Treadmill Slats with Integrated Lighting for Safety Alerts
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Solution Overview
Problem
Motorized and manual treadmills pose safety risks due to their moving treads, which can continue to operate after users step off, and lack effective alerts for nearby individuals, and also fail to provide clear information to users and observers.
Innovation Solution
A treadmill with a lighting system integrated into the slats, powered by a contactor that supplies electricity as the slats rotate, allowing for controlled light emission to alert users and observers of the treadmill's operation and convey information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the treadmill tread continues to move after the user steps off, then the treadmill maintains operational readiness, but safety risks increase and unauthorized use may occur
Solution Approach 1:
The lighting system is activated in advance before the user steps off the treadmill, providing a warning signal that the tread will continue to move. This preliminary action allows nearby individuals to react and avoid the moving tread, thereby reducing safety risks while maintaining operational readiness.
Solution Approach 2:
The lighting system uses different colors to convey different states: green indicates the treadmill is ready for use, yellow warns that the tread is moving or will continue to move, and red indicates the tread has stopped or should not be used. These color changes provide intuitive visual feedback to users and observers, enhancing safety communication.
2Loss of information
If traditional display screens are used to show information, then information can be presented, but the information may not be effectively communicated to users or observers during treadmill operation
Solution Approach 1:
The lighting system uses color-coded signals to communicate different types of information: green for readiness, yellow for motion warnings, and red for stop conditions. This visual color-coding system is immediately recognizable and understandable, making information communication more effective than traditional text-based displays during physical exercise.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of relying solely on two-dimensional display screens that require visual focus, the lighting system adds a spatial dimension by placing lights at strategic locations around the treadmill frame. This multi-position lighting arrangement ensures information is visible from multiple angles and distances, enhancing accessibility for both users and observers.
3Illumination intensity
If lights are positioned on the slats to illuminate through adjacent slats, then visibility and alert effectiveness are enhanced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The slats serve multiple functions: they provide the structural tread surface for exercise and simultaneously act as light guides to distribute illumination. By integrating the light-guiding function into the existing slat structure, the system achieves enhanced visibility without adding separate complex light distribution components.
Solution Approach 2:
The lighting system merges the light source, light guide, and tread surface into a unified structure. Lights are positioned on slats that both support the user's weight and conduct light to visible positions, combining structural and optical functions into a single integrated system rather than separate components.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The lighting system effectively alerts individuals to the moving treadmill, enhances user safety by preventing unauthorized use, and provides a means to convey performance data and biometric information.
Implementation Method 1
The lighting system includes a light positioned on at least one slat, wherein the light is configured to emit light from the slat or through adjacent slats
Data Source
AI summary
A treadmill having a tread comprising multiple slats is configured to rotate around a front axle and a rear axle of the treadmill, wherein at least one of the multiple slats is a lighted slat. The lighted slat comprises a slat base having an upper surface, a leading edge and an underside. A light is attached to the slat base. The treadmill further comprises a power source for the light.