EP3980144B1 - Individual moving equipment consisting of a pair of motorised rollerskates - Google Patents

Description

Field of the invention

The present invention is in the field of urban mobility, and relates to an individual means of transport allowing walking at a higher speed than that of normal walking, without any skating movement, without running backswing, and without modifying the rhythm, amplitude or longitudinal stability of natural walking.

This means of motorized transport constitutes a new solution for individual mobility, in a rather urban environment, which achieves an advantageous combination of walking and the moving sidewalk, and which could be defined as a kind of "on-board and progressive treadmill". which takes place under the walker's shoes. The invention thus combines more advantages than all currently existing means of individual urban transport, including in particular speed, safety, comfort of use, very small personal size and immediate control without learning.

State of the art

We know in the state of the art the patent application WO2018090135 describing a powered personal transport article intended to transport a person by means of wearing a pair of power-assisted motorized shoes, used in a normal forward action which provides an additional walking speed set on the basis of a speed of walk planned by the user; even the predicted speed changes during an intermediate leg. The sole of each shoe houses a relatively rigid plate connected to caterpillars in the toe and heel parts, respectively, which are connected by a relatively flexible part. The whole is designed to neutralize forces disrupting its functioning while walking while the soft part helps the shoe bend naturally to maintain natural balance and walking motion. Also, the soft part can be fitted with ribs or hinges for easier bending than twisting. The relatively stiff front and back plates can be made of materials that can be twisted and bent, but to a lesser extent than the soft part.

We also know the international patent WO1995035136 describing another example of a skate with a single row of rollers to be worn on an athletic or all-terrain shoe comprises at least two rollers mounted in a frame. The skater's shoe can be attached to a sole support plate secured to the frame. In order to align the rollers, the frame can pivot about an axis (A) substantially perpendicular to the sole support plate and be fixed in position with the sole support plate.

Disadvantages of the prior art

The solution proposed by the patent application WO2018090135 is based on the use of a pair of front tracks and a pair of rear tracks, all the tracks being parallel to each other, and aligned two by two. This results in hyperstatic behavior which is not natural for a walking movement where the foot is not oriented strictly along the axis perpendicular to the median plane. This results in a component of the transverse forces resulting in a loss of energy.

The patent application WO1995035136A1 relates not to motorized equipment, but to a track roller skate unique “roller” type. The problem is not the same as that of a motorized skate. The purpose of this non-motorized single-track skate is to improve the power transmitted by the supporting foot during a “skate” movement.

Solution provided by the invention

• une platine en forme de semelle et présentant une partie avant articulée transversalement par rapport à une partie arrière, ladite platine présentant des moyens de liaison avec le pied ou la chaussure de l'utilisateur,
• des moyens motorisés formés d'au moins deux parties articulées transversalement, pour former un train de roulement avant et un train de roulement arrière,
• des moyens de liaison entre ladite platine articulée et lesdits moyens motorisés, reliant ladite partie avant audit train avant et ladite partie arrière audit train arrière caractérisé en ce que l'angle de l'axe longitudinal de l'un au moins desdits trains de chacun des patins forme avec l'axe longitudinal de ladite platine un angle compris entre 5° et 20°, et préférentiellement 12° à 15°.

Cet angle est soit fixé, soit réglable pour permettre une adaptation à chaque utilisateur, notamment pour tenir compte de la valeur de son valgus.In order to remedy these drawbacks, the present invention relates, in its most general sense, to individual displacement equipment consisting of a pair of motorized skates, each of said motorized skates being constituted by:

• a plate in the form of a sole and having a front part articulated transversely with respect to a rear part, said plate having means of connection with the foot or the shoe of the user,
• motorized means formed of at least two transversely articulated parts, to form a front running gear and a rear running gear,
• connecting means between said articulated plate and said motorized means, connecting said front part to said front axle and said rear part to said rear axle, characterized in that the angle of the longitudinal axis of at least one of said axles of each of the pads form with the longitudinal axis of said plate an angle of between 5° and 20°, and preferably 12° to 15°.

This angle is either fixed or adjustable to allow adaptation to each user, in particular to take account of the value of his valgus.

• l'axe longitudinal du train avant et l'axe longitudinal du train arrière sont parallèles,
• l'axe longitudinal du train avant et l'axe longitudinal du train arrière sont décalés latéralement,
• l'entraînement du train avant et du train arrière est réalisé par un moteur unique,
• l'entraînement du train avant et du train arrière est réalisé par un moteur à rotor électrique,
• le moteur électrique peut avantageusement être couplé à un volant d'inertie,
• l'axe dudit moteur correspond à l'axe d'articulation transversal desdits trains,
• les trains avant et arrières sont équipés de chenilles,
• les trains avant et arrières sont équipés de roues,
• l'axe d'articulation transversal de ladite platine présente une direction différente de celle de l'axe d'articulation transversal du train avant par rapport au train arrière.
• le train arrière est relié à une partie intermédiaire de la partie arrière de ladite platine.

