Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02204982 1997-0~-09
DESCRIPTION
The present invention relates to an in-line roller
skate comprising a frame for supporting the wheels and a
pad brake including a pad-support arm articulated to the
frame and a strut for adjusting the pivoting of the arm
relative to the frame.
Skates are known in the art, which are equipped with
a rubber pad~fitted on an arm mounted on the rear of the
wheel-support frame so that, if the toe of the skate is
raised, the pad is pressed against the ground and a
braking action for slowing the skater's movement is
consequently exerted owing to friction between the pad
and the ground.
In these brakes, the pad-support arm is usually
articulated to the wheel-support frame, for example,
abcut the axis of the rear wheel, and its pivoting is
adjusted by a strut having opposite ends articulated,
respectively, to the brake arm and to a portion of the
cuff or of the shell of the skate.
The reaction load on the pad resulting from the
pressure exerted on the ground during braking thus acts
on the cuff or shell portion, through the strut.
To compensate for the progressive wear of the pad,
it is also known to provide for adjustment of the
pivoting of the arm relative to the frame, for example,
by the provision of struts of adjustable length.
One of the problems attributable to brakes of the
type indicated is that their mounting on the skate
requires the cuff or shell to be pre-arranged for-
connection to the brake strut. As a result, the same
brake cannot easily be adapted for mounting on skates of
CA 02204982 1997-0~-09
different shapes and/or si~es. Another problem lies in
the considerable bulk of known brakes.
The problem upon which the present invention is
based is that of providing a skate which is structurally
and functionally designed so as to overcome all of the
problems complained of with reference to the prior art
mentioned.
This pro~lem is solved by the invention by means of
a skate of the type indicated at the beginning,
characterized in that the strut extends between the arm
and the wheel-support frame.
The characteristics and advantages of the invention
will become clearer from the following detailed
description of a preferred embodiment thereof illustrated
by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the
appended drawings, in which:
- Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a skate
equipped with a brake according to the present invention,
- Figure 2 is a partially-sectioned, perspective
view of the brake of Figure 1,
- Figures 3 and 4 are partially-sectioned, side
elevational views of the skate of the preceding drawings
with the brake shown in two different adjustment
positions,
- Figure 5 is a partially-sectioned, perspective
view of a detail of the skate of Figure 1, on an enlarged
scale,
- Figure 6 is a partial perspective view of a skate
equipped with a brake according to a variant of the
invention,
- Figure 7 is a partial side elevational view of the
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skate of Figure 6,
- Figure 8 is a partially-sectioned view of the
skate of Figure 6.
In Figure 1, an in-line roller skate, generally
indicated 1, has an elongate wheel-support frame 2; the
frame 2 includes two parallel sides 3, 4 between which
four aligned wheels 5a-d with parallel axes are supported
for rotation~
A shell 6 is fixed to the frame 2 on the opposite
side to the wheels 5a-d. A cuff 7 is articulated to the
shell 6 by means of pins 6a.
The skate 1 is equipped with a brake 8 comprising an
arm 9 supporting a pad 10 which is intended to be pressed
against the ground during the braking of the skate.
The pad-support arm 9 is substantially U-shaped with
two legs 9a, 9b disposed side by side and connected to
one another at one end b~ a cur~ed wall 9c. Each leg
9a, 9b is articulated to the wheel-support frame 2 by its
free end, about the axis of the wheel 5d.
The pad 10 is held on the arm 9 in the region of the
juxtaposed edges of the legs 9a, 9b, close to the wall 9c
which connects them.
A pin, indicated 12, has opposite ends fitted in the
legs 9a, 9b, respectively, at the same predetermined
distance from the pivot axis of the arm 9.
The brake 8 also comprises a strut 13 including a
shaft 14 threaded at one end and carrying, at its
opposite end, a head 15 in which a slot 16, which is
elongate transverse the axis of the shaft 14, is formed.
The pin 12, by means of which the strut 13 is
connected to the pad-support arm 9, is housed in the slot
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6 .
At the opposite end to the head 15, the strut 13 is
connected to the frame 2 by means of an anchoring
element, generally indicated 17 and including a b~ock 18
from which an integral appendage 19 extends. The
appendage 19 has a first through-hole 20 and is housed in
the frame 2 through a hole 21 thereof. Each side 3, 4
has a respec~ive second through-hole 22, 23 formed in a
position such as to be aligned with the first hole 20
when the block 18 is in abutment with the frame 2 and the
appendage 19 is housed inside it, for the fixing of the
anchoring element 17 to the frame 2 by means of a screw,
not shown.
It will be noted that the anchoring element 17, the
strut 13 and the pad-support arm 9 constitute an
individually manipulable unit for the brake 8, the
mounting of which on the skate requires merely the
provision of the hole 21 and of the holes 22, 23 in the
wheel-support frame 2.
The block 18 has a through-hole 24 and a third hole
25 intersecting the hole 24 perpendicularly.
