US216234A

US216234A - Improvement in water-skates

Info

Publication number: US216234A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1879-06-03
Anticipated expiration: 1896-06-03

Description

W. O. SOULE; Water-Skate.

No. 216,234. Patented June 3, 1879. Q

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WELLING G. SOULE, OF SAVANNAH, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN WATER-SKATES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 216,234, dated June 3, 1879; application filed March 29, 1879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WELLING O. SoULE, of Savannah, in the county of Wayne and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Water-Skates; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use it, reference being had to the accompanying -drawings, which form part of this specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in water-skates; and it consists in a boat-shaped contrivance that is to be fastened to each foot, and which is provided with hinged stops on its under side, so as to prevent it from slipping backward in the water as the other foot is moved forward, as will be more fully described hereinafter.

Figure l is a side elevation of my invention, and Fig. 2 is an inverted View of the same.

00 represents a boat-shaped frame, made water-tight all over except at the hole where the foot is inserted, and which will be made large or small in proportion to the weight of the one going to use them. These skates may be made widest at the point where the foot is inserted, or of any other shape that may be preferred. In order to prevent leakage at the hole where the foot is inserted, a regular boot or other similar fixture may be secured in the skate and made water-tight around the hole.

Then, should the water wash up over the top of the skate, it could only fill the boot around the foot at most.

Pivoted or otherwise loosely attached to the bottom of the skate are a number of stops,

0, which move back against the bottom as the skates move forward through the water; but the moment the skate begins to move backward these stops instantly drop vertically down, and thus present their whole surface for the water to act against. As there will be a number of these stops, it will readily be seen that only a very powerful effort will cause the foremost skate to move backward while the rear one is being moved forward, and, as this effort is never made, the skater can move over the surface of the water as upon the ice, but not so rapidly.

In order to prevent the stops from moving backward past a vertical line, a suitable projection is fastened rigidly to the bottom of the skate, where the skate is only intended to move forward, and against these projections e the stops rest or bear. Should it be desired to have the skate move both backward and forward, there will be two projections to each stop, fastened to a rod, i, at right angles to each other. By turning the crank on the end of the rod, either set of projections may be brought into play, and thus the skate may be made to move in one direction as well as the other.

Having thus described my invention, I claim--- A water-skate provided with the stops 0, in combination with the rod '17, having the projections a secured to it, substantially as shown.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 24th day of March, 1879.

WELLING O. SOULE. Witnesses:

CHARLES W. ARNOLD, WM. E. HUMPHRnY.