WO1997043019A1

WO1997043019A1 - Roller skate having a plurality of rollers in line

Info

Publication number: WO1997043019A1
Application number: PCT/EP1997/002073
Authority: WO
Inventors: Alexander Windisch
Original assignee: Alexander Windisch
Priority date: 1996-05-09
Filing date: 1997-04-23
Publication date: 1997-11-20
Also published as: AU2769197A; DE29608386U1

Abstract

Roller skate having a plurality of rollers (1) arranged in line rotatably supported on a frame secured to the underside of a shoe (2), the frame including a first frame portion (3) rigidly connected to the shoe (2), and a second frame portion (4) on which the rollers (1) are supported. Said two frame portions (3, 4) are connected with one another by at least two cross cars (9) pivotally supported both on the first (3) and on the second frame portion (4) such that the cross bars together with the frame portions (3, 4) form a parallelogram, and an approach movement of the second (4) toward the first frame portion (3) being effected against the action of helical springs (6). Adjustable fastening means located between said helical springs (6) allow to adjust the maximum vertical distance of the two frame portions (23, 24) relative to each other and thus to vary the restriction of the spring deflections. Furthermore, by releasing the fastening means completely the frame portions can be withdrawn far away from each other for removing and exchanging the springs, in order to vary the resiliency of such springs easily.

Description

ROLLER SKATE HAVING A PLURALITY OF ROLLERS IN LINE

The present invention relates to a roller skate comprising a plurality of rollers arranged in line which are rotatably supported on a frame connected to the underside of a shoe. Roller skates of this kind commonly referred to as in-line skates have been available on the market since some time and differ from conventional roller skates in that the four rollers are not arranged at the corner points of a rectangle, forming two tracks, but are rather ar¬ ranged in line, traveling on the same track. Hereby the traveling dynamics corresponds more to that of an ice skate rather than to that of a roller skate.

Neither are such in-line skates releasably fas¬ tened under a shoe but are rather rigidly connected to a plastic boot which is assembled like a ski boot, i.e. consists of an external plastic skin and an in¬ ternal shoe.

Because when using such in-line skates, high speeds are obtained, an unevenness of the ground will be strongly passed on to the skater's foot, which is both painful and can lead to damages of the joints. This disadvantage was counter-balanced in some of the known in-line skates in that the internal shoe was made particularly strong in the sole region and hence has a certain damping effect. Hereby, however, the passing on of a larger ground unevenness cannot be avoided.

It is therefore a problem to further improve a roller skate having the structure of an in-line skate so that it is damped at an optimum and is more com- fortable.

This problem is solved by a roller skate com¬ prising a plurality of rollers arranged in line ro¬ tatably supported on a frame secured to the underside of a shoe, the frame including a first frame portion rigidly connected to the shoe, and a second frame portion on which the rollers are supported, the sec¬ ond frame portion being hinged movably in vertical direction to the first frame portion, and the move¬ ment of the second toward the first frame portion be- ing effected against the action of at least one spring, and which is characterized in that the two frame portions are connected with one another by at least two cross bars pivotally supported both on the first and on the second frame portion and forming, together with the frame portions, a parallelogram. Advantageous embodiments can be taken from the subclaims.

In the following, embodiments of the in-line roller skates of the invention will be explained in detail wherein reference is made to the accompanying drawings wherein

Figure 1 is a schematic lateral section through an in-line roller skate.

Figure 2 is a bottom view of the in-line roller skate shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a partial rear view of the in-line roller skate shown in Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a schematic lateral section through a further embodiment of an in-line roller skate. Figure 5 is a partial bottom view of the in-line roller skate shown in Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a partial view of a further embodi¬ ment of the in-line roller skate according to the in¬ vention in a lateral section. Figure 7 is a partial rear view of the in-line roller skate shown in Figure 4.

