U.S. patent application number 09/805122 was filed with the patent office on 2002-08-08 for roller skate.
Invention is credited to Hwang, Tian Yow, Liao, Hsueh Sen.
Application Number | 20020105151 09/805122 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 21681064 |
Filed Date | 2002-08-08 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020105151 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Liao, Hsueh Sen ; et
al. |
August 8, 2002 |
Roller skate
Abstract
A roller skate, comprises a shoe portion having a sole; left and
right frame members mounted on the sole of said shoe portion in
parallel arrangement, and each having a front through-hole and a
rear through-hole; and two suspension roller assemblies which are
pivotally attached to said front and rear through-holes of said
frame members, respectively, each of said roller assemblies
including a left suspension plate, a right suspension plate and a
pair of rollers, said left and right suspension plates each being
bent to an angle at the central portion thereof, wherein each of
said left and right suspension plates is provided with an aperture
at each of the two ends thereof for pivotally connecting said
rollers, and a pivot hole at the central portion thereof for
pivotally connecting with said through-holes, when said left and
right suspension plates are mounted onto said frame members.
Inventors: |
Liao, Hsueh Sen; (Hsin Chu
Hsien, TW) ; Hwang, Tian Yow; (Taichung City,
TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
DOUGHERTY & TROXELL
SUITE 1404
5205 LEESBURG PIKE
FALLS CHURCH
VA
22041
US
|
Family ID: |
21681064 |
Appl. No.: |
09/805122 |
Filed: |
March 14, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
280/11.223 ;
280/11.27 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63C 17/0046 20130101;
A63C 17/062 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
280/11.223 ;
280/11.27 |
International
Class: |
A63C 017/04 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Feb 5, 2001 |
TW |
90201817 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A roller skate, comprising: a shoe portion having a sole; left
and right frame members mounted on the sole of said shoe portion in
parallel arrangement, and each having a front through-hole and a
rear through-hole; and two suspension roller assemblies which are
pivotally attached to said front and rear through-holes of said
frame members, respectively, each of said roller assemblies
including a left suspension plate, a right suspension plate and a
pair of rollers, said left and right suspension plates each being
bent to an angle at the central portion thereof, wherein each of
said left and right suspension plates is provided with an aperture
at each of the two ends thereof for pivotally connecting said
rollers, and a pivot hole at the central portion thereof for
pivotally connecting with said through-holes, when said left and
right suspension plates are mounted onto said frame members.
2. A roller skate as claimed in claim 1, wherein said left and
right frame members each further include a positioning slot
provided adjacent each of said through-holes.
3. A roller skate as claimed in claim 1, wherein the right
suspension plate further includes a projection provided adjacent
the pivot hole, and the left suspension plate further includes a
corresponding groove provided adjacent the pivot hole for insertion
of said projection.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a roller skate, in
particular to a roller skate shoe having dual roller assemblies
with the rollers arranged in a single file (one line) which, in
use, are capable of the usual rolling motion on the one hand and of
movement up and down, on the other hand, according to the condition
of the ground so as to maintain contact with the ground.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Roller skates with single-file (one-line) rollers are quite
popular particularly among the youngsters most of which owns a
pair. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the four rollers 1, 2, 3, 4 in a
single-file arrangement provided on the sole of the conventional
roller skate 11 are all in contact with the ground when the ground
surface is level and flat. However, once the ground is uneven with
humps or sunken portions, not all the four rollers 1, 2, 3, 4 would
be able to touch the ground, i.e., some will be suspended in air,
e.g., the rollers 2, 3 shown in FIG. 1 or the rollers 1, 4 shown in
FIG. 2 are all in a suspended state. Vibration of the roller skate
11 will thus occur which will cause discomfort to the user, not to
mention possible danger when turning due to the instability arising
therefrom.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] To overcome the drawback of the conventional roller skate,
an object of the present invention is to provide an improved roller
skate having single-file rollers mounted in dual roller assemblies
which rollers, in use, are capable of rising or falling motion to
produce an up or down movement so as to maintain rolling contact
with the ground and thus achieve the effect of adhering to the
ground and reducing any pulsating or unsteady movement caused by
uneven surface of the ground.
