WO1998001191A2 - In-line roller skate with improved chassis - Google Patents

Abstract

A chassis for an in-line skate includes an upper surface with a pair of opposed parallel side walls projecting above the upper surface, and a plurality of pairs of arms including a front pair and a rear pair, each of the arms having an end through which an opening adapted for coupling to a wheel is defined. Each of the arms has an inwardly-extending tip portion below the opening defined therein. A skate including the chassis preferably includes a toe plate and heel plate which engage the parallel side walls, together with front, rear and medial generally spherical wheel coupled to the chassis in a 'rockering' configuration.

Description

IN-LINE ROLLER SKATE WITH IMPROVED CHASSIS

This is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 08/674,701 , filed July 9, 1996, which is incorporated in its entirety herein by reference.

Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to in-line roller skates, in particular in-line skates having generally spherical shaped wheels.

Background of the Invention

Early roller skate designs employed generally disk-shaped wheels having relatively narrow outer peripheral surfaces defining the rolling surfaces. The roiling surfaces are the surfaces of the wheels which contact the floor or ground during a controlled roll on the floor or ground. The rolling surface of a typical conventional wheel design abruptly ends at each side wall of the wheel. Thus, if a skater leaned too far to one side while skating, the rolling surfaces of the skate wheels would lose contact with the floor or ground, causing the skater to lose control and/or fall to that side.

Various prior roller skate designs employed four of such disk-shaped wheels supported on a pair of axles. Two wheels were supported on one axle mounted toward the front of the skate and two wheels were supported on the other axle mounted toward the back of the skate. Early roller skate wheels were made of generally hard materials, such as steel or ceramic materials. More modern roller skate wheels have been made of a softer rubber or plastic material.

Recently, "in-line" skates have become popular. These "in-line" skates have, for example, four generally disk-shaped wheels, each supported on its own axis, arranged in a line along the length of the skate. In various "in-line" skate designs, the mounting brackets for coupling the wheels and axles to the shoe part extend adjacent the side walls of the wheels. The location of these mounting brackets tends to allow portions of the bracket to scrape the ground or floor, if the skater were to lean the skate too far to either side. The "lean angle", the angle of inclination measured from the vertical, is severely limited by the wheel mounting bracket, as well as by the generally disk-like shape of the wheels. "In-line" skates having wheels which appear to be more spherical, or to be wider than typical disk-shaped wheels, have been disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat.

No. 4,034,995, to Forward et al (generally spherical wheels), U S Pat. No.

3,936,061 , to Wada (wide disk), and U S. Pat. No. 2,529,314, to Schmid (wide

"In-line" skates can, to some extent, give the skater a riding sensation which is closer (relative to the two wheels-per-axle roller skates) to that of riding on ice skates. Typical ice skates are provided with a thin blade for contacting the ice Generally, the bottom edge of the thin blade can remain in contact with the ice, even when the skater leans the skate to one side, e g , during a high-speed turn However, as discussed above, typical "in-line" roller skates cannot be leaned to a significant degree to one side without scraping the wheel bracket against the ground and/or without the user's ankles collapsing inward and the rolling surface of the wheels losing contact with the ground, as discussed above. Thus, typical "in-line" skates still do not provide performance characteristics equal to or near those provided by ice skates.

As in-line skates become more and more popular, skaters will demand higher performance equipment. As sports such as roller hockey grow, skaters will need lighter weight, more durable and higher performance skates As such, the need for such equipment is on the rise One area particularly suitable for improvement is the skate chassis.

A need exists for an improved in-line skate chassis that is strong and light in weight, and that permits high-performance skating. A need also exists for an improved skate including such a chassis Summary of the Preferred Embodiments

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is provided an improved chassis for an in-line skate The chassis includes a plurality of pairs of arms including a front pair and a rear pair. Each of the arms has an end through which an opening adapted for coupling to a wheel is defined. Each of the arms also has an inwardly-extending tip portion below the opening.

