusions mounted on the bottom bracket and each spaced from a respective one of the two pivot seats, and two opposite support arms mounted on the bottom bracket and each having a lower end which is pivotally mounted on a respective one of the two pivot seats and is detachably mounted on a respective one of the two limit protrusions.
Further benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after a careful reading of the detailed description with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to the drawings and initially to
The bottom bracket 20 has a substantially U-shaped profile and is mounted on a front end of a platform 10. The bottom bracket 20 has a top face provided with two opposite screw bores 27.
The two pivot seats 21 are located at two opposite sides of the platform 10. Each of the two pivot seats 21 has a substantially triangular profile and has a top provided with two protruding pivot ears 22 each having a pivot hole 221.
Each of the two limit protrusions 23 is a substantially arcuate bent plate and has a substantially U-shaped cross-sectional profile. Each of the two limit protrusions 23 has a height that is changed and reduced gradually toward the respective pivot seat 21.
A gap 24 is defined between each of the two limit protrusions 23 and the respective pivot seat 21 to receive the lower end 33 of a respective one of the two support arms 30.
Each of the two support arms 30 is a hollow pipe. The lower end 33 of each of the two support arms 30 is pivotally mounted on the respective pivot seat 21 by a pivot unit 40. The lower end 33 of each of the two support arms 30 has a rear side provided with a pivot portion 31 which is pivotally mounted between the two pivot ears 22 of the respective pivot seat 21 by the pivot unit 40.
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the pivot portion 31 of each of the two support arms 30 is a shaft tube, and the pivot unit 40 includes a fastening bolt 41 having a first portion abutting one of the two pivot ears 22 of the respective pivot seat 21 and a second portion extending through the pivot hole 221 of each of the two pivot ears 22 of the respective pivot seat 21 and the pivot portion 31 of the respective support arm 30, and a fastening nut 42 screwed onto the second portion of the fastening bolt 41 and abutting the other one of the two pivot ears 22 of the respective pivot seat 21.
Each of the two locking brackets 25 has a substantially L-shaped profile. Each of the two locking brackets 25 is mounted on a front side of the lower end 33 of the respective support arm 30 to move with the respective support arm 30 and has a bottom 250 that is movable to abut the bottom bracket 20 when the lower end 33 of the respective support arm 30 is mounted on the respective limit protrusion 23. The bottom 250 of each of the two locking brackets 25 is provided with a fixing hole 251, and the foldable support frame further comprises two locking screws 26 each extending through fixing hole 251 of a respective one of the two locking brackets 25 and each screwed into a respective one of the two screw bores 27 of the bottom bracket 20 to fix the respective locking bracket 25 to the bottom bracket 20. Thus, each of the two support arms 30 and the respective locking bracket 25 are secured on the bottom bracket 20 by the respective locking screw 26.
In practice, the foldable support frame is used to support the platform 10. An instrument panel (not shown) is mounted on top portions of the two support arms 30. A control circuit (not shown) is mounted on the bottom of the platform 10 and is connected electrically to the instrument panel by electric wires (not shown). The electric wires in turn extends through the bottom of the platform 10, the bottom bracket 20 and the two support arms 30 to connect the instrument panel.
In assembly, referring to
Accordingly, each of the two support arms 30 is pivotable relative to the respective pivot seat 21 to be parallel with the bottom bracket 20, and the lower end 33 of each of the two support arms 30 is movable to detach from the respective limit protrusion 23 and align with the respective gap 24 of the bottom bracket 20 to facilitate the user mounting the electric wires from the lower end 33 of each of the two support arms 30 and the respective gap 24 of the bottom bracket 20. In addition, the user only needs to unscrew each of the two locking screws 26 from the respective screw bore 27 of the bottom bracket 20 to release the respective locking bracket 25 and the respective support arm 30 from the bottom bracket 20 so as to move each of the two support arms 30 to the parallel state for maintenance of the electric wires and the instrument panel, so that the user can mount and repair the electric wires and the instrument panel by himself without needing other persons help.
Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment(s) as mentioned above, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. It is, therefore, contemplated that the appended claim or claims will cover such modifications and variations that fall within the true scope of the invention.