The in-line roller skate shown in Figures 1 through 3 comprises a shoe 2 of conventional struc¬ ture which is connected on its underside to a first frame portion 3. Such connection is preferably a screw connection made from the interior side of the shoe 2 by means of (schematically represented) screws 16. Thereby, the shoe 2 may be released from the first frame portion 3 for repair or exchange. The shoe 2 consists essentially of an external plastic skin and an interior shoe inserted therein and hence is assembled similar to a ski boot.

The first frame portion 3 comprises essentially two shoe fastening plates 17 through which the fas- tening screws 16 for the shoe 2 pass. On the under¬ side of this shoe fastening plates 17, two elongated plates 18 are provided extending in parallel relative to each other and in the longitudinal direction of shoe 2 which are spaced from each other by about 5 cm.

In the embodiment as shown, the first frame por¬ tion 3 supports three cross bars 9. These cross bars 9 are substantially U-shaped which can best be seen from Figures 2 and 3. The middle bridge 10 of these U-shaped cross bars 9 is bored through in longitudi¬ nal direction and secured by bolts 19 between the two plates 18 of the first frame portion 3. Here, the bolt 19 passes first the one plate 18 from outside, then the bore of the middle bridge 10 of the cross bar 9 and subsequently the other plate 18 where it engages with a corresponding nut (also reference num¬ ber 19) . The cross bar 9 is however fastened by means of the screw connection 19 such that it may ro¬ tate about the axis of screw 19 which is made possi- ble by suitable spacer rings or bearings. In the em¬ bodiment shown, three cross bars 9 have been provided evenly spaced from each other.

At the ends of the side legs of the U-shaped cross bars 9, there are also provided bores the axes of which are in parallel relative to the axis of the bore of middle bridge 10. By means of these bores, the side legs of cross bars 9 similarly support, be¬ tween themselves, a second frame portion 4. In the embodiment shown, the centers of rotation between second frame portion 4 and cross bars 9 coincide with the bearing axes of rollers 1, which is of advantage but not necessary.

The second frame portion 4 is essentially shaped box-like and includes two longitudinal rails 7 con- nected at even distances with one another by cross members 8. Between two cross members 8 and at the extreme front and the extreme end, a roller 1 is sup¬ ported. In total four rollers 1 and three cross mem¬ bers 8 are provided. In the area of the rear end 12, the second frame portion 4 includes an upwardly ex- tending plate 13. In the rear area of this plate, shock absorbers 11 are screwed in the damped piston of which is supported against the end of the first frame portion 3. The longitudinal direction of the plates 18 of the first frame portion 3 extends in parallel rela¬ tive to the longitudinal direction of the longitudi¬ nal rails 7 of the second frame portion 4. Adjacent thereto, the cross bars 9 extend in parallel relative to each other, whereby, together with the frame por¬ tions 3 and 4, a parallelogram structure is defined. The result is that the second frame portion 4 can be hinged relative to the first frame portion 3 while at the same time the cross bars 9 pivot about their two bearing axes.

To obtain a spring effect, the second frame por¬ tion 4 is supported against the first frame portion by means of helical springs 6. In the embodiment shown, three helical springs 6 have been provided which on one side rest against the cross members 8 of the second frame portion 4 and on the other side di¬ rectly against the screw-fastening plates 17 of the first frame portion 3 or against corresponding cross members. To secure these helical springs 6 against jumping out, bolts 20 are provided which protrude from the first frame portion 3 a certain distance into the helical spring 6, thereby securing the spring in its place.

In addition, or alternatively, to the helical springs 6, further helical tension springs 15 are provided schematically shown in Figure 2. These fur¬ ther helical springs 15 each extend from one outer side of one plate 18 of the first frame portion 3 to an articulate point located on a plate 13, which plate extends upright from the end 12 of the second frame portion 4. These further helical springs 15 may be adjustable in the length thereof, and hence in the stiffness thereof, in that one of the articulate points is adjustable. This can for instance be ob- tained in that the end of the further helical spring 15 engages into a pinhole plate, and the plate can be screwed in various positions to the frame portions 3 and 4, respectively.

