WO1997011758A1

WO1997011758A1 - In-line roller skate with brake system including a flexible brake band

Info

Publication number: WO1997011758A1
Application number: PCT/CA1996/000642
Authority: WO
Inventors: Bernard Daoust
Original assignee: Bauer Inc.
Priority date: 1995-09-25
Filing date: 1996-09-25
Publication date: 1997-04-03
Also published as: AU6982396A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a brake system for use on roller skates. The brake system is mounted at the rear of the skate and activated by movement of the cuff. The brake system comprises an elongated brake-band mounted over the wheels assembly. When the cuff of the skate is pivoted, the band is tensioned and caused to engage the rolling surface of the wheels so as to generate friction. The invention also extends to a roller skate incorporating the aforementioned brake system and to a novel frame structure for a roller skate featuring guide members provided to increase the contact surface between the brake band and the rolling surface of the wheels.

Description

ΪIILE . IN-LINE ROLLER SKATE WITH BRAKE SYSTEM INCLUDING A

FLEXIBLE BRAKE BAND.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a brake system for use on an in-line roller skate. The brake system includes a brake band that engages the surface of at least one wheel when tensioned by movement of the cuff to generate contact friction. The invention also extends to .roller skate provided with such brake system and to a novel frame for a roller skate featuring a guide member provided to increase the contact surface between the brake band and the surface of the wheels.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Brake systems for use with roller-skates, particularly the in-line category of skates fall in two different classes. The first class relates to static pads that are mounted either at the front or at the rear of the skate. To reduce his speed of travel or stop altogether, the user is required to incline the skate for engaging the brake pad with the ground surface. This approach to brake design has several drawbacks. Perhaps, the most serious disadvantage is the requirement for the user to orient the skate at an angle with relation to the ground plane to provide breaking action. At low speeds, this manoeuvre can be executed easily and well even by novice users. At high speeds, however, precisely where braking authority is critical, this manoeuvre can induce a loss of balance with the potential of serious falls.

Another disadvantage of static brake pads is the poor efficiency in terms of energy dissipation. For instance, when the skate is angled to produce engagement between the brake and the ground surface only a small fraction of the body weight rests over the interface brake pad/ground. As a result, the rate of speed reduction is often inadequate.

The second class of brake systems covers structures that produce braking action as a result of movement of body parts,

SUBSTTTUTESHE such as the leg or a hand, while maintaining all the skate wheels firmly on the ground surface. There is generally a consensus in the industry that such brake systems are easier to operate, particularly for novice users, and are also safer.

An example of a brake system using the movement of the leg to operate the brake is disclosed in the U.S. patent 5,465,984. The roller-skate described in this reference includes a boot mounted on a frame that supports four wheels arranged in a common plane. The boot includes a lower section, commonly called "shell" that receives the foot of the user. The lower portion of the user's leg is supported by an encircling cuff, that is pivotally connected to the shell about a generally horizontal axis. This pivotal connection enables the cuff to follow the movement of the leg when the leg is inclined forwardly or rearwardly during the skating movement. The brake system is operated by a movement of the cuff. When the cuff is tilted back, which occurs when the user brings forward one foot (the one equipped with the brake) with relation to the other foot, a brake pad is caused to engage the ground surface.

The linkage that enables the transmission of the braking movement from the cuff to the brake pad includes two components. The first component is an arm pivotally connected to a rear portion of the skate frame. The extremity of the arm that is remote from the pivot axis carries the brake pad. The second component is a rod-like actuator that connects the pivotal arm to the cuff. The connections between the rod-like actuator, the brake arm and the cuff are pivot joints as well. In essence, the assembly behaves as a four-link structure that causes the brake arm to move down as the cuff is tilted back and to move up when the cuff is tilted forward.

One major drawback of this brake system is its complexity and high cost of manufacture. This is due primarily to the requirement of using four pivot joints to operate the brake. Every such joint in the final product increases significantly the cost of manufacture because more complex components are necessary and the assembly of such components requires more time on the production line, more sophisticated automated assembly equipment and better trained operators. In addition to those factors, other expenditures must also be taken in consideration such as longer development times and prototype testing to ensure that all pivot points are structurally sound and will perform adequately over the life of the product.

