Abstract:
An apparatus and method for preparing a skateboard useful in performing tricks requiring a high degree of tilt. In one embodiment, the present invention involves disposing a riser pad between the deck and the truck assembly unit of a skateboard, attaching a truck assembly unit to a deck having a top surface and a bottom surface. The riser pad is a planar member comprising material selected from the group consisting of rubber, plastic, metal alloy, and combinations thereof. The planar member has four elongated holes disposed therein, through which fasteners for attaching the truck assembly unit can pass.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates generally to the area of skateboards, and more particularly, to a riser pad that improves a board&#39;s tilting capabilities by increasing the distance between the skateboard truck and the board, reduces road vibrations, and is able to be used in all standard skateboard trucks.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Skateboards are commonly used for recreation and competition purposes. Typical skateboards comprise an elongated board supported on two wheel truck assemblies containing two wheels each. Skateboard truck assemblies in the prior art typically include a mounting plate, which connects the truck assembly unit to the underside of the skateboard, and some type of bracket to bridge the axle assembly and wheels to the mounting plate. The skateboard rider balances on the board and adjusts the direction of travel by adjusting the pressure of his weight at various locations on the board.  
           [0003]    Riders of skateboards each have a plurality of tricks that can be performed on a wide variety of surfaces, such as flat surfaces, rough terrain, edges of elevated objects, rails and other small profile elongated objects. While performing a multitude of tricks on a variety of surfaces, a rider may wish to adjust his direction of travel dramatically. In order to do so, he must apply a majority of his weight to one side of the board, causing the board to tilt at an increased angle. Generally, the rider&#39;s ability to adjust his direction of travel will depend on the angle in which the board is tilted. As the rider increases the board&#39;s angle of tilt, his ability to adjust his direction of travel increases as well. Riders are limited, however, in their ability to maximize a board&#39;s tilt by at least two factors. First, a rider is limited in his ability to maximize a board&#39;s tilt due to the limits of the particular truck assembly unit. While truck assemblies have been improved to provide, among other things, maximum tilting capacity, they are limited since the distance between the truck assembly unit and the board is minimal and hampers effective tilting. Second, a rider is limited in his ability to maximize a board&#39;s tilt due to the inevitable point at which the edge of the board touches the ground.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0004]    What is needed then is a skateboard that maximizes the angle by which the board can be tilted. Also needed is a board that features an increased distance between the board and the truck, so that the angle by which the board can be tilted can be maximized.  
           [0005]    In accordance with this invention, herein is provided a skateboard comprising a deck having a top surface and a bottom surface, a truck assembly unit attached to the deck, means for attaching the truck assembly unit to the deck, a riser pad located between the deck and the truck assembly unit, wherein the riser pad comprises a planar member made from a material selected from the group consisting of rubber, plastic, metal alloy, and combinations thereof. The planar member can contain  4  elongated holes whereby the means for attaching the truck assembly unit can pass.  
           [0006]    In accordance with another embodiment of this invention, herein is provided a method for performing skateboard tricks using a skateboard comprising a deck having a top surface and a bottom surface, a truck assembly unit attached to the deck, means for attaching the truck assembly unit to the deck, a riser pad located between the deck and the truck assembly unit, wherein the riser pad comprises a single planar member made from a material selected from the group consisting of rubber, plastic, metal alloy, and combinations thereof, and wherein the planar member can contain  4  elongated holes whereby the means for attaching the truck assembly unit can pass through. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]    For a more complete understanding of the features and advantages of the present invention, reference is now made to the detailed description of the invention along with the accompanying figures in which corresponding numerals in the different figures refer to corresponding parts and in which:  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 1 depicts a perspective of a truck assembly unit, a riser pad, a deck, and  4  nuts and bolts passing through the riser pad and truck assembly unit.  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of a skateboard deck, employing two truck assembly units attached to the deck, and a riser pad located between each truck assembly unit and the deck.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 3 depicts a perspective of a truck assembly unit, riser pad, and deck. The depiction shows the truck assembly unit attached to the deck with bolts.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 4 depicts a perspective of a truck assembly unit and riser pad. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0012]    While the making and using of various embodiments of the present invention are discussed in detail below, it should be appreciated that the present invention provides many applicable inventive concepts that may be embodied in a wide variety of specific contexts. The specific embodiments discussed herein are merely illustrative of specific ways to make and use the invention and do not delimit the scope of the invention.  
         [0013]    One embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 2. According to FIG. 2, a skateboard deck  18  is shown supported upon a pair of truck assembly units  10   a,    10   b,  each containing a riser pad  42  in between the deck  18  and the truck assembly unit  10 . Generally, the skateboard contains a deck  18  having a top surface and an underside  24  or bottom surface. The deck  18  may be made out of virtually any substance useful for making skateboards, including, but not limited to, metal, glass, fiberglass, plastic, wood, and the like and combinations thereof. The deck  18  may serve as a location in which the rider can choose to place a portion of his body thereon, thereby controlling his direction by adjusting the amount of weight applied to the board. The deck  18  may be any shape, size, or color, as long as it is conducive to supporting at least one truck assembly unit  10  and a riser pad  42 .  
