GB2420985A - Inline skate with one-way wheel - Google Patents

Abstract

An inline skate has a number of wheels 3 at least one of which 31 is a raised wheel that is able to roll in only one direction, either forwards or backwards. The one-way rolling mechanism may comprise a one-way bearing (fig. 3), a one-way ratchet mechanism (fig. 4), or a one-way clutch (fig. 2). The raised wheel 31 may be a front wheel which is able to roll only in a forward direction, or may be a rear wheel 31 which is able to roll only in a backwards direction. The skate may have a front, forward rolling wheel and a rear, backward rolling wheel (fig. 8), and the one-way wheel or wheels may be smaller than the normal wheels. The one-way wheel or wheels may have a rugged or granular surface to increase friction. The rear one-way wheel may act as a brake when the skate is travelling forwards, with the front one-way wheel acting as a brake when the skate is travelling backwards. The front one-way wheel may also act as a ground kicking point which assists the user in propelling forwards.

Description

INLINE SKATE

The present invention relates to an inline skate, especially to an inline skate with a first wheel rolling in single direction and suspending in the air while other wheels contacting the ground. Thus the inline skate has braking effect with better traction and a point of application of force for moving forward, with higher safety and ergonomic design.

Conventional inline skates mainly includes recreational and fitness skates, artistic skates, off-road skates, aggressive skates, and speed skates.

The off-road skates, aggressive skates, and speed skates are used for specific applications and in specific sites. Because the function and structure of them are similar to the recreational skates, thus here only the recreational skates and artistic skates are discussed.

Refer to Fig. 5, a conventional recreation inline skate consists of a shell 1, a frame 4 and a plurality of wheels 3. About four to six wheels 3 are disposed on the frame 4. Each of the wheels 3 moves forwards and backwards freely with the same height for contacting ground at the same time. Refer to Fig. 6, the first wheel of recreational inline skates can be replaced by a rubber stopper 2 made of rubber to form artistic inline skates. All the rest wheels 3 are minimized and disposed on rear end of the rubber stopper 2.

In accordance with the structure mentioned above, taking artistic inline skates as an example (as shown in Fig.6), when users want to glide the left leg, the right leg is used to rely on the rubber stopper 2 to push the left leg moving forward, and vice versa. Because all the wheels 3 are disposed closely on rear end of the frame 4, the distance between two contiguous wheels 3 is shortened so that the inline skates moves more slowly and less steadily. This is the first shortcoming. Moreover, when users want to speed up and move forward, they may make the weight of moving leg shift slightly forward. This is easy to cause the rubber stopper 2 contacting the ground and thus make users fall over. It's another shortcoming.

As to the recreational inline skates shown in Fig.5, the device doesn't have the rubber stopper 2. Thus when users want to move the left leg sliding forward, the right leg slides laterally to have an angle from the gliding direction and presses against the ground so as to push the left leg gliding forward. This doesn't comply with ergonomic rules. Furthermore, there is no efficient braking device on the recreational inline skates.

Although in some brands, a rear stopper 5 is disposed on the rear of all wheels 3, inline skaters have to lift up their toe while they still can't brake properly. This totally doesn't match ergonomic design. And inline skates with such structure are easy to make skaters fall down while doing turns or cross-overs. The side T-stopping is a special stopping technique used by inline skaters. They make one skate face straight ahead while the other skate is exactly perpendicular to the front skate (this will prevent you from spinning when your back foot touches the ground). Users need to take long term to practice and get the hang of it. And it's easy to get waist strain, ankle sprain or falls while practicing. Moreover, users need to find a place that is clean, dry, and level, without hills to avoid trips and falls.

These limitations on the place cause inconvenience of users.

It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a roller skate having a first wheel rolling in one direction and suspending in the air as well as a plurality of wheels contacting the ground. The first wheel can be disposed either in front of the rest wheels or on rear of the rest wheels. When being arranged on the front end, the first wheel is used as a brake or a point of application of force. When being located at the rear end, the first wheel is used as a reducer for moving forward or a point of acting for gliding backward. Thus the inline skate of the present invention has braking function with better traction and a point of application of force for gliding forward. It also matches the ergonomics as well as enhanced safety.

