Steering and braking in-line skate or roller ski

Abstract

A steerable wheeled device such as an in-line skate or roller ski has a hollow or dish-shaped wheel, a wheel bearing, and a wheel support connecting the wheel to a steering structure that extending substantially within the outer radius of the wheel, and steers as the user's weight is displaced. The device preferably has a side-mounted chassis, and oversize wheel positioned in front and in back of the user's foot. The chassis may contain a damping and centering force mechanism to moderate behavior of the steering or suspension. Brakes such as drum or disk brakes are connected to one or more wheels and preferably actuated, e.g., with a boot-actuated linkage, such that braking occurs upon the user adopting a specific posture. In a preferred construction, the stance shifts weight back and / or down so that deceleration does not occur until the user has assumed a stable stance.

Description

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of International Patent Application PCT US99 / 26136 filed Nov. 5, 1999, of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 187,627 filed Nov. 6, 1998, and of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60 / 253,438 filed Nov. 28, 2000. The benefit of priority of each of the foregoing applications is hereby claimed pursuant to 35 U.S.C. .sctn..sctn. 119, 120, and they are all hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002] The invention pertains to wheeled recreational devices such as skates, land skis and skate boards.[0003] Many wheeled devices have been invented with varying degrees of public acceptance and popularity. Some of the most widely known are for sport and recreation, such as roller skates. Although very functional and popular, roller skates steer using a bulky mechanism which requires wheels to be in pairs. This allows them to have a certain degree of stability ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0030] One or more of the foregoing objects are achieved in accordance with the present invention by a steerable wheel mechanism for a sports device, that according to one aspect of the invention, includes a wheel, a wheel bearing, and a wheel support which is pivotally connected to a chassis by a pivot assembly substantially contained within the contour of, or centered inside the wheel, and configured to provide improved, weight responsive maneuverability with a compact mechanism. A damping and centering force mechanism internal to the chassis of the sports device may be used in conjunction with the steerable wheel mechanism to provide improved handling, and includes a damper housing incorporated in the chassis, a damping piston, and optionally a centering force element such as a spring or elastomeric member. The damping piston may be a spherical member, and the assembly may employ air as the damping fluid. As applied to a sporting device to be used in pairs with one mounted to each foot, such as a skate or roller ski, each device includes two or more wheels and a chassis having a primary structural member that runs along one side of the foot to provide strength, steering and ground clearance, simplicity, light weight, and ease of manufacture. A brake mechanism may be actuated by the user's boot, and preferably brakes the rear wheel.

[0032] In one embodiment of this aspect, the linkage has an end connector that connects to the user's boot, or to a tensile element (such as a strap) that distributes force over the boot and is positioned to apply a high force, and undergo a displacement when the requisite stance is assumed by the user. The end connector may include a ratcheting mechanism, that allows the linkage length or tightness to be quickly set (e.g., when a user dons the skates) by insertion of a mating part (such as the strap) in the end connector. A further fine tension adjustment may be provided at the other end of the linkage. Such further adjustment may be a mechanism similar to a bicycle brake cable adjustment mechanism, or to a clutch cable tension adjustment mechanism.

Problems solved by technology

This allows them to have a certain degree of stability as well as steerability, but makes them heavier than ideal, and limits their overall performance in terms of speed, handling, and the range of terrain on which they may be used.

However, they do not actually steer by weight displacement (although they may at first appear to do so).

For configurations with only two wheels and / or longer wheelbases, steering by scrubbing the wheels is much more difficult.

Typically with these devices steering is accomplished by step turning, which is clumsy and difficult.

However, the known methods have drawbacks which have prevented them from being adopted for in-line skates or land skis, as discussed below.

This is complex from a manufacturing standpoint, and potentially unwieldy when used on a foot mounted device such as an in-line skate, roller ski, or the like.

This mechanism is unwieldy because the user's weight is applied to the frame from behind the front wheel, which requires substantially large and potentially heavy supporting members connecting the weight bearing portion of the frame to the pivot, and additional members to transfer forces between the pivot and the axle of the front wheel.

For a device with large wheels, this type of mechanism would require a potentially unwieldy frame structure, similar to those described above.

As in the case of U.S. Pat. No. 4,138,127, this mechanism requires link members which could be unwieldy for devices with large wheels.

Secondly the total amount of steering pivot action obtainable is small because it is limited to the maximum angle obtainable between an axle shaft and an axle tube that surrounds it.

For a device with a relatively long wheel base, this would limit the user to large radius turns.

Finally, the wheel bearings must be large enough to fit around the axle tube, which would in many cases, prohibit the use of the inexpensive small skate bearings which have become the industry standard.

a) Some if not all of the functional parts of these mechanisms must fit within the inner race of the wheel bearings (as the wheel is viewed from the side). This again necessitates the use of wheel bearings which are larger, heavier and probably more expensive than standard skate bearings.

b) These mechanisms do not lend themselves to the use of standard, inexpensive skate or skateboard wheel bearings for the steering pivot elements because of space constraints.

c) Both mechanisms are limited in total pivot range because of arrangements similar to those of U.S. Pat. No. 5,372,383, of a stationary shaft body enclosed by a hollow axle tube body that pivots with the wheel.

d) Finally, the mechanism of U.S. Pat. No. 5,199,727 is subject to having harmful grit and other foreign matter enter into the mechanism unless an elaborate sealing mechanism is added.

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