IN-LINE SKATE

Abstract

An in-line skate comprises a plurality of replaceable rollers, a skate frame, and a shoe body. The skate frame includes a pair of lateral blades and at least a connecting plate that fixedly fastens the lateral blades parallel to each other. The shoe body further is fixedly attached on the connecting plate. Each lateral blade includes a plurality of roller-mount through holes distributed into a plurality of hole-sets. Each hole-set corresponds to a specific mounting configuration of the rollers to the corresponded through holes, and the hole-sets are distinct from one another by not having at least one common through hole. The in-line skate is thereby suitable for diversified types of skating practice such as leisure skating, hockey skating, and figure skating.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwanese application serial no. 91201485, filed on Feb. 7, 2002.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The invention relates generally to an in-line skate and, more particularly, an in-line skate structure suitable for different types of skating practices.

[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0005] In-line skating recently has become popular, and now is an officially recognized sport with official sportive associations. As it gains public's interest, in-line skating also has diversified in many forms from a simple leisure practice to specific hockey skating or figure skating. Each specific practice of in-line skating usually requires different adequate equipment. For example, hockey skating is practiced with a pair of specific in-line skates that differs from those of figure skating or leisure skating. Therefore, a user who wants to have diversified practices of in-line skating usually has to purchase more than one pair of in-line skates, which is not economic and further needs a relatively large storage space.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

[0006] An aspect of the invention is therefore to provide an in-line skate structure that allows multi-mounting configurations of the rollers so that the in-line skate is suitable for diversified practices of in-line skating such as leisure skating, hockey skating and figure skating.

[0007] To accomplish the above and other objectives, an in-line skate of the invention comprises a plurality of replaceable rollers, a skate frame, and a shoe body. The skate frame includes a pair of lateral blades and at least a connecting plate that fixedly fastens the lateral blades parallel to each other. The shoe body further is fixedly attached on the connecting plate. Each lateral blade includes a plurality of through holes distributed into a plurality of hole-sets. Each hole-set corresponds to a specific mounting configuration of the rollers to the corresponded through holes, and the hole-sets are distinct from one another by not having at least one common through hole. The in-line skate is thereby suitable for diversified types of skating such as leisure skating, hockey skating, and figure skating.

[0008] According to one embodiment, to obtain different mounting configurations of the rollers, the through holes are arranged differently in height from one hole-set to another hole-set, and/or the hole inter-distance between the through holes is different from one hole-set to another hole-set.

[0009] It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary, and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0010] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings,

[0011] FIG. 1 is a schematic side view illustrating an in-line skate according to an embodiment of the invention;

[0012] FIG. 2 is a schematic side view illustrating an in-line skate where the rollers are mounted to the first hole-set of the lateral blades according to an embodiment of the invention;

[0013] FIG. 3 is a schematic top view of FIG. 2;

[0014] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the section IV-IV of FIG. 2;

[0015] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the section V-V of FIG. 2;

[0016] FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 are cross-sectional views illustrating a variation of the lateral blades shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5;

[0017] FIG. 8 is a schematic side view illustrating an in-line skate where the rollers are mounted to the second hole-set of the lateral blades according to an embodiment of the invention; and

[0018] FIG. 9 is a schematic side view illustrating an in-line skate where the rollers are mounted to the third hole-set of the lateral blades according to an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] The following detailed description of the embodiments and examples of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings is only illustrative and not limiting. Furthermore, wherever possible in the description, the same reference symbols will refer to similar elements and parts unless otherwise illustrated in the drawings.

[0020] Referring to FIG. 1, a schematic view illustrates an embodiment of an in-line skate of the invention. The in-line skate comprises a plurality of replaceable rollers 100, a skate frame 102, and a shoe body 104 fixedly fastened on the skate frame 102. The attachment of the shoe body 104 to the skate frame 102 may be achieved according to conventional manners, such as by rivets, for example.

[0021] FIG. 2 through FIG. 5 schematically illustrate the structure of the skate frame with greater details. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the skate frame 102 includes a pair of lateral blades 106 and connecting plates 108, 110. The lateral blades 106 are fixedly positioned parallel to each other via fixedly fastening with the connecting plates 108, 110. The shoe body 104 further is fixedly attached on the connecting plates 108, 110. Although this embodiment illustrates the use of two connecting plates, it should be understood that a single or more connecting plate may be used to similarly attach the lateral blades 106. The lateral blades may be made of any adequate materials, such as, for example, an alloy of aluminum that has the advantage of being lightweight. Furthermore, it is possible to design a profile of the lateral blades that slightly protrudes outwardly, as illustrated in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7. When the user slides with the in-line skate, the curvature of the formed protrusions 107, 109 thereby produces a dazzling effect by light reflection.

