GB2447790A

GB2447790A - A width adjustment mechanism for a roller skate

Info

Publication number: GB2447790A
Application number: GB0805354A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Saawan Shah; Simon Pickavance
Original assignee: HY PRO INTERNAT Ltd
Current assignee: HY PRO INTERNAT Ltd
Priority date: 2007-03-22
Filing date: 2008-03-25
Publication date: 2008-09-24
Also published as: GB0705467D0; GB0805354D0

Abstract

A roller skate, which attaches to a shoe or boot, comprises left and right rack members 1, 2 each having respective shoe supports 5, 6 onto which a heel is placed. The shoe supports are arranged to provide a width adjustment mechanism 10. In a preferred embodiment shoe support 6 comprises one or more pawl devices 11a, 11b and shoe support 5 comprises one or more ratchets 4a, 4b defining positioning catches 9a, 9b. Pawls 11a, 11b have teeth 23a, 23b which selectively engage the ratchet positioning catches 9a, 9b so as to freely allow movement of the rack members 1, 2 towards one another but hinder movement of the rack members 1, 2 away from one another. The foot supports 5, 6 may comprise male and female connecting members, with support 6 comprising a slot or bore which receives support 5. The pawls 11a, 11b may be biased into contact with the ratchet positioning catches 9a, 9b such that movement of the attachment members 1, 2, away from one another requires user movement of the pawls to disengage them from the ratchet positioning catches 9a, 9b. The roller skate is preferably a rear wheel type roller skate.

Description

"A REAR WHEEL TYPE ROLLER SKATE"

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Fieid of the Invention The present invention relates to a rear wheel type roller skate and particularly, but not exclusively, it relates to a mechanism to enable the two main halves of the roller skate to be securely but easily connected, width-adjusted and disconnected from one-another.

Descri tion of the Related Art The rear wheel type roller skate is a relatively new, popular and fast growing piece of sporting equipment which has been well-received worldwide and particularly favoured by teenagers. It can be used without any location Umitation and not only provides users with the fun of roller * *s skating on even ground, but also can serve as a convenient and speedy * r...

transport.

* *. 20 Conventional rear wheel type roller skates are tightly secured to the sole S..

of the skater's shoe, typically about their heel, with a shoe lace or an elasticated strap which is secured to one side of the skate and is pulled by the user over the bridge of their ankle and securely but releasable tied to the other side of the skate. However, in the case that the width of the roller skate does not fit the sole of the skater's shoe, it will not work well and thus the skater will not have much fun from skating. Moreover, an ill fitting rear wheel roller skate will, like an ill fitting shoe, tend to be painful to use and may and even cause an accident. In a conventional rear wheel type roller skate, a pair of metal pieces for mounting are provided respectively on and under the sole of the left hand half and right hand half of the roller skate, where the pair of metal pieces are provided with a respective pair of screw holes and a pair of screws bridge the gap between the pair of metal pieces such that when tightened, pull the metal pieces together to thereby clamp the left hand half to the right hand half.

Accordingly, in order to adjust the width of the skate, the screws are loosened, the left hand half is positioned the desired width apart from the right hand half and the metal pieces are fixed by means of the screws through the holes, such that the shoe rack (comprised of the left hand half and right hand half) of the roller skate Is fixedly attached. However, this conventional rear wheel skate requires a tool to enable the user to adjust the width of the shoe rack. The adjusting steps are relatively complicated and it becomes time consuming to adjust the width of the shoe rack. In particular, children cannot operate it easily when they try to adjust the width of the shoe rack of the roller skate with a tool.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION * ** * * S

* ** According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a S...

telescopic fixing mechanism for a roller skate, comprising:- : ,**, a left shoe rack member having a pedal portion; a right shoe rack member having a pedal portion; a pair of pawl devices coupled to one of the left and right racks; S...

and a pair of ratchet mechanisms each comprising a plurality of S. * * *.: 25 positioning catches provided on the other of the left and right shoe rack members; wherein a head portion of each of the pawl devices is adapted to selectively interfere with the positioning catches of the respective ratchet mechanisms such that relative movement of the left and right shoe rack members in at least one direction is selectively prevented.

