Wheel unit for in-line roller skate

• US 5,308,152 A
• Filed: 07/06/1993
• Issued: 05/03/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 07/06/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Ho, Diana
• Original Assignee: Ho, Diana
• Inventors: Ho, Diana
• Primary Examiner(s): Stormer, Russell D.
• Application Number:
  US08/085,833
• Time in Patent Office: 301 Days
• Field of Search: 301/5.3, 301/5.7, 301/64.7, 152/323, 152/393, 152/394, 280/11.22, 280/11.23
• US Class Current: 301/5.304
• CPC Class Codes: A63C 17/06 single-track type
• CPC Class Codes: A63C 17/223 Wheel hubs
• CPC Class Codes: A63C 17/226 Wheel mounting, i.e. arrangement connecting wheel and axle mount

Abstract

A wheel adapted for use on a roller skate or the like includes a wheel member made of elastomer having shock-absorbing property, and a pair of disk members embedded into a central hole of the wheel member, and combinable with each other for firmly clamping two central rim portions on two opposite sides of the wheel member, so that the wheel member secured with the two disk members will be stably rotatably mounted on an axle provided on a mounting frame of a roller skate, a skate board or any other wheeled sporting equipments for enhancing a better stability, heat resistance, shock-absorbing property and ground-treading property of the wheel.

Claims

1. A wheel unit adapted for use on an in-line roller skate comprising:

a wheel member made of elastomer material having a central hole formed through said wheel member;

a first disk and a second disk combinable with each other and engageable with the central hole in said wheel member, with said first and second disks cooperatively firmly clamping said wheel member in between two said disks, said wheel member embedded with and clamped by said two disks being rotatably mounted on an axle of a mounting frame positioned under an in-line roller skate;

said wheel member including;

the central hole formed through the wheel member, a pair of side holes each said side hole enlarged from and radially diverged outwardly from the central hole with the pair of side holes disposed on two opposite sides of the central hole of the wheel member;

said first disk including;

a first disk hole formed through the first disk engageable with a first bearing rotatably mounted on an axle of a mounting frame of a roller skate, a first coupling portion protruding inwardly from a first intermediate extension of the first disk to be engageable with a first half portion of the central hole of the wheel member, and a first clamping flange formed on an outer portion of the first disk connected with the first intermediate extension of the first disk for operatively retaining a first central rim portion disposed on a first side surface of the wheel member in cooperation with the second disk, with the first intermediate extension engageable with the side hole disposed on a first side portion of the wheel member;

said second disk including;

a second disk hole formed through the second disk aligned with the first disk hole and engageable with a second bearing rotatably mounted on the axle of the mounting frame of the roller skate, a second coupling portion protruding inwardly from a second intermediate extension of the second disk towards the first coupling portion of the first disk when embedded in the wheel member to be engageable with a second half portion of the central hole of the wheel member, and a second clamping flange formed on an outer portion of the second disk connected with the second intermediate extension of the second disk for operatively retaining a second central rim portion disposed on a second side surface of the wheel member in cooperation with the first disk, with the second intermediate extension engageable with the other side hole disposed on a second side portion of the wheel member, and with the second disk combinable with the first disk into the central hole and the two side holes in the wheel member by a plurality of fixing screws inserted through a plurality of screw holes respectively formed in the second disk and in the first disk;

said second disk having a rim groove annularly recessed in a periphery of the second coupling portion of the second disk to be engageable with a rim extension annularly protruding inwardly from the first disk towards the second disk when mounted in the wheel member to allow both said coupling portions of the two disks to be engageable with the central hole of the wheel member;

each said disk formed with a plurality of protrusion recesses annularly recessed in each said intermediate extension of each said disk to be engageable with a plurality of protrusions concentrically formed on a perimeter of each said side hole of the wheel member so that each said disk is firmly engaged with the wheel member to prevent any unexpected disengagement of each said disk from the wheel member; and

each said coupling portion of each said disk having an outside diameter slightly larger than an inside diameter of the central hole of the wheel member; and

each said intermediate extension of each said disk having an outside diameter slightly larger than an inside diameter of each said side hole of the wheel member for a firm and stable embedding of said two disks into the central hole and the side holes in the wheel member, whereby upon a fixing of the screws into screw holes formed in said two disks, the two disks will be firmly combined to clamp the wheel member in between the two disks for enhancing a stability of the wheel unit used in the roller skate.

2. A wheel unit according to claim 1, wherein each said bearing includes an inner ring rotatably engageable with a bush having a bush hole engageable with the axle comprised of a male shaft secured in an axle hole formed in a bracket disposed on a first side portion of the mounting frame and a female sleeve coupled with the male shaft and secured in the other axle hole formed in the other bracket disposed on a second side portion of the mounting frame with a sole plate of the mounting frame secured to a boot of a roller skate, and an outer ring engageable with a disk hole of each said disk.