Land vehicles: wheels and axles – Wheel – Skate wheel
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-01
2001-01-23
Stormer, Russell D. (Department: 3617)
Land vehicles: wheels and axles
Wheel
Skate wheel
C152S326000, C152S523000, C152S209160, CD12S159000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06176553
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a wheel which is particularly usable for roller skates, such as in-line roller skates.
The wheels of roller skates are usually constituted by a central hub, made of various materials, which comprises bearings and is rotatably associable at a pivot of the skate frame. A tread is formed on the hub.
In conventional skates it is known to use wheels whose tread is substantially smooth, providing optimum application for skating on smooth and dry surfaces.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,527,100 discloses a composite wheel for in-line skates. The wheel comprises a first central section made of a synthetic plastic material which has a low friction coefficient, and second sections, which are arranged laterally to the first central section and are made of a second synthetic plastic material having a higher friction coefficient.
The above wheel has a higher coefficient of sliding friction of the sides of the wheel on the ground thus improving the braking action which is performed by tilting the skates as in ice-skating. Such wheel construction however does not improve the grip of the wheel while rolling.
This can occur for example during lateral curving, a condition in which the balance of the skater becomes more unstable, especially if the skating surface is slippery or when skating off-road, where the skating surface can be an unpaved road, a wet track, a lawn and in any case a slippery terrain.
As a partial solution to these drawbacks, skates are known which are marketed under the “Spin” trade-name and use wheels which have a plurality of identical and uniformly distributed raised portions at the surfaces of the tread that lie laterally to the central surface.
However, the above wheel ensures a grip which is preset during design as a function of a hypothetical configuration of the skating terrain, which is therefore a compromise among the many situations that the skater may instead encounter.
Moreover, the provision of raised portions or protrusions which rise from the tread leads to another drawback: the protrusions in fact tend to wear rapidly due to friction on the ground, causing the lateral surface of the tread to soon become substantially smooth, with a consequent loss of all advantages in terms of grip.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The aim of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problem, eliminating the drawbacks of the cited prior art, by providing a wheel which allows the skater to maintain a good balance both when the inclination that can be given to the skate during sports practice changes and as a function of the characteristics of the skating terrain.
An object of the present invention is to provide a wheel for skates which allows to achieve an optimum degree of grip as a function of the particular type of terrain on which skating is performed.
Another important object of the present invention is to provide a wheel which allows to increase the degree or ability to expel water or grit present on the ground as grip decreases due for example to the inclination of the wheel with respect to the ground and to the conditions of the ground.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a wheel which is structurally simple and has low manufacturing costs.
This aim, these objects and others which will become apparent hereinafter are achieved by a wheel, particularly for skates, which comprises a hub which is rotatably associable with a pivot and with which a tread is associated, characterized in that one or more grooves are formed in the lateral surfaces of said tread and run gradually in opposite directions with respect to the median plane of said tread.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1499276 (1924-06-01), Williams
patent: 1662007 (1928-03-01), Kuhlke
patent: 1670827 (1928-05-01), Seiberling
patent: 2592557 (1952-04-01), Gibbs
patent: 4364426 (1982-12-01), Mills et al.
patent: 5346231 (1994-09-01), Ho
patent: 4-254205 (1992-09-01), None
Belli Nicola
Mogno Alfio
Benetton Group S.p.A.
Josif Albert
Modiano Guido
O'Byrne Daniel
Stormer Russell D.
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