According to specific variants, for each of said runners:

• the longitudinal axis of the front axle and the longitudinal axis of the rear axle are parallel,
• the longitudinal axis of the front axle and the longitudinal axis of the rear axle are offset laterally,
• the front axle and the rear axle are driven by a single motor,
• the front axle and the rear axle are driven by an electric rotor motor,
• the electric motor can advantageously be coupled to a flywheel,
• the axis of said motor corresponds to the transverse axis of articulation of said trains,
• the front and rear axles are fitted with tracks,
• the front and rear axles are equipped with wheels,
• the transverse axis of articulation of said plate has a direction different from that of the transverse axis of articulation of the front axle with respect to the rear axle.
• the rear axle is connected to an intermediate part of the rear part of said plate.

Detailed description of an example of the invention

• [FIG.1] la figure 1 représente une vue schématique de dessous d'un équipement selon l'invention.
• [FIG.2] la figure 2 représente une vue de dessous d'un premier mode de réalisation.

The present invention will be better understood on reading the following description, referring to non-limiting examples of embodiments illustrated by the appended drawings where:

• [ FIG.1 ] there figure 1 represents a schematic bottom view of equipment according to the invention.
• [ FIG.2 ] there picture 2 shows a bottom view of a first embodiment.

Schematic presentation

There figure 1 represents a very schematic view of the mobility equipment formed by a pair of motorized skates (1, 2) seen from below, the soles of the feet being represented to facilitate understanding of the operation and not forming part of the invention.

Each shoe is formed by a rigid plate (30) having the general shape of a sole supporting a front mobile train (10) and a rear mobile train (20). This plate is formed of two parts articulated along a transverse axis (39), the front part (37) corresponding substantially to the toes, and the rear part (38) corresponding to the sole and the heel. The front (10) and rear (20) axles are motorized by a common motor (50) inside the roller common to the front and rear axles, for example an electric motor with an external rotor, driving the tracks. This motor can be equipped with a reduction gear, for example in the form of an epicyclic gear train, and with a step-by-step actuator controlled according to commands transmitted by the user.

The rear axle (20) also has a housing for receiving electric batteries (51 to 54).

The longitudinal axis (16) of the nose gear (10) forms an angle of approximately 15° with the longitudinal axis (35) of the plate (30). The longitudinal axis (26) of the rear axle (20) forms an angle of approximately 15° with the longitudinal axis (35) of the plate (30). These two longitudinal axes (16, 35) are offset laterally relative to each other.

These angles can be adjustable to adapt to the valgus of the user, for example between 10 and 20°.

Example of realization

There picture 2 corresponds to a first embodiment of a skate. The locomotion equipment consists of a pair of skates comprising rolling or sliding trains (10, 20) connected to a sole (30) which is fixed to the feet either in the form of special shoes, or as additional skates attached under the shoes .

Each pad (1, 2) is made up of a frame (22) equipped with moving trains (10,11; 20,21), that is to say rolling (12, 13, 22, 23) or sliding on the ground, each moving train being an integral assembly of wheels, tracks, or sliding segments, all these moving trains having the same direction of movement, that is to say rolling or sliding, and a plate , specific in the case of a sole (30) fixed under the shoes, or constituted by the sole (30) in the case of a special shoe.

For each shoe, the plate (30) is mounted with an orientation, in its own plane, obliquely relative to the direction of movement of the mobile trains (10, 20). Advantageously, the plate (30) can be mounted at a point of the frame on a means of rotation (40), pivot or ball-and-socket system, making it possible to preset this orientation.

The oblique orientation of the frame can create overhangs of the foot in relation to the support points of the rolling or sliding gears, which can induce lateral instability of the pads if the width of the support polygon defined by the position rolling or sliding trains is insufficient.

In order to reduce the width of said support polygon while compensating for said cantilever of the support points of the feet, the present invention is based on the lateral offset relative to each other of the rolling or sliding gears. This shift makes it possible to position said rolling or sliding trains along the longitudinal axis of the plate (30) to support the support points of the foot, while letting them roll or slide in the direction of movement, that is that is to say obliquely relative to said longitudinal axis. Consequently, the width of the plate can be reduced to that of said support polygon.

