WO2002040116A1

WO2002040116A1 - Rollerboard for road-skiing

Info

Publication number: WO2002040116A1
Application number: PCT/KR2000/001442
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ki-Young Cha; Sang-Nyun Kim
Original assignee: Cha Ki Young; Kim Sang Nyun
Priority date: 2000-11-18
Filing date: 2000-12-13
Publication date: 2002-05-23
Also published as: TW471977B; KR200222388Y1; AU2001220281A1

Abstract

A rollerboard for road-skiing includes a front wheel unit, a rear wheel unit, a support board, a support plate, a brake unit and a pair of poles. The support board has a plane portion one end of which is fixed with the rear wheel and a curvature portion which is arranged at the other end of the plane portion. The curvature portion has at a front end thereof a support shaft hole and is bent upwardly so as to surround the front wheel unit. The plane portion has a groove formed at the curvature portion side and which has a shock absorbing rubber attached thereon, and a hinge stopper piece at the rear wheel unit side. The front wheel unit is pressedly connected with a support shaft and a bearing cover having a slope of 10° to 20° inclined inwardly from a vertical line. A wheel support rod connected to the front wheel rotates at a bearing, and a bolt fixed to a front end of the support shaft and the rotating wheel support rod are connected via a spring so as to thereby control the rotation of the wheel support rod. The support plate is comprised of a foothold portion, first and second brake portions extended from an end of the foothold portion so as to brake the rear wheel and which serve as a mud guard, and a bent portion making contact to or separating from the other end of the foothold portion and which is connected to the curvature portion through a fixing bolt. The support plate is spaced from the support board, and a support rod to be inserted into a support board groove and a stopper piece to be connected via a hinge are arranged at a lower surface of the foothold portion.

Description

ROLLERBOARD FOR ROAD-SKIING

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a single-bladed rollerboard for road- skiing, and more particularly, to a rollerboard with which a rider can enjoy easy and safe riding through convenient change of advancing direction and exciting feelings from high speeds and intricate maneuvers through an improved construction of brake device. Description of the Related Art

As a prior art, European Patent Publication No. 0,500,991(A1) discloses a rollerboard for road-skiing using a pair of poles and having a board body with two footholds on both sides of the longitudinal axis thereof. Referring to Figs, la-lc, a tension spring is interposed between an end of a roller bracket having a front wheel 11a and a point of a board body or a support board, and a rear wheel 21a has at a rear end thereof a brake means constituted by a brake shoe, a shoe bracket and the like.

However, the above-described conventional rollerboard has drawbacks in that directional control for a front wheel using a change of rider's gravity during travelling is not easily obtained. Thereby, a rider may not enjoy exciting feelings from high speed due to a fear of collision against the ground. Further, when the rider intends to brake the rollerboard during travelling, he has to put his gravity center toward the rear portion of the board body. Such a change in the center of rotation may cause a sudden forward movement of the rollerboard or overturn of a rider.

U. S. Patent No. 4, 102,541 discloses a roller ski equipped with a reverse motion-blocking device. Referring to Fig. 2, a brake bracket is attached at one end to the tread or support band and at the other end there is formed a substantially spoon-shaped, upwardly open cup or cup-like member 48b. In '541 Patent, for braking purposes the operator can engage, by means of the tip of the ski pole, the cup member 48b and by exerting pressure can apply the brake bracket at the tyre thereby braking the front wheel lib. However, there still exist drawbacks in that a roller may turn over by a force of inertia upon occurrence of sudden braking of the roller ski. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a rollerboard for road-skiing which is equipped with a highly reliable braking device and allows a rider to easily and voluntarily change direction and enjoy exciting feelings from high speeds and amusement such as jumping.

To accomplish the above object of the present invention, there is provided a rollerboard for road-skiing composed of a front wheel unit, a rear wheel unit, a support board, a support plate, a brake unit and a pair of poles. The support board consists of a plane portion one end of which is fixed with the rear wheel and a curvature portion which is arranged at the other end of the plane portion. The curvature portion has at a front end thereof a support shaft hole and is bent upwardly so as to surround the front wheel unit. The plane portion has a groove formed at the curvature portion side and which has a shock absorbing rubber attached thereon, and a hinge stopper piece at the rear wheel unit side. The front wheel unit is compressively connected with a support shaft and a bearing cover having a slope of 10_o to 20_o inclined inwardly from a vertical line. A wheel support rod connected to the front wheel rotates at a bearing, and a bolt fixed to a front end of the support shaft and the rotating wheel support rod are connected via a spring so as to thereby control the rotation of the wheel support rod. The support plate is comprised of a foothold portion, first and second brake portions extended from an end of the foothold portion so as to brake the rear wheel and which serve as a mud guard, and a bent portion making contact to or separating from the other end of the foothold portion and which is connected to the curvature portion through a fixing bolt. The support plate is spaced from the support board, and a support rod to be inserted into a support board groove and a stopper piece to be connected via a hinge are arranged at a lower surface of the foothold portion.

