Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02181212 2002-05-06
IN-LINE ROLLER SKATE
Field of the invention
The present invention relates to skates; particularly in-line roller skates
designed to
lower the centre of gravity of the skater by bringing the wheels closer to the
plantar
surface of the skater's foot.
Back~~round of the invention
to
Over the past few years roller skating has greatly increased in popularity and
the
nature of the activity has changed. Skating has moved from indoor arenas
specifically
constructed for that purpose, to the streets, sidewalks and parks of modern
urban
centres. As such, skaters are no longer confined to a relatively dull oval
path, but are
~ 5 generally free to travel outdoors to a destination, and along a course, of
their
choosing. This has allowed skating to become at once, an enjoyable leisure-
time
activity, an excellent means of exercise, and an economical method of
transportation.
The transition, however, has at times not been a simple one. New outdoor
skating
2o environments do not have the smooth, level skating surfaces of a
traditional skating
rink nor are they necessarily free of debris. Each of these factors
contributes to an
increased level of difficulty for the activity. Skating outdoors further
presents the
skater with obstacles arid hazards, such as cars, animals, and cyclists, all
of which
require him to have excellent stability and control while skating to avoid
harm. These
25 changes in the venue and purpose of skating have therefore necessitated
modifications
to the design of the skates themselves in order to provide the skater with the
control
that he needs.
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Increased control is among the reasons which have attributed to the current
preference
of skaters for in-line roller skates (those where the wheels all rotate within
a single,
generally vertical plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the skate)
as opposed
to the old quad-wheeled; bi-ailed skates. While such skates are better in this
area than
their older counterparts, there still remains a need to impart the skater with
mare
control over the skate. Such is especially true where the skates are being
used in sports
such as roller hockey; where skaters are required to make quick turns and
stops at
relatively high speeds.
to It has been recognised that the closer the skater's centre of gravity is to
the skating
surface, the more stable the skater will be and the more control he will have
over his
motion; yet hereto skates have not been manufactured optimising this factor.
Indeed,
with the developing trend toward the use of wheels of increased diameter over
those
of the prior art, there has been a tendency to raise rather than lower the
skater's centre
of gravity with respect to the skating surface.
Sun~nary of the invention
Accordingly, the present invention provides a roller skate which provides the
skater
with a lower centre of gravity as compared to prior art skates.
Another object of the invention is to provide a frame for a roller skate
allowing to
bring the wheels of the skate closer to the plantar surface of the skater's
foot.
Yet; another object of the invention is a boot for a roller skate allowing to
bring the
wheels of the skate closer to the plantar surface of the skater's foot.
As embodied and broadly described herein the invention provides a roller skate
comprising:
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- at least one wheel for engaging a skating surface;
- a boot for receiving a foot of a skater, the boot including a sole
having a recess, said recess, receiving a portion of said wheel therein.
s
Typically, the boot includes a vamp that covers the upper portion of the foot
and a
sole on which rests the plantar surface of the foot. The vamp may be made
separately
from the sole or a single unit with the sole. In the former case, the vamp my
be
constructed of several different materials stitched or otherwise attached
together. The
1o assembly is then glued or stitched to the sole to complete the manufacture
of the boot.
In the latter case, when the sole is integrally formed with the vamp a method
of
manufacture by injection moulding is preferred.
The recess receiving the portion of the wheel can be created by forming an
is indentation, depression or aperture in the skating surface facing side of
the sole which
is capable of accommodating and receiving at least a portion of a wheel
therein.
Simple depressions are however preferred over complete apertures. While the
exact
dimensions of the recess will vary according to the amount by which it is
desired to
cause the wheel to penetrate into the sole, the dimensions must be such that
the wheel
20 is capable of free rotation within the recess. The recess must be of such a
shape such
that at no time during the course of a complete revolution of the wheel the
wheel
contacts any portion of the sole while the skate is in use; no other
particular shape is
required. Preferably, the dimensions of the recess should be not greater than
that
which is necessary to allow for such rotation to occur (including any
allowance for the
25 shifting of the wheel in the occurrence of a shock).