According to a preferred embodiment, the chassis further includes a heel support portion including an upper surface, two side walls and a lower surface, and a toe support portion in spaced relationship to the heel support portion. The plurality of pairs of arms, the heel support and the toe support form a unitary structure.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, the inventive chassis includes at least one, preferably two, pairs of medial arms between the front and rear pairs of arms. Very preferably, the medial pairs of arms are adapted to couple to their respective wheels in a "rockering" configuration. This embodiment permits "rockering" by the skater, that is, varying the wheels which are in contact with the skating surface by shifting forward or backward during skating.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an improved skate which includes a plurality of wheels and a chassis as described above. In a preferred embodiment, the skate further includes a boot affixed to the chassis. In another preferred embodiment, the skate further includes means for affixing the chassis to an article of footwear.

When coupled with the preferred, generally spherical wheels having indentations as described herein, the end portions extend inward into the indentations of the wheels. This allows the skater to achieve a higher lean angle.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an in-line skate chassis that includes an upper surface, a pair of opposed parallel side walls projecting above the upper surface, and a plurality of pairs of arms including a front pair and a rear pair as described above.

In accordance with still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an in-line skate that includes the foregoing chassis, a toe plate affixed to the chassis, a heel plate affixed to the chassis, and a plurality of wheels coupled to the chassis. According to a preferred embodiment, the toe plate includes a pair of guide flanges and a guide strip disposed between the guide flanges. The guide flanges and guide strip are adapted to engage the upper side walls of the chassis.

According to another preferred embodiment, the heel plate includes a pair of opposed notched side walls. The notches are adapted to engage the upper side walls of the chassis.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description. It is to be understood, however, that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the present invention, are given by way of illustration and not limitation. Many changes and modifications within the scope of the present invention may be made without departing from the spirit thereof, and the invention includes all such modifications.

Brief Description of the Drawings The invention may be more readily understood by referring to the accompanying drawings in which

Figure 1 is a right perspective view of an embodiment of a skate chassis of the invention, showing in phantom a shoe portion and a plurality of generally spherical wheels coupled thereto,

Figure 2 is a left side elevational view of the embodiment of Figure 1 , including the shoe portion, showing more clearly how "rockering" can be achieved due to the elevation of the front and rear wheels above the skating surface while the two medial wheels are in contact with the skating surface.

Figure 3 is a front elevational view with partial cutaway of the embodiment of Figure 2 with the front wheel shown in cross-section, showing the relationship between the inward-extending arm tips and the wheel indentations,

Figure 4 is an illustration of an extrusion die useful in a preferred method of making a chassis according to the invention,

Figures 5a-c illustrate a preferred extrusion and machining method for making a unitary skate chassis according to the invention,

Figure 6 is a side elevational view of an alternative embodiment of a skate of the invention in which the chassis includes means for affixing the skate to the shoe (shown in phantom) of a skater,

Figure 7 is an exploded right perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a skate chassis of the invention, showing a chassis together with separate heel and toe plates,

Figures 8a-b are top and bottom views of the chassis of Figure 7, Figure 9 is a sectional view of the chassis of Figure 8b, Figures 10a-b are side elevational and sectional views, respectively, of the heel plate of Figure 7, with Figure 10b also illustrating the relationship of the heel plate to chassis and shoe portion fastening means

Figures 1 1 a-c are top plan, sectional and side elevational views of the toe plate of Figure 7,

Figures 12a-b are top plan and partial cutaway side elevational views of the toe plate of Figures 1 1 a-c affixed to the chassis of Fig. 7, Fig. 1 2a showing portions of the chassis in phantom,

Figure 1 3 is a partial cutaway side elevational view of the heel plate of Figures 10a-b affixed to the chassis of Fig. 7,

Fig. 14 is a sectional view of the toe plate and chassis of Figure 12b, and Fig. 1 5 is a sectional view of the heel plate and chassis of Figure 13. In the figures, like elements are labeled alike throughout.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments A related design for an in-line roller skate chassis is disclosed and described in co-pending, commonly assigned U.S. Design Application Serial No. 29/056,814 (attorney docket 57164-5010), to Kimmell et al., filed July 9, 1996 and incorporated herein by reference.

