US1924948A - Roller skate - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 29, 1933.

E. O. LIEBERENZ ROLLER SKATE Filed May 12,1932 2 Sheets-Sheet l Aug. 29, 1933. E. ol LIEBERENZ ROLLER SKATE 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 4 Filed May l2 Patented ug. 29, 1933 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE 8 Claims.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a roller skate having driving means connected with the wheels, which is actuated by the weight of the skater each time the skate is placed on the ground after moving the foot forward.

A further object of the invention is to provide a roller skate of a design wherein the same is divided into a foot attached portion and a wheel carrying portion with connecting levers therebetween, and in which-the foot attached portion moves substantially vertically relative to the wheeled portion, for the operation of a gear driving mechanism.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description of the same proceeds and the invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, with the understanding, however, that the invention is not conned to any strict conformity with the showing of the drawings but may be changed or modied so long -as such changes or modications mark no material departure from the salient features of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

In the drawings- Figure l is a view in side elevation of a skate constructed in accordance with the present invention, the near wheels thereof being removed and a portion being broken away to show a detail of construction;

Figure 2 is a View in top plan of the skate with the rear half of the platform and the heel supporting plate cut away;

Figure 3 is a sectional View taken substantially upon the line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on theline 4 4 of Figure l.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings wherein like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views, it will be seen that the skate is composed of the twoprincipal units 1 and 2 constituting respectively the foot attached portion and the wheel carrying portion.

Thewheel carrying portion 2 of the skate comprises the pair of spaced parallel side beams orplates 3 which are provided at their front and rear ends respectively with theupstanding ears 4 and 5.

At the forward and rear ends of thebeams 3 there extends transversely thereof and therethrough the front andrear axles 6 and '7, these axles turning freely in the openings or apertures of the beams through which they pass. At thel front end of the skate the ends of theaxle 6 outwardly of the frame bars orplates 3 pass throughsleeves 8 and 9 and beyond these sleeves the axles have secured thereto thefront wheels 10.

Each of thesleeves 8 and 9 has integral therewith an elongated plate ll which positions against the outer face of theadjacent frame 3 and these plates carry the laterally extendingpins 12 which upon their outer ends are threaded to receive a nut 13.

Adjacent each of the plates 1l the side frames carry an outwardly extending ear 14 which is apertured to receive theshank portion 15 of ascrew eye 16, the eye of which has thepin 12 extended therethrough. On either side of the ear 14 is anut 17 and by the adjustment of thesenuts 17 upon theshank 15 cf the screw eye thesleeves 8 and 9 are shifted longitudinally of the frame to shift the axle orshaft 6, the apertures in theframe side members 3 through which theaxle 6 passes, being in the form of an elongatedy slot for this purpose.

Thesleeve 9 is of slightly less length than thesleeve 8 and there is mounted on theaxle 6 and secured thereto between this sleeve and theadjacent Wheel 10, thesmall sprocket gear 18 which receives driving power for the turning of theaxle 6 andwheels 10, in the manner hereinafter more fully described.

Intermediate the ends of thebeams 3 there is connectedtherebetween arotatable power shaft 19. Thisshaft 19 has mounted for free rotation thereon thespur gear 20, with which is integrally formed asleeve 21 which connects with adisk 22. Thedisk 22 carries adjacent its periphery and projecting from one face, apin 23 and mounted upon this pin is a spring pressedpawl 24, The pawl and pin are upon the side of the'disk 22 opposite from thespur gear 20. Mounted upon and secured to theshaft 19 upon the side of thedisk 22 upon which thepawl 24 is located, is aratchet wheel 25, with thev teeth of which thepawl 24 is maintained in constant engagement byv the control spring therefor which is indicated by thenumeralY 26.

Upon the end of theshaft 19 which is directly to the rear of thesprocket gear 18, is a large drivingsprocket gear 27 and these'sprocketgears 18 and 27 are connected together by thesprocket chain 28.

The rear ends of theside members 3 of the wheel carrying frame have mounted upon theaxle 7 the supportingwheels 29 and these wheels and the wheels 1G at the front of the skate may be rubber-tired shown, if desired. Theshaft 7 also has thereon between thewheels 29 and theside members 3 of the frame, thespacing sleeves 30 which maintain the wheels and frame beams properly spaced apart.

Theforward ears 4 of theframe beams 3 are connected by ashaft 31 while theears 5 are connected by ashaft 32. Theshaft 31 passes through the apertured ends of a pair of arms each of which is indicated .by thenumeral 33, for which it forms a pivot and the opposite ends 'of these arms are formed to provide anelongated head 34 in which is alongitudinal slot 35.