The hole 24 constitutes a seat for housing a ring
nut 16 engaged for screwing on the shaft 14 which in turn
is housed and guided for sliding in the hole 25.
The shape of the block 18 in the region of the hole
24 is such that the ring nut 26, which has a knurled
outer surface for facilitating gripping thereof, is
accessible from outside the anchoring element 17.
Extensible bellows-like elements, all indicated 27,
are interposed between the block 18 and the arm 9.
Screwing of the ring nut 26 on the shaft 14 causes
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the strut 13 to slide axially relative to the block 18
and causes the pad-support arm 9 simultaneously to pivot
about its axis of articulation to the frame 2. The
distance of the pad 10 from the ground can thus be
adjusted according to the skater's specific requirements,
for example, in order to advance or delay the braking
action resulting from the upward pivoting of the toe of
the skate du~ing braking, or simply to compensate for
progressive wear of the pad.
Figure 3 shows the brake 8 in a first adjustment
position in which the pad 10 has pivoted relative to the
frame 2 to the maximum distance from the ground,
identified by a reference plane P. In this position,
the threaded portion of the shaft 14 is housed inside the
hole 25.
Starting from the position of Figure 3, the arm 9 is
pivoted anticlockwise with reference to the drawing of
Figure 3 by rotation of the ring nut 26 in the sense in
which the shaft 14 is unscrewed from the ring nut and the
distance of the pad 10 from the plane P is consequently
reduced until the minimum distance of the pad 10 from the
ground is reached (Figure 4).
It will be noted that, since the strut 13 is guided
for sliding in the hole 25 of the block along a straight
path relative to the frame whilst the arm 9 is pivoted
relative to the frame about the axis of the wheel 5d, the
pin 12 is moved between the longitudinally opposite ends
of the slot 16 during the pivoting of the arm 9.
In a variant of the invention, shown in Figures 6 to
8, an in-line roller skate, generally indicated 100,
comprises a frame 102 carrying parallel sides 103, 104
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between which aligned wheels 105a-d with parallel axes
are supported for rotating. The skate 100 is equipped
with a brake 108 including an arm 109 for supporting a
pad 110. The arm 109 is U-shaped with opposed legs
lO9a, lO9b disposed side by side and articulated to the
frame 102 at their free ends about the axis of the wheel
105d.
The br~ke 108 also comprises a strut, generally
indicated 113, extending between the arm 109 and the
wheel-support frame 102, as will be explained in detail
below.
The strut 113 comprises a substantially L-shaped
member 111 with two limbs llla, lllb. The member 111
can pivot on the arm 109 at the free end of the limb llla
by means of a pin 112, whereas the free end of the limb
lllb is housed in the frame 102 through 2 first hole 121
formed in the frame. A second through-hole 124 is formed
in the limb lllb of the member, outside the frame 102,
and is intersected transversely by a blind hole 125
extending in the limb lllb from the free end thereof.
A threaded shaft 114 is housed and guided for sliding in
the hole 125 by one of its end portions and, at its
opposite end, is pivotable on the frame 102 by means of
a pin 129 interposed between the sides 103, 104.
The second hole 124 forms a seat for housing a ring
nut 126 engaged for screwing on the shaft 114 and
accessible from outside the frame 102.
In Figure 8, the brake 108 is shown in an
intermediate adjustment position between the positions of
minimum and maximum angular pivoting of the arm 109
relative to the frame 102. It will be noted that, in
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this position, the pad-support arm 109 is locked relative
to the frame by means of the strut 113. The distance
between the points of articulation of the strut 113 to
the arm 109 and to the frame 102, respectively, is
indicated C in Figure 8. The distances between the axis
of the wheel 105d and the axis of the pin 112 and between
the axis of the wheel 105d and the axis of the pin 129
are also shG~n in the same drawing, indicated A and B,
respectively; these distances A, B are fixed and
determined at the stage when the skate is designed.
Rotation of the ring nut 126 causes the shaft 114 to
slide relative to the member 111 so as to vary the
distance C and bring about simultaneous pivoting of the
arm 109 relative to the frame 102. The pad 110 is thus
pivoted to a preselected angular position relative to the
frame, corresponding to the desired distance of the pad
from the ground.
It will be noted that, in this variant of the
invention, the brake 108 is also individually manipulable
and its mounting on the skate 100 merely requires
drilling of the frame 102 to provide the hole 121 and the
holes for the fixing of the pin 129.
Amongst the advantages of the invention, the
compactness of the brake, its structural simplicity which
requires merely drllling of the frame to provide for its
mounting on the skate, the fact that the brake can be
used interchangeably for skates of different sizes and
shapes, easy adjustment of the pivoting of the brake pad,
as well as easy mounting of the brake on the skate and
removal therefrom will be appreciated. Moreover, the
fact that the brake is arranged for fixing to the wheel-
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support frame avoids the provision of specific
attachments for the adjustment strut on the cuff, thus
achieving a structural simplification of the cuff and of
its mould, if it is moulded from plastics material.