In the following detailed description, reference is made to various figures which depict a single improved in-line roller skate. It is to be understood that all such skates are intended to be used with a second similarly constructed roller skate (not shown), such that one skate may be worn on the user's right foot and the other skate may be worn on the user's left foot. Only one skate is discussed in detail herein, since both the right foot skate and the left foot skate have similar construction (except that the shoe portion of the right skate is preferably configured for a right foot and the shoe portion of the left skate is preferably configured for a left foot).

An embodiment of a skate according to the present invention is shown in Figures 1 and 2. The roller skate 10 includes a front wheel 1 2, a rear wheel 14, two medial wheels 16, a chassis 18 to which wheels 1 2, 14 and 1 6 are coupled, and a shoe portion 20.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 -3, chassis 1 8 couples the wheels 12, 14 and 16 to the shoe portion 20. Chassis 18 includes a pair of front arms 30, a pair of rear arms 32, and preferably at least one pair of medial arms 46 (two are illustrated). Chassis 18 further includes heel support 34 and toe support 36 in spaced relationship. As used herein, a "spaced relationship" exists when the two elements are separated by a space such that they do not touch each other, as show, gap 38 separates heel support 34 from toe support 36. Heel support 34 is preferably formed as a rigid structure including upper surface 40, side walls 42 and lower surface 44. Gap 38 can be longer or shorter as desired, depending on factors such as the configuration of side walls 42 of heel support 34.

Upper side panels 48 connect the front arms 30, rear arms 32 and medial arms 46 to heel support 34 and toe support 36.

In the foregoing preferred embodiment, the front arms 30, rear arms 32, medial arms 46, upper side panels 48, heel support 34 and toe support 36 of chassis 1 8 all form a single unitary structure. Preferably, this unitary structure is formed by known techniques such as machining, casting, injection molding or other known means. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the unitary structure is formed by an extrusion process to form a blank, followed by machining of the extruded blank. As illustrated in Figures 4 and 5a-c, a ductile material, preferably aluminum, is extruded through extrusion die 60 to form extrusion 62 having two opposing portions 64. Extrusion die 60 has the desired skate chassis blank cross-section 60a, as shown for example in Figure 4. Cross-sections other than the cross-section illustrated herein can of course be used. For example, the extrusion die cross-section can include smoothly curved opposing portions 64 rather than opposing portions comprised of straight segments. Also, any conventional type of extrusion die can be used in the inventive method to produce extrusion 62. Opposing portions 64 each have an end 66 including an inwardly-extending tip portion 68. In the preferred embodiment illustrated in Figures 5a-c, the extrusion 62 is a single-voided extrusion which includes an enclosed portion 70, said enclosed portion preferably having a rectangular cross-section. If desired, the extrusion 62 can be formed as a double-voided extrusion having two stacked or parallel enclosed portions 70. This can provide additional cross-section support to the chassis, depending on the selected profile of the chassis 1 8. Enclosed portion 70 is subsequently used to form the heel support 34 of the finished skate chassis 18. The extrusion process can be carried out in manners known to those skilled in the art, and the selection of process parameters such as temperature, ram pressure, etc. can readily be accomplished through the exercise of routine skill. As is known, the extrusion die 60 guides the ductile material, such as aluminum, as it is forced through the die. The ductile material is thus pressure welded continuously as it is extruded. As the extruded ductile material exits the extrusion die 60, it then preferably is straightened by rollers in a conventional manner, and then cut to convenient lengths for further processing, forming skate chassis blank 72.