Additional features and advantages of the present invention will be made apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figs, la, lb and lc illustrate a conventional rollerboard for road-skiing;

Fig. 2 illustrates a conventional brake device; Fig. 3 is a sectional view illustrating a rollerboard for road-skiing according to the present invention; Fig. 4 is an exploded sectional view illustrating a rollerboard for road- skiing according to the present invention;

Fig. 5 is a plane view illustrating a rollerboard for road-skiing according to the present invention;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view illustrating a front wheel unit according to the present invention; and

Figs. 7a and 7b are partial sectional views illustrating operation of a spring according to a change of direction of the front wheel unit, taken along the line A-A of Fig. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the attached drawings.

Referring to Figs. 3 to 7, a rollerboard for road-skiing according to a first embodiment of the present invention includes a front wheel unit 10 comprised of a front wheel 11, a wheel support rod 14 to which the front wheel is fixed, a bearing cover 16 covering a bearing BB interposed between the support rod and the bearing cover, and a support shaft 18; a support board 30 of which one end is fixed with the support shaft of the front wheel unit; a support plate 40 having a foothold portion; a rear wheel unit 20 rotatably fixed to a rear end of the support board; a brake unit consisting of a first brake portion 48 and a second brake portion 50; and a pair of poles. The support board 30 consists of a plane portion 32 one end of which is fixed with a rear wheel 21 and a curvature portion 36 which is arranged at the other end of the plane portion 32. The curvature portion 36 has at a front end thereof a support shaft hole 38 and is bent upwardly so as to surround an upper portion of the front wheel unit 10 and serve as a mud guard. The plane portion 32 has a groove 33a having a shock absorber member 33b attached thereon. The groove 33a is formed at the curvature portion side, and the plane portion 32 further has a hinge stopper piece 35 arranged at the rear wheel unit side. The front wheel unit 10 is pressedly connected with the support shaft 18 and the bearing cover 16 having a slope of 10_o to 20_o inclined inwardly from a vertical line. The wheel support rod 14 connected to the front wheel 11 rotates at the bearing BB, and a bolt B3 fixed to a front end of the support shaft 18 and the rotating wheel support rod 14 are connected via springs SI and S2 so as to thereby control the rotation of the wheel support rod 14. The support plate 40 is comprised of a foothold portion 42, a first brake portion 48 extended from an end of the foothold portion 42 so as to brake the rear wheel 21 and which serves as a mud guard, and a bent portion 46 making contact to or separating from the other end of the foothold portion 42 and which is connected to the curvature portion 36 through fixing bolts Bl and B2. The support plate 40 is spaced from the support board 30, and a support rod 43 a to be inserted into the groove 33a of the plane portion 32 of the support board 30 and a stopper piece 45 to be connected via a hinge H are arranged at a lower surface of the foothold portion 42.

The front wheel unit 10 is shaped as a common wheel, for instance, a chair wheel, and allows an easy change of direction. However, the front wheel unit of the present invention is characterized in that the support shaft 18 is inwardly inclined to have a predetermined slope(θ ) so as to allow a rider to further easily and voluntarily change forwarding direction in such a manner that the body of the rider tilts right and left upon change of direction. The slope is 10° to 20° , and preferably, 13° to 15° for an ease of change of direction. The shock absorber member 33b attached onto the groove 33a of the plane portion 32 of the support board 30 is formed of a resilient rubber or a spring, and damps shocks on a rider's body by contacting the support rod 43 a of the foothold portion 42 after braking or jumping. The foothold portion 42 can be provided with an anti-skid rubber plate attached to a portion contacting a rider's foot so as to prevent dangers of possible skid. The first brake portion 48 may have at an interior thereof a brake lining 49 made up of a synthetic resin with a high durability so as to thereby improve braking effectiveness. Disposed between the foothold portion 42 and the bent portion 46 of the support plate 40 is a cut surface 47 which allows the foothold portion 42 to be lifted for assisting in braking when a rider pulls his body back during braking. The cut surface 47 can be separated in a direction where a force is applied using a latch or a magnet. That is, the foothold portion 42 and the bent portion 46 are separating when the rider pulls his body back, and making contact to each other even during jumping if the rider stands erect and a force is applied to a normal surface.

