WO1999055435A1 - Grassboard or mountainboard - Google Patents
Grassboard or mountainboard Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- WO1999055435A1 WO1999055435A1 PCT/GB1999/001338 GB9901338W WO9955435A1 WO 1999055435 A1 WO1999055435 A1 WO 1999055435A1 GB 9901338 W GB9901338 W GB 9901338W WO 9955435 A1 WO9955435 A1 WO 9955435A1
- Authority
- WO
- WIPO (PCT)
- Prior art keywords
- roller
- grassboard
- mountainboard
- support member
- axis
- Prior art date
Links
Classifications
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63C—SKATES; SKIS; ROLLER SKATES; DESIGN OR LAYOUT OF COURTS, RINKS OR THE LIKE
- A63C17/00—Roller skates; Skate-boards
- A63C17/01—Skateboards
- A63C17/011—Skateboards with steering mechanisms
- A63C17/013—Skateboards with steering mechanisms with parallelograms, follow up wheels or direct steering action
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63C—SKATES; SKIS; ROLLER SKATES; DESIGN OR LAYOUT OF COURTS, RINKS OR THE LIKE
- A63C17/00—Roller skates; Skate-boards
- A63C17/01—Skateboards
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63C—SKATES; SKIS; ROLLER SKATES; DESIGN OR LAYOUT OF COURTS, RINKS OR THE LIKE
- A63C17/00—Roller skates; Skate-boards
- A63C17/01—Skateboards
- A63C17/014—Wheel arrangements
- A63C17/016—Wheel arrangements with wheels arranged in one track
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63C—SKATES; SKIS; ROLLER SKATES; DESIGN OR LAYOUT OF COURTS, RINKS OR THE LIKE
- A63C17/00—Roller skates; Skate-boards
- A63C17/04—Roller skates; Skate-boards with wheels arranged otherwise than in two pairs
- A63C17/045—Roller skis
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63C—SKATES; SKIS; ROLLER SKATES; DESIGN OR LAYOUT OF COURTS, RINKS OR THE LIKE
- A63C17/00—Roller skates; Skate-boards
- A63C17/16—Roller skates; Skate-boards for use on specially shaped or arranged runways
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63C—SKATES; SKIS; ROLLER SKATES; DESIGN OR LAYOUT OF COURTS, RINKS OR THE LIKE
- A63C17/00—Roller skates; Skate-boards
- A63C17/22—Wheels for roller skates
- A63C17/24—Wheels for roller skates with ball-shaped or spherical running surfaces
Definitions
- This invention relates to articles for use in board sports of the kind which are commonly known as "grassboards” or “mountainboards”.
- Skateboards comprising a board mounted on four wheels are well known, but they are generally only suitable for use on hard surfaces such as concrete, metalled, or plywood surfaces. Most skateboards have four wheels although a two-wheeled skateboard is disclosed in WO 90 00 428. The same restrictions regarding hard surfaces apply to roller skates and roller blades, (i.e. in-line skates). On the other hand, snowboards are capable of being used on snow and wakeboards on water, both soft surfaces, but are useless on hard surfaces.
- grass represents an ideal surface for board sports.
- a small number of grassboards and mountainboards are available which are intended to be used on soft surfaces such as grass in addition to hard surfaces.
- One such board has four large rather like pram wheels and another has three, including a single front or rear wheel. All have a mechanical steering type mechanism that does not allow the weight of the rider to be transferred to the steering side. Thus centrifugal forces allow the board to slide away from the rider especially in wet conditions.
- Another design uses rubber tracks similar to tank tracks, but this is again difficult to steer.
- the present invention seeks to provide a new inventive form of grassboard or mountainboard which is easy to manoeuvre both on soft grassed or hard concrete surfaces, which is relatively safe from the point of view of possible entanglement with wheels or rollers, is lightweight and practical in size with an affordable selling price.
- the present invention proposes a grassboard or mountainboard comprising:
- each roller associated with each mounting extending transversely of the support member to rotate about a rotational axis, each roller having a symmetrically curved outer surface with a maximum diameter in the mid region of the roller, at least one of said mountings being pivotally connected with the support member for pivotal movement about a substantially vertical pivot axis which substantially intersects said rotational axis in said mid region of the respective roller;
- recoil means associated with the pivotal mounting to resiliently bias the respective roller towards a stable position extending transversely of the support member such that, in steering the board, the roller can rotate in opposite directions about said vertical axis to return to said stable position under the action of said recoil means.
- each roller is preferably at least twice its maximum diameter.
- Figure 1 is a general view of a grassboard in accordance with the invention, viewed from the underside;
- Figure 2 is a is a vertical cross section through one of the mountings by which the grassboard is steered, taken in a front-rear direction;
- Figure 3 is a further vertical section through the mounting taken perpendicular to the section of Fig. 2;
- Figure 4 is a plan elevation of the mounting showing the torsion recoil spring in its rest position.
- the grassboard includes a generally horizontal support member in the form of a deck 1 which presents an upper riding surface 2 upon which the rider generally stands in use but upon which he/she could also sit or lie.
