US2124724A

US2124724A - Skate clamp

Info

Publication number: US2124724A
Application number: US89147A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jr Henry F Whitcomb
Original assignee: RICHARDSON BALL BEARING SKATE
Current assignee: RICHARDSON BALL BEARING SKATE; RICHARDSON BALL BEARING SKATE Co
Priority date: 1936-07-06
Filing date: 1936-07-06
Publication date: 1938-07-26
Anticipated expiration: 1955-07-26

Description

July 26, 1938. H. F. WHITCOMB,'JR

SKATE CLAMP Filed July 6, 1956 zz imwm 6M Q1 omteys Patented July 26, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFlCE SKATE CLAMP Application July 6, 1936, Serial No. 89,147

7 Claims.

This invention relates to skates and particularly to improvements in the clamping mechanism by removably attaching a skate to the sole of a shoe.

The clamp structures now in general use for removably clamping a skate body to the sole of a shoe, comprise clamping elements which are permanently attached to the foot plate of the skate. Such structures ordinarily include a pair of clamp arms formed at their outer ends with integral lugs for engaging the opposite edges of the shoe sole. Such constructions make it necessary to form the clamp elements in rights and lefts so as to conform, in a general way, to the inner and outer edge contours of the soles of right and. left shoes. This condition obviously adds to the cost of manufacture. The said clamp arms are adjustable transversely of the foot plate so as to accommodate shoe soles of different widths but no provisions have been made, heretofore, for readily altering or changing the clamp structure, either by substitutions or adjustments of the parts, to properly fit shoe soles of different thicknesses or contours. Consequently, the operators of skating rinks, Where skates are furnished to the patrons, have experienced considerable difficulty in fitting skates to the various kinds or styles of shoes worn by their patrons. In one instance the patron may be wearing shoes having wide thick soles with relatively straight edges, for example, a shoe of a very wide toe last. Another patron may be wearing a shoe of the same general size, but of thinner sole, or of different edge contour.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide an improved skate clamp structure suitable for use on either roller skates or ice skates, whereby the skate can be readily conditioned to properly fit shoe soles of various sizes,

thicknesses and contours.

A more specific object of invention is to provide a clamp structure which is so formed that the clamp for engaging the edge of a shoe sole may be selected of suitable height and incorporated in the clamp structure to accommodate shoe soles of any particular thickness.

Another object is to provide a removable clamp lug for skate clamps of the above character which .when applied to a shoe will automatically adjust itself to conform substantially to the contour of the edge of the shoe sole, thereby providing a clamp lug which will accommodate shoe soles of various contours.

Another object is to provide a skate clamp lug of the above character which will provide a support for the bottom surface of the shoe sole adjacent the edge thereof so as to prevent drawing the edge of the shoe sole downwardly toward the skate clamp arm.

A further object of the invention is to provide a clamp structure for skates which will simplify the manufacture in that the clamp arm and the supporting guards therefor may be formed in a single size and shape for use on both right and left sides of skates.

Various other objects of the invention will be made apparent from the detailed description of one embodiment of the invention.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. l is a fragmentary plan view of the foot plate of a skate provided with a clamp structure made in accordance with this invention.

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the structure shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 33 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Fig. 4 is a view in perspective of one of the clamp member arms.

Fig. 5 is a view in perspective of a supporting guide for supporting one of the clamp arms in its applied position, and

Fig. 6 is a View in perspective of one of the several sizes of clamp lug member adapted to be engaged with the clamp arm member.

The clamp structure of the present invention is illustrated in connection with a foot plate of a roller skate. It should be understood. however, that the improved clamp structure is not limited in its utility to a roller skate, but may be readily used to clamp any form of skate body or other device to the sole of a shoe. The said clamp structure comprises a pair of clamp arms l l--! l of angular configuration which are slidably supported in guide members I2-l2 secured to the bottom of the foot plate It). The said guide members are preferably of identical construction and may be secured to the opposite marginal portions of the foot plate by means of rivets E3 or other suitable attaching means. The said clamp arms are also of identical constructions, except that the openings |4| l therein are tapped, respectively, with right and left hand threads for receiving the correspondingly threaded end portions of the clamp screw i5. The central portion of said screw I5 is reduced in diameter and fits in the recessed end of a bearing element ll, depending from the foot plate Ill of the skate. The opposite ends of the screw are formed with the usual squared portions I 8 for engagement with ordinary skate keys.

In order that the clamping structure may be readily conditioned to fit shoe soles of different thicknesses the portions of the clamp for gripping the vertical edge portions of a shoe sole are removably attached to the skate, whereby sole gripping members of different heights may be readily applied to the skate to accommodate shoe soles of different thicknesses. Accordingly, a skate suitable for application to a shoe of a certain size can be properly fitted to such shoe regardless of the thickness or contour of the shoe sole, by merely applying to the skate a sole gripping element of the appropriate size.