Typically, the pair of pawl devices are provided on or within a side face or side wall of the said one of the left and right racks and more preferably are provided on or within a side face or side wall of the pedal portion of the said one of the left and right racks. Furthermore, one paw) device is provided on or within a first side face or side wall of the said one of the left and right shoe rack members and the second paw) device is provided on or within a second side face or side wall of the said left and right shoe rack members, where the first and second side face or side surfaces are opposite oneanother.

Preferably, the pair of ratchet mechanisms are provided on or within a side face or side wall of the other of the left and right shoe rack members and more preferably the pair of ratchet mechanisms are provided on or within a side face or side wall of the pedal portion of the other of the left and right shoe rack members. Most preferably, one ratchet mechanism is provided on or within a first side face or side wall of the other of the left and right shoe rack members and the second ratchet mechanism is provided on or * ** * S * * within a second side face or side wall of the other of the left and right shoe *S5* "* 20 rack members, where the first and second side face or side surfaces are : **** opposite oneanother. S...

S

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a S...

telescopic fixing mechanism for a roller skate, comprising:- *:.: 25 a left shoe rack member having a pedal portion; a right shoe rack member having a pedal portion; at least one pawl device provided on or within a side face or side wall of one of the left and right racks; and at least one ratchet mechanism comprising a plurality of positioning catches provided on or within a side face or side wall of the other of the left and right shoe rack members; wherein a head portion of the said at least one pawl device is adapted to selectively interfere with the positioning catches of the said at least one ratchet mechanism such that relative movement of the left and right shoe rack members in at least one direction is selectively prevented.

Preferably, only a single pawl device is provided on or within one side face or side wall of the said one of the left and right racks and more preferably only one ratchet mechanism is provided on or within a matching or respective side face or side wall of the other of the left and right shoe rack members.

Alternatively, there are a pair of pawl devices provided on or within a side face or side wall of the said one of the left and right racks and in this embodiment a pair of ratchet mechanisms are also provided on or within a side face or side wall of the other of the left and right shoe rack members. * S * S.

**** 20 Preferably the roiler skate is a rear wheel type roller skate adapted to be : **. tightly secured to the sole of the skater's shoe, typically about their heel, a...

with a shoe lace or an elasticated strap or other suitable coupling means, secured to one side of the skate and pulled by the user over the bridge of S...

their ankle and securely but releasable tied to the other side of the skate. S. S * . S * S.

Preferably, the left hand pedal portion comprises a male pedal member and the right hand pedal portion comprises a female pedal member, and the female medal member comprises a throughbore or slot into which the left hand pedal portion can be inserted and which is preferably bounded by an upper wall, a left side wall, a lower wall and a right side wall.

Preferably1 the head portion of each pawl device is biased into contact with the respective positioning catches by a biasing means. A user may overcome the biasing action of the biasing means by moving the head member of the pawl device in a direction away from the ratchet mechanism and preferably the pawl device comprises the head portion arranged at one end of the pawl device and a tail provided at the other end and typically the pawl device is coupled to the said one of the left and right shoe rack members on a pivot arranged approximately at or toward the centre of the longitudinal axis of the pawl device such that a user may move the head member away from the ratchet mechanism by pressing on the tail end of the pawl device to rotate the head member about the pivot point in a direction away from the ratchet mechanism. Typically, the biasing means comprises a coiled spring and preferably, the pawl device is pivotally mounted in a recessed portion of a sidewall of the pedal of the said one of the left and right shoe rack members by a connecting rod and the coiled spring is preferably arranged to act between the pawl device and the said one of the left and right shoe rack members. $ $* * S * * S. 0s*S * a

The ratchet mechanism may be provided with a saw tooth form such that : **. the ratchet mechanism comprises a series of substantially arranged vertical surfaces facing in one direction, which is preferably in a direction away from the left or the right shoe rack member on which the pawl device **SI is mounted and further may be provided in the form of a shoulder which *.: 25 projects outwardly in a perpendicular direction from the side of the said left or right shoe rack member, and a series of angled surfaces which generally face in another direction, which is preferably in a direction toward the left or the right shoe rack member on which the pawl device is mounted.

