Belt and deck assembly for an exercise treadmill

Abstract

A treadmill (10) having a belt (12) and deck (14) with a relatively long, useful lifetime is disclosed. The belt of this assembly has a tread layer (54) formed of PVC plastic or other material that serves as the layer of the belt upon which a person actually steps, and a fabric layer (62). The fabric layer has weft threads (64) that extend laterally across the belt and that are substantially embedded in the plastic material and warp threads (66) that extend longitudinally along the belt that have exposed sections that extend outside of the plastic material. The fabric layer is woven so that the exposed sections of the warp threads are equal to at least 50% of their overall length. The deck of this treadmill is formed with a plywood substrate (70) and a wax-embedded hardboard (72). The substrate provides structural support for the hardboard and the persons using this treadmill. The hardboard serves as the surface along which the belt rides when a person steps on the treadmill.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.