After skate chassis blank 72 is formed, the final shaping of the blank is carried out by machining, preferably by use of computer-numerically-controlled fCNC) machinery. Arm cutouts 74 are removed from skate chassis blank 72, thus forming the front, rear and medial arms 30, 32 and 46, respectively, each arm having its inward-extending arm tip 54. Similarly, heel/toe support cutouts 76 and 77 are removed from skate chassis blank 72 to form the heel and toe supports 34 and 36, respectively. Openings 56, 58 are formed in the heel and toe supports 34 and 36, respectively, preferably by drilling. Likewise, arm end openings 52 are formed in the front, rear and medial arms above the inward-extending arm tips 54.

Other chassis configurations than that illustrated in Figures 5a-c can be made according to the inventive method. For example, more or fewer than two medial arms 46 can be cut from the skate chassis blank 72, the arms can have different profiles than those shown (e.g, arch-form or scalloped rather than approximately triangular), the heel support can have a different side wall profile, etc. All such modifications are contemplated as falling within the inventive method.

It has unexpectedly been discovered that an extrusion process as described herein can be employed to produce a unitary skate chassis of the invention. Prior to the present invention, the conventional wisdom of the art was that it was not possible to produce a unitary extruded structure including arms that curved or extended inward, because it was not considered possible to accommodate wheels within such a structure. Rather, it was believed that such a chassis could only be produced from two or more separate parts.

It is also of course possible to assemble chassis 1 8 from two or more subassemblies which include combinations of the foregoing elements. For example, the front, rear and medial arms could be formed together with the upper side panels as unitary structures to form left and right arm subassemblies, and the heel and toe supports could be affixed between these subassemblies to produce the completed chassis. Other methods of assembling chassis 18 will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

In a preferred embodiment, the lower surface 44 of heel support 34 extends lengthwise along chassis 18 in the direction of toe support 36 a greater distance than does the upper surface 40 of heel support 34. Heel support side walls 42 connecting the upper and lower surfaces of heel support 34 thus can preferably have a trapezoidal shape as shown. Other side wall configurations can also be used if desired.

According to a preferred embodiment, the rear arms of chassis 18 have an approximately rectangular side profile, while the front and medial arms of chassis 18 have an approximately triangular side profile, with the bases of the triangles joining with the upper side panels 48. The ends 50 of the front, rear and medial arms typically are rounded in side profile, as illustrated, but can have other configurations as desired.

It is also possible to form chassis 18 such that the arms 30, 32 and 46 and the upper side panels 48 on each side of chassis 1 8 form a single, smooth, continuous curved structure without sharp angles, such as the angle formed between arms 30,

32 and 46 and upper side panels 48, as long as the inward-extending tip portions 52 are formed below the arm end openings 52.

In the preferred embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 -2, the front arms 30 of chassis 18 project beyond the end of toe support 36. This configuration allows the skate 10 to accommodate larger-diameter wheels, in particular generally spherical wheels, and also provides a desirable longer wheel base for skate 10.

As shown in Figure 2, a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention incorporates a "rockering" capability. In a "rockered" in-line skate, the medial wheels in tandem are mounted so that their centers are lower than the centers of the front and rear wheels. This has the effect of reducing the effective wheelbase, and thus making the skate less resistant to turning. Rockering also has the effect of moving the center of pressure against the ground to a point between the front wheel's contact with the surface and the first medial wheel's contact with the surface (toward the toe), or to a point between the last medial wheel's contact and the rear wheel's contact. This also has a positive effect on maneuverability.

In an un-"rockered" in-line skate, the centers of all of the wheels are at the same height. Thus, all wheels are in contact with the ground all the time. Such a skate offers greater resistance to turning. This arrangement theoretically affords higher potential speed to the skate, assuming that other factors including wheel quality, bearing quality and skating ability are equal. That is, the larger the number of wheels and bearings bearing the skater, the higher the speed potential of the skate. This is because the load is distributed among more bearings and thus less internal resistance is encountered.

For the foregoing reasons, dance and hockey ice skates have curved or "rockered" blades and are relatively short. Racing ice skates have long, flat bottomed runners. Similarly with in-line roller skates, speed skates often have five or even six wheels, all in contact with the skating surface. Rapid turns are not expected, and the object is to employ the maximum number of bearings simultaneously.