- the front and rear ends 3 and 4 of the deck may be slightly upturned as shown.
- respective front and rear steering mountings 5 and 6 are secured to the underside of the deck.
- the mountings incorporate forks 9 and 10 which contain and shield respective rugby ball shaped rollers 7 and 8 extending across most of the transverse width of the deck.
- the deck may be 1 m long by 300mm wide by 10mm thick, and each roller may be about 275mm long with maximum diameter of 150mm and a minimum diameter at each end of 60mm.
- the steering mounting comprises a circular top plate 11 which is secured to the to the underside of the deck 1 by boltsl 6 or other means.
- a circular bottom plate 12 is pivotally secured to the underside of the top plate 11 by a centrally positioned threaded bolt 14 or similar component, thereby allowing the bottom plate 12 to pivot relative to the top plate 11 about a vertical axis A (Fig. 3) located substantially on the central fromt-rear axis of the deck 1.
- the plates are in mutual sliding contact by bearing plates 13 of PTFE (polytetrafluroethylene) or a similar polymer type plastic with a low coefficient of friction or by metal ball/needle bearings etc.
- the roller- mounting forks 9 may be integrally formed with the plate 12 and project downwardly from diametrically opposite edges of the plate 12, between which the roller 7 (Fig. 3) is rotatably mounted on an axle 24 secured to the forks by bolts, nuts or similar releasable fixings 20 and 21.
- Each roller may for example be injection or rotationally moulded of rubber, ethyl acetate, hytrel or similar material.
- the rollers are pneumatic and inflated with air through a valve 28 or similar, although they may also be filled with a foam or solid rubber for example, or moulded as a solid body.
- the rollers incorporate an external tread profile 25 and include an axial tube 22.
- Each end of the tube 22 is shaped to house bearings 26 and 27 which are mounted on the axle 24. More than two bearings may be located in the roller to spread the load and reduce wear.
- the bearings are spaced apart by spacer tubes 23 which line the tube 22. The roller is thus free to rotate about a substantially horizontal axis B which intersects or passes in close proximity to the vertical pivot axes A half way along the length of the roller.
- the two halves of the roller are substantially symmetrical, the roller having a curved outer surface, the maximum diameter being at the middle of the roller.
- the plate 11 defines an annular recess which is closed by the opposed face of the plate 12 and contains a coiled torsion recoil spring 15 or similar.
- One leg 15a of the spring is restrained by a restraint pin 18 fixed with the top plate 11 whereas the opposite leg of the spring 15b is restrained by restraint pin 19 fixed with the bottom plate, or vice versa depending on the direction of rotation of the bottom plate 12 about top plate 11.
- the spring is balanced so that the bottom plate 12 attains a rest position with the rollers 7 and 8 parallel to each other extending across the width of the deck 1.
- the front roller 7 can be rotated about its vertical axis A by about 30 degrees in opposite directions, as indicated in Fig.
- the rear roller 8 and its axle are of the same in construction as the front roller 7 and axle 24.
- the rear mounting has a single spacer plate 6 which is non-rotatably secured to the deck 1 by bolts 17 or the like (Fig. 1 ).
- the roller forks 10 project downwardly from diametrically opposite edges of the plate 6.
- some models of grassboard or mountainboard may have steering mounting assembles at both front and rear rollers making the front and rear the same.
- the rider In use of the grassboard, in order to move down an incline forward along a straight line the rider distributes his or her weight evenly on the deck 1 so that the middle regions of the rollers contact the ground.
- the shape of the rollers allows the weight of the rider to be spread sufficiently to prevent the board from sinking into the ground. Steering of the board is achieved by the rider shifting his or her weight onto his/her toes or heels to one side of the deck. By applying weight to one side or the other the area of ground contact is shifted towards one end of the rollers.
- the axis A should substantially pass through the widest part of the roller 7 to achieve travel in a straight line when the rider's weight is evenly distributed. It is not necessary that the two axes A and B intersect but they should be of close proximity to each other along the centre line of the board.
- the re-coil torsion spring 15 is an important part of the design and without this device a castor-like effect will result leading to poor steering ability and a unstable board, rather like a supermarket trolley.
- the third requirement which is important to achieve smooth handling on soft or hard surfaces is a low coefficient of friction (bearing plate/s 13) in the pivotal mounting that can withstand large axial loads together with low friction 8
- grassboard is used above the description would also apply to a mountainboard.
- roller arrangement could be applied to other kinds of sideways or forward action sports rendering it suitable for use on grassed or concrete surfaces, for example skis or skates, windsurfing on flat areas by means of sail or kite, or transportation by means of the rear roller being powered by a battery or petrol driven motor.
- the board in most cases will be stood on. However it can also be operated in a lying or sitting position for example a lugeboard, (sledge/bobsleigh), or go-cart.
