US2474082A - Skate - Google Patents

Description

June 21, 1949. J. WUTZ 2,474,082

SKATE Filed March 29, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 21, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT "OFFICE 1 Claim. 1

The present invention relate 'to roller skates, of simplified and improved construction, wherein the rear wheel of a skate is carried by a ball bearing caster to provide a skate permitting easy and convenient turning and other movements to be performed with dispatch and skill.

It is an object of this invention to provide a skate wherein the heel tracking unit is carried by -a pivoted caster truck.

It is also an object of this invention to provide :a skate wherein the rear truck i pivotally supported beneath the heel section of the skate to facilitate turning maneuvers in the execution of "fancy gyrations.

It is a further object of this invention to pro-- vide an improved type of skate wherein the rear tracking member is carried by a caster-like truck .the pivotal swinging movement of which is adapt- .ed to be controlled.

It is furthermore anobject of this invention to provide an improved type of roller skate wherein the rear portion of the skate is supported by imeans of a ball bearing wheel caster.

Still another object of the invention i to provide an improved type of roller skate wherein the wheels are arranged to project above the sides .and the rear of the skate frame to lower the center of gravity of the skate, said skate having the rear wheel disposed to the rear of the heel portion of the skate and pivotally supported for lat- .eral swinging movement within prescribed limits.

It is an important object of this invention to provide an improved and simplified form of a roller wherein the rear tracking member i supported on a ball bearing truck or bracket permitted to Swing transversely between predetermined points adjustable toward and away from the sides of the supporting truck, to provide a skate permitting a large latitude in the gyrations adapted to be practiced through the manual control of the movements of the swivel support of the rear tracking member.

Other and further important objects and features of the invention will more fully appear from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate several embodiments thereof.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a roller skate embodying the principles of this invention;

Figure 2 is a rear elevational view of the skate;

Figure .3 is a front elevational View of the skate;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary bottom plan view of 2 the heel end of .theiskate'illustrating the pivotal movement ofthe rear wheel in dotted lines;

Figure 5 is a side elevational view of a modified form of roller skate (constructed to permit the skate frame to be positioned closer to the floor;

Figure 6 is a front elevational view o'f-the modified form of skate shown in Figure 5.

As shown on thedrawings;

Referring to Figures :1-to 4 which illustrate one form of the invention "and which show a clamp type of roller skate, the referencenumeral I indicates a longitudinally disposed skate frame or chassis bar provided with longitudinally disposed guide slots 2 for receiving adjusting screw bolts 3. The screw bolts 3 are carried by a heel plate 4 and by a foot plate?) to permit said plates to be longitudinally adjusted toward or away from one another on theyframe bar IV for varying the length of the skate chassis.

The front portion of the roller skate may be of any standard roller skate construction, and in the present instance consists of a pair of sole clamps 6 which are adapted to be adjusted transversely of the foot plate 5'by means of a right and left threaded adjusting screw I mounted on a bracket 8 beneath the front portion of the sole plate 5. As clearlyillustrated in Figure 3 the opposite ends of the screw 1 are threaded through threaded openings indownwardly projecting portions of the sole clamps 6.

Rigidly supported underneath the foot plate 5 to the rear of the sole-clamp 6, is a front tracking unit comprising a truck9 providing a support for a front axle [0 having rotatably mounted onithe outer ends thereof a pair of ball bearing wheels The rear portion of the. skate chassis which in cludes the heel plate 4 is so constructed that the heel plate may be slidablymoved along the frame bar I when the respective clamping bolts 3 are released. The heel-plate 4 may be of any desired construction such as shown in Figures 1 to 4, and includes a heel back or seat l2 provided with slots 13 for the reception of heel straps (not shown) for holding the rear portion of the skate on a persons foot.

A novel feature of theimproved roller skate involves the use of an ordinary typeof ball hearing caster tracking unit which is pivotally or adjustably mounted on the rear portion of the skate frame I to serve'as a rear tracking or steering means. The caster tracking unit comprises a standard type of caster or ball bearing unit M the top plate or sectionof which is formed with a ball race and is rigidly secured to the bottom of the rear portion of the skate frame I. The bottom section or plate of the ball bearing unit 14 is also formed with a ball race and carries ball bearings. The bottom plate is rotatable with respect to the upper plate section and has rigidly secured to the bottom thereof a caster yoke comprising a pair of spaced arms 15 having the upper ends thereof rigidly connected together by means of a cross piece which is rigidly secured to the bottom section of the ball bearing unit 14. The two yoke arms of the caster unit extend down- Wardly and rearwardly and are connected by means of a wheel axle 16 forming a support for a rear ball bearing wheel ll. Retaining nuts I 8 are engaged on the outer projecting ends of the rear wheel axle I6. As clearly illustrated in Figure 1 the rear caster wheel I! is positioned beneath the rear end of the skate frame and due to the ball bearing support of the caster unit the lower portion of the unit is adapted to pivotally swing transversely of the skate frame. This arrangement permits the wearer of this caster type roller skate to execute circular or are shaped movements with ease by the movement of the skate frames, and the front wheels with respect to the rear wheels, by the controlled movement of the operators feet by shifting the persons weight forwardly on the balls of the feet thereby easing the pressure on the heel portions so that the rear caster wheels of the skates may be readily maneuvered to permit execution of the turning movements desired.

