CA1128573A - Skateboard - Google Patents

Abstract

SKATEBOARD

ABSTRACT

This skateboard has a central section which is sup-ported by longitudinally spaced wheel units under its end por-tions. A forward extension unit connects with the forward end portion of the central section and is preferably of arcuate shape, in longitudinal section, and extends forwardly and up-wardly. The length of the forward extension unti is in the order of about one-half the length of the central section.
Connecting means, as holes, are provided in the forward exten-sion unit so the lower end portion of an operator support rope may be connected with a selected one thereof and thus the angu-lar relation of the support rope and the operator's arm engag-ing the rope to the plane of the forward extension and the cen-tral section may be maintained in the range of 60°, with a variation of plus or minus 7°, and this for all average people regardless of their individual heights. By maintaining the said angular relation of the support rope, a rider may lean backwards and strain against the support rope and then shift a part of his or her body weight in controlling the skateboard and maintain the desired angular relationship between the sup-port rope to the skateboard. An operator of the skateboard enhances his or her body control of the skateboard by riding with both feet on the central section and with a portion of his or her body weight straining the operator support rope.

Description

B~CKGROUND ~F THE INVE~TION ~ :

While skateboards have been in e~istence ox many years, only recently have they been developed to provide an extremely precise and skillful axtO Now the wheels and the boards which they support for wheeled movement have been de~
veloped to a state that extremely high speeds and intricate maneuvers are attainable by skillful riders of ska~eboards, Also~ the boards are extremely durable to resist damage thereto ~.
even at high speed and severe impact with other objectsO How ~: `
ever, instability and lack of means for coordinatPd control of : :
the operator's body and the skateboard in prlor skateboards are primarily due to the fact that the operator has ha~ contact ::
or connectlon wi~h the skateboarcl only through his or her feet and this has llmited the operator's coordinatio~ of body and skateboard due to the lack o adequate anterior-poster-Lor sup-15 port~ ~nterior-posterior support can be improved by providing ~`
a forward extension to the skateboard and a rope extending therefrom to the hand of the operatorO The orward extension is provided with adjustable means so that the lower end portion of the support rope may be secured to a selected length of the for ` ~:
ward ex~ensionO Such adjustable effective length may be obtalned by a plurality of longitudinally spaced holes, Thus, with peo-ple of normal heighth variations, the angle o~ the support rope to the skateboard may be malntained a~ 60, plus or minus 7, regardless of the height of the operator of the skateboardO
Such angle is of e~treme importance as it permits body movement of the operator to control the skateboard and the same time the disposing of the center of gravity on one's body so the safest ;-position of the body and ma~imum control of the skateboard can be simultane3usly obtained.

,; .~ :~

The only pxior art paterlts known to applicant or his counsel which are in any wise pertinent ar~:
PATENT N()o ISSUE D~E PATENT NO. ISSUE D~TE
4,040,639 Aug. 93 1977 3~235,282 Feb~ 15, 1966 3,9g0,713 Nov. 9, 1976 3~565,454 FebO 23, 1971 : :

2~198,667 Aprs30, 1940 3,622,172 Nov. 23, 1971 :~
1,179,496 AprO18, 1916 I),242,735 DecO 14, 1976 -S U~Y OF THE INV~3NTION :

An object of this invention is to provide a skateboard having a central section having a suitable wheel unit under each end portion ~hereof to provide the desired wheeled mobilityO
Ne~t, a forward extension un~t connects with the forward end of sald centra:l sectlonO Appllcant realizes an enhance~ent of rider control o~ his skateboard by providing a forward e~tension of t,.he board and a control rope and maintaining a certain angular rela-tionship of rope to riderO M~re particularly, a support rope isconnected with a forward portion of this extension unit~ The forward extension un~ extends forwardly and upwardly and to a distance in the order of one-half the length of the central sec-tion and is prefer~bly arcuate in longitudinal section. A sup- ~
20 port rope is connected wi.th this forward extension and at selected .:
lengths thereo~ the length depending wpon the individual height of an operator. Thus, the angular relation of the support rope extending directly from and alined with an arm of the operator to ~ :
the plane of the skateboard, is in the order of 60, plus or .
25 minus 7 O
" '~

BRIEF DESCRI~TI0N 0E THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a skateboard embody- :
ing my invention and with the support rope shown in a position as it would be when held and so maintained by a rider;

FIG. 2 is a perspective viPw, on a smaller scale, of the structure of FIG~ 1~ with two xiders illustrated as rlding said ska~eboard, a tall one by dash lines and a short one by dot -dash lines~ and i~ each .instance the angulclr relation of the 5 support rope; `~ ~ -FIGo 3 ls an end view and on a larger scale;
FIG. 4 is a plan view; ;
FIG. 5 is a view in side elevation; and ; -FIGo 6 is a boktom plan viewO

