Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
  • A63C—SKATES; SKIS; ROLLER SKATES; DESIGN OR LAYOUT OF COURTS, RINKS OR THE LIKE
  • A63C17/00—Roller skates; Skate-boards
  • A63C17/04—Roller skates; Skate-boards with wheels arranged otherwise than in two pairs
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
  • A63C—SKATES; SKIS; ROLLER SKATES; DESIGN OR LAYOUT OF COURTS, RINKS OR THE LIKE
  • A63C17/00—Roller skates; Skate-boards
  • A63C17/04—Roller skates; Skate-boards with wheels arranged otherwise than in two pairs
  • A63C17/06—Roller skates; Skate-boards with wheels arranged otherwise than in two pairs single-track type
  • A63C17/061—Roller skates; Skate-boards with wheels arranged otherwise than in two pairs single-track type with relative movement of sub-parts on the chassis
  • A63C17/062—Roller skates; Skate-boards with wheels arranged otherwise than in two pairs single-track type with relative movement of sub-parts on the chassis with a pivotal frame or cradle around transversal axis for relative movements of the wheels
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
  • A63C—SKATES; SKIS; ROLLER SKATES; DESIGN OR LAYOUT OF COURTS, RINKS OR THE LIKE
  • A63C17/00—Roller skates; Skate-boards
  • A63C17/006—Roller skates; Skate-boards with wheels of different size or type
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
  • A63C—SKATES; SKIS; ROLLER SKATES; DESIGN OR LAYOUT OF COURTS, RINKS OR THE LIKE
  • A63C17/00—Roller skates; Skate-boards
  • A63C17/0093—Mechanisms transforming leaning into steering through an inclined geometrical axis, e.g. truck
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
  • A63C—SKATES; SKIS; ROLLER SKATES; DESIGN OR LAYOUT OF COURTS, RINKS OR THE LIKE
  • A63C17/00—Roller skates; Skate-boards
  • A63C17/04—Roller skates; Skate-boards with wheels arranged otherwise than in two pairs
  • A63C17/06—Roller skates; Skate-boards with wheels arranged otherwise than in two pairs single-track type
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
  • A63C—SKATES; SKIS; ROLLER SKATES; DESIGN OR LAYOUT OF COURTS, RINKS OR THE LIKE
  • A63C17/00—Roller skates; Skate-boards
  • A63C17/04—Roller skates; Skate-boards with wheels arranged otherwise than in two pairs
  • A63C17/06—Roller skates; Skate-boards with wheels arranged otherwise than in two pairs single-track type
  • A63C17/061—Roller skates; Skate-boards with wheels arranged otherwise than in two pairs single-track type with relative movement of sub-parts on the chassis
  • A63C17/064—Roller skates; Skate-boards with wheels arranged otherwise than in two pairs single-track type with relative movement of sub-parts on the chassis comprising steered wheels, i.e. wheels supported on a vertical axis