According to the principles embodied in this invention, the shoe sole gripping element adapted to be removably attached to the skate to accommodate shoe soles of difierent thicknesses, may be the entire clamp element or any part thereof. In the specific embodiment shown herein, the removable gripping elements of the clamp structure are preferably in the form of lugs lfi-IQ which are supported at the outer. ends of the clamp arms H-ll. The said lugs comprise in each case a vertically disposed gripping face 29, an inturned upper edge 2| which overlies the upper surface of the shoe sole, a horizontal flange 22 which seats on the top surface of a, clamp arm and provides a support for the marginal portion of the shoe sole, and a depending locking element 23. The vertical clamping face 20, as before stated, may be of any desired height to fit a shoe sole of a particular thickness. The horizontal flange 22 of the clamp lug may be of the same or greater thickness than the foot plate of the skate and is preferably tapered in width to fit correspondingly tapered recesses 24 formed. in the foot plate, when the said lugs 19 are moved to the limits of their inward movement. The supporting function of the horizontal flange 22 prevents the clamping action on the sole of the shoe from bending the sole downwardly toward the clamp arm. The locking element 23 of the clamp lug is adapted to be inserted in a substantially T-shaped slot 25 formed in the clamp arm on which the lug is supported and is provided with lateral projections 26-26 adapted to engage the bottom surface of the clamp arm to provide an interlocking engagement therewith. The said projections 26-26, during the insertion of the locking element in the slot 25, are arranged lengthwise of the slot. The lug is then turned transversely of the slot to the position indicated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, whereby the said projections 26-26 assume positions beneath the clamp arm to provide said interlocking engagement.

In addition to the interlocking engagement of the clamp lugs I9 and the clamp arms I l where-. by clamp lugs of various sizes may be interchangeably fitted on the arms, the said lugs are rotatable in the slots 25-25. By reason of the provision for rotation of the lugs in the said slots the lugs will automatically adjust their angular position on the arms ll so as to fit the various edge contours of shoe soles of different shapes. The capacity for angular adjustment of the said lugs makes it unnecessary to form them in rights and lefts, since they can be applied to either side of the right or left skate, as may be desired. In order to insure free angular movement of the said lugs, the outer end walls of the slots 25-25 are curved inwardly, as indicated by the reference numeral 21, and thereby provide a pivot bearing against which the locking element of the clamp lug is adapted to bear.

While the invention is illustrated herein in connection with certain specific embodiments, the disclosure herein will readily suggest various modified constructions for accomplishing all or part of the functions and advantages hereinabove referred to. It should be understood, therefore, that the present invention contemplates all suchchanges in structure which come within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A clamp device for removably attaching a skate to a shoe comprising a member adjustably supported for movement transversely of the skate, and an upwardly extending element for engagement with the shoe and having a readily removable interlocking engagement with said adjustable member whereby elements adapted to fit shoe soles of various thicknesses may be interchangeably fitted on said adjustable member, the said interlocking engagement being of sufficient looseness to permit the said element to move about a vertical axis to accommodate shoe soles of different shapes.

2. A clamp structure for removably attaching a skate to a shoe comprising a pair of clamp arms adjustably supported for movement transversely of the skate and formed with slots in their outer end portions, clamp lugs for engaging the opposite edge portions of a shoe sole and having depending portions insertable in the slots of said arms to provide readily detachable interlocking engagements therewith, whereby lugs suitable for soles of various thicknesses may be interchangeably fitted on said arms.

3. A clamp structure for removably attaching a skate to a shoe comprising a pair of clamp arms adjustably supported for movement transversely of the skate and formed with elongated slots at their outer end portions, clamp lugs for engaging the opposite edge portions of a shoe sole and having depending portions insertable in the slots of said arms to provide readily disengageable interlocking engagement therewith, the said depending portions of the lugs being formed with lateral projections adapted, by movement of the lugs about their vertical axes, to engage the bottom surface of said arms and thereby hold the said lugs in their interlocking engagement with said arms.

4. A clamp structure for removably attaching a skate to a shoe comprising a pair of clamp arms adjustably supported for movement transversely of the skate and formed with substantially T- shaped slots in their outer end portions, clamp lugs for engaging the opposite edge portions of a shoe and having depending portions insertable in the said slots of said arms to provide readily detachable engagement therewith, and the outer end walls of said slots being formed to provide inwardly curved bearing surfaces for the depending portions of said lugs.

5. A clamp structure for removably attaching a skate to a shoe comprising a pair of clamp arms adjustably supported for movement transversely of the skateand formed at their outer ends with slots, clamp lugs supported on said arms for engagement with the opposite edge portions of a shoe sole and having depending locking elements adapted to be inserted in said slots to hold the said lugs in their applied positions on the arms, the said lugsbeing movable in said slots to various angular positions on the arms to accommodate shoe soles of various contours.

6. In combination with the foot-plate of a skate, a clamp structure for securing said plate to the sole portion of a shoe comprising clamp arms adjustably supported on the bottom of said foot-plate for movement transversely of the skate toaccommodate shoe soles of diiferent widths, and shoe sole engaging lugs having pivotal interlocking engagement with the outer ends of said arms and having a horizontally disposed portion for engaging the bottom surface of the shoe sole which portion tapers in width toward the footplate of the skate; the opposite edges of the footplate being formed with recesses to receive porother member to provide a readily detachable in- 10 terlocking engagement of said member.

HENRY F. WHITCOMB, JR.