US2027620A

US2027620A - Scooter

Info

Publication number: US2027620A
Application number: US722113A
Authority: US
Inventors: Elbert E Schaad
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1934-04-24
Filing date: 1934-04-24
Publication date: 1936-01-14
Anticipated expiration: 1953-01-14

Description

Jam., M, 1%@ E. E, SCHAAD I SCOOTER Filed April 24, 1934 @a 4f INVENTOR. j@ j 2MP? SCEMD ATTOR Patented Jan. 14, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 10 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in a scooter or a childs vehicle consisting of a foot board supported by front and rear wheels and rprovided in the front thereof with a box-like structure having handles projecting laterally therefrom, so that it may be propelled by the child placing one foot on the foot board, while holding the handles and kicking oil with the other foot.

The conventional scooter is well known and the principal object of the present invention is to provide a means for facilitating the construction of a scoo-ter by the child.

As a rule scooters are home-made products and the only diiliculty encountered by the child in making his scooter is involved in the hardware of wheel mounting. The foot board and the boxlike structure supported on the front end thereof are made of wood and are constructed. by the child without diiiculty. At the present time a child constructing a scooter as a rule takes some wheels from an old pair of roller skates and applies the same, by means of such tools as are available, in a rather unsatisfactory manner. Furthermore, old roller skates are not always available, and at times the child has to goto the eX- pense of buying a new pair of roller skates for the sole purpose of breaking the same apart and utilizing the wheels for the scooter.

In the present invention it is proposed to facilitate the construction of a home-made scooter by commercially providing the necessary hard- Ware which may be sold in a kit and at a reasonable price.

More particularly it is proposed in the present invention to provide a pair of wheel mo-untings for a scooter, which are constructed in such a manner that they may be easily applied to the foot board without the use of any tools.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will appear as the specication proceeds.

The preferred form of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure l shows a scooter made in accordance with my invention in side elevation;

Figure 2 the same scooter in top plan View;

Figure 3 an enlarged fragmentary detail view in plan of a portion of the foot board having my wheel mounting attached thereto;

Figure 4 a transverse section taken along line 4-4 of Figure 3; and

Figure 5 a fragmentary longitudinal section taken along line 5-5 of Figure 4.

While I have shown only the preferred form of my invention, I wish to have it understood that various changes or modifications may be made within the scope of the claims hereto attached without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In its preferred form my scooter comprises a board I preferably of wood, and of suitable width to allow a boys foot to rest thereon, and of suitable length. On the front end of the board there is mounted a, box 2 having a handle 3 projecting therefrom on both sides as at 4. The board is supported by front and rear wheels 5 and 6 respectively, the front wheels being arranged immediately behind the boX.2 and the rear wheels near the rear end of the board.

My invention is particularly concerned with these wheels and their mounting means which are shown in detail in Figures 3 to 5. While I have shown in the drawing a pair of wheels in each instance, it is apparent that a single wheel might be substituted for the pair of wheels without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Referring to the front wheel structure, two wheels 5 are inter-connected by a shaft l, which latter supportsa U-shaped element 8 having legs 9 and a cross-piece I'projecting slightly above the wheels. A rectangular plate II preferably of a length corresponding to the width of the foot board I has a round downward projection I2 presenting a flat lower face adapted to lie on the cross piece Il). The cross piece is secured to the projection by means of a central screw I3, which allows the cross piece to be turned relative t0 the projection I 2, and the cross piece may be locked in either one of two positions by means of a short lever I4 pivoted in lips I6 projecting from the cross piece, and adapted to engage with one end in one of two recesses I l provided in the bottom face of the projection I2, a spring I8 urging the lever into the recess. The two recesses are arranged in such a manner that when the lever I4 is locked in one of the recesses I'I the cross piece Il) is positioned parallel to the plate II, and when the lever is locked in the other recess I'I the cross piece is arranged at right angles to the plate i I. For normal use as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the cross piece will be locked so as to run parallel to the plate II as shown in the different views.

The plate I I is adapted for placing against the bottom face of the board I and has a plurality of prongs I9 projecting therefrom which may be made to penetrate into the wood of the foot board in the manner shown in Figure 4 to hold the plate II against shifting movement. For further holding the plate to the foot board I provide the strap which is preferably made in two sections 2l and 22. This strap is intended to pass around the foot board for holding the plate II thereto. The lower ends of the two sections are passed around the lower edges of the plate II and then through slots 23 to lie against the upper edge of an intermediate section of the plate I I. These ends are also formed with a plurality of perforations corresponding in their spacing and their arrangement to the prongs I9 so that the strap sections may be placed over the prongs and be held in position by the latter passing through the perforations. There are sufficient perforations to allow the strap sections to be adjusted relative to the prongs, and the strap sections are preferably made to overlap as shown at 2d, the degree of overlapping determining the operative length of the whole strap.

