Treadmill belt

Abstract

An endless treadmill includes a bottom-ply fabric that at least partially forms a bottom surface of the belt that is for sliding across a treadmill deck. The bottom-ply fabric has warp yarns that at least partially form the bottom surface of the belt, with a large number of these warp yarns, and preferably all of these warp yarns, being less than about 1000 denier, or more preferably about 500 denier or smaller. In addition, the warp yarns that at least partially form the bottom surface of the belt are twisted about 2.5 complete turns per inch, or less. A solid lubricant composition is preferably impregnated in the bottom-ply fabric. The solid lubricant composition includes a wax mixture and it optionally further includes a lower viscosity lubricant, such as silicone. The wax mixture may include a vegetable wax and a mineral wax, such as a mixture of paraffin wax and carnauba wax.

That which is claimed:  
     
         1 . An endless treadmill belt for extending in a longitudinal direction around and traveling relative to a deck, the belt comprising: 
 a fabric that at least partially forms a bottom surface of the belt and is for sliding across the deck, with the fabric including a plurality of weft yarns extending in a lateral direction that is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and a plurality of warp yarns extending in the longitudinal direction for slidingly engaging the deck, wherein each warp yarn of the plurality of warp yarns is less than about 1000 denier, and    an at least substantially solid lubricant is impregnated in the fabric and at least partially forming the bottom surface of the belt.    
     
     
         2 . An endless treadmill belt according to  claim 1 , wherein the lubricant includes carnauba wax.  
     
     
         3 . An endless treadmill belt according to  claim 2 , wherein the lubricant is a lubricant composition and the carnauba wax is present within the lubricant composition in amounts ranging from about 30 weight percent to about 70 weight percent.  
     
     
         4 . An endless treadmill belt according to  claim 1 , wherein the lubricant includes a wax mixture.  
     
     
         5 . An endless treadmill belt according to  claim 4 , wherein the wax mixture includes at least one vegetable wax and at least one mineral wax.  
     
     
         6 . An endless treadmill belt according to  claim 5 , wherein the vegetable wax is selected from the group consisting of carnauba wax, candelilla wax, bayberry wax and wax derived from sugar cane.  
     
     
         7 . An endless treadmill belt according to  claim 5 , wherein the vegetable wax is present within the lubricant composition in an amount of about 50 weight percent.  
     
     
         8 . An endless treadmill belt according to  claim 5 , wherein the vegetable wax is present within the lubricant composition in an amount of about 36 weight percent.  
     
     
         9 . An endless treadmill belt according to  claim 5 , wherein the mineral wax is selected from the group consisting of earth waxes and petroleum waxes.  
     
     
         10 . An endless treadmill belt according to  claim 5 , wherein the mineral wax is paraffin wax.  
     
     
         11 . An endless treadmill belt according to  claim 5 , wherein the mineral wax is present within the lubricant composition in amounts ranging from about 30 weight percent to about 70 weight percent.  
     
     
         12 . An endless treadmill belt according to  claim 5 , wherein the mineral wax is present within the lubricant composition in an amount of about 50 weight percent.  
     
     
         13 . An endless treadmill belt according to  claim 5 , wherein the mineral wax is present within the lubricant composition in an amount of about 35 weight percent.  
     
     
         14 . An endless treadmill belt according to  claim 1 , wherein the lubricant is a lubricant composition which includes at least one higher viscosity lubricant and at least one lower viscosity lubricant, with the higher viscosity lubricant having a higher viscosity than the lower viscosity lubricant, and the lubricant composition being a substantially uniformly dispersed mixture.  
     
     
         15 . An endless treadmill belt according to  claim 14 , wherein the lower viscosity lubricant is selected from the group of silicones, mineral oils, polyglycols and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         16 . An endless treadmill belt according to  claim 14 , wherein the lower viscosity lubricant includes a silicone lubricant.  
     
     
         17 . An endless treadmill belt according to  claim 14 , wherein the lower viscosity lubricant is present in the lubricant composition in an amount ranging from about 20 weight percent to about 40 weight percent.  
     
     
         18 . An endless treadmill belt according to  claim 1 , wherein each warp yarn of the plurality of warp yarns is about 500 denier or smaller.  
     
     
         19 . An endless treadmill belt according to  claim 1 , wherein each warp yarn of the plurality of warp yarns is twisted, with each warp yarn of the plurality of warp yarns being twisted less than about 2.5 complete turns per inch.  
     
     
         20 . An endless treadmill belt according to  claim 19 , wherein each warp yarn of the plurality of warp yarns is about 500 denier or smaller.  
     
     
         21 . An endless treadmill belt according to  claim 1 , wherein each warp yarn of the plurality of warp yarns is twisted within a range of about 1.5 to about 2.0 complete turns per inch.  
     
     
         22 . An endless treadmill belt according to  claim 21 , wherein each warp yarn of the plurality of warp yarns is about 500 denier or smaller.  
     
     
         23 . An endless treadmill belt according to  claim 1 , wherein the belt is in combination with and extends around the deck, and the combination further comprises: 
 a frame to which the deck is mounted;    a pulley rotatably mounted to the frame and around which the belt extends, with the pulley carrying the belt; and    a motor mounted to the frame and operative for causing the belt to travel relative to the deck, so that the bottom surface of the belt slides across an upper surface of the deck.    
     