Crossing thearms 33 aresimilar arms 36 which at their lower ends are formed to provide theheads 37 which have thelongitudinal slots 38 therein through which theshaft 32 passes. Thearms 33 of one pair and thosearms 36 of the other pair are spaced apart, one of each pair being upon one side of the skate and where they cross midway between their ends they are connected by thecenter shaft 39. The two pairs of arms in association thus form two side by side lazy tongs. Theshaft 39 carries suitably spacedcollars 40 disposed on opposite sides of the crossed pairs of arms through which it passes, to maintain these arms in the proper relation one of these collars as shown in Figure 2 is set in away from the adjacent crossed arms 33-36 and between it and the adjacent* arms is interposed asleeve 41 which is formed integral with and transversely of one end of agear segment 42,.the teeth of which are in mesh with the teeth of thespurgear 20. Integral with thisgear segment 42 is anarm 43 which extends forwardly and terminates in a sleeve 44 through which theforward shaft 31 passes and about which shaft the gear segment oscillates, the longitudinal center of theshaft 31 being the radial center ofthe gear segment.

The foot supporting portion l comprises a platform in the form of anelongated plate 45 which extends longitudinally over thebeams 3 of the wheel frame and at each end of this plate or platform are formed the dependingside ears 46, adjacent ones of which are connected by thetransverse shafts 47.

Theshaft 47 which is located at the rear end of theplatform 45 passes through theelongated slots 35 formed in the upper ends of thearms 33 and theother shaft 47 passes through suitable apertures in the upper ends of thearms 36.

To the top surface of theplatform 45 there are secured the forward andrearv bracket members 48 and 49 respectively which have theupturned end portions 50 and 5l, and overlying thesebrackets 48 and 49 are the toe andheel plates 52 and 53 respectively upon which the foot of the skater is placed. Theplates 52 and 53 respectively carry upon their under faces the spaced downwardly extendingears 54 and 55 which position between the upstanding ends of the underlyingbrackets and receive through suitable apertures therein thepivot pins 56 and 57 which are respectively carried by the front andrear brackets 48 and 49. Each of thesebrackets 48 and 49 has mounted between its upstanding ends arubber block 58 through which the adjacent pivot pin passes and the upper side of each rubber block.

Locas@ bears against the under side of the overlying toe or heel plate as the case may be and limits the rocking movement of the plate on the pivot pin.

Thebracket 48 is riveted securely in position as indicated at 59 to theplatform 45, while thebracket 49 has secured thereto the downwardly extendingscrew 60 which passes through aslot 61 formed longitudinally in theplatform 45 and receives upon the underside of the platform the holding nut 62. By the provision of this scrcew or bolt, the head of which is embedded in the rubber block thereover, the longitudinal adjustment of the heel plate on the platform may be effected.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that in the use of the present skate the foot of the skater is placed over the platform with the heel on theplate 53 and the ball of the foot or the toe portion of the shoe on theplate 52 and secured by straps in the usual manner, the securing straps not being shown as these and the sole gripping clamps of the device are conventional.

The skater upon lifting his foot allows thewheel frame structure 2 to drop away from the platform, thus separating the ends of the-toggle arms and drawing the gear segment up tothe limit of its movement as shown in Figure 1, this movement being limited by theshafts 32 and 47 reaching the ends of theslots 35 and 38 of the toggle arms through which they position. Upon then placing the skate back upon the ground and throwing his weight thereonto thegear segment 42 will be rapidly forced downwardly as thecenter shaft 39 to which it is attached is depressed in the movement of theplatform 45 toward theframe beams 3, and rotation will be imparted to thedrive wheels 10 through thespur gear 20,disk 22, pawl and ratchet 24-25 and the sprocket wheel and chain assembly which couples theshaft 19 with thefront axle 6.

While the drawings illustratea sprocket and chain connection betweenvthe driving shaft 19 and the front axle only, it will, of course, be readily understood that a. duplicate of this sprocket chain and gear assembly may be placedv upon the opposite side of the skate to connect therear axle 7 with thedriving shaft 19, if desired, so that power may be transmitted to the front and rear wheels simultaneously. Y

The tensioning of thesprocket chain 28 is controlled by the manipulation of thenuts 17 to shift thefront axle 6 forwardly or rearwardly as necessary, as previously explained.

Having thus described the invention, what isclaimed isz- 1. A roller skate of the character described, comprising a wheel supported frame including a pair of axles, wheels carried by said axles, a foot supporting body overlying said wheel supported frame, a lazy tong structure forming a connection between the frame and the overlying body permitting relative vertical movement between the frame and body, said lazy tong structure having a center pivot, a driving mechanism connected with one of said axles and carried by the frame, and means coupling said driving mechanism with the center pivot of the lazy tong connection for operating said driving means.

