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This invention lies in the field of roller skates and skateboards.
Several designs have been attempted that allow skates to both run on a curved path under control of the skater and to improve the “feel” of the skate by absorbing shocks from the skating surface. Examples of these are described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,086,557, U.S. Pat. No. 3,087,739 and the present inventor's published patent application GB 2 416 313 A. Similarly designs have been made for skate boards, for example described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,194,752 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,474,666. These designs have generally been based on support of the wheel axles by resilient means which is constrained to allow movement of the axles upon compression of the resilient means in a direction inclined from the vertical which introduces a component of horizontal movement and hence a steering effect of the axles.
A roller skate or skate board in accordance with this invention is characterized by the assembly of a unit including a rigidly joined axle and pivot, a shock absorber extending co-axially with the pivot and substantially wholly embedding the pivot and a bracket, the bracket mounting the shock absorber and axle and pivot unit on a sole plate of the skate or skateboard with the pivot at an acute angle to the sole plate.
Further in accordance with the invention there is provided an assembly adapted for mounting on a roller skate or skateboard consisting of a unit comprising a rigidly joined axle and pivot, a shock absorber extending co-axially with the pivot and substantially wholly embedding the pivot and a bracket.
Generally there will be two such assemblies in a skate or skateboard, one for a front axle and the other for a rear axle, which will provide a steering effect on both axles, however, the invention may be implemented with only one such assembly.
The assembly may conveniently be mounted on a sole plate for the skate but alternatively the bracket may be mounted directly to a sole of a boot of the roller skate or a sole plate may be incorporated in the boot.
In accordance with one embodiment of the invention a pair of side plates are added to the assembly, designed to hold the shock absorber with embedded axle and pivot unit in the bracket. The side plates may have flanges to enhance their holding action.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention dual side plates are provided that span between two assemblies, each assembly being of a unit comprising a rigidly joined axle and pivot, a shock absorber extending co-axially with the pivot and substantially wholly embedding the pivot and a bracket, each bracket mounting the shock absorber and axle and pivot unit.
In accordance with another embodiment of the invention the bracket may have a split that allows the bracket to be partially opened to facilitate insertion of the shock absorber with embedded axle and pivot unit with a bolt to then close the split.
In accordance with another embodiment of the invention the bracket mounts an upper region of the shock absorber with embedded axle and pivot unit with a lower bracket mounting a lower region of the shock absorber with embedded axle and pivot unit, the bracket and lower bracket fixed to the sole plate of the skate or skateboard.
In accordance with another embodiment of the invention a dual lower bracket is provided that spans between two assemblies, each assembly being of a unit comprising a rigidly joined axle and pivot, a shock absorber extending co-axially with the pivot and substantially wholly embedding the pivot and a bracket, each bracket mounting the shock absorber and axle and pivot unit on a sole plate of the skate or skateboard with the pivot at an acute angle to the sole plate and the dual lower bracket mounting the lower regions of the shock absorber and axle and pivot unit.
In accordance with a still further embodiment of the invention two brackets are integrally formed as one component forming also the sole plate, each bracket mounting a shock absorber and axle and pivot unit with the pivot at an acute angle to the sole plate.
The assembly may incorporate a brake pad or provision for attachment of a brake pad.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention the unit including an axle and pivot also incorporates a flange oriented orthogonally to an axis of the pivot.
The pivot may be formed as a solid rod, a tube or a folded sheet metal.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an assembly for mounting on a skate,
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the assembly shown in FIG. 1 with the parts separated,
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a dual assembly for mounting on a skate,
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the assembly shown in FIG. 3 with the parts separated,
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of another assembly for mounting on a skate,
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the assembly shown in FIG. 5 with the parts separated,
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of another dual assembly for mounting on a skate, shown with some of the parts separated,
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the assembly shown in FIG. 7 with some of the parts separated,
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of another dual assembly for mounting on a skate,
FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the assembly shown in FIG. 9 with some of the parts separated,
FIG. 11 is a perspective view of another dual assembly for mounting on a skate,
FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the assembly shown in FIG. 11, with some of the parts separated,
FIG. 11A is a perspective view of another dual assembly for mounting on a skate,
FIG. 12A is a perspective view of the assembly shown in FIG. 11A, with some of the parts separated,
FIG. 13 is a perspective view of another dual assembly for mounting on a skate,
FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the assembly shown in FIG. 13 with some of the parts separated,
FIGS. 15 to 18 are perspective views showing parts of the assembly shown in FIGS. 13 and 14,
FIG. 19 is a perspective view of another dual assembly shown mounted on a skate,
FIG. 20 is a perspective view of the assembly shown in FIG. 19 with some of the parts separated,
FIGS. 21 and 22 are perspective views showing the steering effect of the assembly on a skate.
FIG. 1 shows an assembly of a unit “A” including a rigidly joined axle 6 and pivot 5, a shock absorber 2 extending co-axially with the pivot and substantially wholly embedding the pivot, a bracket 1 and the unit including the axle 6 and pivot 5 also incorporates a flange 4 oriented orthogonally to the axis of the pivot.