In order to obtain a biasing of the springs 6 and 15, respectively, bolts are screwed into the up¬ per end of plate 13 which erects upright from the end 12 of the second frame portion 4 and said bolts rest on the corresponding end 14 of the first frame por¬ tion 3. By further screwing in the shock absorbing screws, referred to by reference number 11, the sec- ond frame portion 4 is pressed in the direction of arrow 5 onto the first frame portion 3, whereby springs 6 and 15 are biased.

In a preferred embodiment, screws 11 are fur- theron formed as shock absorbers, the pistons of which rest against the end 14 of the first frame por¬ tion 3, whereby an additional damping effect is ob¬ tained.

The in-line skate described has the advantage that the second frame portion 4 supporting the roll¬ ers 1 is vertically movable relative to the frame portion 3 rigidly connected with the shoe 2, against the force of springs 6 and 15, respectively. In case of rapid skating over uneven ground, the second frame portion 4 is hence in the position to flexibly back away from ground unevenness and to absorb the shocks resiliently by the springs before they are passed on to the first frame portion 3 and hence to the shoe 2. Skating is hence made more comfortable and less tir- ing and the risk of hurting oneself as well as the risk for the joints are lessened.

Figure 4 shows a further embodiment of the in¬ line skate according to the invention. The first frame portion 23 is rigidly secured via shoe fasten- ing plates 17 by means of screws to the shoe 2. A second frame portion 24 is connected, in the embodi¬ ment shown, by means of two cross bars 29 with the first frame portion 23, wherein each cross bar, as in the first embodiment, is U-shaped and is hinged with the middle bridge to the first frame portion 23 while the two legs of the U, i.e. the side legs, are ar¬ ticulately connected with the second frame portion 24. To this end, the second frame portion 24 in¬ cludes openings or passages wherein the side legs of a U-shaped cross bar 29 can be supported, the pas¬ sages serving as the bearings.

As can be seen from Figure 5, the cross bar 29 is located within the side plates 18 of the first frame portion 23. The plates 18 of the first frame portion 23 leave a free space in-between wherein the cross bars 29 which overbridge the rollers 1 and the rails 7 of the lower second frame portion 24, are able to move upwardly and downwardly. The first frame portion 23 overbridges the second frame portion 24 and is formed, in the embodiment shown, with cur¬ vatures at the lower edge which may be optically adapted to openings in the side plates of the second frame portion 24 so that when viewing from the side a pleasant pattern results. The lower edge of the first frame portion 23 may, however, also be made straight, as is for instance shown in the embodiment depicted in Figure 6. The cross bars 29 are essen¬ tially covered by the frame portions 23 and 24 and do not disturb the aesthetic optical impression. In this embodiment as different from the example of Figure 1, the centers of rotation between the sec¬ ond frame portion 24 and the cross bar 29 do not co¬ incide with the bearing axes of rollers 1.

In the in-line skate shown in Figure 4, two cross bars 29 are provided one of which being located in the front portion in the area of two front rollers 1 and the other in the rear portion in the area of two rear rollers 1. Near each cross bar 29, helical springs 6, only schematically drawn in Figure 4, are provided each of which rests with one end in a seat on the first frame portion 23 and with the other end on a seat on the second frame portion 24. By means of fastening means preferably located at about the middle of the in-line skate, the two frame portions 23 and 24 are fastened to each other. Figure 4 shows a screw fastening means 40 in the area between the two front and the two rear rollers 1. It comprises a block 41 on the upper, first frame portion 23 and a counter block 42 on a cross member 28 of the lower, second frame portion 24. A screw 43 rests with its head against the counter block 42 and is screwed into the block 41. The screw 43 is preferably a hex- socket screw actuated by a hex wrench which can eas¬ ily and unhinderedly be inserted between the two mid- die rollers.