The industry has also developed brake systems that operate against the rolling surface of the wheels to generate the contact friction necessary to slowdown or stop the motion of the skater. Those wheel-engaging systems have a number of advantages over the ground-engaging designs. Most importantly, they operate very smoothly without the noise and vibration that occur when the brake pad in a ground-engaging system is forced against the ground surface. Existing wheel-engaging brake systems, however, are very complex to manufacture primarily because the linkage mechanism provided to move small brake pads in and out of contact with the rolling surface of each wheel are made of a number of different parts that are costly to manufacture and difficult to assemble. Thus, there is a need in the industry to provide a brake system for roller skates that operates against the wheels of the skate and that alleviates the drawbacks of prior art designs.

ΩBJEGI OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a brake system for a roller skate that operates against the wheels of the skate, yet being simple and unexpansive to manufacture.

Another object of the invention is to provide a roller skate utilising the aforementioned brake system.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel frame for an in-line roller skate.

As embodied and broadly described herein the invention provides a brake system for a roller skate, the roller skate having a boot for receiving the foot of the skater and a cuff for encircling the lower leg portion of the skater, the cuff being pivotally connected to the boot about an axis substantially transverse to a longitudinal axis of the boot, the roller skate also including a frame carrying at least two wheels rotatable in a common plane, said brake system including: - an elongated brake band intended to be placed in a vicinity of at least one of the two wheels;

- said brake band being capable of being flexed between two operative positions, namely an active position and a passive position, in said active position, said brake band being capable of engaging a surface of the at least one of the two wheels to generate contact friction to slow the movement of the roller skate, in said passive position said brake band generating substantially no contact friction with either one of the at least two wheels; - said brake band being responsive to tension imparted thereto to cause said brake band to flex from said passive position to said active position;

- said brake band being capable of being operatively connected to said cuff, whereby pivotal movement of the cuff induces tension in said brake and causes the brake band to generate contact friction with at least one of the wheels of the skate.

In a most preferred embodiment of the invention the brake band is mounted in the frame of the skate immediately above the wheels. The brake band has a forward end anchored near the frontal portion of the frame and a rear end projecting from the rear portion of the frame. The brake band is continuous from the forward end to the rear end. A linkage assembly connects the rear end of the brake band to the cuff, such that when the cuff is pivoted rearwardly the linkage causes the brake band to be tensioned and to engage the rolling surface of the wheels.

More specifically, under this preferred embodiment the linkage assembly includes a first link member having an upper extremity pivotally connected to a rear portion of the cuff, and a second link member pivotally mounted to a rear portion of the frame and also pivotally connected to the lower extremity of the

SUBSTTTUTE SHEET (RULE 26) first link member. The brake band is secured to the second link member. When the cuff of the roller skate is pivoted rearwardly, the first link member is caused to move down. In turn, this produces a downward pivotal movement of the second leading member, imparting tension in the brake band.

The brake band is preferably made of flexible high friction material that should be abrasion resistant. In a specific example the brake band can be made of rubber material that has a high coefficient of .friction such as to generate sufficient braking activity when engaged against the rolling surface of the wheels. To provide sufficient resistance to tension efforts, the rubber material may be reinforced with a fabric made of synthetic fibers, such as nylon, that provide an increased level of stretch resistance. Under this form of construction the brake band may be assembled as a laminated structure, more particularly including a lower layer of rubber material and an upper reinforcing layer of woven fibers. Both layers may be secured to one another along their entire contact surface in any suitable way. Most preferably, the rubber layer includes a plurality of spaced apart projections that constitute the friction surface which engages the rolling surface of the wheels.

It should be noted that the invention is not limited to a brake band made from flexible material. What is important for the success of the invention is that the brake band, as a whole, behaves as a flexible structure. Thus, the brake band may be constituted of individual, non flexible elements that are connected to one another in a way to make a flexible structure. For example, the brake band can be made from a plurality of rigid links that are pivotally connected to one another, in a manner similar to the chain. Although the individual link members are not flexible they form a structure which can be flexed between the active and the passive positions.

In the active position the brake and is caused to forcibly engage the rolling surface of one or more wheels so as to generate a sufficient level of contact friction to slow down or stop the skate. The degree of contact friction which determines the rate at which the skate will slow down is determined by level of friction developed in the brake band; the higher the tension the stronger the breaking action will beef.

