Skateboard Skid Accessory

This invention relates to land vehicles such as skateboards and more particularly to a skid member which protects the skateboard from excessive wear and acts as a brake member.

The board portions of skateboards are subjected to substantial wear particularly at opposite ends because the ends are frequently brought into engagement with the ground during performance of acrobatics by tilting the board about one or the other of its axles. Such wear appears primarily at the rear of the board.

Skid members have been provided for skateboards which tend to wear excessively and when worn must be discarded.

It is an object of the invention to provide a skid member for skateboards which acts to protect the board from excessive wear.

Another object of the invention is to provide a skid member for skateboards having a configuration which enhances the braking effect resulting when the skid member is brought into engagement with the ground.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a skid member for skateboards which is reversible to present a new wear surface thereby extending useful life of the skid member.

The objects of this invention are accomplished by providing a skid member for skateboards which is in the form of a body member adapted for mounting to the underside of the skateboard with the body member having a semi-cylindrical surface such that the axis of curvature of the surface is disposed transversely to the board and generally parallel to the ground on which the skateboard is to be operated. The semi-cylindrical surface is provided with parallel spaced rib members which also extend parallel to the axis of curvature of the semi-cylindrical surface. The ribs are formed to project generally perpendicular to the bottom of the skateboard surface on which the skid member is to be mounted.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following description and from the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a skateboard showing a skid member embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the skateboard seen in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view at an enlarged scale of the skid member taken on line 3--3 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an end view of the skid member seen in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a top view of the skid member; and

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the skid member.

A skid member or accessory for skateboards embodying the invention is designated generally at 10 and is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 as supported from the underside of a skateboard 12. The skateboard 12 includes a board member 14 supported for forward and rearward truck assemblies 16 and 18, respectively. Each of the truck assemblies includes a pair of wheels 20 rotatable on axles 22 disposed substantially transversely to the board member 14.

The skid member 10 has a unitary body member preferably made of a high density plastic material. The body member is a longitudinal segment of a cylinder having a semi-cylindrical surface 26 with the axis of curvature of the surface 26 extending substantially transversely to the board member 14. The skid member 10 has a flat mounting surface 28 formed on the chord of said semi-cylindrical surface that is adapted to engage the lower surface 30 of the board 14.

The skid member 10 is held in the attachably fixed position at the underside of the board member 14 by means of a pair of bolts 32 one of which is associated with each end of the skid member 10. As seen in FIG. 3, the skid member 10 is provided with a pair of recesses 34 in the surface 26 adjacent opposite ends of the skid member 10 and each of the recesses 34 is provided with a pair of openings 36. The pair of bolts 32 are adapted to pass through a selected one of the openings in each of the recesses 34 and as seen in FIG. 4 the bolts 32 preferably have a flat head 38 seated in a counter sunk portion in the top surface of the board member 14. The skid member 10 is maintained in position by nuts 39 engaged with the bolts 32 and disposed in the recesses 34. The two pair of openings 36 in the pair of recesses 34 are disposed symmetrically relative to the center line of the board member 14 which is indicated at 40 and affords a selected mounting arrangement for different spacing of openings in the skateboards.

The semi-cylindrical surface 26 of the skid member 10 is provided with a plurality of ribs 42 which project downwardly in substantially perpendicular relationship to the lower surface 30 of the board member 14 as best seen in FIG. 3. The rib members 42 and the alternate grooves 44 are disposed to extend substantially parallel to the axis of curvature of the semi-cylindrical surface 26.

As seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, the cylindrical surface 26 is formed on the exterior of a semi-cylindrical wall 50 of substantially uniform thickness. Also end walls 52, a middle wall 54 and intermediate walls 56 extend transversely to the axis of the semi-cylindrical wall and serve to reinforce the skid accessory 10. The cavities formed by the walls 52, 54 and 56 permit the skid member 10 to maintain its strength and at the same time reduce its weight and material content to make the skid member economical to form. The top surfaces of the walls 52, 54 and 56 as well as the top surface of the enlarged portions 58 and connecting wall 60 form the mounting surface 28 which engages the bottom of the skateboard 14.

Referring now to FIG. 3, when skid member 10 is placed in operation, the skateboard 12 is caused to pivot about the axis of the adjacent axle 22 so that one or more of the ribs 42 is brought into engagement with the ground surface on which the skateboard is being operated and which is indicated in FIGS. 1 and 3 by the line 62. Under that condition it will be noted that the ribs 42 are disposed at an angle to the surface 62 which enhances the braking characteristics of the skid member 10.

After a period of use the ribs 42 in the ground contacting area become worn and if desired new ribs 42 may be brought into position for engagement with the ground by temporarily detaching the skid member 10, revolving the member end for end and refastening the bolts 32.

A skid accessory for skateboards has been provided which is adapted to be fastened to the underside of the skateboard between the ground engaging wheels and the adjacent end of the board. The skid member has a semi-cylindrical surface with its axis of curvature disposed transversely to the direction of movement of the skateboard and the surface is formed with rib members which when engaged with the ground are disposed at an angle enhancing the braking effect of the skid member. After ribs become worn in one ground engaging area, the skid member can be reversed to present another ground engaging surface.