US20140210175A1

US20140210175A1 - Skateboard with higher operability and controllability

Info

Publication number: US20140210175A1
Application number: US13/750,672
Authority: US
Inventors: Yung-Ta Hsu
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2013-01-25
Filing date: 2013-01-25
Publication date: 2014-07-31

Abstract

A skateboard includes a board body, a front roller assembly and a rear roller assembly. The front and rear roller assemblies are mounted under a bottom face of the board body. The skateboard further includes an arch contact section. The arch contact section is a raised section disposed on a top face of the board body near the rear end thereof. When a user uses the skateboard, the arch of the user's rear foot is in snug contact with the arch contact section, whereby the foot is in good contact with the board body of the skateboard. The arch contact section also provides antislip effect for the user's foot. By means of the arch contact section, the user can more easily operate/control the skateboard.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a sport implement, and more particularly to a skateboard.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional skateboard serves as a play or exercise implement. The skateboard has a board body, a front roller assembly mounted under the bottom face of the board body and a rear roller assembly mounted under the bottom face of the board body. A user can tread on the board body and move the skateboard forward with a foot that pushes the ground. When the skateboard moves, the user's both feet stand on the board body and the user can wiggle his/her body left and right to change the gravity center of the body so as to steer the skateboard. Therefore, the contact between the feet and the board body is a key point of the control of the skateboard.
The board body of the existent skateboard has a top face, which is a plane face. A user's feet can hardly snugly contact the board body of the skateboard. As a result, it is hard for a user to operate/control the skateboard.
Also, the top face of the board body of the conventional skateboard is provided with an antislip design so as to avoid slippage of the feet on the board body. For example, an antislip pad can be adhered to the board body. Alternatively, the frictional effect of the top face of the board body can be enhanced. These antislip designs can increase the frictional force between the feet and the board body of the skateboard, however, the antislip effect is still limited.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a skateboard with higher operability and controllability. A user can more easily operate/control the skateboard.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide the above skateboard with higher operability and controllability. In use of the skateboard, a user's foot is always in snug contact with the board body of the skateboard.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide the above skateboard with higher operability and controllability, which also has an excellent antislip effect.
To achieve the above and other objects, the skateboard of the present invention includes: a board body having a front end and a rear end; a front roller assembly mounted under a front side of a bottom face of the board body; a rear roller assembly mounted under a rear side of the bottom face of the board body; and an arch contact section, which is a raised section disposed on a top face of the board body near the rear end thereof. The arch contact section has a size corresponding to the size of the arch of human foot.
In use of the skateboard, the arch of a user's rear foot is in close and snug contact with the arch contact section, whereby the foot is in good contact with the board body of the skateboard. The arch contact section also provides antislip effect for the user's foot. By means of the arch contact section, the user can more easily operate/control the skateboard.
Preferably, the arch contact section is positioned above the rear roller assembly.
Preferably, the rear end of the board body is upward bent to form a sloped board section. A rear end of the arch contact section extends to the sloped board section.
Preferably, the arch contact section is positioned in a central line of the board body.
The present invention can be best understood through the following description and accompanying drawings, wherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective assembled view of a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective generally exploded view of the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a side view according to FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a top view according to FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a bottom perspective view of the first embodiment of the present invention according to FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing that a user's rear foot treads on the board body of the present invention; and

