ROLLER SKATES WITH TRANSVERSE-ORIENTED WHEELS
A roller skate includes a boot and at least a pair of wheels that are mounted to an underside of the boot. The wheels are oriented at an acute or perpendicular angle to the traditional straight ahead longitudinal direction of the boot so that, in use, the user moves at least somewhat laterally when skating. The orientation of the wheels can be adjusted with a lock-down device being used to fix the wheels in a desired orientation.
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The present invention relates generally to roller skates and to wheel mounting arrangements for roller skates.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONRoller skating can be a form of recreation, exercise, sport, and even transportation. Roller skates often come in two varieties including the traditional four wheels set apart in side-by-side pairs, and the inline variety that typically includes three to four wheels aligned in tandem. Roller skates are ordinarily designed for rolling only in the forward and reverse directions that are generally parallel to the longitudinal direction of the user's feet.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccording to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a roller skate that includes a boot and at least a pair of wheel assemblies. The boot has an underside that extends along a longitudinal axis from a back end and to a front end. Each of the wheel assemblies has a wheel and an axle. The wheel assemblies can be positioned in at least a first position in which both of the wheel assemblies are positioned in the same direction with respect to each other, and are positioned nonparallel to the longitudinal axis. During use when the roller skate is in an upright position, the wheels are in contact with a skating surface that is below the roller skate and the wheels rotate about an axis of rotation that is static and that otherwise does not move.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a roller skate that includes a boot having an underside that extends in a longitudinal direction from a back end and to a front end. At least two wheels are mounted to the underside and can be adjusted between at least a first position and a second position. In the first position, the roller skate rolls in a direction that is at a right angle to the longitudinal direction. And in the second position, the roller skate rolls in a direction that is at an acute angle to the longitudinal direction.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided a roller skate that includes a boot, at least two wheel assemblies, and a lock-down device. The boot has an underside that extends in a longitudinal direction from a back end and to a front end. The wheel assemblies are mounted to the underside. Each wheel assembly has a wheel and an axle. During use when the roller skate is in an upright position, the wheels are in contact with the skating surface that lies below the roller skate with the wheels rotating on the axle and about an axis of rotation. The wheel assemblies can be adjusted about an axis of adjustment between at least a first position and a second position. In the first position, both wheel assemblies are directed at a right angle to the longitudinal direction and the axis of rotation is directed in parallel with the longitudinal direction. In the second position, both wheel assemblies are directed in parallel with the longitudinal direction and the axis of rotation is directed at a right angle to the longitudinal direction. The lock-down device allows a user to lock and unlock the wheel assemblies when the wheel assemblies are positioned in the first position or the second position.
One or more preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings, wherein like designations denote like elements, and wherein:
Referring now to the drawings,
The roller skate 10 can be of the side-by-side pair variety, or of the inline variety. Referring now to
The wheel assemblies 14 are mounted to the boot 12 and move the roller skate 10 over a skating surface 26 (shown in
The axle 30 helps support the wheel 32 with the bracket 28, and allows the wheel to rotate about an axis of rotation C. The axle 30 is inserted through openings in the first and second portions 38 and 40, and is inserted through the wheel 32. The axle 30 may include a male member tightened into a female member. The wheel 32 rolls against the skating surface 26 to move the roller skate 10 therealong during use. The wheel 32 may include a center hub portion and a hard rubber tire 42 molded or attached circumferentially around the hub portion. The hub portion may have a center opening that receives the axle 30.
In use, the roller skate 10 allows a user to roll in a direction that is nonparallel to the longitudinal axis A. That is, the roller skate 10 rolls in a direction that is at an angle other than zero degrees to the longitudinal direction, when viewed in a two-dimensional plane similar to the view in
A second exemplary embodiment of a roller skate 110 is shown in
The lock-down device 150 allows a user to lock the wheel assembly 114 in any one of the positions, and to unlock the wheel assembly so that it can be adjusted to another position. Referring to
A cover 164 is connected against the backing plate 156 by the bolt 134 such that it can rotate against and with respect to the backing plate. The cover 164 can be nonmovably attached to a base 136 of a bracket 128 by the bolt 134, a screw, by welding, by adhesion, or the like, such that the bracket does not rotate with respect to the base. The cover 164 has a threaded opening 165 to receive the screw 152, and has a ball housing portion 166 to support the ball 160 and the spring 162. Like the backing plate 156, the cover 164 can be made of a hard plastic, a metal, a metal alloy, or the like.