[0022] Furthermore, the height of a rear portion 106b of each lateral blade 106 may be set greater than that of a front portion 106a, so that the user does not need to add shoe-pads in the shoe body 104.

[0023] As illustrated in FIG. 2, each lateral blade 106 includes a plurality of through holes for mounting the rollers 100 along the lateral blade 106. The through holes are distributed into a plurality of hole-sets that are distinct from one another by not having at least one common through hole. Furthermore, the arrangement of the through holes in each hole-set corresponds to a specific mounting configuration of the rollers 100, and differs from one another in respect of various parameters. In the illustrated embodiments, this difference principally lies in the hole inter-distance between the through holes of each hole-set, the height of the through holes, the number of through holes, etc. Through a design where the through holes are differently located, the user thereby can adjust as desired the characteristics and configurations of the in-line skate by, for example, further mounting rollers of different radii and/or a brake pad to the lateral blades 106. In FIG. 2, an embodiment of the invention includes five hole-sets. A first hole-set includes through holes 51, 53, 57, 61, and 63. A second hole-set includes through holes 51, 55, 60, and 65. A third hole-set includes through holes 51, 54, 58, 62, and 64, 65. A fourth hole-set includes through holes 51, 56, 62, and 64, 65. A fifth hole-set includes through holes 52, 55, 59, and 63.

[0024] Reference is made to FIG. 1 to particularly describe the configuration of the first hole-set according to an embodiment of the invention. The first hole-set includes the through holes 51, 53, 57, 61, and 63, and the- hole inter-distance between the through holes uniformly is d1, between about 5.95 cm and 6.95 cm, preferably 6.45 cm. Five rollers 100 are mounted to the lateral blades 106 via Allen screws 70 respectively engaging through the through holes. Being provided with five rollers 100, the in-line skate is particularly suitable for speed racing. The rollers 100 preferably have a same diameter, preferably 6.2 cm.

[0025] Reference now is made to FIG. 8 to particularly describe the configuration of the second hole-set according to an embodiment of the invention. The second hole-set includes the through holes 51, 55, 60, and 65, and the hole inter-distance between the through holes uniformly is d2, between about 8.8 cm and 9.8 cm, preferably 9.3 cm. Four rollers 112, 114, 116, and 118 are respectively mounted to the lateral blades 106 via Allen screws 70 respectively engaging through the through holes 51, 55, 60, and 65. Different roller diameters may be implemented for the rollers 112,114, 116, and 118. For example, the rollers are arranged according to their decreasing diameter from the rear end to the front end of the shoe body 104. This configuration is particularly suitable for hockey skating. In the illustrated example, the roller 112 preferably has a diameter of about 8 cm, the roller 114 about 7.6 cm, the roller 116 about 7.2 cm, and the roller 118 about 6.8 cm. Alternatively, all the rollers may have a same diameter, for example, about 8 cm (particularly suitable for leisure practice).

[0026] Reference is made to FIG. 9 to particularly describe the configuration of the third hole-set according to an embodiment of the invention. The hole inter-distance between the through holes 51, 54, 58, and 62 of the third hole set uniformly is d3, between about 6.7 cm and 7.7 cm, preferably 7.2 cm. Four rollers 120, 122, 124, and 126 are respectively mounted via the through holes 51, 54, 58, and 62 to the lateral blades 106, and a brake pad 128 is mounted to the through holes 64, 65. Two through holes 64, 65 therefore are particularly used to secure the mount of the brake pad 128. As illustrated, the through holes 54, 58 are particularly aligned with an axis P2 that is slightly lower about 2 mm to 6 mm, preferably 3 mm, than an axis P1 of the other through holes. The third hole-set therefore differs from the other ones in that the rollers are mounted at different heights of the corresponding through holes, while the other hole-sets have the through holes approximately aligned at a same height. The mount of rollers with different diameters further forms a curved contact line 130 of the rollers, which is particularly suitable for performing acrobatic figures such as rotations or jumps in figure skating. According to an embodiment, the roller 120 has a diameter of about 7 cm, the roller 122 about 7 cm, the roller 124 about 7 cm, and the roller 126 about 7.2 cm.

[0027] Referring to FIG. 2, the hole inter-distance between the through holes 51, 56, and 62 of the fourth hole-set uniformly is d4, between about 10.3 cm and 11.3 cm, preferably 10.8 cm. The through holes 64 and 65 are used to attach a brake pad (not shown). Rollers of a similar diameter, for example 7.2 cm, are further mounted through the through holes 51, 56, and 62 (not shown). This configuration is particularly suitable for occasional leisure skating provided with a braking function.

