US1150773A - Coaster. - Google Patents

Description

F. X. LA CHALL.

COASTER. APPLICATION'HLED mmze, I915- m mu\ M Y 3 0 Wm M a M gar M A Mm W m m .w m

m m A p E F WITNESSES:

F. X. LA CHALL.

COASTER- APPLICATION FILED JAN-26, 1915.

Patented Aug. 17, 1915.

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WITNESSES: I/VVE/V 10/1 F r one n.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 1?, 1915.

Application filed January 26, 1915. Serial No. 4,434.

I To all whom it may concern:

1 Be it known that LFnaxors citizen of the United States, residing at' Seattle, in the county of King and State of \Vashington', have invented:a certainnew and useful Improvement in Coasters, of

a which the following is Enspecification.

- 6 each. to be independentlyrotatable there- My invention relates to improvements 'in coasters which are adapted for use by children inthe sport of coasting on the hills of a roadway or street, and the object of my invention is to provide a coaster which shall embody steering mechanism that'is adapted to be actuated in response to a sidewise swaying movement of the body of the operator by which movement the-center of gravity of the load carried by the coaster will be shifted sidewise from the medial longitudinal line to cause the coaster to turn its course in a direction corresponding to the direction of such swaying movement. I attain this object by devices illustrated in the accompanying drawings wher in-- 4 Figure -1 is a view in side elevation of a coaster embodying my invention;. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view on an enlarged scale of parts of the same; and Fig. 4 is a view in vertical mid-section of such parts on broken line m a; of Fig. 3. 4 Referring to the drawings, throughout which like reference numerals indicate like parts, wheels 5, 5 are mounted on an axle on. which wheels 5, 5 and axle (iform the front truck of a coaster embodying my invention while similar wheels 7, 7 and a like axle 8 constitute the rear truck thereof. Of

these two trucks the front one serves to supdd .port the front end of a board 9 (u on which the' operator may ride in a 'stan g posi-.

" tion), while the rear one supports the rear, end of such board 9,- and since both of these trucks and their associated parts are exactly alike in construction and mode of operation a description of the parts shown in Figs. 3 and 4 will be applicable to the asso-- ciated parts of either of the end portions of disposed with its upper end portion .articuthe structure.

I Referring now to Fig. 4 a king-bolt 10 is and through the flange portion 15 which is an integral part' of the bracket 13, thus to adapt such king-bolt 10, to swing in sidewise'directions on the pivot rod -11. v

The king-bolt 10 is provided with a flange 16 disposed adjacent tothe underside of the bracket 13, the lower end portion of its downwardly extended shank being flattened on its opposite sides and terminating in a screw-threaded portion 17 of reduced diameter, and such shankof such king-bolt 10 is disposed to extend downwardly through a vertically disposed hole provided in an en-' larged portion of the axle 6 at a point midway of the length, of such axle 6 whereby the flange 16 may rest upon and be supported by the top surface of suchenlarged portion of said axle 6, and whereby said axle 6 may bepermitted rotatively to move in a horizontal plane, and such king-bolt 10 is secured in its vertical position by a nut 18 disposed on the screw-threaded portion 17.

Upon the flattened portion of the lower end of the downwardly extended shank of the king-bolt 10, adjacent to the under-surface of the axle 6, is fixed the broad end portion of a curved detent spring 19 which broad end portion is provided with an oblong hole whose parallel longer sides engage with the sides of the flattened portion of the lower end portionof the shank of the kingbolt 10, thenut'l? being disposed to secure said detent spring 19 in its position on said king-bolt.' v

The detent spring 19 is formed to project forwardly to curve upwardly and. rearwardly, its upwardly extended free end p'or-' tion 21 being indented and the convex rearwardly projecting side of such indented portion 21 is disposed "forcibly to engage with the front edge 22 of the enlarged portionof the axle .6 which front edge 22 is of the form of a circle that is concentric with the king-bolt 10, as indicated more clearly. in

Fig. 3, and such front edge 22 is provided with a vertically disposed notch 20 within which the free end of the detent spring 19 ,may enter vieldingly to-maintain ,the axle 6 in aposition at right angles with the 1ongitudinal axis of the board 9.

