Abstract:
An inline hockey roller skate and wheel which includes braking and tread elements. The two elements have surfaces formed of a tough resilient material, such as urethane, disposed over a strong cage like frame. The frame and the tough resilient material provide a tread element which is a relatively hard surface so as to provide a fast wheel. The tread element is formed with an air chamber in the tough resilient material so as to be more easily deformable during the braking action. The braking element is arranged to contact the skating surface when the skater shifts his foot to a direction perpendicular to his direction of movement and leans back on his skate so as to perform an &#34;ice skating&#34; type braking action. The braking element is thus deformed and flattened against the skating surface to provide a larger foot print to improve gripping the surface for better cornering and ice hockey type stops.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a continuation-in-part of applicant&#39;s co-pending application Ser. No. 08/745,268 filed Nov. 8, 1996 entitled Inline Hockey Skate. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to tandem, or inline, roller skates which are particularly suitable for playing hockey. Hockey has long been a popular game on ice and, of course, hockey players are most familiar with ice skates and the particular type of ice skate used in playing hockey. Such hockey ice skates provide a great deal of maneuverability to permit a skater to change directions and stop quickly and frequently. This is in contrast with the normal recreational ice skating as well as the normal recreational roller skating. Inline roller skates have been developed primarily for recreational use although even these inline roller skates have been used for playing hockey for over 20 years; see, for instance, U.S. Pat. No. 3,880,441 for a Tandem Roller Hockey Skate. 
     During the long history of inline hockey skates many changes have been made but in all instances the inline hockey skate is substantially different from the ice hockey skate due principally to the natural differences between the thin blade of the ice skate as opposed to the rollers required for the inline skate. 
     One substantial difference is the weight of the skate. The inline skate, even today after more than 20 years of improvement, is approximately 65% heavier than an ice skate of the same size and general boot construction. Moreover, the inline hockey skates developed to date are constructed such that the soles of the skater&#39;s feet are positioned much higher from the skating surface than is the case with ice skates. Ice skates normally position the sole of the boot only about 6 cm above the ice whereas the inline hockey skate places the sole approximately 8 cm above the skating surface. This is due to the fact that the wheels for inline hockey skates normally have a 72 to 80 mm tread diameter. 
     Ice hockey skates also differ from most roller skates in that the blade is normally ground to a curvature having a radius of about 3 meters so as to provide what is generally known as a &#34;rocker.&#34; Such a rocker curved shape permits the skater to tip his foot forward or backward to a moderate extent and still maintain the same contact with the ice. This has been accomplished only somewhat with inline hockey skates to date wherein three to five wheels are employed and positioned at two different levels from the sole of the boot. Such an arrangement permits the skater to set the sole of his foot at any of three different angles with the skating surface. One such configuration is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,505,470. In other arrangements, the various inline wheels are placed on pivoting carriages which likewise permits three possible angles with the skating surface. Such a construction is offered by BMR Manufacturing which calls the arrangement a &#34;floating rocker system.&#34; 
     Another important difference between ice hockey skates and inline hockey skates is the manner and ability of stopping. In ice skating the skater ordinarily comes to a quick stop by shifting the blade of his skates to a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement and lean back thereby providing sufficiently high friction scraping to come to a quick stop. With inline skates the usual manner of stopping is to use a brake snubber on the heel or toe of the boot to provide braking friction while the skate is still directed in the line of movement. Even so, many users of inline hockey skates attempt to stop in the ice skating manner using not only the normal roller blade wheels but also more spherically shaped wheels such as skates offered by RollerBall International, Inc. of Los Angeles, Calif. Other forms of braking have also been considered and tried such as hand operated application of friction on the wheels themselves. 
     The inline hockey skates described in the aforementioned parent application Ser. No. 08/745,268 conform far more closely to the parameters of the ice hockey skate than have inline skates of the prior art. This was accomplished by a combination of features providing an inline hockey skate having a weight much closer to that of the an ice hockey skate; having substantially the same rocker action as the ice hockey skate; having a height from the skating surface approximately the same as the ice hockey skate; and providing the ability to stop in the same general fashion as the ice hockey skate. 
