Abstract:
Described is a device that can be attached to an in-line skate that will deflect debris such as small rocks and sticks from the immediate path of the in-line skate. The device will detect when the rear wheels leave the skating surface and will reposition so as to not interfere with the operation of the skate when the skate tips forward.

Description:
[0001]    This application claims priority of provisional patent application number 60/902,342 filed Feb. 20, 2007. 
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates generally to the sport of roller or ice skating and more specifically to a device that will deflect debris from the path of the skate to prevent accidental falls by the skater. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    The sport of recreational skating for enjoyment or exercise has been popular for many years. In-line skating is one of the most popular and widely practiced types of recreational skating. In line skates consist of a boot portion to support the foot and ankle, and a series of wheels attached to the sole of the boot. Unlike standard roller skates which contain 4 wheels per skate that are configured in a square or rectangular pattern, in-line skates normally have 3 to 5 wheels per skate and all wheels are lined up one behind another. This wheel configuration makes in-line roller skates operate and feel much the same as hockey ice skates. 
         [0004]    The in-line configuration of the wheels on an in-line skate perform very well on clean, paved surfaces such as asphalt and concrete. However, in order to place 3 to 5 wheels per skate all in a row, the wheels must be spaced very close to each other. This feature on in-line skates becomes problematic when the skates are used on surfaces that may contain debris such as stones, sticks, acorns, etc. The aforementioned debris is often hard to see when skating at a fast pace. This debris can be kicked up by one of the skate wheels and become lodged between 2 of the closely spaced wheels, causing them to abruptly stop turning. Anytime a wheel on an in-line skate stops turning, it acts as a brake and can easily cause the skater to lose their balance and fall forward. Since many in-line skaters average speeds of 10-20 miles per hour, serious injury can occur to the skater if they were to fall at those speeds. 
         [0005]    In order to avoid being injured in a fall while skating, many skaters wear protective gear such as wrist guards, knee pads, and helmets. While these safety accessories can help reduce the chance for serious injury during a fall, they do not eliminate it. Anytime that a skater falls, there is a significant chance of injury, even if the skater is wearing protective gear. 
         [0006]    One way to reduce the chance of falling while in-line skating would be to keep the skate wheels from coming in contact with the small debris that could be lodged between the wheels. A simple approach to this problem would be to mount a deflector to the skate that would be positioned directly in front of the front wheel to deflect objects away from the wheel before they can come in contact with the wheel. This deflector would operate much the same as the front blade of a snow plow. The deflector would ride very close to the ground and would be shaped such that any object that would come in contact with the deflector would be deflected roughly perpendicular to the direction of the skate travel. 
         [0007]    The problem with the aforementioned approach is that a device mounted in front of the front wheel of an in-line skate, close enough to the ground to be effective, would also interfere with the movement of the skate. 
         [0008]    Since an in-line skater uses the same style to propel them self that is used by a hockey skater, the in-line skate must be able to tip forward as the skater pushes off with that skate. When this happens, all of the wheels on the skate will leave the ground with the exception of the front wheel. If there were an immoveable deflecting device mounted in front of the front wheel and very close to the ground, it would contact the ground when the skate tips forward. The solution to this problem is device that will be in position to deflect debris when all wheels are in contact with the skating surface, but will automatically reposition when the rear wheels leave the skating surface to so as to not interfere with the operation of the skate. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    An object of the present invention is to provide an in-line skate debris deflector that will deflect small debris from the immediate path of an in-line skate. 
         [0010]    Another object of the present invention is to provide an in-line skate debris deflector that will deflect small debris from the immediate path of an in-line skate that can be easily installed on a wide variety of in-line skate brands and styles. 
         [0011]    Another object of the present invention is to provide an in-line skate debris deflector that will detect when the rear wheels leave the skating surface and will automatically reposition so as to not interfere with the operation of the skate. 
         [0012]    Another object of the present invention is to provide an in-line skate debris deflector that will be inexpensive. 
         [0013]    Another object of the present invention is to provide an in-line skate debris deflector that can be incorporated as an integral part of an in-line skate. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0014]      FIG. 1  is a side plan view of the preferred embodiment of the debris deflection device attached to a common in-line skate with the deflection blade in the lowered position. 
           [0015]      FIG. 2  is a side plan view of the preferred embodiment of the debris deflection device attached to an ordinary in-line skate with the deflection blade in the raised position. 
           [0016]      FIG. 3  is a north west isometric view of the preferred embodiment of the debris deflection device with the skate boot removed for clarity 
           [0017]      FIG. 4  is a side plan view of the alternate embodiment of the debris deflection device showing the a pivoting rear wheel in the lower position with the skate boot removed for clarity 
           [0018]      FIG. 5  is a wire frame drawing, bottom view of the preferred embodiment of the debris deflection device with the skate boot removed for clarity 
           [0019]      FIG. 6  is a north east isometric view of the preferred embodiment of the debris deflection device with the skate boot removed for clarity with the deflector arm in the upper position 
           [0020]      FIG. 7  is a side plan view of the alternate embodiment of the debris deflection device showing the a pivoting rear wheel in the upper position with the skate boot removed for clarity 
           [0021]      FIG. 8  is a side plan view of the preferred embodiment of the debris deflection device attached to a common in-line skate with the deflection blade in the lowered position with the skate boot removed for clarity 
           [0022]      FIG. 9  is a front view of the preferred embodiment of the debris deflection device attached to a common in-line skate with the deflection blade in the lowered position. 