Definitions

• the present invention refers to a steering device for sports articles adapted to slide on a supporting surface by means of a plurality of supporting and sliding elements provided in an in-line arrangement, i.e. aligned along a same longitudinal axis.
• These sports articles which may for instance be constituted by in-line roller skates, ski-rolls, scooters, sledges, ski-scooters and the like, are intended for sliding either on the ground by rolling thereupon, or on a snow blanket or ice by gliding thereupon.
• An important requirement that such sports articles are supposed to meet is the leading and running precision that they must ensure when redirecting the course, i.e. when the skating or sliding direction is being changed.
• a major drawback of this prior-art approach lies in the poor stability of the skate, as well as in the difficulty that is encountered when trying to obtain a continuous, smooth curving effect owing to the distance existing from the front wheel to the rear wheel.
• both of them are actually provided with a steering device of their own, the two wheels are situated too far from each other to be able to arrange themselves according to such an ideal arc of curvature as to enable the skater to curve in a smooth, continuous manner.
• the skater is forced to intervene with a number of progressive adjustments of the trajectory so as to be able to move over the entire curve, which is therefore performed and completed in a discontinuous manner.
• the forks when performing a curving manoeuvre the forks may be subject to vibrations due to the quite significant stresses acting upon each wheel, and these vibrations may bring about a substantial instability of the skate, with a resulting difficulty being found in leading and running the skate with the due accuracy exactly during such a critical phase as the one implying a curve, i.e. a change of direction.
• a further drawback lies in the fact that the steering device of the above- cited prior-art solution is only capable of working in connection with wheels having a flat tread. In fact, it is by inclining the chassis sideways that a change of direction is obtained, thereby determining a reaction of the supporting surface on the wheels, which eventually relieves itself onto the pins that pivotally connect the forks to the support members, thereby causing the forks themselves to rotate relative to the corresponding support members.
• a purpose of the present invention is to provide a steering device, which enables a change of direction, i.e. a curve, to be performed in a smooth and continuous manner, while maintaining full stability and control of the article throughout the period in which said manoeuvre is being performed.
• Another purpose of the present invention is to provide a steering device, which is capable of working in an optimum manner even in currently marketed sports articles, without any limitation whatsoever as far as the number and the characteristics and features of the supporting and sliding members thereof are concerned.
• the steering device of the invention must be capable of working in an optimum manner in those articles that are provided with wheels as supporting and sliding members having a curved tread thereof, such as for instance in-line roller skates and scooters.
• a further, equally important purpose of the present invention is to provide a steering device at competitive costs, which is in addition capable of being manufactured with the use of existing techniques and equipments.
• a steering device for sports articles adapted to slide on a supporting surface by means of a plurality of supporting and sliding elements provided in an in-line arrangement, i.e. aligned along a same longitudinal axis, which incorporates the characteristics as recited in the appended Claim 1.
• FIG. 1 is a side elevational, partially cross-sectional view of a steering device according to the present invention, as applied to an in-line roller-skate;
• - Figure 2 is an exploded view, similar to the one appearing in Figure 1, of the steering device according to the present invention.
• FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the steering device illustrated in Figure 1 , as viewed along the sectional plane III-III;
• FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the cross-sectional representation of Figure 3;
• - Figure 5 is a bottom plan view of the roller skate illustrated in Figure 1 in a first operating position thereof;
• FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view of the roller skate illustrated in Figure 1 in a second operating position thereof.
• FIG. 7 shows a second embodiment of a steering device according to the present invention
• - Figure 8 shows a third embodiment of a steering device according to the present invention
• FIG. 9 shows a fourth embodiment of a steering device according to the present invention.
• FIG. 10 shows a fifth embodiment of a steering device according to the present invention.
• FIG. 10a shows a particular of the steering device of Figure 10
• FIG. 11 is a bottom plan view of the wheel arrangement for the steering device of Figure 10;
• the reference numeral 1 is used there to generally indicate a sports article adapted to slide on a supporting surface 2 by means of a plurality of supporting and sliding elements 3 aligned along a same longitudinal axis 4 or, in other words, provided in an in-line arrangement.
• the sports article is constituted by a skate 1 provided with at least three, and preferably four, wheels 3 that perform as the elements on which the skate is capable of supporting and sliding on a supporting surface formed by the ground 2; the wheels 3 are provided in an in-line arrangement and have a curved tread.