FIG. 8 is a perspective assembled view of a second embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Please refer to FIGS. 1 to 4. According to a first embodiment, the skateboard 10 of the present invention includes a board body 20, a front roller assembly 30 and a rear roller assembly 40.
The board body 20 is an elongated board body. Preferably, but not limited to, the board body 20 is made of plastic material by means of injection molding. A rear end of the board body is upward bent to form a sloped board section 22. Please refer to FIGS. 3 and 5. A front roller seat 23 is disposed under the bottom face of a front end of the board body. Two longitudinal ribs 24 are disposed under the bottom face of the board body at an interval and extend from a front side to a rear side. A recess is formed between the ribs 24. Several reinforcing ribs 25 are disposed in the recess and located between the two ribs 24. In addition, a thickened section 26 is disposed on a rear side of the bottom face of the board body, whereby the rear section of the board body has a maximum thickness. Multiple channels 27 are formed on a surface of the thickened section 26. The longitudinal ribs 24, the reinforcing ribs 25, the thickened section 26 and the channels 27 are all for increasing structural strength of the board body 20. The front roller seat 23 also provides reinforcing effect for the board body.
The front roller assembly 30 and the rear roller assembly 40 are mounted under a front side of the bottom face and a rear side of the bottom face of the board body 20 respectively. In this embodiment, the front roller assembly 30 has only one front roller 32. The shaft (not shown) of the roller fork 34 of the front roller 32 is pivotally connected with the front roller seat 23, whereby the front roller can be 360-degrees steered. The rear roller assembly 40 includes a rear roller seat 42 and a rear roller shaft 44. The rear roller seat 42 is fixedly disposed on the thickened section 26. The rear roller shaft 44 is mounted on the rear roller seat 42 and can be up and down swung/tilted relative to the rear roller seat 42. Two rear rollers 45 are respectively pivotally disposed at two ends of the rear roller shaft 44. The rear roller assembly 40 are positioned in front of the sloped board section 22 and spaced from the rear end of the board body 20 by a certain distance. By means of the front roller assembly 30 and the rear roller assembly 40, the skateboard 10 can move on the ground.
FIG. 8 shows a second embodiment of the skateboard 10′ of the present invention. The second embodiment includes a front roller assembly 30′, which has a structure identical to that of the rear roller assembly 40. The front roller assembly 30′ includes two front rollers 32′ respectively pivotally disposed at two ends of a roller shaft. The front and rear roller assemblies are not included in the main subject of the present invention and thus will not be further described hereinafter. The same components of the second embodiment are denoted with the same reference numerals as the first embodiment.
Please refer to FIGS. 1, 3 and 4. The present invention further includes an arch contact section 50, which is a raised section. The arch contact section 50 is disposed on a top face of the board body 20 near the rear end thereof. The arch contact section 50 has a size corresponding to the size of the arch of foot. The arch contact section 50 is positioned in a central line C of the board body. The arch contact section 50 can be integrally formed with the board body 20. Alternatively, the arch contact section 50 can be a separate part mounted on the board body. The arch contact section 50 can be made of a hard material or a slightly soft material. Preferably, the arch contact section 50 is positioned above the rear roller assembly 40 with a rear end of the arch contact section 50 extending to the sloped board section 22 into contact therewith. The arch contact section 50 has a substantially oval form or elliptic form. The arch contact section 50 has a length larger than its width. The ratio of the length to the width is approximately 2:1 to 3:2. For example, the arch contact section 50 can have a length of 10 cm and a maximum width of 6 cm. Referring to FIG. 6, in cross section, the central section of the arch contact section 50 has a largest height. The arch contact section 50 is outward tapered in height. The arch contact section 50 is raised by a height of about 0.6 to 1.5 cm, and preferably 0.9 to 1.2 cm.
The arch contact section 50 is a raised section disposed in the central line C of the board body near the rear end thereof. The arch contact section 50 has a size corresponding to the size of the arch of foot so that the arch contact section 50 is within a fixed range. The width and length of the arch contact section 50 are both smaller than the width and length of the board body. Two sides of the arch contact section 50 are spaced from two lateral sides of the board body so that the board body 20 still has plane sections on left and right sides of the arch contact section 50.
An antislip face 28 is formed on the top face of the board body 20 to provide antislip effect on the entire top face of the board body. Please refer to FIG. 2, the antislip face 28 is formed of an antislip sheet A adhered to the top face of the board body. For example, the antislip sheet A can be a soft pad body made of rubber material for providing antislip effect. Alternatively, the antislip sheet A can be a sand paper having a rough surface for providing antislip effect. Alternatively, the top face of the board body 20 can be directly formed with a rough face having recessed/raised structures or recessed/raised stripes to form the antislip face 28. The arrangement of the antislip face will not affect the arch contact section 50. It should be noted that the arch contact section 50 itself can provide antislip effect. The antislip face is further disposed on the top face of the board body to enhance the antislip effect.
In use of the present invention, when the skateboard 10 moves and a user's feet tread on the skateboard 20, by means of changing the gravity center of the body, the user can make the board body left and right tilt so as to steer the skateboard. Moreover, in use of the first embodiment of the skateboard 10, the board body 20 can be tilted left or right to make the front roller 30 turn left or right and make the skateboard move forward. Please refer to FIG. 7, during the use, the user's rear foot treads on the rear side of the board body 20, the arch 60 of the rear foot are in close contact with the arch contact section 50 so that the skateboard can be easily controlled. (No matter whether the user is barefooted or wears a pair of sport shoes, the arch of human foot is a hollow and the sole of the sport shoe is also formed with a hollow corresponding to the arch of the foot). The sloped board section 22 provides a guide effect, whereby the user's rear foot can quickly tread on the arch contact section 50. In addition, the sloped board section 22 serves to stop and hinder the rear foot from slipping out of the rear end of the board body 20. The arch contact section 50 is positioned above the rear roller assembly 40 so that the weight of the user falls onto the thickened section 26 and the rear roller assembly 40. In this case, the thickened section 26 of the board body can bear the weight of the body. Moreover, the rear foot is directly positioned above the rear roller assembly so that the user can more accurately control the board body to tilt.
By means of the specific arch contact section 50, the present invention has the following advantages:

