WO2006025711A1

WO2006025711A1 - A wheel assembly and the downhill sports device employing the same

Info

Publication number: WO2006025711A1
Application number: PCT/KR2005/002916
Authority: WO
Inventors: Cheol Hwang
Original assignee: Cheol Hwang
Priority date: 2004-09-03
Filing date: 2005-09-02
Publication date: 2006-03-09

Abstract

This invention relates to a wheel assembly and the downhill sports device employing the same, in particular, to provide the same effect as doing on snow of a recreation park for skiing, by using the means that various vehicles for recreation, such as ski or snowboard sliding down on snow in winter, are equipped with wheels on the bottom thereof easy to move on an artificial lawn ground or a sidewalk.

Description

AWHEELASSEMBLYAND THE DOWNHILL SPORTS DEVICE EMPLOYINGTHE SAME

[Technical Field]

The present invention relates to a wheel assembly and a downhill sports device employing the same, and more particularly to a wheel assembly which can be mounted on bottom sides of various types of carriages for recreation to allow easy descending a sloped road or riding over a flat land covered with natural or artificial lawn ground rather than snow, and a downhill sports device employing such a wheel assembly.

[Background Art] Ih general, downhill sports devices, which are used for descending a sloped road or riding over a flat land to enjoy sports, include skis, snowboards, which are typically used during the winter season, and roller boards, which are board type devices manufactured for the specific purpose of being used on an ordinary road or a flat land rather than on snow.

As compared with the roller boards, the skis and the snowboards exhibit a large difference in terms of braking and lateral descent using lateral edges thereof, close contact on an irregular slope surface, and turning to change direction, beyond straight forward descent.

Despite the above-mentioned features, the skis and the snowboards have limits in that they can be used only during the winter season, or in a place, in which the temperature is as low as the winter season, that has artificial snow spread. Therefore, many skiers or snowboarders are unsatisfied with such seasonal limits.

In addition, in a four-season country, because most ski grounds can be used only during the winter season, that is, because it is needed for skis and snowboards to be left for a long time without being used, except during the winter season, more maintenance costs are incurred as they are inevitably trimmed and repaired if they are used again.

Therefore, as can be frequently seen, various developments of skis and snowboards with wheels mounted on the bottom sides thereof have been made in order to overcome the above-mentioned seasonal limits, so that they can be used any time and anywhere. However, because the wheels mounted on the skis or snowboards are restricted to forward and rearward rolling alignment, the skis or snowboards provided with such wheels have a disadvantage in that they can only perforin forward or reward motion.

Therefore, in skiing and snowboarding, which are the definitive winter sports, it is impossible for the skis or snowboards to exhibit various capabilities, such as oblique descent, turning to change direction, and edge braking using the lateral edges the^reof, when ^; the wheels are mounted on the skis or snowboards. Consequently, there is a problem in that the use of skis or snowboards is still limited only to the winter season.

In addition, because conventional roller boards are not provide with separate braking means, the running speed thereof will be greatly accelerated on a long slope, thereby increasing the possibility of an accident. Moreover, because the height of the roller boards from the ground is high due to the wheels mounted on the boards, the roller boards lack stability.

[Disclosure of the Invention]

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a wheel assembly, which can roll freely without any directional limitation and are fixedly mounted on bottom sides of various types of carriages for recreation to allow the carriages to be freely used on a slope covered with artificial lawn ground or the like rather than snow, and a downhill sports device employing the same. Another object of the present invention is to provide a wheel assembly to be used in any environment by being modified to meet a given environment such as snow, an ordinary flat land, or a slope, and a downhill sports device employing the same.

Still, another object of the present invention is to provide a wheel assembly which can provide additional acceleration on a flat land or a slope beyond acceleration obtained due to gravity or inertial force, and a downhill sports device employing the same.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wheel assembly including: a bearing retainer having a predetermined thickness and formed with a hemi-spherical recess, and plural bearing insertion holes distributed all over the bearing retainer, into which bearing insertion holes bearings are inserted to be capable of rolling; a lower cap having a top end corresponding in size and shape to an open end of the recess of the bearing retainer to be in close contact with the open end of the recess of the bearing retainer, a lower portion depending from the top end to form a reception opening, which corresponds in shape and size to the lower part of the hemispherical space and also has plural bearing insertion holes formed through and distributed around the lower cap, and a flat panel integrally formed with the lower portion and horizontally extending from the lower end of the reception opening to a predetermined extension, with plural screw holes being formed through the flat panel; a wheel inserted into a space formed by the hemispherical space and the reception opening when the bearing retainer and the lower cap are connected with each other, so that the lower end of the wheel is partially projected from the lower end of the reception opening; and an upper cap having a bearing cover, of which an inner circumferential surface is spherically formed to cover the bearing retainer and the lower cap in such a way that the bearings mounted in the bearing retainer and the lower cap are in contact with the inner circumferential surface of the bearing cover, and a flat panel integrally formed with the bearing cover and horizontally extending from the lo»ver end of the bearing cover to correspond to the flat panel of the lower cap in shape and size, with plural connecting holes being formed through the flat panel of the upper cap to correspond to the screw holes.

