Land vehicles – Skates – Wheeled skate
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-29
2002-07-30
Johnson, Brian L. (Department: 3618)
Land vehicles
Skates
Wheeled skate
C280S011221
Reexamination Certificate
active
06425587
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field
The invention relates to roller skates, and more specifically to in-line and mono-wheel roller skates.
2. State of the Art
There are a variety of roller skates which have been patented over the years. The first type of roller skates have front and rear wheel support frames or trucks pivotally attached to a base plate connectable to a shoe or boot, each truck carrying an axle to which were attached side-by-side a pair of rollers or wheels. The trucks are pivotally attached to the base such that when the boot attached to the base tilts the base relative to the wheels and the ground, the trucks with wheels turn laterally so as to effect a turn. The earliest versions of such skates have steel wheels and clamp directly to a conventional street shoe. The later versions have wheels with resilient tires and an ankle reinforcing shoe or boot fixedly attached thereto.
More recently, in an effort to provide roller skates which provide increased maneuverability similar to that of ice skating and better adapted for outdoors use, in-line roller skates were introduced. Typical in-line roller skates, though not the first, are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,614 issued to Malewicz which skates have a plurality of in-line rollers, typically four or five, along the longitudinal centerline of the skates to more closely simulate the blades of ice skates. Such in-line skates can be tilted at a farther angle off vertical than possible with trucks having side-by-side wheels so as to provide greater maneuverability. In-line skates, however, cannot be side-slipped nor snow-plowed as is done to slow or stop on ice skates due to the higher friction between the resilient wheels of roller skates against the ground than the metal blades of ice skates against ice.
Braking of in-line skates is typically accomplished by dragging a brake pad at the rear of the skate against the ground as is done in the Malewicz patent. Alternatives include U.S. Pat. No. 5,183,275 issued to Hoskin discloses hybrid dual braking mode skates wherein the brake pad at the rear of each skate pivots upon contacting the ground and simultaneously engages a roller which applies braking force to the adjacent rear wheel. U.S. Pat. No. 5,253,882 issued to Mitchell discloses a pivoting hand-actuated rear brake pad which pivots downwardly against the ground upon moving of a hand actuator, rather than tilting the skates backward to drag the brake pad on the ground.
Dragging a brake pad on the ground as a means to stop results in excessive wear to the brake pad which must frequently be replaced. In an effort to provide an improved means of braking skates, other devices have been used. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,501,474 issued to Conte, U.S. Pat. No. 5,478,094 issued to Pennestri, U.S. Pat. No. 5,342,071 issued to Soo, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,486,011 issued to Nelson are disclosed variations of in-line skates wherein the rearmost wheel is mounted on a spring-loaded arm such that when downward force is applied to the rearmost wheel, the arm pivots the rearmost wheel into contact with a fixed member so as to apply breaking force to the rearmost wheel. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,748 issued to Koselka et al. discloses skates with the rearmost wheel mounted on a spring-loaded arm but wherein as force is applied to the rearmost wheel as the arm pivots such that a separate braking member or link engages the second to the rearmost wheel to apply braking force thereto.
Other types of brakes have been used on roller skates and other skate-type devices in an effort to improve the braking thereof. For instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,171,032 issued to Dettmer is disclosed roller skates with hand-actuated brakes which upon hand squeezing of a bicycle type hand brake lever, a plurality of brake blocks contact the respective wheels to apply braking force to all but the rearmost wheel. U.S. Pat. No. 4,943,075 to Gates discloses wheeled skate-skis having hand actuated conventional bicycle-type caliper brakes with rubber pads to grip the rims of small air tires. The brakes can also be actuated during the rearward stroke each leg during simulated cross country skiing for propulsion to travel on the level and uphill.
While in-line skates provide forward and backward stability they can unduly limit a proficient skater's maneuverability and performance. In response thereto other types of skates have been designed such as mono-wheel skates wherein each of the skates has one large main wheel positioned below the middle of the skater's foot upon which the skater balances and is supported. The single large main wheel allows a proficient skater to move more quickly and with more agility due to the small contact area of the single main wheel of each skate with the ground. Other smaller wheels may be included in mono-wheel skates which wheels only contact the ground such as for braking. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,010,732 to Correll are disclosed mono-wheel skates which also include a small wheel rotatably mounted below the toe portion of the boot. Other mono-wheel skates are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,224,785 issued to Stevenson, in one embodiment of which each skate has a single very large main wheel located under the middle portion of the skater's foot, and includes an elaborate hydraulic or pneumatic braking system which attaches to each of the skater's legs which is actuated by flexing the skater's legs. A smaller brake wheel is pivotally mounted behind the main wheel on an arm which pivots toward the main wheel upon applying downward force to the brake wheel such that the oppositely travelling outer surfaces of each contact the other to provide braking force to both wheels.
Other mono-wheel roller skates include those in U.S. Pat. No. 5,106,110 issued to Williamson which discloses mono-wheel skates having bicycle-type caliper brakes. U.S. Pat. No. 4,108,451 issued to Scheck, Sr. which discloses mono-wheel skates having hand actuated disk brakes operated by a single bicycle-type hand brake lever mounted on a belt around the skater's waist, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,194,751 issued to Shinmura which discloses a pair of mono-wheeled devices, each having a short handlebar attached to a support frame thereof similar to walking stilts with the respective mono-wheels each having a drum-type brake which is operated by a hand actuator on the respective handlebar. A one-way clutch can also be used such that the mono-wheels can rotate only in the forward rotational direction.
Various types of suspension systems have been used on roller skates in an effort to provide a more pleasant ride for the skater. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,135,244 issued to Allison is disclosed two-wheeled in-line skates having a pair of respective short beams supporting a wheel at each end thereof. The beams are pivotally mounted intermediate the wheels to the ends of an elongate main beam which is pivotally mounted at the center thereof to a support frame affixed to a skate boot. A resilient means mounted thereto resists movement of the beams from horizontal for skater balance and stability. Also, the previously mentioned Soo Patent discloses a pair of short beams similar to those in Allison supporting a wheel at both ends thereof. Each short beam, however, is pivotally mounted intermediate the pairs of wheels directly to a support frame connected to a boot.
Other types of roller skates have been patented which have various distinctive features. For example U.S. Pat. No. 2,412,290 issued to O. G. Rieske discloses in-line roller skates having a plurality of wheels the outer surfaces of which are grooved to accept a continuous belt which extends around the wheels and which supported in the grooves in a similar manner to a tank tread. The purpose of the belt is to prevent scuffing of the floor surface. Another such distinctive feature is the use of toe protectors on roller skates. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,104,887 issued to Rice et al. is disclosed roller skates having a toe protector at the toe of the boot to prevent scuffing of the toe of the skate boot.
Various connection and d
Johnson Brian L.
Klebe G B
Mallinckrodt & Mallinckrodt
Rayve Brian R.
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