It should be noted in connection with the foregoing that in-line skate wheels are typically surfaced with resilient material. A certain amount of compliance results, and therefore, it is not uncommon for the skater to experience a self-induced compromise in the skate. If he exerts sufficient force on a rockered skate, he may compress the inner wheels sufficiently for there to be momentary contact with three or more wheels as he accelerates. The offset between the medial and the front and rear wheels may be only a few hundredths of an inch. Thus, the selected skate design affords a tendency or bias in handling versus speed . The unrockered skate, likewise, will exhibit reasonable maneuverability, due to the resiliency of the wheels. The front wheel may be compressed enough to bring only itself and the second wheel into contact momentarily.

Rockering can be achieved in several ways. For example, the length (in the direction normal to a skating surface) of the medial arms 46 can be selected to be slightly longer than the corresponding lengths of the front and rear arms 30 and 32.

This length can be measured from any desired reference, for example, the line "L" formed between the upper side panels 48 and the arms as illustrated in Figures 1 -2. Alternatively, as illustrated in Figures 1 -2, the front, rear and medial arms can be made the same length in the normal direction, but the medial wheels can be coupled to the medial arms at points closer to the ends 50 thereof than the points at which the front and rear wheels are coupled to their respective arms. Thus, in the illustrated embodiment, when the two medial wheels 14 are in contact with the skating surface, front wheel 1 2 and rear wheel 1 6 are not in contact with the skating surface. When the skater shifts his weight forward, front wheel 12 and the first medial wheel 14 contact the skating surface, while the second medial wheel 14 and the rear wheel 1 6 leave contact with the skating surface. Similarly, when the skater shifts his weight backward, rear wheel 16 and the second medial wheel 14 contact the skating surface while the first medial wheel 14 and front wheel 1 2 leave contact with the skating surface.

In another preferred embodiment, rockering is achieved by providing the medial arms 46 with axle plugs as described, for example, in U.S. Patent No. 5, 1 90,301 , U.S. Patent No. 5,092,614, U.S. Patent No. 5,048,848, and U.S. Patent No.

4,909,523, each of which is incorporated in its entirety herein by reference. Use of the foregoing axle plugs enables the wheels to be selectably configured by adjusting the coupling positions of the wheels. When such axle plugs are used, openings 52 preferably are elongated or slot-like in order to accommodate the plugs. Preferably, the width of the chassis 1 8 is no greater than (and preferably less than) the maximum width of the shoe portion 20. This allows the chassis 18 to be relatively thin, so as not to contact the ground or floor at high degrees of skate inclination. This also allows the chassis to be formed as a relatively light-weight structure. The chassis 18 preferably is formed from a material such as glass fiber- reinforced nylon or other materials of similar structural strength. In a particularly preferred embodiment, chassis 1 8 is formed from a metal such as aluminum, or another metal such as steel.

In Figure 1 , heel support upper surface 40 preferably has defined therein at least one opening 56. Likewise, toe support 36 preferably has defined therein at least one opening 58 (two are illustrated). These openings are adapted to receive means, such as threaded fasteners, for fastening chassis 18 to shoe 20. Figure 5 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the foregoing skate which includes means for fastening the skate to a separate article of footwear worn by a skater. Skate 80 includes wheels 1 2, 14 and 16 and chassis 18, but rather than boot 20 affixed to chassis 18 includes fastening means such as straps 82 and heel bracket 84. The user thus places a shoe, boot or other article of footwear "B" on his foot, and then contacts the article of footwear with the chassis 18 and the heel bracket 84. Straps 82 then secure the skate 80 to the footwear of the user.