[0028] The hole inter-distance between the through holes 52, 55, 59, and 63 of the fifth hole-set uniformly is d5, between about 7.7 cm and 8.7 cm, preferably 8.2 cm. Rollers of a similar diameter, for example 8 cm, are mounted through the through holes 52, 55, 59, and 63 (not shown). This configuration is suitable for leisure skating.

[0029] Alternatively, rollers respectively with diameters of 8 cm, 7.6 cm, 7.2 cm, and 6.8 cm are respectively mounted to the through holes 52, 55, 59, and 63 to particularly adapt the in-line skate to hockey skating.

[0030] The following Table 1 summarizes the above characteristics of the in-line skate according to the different characteristics of the in-line skate of the invention. 1 TABLE 1 Through hole Roller-mount inter-distance Through hole hole-set No. (cm) No. Roller diameter (cm) Characteristic 1 6.45 51 6.2 Speed racing 53 57 61 63 2 9.3 51 8 Hockey skating 55 7.6 60 7.2 65 6.8 51 8.0 Leisure skating 55 60 65 3 7.2 51 7.0 Figure skating 54 7.0 58 7.0 62 7.2 64 Brake pad 65 4 10.8 51 7.2 Leisure skating + 56 brake pad 62 64 Brake pad 65 5 8.2 52 8.0 Leisure skating 55 59 63 52 8.0 Hockey skating 55 7.6 59 7.2 63 6.8

[0031] As described above, the invention therefore provides an in-line skate that includes, but is not limited to, about 15 through holes distributed according to about 4 to 6 hole-sets of through holes respectively corresponding to different roller-mounting configurations. Although the above number of through holes is not particularly restrictive, the invention however provides about 10 to 20, preferably 15 through holes, to maintain a proper mechanical resistance of the skate frame. Furthermore, the number of through holes per hole-set is not limited to the above-described examples, and may be as desired in accordance with the diameter and number of rollers to be mounted.

[0032] By comprising several hole-sets of through holes for mounting the rollers, the single in-line skate of the invention therefore advantageously allows multi-mounting configurations of the rollers in accordance with different types of skating practice. The same in-line skate therefore can be used to practice different types of skating activities.

[0033] According to the embodiments of the invention, the hole-sets differ from one another by the hole inter-distance between their respective through holes and the position of the through holes at different heights.

[0034] It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that other structures that are obtained from various modifications and variations of different parts of the above-described structures of the invention would be possible without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as illustrated herein. Therefore, the above description of embodiments and examples only illustrates specific ways of making and performing the invention that, consequently, should cover variations and modifications thereof, provided they fall within the inventive concepts as defined in the following claims.

Claims

1. An in-line skate, comprising:

a plurality of replaceable rollers;

a skate frame, including a pair of lateral blades and at least a connecting plate that fixedly fastens the lateral blades parallel to each other, wherein each lateral blade includes a plurality of through holes distributed into a plurality of distinct hole-sets for mounting the rollers according to different mounting configurations; and

a shoe body, fixedly attached on the skate frame.

2. The in-line skate of claim 1, wherein the amount of the through holes on each lateral blade is about 10 to 20.

3. The in-line skate of claim 1, wherein each hole-set comprises about 4 to 6 through holes.

4. The in-line skate of claim 1, wherein the lateral blades respectively terminate in a relatively higher rear portion and a relatively lower front portion.

5. An in-line skate comprising:

a plurality of replaceable rollers;

a skate frame, including a pair of lateral blades and at least a connecting plate that fixedly fastens the lateral blades parallel to each other, wherein each lateral blade includes a plurality of through holes distributed into a plurality of distinct hole-sets for mounting the rollers according to different mounting configurations, the through holes being arranged differently in height from one hole-set to another hole-set; and

a shoe body, fixedly attached on the skate frame.

6. The in-line skate of claim 5, wherein the amount of the through holes on each lateral blade is about 10 to 20.

7. The in-line skate of claim 5, wherein each hole-set comprises about 4 to 6 through holes.

8. The in-line skate of claim 5, wherein the lateral blades respectively terminate in a relatively higher rear portion and a relatively lower front portion.

9. An in-line skate comprising:

a plurality of replaceable rollers;

a skate frame, including a pair of lateral blades and at least a connecting plate that fixedly fastens the lateral blades parallel to each other, wherein each lateral blade includes a plurality of through holes distributed into a plurality of distinct hole-sets for mounting the rollers according to different mounting configurations, and the hole inter-distance between the through holes in each hole-set being different from one hole-set to another hole-set; and

a shoe body, fixedly attached on the skate frame.

10. The in-line skate of claim 9, wherein the amount of the through holes on each lateral blade is about 10 to 20.

11. The in-line skate of claim 9, wherein each hole-set comprises about 4 to 6 through holes.

12. The in-line skate of claim 9, wherein the lateral blades respectively terminate in a relatively higher rear portion and a relatively lower front portion.