The ratchet mechanism is preferably arranged such that the left and right shoe rack members may be pushed toward one another in order to reduce the width there between without substantial interference from the ratchet mechanism but movement of the left and right shoe rack members in a direction away from one another, such that the width there between would be increased, is prevented by the contact between the head member and one of the vertical surfaces of the ratchet mechanism until the user moves the head member out of contact with the ratchet mechanism.

Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention have the advantage that the skater user can quickly and easily adjust the width of the shoe rack of the roller skate at anytime. Such a roller skate therefore provides for easy use of people of any age.

Preferably, the width of the male pedal member and the respective throughbore of the female pedal member is wider than the depth of the male pedal member and the respective throughbore of the female pedal member and more preferably, the surface area of the upper and lower * faces of the male pedal member and the respective throughbore of the **** 20 female pedal member is greater than the surface area of the sides of the : *** male pedal member and the respective throughbore of the female pedal S...

member and this has the advantage that the weight of the skater user does not pass through the specific connection point of the ratchet *SS* mechanism and pawl device, but rather the load of the weight of the user *..: 25 is carried by the relatively large surface area of the upper and lower faces of the male and female pedal portions.

The roller skate preferably comprises a pair of flashing wheels, typically one wheel provided on each of the left and right shoe rack members and preferably a wheel is disposed on an integrated axle formed with an outer sidewall of the left shoe rack member and another wheel is disposed on an integrated axle formed with an outer sidewall of the right shoe rack member, Embodiments of the present invention therefore provide a telescopic fixing device for easily adjusting the width of the shoe rack of a roller skate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments in accordance with the aspects of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a telescopic mechanism according to the present invention; and Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional side view of a roller skate incorporating the telescopic mechanism of Fig. 1. * ** * . *

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS S... * S U 20

: *. A rear wheel roller skate according to the first aspect of the present S...

:. invention is shown in Figs. 1 and 2 as comprising a telescopic fixing mechanism 10. * . *..S

More particularly, the rear wheel roller skate comprises a left half or rack 1 secured to or integral with a left half pedal portion 5, a right half or rack 2 secured to or integral with a right half pedal portion 6 and a pair of flashing wheels 3 connected to the respective left 1 and right 2 halves by means of respective axles 14L and 14R.

The user of the rear wheel roller skate places their heel into the area indicated by the arrow head leading from reference numeral 10 and the user then uses the telescopic fixing mechanism 10 to push the left 1 and right 2 halves together to match the width of their ankle in order to more securely grip the ankle therebetween and the user retains their ankle therebetween by tying the strap provided (not shown) across the bridge of their ankle.

The telescopic fixing mechanism 10 can be more clearly seen in Fig. 1 and comprises a left half pedal portion 5 in the form of a male member 5 and the right half pedal portion 6 provided in the form of a female member 6. The left and right half pedal portions 5 and 6 are so called because in use the user will place the sole of their foot and more particularly the sole of their heel on top of the upper surface of the right half pedal portion 6 thereby using that portion 6 as a pedal.

The right half pedal portion 6 takes the form of a box having a throughbore 7, the open end of which is shown in Fig. 1 as end 8, and having an upper * face, left and right sidewalls and a lower face, the inner surfaces of which *** 20 all circumscribe and therefore define the throughbore 7. The left half 5 : *. and right half 6 pedal portions are generally rectangular in cross section with a width much greater than their depth such that they provide a relatively large surface area in the horizontal plane for the user to place their heel upon. Furthermore, the depth of the left half 5 and right half 6 : 25 portions is kept to a minimum in order to minimise the lifting effect off the ground experienced by the heel of the user but are of sufficient depth to provide strength to the roller skate.

