Treadmill Handle-Mounted Weight Distribution Frame
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Solution Overview
Problem
Obese individuals and those with medical weaknesses face difficulties exercising on treadmills due to excessive weight on their legs, which can be detrimental to their joints, and existing suspending apparatuses are complex, bulky, costly, and require assistance.
Innovation Solution
A compact, easily installable, and adjustable apparatus that mounts to a treadmill's handles, featuring clamps, an upstanding leg, a frame with parallel bars, and a seat with straps, allowing users to distribute their weight partially on the seat and control the effective weight on their legs, enabling exercise without additional support.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a treadmill is used for exercise, then cardiovascular fitness can be improved, but excessive weight on the legs can cause joint damage for obese and medically weak individuals
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the anti-weight principle by introducing a suspending apparatus that supports a portion of the user's body weight, thereby counteracting the excessive force on the legs. The apparatus includes a seat and support structure that bears weight, reducing the load on the user's joints while allowing treadmill exercise to continue.
Solution Approach 2:
The suspending apparatus acts as an intermediary between the user and the treadmill. Rather than the user's full weight directly impacting the legs during exercise, the apparatus mediates by providing partial support, allowing the user to exercise with reduced joint stress.
2Reliability
If complex suspending apparatuses are used to reduce weight on legs, then joint health is protected, but the apparatus becomes bulky, costly, and requires assistant coaches
Solution Approach 1:
The suspending apparatus is segmented into separate components that can be independently assembled and adjusted. The apparatus includes a seat portion, support legs, and adjustable straps that can be configured separately, simplifying the overall structure compared to integrated complex systems while maintaining the weight-reduction function.
Solution Approach 2:
The apparatus incorporates dynamic, adjustable elements such as height-adjustable support legs and configurable straps that can be modified by the user. This adjustability allows the apparatus to adapt to different users and exercise conditions without requiring complex fixed mechanisms or assistant intervention.
3Volume of moving object
If a compact design is used for storage and transport, then ease of storage is improved, but the apparatus may lack sufficient support structure
Solution Approach 1:
The support structure is divided into collapsible segments that can be folded or disassembled for compact storage. The legs and frame components are designed to nest or fold together, reducing storage volume while maintaining full structural support capability when assembled for use.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus and method of use thereof for exercising on a treadmill, the apparatus includes a frame that mounts to handles of the treadmill. The frame is an arch shape having a proximal bar, a distal bar opposite the proximal bar, and a curved portion extending between adjacent ends of the proximal bar and the distal bar. The proximal bar is coupled to the handles. A protective cushioned seat extends between the proximal bar and the distal bar. To use the apparatus, an individual can unhook a proximal end of the seat from the proximal bar, position the seat behind the buttocks and between the legs, reengage the proximal end of the seat to the proximal bar, and can then walk or run on the treadmill.