For the purpose of limiting the transverse movement of the rear caster wheel on a skate a pair of brackets l9 are secured to the bottom of opposite sides of the rear portion of the heel plate 4. Each of the brackets 19 carries a stop screw 20 which is threaded through the lower portion of a bracket 19 and is adapted to be held in an adjusted position by means of lock nuts 2!. The inner ends of the stop screws 20- are thus adapted to be positioned a desired distance apart so that the caster arms l5 in their swinging movement will contact the stop screws to limit the swing of the caster unit so that the radius of the curved path of movement may be controlled to permit sharp or gradual turns to be easily executed depending upon the position of the rear wheel caster unit with respect to the skate frame.

It will of course be understood that the brackets l9 and the stop screws 23 may be omitted, if desired, to permit the rear caster wheel unit to be rotated through a complete revolution with respect to a skate frame.

Figures 5 and 6 illustrate a modified form of caster type roller skate which is so constructed that the center of gravity of the skate is much lower than that of the skate illustrated in Figure 1. The frame and clamp mechanisms of the modified form of skate are substantially the same as those shown in the skate illustrated in Figures 1 to 4 and like parts are designated by corresponding reference numerals. In the modified form of skate the front ball bearing wheels 22 are mounted to project upwardly above opposite sides of the foot plate 5 of the skate. This is accomplished by providing a longer front axle 23 which is supported on a front truck or bracket 24 the downwardly projecting arms of which are comparatively short thereby permitting the front end of the skate frame to be positioned between the wheels instead of above the same.

To permit the rear end of the skate frame to also be lowered the rear caster mechanism consists of a ball bearing unit 25 to which a caster fork or yoke 26 is secured by attachment to the lower plate section of the ball bearing unit as clearly illustrated in Figure 5. The fork arms project rearwardly beyond the back end of the skate frame and support a rear axle 21 on which a rear ball bearing caster wheel 28 is rotatably supported. By means of the construction of the caster fork 26 the rear caster wheel 28 projects upwardly above the plane of the skate frame I. A skate construction is thus provided wherein the center of gravity of the skate is materially lower and wherein the two front Wheels are separated a distance greater than the space between the front wheels of the ordinary types of roller skates.

By means of the rear wheel carrying caster unit, a low center of gravity skate is provided which is safer for use by children and might be preferred by inexperienced skaters, because of the Wide tracking gauge of the front wheels in addition to the low center of gravity of the skate.

It will thus be noted from the description of the skates illustrated and described that roller skates may be provided wherein the rear tracking unit may be supported by a ball bearing caster unit or by any other suitable pivotal supporting unit which will permit the rear tracking member to pivotally swing transversely of the rear portion of the skate frame. Traveling over a smooth surface such as a roller skating floor is thus greatly facilitated and permits a person Wearing the skates to easily execute turns, gyra" tions, or fancy figures by causing a swinging movement of the rear tracking unit in the desired direction by skillful manipulating or maneuvering of the forward portions of the skates by the shifting of a persons weight combined with the turning of the feet to accomplish a desired turn or the execution of a fancy figure or skating movement.

It is to be understood that various other details of construction may be varied through a wide range without departing from the principles of this invention and it is, therefore, not the purpose to limit the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the scope of the appended claim.

I claim as my invention:

A skate comprising a chassis, means for supporting the same on a shoe, a front truck bracket rigidly secured to the chassis, wheels supported thereon, a ball bearing caster bracket supported on the rear portion of the chassis, a rear wheel supported on the caster bracket, brackets secured on opposite Sides of the rear portion of the chassis, and adjustable means carried by the brackets and positioned on opposite sides of the caster bracket in position to be contacted thereby to limit the swinging movement thereof.

JOHN WUTZ.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 79,329 DuBois June 30, 1868 177,568 Saladee May 16., 1876 1,144,134 Jones June 22, 1915 1,194,102 Webb Aug. 8, 1916 1,632,997 Connolly June 21, 1927

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