     
         24 . An endless treadmill belt for extending in a longitudinal direction around and traveling relative to a deck, the belt comprising: 
 a fabric that at least partially forms a bottom surface of the belt and is for sliding across the deck, with the fabric including a plurality of weft yarns extending in a lateral direction that is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and a plurality of warp yarns extending in the longitudinal direction for slidingly engaging the deck, wherein each warp yarn of the plurality of warp yarns is twisted, with each warp yarn of the plurality of warp yarns being twisted less than about 2.5 complete turns per inch, and    an at least substantially solid lubricant is impregnated in the fabric and at least partially forming the bottom surface of the belt.    
     
     
         25 . An endless treadmill belt according to  claim 24 , wherein the lubricant is a lubricant composition having at least one vegetable wax and at least one mineral wax.  
     
     
         26 . An endless treadmill belt according to  claim 25 , wherein the vegetable wax includes carnuaba wax.  
     
     
         27 . An endless treadmill belt according to  claim 25 , wherein the vegetable wax is present within the lubricant composition in amounts ranging from about 30 weight percent to about 70 weight percent.  
     
     
         28 . An endless treadmill belt according to  claim 25 , wherein the mineral wax is a petroleum wax selected from the group consisting of paraffin wax and microcrystalline wax.  
     
     
         29 . An endless treadmill belt according to  claim 25 , wherein the mineral wax includes paraffin wax.  
     
     
         30 . An endless treadmill belt according to  claim 25 , wherein the mineral wax is present within the lubricant composition in amounts ranging from about 30 to 70 weight percent.  
     
     
         31 . An endless treadmill belt according to  claim 24 , wherein the lubricant is a lubricant composition which includes at least one higher viscosity lubricant and at least one lower viscosity lubricant, with the higher viscosity lubricant having a higher viscosity than the lower viscosity lubricant.  
     
     
         32 . An endless treadmill belt according to  claim 31  wherein the lower viscosity lubricant includes silicone lubricant.  
     
     
         33 . An endless treadmill belt according to  claim 31 , wherein the lower viscosity lubricant is present in the lubricant composition in an amount ranging from about 20 weight percent to about 40 weight percent.  
     
     
         34 . An endless treadmill belt according to  claim 24 , wherein each warp yarn of the plurality of warp yarns is twisted within a range of about 1.5 to about 2.0 complete turns per inch.  
     
     
         35 . An endless treadmill belt for extending in a longitudinal direction around and traveling relative to a deck, the belt comprising: 
 a fabric that at least partially forms a bottom surface of the belt and is for sliding across the deck, and    an at least substantially solid lubricant composition impregnated in the fabric and at least partially forming the bottom surface of the belt, wherein the lubricant composition is a substantially uniformly dispersed mixture including wax and no more than about 40 weight percent of a silicone lubricant.    
     
     
         36 . An endless treadmill belt according to  claim 35 , wherein the fabric includes a plurality of weft yarns extending in a lateral direction that is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and a plurality of warp yarns extending in the longitudinal direction for slidingly engaging the deck, and wherein each warp yarn of the plurality of warp yarns is less than about 1000 denier.  
     
     
         37 . An endless treadmill belt according to  claim 35 , wherein the fabric includes a plurality of weft yarns extending in a lateral direction that is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and a plurality of warp yarns extending in the longitudinal direction for slidingly engaging the deck, and wherein each warp yarn of the plurality of warp yarns is twisted, with each warp yarn of the plurality of warp yarns being twisted less than about 2.5 complete turns per inch.  
     
     
         38 . An endless treadmill belt for extending in a longitudinal direction around and traveling relative to a deck, the belt comprising: 
 a fabric that at least partially forms a bottom surface of the belt and is for sliding across the deck; and    an at least substantially solid lubricant composition impregnated in the fabric and at least partially forming the bottom surface of the belt, wherein the lubricant composition includes at least one vegetable wax, at least one mineral wax, and at least one silicone lubricant.    
     
     
         39 . An endless treadmill belt according to  claim 38  wherein the vegetable wax includes carnauba wax.  
     
     
         40 . An endless treadmill belt according to  claim 38 , wherein the mineral wax includes paraffin wax.  
     
     
         41 . An endless treadmill belt according to  claim 38 , wherein the lubricant composition mixture includes vegetable wax in an amount ranging from about 30 weight percent to about 40 weight percent, and mineral wax in an amount ranging from about 30 weight percent to about 40 weight percent.  
     
     
         42 . An endless treadmill belt according to  claim 38 , wherein the silicone lubricant makes up no more than about 40 weight percent of the lubricant composition mixture.  
     
     
         43 . An endless treadmill belt according to  claim 38 , wherein the belt is in combination with and extends around the deck, and the combination further comprises: 
 a frame to which the deck is mounted;    a pulley rotatably mounted to the frame and around which the belt extends, with the pulley carrying the belt; and    a motor mounted to the frame and operative for causing the belt to travel relative to the deck, so that the bottom surface of the belt slides across an upper surface of the deck.    
     
     
         44 . A method of manufacturing, comprising: 
 lubricating a belt material by applying a liquid lubricant composition which includes at least one silicone lubricant to the belt material;    drying the liquid lubricant composition to form an at least substantially solid lubricant composition;    then cutting a section from the belt material so that the section includes opposite ends and opposite edges extending between the opposite ends, with the lubricating being carried out so that at least substantially all of a broad surface of the section is impregnated with the at least substantially solid lubricant composition, with the broad surface being substantially contiguous with and spanning between the ends and edges; and    splicing the ends together so that the section is endless and extends around a space, and the first broad surface faces the space.    
     
     
         45 . A method according to  claim 44 , wherein lubricating the belt material includes lubricating a fabric of the belt material, such that the broad surface includes the fabric, and wherein the method further includes encircling a deck with the endless section and driving the endless section with a motor while the endless section is encircling the deck, so that the lubricated fabric slides across the deck.