A rollerboard for road-skiing according to a second embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that springs SI and S2 for controlling variation of rotation of the wheel support rod 14 of the front wheel unit 10 are constituted by a coil spring or a leaf spring, a return spring S3 connected through ring pieces 34 and 44 arranged between the support rod 43 a and stopper pieces 35 and 45a is interposed between the upper surface of the support board 30 and the lower surface of the foothold portion 42, and tightening portions 43b and 45b protruded to be fitted to both feet of the rider are arranged at the center of the upper surface of the foothold portion 42.

The tightening portions 43b and 45b serve to tighten a rollerboard by an inner surface of both feet of a rider during travelling or jumping.

A rollerboard for road-skiing according to a third embodiment of die present invention is provided with a second brake portion 50 which is fixed between the first brake portion and the rear wheel 21 through the hinge H and is braked/released through a V-shaped coil spring S4 interposed between the first brake portion 48 and the second brake portion 50.

The second brake portion 50 is shaped as the same with the first brake portion 48, and both brake portions can be superposed. The second brake portion 50 also serves as a mud guard, and can have a brake lining 52 installed at an interior thereof so as to thereby improve braking effectiveness. The brake lining is formed of a synthetic resin with a high durability.

The above-described rollerboard for road-skiing operates as follows.

A rider puts his both feet onto the foothold portion 42 of the rollerboard and keeps balance using a pair of poles held in both hands in such a manner that only the front and rear wheels 11 and 21 of the rollerboard can make contact to the ground. Then, the rider shoves the ground using his poles as if he were skiing on the snow, and the rollerboard advances by the rotation of the front and rear wheels 11 and 21. The rider can make the speed higher using the poles. When the rider intends to change direction during traveling, he pulls his body toward the desired direction. Then, a contact portion between the front wheel 11 and the ground surface changes from a center to a lateral surface, thus moving the gravity center and allowing the front wheel 11 to rotate in a direction diagonal to the turning direction. Since the support shaft 18 is inclined inwardly by a slope (θ ) which allows a gravity center to be positioned at a front portion of the front wheel 11 as compared with a case where the support shaft is set correctly vertical, a gravity center is concentrated onto the front portion of the lateral surface of the front wheel 11 when turning a direction, thus allowing the rider to easily turn advancing direction. Referring to Figs. 7a and 7b, springs SI and S2 installed to the wheel support rod 14 of the front wheel unit 10 prevent the rider from turning over upon changing of direction when the front wheel 11 excessively rolls in such a manner that the front wheel 11 and the rear wheel 21 make a near right angle(90° ). In other words, since the springs SI and S2 are fixed to the bolt B3 fixing the upper portion of the support rod and the bearing cover 16 and to both the wheel support rods 14, the springs SI and S2 are contracted when the front wheel 11 faces the front way as indicated in state CI of Figs. 7a and 7b, and expanded when the front wheel 11 and the wheel support rod 14 rotate in left and right(C2 and C3) by the ball bearing BB. Thus, the resilient force of the spring prevents a sudden or excessive rolling of the wheel. The springs S 1 and S2 can be formed of a coil spring or a leaf spring.

When a rider intends to jump, he may jump with the tightening portions 43b and 46b tightened at inner surfaces of both feet or shove the ground using his poles. The springs S 1 and S2 also prevent the rider from turning over since the front wheel 11 always holds the rolling direction in alignment with the straight advancing direction of the board body and quickly returns after jumping.

When a rider intends to reduce traveling speed or stop, as for the first embodiment of the present invention, the rider slightly pulls his body back, the foothold portion 42 of the support plate 40 is separated from the bent portion 46 and lifted using the hinge H as a shaft. Accordingly, the first brake portion 48 becomes closer to the rear wheel 21, and a friction occurs between the rear wheel 21 and the lining 49 attached to an inner surface of the first brake portion, thus reducing the speed. If the rider further pulls his body back to obtain a higher frictional force, the rollerboard will stop. When the rider stands erect, the foothold portion 42 makes contact to the bent portion 46 using the hinge H as a shaft or axle, and the first brake portion 48 is separated from the rear wheel 21. Here, the shock absorber member 33b dampers shock onto the rider when the support rod 43a is inserted into the groove 33a of the support plate 30.

As for the rollerboard according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the return spring S3 interposed between the foothold portion 42 and the support board 30 prevents sudden braking when a rider intends to reduce traveling speed or stop. In addition, the return spring S3 permits the foothold portion 42 to easily contact the bent portion 46.