In order to achieve above object, an inline skate in accordance with the present invention features on that the inline skate includes a first wheel rolling in one direction and suspending in the air as well as other wheels contacting the ground. When the first wheel is disposed on front end of the inline skate, the first wheel rolls in one direction-forward. While when the first wheel is disposed on rear end of the inline skate, the first wheel rolls in one direction-backward.

When the first wheel is arranged on front end of the inline skate, the first wheel contacts the ground due to the forward moving of the center-of- gravity of skaters gliding forward. Now the first wheel has traction and friction with the ground. When users glide backward, the first can't roll backwards and thus raises a friction with the ground so as to push the skaters moving forward quickly.

Moreover, the force from the toe pushing backwards is in the same line with the moving direction of skaters thus the force from skaters is integrated without dispersion. And the force is used effectively and the design is more ergonomic.

Furthermore, the first wheel can also be arranged on the rear of the rest wheels on the skate. When users glide forward and want to reduce speed or brake, they just need to lift up the toe to make the first wheel contact the ground. Due to one-way rolling of the first wheel, the first wheel can't roll forward and produces friction with the ground that results braking effect.

In addition, the present invention has both advantages of conventional recreational skates and artistic inline skates. When the first wheel is used as a braking device, the inline skate works as general roller skate or ice skate that performs various inline figure skating. While gliding forward, users won't be disturbed by the rubber stopper. Thus the present invention overcomes the shortcomings of conventional recreational skates and artistic inline skates.

The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1A is a perspective view of an inline skate in accordance with the present invention; Fig. I B is a schematic drawing showing a path of center of gravity of skaters with present invention; Fig. 1C is a schematic drawing showing a first wheel in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 2 is a schematic drawing of a one-way clutch in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 3 is a schematic drawing of a one-way bearing in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 4 is a schematic drawing of a one-way ratchet in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a recreational inline skate of a prior art; Fig. 6 is a perspective view of an artistic inline skate of a prior art; Fig. 7 is a schematic drawing of a better embodiment with a first wheel disposed on rear end of the inline skate in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 8 is a schematic drawing showing gliding of the inline skate in accordance with the present invention.

Refer to Fig. I A, an in-line skate in accordance with the present invention consists of a shell 1, a frame 4, and a plurality of wheels 3. The invention features on that a first wheel 31 rolling in one-direction is disposed on the front end thereof and is suspending in the air while the rest wheels 3 contacting the ground.

The mechanism for one-way rolling of the first wheel 31 is a one-way bearing (as shown in Fig.3), a one-way ratchet (as shown in Fig.4), a oneway clutch (as shown in Fig.2), or other equivalents of one-way rolling mechanism.

Refer to Fig. I B, a path of center of gravity 10 is shown. When people step forward, the weight (center of gravity) transfers from the gravitycenter point 22, through the gravity-center point 24, to the gravitycenter point 26. While inline skaters glide forward, the center of gravity changes by moving forward from rear end and relocates to the gravity-center point 26 so that the first wheel 31 contacts the ground. Then a force is applied to push the first wheel 31 backwards. Due to the direction of reaction force 34 opposite to the direction of the rolling direction of the first wheel 31 as well as that the first wheel 31 won't roll, the reaction force 34 backward (that means the friction between the first wheel 31 and the ground) totally propels skaters moving forward quickly. While users glide forward, the first wheel 31 may contact the ground due to hills or roughness. Due to the forward rolling direction, the first wheel 31 has no effect on gliding. Therefore, the present invention provides a point of application of force as well as ergonomic design, without the disadvantages of easily trips.

Moreover, the center-of-gravity moves backward when skaters glide backward. The first wheel 31 suspending in the air keeps a certain distance (X, as shown in Fig.1) from the ground that contacts other wheels 3. Thus the first wheel 31 rolling forwards won't have any negative effect on glides. When users are in artistic show, the one-way first wheel 31 can be used as braking and localization for various artistic postures.

