Tandem roller hockey skate

• US 3,880,441 A
• Filed: 11/08/1973
• Issued: 04/29/1975
• Est. Priority Date: 07/24/1972
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Morris L. Silver
• Original Assignee: Morris L. Silver
• Inventors: Silver, Morris L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Schonberg, David
• Assistant Examiner(s): Smith, Milton L.
• Application Number:
  US05/413,775
• Time in Patent Office: 537 Days
• Field of Search: 280/11.22,11.23,11.2,7.13,11.19,11.1BT,11.1BR 301/5.3,5.7
• US Class Current: 280/11.223
• CPC Class Codes: A63C 17/06 single-track type
• CPC Class Codes: A63C 17/22 Wheels for roller skates

Abstract

A roller hockey skate includes a hockey boot, a pair of roller support blades rigidly attached to the bottom of the boot, and a set of four ground-engaging rollers mounted in tandem between the blades. Each roller preferably is made of a stiff material, such as hard rubber or plastic, and is about 2 3/4 inches in diameter with good lateral stiffness, which enables the user of the skate to achieve such maneuverability and high speeds that the skate performs in a manner comparable to ice skates. The front and rear rollers protrude beyond the front and rear, respectively, of the boot, which provides good balance when the user travels at high speeds over rough surfaces. The rollers are releasably attached to the roller support blades, and the front and rear rollers are adjustable vertically so that the degree of ground-engagement by the rollers can be varied in accordance with the user'"'"''"'"'s skating style and experience.

Claims

1. A tandem roller hockey skate comprising a boot for receiving a foot of a user and adapted to provide support for the ankle of the user'"'"''"'"'s foot, the boot also having a foot-supporting base, rigid roller supporting means extending down from the underside of the foot-support base, means for rigidly attaching the roller support means to the foot-support base, a set of four longitudinally spaced apart rollers mounted in tandem on the roller support means, the roller including a front roller, two intermediate rollers, and a rear roller, each roller being at least about 2 3/4 inches in diameter and having a groundengaging portion made of a relatively stiff material adapted to provide substantial lateral rigidity during use, the rollers being mounted to the roller support means so they are engageable with the ground in unison, the front roller being mounted to the roller support means so its axis of rotation is forward of the tip of the foot-support base, and in which the rear roller is mounted to the roller support means so its axis of rotation is behind the tail end of the foot-support base.

2. A tandem roller hockey skate according to claim 1 in which the means for mounting the forward and rear rollers to the roller support are adjustable vertically closer to the boot than the intermediate rollers so that the bottoms of the rollers can be aligned along a substantially arcuate path.

3. A tandem roller hockey skate according to claim 1 in which the ground-engaging portions of the rollers are made of hard rubber or hard plastic.

4. A tandem roller hockey skate according to claim 1 in which a portion of each roller has a major portion thereof comprised of a relatively stiff material, and including a separate rigid metal plate on each side of the stiff material which comprises the central portion of the roller and in direct contact therewith to provide good lateral support for the roller during use.

5. A tandem roller hockey skate according to claim 4 in which each plate extends at least about one-half the diameter of the roller.

6. A tandem roller hockey skate according to claim 1 in which each roller is releasably attached to the roller support means.

7. A tandem roller hockey skate according to claim 1 in which the means for mounting the forward and rear rollers to the roller support are adjustable vertically closer to the boot than the intermediate rollers so that the bottoms of the rollers can be aligned along a substantially arcuate path, and in which a separate rigid metal plate is mounted on each side of each roller to provide lateral support for the rollers during use.

8. A tandem roller hockey skate according to claim 7 in which each rigid plate extends at least about one-half the diameter of the roller.

9. A tandem roller hockey skate according to claim 8 in which each roller is releasably attached to the roller support means.