Treadmill with calibrated airflow

A method for controlling the speed of a fan on a treadmill,

• said method comprising the steps of:
• providing a treadmill, wherein the treadmill comprises:
• a deck designed to support a user at a user position,
• an endless belt having an upper surface that moves relative to the deck,
• a motor configured to drive motion of the endless belt at an adjustable belt speed,
• a speed controller configured to control the adjustable belt speed of the endless belt,
• a user interface control board configured to communicate with the speed controller to allow user control of the adjustable belt speed,
• a fan mounted onto the treadmill, wherein the fan is configured to direct an airflow at an air speed in a direction toward the user position,
• a speed control signal monitor,
• a fan controller in communication with the speed control signal monitor and with the fan;
• reading a control signal with the speed control signal monitor, wherein the control signal corresponds to a defined belt speed, wherein the control signal is an input signal to the speed controller from the user interface control board or a feedback signal from the speed controller to the user interface control board, wherein the speed control signal monitor comprises a pass-through device configured to read the control signal passing between the speed controller and the user interface control board;
• calibrating the fan controller, wherein the fan controller has a known fan controller frequency that corresponds to the air speed at the user position, wherein the speed controller has a known duty cycle that corresponds to the defined belt speed, and wherein the fan controller is calibrated to substantially synchronize the air speed at the user position with the defined belt speed based on a known relationship between the known duty cycle and the known fan controller frequency;
• converting the control signal corresponding to the defined belt speed into an output signal from the fan controller to the fan based on the calibration of the fan controller;
• and
• using the fan controller to control the air speed by adjusting the rotational speed of the fan in response to the control signal read by the speed signal control monitor such that the air speed at the user position is substantially synchronized with the defined belt speed on a unit-to-unit basis.

A treadmill comprising:

• a deck designed to support a user at a user position;
• an endless belt having an upper surface that moves relative to the deck;
• a motor configured to drive motion of the endless belt at an adjustable belt speed;
• a speed controller configured to control the adjustable belt speed of the endless belt;
• a fan mounted onto the treadmill, wherein the fan is configured to direct an airflow at an air speed in a direction toward the user position;
• a belt speed sensor configured to directly measure a linear speed of the upper surface of the endless belt, wherein the linear speed of the upper surface of the endless belt is substantially synchronized with a defined belt speed on a unit-to-unit basis;
• and
• a fan controller in communication with the belt speed sensor and with the fan, wherein the fan controller is configured to control the air speed by adjusting a rotational speed of the fan in response to an input signal from the belt speed sensor such that the air speed at the user position is substantially synchronized with the defined belt speed on a unit-to-unit basis, wherein the input signal from the belt speed sensor corresponds to the defined belt speed.