U.S. patent application number 11/689827 was filed with the patent office on 2007-11-08 for skateboard with direction-caster.
Invention is credited to Singi GANG.
Application Number | 20070257459 11/689827 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 29405396 |
Filed Date | 2007-11-08 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070257459 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
GANG; Singi |
November 8, 2007 |
SKATEBOARD WITH DIRECTION-CASTER
Abstract
A skateboard has a board, and at least one front
direction-caster and at least one rear direction-caster each
respectively mounted at the front part and rear part of the
underside of the board and having roller arms that are freely
pivotable about an inclined axis and oriented in a common
directional orientation at an angle defined by the inclined
axis.
Inventors: |
GANG; Singi; (Choongju-shi,
KR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
MORGAN & FINNEGAN, L.L.P.
3 World Financial Center
New York
NY
10281-2101
US
|
Family ID: |
29405396 |
Appl. No.: |
11/689827 |
Filed: |
March 22, 2007 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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10491671 |
Apr 1, 2004 |
7195259 |
|
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PCT/KR03/00874 |
Apr 30, 2003 |
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11689827 |
Mar 22, 2007 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
280/87.042 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63C 17/0033 20130101;
A63C 17/014 20130101; A63C 2203/40 20130101; A63C 17/12 20130101;
A63C 17/016 20130101; A63C 17/018 20130101; A63C 17/01
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
280/087.042 |
International
Class: |
A63C 17/04 20060101
A63C017/04 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
May 1, 2002 |
KR |
2002-0023890 |
Apr 23, 2003 |
KR |
2003-0025663 |
Claims
1. A skateboard comprising: a board, and at least one front
direction-caster and at least one rear direction-caster each
respectively mounted at the front part and rear part of the
underside of the board and having roller arms that are freely
pivotable about an inclined axis and oriented in a common
directional orientation at an angle defined by the inclined
axis.
2. A skateboard according to claim 1, wherein the direction-caster
comprises: a wheel support attached to the board having the shape
of a wedge, a roller arm pivotably connected to the wheel support,
and a roller rotatably connected to a free-end part of the roller
arm.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a Divisional Application of U. S. patent
application Ser. No. 10/491,671, filed Apr. 2, 2004 which claims
priority to Korean Patent Application No. 2002-0023890, filed May
1, 2002, Korean Patent Application No. 2003-0025663, filed Apr. 23,
2003, and PCT/KR2003/000874, filed Apr. 30, 2003, the entirety of
all are incorporated herein by reference as if fully set forth
herein.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to a skateboard and a
connecting element configured so the rider can easily turn and
accelerate.
BACKGROUND ART
[0003] As it can be seen in FIG. 7a, conventional skateboard
comprises an oval plate (111) and two wheel-sets (113, 123) which
are mounted on the underside of the plate (111), each of the
wheel-sets carries two wheels. With this configuration, the
conventional skateboard can be accelerated by rider's stamping onto
the ground and it can be steered to the right or left direction by
the rider's leaning to one side or the other side of the plate
(111). As it can be seen in FIG. 7b, a conventional caster (130)
comprises a wheel support (134), roller arm (135) and a roller
(136). Such a conventional caster (130) is generally used as front
wheel in a handcart because is easily changes its rolling direction
by application of a minimal turning force by the user.
[0004] However, without the rider's stamping onto the ground, the
conventional skateboard cannot be accelerated or can be accelerated
only by an extremely skillful rider.
[0005] Besides, there is another problem that the conventional
skateboard cannot be tilted much for the right or left turn because
the plate (111) touches the wheel of the wheel-set when the plate
(111) is tilted more than a specific angle. With this reason, the
conventional skateboard can be steered to a relatively small
degree, so that it is not possible to change the direction of the
skateboard for making a turn within a small turning radius.
[0006] Therefore, it is needed and is the objective of this
invention to provide a skateboard which is much more steerable than
the conventional skateboard and which can be accelerated without
the rider's stamping onto the ground.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
[0007] In order to achieve the objects above, there is provided a
skateboard which has a front board, a rear board and a connecting
element which interconnects the two boards in a spaced
relationship, the skateboard comprising:
[0008] one or more than one direction-caster which is mounted on
the underside of the plate of at least one of the front board and
the rear board; and
[0009] the connecting element which includes an elastic member so
that the connecting element can be elastically twisted or bent when
it receives twisting force or bending force and it can be restored
to its original shape when the force is removed.