• the skate 1 comprises a chassis 5 supporting in a known manner a footwear (not shown) provided thereupon, wherein at least a carriage 6a provided to support at least a pair of wheels 3 is associated to said chassis.
• This carriage 6a is associated to the chassis 5 in a manner as to be able to swing about an axis 7 inclined at an angle ⁇ relative to the ground 2 and lying substantially on the longitudinal median plane of the chassis as defined by the longitudinal axis 4.
• the chassis 5 has, approximately in correspondence to at least an end portion 8a thereof, a support member 9 provided with a first through-hole 10 and having at least a surface 9a inclined relative to the ground 2 by an angle ⁇ , which is preferably complementary to the angle ⁇ .
• the carriage 6a has an arm 11 for the connection thereof to the support member 9, said arm being provided with a second through-hole 12 and having a surface 11a facing towards and counter-shaped, i.e. shaped complementarily, to the surface 9a. From this arm 11 there extend, on respective, mutually opposite sides, a first and a second fork 13, 14, each one of which pivotally supports a wheel 3 in correspondence to respective support axes 25, 26. Extending through the first hole 10 and the second hole 12 there are connecting means, such as a threaded pin 15 or the like, for pivotally connecting the carriage 6a to the support member 9; the pin 15 is locked with the aid of appropriate locking means, such as a lock-nut or bolt 16.
• connecting means such as a threaded pin 15 or the like
• the configuration of the carriage 6a and the support member 9, along with the arrangement of the related connection, is such as to ensure that the supporting and sliding elements, i.e. the two wheels 3 in this case, are supported by the carriage 6a in a manner that is substantially parallel to the supporting surface 2, which is formed by the ground in this case, on opposite sides with respect to the pivoting centre 27 of the carriage 6a relative to the chassis 5, as defined by the pin 15 and the second hole 12.
• Appropriate elastic means 17, 18 interacting with the arm 11 are provided to elastically contrast the swinging motion of the carriage 6a with respect to the chassis 5.
• the above-cited elastic means 17, 18 are housed within respective accommodations 19, 20 provided in the support member 9; they are further provided with respective apertures 21, 22 for the insertion therethrough of respective projections 23, 24 extending from the arm 11.
• the accommodation of these elastic contrasting means 17, 18 turns out as being extremely compact and fully contained within the carriage 6a.
• the degree of elasticity of said elastic means 17, 18 may be varied with the help of appropriate adjustment means or by simply replacing said elastic means 17, 18 with other means having a different elasticity rating as required.
• the swinging axis 7 preferably extends approximately in correspondence to or above the support axis 25 of the supporting and sliding element 3 situated in the neighbourhood of the middle portion of the chassis 5.
• a steering device comprising a single carriage 6a.
• a preferred embodiment of the device as illustrated in Figures 1, 5 and 6, calls for the utilization of two carriages 6a, 6b provided in an arrangement in which they symmetrically oppose each other, approximately in correspondence to the end portions 8a, 8b of the chassis 5, wherein each such carriage supports a pair of wheels 3.
• the operation of the device is as follows: from the position that is held when the article, i.e. the skate in this case, follows a rectilinear path, in which the supporting and sliding elements are arranged aligned along the longitudinal axis 4 ( Figure 5), a change in direction is obtained by the effect of a sidewise inclination that the user imparts to the article; this motion causes the carriages 6a, 6b to rotate with respect to the chassis 5 in opposite directions about the swinging axis 7 against the action of the elastic means 17, 18, as this is best shown in Figure 6.
• the supporting and sliding elements 3 are able to arrange themselves along two incident axes that can be assimilated to an arc of a circle owing to the contiguousness of the same supporting and sliding elements 3.
• the steering device according to the present invention is reliable and safe in use, while enabling the user to perform even sudden, abrupt changes of direction in a smooth and continuous manner and maintaining full stability and control of the article throughout the phase during which such manoeuvre, i.e. the change in direction, is being performed.
• the above-described steering device may of course be the subject of a number of modifications and variants, also in connection with different applications, without departing from the scope of the present invention.
• the embodiments shown in Figures 7, 8 and 9 refer to a steering device as described above applied to a sports article, such as a roller skate 101, 201, 301, having a plurality of supporting and sliding elements, such as wheels 103, 203, 303, of different size.
• a steering device according to the present invention as applied to an in-line roller skate, but it is understood that the steering device can be evenly applied to any sports article having a plurality of supporting and sliding elements of a different size arranged along a line.