When the brake band is flexed to the passive position it should produce as little contact friction as possible so as to avoid slowing down the movement of the skater. This however, does not imply that the brake band will not be in physical contact with the surface of the wheel. Ideally, the brake band should not make any contact with the wheel, however, in practice some level of contact may be tolerated without creating undue restriction to movement. For instance, when the brake band is configured to engage the rolling surface of the skate wheels it can be designed to freely rest on the wheels while it remains in the passive position.

Most preferably, the brake band is designed to contact a wheel of the skate over a continuous sector, rather than over a single contact point. This allows to distribute the forces generated during the braking action over a larger surface area of the brake band which reduces localized wear, thus increasing the useful life of the brake band. To allow the brake band to follow partially the periphery of the wheels against which it acts guides members are placed in the frame of the skate. In a typical construction, a guide member is located between adjacent wheels, below the upper extremities of the wheels. The brake band is threaded such as to pass under the guide member, defining a downwardly extending portion which engages the rolling surfaces of both wheels. When the brake band is designed to bear against all four wheels of the skate the frame is provided with three guide members located between adjacent wheels.

As embodied and broadly described herein the invention also provides a roller skate comprising:

- a boot for receiving the foot of the skater; - a cuff for encircling the lower leg portion of the skater, said cuff being pivotally connected to said boot about an axis substantially transverse to a longitudinal axis of said boot;

SUBSTTTUTE SHEET (RULE 26) - a frame mounted to said boot;

- at least two wheels rotatable in a common plane, said wheels being mounted to said frame;

- a brake system including:

- an elongated brake band intended to be placed in a vicinity of at least one of said wheels;

- said brake band being capable of being flexed between two operative positions, namely an active position and a passive position, in said active position, said brake band being capable of engaging a surface of the at least one of said wheels to generate contact friction to slow the movement of the roller skate, in said passive position said brake band generating substantially no contact friction with either one of said wheels; - said brake band being responsive to tension imparted thereto to cause said brake band to flex from said passive position to said active position;

- said brake band being operatively connected to said cuff, whereby pivotal movement of said cuff induces tension in said brake band and causes said brake band to generate contact friction with at least one of said wheels.

As embodied and broadly described herein the invention further provides a frame for a roller skate, said frame including:

- a pair of elongated side rails capable of supporting therebetween a plurality of wheels arranged in a substantially common plane;

- said side rails defining therebetween an area capable of accommodating an elongated brake band that is capable of generating contact friction with at least a pair of the plurality of wheels;

- a guide member for engagement by the brake band, mounted in said area and extending transversely between said side rails, said guide member being capable of increasing a contact surface between the brake band and the pair of the plurality of wheels. As embodied and broadly described herein the invention further includes a roller skate comprising:

- a boot for receiving the foot of the skater;

- a cuff for encircling the lower leg portion of the skater, said cuff being pivotally connected to said boot about an axis substantially transverse to a longitudinal axis of said boot;

- a frame mounted to said boot;

- at least two wheels rotatable in a common plane, said wheels being mounted to said frame; - a brake system including:

- said brake band being flexible and being capable of acquiring either one of two operative positions, namely an active position and a passive position, in said active position, said brake band being capable of conforming to a portion of a rolling surface of at least one of said wheels and engaging said rolling surface over a continuous sector having a certain angular extent to generate contact friction to slow the movement of the roller skate, in said passive position said brake band generating substantially no contact friction with either one of said wheels; - said brake band being operatively connected to said cuff, whereby pivotal movement of said cuff causes said brake band to acquire said active position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure l is a perspective view from the rear of an in-line roller skate with a brake system constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is an elevational view of the roller skate of figure i ;

SUBSTTTUTE SHEET (RULE 26) Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the roller skate of figure 1, partly cut away showing the brake band in the passive position;

Figure 4 is a side elevational view of the roller skate in accordance with the invention, partly cut away showing the brake band in the active position;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary enlarged vertical cross-sectional view of the skate in accordance with the invention illustrating the relationship between the band brake and a wheel of the skate when the brake band in the passive position; and

