Systems and methods for reducing runaway resistance on an exercise device
A treadmill may include a deck, a first pulley incorporated into the deck, a second pulley incorporated into the deck, a tread belt surrounding the first pulley and the second pulley, a motor in mechanical communication with at least one of the first pulley and the second pulley to move the tread belt in a first direction, and a runaway mitigation mechanism in at least indirect mechanical communication with the motor. The runaway mitigation mechanism at least mitigates a motor runaway condition.
1. A computing system for runaway mitigation, comprising:
memory and a processor, the memory including instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
determine that a motor generates more electricity than the motor consumes;
based on the detection, determine a runaway condition of the motor of a treadmill; and
apply an active runaway mitigation mechanism to reduce a load on the motor and mitigate the runaway condition.
2. The computing system of claim 1 , wherein, when the instructions cause the processor to apply the active runaway mitigation mechanism, the instructions cause the processor to apply a magnetic braking force to a drive shaft of the motor.
3. The computing system of claim 2 , wherein, when the instructions cause the processor to apply a magnetic braking force to the drive shaft of the motor, the instructions cause the processor to move a magnetic unit closer to the drive shaft to resist rotation of the drive shaft.
4. The computing system of claim 1 , wherein, when the instructions cause the processor to apply the active runaway mitigation mechanism, the instructions cause the processor to apply a compression brake to a drive shaft of the motor.
5. The computing system of claim 4 , wherein, when the instructions cause the processor to apply the compression brake to the drive shaft of the motor, the instructions cause the processor to move a first pad and a second pad to opposing sides of the drive shaft to resist rotation of the drive shaft.
6. The computing system of claim 1 , wherein, when the instructions cause the processor to apply the active runaway mitigation mechanism, the instructions cause the processor to activate a cooling fan.
7. The computing system of claim 6 , wherein the cooling fan is configured to direct air over a dump resistor connected to the motor.
8. The computing system of claim 1 , wherein, when the instructions cause the processor to determine a runaway condition, the instructions cause the processor to determine if electricity is being generated by the motor.
9. The computing system of claim 1 , wherein, when the instructions cause the processor to determine a runaway condition, the instructions cause the processor to measure a dump resistor temperature, and wherein, if the dump resistor temperature is greater than a baseline temperature, then the instructions may cause the processor to determine that the runaway condition exists.
10. The computing system of claim 1 , wherein, when the instructions cause the processor to determine a runaway condition, the instructions cause the processor to determine the runaway condition exists if an incline of an exercise deck is above an incline threshold.
11. A computing system for runaway mitigation, comprising:
an incline determiner configured to determine an incline angle of a treadmill deck of a treadmill; and
memory and a processor, the memory including instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
receive the incline angle from the incline determiner;
based at least in part on the incline angle, determine that a runaway condition exists; and
apply an active runaway mitigation mechanism to reduce a load on a motor of the treadmill and mitigate the runaway condition.
12. The computing system of claim 11 , wherein, when the instructions cause the processor to determine that a runaway condition exists, the determination is based at least in part on a weight of a user.
13. The computing system of claim 12 , wherein, when the instructions cause the processor to determine that a runaway condition exists, the instructions cause the processor to determine a runaway condition threshold angle based on the weight of the user.
14. The computing system of claim 13 , wherein, when the instructions cause the processor to determine that a runaway condition exists, the instructions cause the processor to determine the runaway condition threshold angle based on a belt speed of a tread belt on the treadmill deck.
15. The computing system of claim 11 , further comprising a belt speed determiner configured to determine a belt speed of a tread belt, and wherein, when the instructions cause the processor to determine that a runaway condition exists, the determination is based at least in part on the belt speed.
16. A computing system for runaway mitigation, comprising:
a resistance determiner configured to determine a resistance load on a motor of a treadmill;
memory and a processor, the memory including instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
receive the resistance load from the resistance determiner;
based on the resistance load being greater than a motor resistance on the motor, determine that a runaway condition exists; and
apply an active mitigation mechanism to reduce a load on the motor and mitigate the runaway condition.
17. The computing system of claim 16 , wherein the resistance determiner receives input from an incline determiner to determine the resistance load, and wherein, when the instructions cause the processor to determine that a runaway condition exists, the instructions cause the processor to determine that a runaway condition exists if an incline angle received from the incline determiner is greater than a threshold incline angle.
18. The computing system of claim 16 , wherein the resistance determiner receives input from a speed determiner configured to determine a belt speed of a tread belt on the treadmill.
19. The computing system of claim 18 , wherein the resistance determiner compares the determined belt speed with an input belt speed of the treadmill to determine the resistance load.
20. The computing system of claim 16 , wherein the resistance determiner determines the resistance load based on a dump resistor temperature of a dump resister.