• Figure 7 shows an arrangement for the supporting and sliding elements comprising four wheels 103 wherein the front wheel 103a and the third wheel 103c are smaller in diameter than the second wheel 103b and the rear wheel 103d; the wheels 103a and 103b are supported on respective first support axis 125a and 126a by a first carriage 106a which is associated to a chassis 105 in a manner as to be able to swing about a first axis 107a as already described above; similarly, the wheels 103c and 103d are supported on respective second support axis 125b and 126b by a second carriage 106b associated to the chassis 105 so as to be able to swing about a second axis 107b having an inclination in respect to a supporting surface 102 which is opposite to the inclination of the first axis 107a.
• the line 130a connecting the first support axis 125a and 126a is slightly inclined in respect to the supporting surface 102; due to the particular wheel arrangement of this embodiment, the line 130b connecting the second support axis 125b and 126b is inclined along the same direction of line 130a.
• This specific wheel arrangement achieves an increase in the acceleration of the skate, especially when starting, thanks to the provision of the smaller front wheel 103a which rotates at a higher rotational speed and it has a lower inertia.
• the third embodiment shown in Figure 8 refer to a different arrangement for the wheels, wherein the central wheels 203b and 203c are smaller in diameter that the front wheel 203a and the rear wheel
• the lines 230a and 230b connecting, respectively, the first support axis 225a, 226a and the second support axis 225b, 226b are oppositely inclined in respect to the supporting surface 202 in order to allow all the wheels to contact the supporting surface 202 along the same plane.
• This arrangement provides the skater with a more stable balance: in fact, the centre of balance, which is determined by the height of the ball of the foot in respect to the ground, can be lowered since the smaller second wheel 203b located under the ball of the foot allows to lower the height of the chassis 205, and in particular the height of the sole plate which supports the sole of the footwear, thus getting the foot closer to the ground.
• Figure 9 shows a further arrangement for the wheels 303, providing the front wheels 303a and 303b of a smaller diameter than the rear wheels 303c and 303d; with this arrangement the lines 330a and 330b connecting, respectively, the first support axis 325a, 326a of the front wheels 303a, 303b, and the second support axis 325b, 326b of the rear wheels 303c, 303d, are arranged parallel to the supporting surface 302 but mutually located at different heights in respect to said supporting surface 302.
• This wheel arrangement enhances the characteristics of acceleration of the skate, thanks to the provision of the smaller wheel 303a at the front of the skate as explained above, as well as of stability thanks to the second smaller wheel 303b located under the ball of the foot which allows to lower the centre of balance of the skater; in addition, the larger wheels 303c and 303d at the rear have an influence on the efficiency of the skate, allowing to maintain the speed acquired through 5 the higher acceleration at a substantially constant value with a relative low power supply from the skater.
• FIG. 10 A further embodiment is shown in Figures 10 to 11, wherein a skate 401 comprises a first carriage 406a and a second carriage 406b each
• first carriage 406a and the second carriage 406b are associated to a chassis 405 approximately in conespondence of its end portions 408a, 408b, in a manner as to be able to swing about respective axis 407a and 407b arranged at an angle of 90° relative to the ground 402 and lying substantially on the longitudinal
• the second carriage 406b has an arm 411 provided with a through-hole
• connecting means such as a threaded pin 415 or the like, extends through the holes 410 and 412 for pivotally connecting the carriage 406b to the chassis 405; the pin 415 is locked with the aid of appropriate locking means, such as a lock-nut or bolt 416.
• first and second forks 413, 414 pivotally supporting the wheels 403 in correspondence to respective support axes 425, 426.
• the wheels 403 have a different size: in fact the wheels 403a arranged at the front and at the rear of the skate 401 have a width which is smaller than that of the wheels 403b arranged in a central portion of the chassis 405.
• Appropriate elastic means 417 interacting with the arms 411 are provided to elastically contrast the swinging motion of the first carriage 406a and of the second carriage 406b in respect to the chassis 5.

Landscapes

• Motorcycle And Bicycle Frame (AREA)
• Footwear And Its Accessory, Manufacturing Method And Apparatuses (AREA)
• Bearings For Parts Moving Linearly (AREA)
• Vehicle Cleaning, Maintenance, Repair, Refitting, And Outriggers (AREA)
• Details Of Garments (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=34509495

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (8)

Families Citing this family (4)

Family Cites Families (28)

• 2003
  • 2003-10-20 IT IT000076A patent/ITPN20030076A1/it unknown
• 2004
  • 2004-05-06 KR KR1020067006503A patent/KR20060096010A/ko not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2004-05-06 DE DE602004021710T patent/DE602004021710D1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2004-05-06 WO PCT/EP2004/050727 patent/WO2005039710A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2004-05-06 CN CNA2004800308074A patent/CN1871050A/zh active Pending
  • 2004-05-06 US US10/573,594 patent/US20070205569A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2004-05-06 AT AT04741524T patent/ATE434471T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2004-05-06 EP EP04741524A patent/EP1675661B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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