Roller skate

• US 4,108,450 A
• Filed: 04/26/1977
• Issued: 08/22/1978
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/1976
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Bernard Cote
• Original Assignee: Bernard Cote
• Inventors: Cote, Bernard
• Primary Examiner(s): Peters, Jr., Joseph F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Church, Gene A.
• Application Number:
  US05/791,008
• Time in Patent Office: 483 Days
• Field of Search: 280/7.12, 280/7.13, 280/7.14, 280/11.22, 280/11.23, 280/11.19, 280/11.26, 280/11.16
• US Class Current: 280/7.13
• CPC Class Codes: A63C 17/06 single-track type
• CPC Class Codes: A63C 17/18 convertible into ice or snow-running skates

Abstract

A roller skate comprising an elongated bar, three rollers carried by said bar in alignment at the bottom of a shoe, the rear and middle rollers being spaced apart a greater distance than the distance between the middle and front rollers and being located on each side of the vertical line passing through the center of gravity of the user. The ground contact zone of the front roller is at a higher level than that of the rear and middle rollers. The bar is detachably secured to separate shoe supporting structures and, therefore, can be replaced by an ice-skate blade. The same shoe supporting structures can be used in association with blades and roller carrying bars of different lengths to fit shoes of different sizes. The rollers have detachable rims of different types for use on different surfaces. In a modified embodiment, the ice-skate blade is spring-loaded at its rear end for use on a rough ice surface, such as on frozen lakes.

Claims

1. A roller skate including three rollers to be rotatably mounted to the bottom of a shoe in alignment with the longitudinal axis of the shoe, characterized in that the rear and middle rollers are spaced apart a greater distance than the distance between the middle and front rollers, and are located on each side of the vertical line passing through the center of gravity of a person standing up on the skate, the ground contact zone of the front roller being at a higher level than that of the rear and middle rollers, an elongated roller carrying bar and a pair of separate shoe supporting frames securable to a shoe sole and each detachably secured to said bar, whereby bars of different lengths may be secured to the same shoe supporting frames to fit shoes of different sizes, each shoe supporting frame being detachably secured to said bar at two spaced zones, namely:

at the front and back of each frame with the rear frame straddling the rear roller and the front frame straddling the middle and front rollers, and wherein the back of the rear frame and the front of the front frame have each a pair of spaced ears straddling the rear and front end portions of said bar respectively and nut and bolt means extending through registering holes in said ears and bar end portions to detachably secure said bar to said frames, and wherein the front of said rear frame and the back of said front frame have downwardly depending studs bearing on the top of said roller carrying bar.

2. A roller skate as claimed in claim 1, wherein said roller carrying bar is of U-shape cross-section with a top web and side flanges, bolt means extending through said web and screwed within said studs, the axes of said rollers being removably carried by said side flanges, said rollers extending upwardly from said side flanges through openings in said web.

3. A roller skate as claimed in claim 2, wherein the side flanges of said roller carrying bar are bent and brought together at the front and back ends of said bar, to be inserted between said pair of spaced ears.

4. A roller skate as claimed in claim 3, further including spring means at the back end of said back frame, resiliently engaging said blade.

5. A roller skate for use on a plastic surface comprising a roller carrying bar, shoe-supporting frame means secured to said bar and fixed to the heel and sole of a shoe to carry said bar in longitudinal alignment with a shoe underneath the latter, said bar including a pair of spaced-apart substantially parallel flanges, three rollers inserted between, and rotatably carried by, said flanges and arranged in a single row longitudinally of said shoe, the rear and middle rollers being spaced apart in the longitudinal direction of said bar, a greater distance than the distance between the middle and front rollers and being located rearwardly and forwardly respectively of the vertical line passing through the center of gravity of a person standing up on the skate, said flanges protruding forwardly and rearwardly of the front and rear rollers, respectively, and being joined together at their front and rear ends, each roller having a narrow metal rim with a peripheral surface which is straight in cross-section and defines sharp peripheral edges, the ground contact zone of the front roller being at a higher level than that of the rear and middle rollers.