As embodied and broadly described herein the invention provides an in-line
roller
skate, comprising:
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- a plurality of wheels mounted for rotation in a generally common
plane;
- a boot for receiving a skater's foot, said boot holding and supporting
the foot of the skater; said boot including a sole having a recess;
- a frame for supporting the wheels, said frame being mounted to said
sole and having a pair of side rails extending generally along a longitudinal
axis of
said skate, said side rails being spaced apart and receiving said wheels
therebetween;
said frame including a bridging portion interconnecting said side rails, said
bridging
portion being located under a front portion of said boot; said bridging
portion
1o comprising a longitudinal recess registered with said recess of said boot
wherein the
juxtaposition, of said recess of said boot with said longitudinal recess
provides
clearance for at least one of the wheels.
As embodied and broadly described herein, the invention further provides a
frame for
an in-line roller skate, said frame comprising:
- a pair of longitudinally extending side rails in a spaced apart
relationship for receiving a plurality of wheels therein;
- a bridging portion interconnecting said side rails, said bridging portion
including a recess therein whereby a wheel mounted to said frame projects
through
said recess and a portion of the wheel extends above said bridging portion.
In a preferred embodiment the frame of the in-line roller skate is separately
manufactured and attached to the sole of the boot during the assembly
operation of the
skate. The bridging portion of the frame that connects the side rails is
integrally
formed with the rails and connected to the sole of the boot with rivets. The
recess in
the bridging portion is, most preferably, in the form of an aperture through
which
projects the wheel. That aperture, in turn, registers with a blind recess in
the sole that
receives the upper portion of the wheel. In a possible variant, the recess in
the sole of
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CA 02181212 2002-05-06
the boot can be omitted. In such cases, the wheel does not penetrate the sole
and
extends solely into the bridging portion. 'The recess in the bridging portion
can be
either an aperture or a blind recess such that when seen from the above the
surface of
the bridging portion appears uninterrupted. In a further variant, the bridging
portion
can be integrated with the sole of the boot. Thus, instead of having two
components
that are attached to one another face to face a single component in the form
of a
structurally resistant sole is used that provides support for the foot and at
the same
time serves the function of interconnecting member for the side rails of the
frame.
Thus, the expression "bridging portion" as appearing in this specification and
claims
l0 should not be interpreted to mean exclusively a component separate fram the
sole of
the boot as it also may encompass structures where the bridging member is
integrated
into the boot sole.
For the purposes of clarity of expression it should be noted that the word
"recess" as
used herein is intended to designate either a depression in a surface "blind
recess" or
an aperture which extends completely through the structure comprising the
recess.
Also, "upwardly" refers to the direction, when the frame is in place on a
roller skate,
in which the wheels would have to be recessed in order to lower the skater's
centre of
gravity with respect to the skating surface. In this respect, "upwardly" would
generally be towards the foot of the skater, as distinguished from the skating
surface.
Brief description of the drawings
The following is a description of a preferred embodiment, reference being made
to the
following drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the skate constructed in accordance
with the
invention;
Figure 2 is a sectional view of the second 'wheel from the front of the skate;
Figure 3 is a sectional view of the wheel at the front of the skate;
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Figure 4 is a perspective view of the skate frame, showing the boot attachment
plates;
Figure 5 is a bottom view of the boot, with the attachment plates affixed in
place;
Figure 6 is a bottom view of the boot, without the attachment plates;
Figure 7 is a side cross-sectional view of the boot.
Description of preferred embodiments
In the drawings, preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way
of
example. It is to be expressly understood that the description and drawings
are only
to for the purposes of illustration and as an aid to understanding, and are
not intended as
a definition of the limits of the invention. The scope of the invention is
defined in the
appended claims and their equivalents.
In Figure 1 there is shown an in-line roller skate 10 comprised of a boot 12,
a set of
wheels 20, 22, 24, 26, a frame 14 for supporting the wheels, and forward 16
and rear
18 attachment plates for securing the frame 14 to the boot 12.
The boot 12 may be constructed in accordance with any number of methods
familiar
to those skilled in the art. Preferably, the boot 12 includes a vamp 28 that
encircles
2o and confines the upper portion of the skater's foot and a sole 30. The vamp
28 is
comprised of stitched together pieces of ballistic nylon and leather. The sole
30 may
be formed from a variety of conventional materials, including leathers and
plastics.
Alternatively, the boot may be constructed in accordance with an integral
design
wherein the vamp and the sole are fabricated as a single unit. A plastic
moulded boot
is an example of such a design. Under this form of construction the upper part
of the
vamp 28, a so called cuff may be connected to the lower part of the vamp
through a
pivotal joint allowing the skater to easily bend forward and backward its leg.