After the lower ends of the two strap sections are thus secured relative to the prongs the remaining portions of the two sections are guided around the sides of the foot-board and the upper ends are secured together by means of a suitable buckle shown at 25. While any suitable buckle may be used for this purpose, I show a buckle involving a ring 26 pivotally secured to one of the strap sections as at 21, and having a lever 28 pivoted to its front member 29. The lever is made in the form of a plate 30 having two side flanges 3| arranged in spaced relation, and the pivot 29 is spaced from the plate 30 as shown in Figure 4. A second pin 32 is also supported in the flanges near one end of the lever and is adapted for pivotal engagement in recesses 33 formed in two flanges 34 rising in spaced relation from the other strap section.

Figure 4 shows the buckle in active position. For loosening the same the free end 35 of the lever is thrown upward whereby it is swung on the pin 32 and the pivot 29 is also.made to swing about the pin 32. This loosens the arrangement and the pin 32 may be lifted out of the recess in the lips 34. For fastening the buckle the pin 32 is rst engaged in the recess of the lips 34, whereupon the loose end 35 of the lever is swung about the pin 32 into the position shown in Figure 4, the buckle being locked in position by the pivot 29, the ring 26 being thrown across the center of the pivot 32.

The manner of assembling the scooter by means of the wheel mountings thus provided will be readily understood from the foregoing description. The wheel mounting and the strap are bought in the hardware store and after the child has assembled the wooden parts of his scooter, he secures the wheels in the manner previously described. He rst approximates the length of strap necessary for his particular foot board, adjusts the length by placing the lower sections of his strap over the prongs, then places the plate II against the under face of the board, drives the prongs into the wood and guides the loose ends of the strap around the foot board to secure them by means of the buckle.

At times a child may desire to build a larger vehicle known as a coaster by arranging two of the foot boards in parallel relation and securing the same together by means of a suitable vehicle body running at right angles thereto. In order to make my wheel mounting available for a coaster of that kind, the wheels have to be arranged at right angles to the foot board, and that is the reason why I provide for arranging the wheels in two different positions, either parallel to the foot board, or at right angles to the same, by means of the lever I4 engaging in the recesses I1.

I claim:

1. A scooter comprising a foot board, a wheel supported plate and a strap anchored to the plate for removably securing the plate to the bottom face of the board the strap having means underneath the board for adjusting the length thereof.

2. A scooter comprising a foot board, a wheel supported plate lying in supporting relation to the under face of the board, teeth rising from the plate projecting into the board, and a strap interlocked with the teeth for securing the plate to the board.

3. A scooter comprising a foot board, a wheel supported plate lying in supporting relation to the under face of the board, teeth rising from the plate and projecting into the board, a strap for securing the plate to the board, the strap being made in two sections meeting below the board and being perforated for anchoring engagement with the teeth in different positions, whereby the full operative length of the strap may be adjusted, and means for connecting the two sections above the board.

4. As an article of manufacture, a wheel mounting having a strap for removablysecuring the same to a board or the like the strap being anchored to the mounting for freedom of adjustability of the length of the strap at the anchoring.

5. As an article of manufacture, a wheel mounting comprising a pair of wheels, a plate mounted thereover so as to be supported by the wheels, a strap for securing the plate to the bottom face of a board or the like, and pins rising from the plate and extending into the board material for eliminating movement of the plate rela tive to the board, the strap being anchored in said pins.

6. A scooter comprising a foot board, a wheel supported plate lying in supporting relation to the under face of the board, teeth rising from the plate and projecting into the board and a strap for securing the plate to the board, the strap having two ends meeting below the board and being perforated for anchoring engagement with the teeth in different positions, whereby the full operative length of the strap may be adjusted. 7. As an article of manufacture, a detachable wheel mounting for a scooter having a strap for removably securing the same to a board or the like, the strap being anchored to the mounting. 8. A scooter comprising a foot board, a wheel mounting and a strap anchored to the mounting and operable manually and without the aid of tools for securing the mounting to the foot board.

9. As an article of manufacture, a wheel mounting comprising a pair of wheels, a plate mounted thereover so as to be supported by the wheels,

a strap anchored to the plate for securing the plate to the bottom face of a board or the like, means for joining the ends of the strap and means intermediate the ends of the strap for adjusting the length thereof.

10. As an article of manufacture, a wheel mounting comprising a pair of wheels, a plate mounted thereover so as to be supported by the wheels, a strap for removably securing the plate to a board or the like, means for anchoring the strap to the plate, and means associated with the anchoring means for adjusting the overall length of the strap.

ELBERT E. SCHAAD.