GB2296692A - Powered skates - Google Patents

Abstract

An inline skate has a powered wheel (1) at the rear. The wheel (1) is driven by an electric motor (D) through a belt or bevel gearing and is mounted on a swingarm (B) and biased against the ground by a spring (A). Power to the wheel is cut off automatically when the wheel loses contact with the ground. The motor receives electric power from batteries in a belt or backpack worn by the skater and is controlled by a hand-operated lever which is combined with a wrist protector. Braking may be similarly controlled. In an alternative arrangement the wheel may be driven through a cable drive from an internal-combustion engine in a backpack. <IMAGE>

Description

POWERED SKATE SYSTEM This invention relates to a powered skate system BACKGROUND Skating is a popular worldwide activity enjoyed on ice skates. *'quad" rollerskates. and has in recent years enjoyed a resurgence with the more efficient and faster in-line" wheel skates which enable a fit person to keep up with a bicycle. It is uith these in mind that the following invention is submitted.

It is logical to look for solutions to the problems related to powering a pair of skates and there are in existance a number of patents related to this field.

However so far none has explored the unique dynamic of the skater and. notably.

nothing of the kind has been mass produced. What follows is the product of such speculation by an enthusiastic skater with knowledge of mechanics and design.

It is of great importance that the invention functions within the dynamics of skating: Freedom of movement. safes. ergonomic control and weight placement being but some of the factors governing the design of this invention.

Various advancing technologies such as rechargeable batteries. cable drive (where one cable rotates within another to transfer power from a motor to. for example. a wheel but remains flexible). materials such as carbon fibre and hightensile alloys along with the existance of smaller more powerful and increasingly efficient electrical motors are among the factors that uill enable anyone (preferably with skiing or skating experience) to u ear a rapid. highly efficient and agile vehicle. with negligable damage to the environment. In the case of the electric v version it could be recharged completely in a matter of hours from a normal mains plug socket.

According to the present system the vehicle is in three sections: I.) The powered skates (see fig. 1) This comprises a pair of inline skates (in this example) each with a rigid extended chassis (C) which runs under the foot and up past the ankle of the skate boot. In a separate "bolt-on" version this stays in position with straps about the ankle of the skate boot and being bolted onto the skate's wheel chassis.

At the rear an electric motor (D). roughly the size of a small angle grinder.

and mounted verticals inside a sprung casing turns a wheel v ia a bevel gear or belt system turning the plain of rotation through 90 degrees.

The propelled uheel(l) therefore sits and turns in the same plain as the skate u heels and the axle of the wheel( I) is in fixed position in relation with the motor(D). The suspension unit of which of which the motor casing is part (A & ) is adjustable to bekns the line of contact with the road. according to weight and/or preference.

The wheel( 1) moves vertically on a swingarm(B) joined at the axle of wheel( 1) and the heel of the motor chassis (or the axle bolt of the last skate wheel) while the entire sprung unit is guided through the upper part of the chassis via a shaft sliding through a cylindrical swivel bearing mounted therein (SWI).

When the wheel(l) loses contact with the ground the motor automatically shuts off electrically and/or by a clutch. This prevents the wheel from "racing" under power in the air and throwing the skater when he touches down again.

This cutoff feature is not just a preventive safety feature but also follows the dynamics of the skater under his/her own power. However. a button or lever on the hand-held controls could temporarily override cutoff enabling the skater to increase acceleration by "dragging" the wheel( 1).

A similar system is the thronle man in a powerboat race anticipating the waves and shutting don when the boat is airborn. Without him the engines would blow up and the pilot would lose control.

The wheel( 1) would always be set below the line of contact with the road of the skate wheels. The wheel( 1). being pushed downward by the suspension spring. would thus maintain an efficient contact with the ground and cutoff would be activated where the wheel( 1) passes a point below the line of contact.

The tires of the wheel( 1) would wear quickly with use but could be manufactured from recycled car tyre compound and sold cheaply. wllile the central hub. which contains the axle bearing and supports a friction brake s-stem. can be dismounted and remounted for tyre changes. It could comprise two discs which screw together thus gripping the tyre (see Fig 2 W 1).

Cables carrying the current to the motor from the belt and the cutoff switch circuits. would be mounted at the top of the motor inside the casing (Ml).

The brake cables would run inside the outer casing of the unit to the calipcrs.

A cable-operated friction-pe brake with metal calipers would be mounted on the swingarm pressing directly onto the tyre of wheel( 1).

2.) The reservoir/transfer unit(Fig 2) This is wom as a belt (or backpack) containing the batteries (C) and the brake and accelerator transfer box(A). The latter is connected to the handsets and enables the smooth transfer of commands (accelerationtbraking) from them to the motors and wheels( 1).

a.) The middle section of the belt also contains a transformer(E) for tricklecharging the batteries. The batteries can be detached from the belt and charged separately or while in the belt.

b.) All cables. that is to say all electric. drive or brake cables. are contained in ílexiblc tubillg which can be elcro-strapped to the arms and legs providing total freedom of movement to the skater.

3.) Handsets /pistol grips (Fig 3) The two handsets. which correspond to accelerator and brake are. in their simplest form levers which are connected to the belt/motor/backpack very adequately with standard bicycle brake cable. These pull similar cables running to the motors and brakes via the transfer unit. The transfer of leverage is made necessary by the doubling of one or both functions to the two wheels(1).

An ideal feature of the handsets is that they would be integrated with the wrist protectors that are standard equipment for skaters. Because these can be firmly strapped to both wrists, the skater can let go of his controls without dropping them so that the hands remain free and the skater in control at all times.