[0010] In accordance with the present invention, the front board
may have one or more than one direction-caster and the rear board
may have one or more than one fixed roller set.
[0011] In accordance with the present invention, the connecting
element may be a twist-pipe which has elastic material in it.
[0012] In accordance with the present invention, the connecting
element may comprise the twist-pipe and two elastic members which
are provided parallel to the twist-pipe at both sides of the
twist-pipe and are connected to the front board and the rear board
at each of their both ends.
[0013] In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there
is provided a skating board which has a front board, a rear board
and a connecting element which interconnects the two boards in a
spaced relationship, wherein at least one of the front board and
the rear board has one or more than one direction-caster skate
blade which is mounted on the underside of the plate of the front
board and the rear board, the connecting element includes an
elastic member so that it can be elastically twisted or bent when
it receives twisting force or bending force and it can be restored
to its original shape when the force is removed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the shape of a
skateboard according to a first embodiment of the present
invention;
[0015] FIG. 2 is an exploded side view of the direction-caster in
FIG. 1;
[0016] FIG. 3a, 3b, 3c are plan views showing how to steer the
skateboard in FIG. 1;
[0017] FIG. 3d is a plan view showing how to generate the driving
force of the skateboard in FIG. 1;
[0018] FIG. 4a is a cross section view of the twist-pipe in FIG.
1;
[0019] FIG. 4b is a perspective view showing the installation of
the plate spring in FIG. 4a;
[0020] FIG. 5a is the outline of a skateboard according to a second
embodiment of the present invention;
[0021] FIG. 5b is the outlines of a skateboard according to a third
embodiment of the present invention;
[0022] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a skating board skateboard
according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention;
[0023] FIG. 7a is a perspective view illustrating the shape of a
conventional skateboard; and
[0024] FIG. 7b is a side view of a conventional caster.
MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
[0025] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more
detail with reference to the following Examples. However, these
examples are given for the purpose of illustration and are not to
be construed as limiting the scope of the invention.
EXAMPLES
[0026] As it can be seen in FIG. 1, the skateboard with
direction-casters according to the present invention comprises two
boards, which are the front board (10) and the rear board(20)
respectively, and a twist-pipe(40) which interconnects the two
boards(10,20) in a spaced relationship.
[0027] The board(10or20) comprises a plate(11or21), a
direction-caster(13or23) which is mounted on the underside of the
plate(11or21) and fastening devices(12) which tightly fasten the
board(10or20) to the twist-pipe(40).
[0028] As it can be seen in FIG. 2, the direction-caster comprises
a wheel support(34) attached to the plate, a roller arm(35) which
is pivotably connected to the wheel support(34) and a roller(36)
which is rotatably connected to the free-end parts of the roller
arm(35). The wheel support(34) has the shape of a wedge, so that an
acute angle is formed between the contact surface of the wheel
support(34) and the plate(11) and the facing surface of the wheel
support(34) and the roller arm(35).
[0029] With this skateboard having the direction casters(13,23), as
can be seen in FIG. 3a, if the rider leans the front board(10) to
its right side with respect to the advancing direction of the
skateboard, the roller arm(35) of the front direction-caster(13)
turns to the left side and the roller(36) rolls to the right
direction with respect to the advancing direction, so that the
rider can turn to the right direction.
[0030] Alternatively, as can be seen in FIG. 3b, if the rider leans
the rear board(20) on its right side with respect to the advancing
direction, the roller arm(25) of the rear direction-caster(23)
turns to the left side and the roller(26) rolls to the right with
respect to the advancing direction, so that the rear board(20)
turns to the right, with the result that the rider can turn to the
left direction.
[0031] Combining said two effects, as can be seen in FIG. 3c, when
the rider leans the front board(10) to its right side and the rear
board(20) to its left side with respect to the advancing direction,
the rider can turn to the right direction within a small turning
radius. In addition, if the rider leans the both boards(10,20) to
the same lateral side with respect to the advancing direction,
he/she can advance in that direction with the both boards(10,20)
advancing parallely.