         [0014]    Any truck assembly unit  10  may be used according to an embodiment of this invention. Generally, the truck assembly unit  10  refers to the wheels and supporting structure that is generally located under, and attached to the deck  18 . The truck assembly unit  10  usually includes an axle with at least two wheels encased in an axle assembly unit  16 . The truck assembly unit  10  may be made from virtually any material, but usually is fabricated of a light weight metal alloy, including for example, aluminum and/or titanium. Also, high impact plastics or polymers or copolymers may be used to fabricate the device. Truck assembly units  10  are generally attached to the skateboard deck  18  by any method known in the art, and can be attached using means for attaching the truck assembly unit to the skateboard deck, such as for example, screws, bolts, pins, nails, and the like, and combinations thereof.  
         [0015]    The general features of a skateboard truck assembly unit  10  are shown in FIG. 1, which includes a mounting plate  12 , a mounting bracket  14 , and an axle assembly unit  16 . A kingpin  32 , also known as a tension bolt, is inserted through apertures  20  and  21  to connect the axle assembly unit  16  to the mounting bracket  14  and the mounting plate  12 . Generally, the mounting plate  12  and mounting bracket  14  are unitary structures, though they can constitute separate components under the desired circumstances. The truck assembly unit  10 , particularly the axle assembly unit  16  may be fabricated of any light weight metal allow, including for example, aluminum and titanium. High impact polymers or materials made of carbon fiber may also be used.  
         [0016]    As used in this disclosure, the term “riser pad” refers to any device that may be used to increase the space between the truck assembly unit and the deck. Generally, riser pads may be in any shape, size, or color. In accordance with one embodiment of this invention, riser pads may be shaped to conform with the shape of the portion of the truck assembly unit that attaches to the skateboard. Riser pads may be useful in the present invention located between the truck assembly unit and the deck. Riser pads useful in the present invention generally do not protrude from the truck assembly unit, but may slightly, for example, so as to allow for information (such as for example, a trade name) to be etched upon the surface that is not covered by the truck assembly unit.  
         [0017]    Riser pads useful in the present invention may be made from virtually any material. Generally, the material is selected from the group consisting of rubber, plastic, metal alloy, and the like and combinations thereof. In one embodiment of the present invention, the riser pad contains rubber and has one or more holes in its planar member. The holes make it convenient for attaching the truck assembly unit to the deck, since the means for attaching the truck assembly unit to the deck can pass easily through the riser pad. In another embodiment of the present invention, the riser pad has four elongated holes, so that the riser pad may be used with standard skateboard trucks, no matter the size. The elongated holes of the riser pad are useful for lining up the riser pad to fit the holes typically found in truck assembly units, thereby allowing the riser pad to be centrally placed between the truck assembly unit and the deck. In addition, the elongated holes allow for the riser pad to be adjusted so as to prevent protrusion of the riser pad from the truck assembly unit which may inhibit certain sliding tricks.  
         [0018]    As shown in FIG. 1, a riser pad  42  is located in between the mounting plate  12  and the deck  18 . In one embodiment, the riser pad  42  is approximately 2.25 inches in width and 3.25 inches in length. Apertures  44  in the riser pad  42  are provided to receive screws or bolts  22  to secure the truck assembly unit  10  to the deck  18 , by using a nut  30  or any other suitable means for this purpose. These apertures  44  are typically elongated so as to receive a range of sizes and types of truck assembly units. In one embodiment, the apertures  44  are approximately 0.5 inches long and 0.25 inches in width. In one embodiment, the outer edges of the apertures  44  are disposed approximately 0.125″ from the outer edges of the riser pad  42 . The mounting plate  12  is provided to secure the truck assembly unit  10  to the riser pad  42  and to the deck  18 . Apertures  40  in the mounting plate  12  are provided to receive screws or bolts  22  to connect the mounting plate  12 , by using a nut  30  or any other suitable means for this purpose, to the riser pad  42  and to the underside  24  of the deck  18 .  
         [0019]    Typically, skateboard  18  will include two truck assemblies, as shown in FIG. 2, one assembly  10   a  mounted to the underside  24  of deck  18  in the front section  24   a  of the deck  18  and a second truck assembly unit  10   b  mounted to the underside  24  of deck  18  in the back section  24   b  of the deck  18 .  
         [0020]    As shown in FIG. 1, the axle assembly unit  16 , which is normally a unitary structure, includes central portion  16   a  and a main axle comprising axle rods  16   b  and  16   c,  which extend away in opposite directions from central portion  16   a.  Wheels can be mounted on axle hubs  26  and  28  of axle rods  16   b  and  16   c,  respectively. Wheels can be secured by a nut  50  or any other suitable means for this purpose. The present invention can accommodate wheels of different sizes. The head of kingpin  32  is located in a recessed area  36  of the central portion  16   a  of the axle assembly unit  16 .  
         [0021]    While this invention has been described in reference to illustrative embodiments, this description is not intended to be construed in a limiting sense. Various modifications and combinations of the illustrative embodiments, as well as other embodiments of the invention, will be apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to the description. It is therefore intended that the appended claims encompass any such modifications or embodiments.  
         [0022]    Those skilled in the art will readily see that while numerous detailed variations of the above described embodiment of this invention may be made, the true scope of the invention is determined by the following claims.