[0006] To realize the above object, the present invention provides
a roller skate which comprises a shoe portion having a sole; left
and right frame members mounted on the sole of said shoe portion in
parallel arrangement, and each having a front through-hole and a
rear through-hole; and two suspension roller assemblies which are
pivotally attached to said front and rear through-holes of said
frame members, respectively, each of said roller assemblies
including a left suspension plate, a right suspension plate and a
pair of rollers, said left and right suspension plates each being
bent to an angle at the central portion thereof, wherein each of
said left and right suspension plates is provided with an aperture
at each of the two ends thereof for pivotally connecting said
rollers, and a pivot hole at the central portion thereof for
pivotally connecting with said through-holes, when said left and
right suspension plates are mounted onto said frame members.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] Other features and advantages of the present invention will
become apparent in the following detailed description of the
preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings,
in which:
[0008] FIG. 1 is a view of the conventional roller skate with four
single-file rollers showing the suspended state of the two middle
rollers when skating on an uneven ground;
[0009] FIG. 2 is a view of the conventional roller skate with four
single-file rollers showing the suspended state of the front and
rear rollers when skating on an uneven ground;
[0010] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a preferred
embodiment of the roller skate according to the present
invention;
[0011] FIG. 4 is a side view of the preferred embodiment of the
roller skate according to the present invention;
[0012] FIG. 5 is a view showing the preferred embodiment when being
used to skate over an uneven ground; and
[0013] FIG. 6 is another view showing the preferred embodiment when
being used to skate over an uneven ground.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0014] With reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the roller skate 10
according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention
comprises a shoe portion 101, left and right frame members 103, 104
which are longitudinally disposed on the sole 102 and along the
length of the shoe portion 101 in parallel arrangement, and two
suspension roller assemblies 5, 6 attached to the front and rear
portion of the frame members 103, 104, respectively.
[0015] The left and right frame members 103, 104 each have a front
through-hole 105, 106 and a rear through-hole 107, 108, and an
elongated positioning slot 109, 110 provided adjacent each of the
front through holes 105, 106. The two suspension roller assemblies
5, 6 are of the same configuration and construction. Only the
roller assembly 5 is described. The roller assembly 5 includes a
left suspension plate 501, a right suspension plate 502, and a pair
of rollers 503, 504. The left and right suspension plates 501, 502
are of substantially the same configuration and thus, for
simplicity's sake, only the right suspension plate 502 will be
described herein. The right suspension plate 502 is bent at an
angle at the central portion thereof into a substantially V shape
and has two ends each of which is provided with an aperture 505,
506.
[0016] The suspension plate 502 is further provided with a pivot
hole 507 at the central portion thereof and a projection 508
adjacent the pivot hole 507 (the other suspension plate 501 is,
however, provided with a corresponding elongated groove 509 for
insertion of the projection 508).
[0017] The two roller assemblies 5, 6 are pivotally attached to the
frame members 103, 104, one in front of the other in a single-file
arrangement, at the front and rear through-holes 105, 106, 107, 108
of the frame members 103, 104, respectively. Since the manner of
attachment is the same for both roller assemblies 5, 6, only the
attachment of one roller assembly 5 to the front portion of the
frame members 103, 104 will be described herein. The left and right
suspension plates 501, 502 are superposed, and the respective pivot
holes 507 (507') of the suspension plates 502, 501 are aligned with
the respective front through-holes 105, 106 of both left and right
frame members 103, 104 with a washer 510 placed between the
suspension plates 501, 502. A first nut 511 is inserted from one
side of the aligned holes and is screwed to a first threaded bolt
512 on the other side, with the projection 508 on one suspension
plate 502 properly inserted through the corresponding positioning
slots 110, 109 in, the frame members 104, 103 and into the
corresponding groove 509 on the other suspension plate 501. A
second nut 512 is inserted through the aperture 505, the central
hole 513 of the roller 503 and the aperture 505', and then is
screwed to a second threaded bolt 514. The roller 504 is arranged
between the left and right suspension plates 501, 502 as the
above-mentioned manner. Thus, with the pivot holes 507 (507') as
the center of rotation, the roller assembly 5 drives a proper
amount of free rotation confined within the movement of the
projection 508 in the positioning holes 109, 1 10 of the left and
right frame members 103, 104. In this way, the rollers 503, 504,
503', 504' in the two suspension roller assemblies 5, 6, pivotally
connected at the front and rear ends of the shoe portion 101 are
rendered capable of free slight movement up and down.
[0018] Skating on grounds in general, under a design consideration
of the permissible scope of the undulating condition of the ground,
the four rollers 503, 504, 503' 504' can maintain adherence to the
ground. In this way, the pulsating unsteady motions can be
minimized, thus improving upon the drawback of the roller skate 11
with the fixed single-file rollers 1, 2, 3, 4 of the prior art.
[0019] With reference to FIG. 5, the condition of the roller skate
10 of the present invention skating along an uneven ground with
humps 81 is shown. It can be noted that under the proper amount of
rotary movement of the roller assemblies 5, 6 contact with the
ground which bears the gravity is maintained while traveling.
Further, with reference to FIG. 6, the condition of the roller
skate 10 of the present invention skating along an uneven ground
with humps 83 is shown. It can be noted that the rollers 503, 504,
503' 504' maintain contact with the ground to bear the gravity, and
do not leave the ground as in the rollers 1, 2, 3, 4 of the roller
skate 11 of the prior art.
[0020] While the present invention has been described in connection
with what is considered the most practical and preferred
embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to
the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various
arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest
interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and
equivalent arrangements.
* * * * *