BELT AND DECK ASSEMBLY FOR AN EXERCISE TREADMILL

摘要

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 o f PVC plastic or other material that serves as the layer of the belt upon which a pers on 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 plas tic material and warp threads (66) that extend longitudinally along the belt that ha ve exposed sections that extend outside of the plastic material. The fabric layer i s woven so that the exposed sections of the warp threads are equal to at least 50% of th eir overall length. The deck of this treadmill is formed with a plywood substrate (7 0) 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 surf ace along which the belt rides when a person steps on the treadmill.