The left half pedal portion 5 comprises a pair of ratchet mechanisms 4A, 4B, one of which is provided on each side face thereof such that the ratchet mechanisms 4A, 4B run along the major length of the left half pedal portion 5 with the individual ratchets having inclined faces 9A and shoulders 9B which lie in a perpendicular direction to the longitudinal axis of the left half pedal portion 5. The pair of ratchet mechanisms 4A, 4B are in the form of a saw tooth and both individually and collectively provide a one way ratchet that have their vertical surface facing away from the right half pedal portion 6. A pair of pawls 11 A, 11 B are also provided with one pawl hA, 11B being provided and located within a recess 21 formed in the side wall of each side of the right half pedal portion 6. Each pawl 1 1A, 11B is held within its respective recess 21 by means of a metal pin 13A, 13B which passes through a bore 17A, 1 7B of the pawls 11 A, 11 B and is held captive by apertures 1 5A, 1 5B provided in the upper and lower (not shown) faces of the right half pedal portion 6. A respective coiled spring 19A, 19B or other suitable biasing device Is also provided and is arranged to act to bias the head end 23A, 23B inwards into the throughbore B such that the pawl 11 A, 11 B is rotated about the pivot point 1 3B provided by the pin 1 3A, 1 3B. * ** * * *

* In use, the rear wheel roller skate is assembled by inserting the left half **** pedal portion 5 into the throughbore 8 of the right half pedal portion 6 until : *, the respective ratchet mechanism 4A, 4B is engaged by the respective pawl 1 1A, 11 B. The interaction between the ratchet mechanisms 4A, 4B and the respective pawls 11 A, 11 B are arranged such that the left half pedal portion 5 can be inserted into the right half pedal portion 6 with ease : 25 and without requiring depression of the tail end 25A, 25B of the pawls 1 1A, 1 lB and the left half pedal portion 5 can be inserted as far into the throughbore 8 of the right half pedal portion 6 as required.

However, if the user of the rear wheel roller skate wishes to increase the width between the left half or rack 1 and right half or rack 2 (for example because they have a larger width foot than the previous user), they can increase the width therebetween by depressing both tail ends 25A, 25B of the respective pawls 11 A, 11 B against the biasing action of the coiled spring 1 9A, 1 9B such that the tail ends 25A, 25B are depressed into the respective recess 21. The user will typically, conveniently and easily use the index finger and thumb of one hand to do this. This action rotates the head end 23A, 23B away from the respective ratchet mechanism 4A, 4B and therefore rotates the head end 23A, 23B out of the recess 21 about the pivot pin 1 3A, 1 3B such that there is no longer any engagement between the ratchet mechanism 4A, 4B and respective head end 23A, 23B. Accordingly, the left half pedal portion 5A is now free to be moved further out of the throughbore 8 as required.

As can be seen in Fig. 1, the perpendicular shoulders 9B of the respective ratchet mechanisms 4A, 4B are arranged to face toward the head ends 23A, 23B of the pawls 11 A, 11 B such that the perpendicular shoulders 9B will butt against the head ends 23A, 23B and thereby prevent unintentional * * withdrawal of the left half pedal portion 5 from the throughbore 8 of the :::::: right half pedal portion 6.

: .*. Accordingly, when the ratchet mechanisms are engaged by the pawls **** hA, 11B, the distance between the left rack 1 and the right rack 2 can be extended only when the respective tail 25A, 25B of the pawls 11 A, 11 B *..S are depressed simultaneously such that the respective heads are *. .: 25 disengaged from the ratchet mechanisms 4A, 4B. Furthermore, when either one or both of the pawls 1 1A, 1 1B, is/are released, it/they is/are returned by the respective returning spring 1 9A, 1 9B which again biases the head end 23A, 23B of the pawl 5 to abut against the positioning catches 9B. In this situation, the distance between the left rack 1 and the right rack 2 can only be reduced instead of being extended.