~ESCRIPTION OF A ~REiERRED EMBODIME~T

The skateboard has a central section 10 and a wheel unit 12 i.s dispo8ed on the underslde and conventionally connected wi~h each of the forward and rearward end port iOllS of the central section 10 so that upon crosswise ~urning oE the central section 10, turnlng movement of the skateboard results, Wheeled units come ln various sizes and configurations for skateboards and this inventlon is not limited to any particular wheel unit. Also~
the materials used in the construction of the central section 10, orward extension section 14 and rearward extension section 16 may ~ollow ~he prior art, Some skateboards are constructed from laminated and glued toge~her wood veneers, others of solid wood, others are made ~rom sultable plas~ics, and others of metals.
The forward extension section 14 extends ~orwardly and upwardly from the central section 10 and is preferably of arcu~
ate shape in longitudinal section. The lower end o~ the support rope 18 connects with a forward end portion of the forward exten-sion section 14. A plurality of holes, rope connectors or other sultable means, as holes ~ are spaced longitudinally o~ forward egter3sion 14 50 the lower end portion of support rope 18 can be 7~ :

selectively..connected to a longer or shorter effective length of forward e~tension 140 ~;
To ohtain the maximum advantages of my invention, an operator ~xtends the arm used in manipulating the skateboard, directly toward the selected position of lo~er end of support rope 18 and with such arm and the support rope 18 alinedO Th~
hole 19 selected will depend upon the heighth of th~ riderO
Thus, with the taller rider, illustrated by dash lines in FIGo -27 an opening 19 at the forward end of forward extension 14 is selected, while with a shorter rider, as illustrated by dot-dash lines in FIGo 2, a rearwardly positioned opening lg is `.
se~tedO Wlth persons of normal height variations, an opening 19 may be selected so that the angular rela~lon o the support ~ope 18 to the plane oE the cent~al section 10 o~ the skate-board will be in the order of 60 and should not vary therefrom by more than plus or minus 7O
In riding a skateboard, the weight of the rider must be sufficiently disposed on the central section 10 to keep all wheels of units 12 firmly on the groundu Also, the weight must be sufficlently rearward so that a rlder will not tumble for-wardly upon the wheels 12 strikin~ objectsO Thus, a rider must lean backwards to some degree. Also, a rider must be able to .
shift his or her weight to one side or the other in steering the skateboardu When the support rope is ~rasped by a rider and the rider's arm and the support rope 18 are angularly dis~
posed to the plane of the skateboard at an angle of substan~i-ally 60, then there is a high degree of stability of rider and skateboard and maximum stability by the rider4 This rider sta~
bility is directly related to the support rope 18 and i~s angu-lar relation to the skateboardO

The arcuate shape of the fowward extension 14 permitsthe desired angle of the rope 18 to the central sectlon 10 with a shorter Eorward extension 14 than would be possible i the forward e~tension 14 were a continuation of th~ central section and in a common horizontal plane therewith. By having ~he ~or~
ward extension 14 of substantial length and in the order of about one-half the length of the central section 10 and wîth holes 19, the desired angular relation of about 60 obtains for substantially all riders.
The support rope 18 preferably co~tinues lnto a yoke or bifurcated portion 22 to support a handle 24 to be grasped with one or both hands o the operator, In riding the skateboard~ a taller operator~ simulated by the dash lines igure 20, or a shorter opera~or, slmulated by dot-dash line figure 21, stands on the boardO A position of riding may be with the right leg extended ~orwardly, the right foot on the forward portion o-f the central section 10, the toes up to the wheel unit 12, the right foot parallel to the sides of the central section 10, ~nd with the right knee straight, as shown~ The left leg extends rearwardly, the left foot is on the central section 10, just behind ttle right foot, the left foot is parallel to the sides of the central section 10, and the heel of the left fout is Up to the rear wheel unit 12. The support rope assembly 18, 22, 24 is under tension, the arm 26 of the operator ~whether figure 20 or 21) is alined with suppork rope 18 and they both point t~ward the selected hole 19 to which the lower end of support rope 1~ is attached. With either fig-ure 20 or 21 ~representing a tall or a short person), the angu-lar relation of the support rope 18 to the central section 10 is 60 Cplus or minus 7 ). The operator applies tenslon to support ~`