Figure 6 is a fragmentary enlarged vertical cross-sectional view of the skate in accordance with the invention illustrating the relationship between the band brake and a wheel of the skate when the brake band in the active position.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference to the annexed drawings, more particularly to figure 1, the present invention provides an improved brake system for use with in-line roller skates. The roller skate designated comprehensively by the reference numeral 10 includes a boot 12 mounted on a frame 14 that carries a plurality of wheels 16 (four wheels) arranged in a common vertical plane that contains the center line of the skate. The boot 12 includes a shell 17 that encloses the foot of the user. A cuff 18 encircles the lower leg to provide lateral stability. The cuff is pivotally connected to the shell 18 at two sites located on either side of the skate. Only one such site is shown in the drawings and it is identified by the reference numeral 22. This structure allows the cuff to pivot forwardly or rearwardly, thus accommodating the movements of the lower leg during skating, while maintaining the leg in the plane that contains the frame 14 and the wheels 16.

The shell 18 and the cuff 20 are made of plastic material by injection molding. The material used should be sufficiently flexible to provide good comfort potential while being abrasion and impact resistant to protect the foot.

Most preferably, a liner 24 is mounted in the boot 12 to provide a high degree of comfort while maintaining the foot stable in the shell 18 and the cuff 20. The liner can be made from a variety of different materials. The material of choice should be soft and highly resilient to conform to the surface of the foot, thus avoid pressure points that could result in discomfort. Normally, the liner would extend from the toe portion of the shell 18 up to the upper end of the cuff 20. The liner can be made as a single piece, or as two or more separate elements joined in the ankle region of the foot.

The roller skate 10 features a novel wheel engaging brake system. The brake system is mounted at the rear of the skate and includes two main components namely, an actuation linkage assembly

26 and a brake band 30. The linkage assembly 26 is designed to interact with the cuff 18 to tension the brake band 30 when the cuff 18 is pivoted rearwardly for, in turn, generating contact friction between the brake band 30 and the rolling surface of each wheel 16. The linkage assembly 26 includes an upper link member 32 pivotally connected to the rear portion of the cuff 18 and rearwardly projecting therefrom. A pivot pin 36 joints the first link member 34 and the cuff 18. The pivot pin 36 may be a rivet or any other suitable fastener.

Most preferably, the first link 32 member is connected to the cuff through the intermediary of an adjustment mechanism 38 allowing to set the vertical position of the first link member 32 with relation to the cuff. That vertical positioning determines the angle of the cuff at which the brake band will begin creating frictional contact with the wheels. An adjustment mechanism that has been found satisfactory is available on roller skates manufactured by Bauer Inc. in Canada under the trade designation F4.

The lower extremity 40 of the first link member 32 is connected to a second link member 30 through a pivot joint 42. More specifically, the second link member 40 is pivotally connected to the frame 12. The pivotal connection is effected precisely where the rearmost wheel is mounted for rotation on the frame. This feature simplifies the assembly of the state since a single screw 44 connects both the wheel 16 and the second link member 40 to the frame 12.

The brake band 30 is mounted between the side rails of the frame, extending throughout the entire frame as is best shown at figures 3 and 4..The front end of the brake band 30 is anchored in a retainer 46. The retainer includes a slot in which the brake band 30 is inserted and permanently secured therein by any suitable means, such as adhesives or mechanical fasteners. The rear extremity of the brake band 30 is secured to the second link member 40. the attachment is made in a similar way as the forward end of the brake band. More specifically, the second link member 40 carries the block of plastics material 48 provided with a slot 50 dimensioned to receive therein the extremity of the brake band. The portion of the brake band inserted in the slot is secured therein by adhesives or any suitable mechanical fastener.

The section of the brake band 30 that passes over the wheels 16 is threaded over guide pins 52 that extends transversely between the side rails of the frame 12 as best shown at figure 1. guide pins 52 comprise and portions projecting through apertures (not shown in the drawings) on the respective side rails of the frame. Those projecting portions are then secured by small nuts. Of course, other forms of construction of the guide pins 52 can be envisaged without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Note that the guide pins 52 are located between adjacent wheels and below the edges of the wheels. As a result, the brake band 30 is configured to descend between adjacent wheels, in effect looping the wheels to provide an increased contact surface as it will be described in detail later.