In other examples, the lock-down device can have other constructions, need not necessarily have all of the components described, and can have additional components. For instance, the lock-down device can have a pair of oppositely positioned wing-screws that tighten down against a backing plate to lock a wheel assembly in a certain position. Also, a spring-biased pin may be inserted into and retracted out of openings for each increment instead of the ball and depressions as described. As yet another example, the cover 164 can include a protrusion having a shape that conforms to the depressions 157-159, so that the detent device need not include the ball 160, spring 162, or their housing 166.
In use, each wheel assembly 114 can be adjusted between the first position, the second position, and the third position. In
To change to the third position as shown in
A third exemplary embodiment of a roller skate 210 is shown in
In use, each wheel assembly 214 can be adjusted to any position about the axis of adjustment E. In
A fourth exemplary embodiment of a roller skate 310 is shown in
The rigid bar 370 connects the wheel assemblies 314 together such that relative adjustment of the wheel assemblies is fixed and rotation of one wheel assembly is translated via the rigid bar to another wheel assembly. The rigid bar 370 can be made out of a hard plastic, a metal, a metal alloy, or the like. Referring to
A lock-down device 350 has a screw 352 and a detent device 354 with a ball and spring. A backing plate 356 forms a first depression 357, a second depression 358, and a third depression 359. The backing plate 356 has an arcuate portion 378 that is cut-out as compared to the backing plates shown and described for the second and third exemplary embodiments. A cover 364 is rotatably connected against the backing plate 356.
In use, each wheel assembly 314 can be adjusted between a first position (
A fifth exemplary embodiment of a roller skate 410 is shown in
In use, the ribbed outer surface 482 can contact the skating surface 26 to generate friction with the skating surface and thus slow or halt the roller skate 410 from movement. In an upright position as shown in
The stopper 480 can be used with roller skate embodiments other than that shown. For example, for a wheel assembly fixed at an orientation in which the roller skate 410 rolls in the direction D′ (
A sixth exemplary embodiment of a roller skate 510 is shown in
It is to be understood that the foregoing is a description of one or more preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention. The invention is not limited to the particular embodiment(s) disclosed herein, but rather is defined solely by the claims below. Furthermore, the statements contained in the foregoing description relate to particular embodiments and are not to be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention or on the definition of terms used in the claims, except where a term or phrase is expressly defined above. Various other embodiments and various changes and modifications to the disclosed embodiment(s) will become apparent to those skilled in the art. All such other embodiments, changes, and modifications are intended to come within the scope of the appended claims.
As used in this specification and claims, the terms “for example,” “for instance,” “such as,” and “like,” and the verbs “comprising,” “having,” “including,” and their other verb forms, when used in conjunction with a listing of one or more components or other items, are each to be construed as open-ended, meaning that the listing is not to be considered as excluding other, additional components or items. Other terms are to be construed using their broadest reasonable meaning unless they are used in a context that requires a different interpretation.
Claims
1. A roller skate comprising:
- a boot having an underside with a longitudinal axis extending from a back end to a front end; and
- at least two wheel assemblies mounted to the underside and each having a wheel and an axle, the wheel assemblies being positioned in at least a first position in which the wheels rotate about an axis of rotation that is static during use and in which the wheel assemblies are parallel to each other and positioned in a direction that is nonparallel to the longitudinal axis, wherein, when the roller skate is in an upright position, the wheels are in contact with a skating surface below the roller skate.
2. The roller skate of claim 1 wherein the wheel assemblies are unadjustably fixed in the first position in which the axis of rotation is directed generally in parallel with the longitudinal axis and the roller skate rolls in a direction that is generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis.
3. The roller skate of claim 1 wherein the wheel assemblies are unadjustably fixed in the first position in which the axis of rotation is directed at an acute angle to the longitudinal axis and the roller skate rolls in a direction that is also at an acute angle to the longitudinal axis.
4. The roller skate of claim 1 further comprising a stopper mounted to the boot, wherein the stopper contacts the skating surface when the roller skate is pivoted on the wheels about a pivot axis in parallel with the longitudinal axis and pivoted away from the upright position.