As for the rollerboard according to the third embodiment of the present invention, If a rider intends to reduce traveling speed or stop and pulls his body back, the foothold portion 42 is separated from the bent portion 46 using the hinge H as a center axis. Thus, the first brake portion 48 which is directly connected to the foothold portion 42 becomes adjacent to the rear wheel 21. Accordingly, the V-shaped coil spring S4 arranged at the lower surface of the first brake portion 48 is pressed, thus exerting pressure to the second brake portion 50. The second brake portion in turn makes contact to the rear wheel and brakes the rear wheel. The rollerboard slowly stops or reduces traveling speed if a contact time period between the second brake portion 50 and the rear wheel 21 increases at a low frictional force. If the rider pulls his body further back to obtain a higher frictional force, the first brake portion 48 and the second brake portion 50 nearly contact each other, which allows a prompt speed reduction or stop. The second braking portion 50 serves to prevent a sudden braking of the rollerboard so as to thereby prevent a rider from turning over. Further, the second brake portion 50 prevents a rider from turning over when the front wheel 11 makes a sudden forward motion when a gravity center moves toward the rear wheel 21 upon braking. That is to say, the second brake portion 50 presses the rear wheel and makes a friction therewith so as to prevent a sudden forward movement of the front wheel prior to concentration of gravity center toward the rear wheel 21. When the rider stands erect again, the foothold portion 42 and the bent portion 46 contact, and the foothold portion 42 and the first brake portion 48 extended therefrom are lifted using the hinge H as a shaft, the V-shaped coil spring S4 is contracted, thereby allowing the second brake portion 50 fixed to the spring S4 to be lifted and separated from the rear wheel 21.

As described above, the rollerboard for road-skiing of the present invention is advantageous in that the front wheel support shaft is provided with a slope of a predetermined angle for an ease of change of direction, and the springs interposed between the dual braking portions and the foothold portion and the support board allow velocity reduction and braking with effectiveness and a prevention against a sudden braking. In addition, the tightening plate is arranged onto the foothold portion for obtaining high speeds and intricate maneuvers.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A rollerboard for road-skiing comprising a front wheel unit 10 consisting of a front wheel 11, a wheel support rod 14 to which said front wheel is fixed, a bearing cover 16 covering a bearing BB interposed between said support rod and said bearing cover, and a support shaft 18; a support board 30 of which one end is fixed with said support shaft of said front wheel unit; a support plate 40 having a foothold portion; a rear wheel unit 20 rotatably fixed to a rear end of said support board; a brake unit consisting of a first brake portion 48 and a second brake portion 50; and a pair of poles; wherein said support board 30 consists of a plane portion 32 one end of which is fixed with a rear wheel 21 and a curvature portion 36 which is arranged at the other end of said plane portion 32, said curvature portion 36 having at a front end thereof a support shaft hole 38 and being bent upwardly so as to surround an upper portion of said front wheel unit 10 and serve as a mud guard, said plane portion 32 having a groove 33a having a shock absorber member 33b attached thereon, said groove 33a being formed at the curvature portion side, and said plane portion 32 further having a hinge stopper piece 35 arranged at the rear wheel unit side; said front wheel unit 10 is pressedly connected with said support shaft 18 and said bearing cover 16 having a slope of 10_o to 20_o inclined inwardly from a vertical line, said wheel support rod 14 connected to the front wheel 11 rotating at the bearing BB, a bolt B3 fixed to a front end of the support shaft 18 and said rotating wheel support rod 14 being connected via springs SI and S2 so as to thereby control rotating motion of said wheel support rod 14; and said support plate 40 being consisted of a foothold portion 42, a first brake portion 48 extended from an end of the foothold portion 42 so as to brake said rear wheel 21 and which serves as a mud guard, and a bent portion 46 making contact to or separating from the other end of said foothold portion 42 and which is connected to said curvature portion 36 through fixing bolts Bl and B2, said support plate 40 being spaced from the support board 30, and a support rod 43a to be inserted into said groove 33a of said plane portion 32 of said support board 30 and a stopper piece 45 to be connected via a hinge H are arranged at a lower surface of said foothold portion 42.

2. A rollerboard for road-skiing according to Claim 1, wherein said springs SI and S2 for controlling rotation motion of said wheel support rod 14 of said front wheel unit 10 are formed of a coil spring or a leaf spring; and a return spring S3 connected through ring pieces 34 and 44 arranged between a support rod 43a and stopper pieces 35 and 45a is interposed between an upper surface of said support board 30 and a lower surface of said foothold portion 42, and tightening portions 43b and 45b protruded to be fitted to both feet of a rider are arranged at a center of an upper surface of said foothold portion 42.

3. A rollerboard for road-skiing according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, further comprises a second brake portion 50 which is fixed between said first brake portion 48 and said rear wheel 21 through said hinge H, said second brake portion being braked/released through a V-shaped coil spring S4 interposed between said first brake portion 48 and said second brake portion 50.