The brake band 30 is made of high friction, abrasion resistant material. Most preferably, the brake band 30 includes at least one layer of rubber like material which should be selected to provide the desired level of abrasion resistance and high frictional coefficient. Optionally, the brake band may include a layer of highly resistant synthetic material. An example of such material is a woven fabric made of nylon fibers that provide excellent stretch resistance. Both layers of the brake band are preferably secured to one another over their entire contact surface. This could be accomplished by adhesives or by any other appropriate means. The layer of high friction material may be sculptured to include projections in a spaced apart relationship, such as serrations.

The brake system of the skate operates as follows. During skating, when braking is not desired the position of the cuff 18 is as shown at figure 3. The linkage assembly 26 keeps the brake band 30 in a position such that its wheel engaging surface does not create any significant contact friction with the wheels. As mentioned during the introductory portion of the specification, some contact brake band/wheel can be tolerated, as shown for example on the second wheel of the skate, without creating undue resistance to movement. When the skater desires to brake it suffices to bring the foot that is equipped with the brake forward which causes the cuff 18 to pivot rearwardly. This movement is shown at figure 4. The rearward movement of the cuff causes the first link member 32 to descend, in turn pivoting the second link member 40 down. Since the brake band is fixed at both extremities, the downward movement of the second link member causes the brake band to become tensioned and thus engage the surface of the wheels 16. It should be appreciated that the engagement between the brake band 30 and the rearmost wheel is actually as a result of a downward movement of the brake combined to the tensioning effect. However, the engagement between the brake band 30 and the remaining 3 wheels of the skate is solely due to tension of the band.

The brake band when brought in the active position engages the rolling surface of each wheel over a continuous sector having an annular extent of approximately 60 degrees. This provides a broad contact surface allowing to better distribute heat generated during the contact friction and abrasion. As a result, the wear of the brake band 30 is more uniformly effected, thus increasing the useful life of this brake component.

As shown at figures 5 and 6 the flexibility of the brake band in a plane which is transverse to the longitudinal axis of the skate allows the brake band to engage the rolling surface of each wheel over and area that extends on the side walls of the wheels. For the reasons mentioned above this feature allows to reduce localized wear and better dissipate heat generated during the braking action. -

When the skater desires to release the brake it suffices to pivot the cuff forwardly so as to raise the first and the second link members 32, 40. The tension built into the brake band 30 is then dissipated causing the brake band to acquire the passive position where it may merely rest on the rolling surface of one or more wheels, without creating any substantial friction.

In a possible variant, one may envisage to provide resilient members to urge the brake band away from the rolling surfaces of the wheels when the brake band is in the passive position. For example, small springs could be suspended from the top wall of the frame to engage the brake band precisely where it contacts the apexes of the wheels. Thus, those portions of the brake band will be urged upwardly toward the top wall of the frame. When desired to brake the springs are resiliently deformed allowing the brake band to descend and engage the wheels.

The above description of the invention should not be interpreted in any limiting manner since variations and refinements of the preferred embodiment are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention. The scope of the invention is defined in the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

We claim :

1. A brake system for a roller skate, the roller skate having a boot for receiving the foot of the skater and a cuff for encircling the lower leg portion of the skater, the cuff being pivotally connected to the boot about an axis substantially transverse to a longitudinal axis of the boot, the roller skate also including a frame carrying at least two wheels rotatable in a common plane, said brake system including: • - an elongated brake band intended to be placed in a vicinity of at least one of the two wheels;

2. A brake system for a roller skate as defined in claim 1, further comprising a linkage assembly for connection between said cuff and also connected to said brake band, said linkage assembly being capable of imparting tension to said brake band in response to a pivotal movement of the cuff of the skate.

A brake system for a roller skate as defined in claim 2, wherein said linkage assembly includes: - a first link member having an upper end portion for connection to the cuff of the skate;

- a second link member pivotally connected to a lower end portion of said first link member;

- said second link member being capable of pivotal connection to the frame of the roller skate;

- said band brake being connected to said second link member, whereby pivotal movement of the cuff causes corresponding pivotal movement of the second link member by the intermediary of the first link member, the pivotal movement of the second link member imparting tension to said brake band.

4. A brake system for a roller skate as defined in claim 1, wherein the roller skate includes at least four wheel, said brake band being located with relation to the wheels to engage an upper portion of each one of the four wheels when acquiring said active position.

5. A brake system for a roller skate as defined in claim 4, wherein said brake band is capable of engaging a rolling surface of each one of the four wheels when acquiring said active position.