By means of screw 43, the distance between the upper frame portion 23 and the lower frame portion 24 can be changed within predetermined limits (e.g. for a maximum of 16 mm) thus biasing the helical springs 6 with different biasing forces.

After fastening the adjusting screw 43, the po¬ sition thereof can be secured by means known per se which may for instance include a counter nut, a de¬ tachable cap or a turn-up lock, each anchored on cross member 28.

Figure 6 shows in more detail the mounting sup¬ ports for the helical springs 6. On the first frame portion 23, a finger 20' is provided which faces, in essential center-to-center alignment, a finger 20" on the second frame portion 24 when into counter block 42 an adjustment screw 43 is inserted and is screwed into block 41. Fingers 20' and 20" are so dimen¬ sioned that on one side the helical spring 6 is se¬ curely fixed but on the other side sufficient space is left open between the fingers so that the helical spring can be exchanged after screw 43 is unscrewed and the frame portion 24 is so far retracted away from frame portion 23 as the cross bars 29 permit.

Thereby it is possible to open up the frame por- tions of the in-line skate in a simple way by un¬ screwing the adjustment screw 43 in order to exchange the helical springs 6. In this way, helical springs having different elastic forces may be inserted in order to adjust the damping for instance to the weight of the body or the way of skating of the skater.

Furthermore, the springs 6 at the front and rear ends of the skate, respectively, can have different elastic forces so that in particular the severe load to the heel of the runner can be better spring- absorbed. For this purpose, in the area of the heel a helical spring having e.g. a softer elastic force than the helical spring at the front portion of the skate is used as said spring. Due to the easy ex- changeability of the helical springs, such an adapta¬ tion of the elastic force can be made by the runner himself, the operation of exchange being facilitated by the provision of colored springs.

In a preferred embodiment, helical springs 6 having different colors are used which colors each mark another elastic force and hence the damping force for an in-line skate.

This results in addition to an interesting opti¬ cal effect since a color effect will appear in the openings between the frame portions 23 and 24.

The screw fastening means 40 constituted by an adjustment screw 43 in the middle of the bisected rail of the in-line skate may simply be released from the underside by means of a screw driver or a hex wrench and offers substantial advantages:

1) By turning the screw 43, the spring deflec^¬ tion of helical spring 6 may be controlled to various lengths up to for instance 16 mm. In this way, sim¬ ply by adjusting a different spring deflection, softer or harder damping may be obtained.

2) By completely unscrewing the adjustment screw 43, the bisected rail of the in-line skate may be opened by drawing the two frame portions away from one another. In this way, the two helical springs 6 can simply be taken out and replaced according to need, weight of the body, condition of the ground etc. It is possible to provide for instance three hardness degrees in that three sets of differently colored springs are supplied as accessories together with an in-line skate. The number of adjustable hardness degrees, however, is not limited to three.

3) By coloring the helical springs in combina¬ tion with an appealing shape of the two frame por- tions, pleasant optical effects can be obtained.

4) The elasticity of the in-line skate is opti¬ mally adjustable to the skater and adds to the pro¬ tection of the joints by the shock damping and oscil¬ lation absorbing function of the springs. In the thrusting skating movement, in addition, optimum en¬ ergy utilization is generated.

It should furtheron be mentioned that the ad¬ justment screw fastening is not restricted to the shown example which comprises four rollers, two cross bars, two springs and one adjustment screw, it is also possible to provide five rollers defining four intermediate spaces and two cross bars, two springs and two adjustment screws or other embodiments.

Claims

Patent Claims

1. Roller skate comprising a plurality of roll¬ ers (1) arranged in line rotatably supported on a frame secured to the underside of a shoe (2) , the frame including a first frame portion (3) rigidly connected to the shoe (2), and a second frame portion (4) on which the rollers (1) are supported, the sec¬ ond frame portion (4) being hinged movably in verti- cal direction to the first frame portion (3) , and the approach movement (5) of the second (4) toward the first frame portion (3) being effected against the action of at least one spring (6), characterized in that the two frame portions (3, 4) are connected with one another by at least two cross bars (9) pivotally supported both on the first (3) and on the second frame portion (4) and forming, together with the frame portions (3, 4), a parallelogram.