However, when the plate of the skate that is the subject of this invention is oriented obliquely, a diagonal inclination of the supporting leg, for example during the skating push, risks taking off from the ground, at least partially, the rolling or sliding gears more on the outside of the feet. To counter this effect and keep all the moving gears on the ground, the pivot can advantageously be made of elastic material of suitable stiffness, allowing the plate which tilts with the foot along its roll axis to deform the pivot such that the chassis and its mobile trains remain flat parallel to the ground.

In the case where it is necessary to obtain a significant orientation of the plate with respect to the direction of rolling or sliding of the running gear, it may be advantageous to make this orientation configurable as well as the offset between them of the running or sliding gear .

This configurable orientation of the plate relative to the direction of movement of the moving gears can be obtained by means of rotation (40) or swiveling, making it possible to preset the orientation of the plate relative to the chassis, and which can be coupled to a locking device (7) making it possible to obtain the blocking of the rolling direction during use of the skates.

In order to avoid overhangs of the foot in relation to the support polygon of the moving trains, it may be necessary to add a mechanism for pre-adjusting the lateral positioning of certain moving trains, so that the offset of the moving gear optimizes the support polygon in relation to the support points of the foot on the plate.

In this case, an articulated mechanism can advantageously be produced which provides a coupling between a point of the plate (30) and each lateral positioning mechanism.

This mechanism can be an articulated parallelogram, maintaining the parallelism of the rolling or sliding gears, and coupled by a pivot at a point of the plate.

It is also possible to use spacer-tightening cams actuated by the rotation of the plate on its pivot, with, if necessary, transmission rods to the rolling or sliding gears to be shifted.

Finally, slides can advantageously be used, which hold the moving gears on the chassis while allowing them to slide laterally, each being coupled to an articulated attachment point (5) of the plate.

The locking of each shiftable mobile train can then be obtained thanks to this coupling if the orientation of the plate is itself locked.

When certain undercarriages are tracks having a common roller, their lateral offset is necessarily greater than the track width, since the tracks cannot overlap. In the case where said lateral offset is made configurable, the common roller can advantageously be composed of an inner support cylinder, around which are mounted the outer cylinders acting as pulleys, at least one of them being free to slide laterally along the inner cylinder during adjustment.

A first particular embodiment of the invention is an in-line roller skate consisting of a sole (30) equipped with two mobile running gears (10, 20), each comprising two in-line wheels (12, 13; 22, 23) , and a plate mounted on the chassis by a pivot (40) making it possible to preset its orientation obliquely with respect to the direction of travel of the running gear ( FIG. 2 ).

The pivot (40) is made of elastic material of the polymer type, its stiffness sufficient to keep the plate stable in the normal position (excluding pushing force), but letting it tilt in roll with the foot when pushing on the skate, so that the four wheels remain flat on the ground when pushing the foot if the two running gears are offset.

In this embodiment, only the front running gear is shiftable relative to the rear running gear, which remains integral with the chassis.

The shift mechanism is a slide rail (6), integral with the front running gear, and sliding laterally along a rail fixed to the chassis.

The coupling of the plate to the lateral offset mechanism (6) of the front running gear is obtained by a fork (5) secured to the front of the plate, and acting laterally on the offset slider (6).

The rail secured to the frame incorporates a spring pressing it against the slide (6), the two facing surfaces being notched (7) so as to obtain locking in all conditions (free skate or shod). The offset is preset manually, by temporarily moving the front running gear away from the plate, which neutralizes the compression force of the spring, and adjusting the lateral offset. Locking occurs as soon as the spreading force is released, and is reinforced by the weight of the skater when he places his foot on the ground.

Alternative to caterpillar

A second particular embodiment of the invention is a skate with two tracks ( FIG. 1 ), consisting of a frame equipped with two moving trains (10, 20), each consisting of a caterpillar with two rollers at the ends, said caterpillars rolling in the same direction. The plate (30) supporting the shoe is mounted on a pivot making it possible to preset its orientation, in its own plane, obliquely with respect to the direction of travel of the running gear (16, 26).

Only the front running gear can be shifted relative to the rear running gear, which remains attached to the chassis.

The mechanism for shifting and locking the front running gear, as well as its coupling means to the plate, are identical to those of the roller constituting the first particular embodiment.

A variant of this second particular embodiment consists in pooling the rear roller of the front track and the front roller of the rear track (39) .

This variant is particularly advantageous since the common roller, at least twice as long as the others, is ideally located at the level of the articulation of the metatarsals, that is to say at the widest point of the foot.

Variants of realization

Different embodiments are possible.

