Land vehicles – Skates – Wheeled skate
Reexamination Certificate
2000-07-31
2003-04-15
Johnson, Brian L. (Department: 3618)
Land vehicles
Skates
Wheeled skate
C280S087042
Reexamination Certificate
active
06547262
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to an improved truck assembly for skateboards and street luges and more particularly to provide speed and fast reaction maneuverability.
2. Background Art
Skateboards have gained wide acceptance for recreational and sport activities. Competitions in skateboards have included downhill skateboard racing and slalom courses. Since the participants travel at relatively high speeds and require quick maneuverability in turns, the performance of the truck assembly is important. Additionally, such truck assemblies can also be utilized in street luges.
A prior art skateboard and trucks are shown in
FIGS. 11 through 14
.
FIG. 11
is a perspective view that shows an assembled skateboard.
FIG. 12
is a front view of a prior art truck.
FIG. 13
is a side view of the prior art truck.
FIG. 14
is an expanded cross-sectional view of a prior art truck with a skateboard attached.
Generally, a skateboard comprises a board
1
and a set of wheels
2
that are attached to a bottom surface of the board
1
. The wheels
2
are attached to the board using trucks
3
. A truck
3
is mounted to the bottom surface of the board
1
by a mounting base
21
that comprises a socket hub
15
and a bracket
13
. The mounting base
21
is generally mounted to the board
1
by bolts and nuts at mounting holes
17
. The truck
3
comprises a right and left wheel axle
4
that extend perpendicularly to a side of the board
1
and the direction of the skateboard's travel. Each wheel axle
4
is mounted through a yoke
6
and affixed with an axle nut
5
.
The yoke
6
comprises a pivot arm
14
that is connected to the mounting base
21
at the socket hub
15
. The pivot arm
14
is inserted into a rubber bushing mount
16
, usually urethane, in a pivot hole
15
a
in the socket hub
15
.
The connection of the pivot arm
14
to the mounting base
21
at the socket hub
15
by using the rubber bushing
16
is usually done to reduce damage to the board
1
from vibration and positional change from any up and down motion of the yoke
6
during use. However, in a prior art truck, significant frictional forces can occur between the pivot arm
14
and the rubber busing
16
and between the pivot hole
15
a
and the rubber busing
16
when the board
1
inclines right or left during maneuvering, and in particular during slalom riding. The pivot arm
14
of the prior art skateboard truck may not rotate smoothly and therefore can reduce maneuverability.
The yoke
6
further comprises a hanger
7
that is flexibly clamped by an upper grommet
8
and a lower grommet
9
. A king bolt
10
passes through the lower grommet
9
, the hanger
7
and the upper grommet
8
at the bolt holes
9
a,
7
a
and
8
a
respectively and into the bracket
13
at bolt hole
13
a.
The king bolt
10
is affixed by a nut
11
and washer
12
.
The upper grommet
8
is generally shaped as a large, thick circular pillar. Though this structure absorbs impact, it may cause the wheel axle
4
to resist right or left movements when the user shifts his/her weight and may further reduce operating performance by hindering rotation of the wheel axle
4
.
Thus, an improved skateboard truck is needed that allows for smoother pivot arm rotation associated with the right or left incline of the skateboard and increased operating performance of the wheel axis during such maneuvers.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to an improved skateboard truck for skateboards and luges. The preferred skateboard truck comprises a yoke mounted by a king bolt to a mounting base. The mounting base comprises a socket hub and a bracket. The yoke comprises a hanger and a pivot arm. The pivot arm can rotate freely in a ball bearing unit that supports the pivot arm in the socket hub. The king bolt clamps the hanger between a first grommet and a second grommet. The first grommet is flexible, preferably made of urethane rubber, and can comprise an edge circumference and a center circumference. The center circumference is narrower than the edge circumference. Preferably, the first and second grommets are fluorescent.
REFERENCES:
patent: 218035 (1879-07-01), Lash
patent: 2373220 (1945-04-01), Blaes
patent: 2429678 (1947-10-01), Fuller
patent: 2606768 (1952-08-01), Wagner
patent: 2719725 (1955-10-01), Ware
patent: 3027680 (1962-04-01), Gallagher, Jr.
patent: 3642268 (1972-02-01), Hipsher
patent: 3870324 (1975-03-01), Balstad
patent: 4109925 (1978-08-01), Williams et al.
patent: 4159830 (1979-07-01), Solimine
patent: 4166629 (1979-09-01), List
patent: 4185847 (1980-01-01), Johnson
patent: 4194752 (1980-03-01), Tilch et al.
patent: 4245848 (1981-01-01), Dudouyt
patent: 4463412 (1984-07-01), Broach
patent: 4930794 (1990-06-01), Chan
patent: 5069586 (1991-12-01), Casey
patent: 5118122 (1992-06-01), Ricart
patent: 5347681 (1994-09-01), Wattron et al.
patent: 5947326 (1999-09-01), O'Hern et al.
patent: 6056302 (2000-05-01), Smith
patent: 6182987 (2001-02-01), Bryant
patent: 2586619 (1987-03-01), None
Copy of the Fury Truck Co. Brochure Fury USA, PO Box 13080, Long Beach, CA 90803.
Hiranuma Takayuki
Yamada Toshihiro
Bottorff Christopher
Johnson Brian L.
Unicomm Corporation
LandOfFree
Skateboard truck assembly does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Skateboard truck assembly, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Skateboard truck assembly will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3016948