The present invention provides users a point of application of force while gliding forward. Refer to Fig. 1C, when users glide forward and want to stop, they turn around and press the skates down (step on the toe) , thus the center of gravity transfers to the front end so as to make the first wheel 31 contact the ground. By the mechanism of one-way rolling 34 of the first wheel 31 as well as the friction between the first wheel 31 and the ground, the inline skate has a braking effect.

With reference of Fig.7, the first wheel 31 is disposed on rear end of the rest wheels 3 and having a distance Y between the ground and thereof.

When users glide forward and want to reduce speed or stop, they put all of the weight on the front foot and lift up the toe so as to make the first wheel 31 contact the ground. Because the first wheel 31 can only roll backward, a friction forms between the first wheel 31 and the ground for reducing speed and braking effect. When users glide backward, the weight of users falls onto the rubber wheel and the center-of-gravity transfers backward, thus the first wheel 31 contacts the ground. Because the first wheel 31 moves only backward, it's now rolling backward. The first wheel 31 can also be located on the front end of the inline skate. A plurality of granules are arranged on the surface of the first wheel 31, or the surface of the first wheel 31 is a rugged surface so as to increase the friction between the first wheel 31 and the ground.

Refer to Fig. 1C and Fig.8, users may fall forwards or backwards. When body speed is faster than leg speed, the center of gravity of skaters moves forward and the skaters may fall forward and slide on the ground. When the first wheel 31 is arranged on the front of the plurality of wheels 3, the first wheel 31 contacts the ground while the center-ofgravity moves forward. Through the mechanism mentioned above, the leg won't glide backward and falls are avoided. On the other hand, when leg speed is faster than body speed, the center of gravity of skaters moves backward, skaters may fall backward. Thus the first wheel 31 disposed on rear of the rest wheels 3 contacts the ground and stop sliding of skater's leg to prevent falls. Therefore, even beginners can use the present invention easily and safely without falls.

Therefore, a one-way rolling mechanism of the inline skate in accordance with the present invention has both functions of rolling glides and braking. The disposition of components complies with ergonomic rules.

When inline skaters are going to fall over, the rolling mechanism has the function of self-righting in proper time. Thus the present invention not only improves a lot of disadvantages of traditional inline skates, but also increases braking function as well as better ergonomics design. In particular, the inline skate has the function of self-righting for preventing falls.

In summary, an inline skate according to the present invention features on the first wheel 31 rolling in one direction and suspending in the air while other wheels 3 contacts the ground. The first wheel 31 is disposed either in the front end or rear end of the inline skate. By this component, the inline skate has braking function, avoids shortcomings of falls, and complies with ergonomic rules.

Additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details, and representative devices shown and described herein. Accordingly, various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the general inventive concept as defined by the appended claims.

Claims (11)

1. An inline skate comprising a shell, a frame and a plurality of wheels disposed on the same axis, and is characterized in that the inline skate having a first wheel suspending in the air while the plurality of wheels contacting the ground; the first wheel moves along one direction.

2. The inline skate as claimed in claim 1, wherein a one-way rolling mechanism of the first wheel is a one-way bearing.

3. The inline skate as claimed in claim 1, wherein a one-way rolling mechanism of the first wheel is a one-way ratchet.

4. The inline skate as claimed in claim I, wherein a one-way rolling mechanism of the first wheel is a one-way clutch.

5. The inline skate as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first wheel is disposed in front of the plurality of wheels.

6. The inline skate as claimed in claim 5, wherein the first wheel rolls in one direction- forward.

7. The inline skate as claimed in claim 1, wherein the size of the first wheel is less than the size of the plurality of wheels.

8. The inline skate as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first wheel is disposed on rear of the plurality of wheels.

9. The inline skate as claimed in claim 8, wherein the first wheel rolls in one direction- backward.

10. The inline skate as claimed in claim 8, wherein a surface of the first wheel is a rugged surface or having a plurality of granules.

11. An inline skate substantially as described herein with reference to the drawings.