Embodiments of telescopic fixing devices in accordance with the first and second aspects of the present invention can therefore be used to control the distance between the left rack I and the right rack 2 relative to each other, so that they can be selectively movable with respect to each other and thus the telescopic fixing device can be used to selectively adjust the width of the shoe rack.

In comparison with the conventional rear wheel roller skate which adjusts the width of the shoe rack by means of a pair of metal screws, the method described herein for adjusting the width of shoe rack in accordance with the first and second aspect of the present invention is more rapid, convenient and safe for the user.

The provision of a pair of mechanisms 10, which is in accordance with the first aspect of the present invention, provides the advantage that there is a requirement for both tail ends 25A and 25B to be depressed simultaneously in order to be able to increase the width of the rear wheel * ** roller skates and this provides increased safety to the user and avoids unintentional disconnection of the two racks 1, 2. * ** * * . S..

In an alternative but preferred embodiment (not shown), the left half pedal portion 5 comprises only one ratchet mechanism 4A on one of it's sides * ..* (the other side being straight i.e. unfurnished) and the right half pedal : 25 portion 6 comprises only one respective pawl 1 1A in one of irs sidewalls for selective interaction (in a similar manner as previously described) with the single ratchet mechanism 4A. This single ratchet mechanism 4A and single pawl 11 A embodiment (not shown) has the advantage that it is likely to be less expensive to manufacture than the above described dual ratchet mechanism 4A, 4B and pawl 11 A, 11 B embodiment shown in Fig. 1 and it also has the advantage that a skater user only needs to depress one pawl 1 1A in order to remove the interaction with the single ratchet mechanism 4A to increase the distance between the left 5 and right 6 half pedal portions.

Furthermore, the provision of the telescopic fixing mechanisms 10 provided at a or each side of the respective left 5 and right 6 half pedal portions, which is in accordance with the second aspect of the present invention, provides the great advantage that the weight of the user does not pass through the specific connection point of the mechanisms, but rather the load of the weight of the user is carried by the relatively large surface area of the upper and lower faces of the left 5 and right 6 half pedal portions. This provides the great advantage over conventional fixing mechanisms for rear wheel roller skates that the fixing mechanism does not have to take all the weight of the user. Furthermore, no tool requires to be operated by the user to increase the width between the left half/rack 1 and right half/rack 2 unlike conventional fixing mechanisms. * **

Modifications, alterations and improvements may be made to the specific embodiments described herein without departing from the intended spirit : *. and scope of the invention. * *** **** * S S... S. S * SI S **

Claims

1. A telescopic fixing mechanism for a roller skate, comprising:-a left shoe rack member having a pedal portion; a right shoe rack member having a pedal portion; a pair of pawl devices coupled to one of the left and right racks; and a pair of ratchet mechanisms each comprising a plurality of positioning catches provided on the other of the left and right shoe rack members; wherein a head portion of each of the pawl devices is adapted to selectively interfere with the positioning catches of the respective ratchet mechanisms such that relative movement of the left and right shoe rack members in at least one direction is selectively prevented.

2. A mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the pawl device is provided on or withIn a first side face or side wall of the said one of the left and right shoe rack members and the second pawl device is provided on * ** or within a second side face or side wall of the said left and right shoe rack * * * * I. members, where the first and second side face or side surfaces are * . opposite oneanother. * S. I. S ****

**

3. A mechanism according to either of claims 1 or 2, wherein one * ratchet mechanism is provided on or within a first side face or side wall of the other of the left and right shoe rack members and the second ratchet * 25 mechanism is provided on or within a second side face or side wall of the other of the left and right shoe rack members, where the first and second side face or side surfaces are opposite one another.

4. A mechanism according to any preceding claim, wherein the left hand pedal portion comprises a male pedal member and the right hand pedal portion comprises a female pedal member, and the female medal member comprises a throughbore or slot into which the left hand pedal portion is adapted to be inserted.

5. A mechanism according to any preceding claim, wherein the head portion of each pawl device is biased Into contact with the respective positioning catches by a biasing means and a user overcomes the biasing action of the biasing means by moving the pair of head members of the respective pawl devices in respective directions away from the respective ratchet mechanisms.