Backpack-based motor version, enabling feasible internalcombustion drive system.

The carrying of a motor on the back would allow a greater capacity internalcombustion engine to power the wheels. with the added advantage of guaranteeing identical output to each of the wheels( I). The idea of a back-pack based propulsion system with cable drives to each boot is not new but combined with other pans of this invention would be the most practical solution to the considerable problems presented in motorising roller-skates. within the range of available technology.

1.) The afformentioned chassis. spring and swing arm rcmain as in the electric version with braking applied directly to wheel or tyre. but the electric motor of the batten version interchanges with a female coupling to the male cable-drivc end. These are joined on the upper side of the chassis head swivel bearing and connect to the wheel( I) via a miniture clutch which would engage and disengage in accordance with the vertical position of that wheel. This would provide the allimponant cutoff function described in section 1.

However the cut-offoverride would require an extra lever and cabling lo be connected to the swingarm which would keep the wheels( I ) in the required "up" position to keep the clutch engaged.

2.) The motor is worn on the back as a rigid back-pack. The accelerator cable would atlach to the carburettor in the normal fashion. while braking would be cnabled to both wheels( I) through a transfer unit (lo convert the pull on one cable to two) mounted on the motor unit. Power is transfcred from the motor to the wheels( 1) via cable drive to the cable drive reccptor.

3.) Handsets / pistolgrips are as previous explained. being based on the afformentioned wrist protectors.

EXPLANATION OF DRAWINGS Fig (i) General view of system as worn by skater (1) In-line skates with motor and powered wheel (2) Reservoir/transfer unit worn as a belt (2a) Transfer unit (3) Handset pistol grips integrated with strap-on wrist protection Fig (1) General view of standard inline skate with motor system attached and breakdown of major parts (A) Suspension-tope spring uses skater's weight to maintain firm contact of powered wheel with road surface.

(B) Swing arm connects powered wheel to chassis at the ankle. guiding wheel in a vertical plane. Cable- operated friction brake system is mounted here (not shown).

(C) Rigid chassislextended skate platform for mounting motor/cable drive receptor.

(D) Motor/cable drive receptor.

Wheel( 1) The powered wheel hub is driven by bevel or bell drive to turn the plain of rotation through 9() degrees. Tyre is fully replaceable solid compound. The hub is two discs that screw together to "pinch" the terc in between.

(SWI) Cylindrical slide bearing allows motor/receptor shaft(D1) v enical movement through the upper section of the chassis. also allowing for rotation and movement back and forth as the motor & wheel assembly moves up and don.

Fig (2) General view of a reservoir/transfer belt and breakdown of major parts and purpose (A) Transfer unit (B) Batter packs: Contain and protect bittenes and contacts.

(C) Batter;: Batteries slot into each pack on the belt for use with the skates or to recharge from the mains. Recharging is cnablcd by a plug socket on the transfer unit.

(D) Sliding inner/outer cables of bicycle hrakc tope from handsets.

(E) Transformer for recharging batteries from mains (El) Currenl in from mains (E2) Lower voltage current out to batteries (F) Variable resistance rheostat connected to right hand accelerator handset (Fl) Current in from mains (F2) Current out to batteries (G) Cable guides ensure efficient travel of cable through the transfer unit (H) Bound cabling from transfer unit to motors and brakes Fig (3) Two variants of handsets/pistol grips (A) Parallel movement plunger type with ergonomic grip (B) Trigger type with ergonomic lever (i) Cut-offoverride switch (ii) Location at which cabling exits handset N.B. Handsets are not shown here integrated with handsets.

Claims (1)

1.) A POWERED SKATE SYSTEM comprising an extended skate platform as means of supporting vertically mounted motor/cable drive receptor and powered wheel mounted the rear of skate boot. the power to which is controlled by hand operated control means.

2.) A POWERED SKATE SYSTEM as claimed in claim I wherein guide means are provided on the motor cooperable with the chassis to control the vertical sliding movement of the motor/cable drive receptor and wheel on the chassis.

3.) A POWERED SKATE SYSTEM as claimed in claims I and 2. wherein the guide means is provided with a suspension-type spring between motor/cable drive receptor body and and upper rear chassis as means to force contact between driven wheel and road surface.

A A POWERED SKATE SYSTEM as claimed in claim 3 wherein means are provided by electronic switch and/or clutch device to cut off power to driven wheel whenever it loses contact with the ground as a safety feature and d!-namic skating assistance 5.) A POWERED SKATE SYSTEM as claimed in claims 1 tol. wherein rechargeable batteries providing power to the motors are worn on the skater's body in the form of a belt or backpack. with means to recharge batteries being part of that unit.

6.) A POWERED SKATE SYSTEM as claimed in claim 5 wherein means are integrated into belt/backpack for transference of commands from hand-held levers to driven wheels by way of variable electric current (acceleration) and cable guides.

7.) A POWERED SKATE SYSTEM as claimed in claims I to 6 in which control means for acceleration and braking are hand-held levers mounted on standard skaters wrist protectors worn on wrists/forarms and connected to transfer unit of claim 6 by ua! of bicycle type slide cabling.

8.) A POWERED SKATE SYSTEM as claimed in am preceding claim in which all units are joined by flexible cabling for com eyence of electric current and bicycle type slide cabling 9.) A POWERED SKATE SYSTEM wherein an internal combustion engine would empower the driven u heels by ua! of cable drive and a cable drive receptor mounted vertically as in claim 1.