Abstract:
A roller peg includes a housing attachable to a bicycle or skateboard, the housing including a hole, and a roller that is inserted in the housing so that a surface of the roller protrudes from the hole and the roller spins within the housing.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This application is a continuation of prior U.S. Ser. No. 10/404,290, filed Mar. 31, 2003, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,863,292, which claims benefit of priority to Provisional Application No. 60/368,772, filed on Mar. 29, 2002. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Technical Field of the Invention 
   This disclosure relates to accessories for wheeled devices, and in particular to a roller peg. 
   2. Description of the Related Art 
   In this country the sport of skateboarding and BMX (bicycle motor-cross) enjoy tremendous popularity among young people. With the growth of skate parks and bicycle parks, it has become common to attach what are known as “grinding pegs” to the front and rear axles of bicycles. These pegs extend in a perpendicular direction from the plane of the bicycle tire. The rider stands on one or more of these pegs, and the pegs allow the rider to “grind” to a stop, balance on the edge of objects, and/or quickly change the direction of momentum. Such pegs are typically round when viewed on end. They are typically made of aluminum and have a rough pattern on the exterior that provides a non-slip interface between the peg and the soles of the rider&#39;s shoes. The pegs are attached to the axle of the bicycle by threading inside the peg unit or with one or more nuts. 
   The pegs themselves are very durable. They need to support the weight of the rider and at times the weight of both the rider and the bicycle. However, because the pegs frequently come into contact with hard surfaces such as cement and metal, over time the pegs are worn down. It is not uncommon for a peg to break once the metal is sufficiently removed or weakened. At this point there is no repair possible and the bicycle rider must purchase a new peg. 
   Not only are hard surfaces damaging to the pegs, but the pegs are also damaging to the surfaces they contact. Missing paint on the top of metal handrails or unsightly black marks adorning the edges of cement structures is a sure sign of extended exposure to skateboards or grinding pegs. In some cases the corners and edges of these objects crumble altogether. As a consequence of the damage that they cause, grinding pegs are banned from many public parks and other areas that would otherwise provide good locations for the activity. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1A  is a side-view of a simplified bicycle showing the location of the roller pegs. 
       FIG. 1B  is a top-view sketch of the simplified bicycle of  FIG. 1A  showing the location of the roller pegs. 
       FIG. 2A  is an exploded view of the roller pegs. 
       FIG. 2B  is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the invention taken through the plane containing line A of  FIG. 2D . 
       FIG. 2C  is a side view of an embodiment of the invention. 
       FIG. 2D  is a bottom view of an embodiment of the invention. 
       FIG. 2E  is a side section view along the line B—B of  FIG. 2C . 
       FIG. 2F  is a perspective view of the roller peg. 
       FIG. 2G  is a second perspective view of the roller peg. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   Embodiments of the invention may be detachably affixed to bicycle axles. The components for one embodiment of the invention include a housing, a roller, a pin, and a keeper. The roller is inserted into the housing and a pin is inserted into the roller. The keeper is affixed to an end of the housing and keeps the pin and the roller in the correct position inside the housing. The housing has a hole that allows a surface of the roller to contact an external bicycle riding surface causing the roller to spin within the housing. 
   Embodiments of the invention allow bikers to perform stunts and tricks without causing damage to surfaces coming into contact with the peg. In addition, many new stunts and tricks are possible because the biker is allowed to travel quite quickly across surfaces using the peg. Additionally, since it is typically only the roller that comes into contact with external surfaces, there is no need to buy a new peg unit once the roller is worn down. The biker only needs to detach the keeper and remove the pin in order to replace the roller. This and other advantages of embodiments of the invention will become readily apparent in the following discussion where a specific embodiment of the invention is explained. 
     FIGS. 1A and 1B  are a side-view and top-view, respectively, of a simplified bicycle  10  showing the location of the bike peg. The sketches do not show all necessary elements of a bicycle and are not drawn to scale. However, these specifics are not required as the purpose of the sketches is to convey a sense of where an embodiment of the invention would be attached to a bicycle. Roller pegs  15  represent an embodiment of the invention and are located on either sides of the axles of bicycle  10 . Up to four roller pegs  15  can be attached to a bicycle  10 , two for every axle  17 . 
   For the embodiments of the invention shown in  FIGS. 1A and 1B , the roller pegs  15  extend from the axles of the bicycle  10 . However, alternative embodiments of the invention contemplate the roller pegs  15  being attached to the bicycle axles at different radial angles with respect to the center line of the axle  17 . In one embodiment of the invention, the biker may adjust this angle according to his own personal preferences. In another embodiment, the roller pegs  15  may be attached to the sides or ales of the skateboards or any other wheeled device. 
     FIG. 2A  is an exploded view of an embodiment of the invention showing some of the components. This embodiment includes a housing  200 , a roller  210 , a pin  230 , and a keeper  240 . The housing  200  is attached to the axle  17  ( FIG. 1A ) of bicycle  10  at an inner end  201  using threads (not shown) on the housing itself or using nuts (not shown). The housing  200  has a rectangular hole  204  that extends through a side of the housing  200 , exposing the interior of the housing  200 . 