According to an embodiment of the inventive wheel assembly, the bearing retainer is formed with a first reinforcing ridge extending around the lower end of the bearing retainer and the lower cap is formed with a second reinforcing ridge extending around the top end of the lower cap, so that the first and second reinforcing ridges are in close contact with and abutted against one another.

According to another embodiment of the inventive wheel assembly, a slipping-off prevention ridge is formed around the lower end of the receiving opening, the slipping-off prevention ridge being horizontally projected into the receiving opening to be in close contact with the circumferential surface of the wheel. Still, according to another embodiment of the inventive wheel assembly, ribs are formed at the outer peripheries of the bearing insertion holes to correspond to the externally exposed surfaces of the bearings.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a downhill sports device including: a plate having a boot binding mounted on the top side of the plate, plural mounting holes arranged in the longitudinal direction of the plate, and rubber edges formed on the bottom side of the plate and extending along the opposite longitudinal edges of the plate over a given length; and plural wheel assemblies as described above, the wheel assemblies mounted in the mounting holes of the plate.

According to an embodiment of the inventive downhill sports device, the plate is bisected into a rear plate and a front plate, in which the front end of the former and the rear end of the latter are connected with one another through a connection frame and one of the plates is hinged to the connection frame via a hinge.

According to another embodiment of the inventive downhill sports device, the plate is formed with a wheel mounting hole at the central part thereof and a cylindrical auxiliary wheel is mounted in the wheel mounting hole. [Advantageous Effect]

As mentioned above, he present invention provides a wheel assembly, which can be mounted on the bottom side of a carriage for recreation to allow easy descent or riding on a sloped road or a flat land, and a downhill sports device including a plate having rubber edges extending along the opposite longitudinal sides thereof and mounting holes, into each of which the above-mentioned wheel assembly is inserted, whereby the wheel assemblies, which can be freely rolled without any directional limitation, enable the downhill sports device to laterally descend and freely turn, and the rubber edges afford the downhill sports device braking effects.

[Brief Description of the Drawings]

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: FIG 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of the inventive wheel assembly and a downhill sports device employing the same;

FIG 2 is an exploded perspective view of the inventive wheel assembly;

FIG 3 is a cross-sectional view of the inventive wheel assembly;

FIG 4 is a top plan view of another embodiment of the inventive downhill sports device; and

FIGs. 5a to 5c are bottom plan views of other embodiments of the inventive downhill sports device.

[Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention] Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention.

FIG 1 is an exploded perspective view showing the inventive wheel assembly and an embodiment of the inventive downhill sports device employing the same, in which the downhill sports device includes a plate 6 and a plurality of the wheel assemblies W. The plate 6 has a top surface, on which a boot binding 71 is mounted, plural mounting holes 61 arranged in the longitudinal direction of the plate 6, and rubber edges 62 formed on the bottom side of the plate and extending along the opposite edges of the plate over a given length.

Each wheel assembly W includes a spherical wheel 3 mounted in a mounting hole 61 and rolling within a top cap 4.

For the purpose of deceleration, stopping and easy turning to change direction when skiing or snowboarding, a lateral edge of a ski or a snowboard is generally buried in snow, so that a specific part or the entire part thereof can be decelerated by the resistance produced as the lateral edge is buried in the snow. However, it is not possible to decelerate a ski or a snowboard on a slope by making a part of the ski or the snowboard buried in the slope surface unless the slope surface is covered with snow. According to the present invention, the rubber edges 62 are formed on the bottom side of the plate 6 and longitudinally extending along the longitudinal opposite edges of the plate 6, so that fiictional force between the ski or the snowboard and a slope surface can be maximized, whereby it is possible to obtain the same deceleration effect as skiing or snowboarding. The inventive downhill sports device can be used on a slope formed of natural lawn ground or artificial lawn ground. In order to assure that the damage of the slope surface and the rubber edges of the inventive downhill sports device caused by the faction can be rninimized, however, it is preferable to form the slope with special artificial lawn ground. According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to fabricate the wheel assemblies W in a detachable construction, so that the wheel assemblies are mounted on the plate to be used at a field not covered with snow, but at a snowfield, the wheel assemblies are removed from the plate and the mounting holes are closed with closure members (not shown), whereby an individual can enjoy usual skiing or snowboarding using the inventive downhill sports device.