The pair of rolling or sliding skates attached to the feet can be made in the form of special shoes, or as additional skates attached under the shoes, each skate being composed of a frame equipped with several mobile trains, all rolling or sliding according to the same direction, and a plate, specific in the case of an additional skate, or constituted by the sole in the case of a special shoe, characterized in that the said plate is mounted obliquely with respect to the direction of movement of the mobile trains, and that at least one of the mobile trains is offset laterally with respect to the others so that all the mobile trains support the support points of the foot while making it possible to maintain the width of the pad close to that of the foot.

At least one wheeled train

According to a first variant, the pair of runners comprises, for at least one of its mobile trains (10, 20), a fixed assembly of wheels rolling in the same direction, at least one of which, for each train, is driven by the engine (50). Alternatively, each train (10, 20) includes a motor wheel.

At least one crawler train

According to a second variant, the pair of pads comprises, for at least one of the moving gears (10, 20), a caterpillar.

At least one slip train

According to a third variant, at least one of the mobile trains (10, 20) is composed of segments which can slide on the ground.

Roll without taking off from the ground

According to another variant, the means for connecting the plate (30) with the moving gears (10, 20) are made of elastic material allowing the plate (30) to be tilted in roll without taking off all or part of the moving gears from the ground.

Orientation adjustable/lockable by rotation system

According to another variant, the plate (30) is mounted on the chassis by means of rotation making it possible to preset the orientation of the plate with respect to the direction of movement of the moving gears (10, 20), said rotation means being coupled to a locking device making it possible to obtain the blocking of the rolling direction during use of the skates.

Locking by notching

According to another variant, a device for locking the orientation of the plate is obtained by notching the faces of the elements facing each other, held by an elastic system when the pad is not on the ground, said elastic system allowing the preset to be modified by hand, and being arranged in such a way that the weight of the user on the skate reinforces the effect.

Offset coupled to orientation

According to another variant, each mobile train (10, 20) is shiftable and comprises a means of coupling with the orientation of the plate (30) so that the shift mobile trains optimizes the support polygon in relation to the support points of the foot on the plate.

Coupling by articulated link

According to yet another variant, for each pad, the means for coupling the plate (30) to the lateral shift mechanism of a moving train (10, 20) is an articulated mechanical connection between the plate and the shift mechanism.

Slide shift

According to another variant, for each pad, the lateral shift mechanism of an undercarriage (10, 20) is a slide (6), which holds the undercarriage on the frame while allowing it to slide laterally under the action of the articulated link.

Shoe integration

According to a particular embodiment, each of the skates is completely integrated into a shoe.

Claims (8)

1. Individual transport equipment item consisting of a pair of motorized skates, each of said motorized skates consisting of:

   - a plate (30) in the form of a sole and having a front part (37) articulated transversely relative to a rear part (38), said plate (30) having means for connecting to the foot or the shoe of the user,

   - motorized means formed of two parts articulated transversely to form a front gear (10) and a rear gear (20),

   - connecting means, between said articulated plate (30) and said motorized means (10, 20), connecting said front part (37) to said front gear (10) and said rear part (38) to said rear gear (20)
   characterized in that the angle of the longitudinal axis (16, 26) of at least one of said gears (10, 20) of each of the skates forms an angle of between 10° and 20°, preferentially between 12° and 15°, with the longitudinal axis (35) of said plate (30) and in that, for each of said skates, the longitudinal axis (16) of the front gear (10) and the longitudinal axis (26) of the rear gear (20) are parallel.
2. Individual transport equipment item consisting of a pair of motorized skates according to claim 1, characterized in that, for each of said skates, the longitudinal axis (16) of the front gear (10) and the longitudinal axis (26) of the rear gear (20) are laterally offset.
3. Individual transport equipment item consisting of a pair of motorized skates according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that, for each of said skates, the front gear (10) and the rear gear (20) are driven by a single motor (50).
4. Individual transport equipment item consisting of a pair of motorized skates according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that, for each of said skates, the front gear (10) and the rear gear (20) are driven by a motor (50) having an outer rotor.
5. Individual transport equipment item consisting of a pair of motorized skates according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that, for each of said skates, the axis (39) of said motor (50) is also the transverse articulation axis of said gears (10, 20).
6. Individual transport equipment item consisting of a pair of motorized skates according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that, for each of said skates, the front and rear gears (10, 20) are equipped with tracks.
7. Individual transport equipment item consisting of a pair of motorized skates according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that, for each of said skates, the front and rear gears (10, 20) are equipped with wheels.
8. Individual transport equipment item consisting of a pair of motorized skates according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that, for each of said skates, the transverse articulation axis of said plate (30) has a different direction to that of the transverse articulation axis of the front gear relative to the rear gear.

Images