           [0023]      FIG. 10  is an exploded view of another embodiment of the debris deflection device, which uses a belt and pulleys to communicate mechanical movement from the detector arm to the deflector arm 
           [0024]      FIG. 11  is wire frame drawing, southeast view showing the deflection blade constructed from a thin, resilient material 
           [0025]      FIG. 12  is a wire frame drawing, southeast view showing the deflection blade constructed from bristles 
           [0026]      FIG. 13  is a parts list. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0027]    The debris deflector for skate is particularly illustrated in  FIGS. 1-X .  FIG. 1  illustrates the present invention attached to an in-line skate with the deflector blade  101  in the lowered position. The deflector  101  is attached to the deflector arm  102 . The attachment method is such that the deflector may be easily replaced without the aid of tools if it becomes damaged. The deflector  101  may be constructed from a very brittle material, which would allow it to break free of the device in the event it collides with a large or immoveable object. In the preferred embodiment (shown in  FIG. 11 ), the lower portion  135  of the deflector  101  is constructed from a resilient material, or a combination of materials, such as rubber, soft plastic, or glass reinforced Teflon. A suitable resilient material will be robust enough to maintain its shape when contacting small sticks and pebbles, but not so robust that it will interfere with the operation of the skate should it come in contact with a large or immoveable object. In this embodiment, the lower portion  135  of the deflector  101  would simply deform in the event of a collision with a large or immoveable object. In an alternate construction of the preferred embodiment (illustrated in  FIG. 12 ), the lower portion  135  of the deflector  101  is constructed from a tight array of bristles, similar to a broom. The deflector arm  102  is preferably constructed from an unbreakable plastic such as acrylic, polycarbonate, or similar material.  FIG. 2  illustrates the present invention attached to an in-line skate with the deflector blade  101  in the raised position. 
         [0028]    As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the deflector arm  102  is attached to the base plate  108  at deflector pivot point  112  with deflector arm pivot pin  106 . The detector arm  103  is attached to the base plate  108  at detector pivot point  113  with detector pivot pin  107 . One end of the strut  114  is attached to the deflector arm  102  at pivot point  126  with pivot pin  129 , and the other end of the strut  114  is attached to the detector arm  103  at pivot point  127  with pivot pin  128 . The detector arm wheel  104  is attached to the bottom end of the detector arm. 
         [0029]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , when all skate wheels  105  are in contact with the skating surface  115 , the detector arm wheel  104  experiences upward pressure from the skating surface  115  and the detector arm  102  is rotated clockwise. This clockwise rotation  116  is communicated to the deflector arm  102  by means of the strut  114 . As the deflector arm  102  is rotated clockwise  116 , the deflector  101  lowers to become very close to the skating surface  115 . With the deflector  101  in the lowered position, it will deflect debris  120  from the path of the skate wheels  105 . 
         [0030]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , when the rear skate wheels  105  are lifted from the skating surface  115 , the tension spring  117  causes the detector arm  103  to rotate counter clockwise  119  until it contacts the stop pin  118 . This counter clockwise rotation  119  is communicated to the deflector arm  102  via the strut  114 . As the deflector arm  102  rotates counter clockwise  119 , the deflector  101  rises away from the skating surface  115  so as to not interfere with the natural skating motion. The tension spring  117  function could also be accomplished with an elastic band or a torsion spring attached to the pivot pins  106 , 107  on the deflector arm  102  or the detector arm  103 . 
         [0031]    In the preferred use, each skate would be equipped with one debris deflection device mounted on the outer side of the skate. That is, the device would be mounted to the right side of the right skate and to the left side of the left skate. In the preferred embodiment, the debris deflection device would be attached to one of the skate wheel brackets  110 ,  111  using one or more modified skate axle bolts. 
         [0032]    An alternate embodiment of the debris deflection device is illustrated in  FIGS. 4 &amp; 6 . In this embodiment, one of the skate wheels behind the front wheel is mounted on pivot arm  122  and pivot arm  125 . The skate wheel pivot arm  122  and the deflector arm  102  are pivotally attached to the strut  114 . In  FIG. 6 , the skate is shown with the skate wheels  105  in contact with the skating surface  115 . In this position, the deflector is in close contact with the skating surface thus deflecting debris from the path of the skate wheel  105 .  FIG. 4  illustrates the skate with some of the rear skate wheels  105  lifted off of the skating surface  115 . In this position, the compression spring  124  forces the skate wheel pivot arm  122  to rotate counter clockwise  116 . This counter clockwise rotation  116  is communicated to the deflector arm  102  via the strut  114 , causing the deflector arm to rise away from the skating surface  115 . 
         [0033]    Having thus described in detail several embodiments of the present invention, it is to be appreciated and will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many physical changes, only a few of which are exemplified in the specification of the invention, could be made without altering the inventive concepts and principles embodied therein. It is also to be appreciated that numerous embodiments incorporating only part of the preferred embodiments are possible which do not alter, with respect to those parts, the inventive concepts and principles embodied therein. The present embodiment and optional configurations are therefore to be considered in all respects as exemplary and/or illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description, and all alternate embodiments and changes to this embodiment which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of said claims are therefore to be embraced therein.