2. Roller skate according to claim 1, character- ized in that said first frame portion (3) is releas¬ ably connected with said shoe (2) .

3. Roller skate according to one of the forego¬ ing claims, characterized in that said second frame portion (4) is formed like a box including two longi- tudinal rails (7) extending in parallel relative to each other between which said rollers (1) are sup¬ ported and cross members (8) connecting said longitu¬ dinal rails (7) between two rollers (1) each.

4. Roller skate according to one of the forego- ing claims, characterized in that each cross bar (9) is formed as a U-shaped element wherein the hinged connection to said first frame portion (3) is made through the middle bridge (10) of the U and said hinged connection to said second frame portion (4) is made at the ends of the side legs of the U.

5. Roller skate according to one of claims 3 or 4, characterized in that between said first (3) and said second (4) frame portion, helical springs (6) are provided resting against the cross members (8) of said second frame portion (4).

6. Roller skate according to one of the forego¬ ing claims, characterized in that between said first (3) and said second frame portion (4) at least one shock absorber (11) is operative.

7. Roller skate according to claim 6, character¬ ized in that said at least one shock absorber (11) is secured to a plate (13) upwardly extending from the end (12) of said second frame portion (4), and rests against the corresponding end (14) of said first frame portion (3) .

8. Roller skate according to one of the forego¬ ing claims, characterized in that at the outer side of said frame further helical springs (15) are pro¬ vided one end of which is connected to said second frame portion (4) and the other end of which is con¬ nected to said first frame portion (3) .

9. Roller skate according to claim 8, character¬ ized in that at least one end of said further helical springs (15) is adjustably supported on the respec- tive frame portion (3, 4) .

10. Roller skate according to claim 1, charac¬ terized in that said first frame portion (23) is ad¬ ditionally connected to said second frame portion (24) by means of adjustable fastening means by which the vertical distance of the said two frame portions (23, 24) relative to each other can be adjusted up to a maximum distance.

11. Roller skate according to claim 10, charac¬ terized in that said adjustable fastening means is a screw fastening means (40) wherein a screw (43) ex¬ tending through a counter block (42) on said second frame portion (24) is threaded into a block (41) on said first frame portion (23)against the force of a spring, or springs (6), respectively, the head of the screw resting against said counter block (42) .

12. Roller skate according to claim 11, charac¬ terized in that locking means are provided preventing unscrewing of said screw (43) .

13. Roller skate according to one of claims 10, 11 or 12, characterized in that between two rollers (1) at the front portion of said frame and between two rollers (1) at the rear portion of said frame each, one helical spring (6) is provided one end of which is supported on said first frame portion (23) and the other end of which is supported on said sec¬ ond frame portion (24), and that said adjustable fas¬ tening means is located in the middle portion between said helical springs (6) thereby restricting the spring deflection.

14. Roller skate according to claim 13, charac¬ terized in that each helical spring (6) is set on, and supported on, fingers (20', 20") each facing each other, wherein one finger (20') is secured to said first frame portion (23) and the other (20") to said second frame portion (24), and that said adjustable fastening means (40) is completely releasable to separate the said two frame portions (23, 24) from each other by means of the pivots of said cross bars (29) .

15. Roller skate according to one of claims 10 through 14, characterized in that said spring, or springs, respectively, (6) have a color characteriz¬ ing the spring elasticity thereof.

16. Roller skate according to anyone of claims 10 through 15, characterized in that said spring (6) at the front portion of the skate, i.e. of the frame portions (23, 24) has an elastic force which is dif¬ ferent from that of the spring (6) at the rear por¬ tion of the skate, i.e. of the frame portions (23, 24) .