1. The arch 60 of foot in the form of a hollow is complementary to and in good contact with the raised arch contact section 50. Accordingly, the user's foot can closely snugly contact the board body so that the user can stably stand on the skateboard. The arch contact section 50 also serves as a locating point for the user's rear foot to tread on the board body in a fixed position.
2. The arch contact section 50 not only is in good contact with the foot, but also serves as an operation/control section, whereby the foot can more easily operate the board body 20 through the arch contact section 50. Accordingly, the operability and controllability of the skateboard are enhanced. Also, the skateboard can be more sensitively and stably operated/controlled.
3. The arch contact section 50 is engaged with the arch of foot to provide excellent antislip effect so that the foot will not slip away from the board body.

The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the present invention, not intended to limit the scope thereof. Many modifications of the above embodiments can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the arch contact section can be formed with other configuration such as a triangular form. Also, the rear roller assembly can alternatively include only one single rear roller.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A skateboard with higher operability and controllability, comprising:

a board body having a front end and a rear end;

a front roller assembly having one or two front rollers, the front roller assembly being mounted under a front side of a bottom face of the board body; and

a rear roller assembly having one or two rear rollers, the rear roller assembly being mounted under a rear side of the bottom face of the board body;

the skateboard further comprising an arch contact section, which is a raised section, the arch contact section having a size corresponding to the size of the arch of foot, the arch contact section being disposed on a top face of the board body near the rear end thereof; whereby the arch of the rear foot of a user is in contact with the arch contact section.

2. The skateboard as claimed in claim 1, wherein the arch contact section is positioned above the rear roller assembly.

3. The skateboard as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rear end of the board body is upward bent to form a sloped board section; a rear end of the arch contact section extending to the sloped board section.

4. The skateboard as claimed in claim 2, wherein the rear end of the board body is upward bent to form a sloped board section; a rear end of the arch contact section extending to the sloped board section.

5. The skateboard as claimed in claim 1, wherein the arch contact section has a substantially oval or elliptic form.

6. The skateboard as claimed in claim 1, wherein the arch contact section has a length larger than its width and a central section of the arch contact section has a largest height, the arch contact section being outward tapered in height.

7. The skateboard as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an antislip face disposed on the top face of the board body.

8. The skateboard as claimed in claim 1, wherein a thickened section is disposed under a rear side of the bottom face of the board body; the rear roller assembly being disposed on the thickened section.

9. The skateboard as claimed in claim 8, wherein multiple channels are formed on a surface of the thickened section.

10. The skateboard as claimed in claim 1, wherein the arch contact section is positioned in a central line of the board body.

11. The skateboard as claimed in claim 1, wherein the arch contact section has a height within a range of 0.6 to 1.5 cm.

12. A skateboard with higher operability and controllability, comprising:

a board body having a front end and a rear end;

a front roller assembly mounted under a front side of a bottom face of the board body; and

a rear roller assembly mounted under a rear side of the bottom face of the board body; the skateboard further comprising:

an arch contact section, which is a raised section, the arch contact section being disposed on a top face of the board body near the rear end thereof, the arch contact section being positioned in a central line of the board body, two sides of the arch contact section being spaced from two lateral sides of the board body; whereby the arch of the rear foot of a user is in contact with the arch contact section.

13. The skateboard as claimed in claim 12, wherein the rear end of the board body is upward bent to form a sloped board section; the arch contact section is positioned above the rear roller assembly, a rear end of the arch contact section extending to the sloped board section.

14. The skateboard as claimed in claim 12, wherein the arch contact section has a substantially oval or elliptic form.

15. The skateboard as claimed in claim 12, wherein the arch contact section has a length larger than its width and a central section of the arch contact section has a largest height, the arch contact section being outward tapered in height.

16. The skateboard as claimed in claim 12, wherein a thickened section is disposed under a rear side of the bottom face of the board body; the rear roller assembly being disposed on the thickened section.

17. The skateboard as claimed in claim 12, further comprising an antislip face disposed on the top face of the board body.