6. A brake system for a roller skate as defined in claim 5, wherein said brake band engages the rolling surface of each one of the four wheels over a continuous sector of the rolling surface having a predetermined angular extent.

7. A brake system for a roller skate as defined in claim 6, wherein said predetermined angular extend is of at least 60 degrees.

8. A brake system for a roller skate as defined in claim 1, wherein said brake band is made of flexible material.

A brake system for a roller skate as defined in claim 8, wherein said brake band includes a first main surface for engagement with at least one wheel of the skate, said first main surface including a plurality of spaced apart projections.

10. A brake system for a roller skate as defined in claim 8, wherein said brake band includes rubber-like material.

11. A roller skate comprising:

- a boot for receiving the foot of the skater;

- a frame mounted to said boot;

- a brake system including:

- said brake band being capable of being flexed between two operative positions, namely an active position and a passive position, in said active position, said brake band being capable of engaging a surface of the at least one of said wheels to generate contact friction to slow the movement of the roller skate, in said passive position said brake band generating substantially no contact friction with either one of said wheels;

- said brake band being responsive to tension imparted thereto to cause said brake band to flex from said passive position to said active position;

12. A roller skate as defined in claim 11, further comprising a linkage assembly connected between said cuff and said brake band, said linkage assembly being capable of imparting tension to said brake band in response to a pivotal movement of said cuff.

13. A roller skate as defined in claim 12, wherein said linkage assembly includes:

- a first link member having an upper end portion connected to said cuff;

- a second link member pivotally connected to a lower end portion of -said first link member; - said second link member being pivotally connected to said frame;

- said band brake being connected to said second link member, whereby pivotal movement of said cuff causes corresponding pivotal movement of said second link member by the intermediary of said first link member, the pivotal movement of said second link member imparting tension to said brake band.

14. A roller skate as defined in claim 11, wherein said roller skate includes at least four wheels mounted for rotation in common plane, said brake band being located with relation to said four wheels to engage an upper portion of each one of said four wheels when acquiring said active position.

15. A roller skate as defined in claim 14, wherein said brake band is capable of engaging a rolling surface of each one of said four wheels when acquiring said active position.

16. A roller skate as defined in claim 15, wherein said brake band engages the rolling surface of each one of the four wheels over a continuous sector of the rolling surface having a predetermined angular extent.

17. A roller skate as defined in claim 16, wherein said predetermined angular extend is of at least 60 degrees.

18. A roller skate as defined in claim 11, wherein said brake band is made of flexible material.

19. A roller skate as defined in claim 18, wherein said brake band includes a first main surface for engagement with at least one wheel of said skate, said first main surface including a plurality of spaced apart projections.

20. A roller skate as defined in claim 18, wherein said brake band includes rubber-like material.

21. A roller skate as defined in claim 11, wherein said frame includes:

- a pair of spaced apart side rails, said wheels being mounted for rotation in said frame between said side rails,

- a guide member extending transversely between said side rails, said guide member being mounted between said wheels and located relative said wheels such that said guide member is below an upper extremity of each wheel; and

- said brake band extending between said side rails and passing under said guide member, whereby said brake band defines a downwardly extending portion located between said wheels.

22. A frame for a roller skate, said frame including: - a pair of elongated side rails capable of supporting therebetween a plurality of wheels arranged in a substantially common plane;

- a guide member for engagement by the brake band, mounted in said area and extending transversely between said side rails, said guide member being capable of increasing a contact surface between the brake band and the pair of the plurality of wheels.

23. A roller skate comprising: - a boot for receiving the foot of the skater;

- a cuff for encircling the lower leg portion of the skater, said cuff being pivotally connected to said boot about an axis substantially transverse to a longitudinal axis of said boot; - a frame mounted to said boot;

- a brake system including:

- said brake band being flexible and being capable of acquiring either one of two operative positions, namely an active position and a passive position, in said active position, said brake band being capable of conforming to a portion of a rolling surface of at least one of said wheels and engaging said rolling surface over a continuous sector having a certain angular extent to generate contact friction to slow the movement of the roller skate, in said passive position said brake band generating substantially no contact friction with either one of said wheels;

- said brake band being operatively connected to said cuff, whereby pivotal movement of said cuff causes said brake band to acquire said active position.