Interchangeable in-line roller/ice skate assembly
The present invention relates to a skate assembly which allows interchange of in-line rollers and ice blades, and more particularly to an interchangeable in-line roller/ice skates which provides for such interchange through the use of simple and affordable means and without the necessity of buying new and customized skates. The assembly comprises a regular in-line roller skate including a boot or shoe with a sole to which a wheel frame is attached; said wheel frame is defined by two parallel lateral walls each of which includes a set of equally-spaced orifices into which wheels are rotatable mounted by inserting an axle bolt through said aligned orifices and through the central orifice of each wheel; the replacement assembly comprises an upper longitudinal bar portion including equally-spaced orifices and to which an ice blade is attached, the arrangement of said orifices coincides with the arrangement of the orifices in the wheel frame so as to align them during the replacement maneuver and insert a retaining bolt through them.
This application Claims the Benefits to Provisional Application 61/253,726
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a skate assembly which allows interchange of in-line rollers and ice blades. More particularly, the present invention is directed to an interchangeable in-line roller/ice skate assembly which provides for such interchange through the use of simple and affordable means and without the necessity of buying new and customized skates. The present invention relates generally to a replacement assembly for converting a regular in-line roller skate into an ice skating or ice hockey skating device, without the necessity of buying special or customized in-line roller skate devices.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are several examples in the prior art of skates with interchangeable blades. These interchangeable skates typically require extensive and cumbersome maneuvers to achieve the change. But most importantly, in most of these cases involve the purchase of customized in-line rollers including said interchangeable feature. Therefore the user must purchase a new pair of skates to be able to interchange from the in-line roller to the ice skate set.
For example, an improved skate assembly which permits interchange of ice blades and in-line rollers is known, providing such interchange through utilization of a rotatable cam which is utilized to couple the blade support to the toe and/or heel of a boot. An interlocking notch/projection is employed to achieve mounting of the blade support subassembly to the boot. It also provides a means for adjusting the length of the in-line roller support frame so as to permit the utilization of a limited number of blade designs and manufactured lengths for accommodating a variety of shoe sizes.
Also known is a skate having an interchangeable operative blade or wheel assembly that is releasably fastened to a shoe or boot in a manner affording the selective longitudinal displacement of the blade or wheel assembly with respect to the shoe, and the precise positioning of the blade or wheel assembly with respect to the shoe in order to optimize the performance of the skate for the skater.
The combination of a shoe and an attachment secured to the shoe for mounting various skating devices is also known in the art. Said shoe including a sole with a longitudinal slot extending the length of the shoe, and said attachment includes a raised longitudinal vertical channel section of inverted U-shape adapted to fit snugly in said slot thus one pair of skating shoes is used for both types of skating wherein the street shoe sole attachment can be connected to said shoe so as to use as the common street shoe.
A mechanical interlock for securing either ice skates or roller skates to a single base member is also known between the devices of the prior art. The base member has surfaces for receiving the foot of the user and the interlock includes a pair of upstanding studs disposed at one end of the skate which cooperate with recesses in the base plate. An elongated leaf spring is secured to each skate at one axial extremity for pivotal motion in a plane parallel to the plane of the base plate. Disposed on the other axial extremity of the spring is a pair of fingers disposed for snug fitting engagement with the top and bottom respectively of the base plate and the skate.
All the above mentioned devices and examples have one problem in common: the user must purchase customized skates or boots or devices for enjoying the possibility of interchanging from an in-line roller to an ice skate. Therefore, even though the above cited devices address some of the needs of the market, an interchangeable in-line roller/ice skates which allow the user the possibility of converting regular in-line rollers into ice skates is still desired.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThis invention is directed to an interchangeable in-line roller/ice skates which is designed for simple, fast and secure interchange of the original in-line roller assembly into an ice blade. The skate assembly includes a replacement assembly especially designed to replace the original in-line roller assembly into an ice skate or ice hockey skate. Each assembly provides a coupling means for fixing the new replacing assembly to the original in-line roller skate.
Therefore, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved skate assembly which provides interchangeability between an original in-line roller and a skating ice blade or ice hockey blade. Said interchangeability feature being accomplished by a simple replacement maneuver using regular Allen wrench and bolts.
Another aspect of the present invention provides a an improved interchangeable skate assembly which allows the replacement of a regular in-line roller skate into an ice skate or ice hockey skate without the necessity of purchasing customized and expensive devices or means.
Yet another aspect of the purposed invention comprises a replacement kit including a first replacement assembly for converting the conventional in-line roller skate into an ice skate and a second replacement assembly for transforming said in-line roller into a ice hockey skate. In both cases said replacement maneuver is performed by using conventional means that almost any user can use.
In summary the present invention is referred to an interchangeable in-line roller/ice skate assembly, comprising a regular in-line roller skate including a boot or shoe with a sole to which a wheel frame is attached; said wheel frame is defined by two parallel lateral walls each of which includes a set of equally-spaced orifices into which wheels are rotatable mounted by inserting an axle bolt through said aligned orifices and through the central orifice of each wheel; the replacement assembly comprises an ice skate assembly including an upper longitudinal bar portion including equally-spaced orifices and to which an ice blade is attached, the arrangement of said orifices coincides with the arrangement of the orifices in the wheel frame so as to align them during the replacement maneuver and insert through them a retaining bolt.
These and other aspects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the attached drawings and the detailed description of the preferred embodiments, which follow.
The preferred embodiments of the invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings provided to illustrate and not to limit the invention, where like designations denote like elements, and in which:
Shown throughout the Figures, the invention is directed to an interchangeable skate assembly through which the user has the possibility of changing from an in-line roller skate assembly to an ice skate assembly and/or an ice hockey skate assembly by using simple tools and performing simple maneuvers.
While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been described above, it will be recognized and understood that various modifications can be made in the invention and the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications which may fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.
Claims
1. Interchangeable in-line roller/ice skate, comprising a regular in-line roller skate including a boot or shoe with a sole to which a wheel frame is attached; said wheel frame is defined by two parallel lateral walls each of which includes a set of equally-spaced orifices into which wheels are rotatable mounted by inserting an axle bolt through said aligned orifices and through the central orifice of each wheel; the replacement assembly comprises an upper longitudinal bar portion including equally-spaced orifices and to which an ice blade is attached, the arrangement of said orifices coincides with the arrangement of the orifices in the wheel frame so as to align them during the replacement maneuver and insert a retaining bolt through them.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 15, 2010
Publication Date: Apr 21, 2011
Inventor: Steven Richard Schwartzman (Parkland, FL)
Application Number: 12/925,192