FIG 2 is an exploded perspective view of the inventive wheel assembly and FIG 3 is a cross-sectional view of the inventive wheel assembly. The wheel assembly W consists of a bearing retainer 1, a lower cap 2, a wheel 3 and an upper cap 4.

The bearing retainer 1 formed in a predetermined thickness has a hemispherical recess 11, and plural bearing insertion holes 12 formed through the bearing retainer 1 and distributed all over the bearing retainer 1, with bearings 5 being inserted into the bearing insertion holes 12 each to be capable of rolling in the most suitable position.

In addition, the lower cap 2 includes: a top end corresponding in size and shape to an open end 13 of the recess 11 of the bearing retainer 1 to be in close contact with the open end 13 of the recess 11 of the bearing retainer 1; a reception opening 21 enclosed with the lower cap 2, wherein the reception opening 21 corresponds in shape and size to the lower part of the hemispherical space 11 and also has plural bearing insertion holes 22 formed through and distributed around the lower cap 2; and a flat panel 24 integrally formed with the lower cap 2 and horizontally extending from the lower end of the reception opening 21 to a predetermined extension, with plural screw holes 23 being formed through the flat panel 24.

The wheel 3 is inserted into a space formed by the hemispherical space 11 and the

/ .' reception opening 21 when the bearing retainer 1 and the lower cap 2 are connected with each other, so that the wheel 3 is partially projected from the lower end of the reception opening 21.

The upper cap 4 includes: a bearing cover 41 having an inner circumferential surface spherically formed to cover the bearing retainer 1 and the lower cap 2 in such a way that the bearings 5 mounted in the bearing retainer 1 and the lower cap 2 are in contact with the inner circumferential surface of the bearing cover 41, and a flat panel integrally formed with the bearing cover 41 and horizontally extending from the lower end of the bearing cover 41 to correspond to the flat panel 24 of the lower cap 2 in shape and size, with plural connecting holes 42 being formed through the flat panel of the upper cap 4 to correspond to the screw holes 23.

The wheel 3 is arranged to be capable of rolling while being supported by the bearings, so that the wheel 3 can easily roll even if it is highly compressed. Therefore, if the wheel assembly W is mounted on a ski or a snowboard, the ski or the snowboard is allowed to smoothly endure impact exerted to it at the time of high speed descent. m addition, because the above-mentioned bearing arrangement allows free rolling of the wheel 3 in any direction, the inventive downhill sports device allows a user to perform straight descent, oblique descent or free turning to change direction, as in skiing or snowboarding. Meanwhile, the inner diameter of the receiving opening 21 of the lower cap 2 is decreased toward the lower end of the receiving opening 21, thereby preventing the wheel 3 from slipping off from the wheel assembly W; it is preferable that the exposed part of the wheel 3 is about one quarter of the diameter of the wheel 3 in the vertical direction in order to assure the exposed part to receive rolling-inducing force (frictional force) while preventing the wheel 3 from slipping off.

The wheel assembly W is assembled to a ski or a snowboard by inserting and clamping bolts through the screw holes 23 and the connection holes 42, thereby fixing the wheel assembly W on the bottom side of the ski or the snowboard. Therefore, the wheel assembly W is easy to assemble as compared to a conventional bearing or a wheel structure. According to an embodiment of the present invention, ribs 14 are formed at the peripheries of the bearing insertion holes 12, 22 to correspond to the externally exposed surfaces of the bearings 5 outside of the bearing insertion holes and the bearings 5 are inserted into the bearing insertion holes 12, 22 so that the centers of the bearings 5 are outwardly biased, thereby preventing the bearings from easily slipping off into the bearing holes 12, 22.