5. The roller skate of claim 1 wherein the wheel assemblies are adjustable from the first position in which the axis of rotation is directed generally in parallel with the longitudinal axis and in which the roller skate rolls in a direction that is generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, and to at least a second position in which the axis of rotation is directed at an acute angle to the longitudinal axis and in which the roller skate rolls in a direction that is also at an acute angle to the longitudinal axis.
6. The roller skate of claim 5 further comprising a rigid bar connecting each of the wheel assemblies wherein, adjustment of one wheel assembly is translated via the rigid bar to the other wheel assembly such that the relative positioning of the wheel assemblies is fixed.
7. The roller skate of claim 5 further comprising a lock-down device that enables selective locking and unlocking of the wheel assemblies in the first position or the second position.
8. The roller skate of claim 7 wherein the lock-down device includes a detent device and a screw, and wherein the wheel assemblies adjust about an axis of adjustment, the detent device arresting the movement of the wheel assemblies about the axis of adjustment at distinct increments including a first increment for the first position and a second increment for the second position, the screw tightening and loosening to secure the wheel assemblies at one of the increments and to move the wheels between the increments.
9. The roller skate of claim 8 wherein the detent device includes a ball and a backing plate, the ball being in contact with the backing plate and being biased toward the backing plate, the backing plate having a depression for each increment, wherein, when the ball is received in one of the depressions, the movement of the wheel assemblies about the axis of adjustment is arrested.
10. A roller skate comprising:
- a boot having an underside extending in a longitudinal direction from a back end to a front end; and
- at least two wheels mounted to the underside, the wheels being adjustable between at least two positions including a first position in which the roller skate rolls in a direction that is at a right angle to the longitudinal direction, and in a second position in which the roller skate rolls in a direction that is at an acute angle to the longitudinal direction.
11. The roller skate of claim 10 further comprising a stopper mounted to the boot, wherein the stopper contacts a skating surface below the roller skate when the roller skate is pivoted on the wheels about a pivot axis directed in parallel with the longitudinal direction and pivoted away from the upright position.
12. The roller skate of claim 10 further comprising a rigid bar connecting each of the wheels wherein, adjustment of one wheel is translated via the rigid bar to the other wheel such that the relative positioning of the wheels is fixed.
13. The roller skate of claim 10 wherein the wheels are adjustable to a third position in which the roller skate rolls in a direction that is parallel with the longitudinal direction.
14. The roller skate of claim 10 further comprising a lock-down device that enables selective locking and unlocking of the wheels in the first position or the second position.
15. The roller skate of claim 14 wherein the lock-down device includes a detent device and a screw, the detent device arresting the movement of the wheels about an axis of adjustment at distinct increments including a first increment for the first position and a second increment for the second position, the screw tightening and loosening to secure the wheels at one of the increments and to move the wheels between the increments.
16. The roller skate of claim 15 wherein the detent device includes a ball and a backing plate, the ball being in contact with the backing plate and being biased toward the backing plate, the backing plate having a depression for each increment, wherein, when the ball is received in one of the depressions, the movement of the wheels about the axis of adjustment is arrested.
17. A roller skate comprising:
- a boot having an underside extending in a longitudinal direction from a back end to a front end;
- at least two wheel assemblies mounted to the underside and each having a wheel and an axle, the wheels rotating about an axis of rotation during use, the wheel assemblies being adjustable about an axis of adjustment between at least a first position in which both wheel assemblies are directed at a right angle to the longitudinal direction and in which the axis of rotation is directed in parallel with the longitudinal direction, and a second position in which both wheel assemblies are directed in parallel with the longitudinal direction and in which the axis of rotation is directed at a right angle to the longitudinal direction; and
- a lock-down device that enables selective locking and unlocking of the wheel assemblies in at least the first position or the second position;
- wherein, when the roller skate is in an upright position, the wheels are in contact with a skating surface below the roller skate.
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 10, 2008
Publication Date: Jan 14, 2010
Applicant: P & L COMPANY, L.L.C. (Kentwood, MI)
Inventor: Louis G. Cares (East Grand Rapids, MI)
Application Number: 12/170,499
International Classification: A63C 17/00 (20060101);