   The roller  210  is inserted into the housing  200  at the outer end  202  through the larger diameter hole  197 . Once inside the housing  200 , the roller  210  is affixed into place using the pin  230 . Pin  230  is inserted on the outer side  202  of the housing  200  and slides through the middle of roller  210 . 
     FIG. 2B  is a cross-sectional view taken through the plane containing line A—A of  FIG. 2D . As shown in  FIG. 2B , ends  193  of the pin  230  protrude from either side of the roller  210 . The ends  193  of the pin  230  fit into receptacles at opposite ends of housing  200 . The pin  230  holds the roller  210  spaced from but parallel to the primary axis of housing  200 , allowing a surface of roller  210  to protrude outside of the hole  204 . In this embodiment, there is also a patterned region  205  of protuberances  231  machined into the surface of housing  200 . The function of the patterned region  205  is to increase the grip between the biker&#39;s shoes and the surface of the housing  200 . 
   Returning to  FIG. 2A , the keeper  240  fits over the pin  230  and roller  210  and is detachably affixed to the outer end  202  of the housing  200  with screws or another attachment device (not shown). The keeper  240  maintains the pin  230  and the roller  210  in the proper position within housing  200 . 
     FIG. 2C  is a side view of the roller peg  15 . The roller  210  extends from the bottom of the housing  200 . The patterned region  205  is located at the top of housing  200  and substantially opposite the hole  204 . In alternative embodiments, the patterned region may extend over more or less area of the housing  200 . In alternative embodiments, the patterned region may be replaced with an inset of material that is different from the material of the housing  200 . For example, a rectangular portion of PVC or polyethylene rubber may be inset over a top surface of the housing  200  that is substantially opposite the roller  210 . Alternatively, materials are glued to the top surface of the housing  200  to provide increased traction.  FIG. 2D  is a bottom view of the roller peg  15  showing the roller  210  extending through the hole  204  of the housing  200 . 
     FIG. 2E  is side view taken through the plane extending along line B—B of  FIG. 2C . In this view the pin  230  is seen inserted within the roller  210 . The pin  230  and roller  210  are aligned parallel to, but offset from, a center axis A—A of the housing  200 . This allows a portion of the roller  210  to protrude outside the housing  200 . 
     FIG. 2F  is a perspective view of the roller peg  15 . The housing  200  is arranged so that the patterned surface  205  is facing upward, with the hole  204  (not shown) facing downward. This is the typical alignment of the roller peg when in use. However, in alternative configurations, the forward or backward angle at which the roller  210  (not shown) meets the grinding surface is adjusted by a attaching the housing  200  at a different radial position about a center axis for the axle of the bicycle. These different radial positions of the roller peg may be used for different bicycle stunts. For example, the roller  210  may be rotated and attached more toward the front of the bicycle for certain tricks or rotated and attached more toward the rear of the bicycle for other tricks. 
   The patterned surface  205  is formed on the housing  200  substantially opposite from the roller  210 . The multiple spaced protuberances  231  include square faces each with 4 outwardly sloping sides  233 . The bottom end of housing  200  has a smooth surface. 
   On the outer end  202  of the housing  200  the large hole  197  is used for inserting the roller  210  and the smaller hole  203  is used to insert the pin  230 . The screw holes  195  detachably affix the keeper ( 240  of  FIG. 2A ) to housing  200 . As seen in  FIG. 2A , the keeper  240  is of a substantially oblong shape. However, other embodiments of the invention contemplate providing keepers  240  that have different shapes according to the tastes of style-conscious bikers. For example, a variety of geometric shapes are possible or fanciful designs such as stars or skulls. In some embodiments of the invention, the keeper  240  may be of a different color than the housing  200 . 
     FIG. 2G  is another perspective view of the roller peg. In this view the inner edge  201  of the housing  200  is facing the viewer. Referring to  FIGS. 2B and 2G , there is a hole  207  in the middle of the inner edge  201 . The hole  207  receives the end of the bicycle axle  17  as shown in  FIG. 2B . The hole  207  may be threaded for interlocking with the axle  17  or alternatively the housing  200  may be held to the axle with a nut  209  that is screwed onto the bicycle axle  17  after the axle  17  is inserted into hole  207 . 
   Embodiments of the invention may be made of a variety of different materials. A typical embodiment may have a housing  200  of an aluminum alloy, a steel pin  230 , a heavy duty PVC roller  210 , and a metal keeper  240 . Other embodiments of the invention may have some type of tread pattern on the surface of the roller  210 , or the roller could be made of another type of durable rubber besides PVC, or the roller could even be of metal. Embodiments of the invention may also have components with different colors. For example, one embodiment may have a silver aluminum housing  200 , a blue aluminum keeper  240 , and a black PVC roller  210 . Still other embodiments of the invention may have bearings incorporated into the housing  200  to allow the pin  230  and roller  210  to spin with even less friction. 
   Having described and illustrated the principles of the invention in a preferred embodiment thereof, it should be apparent that the invention can be modified in arrangement and detail without departing from such principles. I claim all modifications and variation coming within the spirit and scope of the following claims.