The foregoing alternative embodiment is applicable to any of the various skate configurations described herein. The instant invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiments having four wheels (front, two medial and rear), or to embodiments employing wheels of the same diameter. For example, three or more medial wheels could be used if desired. Also, front wheel 1 2 could have a smaller diameter than medial and rear wheels 14 and 1 6, or could be spaced farther from the first medial wheel 14 than the medial and rear wheels are spaced from each other. Exemplary alternative wheel configurations are described in copending U.S. Patent Application No. 08/299,234, filed August 31 , 1994, which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

The present inventors have recognized that light-weight wheels are preferred for maximizing the performance characteristics of the roller skate. However, in an effort to design a light-weight wheel, the structural strength of the wheel should not be significantly compromised.

The exterior surface of wheels 1 2, 14 and 1 6 is a generally spherical shape. The term "generally spherical" as employed herein is intended to encompass true spheres and similar shapes such as spheroids and ellipsoids, as well as spheres, etc. having flattened and/or indented poles. True spheres and indented spheres are particularly preferred. The generally spherical wheels 1 2, 14 and 1 6 can have any desired size, for example, about 60 mm in diameter.

The generally spherical shape of the wheels 1 2, 14 and 1 6 in combination with the configuration of the chassis 18 allows the user to maintain a rolling surface of each wheel on the floor or ground, while leaning the skate by a relatively large degree with respect to a line extending perpendicular to the floor or ground. Useful wheel structures and methods for making wheels useful according to the instant invention are disclosed, for example, in commonly assigned and copending

U.S. Patent Applications No. 08/592,267, filed January 26, 1996, No. 08/061 ,583, filed May 1 2, 1 993, and No. 07/831 ,392, filed February 7, 1992, each of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

Wheels 1 2, 14 and 16 can be coupled to chassis 18 through arm end openings 52 by any desired means, such as threaded fasteners 86 affixed to wheel axtos 88. In a preferred embodiment, generally spherical wheels 12, 14, 1 5 are coupted to chassis 18 such that inward-extending arm tips 54 extend into indentations 9Q Ojf the wheels. This configuration affords an increased lean angle during skating, since the arm tips below the point at which the arms couple to the wheels do not contact the skating surface until the edges of the indentations 90 are in contact with the skating surface. That is, the entire surface of the wheels 12, 14, 1 6 becomes available for use during skating. As illustrated in Figures 1 -2, skate 10 includes a shoe portion 20 for receiving a user's foot. Various shoe portion designs for roller skates are well known in the art and are, therefore, not discussed in detail herein. However, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the shoe portion 20 is formed as a relatively light-weight, yet high-strength structure. Other optional features that may be incorporated into embodiments of the instant invention include brakes, in particular brakes affixed to the rear portion of the skate. Useful brake structures are described in copending U.S. Patent Application No. 08/299,234, previously incorporated in its entirety herein by reference. Exemplary brake structures include "U"-shaped members, having circular or flattened cross- sections, which partially surround rear wheel 1 6 as described in the aforementioned copending application.

An alternative embodiment of the inventive skate chassis is illustrated in Figures 7-1 5. In this embodiment, skate 1 10 includes wheels 1 2, 14 and 16 as in the previous embodiment, and further includes chassis 1 1 8. Chassis 1 18 is preferably formed by an extrusion process as described above. However, chassis 1 18 does not include an enclosed portion 70, that is, it is not a single-void extrusion. Rather, chassis 1 18 has a cross-section such as that illustrated in Fig. 9, with upper surface 120 bounded by upper surface side walls 1 1 9, upper side panels 148, arm ends 1 50 and inward-extending arm tips 1 54. Openings 1 56 and 1 58 are defined through surface 1 20 to facilitate fastening chassis 1 1 8 to shoe portion 20.

In the illustrated embodiment, heel plate 1 34 and toe plate 136 are formed as separate elements which are fastened to the chassis 1 1 8 and to which shoe portion

20 its fastened. Preferably, heel plate 134 and toe plate 136 are formed by an injection molding process from a polymeric material, such as nylon, preferably also in ωxώing a reinforcing material such as glass fiber.