Integral with the underside of the rearward portion of the bracket 13 is formed the segment of a beveled gear-wheel 23 whose teeth are disposed to adapt them .to mesh with the teeth of a corresponding segment of a bevel gearwheel 24 which is integral with the rear side' of ;the enlarged portion of the axle 6, whereby, when the board 9 is tipped to rotatively move on the pivot rod 11 of both the front and rear trucks to raise or lower one of the longitudinal edgesof the board 9 then the said two segments 23 and 24 of bevel gearwheels will coact to.ro-.

tatively move the axle 6 in a horizontal plane, thus to cause the moving structure to be steered to turn its course toward that side of its, straight course which corresponds to the lowest one of the longitudinal edges of said board '9. I

Extending rearwardly, one from the enlarged portion of the axle 6 of the front truck and one forwardly from the corresponding enlarged portion of the axle 8 of the rear truck, are arms, as arms 25 shown.

in Fig. 4 and arms 25 shown in Fig. 1, to

' the end of each of which arms is connected one end of a helical tension spring 26 whose other end is attached to the adjacent one of two brackets 27 that are. secured to the underside of the board 9 in the central portion of its width, whereby the force of such tension springs 26 may tend to maintain the axles 6'and 8 of'the front and'rear trucks,

respectively,- in positions that are at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the board 9. Secured to the top surface of-the board 9. near its front end portion and midway be-. tween its longitudinal side edges. is aninternally screw-threaded socket 28 into which socket 28 is secured a metal post 29 which is disposed to lean slightly in a. rearward direction and Whichpost 29 may be grasped by the hands of the operator as he stands upon the board 9 in the act of riding on the structure thus to support him as he sways The operation of my'coaster is as follows: The operator disposes the structure at the top of a hill down which he is to coast and then mounts the board 9 in a standing position with his hands grasping the handle-bar 30 or the post 29 whereupon the coaster by gravity will travel down the hill in a straight line so long as the plane of the board 9 is evenly disposed and if he desires to steer the coaster to' change its course toward the right hand he sways his body toward the right hand andat the same time forcibly sways the-post 29 in the same direction, but ifhe desires to change the course toward the left hand he sways his body toward the left hand and at the same time "forces the post 29 in a like direction.

Manifestly changes may be made in the forms, dimensions and arrangement of parts of my invention Without departing from the spirit thereof. I

What I claim is: I

1. A coaster of the class described, the combinationwvith two trucks each of whose axles is provided with a king-bolt hole dishis body sidewise in the operation of tipping the board 9 to rotatively move the b0ard'9 on the pivot rods 11 in the operation of steering the structure. I have. shown thepost 29 as beingprovided with a trans versely disposed handle-bar 30 which may conveniently be grasped by the operators hands. but. such handle-bar 30 may be dispensed with if desired, in which case the post 29 itself would be erators hand. a v

In the operation of steering, the segments grasped by the op- 23 and 24 of beveled gearwheels on each of the trucks will act in response to the sway- .ing of the riders body and the post 29 to cause the axle 6 of the truck to turn in one direction while the axle 8. of the rear truck will turn in the opposite direction thus enabling the structure in its travel to turn a circle of small radius, but, obviously. the segments 23 and 24 of the rear end of the i structure may bedispensed'with, if desired,

but in' such case the structure could be turned only in a circle in 'a larger radius.

posed to extend downwardly through its central portion, of a segmental portion of a beveled gearwheel fixed to the central portion of the rear side of the axle of the front one of said two trucks; a like segmental portion fixed to the central portion of the front side of the axle of the rear one of said trucks; a board upon which an operator may I stand in an upright position; a bracket se cured to each end of said board; a king-bolt pivot-ally attached to each of said brackets to extend downwardly therefrom, said kingbolts being each provided with an annular flange below which its shank extends, the said shankof each of said king-bolts being disposed within said king-bolt hole in the axle of a different one of said two trucks with its annular flange resting upon the top surface of said axle and with its lower end 2. A coaster of the classde scribed, em-

bodying front and .rear trucks, a board adapted to support a rider in astanding position thereon, each end of said board being pivotally mounted on the axle of a different oneof said trucks by pivotal means adapted to permit said board to tip in side wise directions and to permit the axles of sand trucks to rotatively move in a horizontively move each in opposite directions ina horizontal plane, and yielding detent means for normally maintaining the axles-of both trucks in a position at right angles to the 10 longitudinal axis of said board.'

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this eighth day of January, A. D.,

. FRANCIS X. LA CHALL. Witnesses:

' FRANK WARREN,

. OVJOHNSON.

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