Accordingly, it is possible to insert the bearings 5 into the bearing insertion holes 12, 22 formed in the bearing retainer 1 and the lower cap 2 through the inner side open ends of the bearing insertion holes 12, 22, of which the diameter is slightly smaller than that of the bearings 5, while preventing the ball bearings 5 from slipping off with the ribs 14, whereby the wheel assembly W including the bearings 5 can be more easily assembled. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the bearing retainer 1 ^: is formed with a first reinforcing ridge 15 extending around the lower end of the bearing retainer 1 and the lower cap 2 is formed with a second reinforcing ridge 25 extending around the top end of the lower cap 2, so that the first and second reinforcing ridges are closely contacted with and abutted against one another, thereby distributing vertical pressure applied to the confronting surfaces. In addition, a slipping-off prevention ridge 26 is formed around the lower end of the receiving opening 21 to be horizontally projected into the receiving opening 21, so that the slipping-off prevention ridge 26 is in close contact with the wheel 3; the stipping-off prevention ridge 26 serves primarily to prevent the wheel 3 from slipping off and secondarily to prevent various foreign matters from entering into the wheel assembly W and disturbing the rolling of the bearings 5.

Because the inventive wheel assembly W is driven on a road or a place covered with artificial lawn ground rather than snow, it is exposed to various foreign matters.

Therefore, in order to avoid any problem encountered as foreign matters penetrated into the wheel assembly W disturb the smooth rolling of the bearings or adversely affect the endurance, it is important to physically isolate the exposed wheel 3 and the inner side of the wheel assembly W from the foreign matters. Accordingly, the slipping-off prevention ridge 26 is required to prevent the wheel from slipping off as well as to block the penetration of foreign matters.

FIG 4 is a top plan view showing another embodiment of the inventive downhill sports device, in which the plate 6 is bisected into a rear plate 63 and a front plate 64, in which the front end of the former and the rear end of the latter are connected with one another through a connection frame 66 and one of the plates, preferably the rear nlate 64, is hinged to the connection frame 66 via a hinge 65.

Consequently, if the rear plate 64 is turned left and right about the hinge 65, the factional force produced between the downhill sports device and the ground will be increased in a direction away from the hinge 65 toward the rear end of the plate 64 and the downhill sports device will be forwardly moved in the direction opposite to the rear end of the rear plate 64.

Accordingly, it is possible to obtain propelling force on a flat land through the above-mentioned method, even without stamping a user's foot. Therefore, the inventive downhill sports device can be used as a novel roller board, on which no boot binding is mounted. In addition, it is possible to apply accelerating force to the inventive downhill sports device by rapidly and repeatedly turning the rear plate 64 left and right about the hinge 65.

At this time, it is most preferable to provide two pairs of wheel assemblies W on each of the front and rear plates 63, 64. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

According to the present embodiment, each of the front and rear plates 63, 64 may be additionally formed with a wheel mounting hole 67 at the central part thereof and a cylindrical auxiliary wheel 8 maybe mounted in each wheel mounting hole 67.

The wheel mounting holes 67 are formed at the longitudinal central parts of the front and rear plates. Therefore, when the inventive downhill sports device is forwardly moved, the auxiliary wheels 8 are rolled in the same direction same with the wheels 3. Whereas, when the inventive downhill sports device is turned in a lateral direction, the auxiliary wheels 8 are dragged on me ground, thereby producing frictional force. Therefore, the auxiliary wheels 8 may serve as auxiliary braking means. FIGs. 5a to 5c are bottom views of various embodiments of the inventive downhill sports device, which are distinguished from each other in the number and positions of the wheel assemblies W. Auxiliary wheels 8 may be provided in various arrangements or omitted as needed.

FIG 5a shows three types of downhill sports devices, each of which is provided with four pairs of wheel assemblies on a ski-shaped plate 6, in which left and right wheel assemblies are symmetrically arranged. These downhill sports devices are adapted for beginners, because it is easy to keep the balance on the decent sporting devices.

If it is desired to increase braking force, it is possible to provide two or more wheels in a row along the longitudinal direction of the plate. If it is desired to maximize braking force, it is also possible to arrange the wheel assemblies W along the longitudinal directions and to arrange two rows of auxiliary wheels 8 along the longitudinal direction so that the auxiliary wheels 8 arranged in one row are symmetrical to those arranged in the other row.

At this time, it is preferable to arrange the auxiliary wheels 8 to be equally spaced in the longitudinal direction, so that lateral equilibrium is secured and braking force is uniformly exerted over the entire length of the plate 6.