Referring to Figs. 10a-b, heel plate 134 has an upper surface 140 and side walls 1 11. Notches 141 a are defined along the bottom edges of side walls 141 to facilitate engagement of heel plate 134 with side walls 1 1 9 of chassis 1 1 8, as shown in Figs. 13 and 1 5. If desired, a brake 160 as shown in Fig. 1 3 can also be used. Brake 160 cam ϋmclude an extension (not shown) which can be secured between heel plate 134 and chassis 1 18 in order to help secure brake 1 60 to skate 1 10. Flanges 142 project from the top outer surfaces of heel plate side walls 141 .

A plurality of openings 143 are defined through flanges 142, and fastening means 1 37,, which can be screws, rivets, bolts, etc., are received in openings 143 and seewrpe shoe portion 20 to heel plate 1 34. Opening 144 is defined through upper surff-ace 140 of heel plate 134 and receives fastening means 145 for securing heel plaj® ^'134 to chassis 1 18. Fastening means 145 can be any desired fastening means, for example a bolt 145a and nut 145b as illustrated in Fig. 10b.

Toe plate 1 36, illustrated in Figs. 1 1 a-c, can have any desired shape, but typMsa/lly is approximately elliptical or oval as shown in Fig . 1 1 a. Toe plate 1 36 indkudes guide strip 139 between guide flanges 1 38. Guide strip 1 38 and guide flangptes 1 39 engage side walls 1 19 of chassis 1 18 between them, as illustrated in

Figs. 1 2a and 14.

A plurality of openings 135 are defined along the side edges of toe plate 1 36, and fastening means 137 are received therein and secure shoe portion 20 to toe plate 1 365. Opening 1 33 is defined through toe plate 1 36 and receives fastening means 159 ftor securing toe plate 1 36 to chassis 1 1 8. Fastening means 1 59, like fastening means 145, can be any desired means, such as the illustrated bolt 1 59a and nut 1 59b. Chassis 1 1 8 preferably is prepared by a conventional stamping process. First a blank is prepared, in a manner similar to that discussed previously. The blank is then placed in a stamping machine over a die. The blank is initially positioned on a first side over the die. A stamping tool then removes arm cutouts from the first side. The part is then turned over to its second side, moved to a second portion of the die, and the stamping process is repeated to remove the arm cutouts from the second side. Finally, the part is rotated such that its upper surface is supported by a third portion of the die, and the openings 1 56 and 1 58 are punched through the upper surface 1 20. The part is preferably then further processed, e.g., by tumbling, polishing and heat-treatment to aircraft hardness, to afford the finished chassis 1 18.

Claims

What is claimed is

1 An in-line skate chassis comprising a plurality of pairs of arms including a.fπront pair and a rear pair, each of said arms having an end through which an o ening adapted for coupling to a wheel is defined, each of said arms comprising an mw«»rdly- extending tip portion below said opening.

2 The chassis of claim 1 further comprising a heel support portion including an upper surface, two side walls and a lower surface, and a toe support porjCLftm in spaced relationship to said heel support portion, wherein said plurality of pantos of arms, said heel support and said toe support form a unitary structure.

3 The chassis of claim 2 wherein said lower surface of said heel support e^firøds toward said toe support a greater distance than does said upper surface.

4 The chassis of claim 2 wherein said front pair of arms projects beyond satdj itoe support

5 The chassis of claim 2 further comprising at least one medial pair of arms,.

6 The chassis of claim 5 comprising two medial pairs of arms.

7 The chassis of claim 5 wherein said at least one medial pair of arms are adajwed to couple with wheels in a rockering configuration.

8 An in-line skate comprising a) the chassis of claim 1 , and b) a plurality of wheels coupled to said chassis.

9 The skate of claim 8 wherein each of said wheels comprises a) an axis of rotation, b) a generally spherical outer periphery, and c) an indentation at each location at which said axis of rotation trave rses said generally spherical outer periphery, each of said indentations ftiwcing an outer edge

10 The skate of claim 9 wherein each arm is coupled to its associated whβ i Jguch that said inwardly-extending tip portion extends into said indentation.