[0032] The mechanics for generating the driving force is shown in
FIG. 3d, where the rider makes twisting motion to the left
direction with respect to the advancing direction. As the rider
twists to the left direction, the front board(10) is biased to +y
direction and the rear board(20) is biased to -y direction, so that
the direction-casters(13,23) make rolling angles(.alpha.,.beta.)
with respect to the advancing direction proportional to the
magnitude of the biasing forces received by the boards(10,20). And
because of the characteristics of the wedge shape of the wheel
supports(34,24) which is the components of the direction
asters(13,23), forces(F1,F2) are generated in the rolling direction
of the direction-casters(13,23). So the horizontal component
forces(F1Cos .alpha., F2Cos.beta.) of the forces(F1,F2) generate
the driving forces which accelerate the skateboard. As a result,
with the skateboard having direction casters, there is no need for
the rider to stamp on the ground for generating the driving force,
instead, he/she needs only to twist his/her body right and left
without moving his/her feet. And it can be seen in FIG. 3d, the
vertical components of the F1 and F2 (F1Sin .alpha., F2Sin .beta.)
make a moment M to make the skateboard rotate around its center of
gravity.
[0033] As shown in FIG. 4a, the twist-pipe(40) comprises the front
pipe(41), the rear pipe(50), the inner pipe(52) which is fixedly
field in the rear pipe(50) by ball bearing(51) so that it can
rotate with respect to the rear pipe(50) but cannot be separated
from the rear pipe(50), and the spring lock(53,54) which is fixed
in the inner pipe(52) and connects the inner pipe(52) with the
front pipe(41) to make the two pipes(52,41) rotate together.
[0034] A plate spring(55), which will be installed in the rear
pipe(50), is shown in FIG. 4b. The plate spring(55) is combined to
the inner pipe(52) at one end and combined to the rear pipe(50) at
the other end by the holders(56), so that the plate spring(55) is
elastically twisted by the rotation of the front pipe(41), relative
to the rear pipe(50), caused by the rider's twisting force. At this
time, the plate spring(55) provides restoring force when the
twisting force is removed. With said configuration, the
twist-pipe(40), with the plate spring(55) in it, enables the rider
to safely maintain his/her balance by its restoring force generated
by the plate spring(55) when the rider twists the front and rear
boards(10,20) right and left to make a turn or to generate driving
force while riding the skateboard of the present invention.
[0035] Besides, the two boards(10,20) can be separated by pushing
the button(54) of the spring lock(53,54), so it is convenient for
the rider to keep and carry the skateboard.
[0036] In addition, two or more direction-casters(13,23), which are
mounted on the underside of the plates(11,21), can be installed so
as to be aligned along a longitudinal axis of the plates(11,21), or
so as to be parallel in a side-by-side arrangement With the
longitudinal or the parallel configuration, the skateboard has a
relatively larger turning radius, but it ensures greater
safety.
[0037] As it can be seen in FIG. 5a, the direction-caster(13) is
adopted in the front board(10), but one or more fixed roller
sets(61), in which the roller cannot be rotated on the axis of the
roller arm, are adopted in the rear board(20). With this
configuration, the turning of the skateboard can be effected only
by the front board(10). So, in consideration of safety, this
skateboard can be used for young children.
[0038] In FIG. 5b, the twist-pipe(40) is not equipped with the
plate spring device(55,56,57), but there are two flexible rubber
members(65) which are parallel to the twist-pipe(40) at both side
of the twist-pipe(40). The two flexible rubber members(65) are
connected at each of their one ends to the front board(10) and at
their other ends to the rear board(20). The restoring force can be
obtained by these flexible rubber members(65) when the
twist-pipe(40) is twisted.
[0039] And from the skateboard above, it is conceivable to invent a
skating board, as can be seen in FIG. 6, provided with
direction-caster skate blades(73,83) that have blades(76,86)
instead of the rollers(36,26) in the direction-casters(13,23) in
FIG. 1. The skating board is used on ice.
* * * * *