6. A mechanism according to claim 5, wherein the pawl device is pivotally mounted in a recessed portion of a sidewall of the pedal of the said one of the left and right shoe rack members by a connecting rod and the biasing means is arranged to act between the pawl device and the said one of the left and right shoe rack members.

7. A mechanism according to any preceding claim, wherein the pair of * ** ratchet mechanisms are arranged such that the left and right shoe rack S...

members may be pushed toward one another in order to reduce the width * ..

there between without substantial Interference from the ratchet mechanism but movement of the left and right shoe rack members in a direction away from one another, such that the width there between would be increased, is prevented by the contact between the head member and * 25 one of the vertical surfaces of the ratchet mechanism until the user moves the both head members out of contact with the ratchet mechanism.

8. A telescopic fixing mechanism for a roller skate, comprising:-a left shoe rack member having a pedal portion; a right shoe rack member having a pedal portion; at least one pawl device provided on or within a side face or side wall of one of the left and right racks; and at least one ratchet mechanism comprising a plurality of positioning catches provided on or within a side face or side wall of the other of the left and right shoe rack members; wherein a head portion of the said at least one pawl device is adapted to selectively interfere with the positioning catches of the said at least one ratchet mechanism such that relative movement of the left and right shoe rack members in at least one direction is selectively prevented.

9. A mechanism according to claim 8, wherein only a single pawl device is provided on or within one side face or side wall of the said one of the left and right racks and more preferably only one ratchet mechanism is provided on or within a matching or respective side face or side wall of the other of the left and right shoe rack members.

10. A mechanism according to claim 8, wherein there are a pair of pawl * devices provided on or within a side face or side wall of the said one of the * S. left and right racks and there are a pair of ratchet mechanisms provided on S...

or within a side face or side wall of the other of the left and right shoe rack * .5 members.

S *..

S

11. A mechanism according to any of claims 8 to 10, wherein the left hand pedal portion comprises a male pedal member and the right hand * 25 pedal portion comprises a female pedal member, and the female medal member comprises a throughbore or slot into which the left hand pedal portion is adapted to be inserted.

12. A mechanism according to any of claims 8 to 11, wherein the head portion of each pawl device is biased Into contact with the respective positioning catches by a biasing means and a user overcomes the biasing action of the biasing means by moving the pair of head members of the respective pawl devices in respective directions away from the respective ratchet mechanisms.

13. A mechanism according to claim 12, wherein the pawl device is pivotally mounted in a recessed portion of a sidewall of the pedal of the said one of the left and right shoe rack members by a connecting rod and the biasing means is preferably arranged to act between the pawl device and the said one of the left and right shoe rack members.

14. A mechanism according to any of claims 8 to 13, wherein the pair of ratchet mechanisms are arranged such that the left and right shoe rack members may be pushed toward one another in order to reduce the width there between without substantial interference from the ratchet mechanism but movement of the left and right shoe rack members in a direction away from one another, such that the width there between would be increased, is prevented by the contact between the head member and * S. one of the vertical surfaces of the ratchet mechanism until the user moves * . S...

the both head members out of contact with the ratchet mechanism. * S. I. S *5SS

15. A mechanism according to claim 11 or to any of claims 12 to 14 when dependent upon claim 11, wherein the width of the male pedal member and the respective throughbore of the female pedal member is * 25 wider than the depth of the male pedal member and the respective throughbore of the female pedal member.

16. A mechanism according to claim 15, wherein the surface area of the upper and lower faces of the male pedal member and the respective throughbore of the female pedal member is greater than the surface area of the sides of the male pedal member and the respective throughbore of the female pedal member.

17. A telescopic fixing mechanism for a roller skate substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

18. A roller skate comprising a telescopic fixing mechanism substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. * ** ** * * ** * I *1* * ** ** S *.S*

S *4S *S*S * S **** ** S * * S * IS