1 1 A skate as claimed in claim 10, further comprising a boot affixed to said chassis

12 A skate as claimed in claim 10, further comprising means for removably fastening said chassis to an article of footwear.

13. A method of making an in-line skate chassis comprising the steps of: a) extruding a ductile material through an extrusion die to form a skate chassis blank having two opposing portions, said opposing portions having ends which include inwardly-extending tip portions, b) shaping said opposing portions to form a plurality of pairs of arms incVutJing front and rear pairs of arms, and c) defining an opening through said ends of each of said arms above said inwardly-extending tip portions.

14. The method of claim 1 3 wherein said skate chassis blank is further shaped to produce a heel support and a toe support.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein said skate chassis blank is shaped by a cwnputer-numerically-controlled machine.

16i. The method of claim 1 3 wherein said ductile material is aluminum.

17. The method of claim 1 3 wherein in step (b) said opposing portions are shaped ta form a plurality of pairs of arms including front and rear pairs of arms and at least θf*e pair of medial arms.

148. The method of claim 1 7 wherein two pairs of medial arms are formed.

13. A skate chassis made by the method of claim 1 3.

2©. A skate comprising a) the skate chassis of claim 1 9, and b) a plurality of wheels coupled to said chassis.

Z . The skate of claim 20 wherein each of said wheels comprises a) an axis of rotation, b) a generally spherical outer periphery, and c) an indentation at each location at which said axis of rotation traverses said generally spherical outer periphery, each of said indentations having an outer edge.

22.. The skate of claim 21 wherein each arm is coupled to its associated wheel such thwart said inwardly-extending tip portion extends into said indentation. 23-. A skate chassis made by the method of claim 1 7.

24. A skate comprising a) the skate chassis of claim 23, and b) a plurality of wheels coupled to said chassis.

25. The skate of claim 24 wherein each of said wheels comprises a) an axis of rotation, b) a generally spherical outer periphery, and c) an indentation at each location at which said axis of rotation traverses said generally spherical outer periphery, each of said indentations having an outer edge.

26 The skate of claim 25 wherein each arm is coupled to its associated wheel such that said inwardly-extending tip portion extends into said indentation.

27. An in-line skate chassis comprising an upper surface, a pair of opposed parallel side walls projecting above said upper surface, and a plurality of pairs of arms including a front pair and a rear pair, each of said arms having an end through which an opening adapted for coupling to a wheel is defined, each of said arms comprising an inwardly-extending tip portion below said opening

28. The chassis of claim 27 further comprising at least one medial pair of arms 29 The chassis of claim 28 comprising two medial pairs of arms

30. The chassis of claim 28 wherein said at least one medial pair of arms are adapted to couple with wheels in a rockering configuration 31 An in-line skate comprising a) the chassis of claim 27, b) a toe plate affixed to said chassis, c) a heel plate affixed to said chassis, and d) a plurality of wheels coupled to said chassis

32. The skate of claim 31 wherein said toe plate comprises a pair of guide flanges and a guide strip disposed between said guide flanges, said guide flanges and guide strip being adapted to engage said upper side walls of said chassis.

33. The skate of claim 31 , wherein said heel plate comprises a pair of opposed notched side walls, said notches being adapted to engage said upper side walls of said chassis.

34. The skate of claim 31 wherein each of said wheels comprises a) an axis of rotation, b) a generally spherical outer periphery, and c) an indentation at each location at which said axis of rotation traverses said generally spherical outer periphery, each of said indentations having an outer edge.

35. The skate of claim 34 wherein each arm is coupled to its associated wheel such that said inwardly-extending tip portion extends into said indentation.

36. A skate as claimed in claim 35, further comprising a boot affixed to said chassis.

37. A skate as claimed in claim 35, further comprising means for removably fastening said chassis to an article of footwear.