This
arrangement facilitates the skating manoeuvres. Moreover, it allows use on the
skate
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of a brake system that is operated by tilting the leg backwards. Such brake
system will
not be described since it does not form part of the present invention.
The sole 30 includes a skating surface facing side 34 and an upper section
facing side
s for receiving and supporting the plantar surface of the skater's foot. The
sole 30 is
attached to the bottom portion of the boot along the upper section facing side
32.
While stitching (not shown) is the preferred method of such attachment, any
other
conventional method of attachment may be used, such as adhesives and rivets,
among
others.
l0
Secured to the skating surface side 34 of the sole 30 are forward and rear
attachment
plates 16 and 18 respectively. The attachment plates are preferably
constructed of
plastics material, however they may also be constructed of lightweight metals
such as
aluminium. Such plates as shown in Fig. 4 are thus generally comprised of two
15 portions: a peripheral portion 38f and 38r of a shape so as to be capable
of conforming
with the skating surface side 34 of the sole 30, and a planar portion 40f and
40r. The
peripheral portion 38r of attachment plate 18 is generally flat and it engages
the heel
portion of the sole. In contrast, the peripheral portion 38f of attachment
plate 16 is
gently curved to conform to the curvature at the front of the sole where is
received the
2o ball of the foot. The attachment plates 1b and 18 are affixed to the sole
30 by means
of a plurality of rivets 42 in the peripheral portions 38f and 38r.
Frame i 4 for supporting the wheels is secured to the attachment plates 16 and
18 in
any convenient manner such as mechanical fasteners or adhesive. As seen in
Figs. 2, 3
25 and 4, the frame is generally U-shaped, being comprised of two side 'rails
46 and 48
that are generally parallel and run along the longitudinal axis of the skate.
The rails 46
and 48 are in a spaced apart relationship connected by forward 50 and rear 52
bridging
portions. The bridging portions SO and 52 are planar and mate with the planar
portions
40f and 40r of the attachment plates 16 aired 18.
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The side rails 46 and 48 are provided with a plurality of apertures 54 in a
spaced apart
relationship and adapted to receive and support a plurality of wheel axles
(not shown).
The wheels 20, 22, 24, 26 are each supported on an individual axle which is in
turn
received by an aperture 54. The axles are secured to the frame 14 within the
apertures
54 by any number of conventional means, and the wheels 20, 22, 24, 26 are thus
supported by the frame l4 for rotation on a skating surface (not shown).
As illustrated in Figs. 2 to 7, the frame 14, the forward attachment plate 16,
and the
1o sole 30 are each provided with recesses 58, 56, and 38 respectively
enabling the
second forward most wheel 22 to be recessed therein. The recesses 58 and 56
are
apertures while the recess 38 is a blind recess. As further illustrated in
Figs. 2 to 7, the
frame 14 and forward attachment plate 16 are also each provided with recesses
(apertures) 62 and 60 respectively enabling the forward most wheel 20 to be
recessed
~s therein. The recesses 58, 56, 38, 62 and 60 register with the respective
wheels and are
dimensioned in such a way as to avoid any contact with the rotating wheel
surfaces.
When the skate is assembled the second forward most wheel is received in the
recesses 58, 56 and 38. The upper portion of the wheel projects beyond the
bridging
20 portion 50 and the portion 40f of the attachment plate 16 and it is then
received in the
blind recess 38. The same arrangement is obtained with the forward most wheel
where
it projects beyond the bridging portions SO and the recess portion 40f. The
forward
most wheel, however, does not penetrate the sole 30.
2s The advantage of this arrangement is to bring the extremities of the
foremost wheels
in close proximity to the plantar surface of the foot. As a result, the centre
of gravity
of the skater is lowered which enables to provide increased control levels.
Under a possible variant, the attachment plates 16 and 18 are integrally
formed with
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the bridging portions 50 and 52, respectively. This form of construction
presents the
advantage of a unitary frame piece which connects directly to the sole of the
boot
without any intermediate components. A flame structure like this can be easily
manufactured from plastics material by injection moulding. On the other hand,
it if is
desired to use a frame made from metallic material, such as aluminium which is
the
material of choice in roller skates used by professionals or highly skilled
athletes the
preferred form of construction remains as described earlier since it may be
difficult to
form the attachment plates integrally with the metallic frame. In a further
variant, the
sole of the boot including the attachment plates 1 b and 18 along with the
bridging
portions 50 and 52 can be made as one unit.