FIG. 2 shows the separated parts of the assembly, the axle and pivot are made of a high strength metal such as a suitable grade of steel, the shock absorber is a resilient material such as a natural or synthetic rubber such as a butadiene polymer or a suitable grade of polyurethane etc and the bracket may be cast from a light alloy such as an aluminium alloy or a suitable hard and shock resistant polymer or engineering plastic such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrenes, polycarbonates or polyamides. The assembly is achieved by pushing the shock absorber into the recess 7 of the bracket and then the pivot is inserted into the bore 2a of the shock absorber until the axle slides over the protrusions 8 of the bracket.
The bracket is to be mounted on a sole plate of a roller skate or a skateboard with the pivot at an acute angle to the sole plate (a sole plate is shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, for example).
The assembly may conveniently be mounted on a sole plate for the skate but alternatively the bracket may be mounted directly to a sole of a boot of the roller skate or a sole plate may be incorporated in the boot, an example is shown in FIGS. 19 and 20.
FIG. 3 shows an assembly and FIG. 4 the separated parts which are similar to those shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and the same reference numerals are used for these. The differences are that the bracket 11 does not have the protrusions 8 and instead bolts 9 hold a pair of side plates 10 to the brackets 11, designed to hold the shock absorber 13 with embedded axle 2 and pivot 3 in the bracket. The side plates have flanges 10a to enhance their holding action. Another difference is that the pivot 3 instead of being formed as a solid rod is formed as a folded sheet metal and the flange 14 has minor differences from the flange 4. (In the view of FIG. 3 the shock absorber and embedded axle and pivot are not shown assembled for illustration value). The side plates span between two assemblies, and thus also set the two assemblies ready for mounting at the surfaces 11a of the brackets to a sole plate or sole of a roller skate boot. The recess 12 in each bracket set the acute angle of the pivot to the plane in which the surfaces 11a of the brackets lie and the plane of the sole plate/boot sole. The angle faces one way in one bracket and the other in the other bracket so that the axles turn in opposite directions when the skater leans into a turn and flexes the sole into the turn.
FIG. 5 shows an assembly and FIG. 6 the separated parts where the bracket 17 has a split 18 that allows the bracket to be partially opened to facilitate insertion of the shock absorber 15 with embedded axle 6 and pivot 5 unit with a bolt 21 to then close the split. Other parts are the flange 19 and protrusions 20.
FIGS. 7 and 8 show a sole plate 22a that has a web 22 with mounting formations 22b for mounting upper brackets 26 formed to mount an upper region of the shock absorber 23 at each end, with embedded axle 6 and pivot 5 and a lower bracket 25 mounting a lower region of the shock absorber. The upper brackets are held by screws 25a and the lower brackets by screws 26a. Pivot and axle unit is indicated by numeral 24.
FIGS. 9 and 10 show a dual lower bracket 33 that spans between two assemblies, each assembly being of the unit comprising the rigidly, joined axle 29 and pivot 30, a shock absorber 27 and the dual lower bracket 31a mounting the lower regions of the shock absorbers and axle and pivot units. The view also shows a sole plate 32 that has permanently fixed to it brackets 31 which receive the shock absorbers 27. Bolts 33a pass through the lower brackets, through spacers 27a and plates 32a. The pivot in this example is in the form of a tube. The shock absorber has a split 28 to allow it to be stretched onto the axle and pivot. The web of the lower bracket 33 serves as a grind plate for sliding over obstacles.
FIGS. 11 and 12 shows two brackets integrally formed as one component 34 forming also the sole plate surface 40, each bracket mounting a shock absorber 34a and axle and pivot units 38 and 39 with the pivot at an acute angle to the sole plate. A dual lower bracket 35 spans between two assemblies and is bolted by bolts 36. The bolts 36 screw into Tee nuts 37 which are used to securely attach the boot to the sole plate.
FIGS. 11A and 12A show the brackets 34 as separate though held together by the lower bracket 35. These figures also show a brake pad 48 with hole 16 through it.
FIGS. 13 and 14 show another arrangement of an assembly of a unit including a rigidly joined axle and pivot, a shock absorber extending co-axially with the pivot and substantially wholly embedding the pivot and a bracket 41. The arrangement also has the sole plate 45 with small blocks 44 and dual lower bracket 42 with U-bolts 43 that hold the sole plate, brackets and lower bracket together with shock absorbers and axle and pivot units incorporated. The design also has a brake pad 46 provided by a modified bracket.
FIGS. 15 to 18 show the brake pad arrangement, the pad 46 has grooves 50 that engage with ridges 49 of the modified bracket 47, with a clip 51 to secure the connection by clipping into a recess 52.
FIGS. 19 and 20 show a roller skate (the wheels are omitted to facilitate illustration) where brackets 54 are attached to a sole plate 56 by bolts 53 which hold a dual lower bracket 55. The shock absorbers and axle and pivot units are incorporated in the assembly.
FIGS. 21 and 22 illustrate the turning action of the skates, the wheels 57 and 58 turn relative to the skate 56 producing a turn as indicated by the arrow 59.