In-Line Roller Skate Brake Assembly

The present invention relates to an in-line roller skate brake assembly.

The stop for a roller skate of the type with four wheels arranged in pairs is generally mounted to a front end of the roller skate, while the stop for an in-line roller skate is generally mounted to a rear end thereof for the purpose of fast-skating. Problems often occur for one acquainted with the first-mentioned type of roller skates to learn on the in-line roller skates. Furthermore, no means is provided between the base and the wheels of the in-line roller skates, such that when the roller skates encounter a rugged surface, shock will be transmitted to the skater and sometimes cause a beginner to fall.

Therefore, there has been a long and unfulfilled need for a roller skate with an improved brake means to mitigate and/or obviate the above-mentioned problems.

The present invention provides an in-line roller skate which includes a base, a front brake means mounted on a front wheel means, and a rear brake means mounted on a rear wheel means.

Means, such as bolts, may be provided to respectively secure front and rear brake means to the front and rear of the bottom of the base. Preferably, a ridge means consisting of two ridges extending longitudinally on the bottom side of the base may be provided in which the width between the two ridges is designed to fittingly receive the front and rear brake means to retain the front and rear brake means in position.

The front brake means is preferably identical to the rear brake means and the front wheel means is preferably identical to the rear wheel means, such that the elements can be interchanged and allow a quick assembling of the roller skate.

The front wheel means includes a bridge member having first and second forked ends to which wheels are mounted and a mediate portion for mounting the front brake means. The mediate portion includes a receiving compartment for receiving the lower part of the front brake means. The compartment is designed to allow pivotal movement of the front brake means in the compartment. The front brake means further has a brake member at a front end thereof. Before mounting the front brake means, a substantially U-shaped resilient member may be firstly inserted into the compartment of the bridge member and then the front brake means to absorb the shock that might come when on a rugged surface. Installation of the rear brake means and rear wheel means are the same as that described in the above.

When the skater wishes to brake the roller skate, he may simply lift his front portions of his feet. The rear brake means pivots downward and rearward such that the brake member thereof contacts with the rearmost wheel, thereby effecting the braking function. Alternatively, the skater may simply lift his heels of his feet. The front brake means pivots frontward such that the brake member thereof contacts with the frontmost wheel, thereby effecting the braking function.

Other objects, advantages, and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of an in-line roller skate with a brake assembly in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the in-line roller skate in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view showing an operation of braking the roller skate by the rear brake means;

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing an operation of braking the roller skate by the front brake means;

FIG. 5 is a schematic partial view, in an enlarged scale, of the roller skate showing the shock-absorbing function thereof;

FIG. 6 is an exploded view showing another embodiment in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a schematic side view of the roller skate in FIG. 6.

Referring to the drawings and initially to FIGS. 1 through 4, an in-line roller skate in accordance with the present invention generally includes a base 10 which is integrally formed of polyurethane (PU) or other suitable material, a front brake means 20 mounted on a front wheel means 30, and a rear brake means 40 mounted on a rear wheel means 50.

The base 10 includes an elongate hole 11 in a front portion of a bottom thereof and a hole 12 in a rear portion of the bottom thereof. A bolt (not shown) may be provided through the elongate hole 11 and the screw hole 23 of the front brake means 20 to secure the front brake means 20 to the front of the bottom of the base 10. Similarly, another bolt (also not shown) may be provided through the hole 12 and the screw hole 43 of the rear brake means 40 to secure the rear brake means 40 to the rear of the bottom of the base 10. Preferably, a ridge means 13 consisting of two ridges extending longitudinally on the bottom side of the base 10 may be provided. The width between the two ridges is designed to fittingly receive the front and rear brake means 20 and 40 to retain the front and rear brake means 20 and 40 in position. The provision of the elongate hole 11 allows the adjustment of the front brake means 20 and thus the front wheel means 30. Similarly, the hole 12 can be substituted by an elongate hole to allow adjustment of the rear wheel means 50.

The front brake means 20 is identical to the rear brake means 40 and the front wheel means 30 is identical to the rear wheel means 50. The front wheel means 30 includes a bridge member 31 having first and second forked ends to which wheels 35 are mounted and a mediate portion for mounting the front brake means 20. As shown in FIG. 1, the mediate portion includes a receiving compartment 32 for receiving the lower part of the front brake means 20 by grub screws 3 6 pas sing through the elongate holes 34 of the mediate portion of the bridge member and two holes 22 (only one is shown) in the lower part of the front brake means 20. The compartment 32 is substantially U-shaped and includes grooves 33 extending along a longitudinal axis thereof to allow pivotal movement of the front brake means 20 in the compartment 32 about an axis defined by the grub screws 36. The front brake means 20 further has a brake member 24 at a front end thereof to contact with the frontmost wheel 35 when braking. Similarly, the rear brake assembly has a brake member at a rear end thereof to contact with the rearmost wheel 51 of the roller skate when braking. Preferably, the brake member 24 is arcuate in section (see reference numeral 25). Before mounting the front brake means 20, a substantially U-shaped resilient member 26 may be firstly inserted into the compartment 32 of the bridge member 31 (see FIG. 5) and then the front brake means 20, the function of which will be described later. Installation of the rear brake means 40 and rear wheel means 50 are the same as that described in the above and therefore will not be redundantly described.

Referring now to FIG. 3, when the skater wishes to brake the roller skate, he may simply lift his front portions of his feet. The rear brake means 40 pivots downward and rearward such that the brake member 24 thereof contacts with the rearmost wheel 51, thereby effecting the braking function. Alternatively, the skater may simply lift his heels of his feet. The front brake means 20 pivots downward and frontward such that the brake member 24 thereof contacts with the frontmost wheel 35, thereby effecting the braking function, as shown in FIG. 4.

Referring to FIG. 5, when the roller skate encounters a shock, e.g., when skating on a relatively rugged road or encounters a relatively large piece of gravel, the resilient member 26 absorbs relatively large portion of the shock and thus reduces the impact to the skater.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show another embodiment of the present invention in which only the rear brake means is equipped with the brake member and thus only allows the braking by means of the rear brake means. It is, nevertheless, appreciated that the brake member 24 can be provided on the front brake means instead of the rear brake means.

The present invention has the following advantages:

(1) the skater may brake the roller skates at his discretion;

(2) the roller skate can be easily and quickly assembled and the maintenance therefor is low due to the identical nature of the front and rear wheel means and front and wheel brake means;

(3) the roller skate has a better shock absorbing effect; and

(4) the position of the front and rear wheel means can be adjusted.

Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.