2. A roller skate of the character described, comprising a wheeled structure including a pair of axles, a power shaft carried by the wheeled structure, a driving connection between the power shaft and one of said axles, a foot supporting structure overlying the wheeled structure, connecting arms between the foot supporting structure and the wheeled structure permitting relative vertical movement therebetween, an element joined to said connecting arms and vertically reciprocated therewith during the relative movement between the structures connected thereby, and means for transmitting power from said vertically reciprocated element to said power shaft.

3. A skate of the character described comprising a wheel supported frame including a pair of axles, a power shaft rotatably supported by said frame, a driving connection between said power shaft and one of said axles, a gear element rotatably mounted on the power shaft, a foot supporting structure overlying the frame, connecting arms between the frame and the foot supporting structure permitting relative vertical movement therebetween, means establishing a driving connection between the gear and power shaft when the gear is rotated in one direction, and a toothed element carried by said arms for vertical reciprocation and connected with the said gear for trans- 'mitting motion to the driving connection.

4. A skate of the character described comprising a pair of elongated spaced parallel bodies, a pair of axles connecting said bodies, wheels carried by said axles, a power shaft mounted between said bodies, a driving connection between said power shaft and one of said axles, a foot supporting platform overlying said bodies, crossed centrally pivotally connected arms joining said platform and said bodies and pivotally connected at their ends thereto whereby relative vertical movement between the platform and bodies is permitted, a gear carried on said power shaft, means for establishing a driving connection between the gear and power shaft when the gear is turned in one direction, and a toothed element connected with said arms to be vertically reciprocated thereby during the relative movement between the platform and the bodies and having driving connection with said gear for transmitting motion therethrough to the driving shaft.

5. A skate of the character described comprising a pair of elongated spaced parallel bodies, a pair of axles connecting said bodies, wheels carried by said axles, a power shaft mounted between said bodies, a driving connection between said power shaft and one of said axles, a foot supporting platform overlying said bodies, crossed centrally pivotally connected arms joining said platform and said bodies and pivotally connected at their ends thereto whereby relative vertical movement between the platform and bodies is permitted, a gear carried on said power shaft, a toothed element connected with said arms to be vertically reciprocated thereby during the relative movement between the platform and the bodies and having driving connection with said gear for transmitting motion 'therethrough to the driving shaft, and means permitting the free rotation of said driving shaft and driving mechanism during the reverse nondriving movement of said toothed element, and establishing a driving connection between the toothed element and the driving mechanism during the driving movement of the element.

6. A roller skate of the character described comprising a pair of side by side spaced elongated members, axles connecting said members, a power shaft mounted between said members, a gear member mounted upon said power shaft for free rotation thereabout, pawl and ratchet connecting means between said gear member and the shaft, a driving sprocket chain connection between said power shaft and one of said axles, a foot supporting platform overlying said axle, means connecting the platform with said elongated members permitting relative vertical movement between the members and the platform, a toothed element carried by said last means and vertically reciprocated with the platform and further having connection with said gear, and wheels carried by said axles.

7. A roller skate of the character described comprising a pair of side by side spaced elongated members, axles connecting said members, a power shaft mounted between said members, a gear member mounted upon said power shaft for free rotation thereabout, pawl and ratchet connecting means between said gear member and the shaft, a driving sprocket chain connection between said power shaft and one of said axles, a foot supporting platform overlying said axle,

vmeans connecting the platform with said elongated members permitting relative vertical movement between the members and the platform, a toothed element carried by said last means and vertically reciprocated with the platform and further having connection with said gear, wheels secured to said axles, and means for shifting the axle with which the driving gear chain is connected, longitudinally of the said members for adjusting the tension of the driving chain.

8. A skate of the character described comprising a pair of elongated spaced parallel members, axles connecting the ends of said members, wheels mounted on and secured to said axles, a power shaft carried by said members, a spur gear mounted upon said power shaft for free rotation thereabout, a ratchet gear carried by and secured to said power shaft, pawl connecting means between the spur gear and the ratchet gear, a sprocket chain driving connection between the driving shaft and one of said axles, a pair of lazy tong elements each comprising two crossed arms, a shaft extending transversely of the skate and having each end pivotally connecting a pair of the arms at their crossing points, the lower ends of the arms of each pair being pivotally connected with said elongated members, a foot supporting platform pivotally connected with and supported by the upper ends of the said pairs of arms, a gear segment carried by and suspended from said last shaft and having toothed connection with said spur gear, and means for maintaining the gear segment constantly in engagement with the spur gear during its reciprocation with the shaft to which it is attached.

EDWARD O. LIEBERENZ.

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