rope 18 and by positioning of his or her weight and the center ;
of gravity thereo, there is concomitant support of body and skateboardO For examplea the operator can lean backwards and tension the support rope 18, 22, 24 in a posterior direction ~ ~;
to obtain gr~r speeds and stability. Also, when it is de~
sired to travel on a sinuous course, the opPrator may lean backwards and be supported by suppor~ rope 189 22, 24 and may shift his or her weight from side to side to cause such travel.
This feature is particularly significant during slower speed activities requiring high degrees o~ board and body control.
A typical example is that o-f slow speed navigation of a slalom course with intricate manuevers. The various intricate maneuvers mentioned are performed to the best advantage and the greatest sa~ety with the ska~eboard of my inventlon as lS compared to prior art skateboards.
It is sometimes desired to support the skateboard solely on the rear wheel unlt 120 This may be accomplished by carrying the weight of the operator on one foot, as the right foot, and by the tension applied on the support rope assembly 18, 22~ 240 Then, the other, or let, foot is turned cross~
wise of the skateboard and rested when crosswise on the rear extension unit 16. The weight of the operator's body is gradu-ally shifted from all on one foot, as the right foot, to the amount necessary on the other~ or left foot, and on the rear-2~ ward extension unit 16 until the central section 10 and the forward extension 14 form an acute angle to the groundO While this is being accomplished, tension is provided by the operator on the rope support assembly 18, 22, 24 and thus the skateboard is tilted the desired amoun~ by shiting the desired amount of weight of the operatorO After the skateboard has been 90 tilted, the appropriate turning movemen~ of the opera~or and his or her body will cause the skateboard to turn while sup~
ported solely by the rear wheel unit 120 Due to the angular rearward and upward angle of the rear ex~ension unit 16~ a ~-~
rather steep angle of ~he central section 10 and the skating surface may obtain without dragging of the rearw~d extension un~16 on the skating surface~ any dragging would tend to upset the skateboard operator and caus~ injur:iesO
Also, it is sometimes desired to support the skate-board solely on the front wheel unit 12. This may be accom~
plished by one foot on the central portion 10 and the gradual shiting of some of the weight of the operator to the other foot disposed on the orward e~tension 14 in a simllar manner.
Due to the angular orward ancl upward direction of ~he forward e~tension unit 14, rather steep angles may be obtained between the central section 10 and the ground surface without dragging of the forward extension 14 on the skating surface. ~:
For strength and aesthetlc purposes, it is desirable that the central section 10, forward extensi.on section 14, and rearward e~tension section 16 be all formed contiguo~usly as a ~mit regardless of the ~ype o material ~rom which the skate-board is constructed.

RESUME

By way of summary and briefly considered, I have pro-vided a skateboard comprising a central platform section 10 and ~ -a skate wheel unit 12 carried by a~ disposed ~mder each end portion of the central platforrn section lO. A forw~rd exten-sion s~c~ion 14 is carried by and e~tends forwardly of the central section 10. This extension 14 is oE a length in the order of one-half the length of the central section 10. As ~ ~
the operator places a portion oE his or her weight in tension ~`
against the support unit 183 22, 24, this t~ension causes orces ln varlous directions while the operator shifts his or her weight All these forces are reflected in the travel of the .
skateboard. A support rope comprising bifurcated rope 18, bi- ~
~urcated portion 22, and handle 24 form a support assembly which ~-is connected with a forward portion of the forward e~tension section 14 and is helcl at an angle of subst~ntially ~0, plus or minus 7, to the plane of the central section lOo By the use of the adjustment hoLes 19, the lower end of ~he support rope ;~
18, may be attached to the Eorward extension 16 and the 60 ~;
angular relationship maintained regardless of the height of the rider Preferably, the forward extension section 14 Ls arcu-ate and extends forwardly and upwardly from the central section 10. Also, the rearward e~tension section 16 extends pre~erably rearwardly and upwardly rom and is integral with the cen~ral section lOo This section 16 is also preferably arcuate in longitudinal section. Preferably, the units 10, 14, and 16 are Eormed integrally, both -or strength and aesthetic reasons.
Obviously, changes may be made in the forms, dimen~
sionsg and arrangements of the parts of my invention without departing from the principle thereof, the above setting forth only a pre~erred form of embodiment of my invention _9

Claims (3)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. A skateboard comprising a central platform section;
a skate wheel unit carried by and disposed under each end portion of said central section; a forward extension carried by and ex-tending forwardly of said central section; connecting means for adjustably connecting with the forward extension and at selected portions of the length of such extension, said connecting means comprising a plurality of longitudinally spaced openings in the forward extension; and a support rope connected with said con-necting means, said support rope being connectable with a selected opening of said spaced openings in said forward extension to pro-vide an angular relation of about 60° of the support rope to the central section, when the rope is gripped by a rider standing on the central section and with the rider's rope-engaging arm alined with the support rope, thereby providing enhancement of rider control of the skateboard and maintaining a certain angular relation of rope to rider with riders of varying heights.

2. The combination of claim 1, wherein the forward extension extends arcuately forwardly and upwardly.

3. The combination of claim 1, wherein the length of the forward extension is in the order of one-half the length of the central section.