FIG 5b shows two types of decent sporting devices, each of which is provided with wheel assemblies W arranged in a row along the longitudinal axis of the ski-shaped plate 6. These downhill sports devices are suitable for intermediate grade or higher users, because they are adapted to be easily accelerated and turned although it is difficult for the users to keep their balance on them.

FIG 5c shows a type of a downhill sports device in which a snowboard-shaped plate 6 formed in one piece is mounted with plural wheels 3. If a boot binding is mounted on the plate 6, it is possible to use the decent sporting device like a snowboard, and if the booting binding is removed, it is possible to use the downhill sports device like a roller board. If the wheels 3 are small, it is possible to obtain effects of improving close contacting ability in relation to the ground and enhancing sporting effect.

[Industrial Applicability]

As can be seen from the foregoing, according to the present invention, there is provided a downhill sports device including wheel assemblies mounted on the bottom side of a ski-shaped or snowboard-shaped plate, in which the wheel assemblies are capable of freely rolling without any limit in directionality, whereby a user can enjoy downhill sport on a slope formed from artificial lawn ground or the like to obtain a sporting effect same with that obtained from skiing or snowboarding.

In addition, by removing the wheel assemblies and stopping up wheel assembly mounting holes with separate blocking members, it is possible to use the plate as a ski or a snowboard.

Furthermore, there is also provided a downhill sports device including two separate plates hinged to one another, so that a user can make the device run or accelerate without a separate power source by moving the plates to repeatedly intersect each other on the plates.

While mis invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment and the drawings, but, on the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and variations within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

[Claims]

1. A wheel assembly comprising: a bearing retainer having a predetermined thickness and formed with a hemi¬ spherical recess, and plural bearing insertion holes distributed all over the bearing retainer, into which holes bearings are inserted to be capable of rolling; a lower cap having a top end corresponding in size and shape to an open end of the recess of the bearing retainer to be in close contact with an open end of the recess of the bearing retainer, a lower portion depending from the top end to form a reception opening, which corresponds in shape and size to the lower part of the hemispherical space and also has plural bearing insertion holes formed through and distributed around the lower cap, and a flat panel integrally formed with the lower portion and horizontally extending from the lower end of the reception opening to a predetermined extension, with plural screw holes being formed through the flat panel; a wheel inserted into a space formed by the hemispherical space and the reception opening when the bearing retainer and the lower cap are connected with each other, so that the lower end of the wheel is partially projected from the lower end of the reception opening; and an upper cap having a bearing cover, of which an inner circumferential surface is spherically formed to cover the bearing retainer and the lower cap in such a way that the bearings mounted on the bearing retainer and the lower cap are in contact with the inner circumferential surface of the bearing cover, and a flat panel integrally formed with the bearing cover and horizontally extending from the lower end of the bearing cover to correspond to the flat panel of the lower cap in shape and size, with plural connecting holes being formed through the flat panel of the upper cap to correspond to the screw holes.

2. A wheel assembly according to claim 1, wherein the bearing retainer is formed with a first reinforcing ridge extending around the lower end of the bearing retainer and the lower cap is formed with a second reinforcing ridge extending around the top end of the lower cap, so that the first and second reinforcing ridges are in close contact with and abutted against one another.

3. A wheel assembly according to claim 1 , wherein a slipping-off prevention ridge is formed around the lower end of the receiving opening, the ridge being horizontally projected into the receiving opening to be in close contact with the circumferential surface of the wheel.

4. A wheel assembly according to claim 1 , further comprising ribs formed at the outer peripheries of the bearing insertion holes to correspond to the externally exposed surfaces of the bearings.

5. A downhill sports device comprising: a plate having a boot binding mounted on the top side of the plate, plural mounting holes arranged in the longitudinal direction of the plate, and rubber edges formed bottom side of the plate and extending along the opposite longitudinal edges of the plate; and plural wheel assemblies W each formed according to any of claims 1 to 4, the wheel assemblies mounted in the mounting holes of the plate.

6. A downhill sports device according to claim 5, wherein the plate is bisected into a rear plate and a front plate, in which the front end of the former and the rear end of the latter are connected with one another through a connection frame and one of the plates is hinged to the connection frame via a hinge.

7. A downhill sports device according to claim 5, wherein the plate is formed with a wheel mounting hole at the central part thereof and a cylindrical auxiliary wheel is mounted in the wheel mounting hole.