US 5,385,519 · Granted 1995-01-31
The 1995 Treadmill That Tried to Give You Virtual Reality
Imagine a treadmill that tilts up and down automatically while you run, and a head-mounted screen shows you different scenery and sounds to make your workout feel like you're running through a forest or up a mountain. This patent from 1995 combined a motorized belt, four hydraulic lifts, and a wearable display to create an immersive running experience before VR headsets were even a thing.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The patent covers a treadmill system where an endless belt runs around motorized rollers, and four independently controlled lifts can tilt the running platform at different angles. A computer program on disk controls both the belt speed and the lift positions based on pre-programmed running scenarios. The claim also extends to the wearable visual-acoustic mask—a screen and speaker mounted on the user's head—that displays images and sounds matching the terrain simulation. What's protected here is the specific combination of motorized incline control, belt drive, computer program interface, and head-mounted display all working together as one system.
Why it matters
This patent represents an early vision of what fitness technology could become: combining physical challenge with mental immersion. Filed in 1994 and granted in 1995, it predates modern VR fitness by more than two decades. While it didn't become a commercial blockbuster, the patent's approach of using software-controlled terrain simulation and wearable displays foreshadowed concepts that later companies like Peloton and others would revisit with modern technology. The patent shows how inventors were already thinking about making indoor exercise more engaging through digital storytelling.
Real-world use
When you use a modern connected treadmill that adjusts incline based on a video workout program you're watching on a tablet, you're running on the same conceptual foundation this 1995 patent laid out—physical terrain simulation paired with visual feedback.
Original USPTO abstract
A running machine is provided. The machine includes a base consisting of a flat upper plate and flat lower plate, a plurality of roller shafts provided laterally and spaced above the upper plate. An endless belt moves around the roller shafts by means of a motor. Four lifts are provided between the upper plate and the lower plate at the respective four corners thereof, to incline the upper plate. A computer for controlling the motor and the lifts is also provided. The computer controls the motor and lifts according to a program provided on a disk recorded with a program of various conditions of a rod. A visual-acoustic mask is connected to the computer, and includes a screen and a speaker to present images and sounds according to the program to a user wearing the mask while running on the belt for exercise.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 5,385,519
- Filing date
- 1994-04-19
- Grant date
- 1995-01-31
- Assignee
- Hsu; Chi-Hsueh / Shyu; Chih-Yes / Shyu; Jong-Yes
- Inventor(s)
- HSU; CHI-HSUEH, SHYU; CHIH-YES, SHYU; JONG-YES
- CPC class
- A63B22/0023
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