Abstract
Description
Claims
Priority Applications (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
AU37210/99A AU3721099A (en) | 1998-04-28 | 1999-04-27 | Grassboard or mountainboard |
EP99919411A EP1075320A1 (en) | 1998-04-28 | 1999-04-27 | Grassboard or mountainboard |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
GBGB9808914.7A GB9808914D0 (en) | 1998-04-28 | 1998-04-28 | Grassboards |
GB9808914.7 | 1998-04-28 |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
WO1999055435A1 true WO1999055435A1 (en) | 1999-11-04 |
Family
ID=10831015
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/GB1999/001338 WO1999055435A1 (en) | 1998-04-28 | 1999-04-27 | Grassboard or mountainboard |
Country Status (4)
Country | Link |
---|---|
EP (1) | EP1075320A1 (en) |
AU (1) | AU3721099A (en) |
GB (1) | GB9808914D0 (en) |
WO (1) | WO1999055435A1 (en) |
Cited By (8)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
WO2001068197A3 (en) * | 2000-03-17 | 2002-04-04 | Harry Gaus | Rolling sports equipment |
FR2815265A1 (en) * | 2000-10-16 | 2002-04-19 | Jean Robert Waltz | Skateboard has two sets of wheels mounted below board on ball-and socket joints and two housings for toes mounted above board on disks which allow them to swivel |
WO2001097930A3 (en) * | 2000-06-23 | 2002-05-23 | Lyons Alan Alexander | A skateboard truck assembly |
WO2008142473A1 (en) * | 2007-05-21 | 2008-11-27 | Holmes, Miles | Wheelboard and wheel unit therefor |
DE202010015034U1 (en) | 2010-05-06 | 2011-03-17 | BÖHME, Ulli | Roller for descending slopes or the like |
DE102010019622B3 (en) * | 2010-05-06 | 2011-09-29 | Ulli Böhme | Roller for descending slopes or the like |
WO2011153997A2 (en) | 2010-05-06 | 2011-12-15 | Boehme Ulli | Scooter for descending slopes or the like |
EP3246077A1 (en) * | 2016-05-20 | 2017-11-22 | Alexander Rupp | Pivot for a skateboard |
Citations (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
DE592486C (en) * | 1932-06-01 | 1934-02-08 | Arthur Gaunitz | Roller for roller skates |
GB2018139A (en) * | 1978-04-06 | 1979-10-17 | Bahmueller Masch App Bau | Roller Skate |
US4202559A (en) * | 1978-08-10 | 1980-05-13 | Piazza John Jr | Skateboard |
WO1990000428A1 (en) | 1988-07-12 | 1990-01-25 | Thomas Drovandi | Steerable roller skate and skateboards |
US5803473A (en) * | 1996-02-12 | 1998-09-08 | Jerome F. Eberharter | Configurable wheel truck for skateboards or roller skates incorporating novel wheel designs |
-
1998
- 1998-04-28 GB GBGB9808914.7A patent/GB9808914D0/en not_active Ceased
-
1999
- 1999-04-27 WO PCT/GB1999/001338 patent/WO1999055435A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
- 1999-04-27 EP EP99919411A patent/EP1075320A1/en not_active Withdrawn
- 1999-04-27 AU AU37210/99A patent/AU3721099A/en not_active Abandoned
Patent Citations (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
DE592486C (en) * | 1932-06-01 | 1934-02-08 | Arthur Gaunitz | Roller for roller skates |
GB2018139A (en) * | 1978-04-06 | 1979-10-17 | Bahmueller Masch App Bau | Roller Skate |
US4202559A (en) * | 1978-08-10 | 1980-05-13 | Piazza John Jr | Skateboard |
WO1990000428A1 (en) | 1988-07-12 | 1990-01-25 | Thomas Drovandi | Steerable roller skate and skateboards |
US5803473A (en) * | 1996-02-12 | 1998-09-08 | Jerome F. Eberharter | Configurable wheel truck for skateboards or roller skates incorporating novel wheel designs |
Cited By (8)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
WO2001068197A3 (en) * | 2000-03-17 | 2002-04-04 | Harry Gaus | Rolling sports equipment |
WO2001097930A3 (en) * | 2000-06-23 | 2002-05-23 | Lyons Alan Alexander | A skateboard truck assembly |
FR2815265A1 (en) * | 2000-10-16 | 2002-04-19 | Jean Robert Waltz | Skateboard has two sets of wheels mounted below board on ball-and socket joints and two housings for toes mounted above board on disks which allow them to swivel |
WO2008142473A1 (en) * | 2007-05-21 | 2008-11-27 | Holmes, Miles | Wheelboard and wheel unit therefor |
DE202010015034U1 (en) | 2010-05-06 | 2011-03-17 | BÖHME, Ulli | Roller for descending slopes or the like |
DE102010019622B3 (en) * | 2010-05-06 | 2011-09-29 | Ulli Böhme | Roller for descending slopes or the like |
WO2011153997A2 (en) | 2010-05-06 | 2011-12-15 | Boehme Ulli | Scooter for descending slopes or the like |
EP3246077A1 (en) * | 2016-05-20 | 2017-11-22 | Alexander Rupp | Pivot for a skateboard |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
EP1075320A1 (en) | 2001-02-14 |
GB9808914D0 (en) | 1998-06-24 |
AU3721099A (en) | 1999-11-16 |
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