     These results were obtained by the use of much smaller and lighter wheels than had ordinarily been available for the inline hockey skates and by providing a greater number of wheels than is ordinarily utilized. &#34;Virtual edges&#34;--emulative of the edges on ice skate blades--were provided as braking surfaces close to the inside edges of the wheels themselves. The braking surfaces took many different forms including cylindrical, conical, semispherical and ellipsoidal shapes. The numerous wheels were arranged on a radius so as to provide the rocker action of the ice skate. In an alternative embodiment of that invention, the rocker was provided with the wheel axles positioned not on a radius but rather on some other convexly curved line so as to provide multiple lines of contact formed by different sets of adjacent wheels. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed more specifically to the braking surfaces of the wheels and its resultant effect on the skate itself. In each of the wheels shown in FIGS. 8-10, the tread elements and braking elements are formed on a relatively strong lightweight cage upon which a tough resilient material such as urethane is applied to form the contact surface or tread of the wheel as well as the braking surface. In accordance with the present invention, the construction of a tread element and the braking element differ in that, while the tread element can continue to be a solid layer of tough resilient material such as urethane, the braking element, although formed of the same tough resilient material such as urethane includes a pneumatic cushion therewithin. Pneumatic wheels have, of course, been known for quite some time and a particular pneumatic wheel for roller blades is presently in the market and has been offered by Hyper Wheels of Santa Anna Clara, Calif. under several different designations including &#34;PSI I . . . Air Force&#34;, &#34;PSI II . . . Hyper Air&#34; and &#34;PSI III . . . Air Control&#34;, all of which include an air chamber for the wheel so as to provide road shock absorption for a smoother ride, added traction and longer lasting treads. Indeed, the same company offers an indoor hockey skate wheel having air control therein to give the wheel greater lateral flexibilility and improved grip. 
     Each of these pneumatic skate wheels however, incorporates the use of the pneumatic cushion chamber effecting the tread portion of the wheel. In accordance with the present invention, it is intended that the tread portion remain as hard as possible and therefore have no pneumatic cushion whatsoever but rather be formed of a tough resilient material over a relatively rigid core so as to maintain the highest speed possible while still having good skating traction. In addition, however, in accordance with the invention, the braking portion of the wheel as shown in each of FIGS. 8-17, is improved by the addition of a pneumatic core which may or may not be pressure adjustable. Under this new construction the skater still has the hardest surface possible for the tread portion of the wheel so as to have the greatest speed and skating traction but when the braking elements are employed, the pneumatic chamber permits the braking element to deform producing an enlarged footprint and providing additional friction on the braking surface itself. 
     The wheel of the present invention then provides for the fastest wheel possible which gives good grip and allows for improved hockey stops. This is accomplished by using a wheel, which may be asymmetric, having the usual tread portion together with a braking portion which is a simulated ice skate edge. Thus, the new wheel provides a skate with a hard running surface which is good for speed as well as a pliable braking element that will distort and grip at a number of angles giving it greater stopping power due to the larger footprint. All of these features are important for cornering and hockey type stops. These same features are also important in speed skates. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
     Additional objects and features of the invention will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description and appended claims when taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of an ice hockey skate of the prior art showing, in emphasized fashion, a rocker radius of about 3 meters; 
     FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of an inline skate of the prior art; 
     FIG. 3 is a partial side elevational view of an inline skate of the prior art having one type of simulation of a &#34;rocker&#34; effect; 
     FIG. 4 is a partial side elevational view of another inline skate of the prior art having a pivoting type of a &#34;rocker&#34; simulation; 
     FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of an inline hockey skate in accordance with the invention; 
     FIG. 6 is a front elevational view of the skate shown in FIG. 5; 
     FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a frame for carrying the wheels and &#34;virtual edge&#34; braking elements of the skate shown in FIGS. 5 and 6; 
     FIG. 8 is an enlarged cross sectional view of a preferred form of wheel used with the invention; 
     FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along the line 9--9 of FIG. 8; 
     FIG. 10 is a cross sectional view similar to the sectional view of the wheel in shown in FIG. 8 but showing a wheel having a shorter axle and bearing together with a removable plug; 
     FIG. 11 is a view similar to FIG. 10 but showing a different form of wheel having a &#34;virtual edge&#34; comprising a spherical, as opposed to a conical, braking element and also having a plug to stiffen the braking element; 
     FIG. 12 is a view similar to FIG. 10 but showing an alternative wheel having an ellipsoidal braking element; 
     FIG. 13 is a view similar to FIG. 10 but showing a cylindrical braking element; 
     FIG. 14 is another view similar to FIG. 10 but showing a substantially semispherical braking element having a diameter equal to the outer diameter of the standard wheel element itself; 
     FIG. 15 is another view similar to FIG. 10 but showing the wheel and the braking element as separate units each having its own bearing; 
     FIG. 16 is a view similar to FIG. 15 but showing a double bracket support, rather than a single bracket of the previous drawings, and having one of the two brackets being disposed between the wheel and the braking elements; 
     FIG. 17 is another view similar to FIG. 15 but showing the bracket being disposed between the wheel and the braking element; 
     FIG. 18 is a view of a skate similar to that of FIG. 6, but shown in a braking position; 
     FIG. 19 is a view along the line 19--19 of FIG. 18 showing the area of contact between the tread and braking elements of the wheel with the skating surface; 
     FIG. 20 is a partial cross sectional view of a skate showing a wheel having a semispherical braking element with an air chamber in accordance with the invention; and 
     FIG. 21 is a view showing the distortion of the wheel of FIG. 20 when in a braking position. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a standard hockey ice skate having a usual boot 11 and a blade 13 secured to the boot by means of an elongated frame 15. The blade is shown, in exaggerated form, to have a radius designated by the arrow 17 to a center 19. The radius is usually on the order of about 3 meters. Thus the skater can rock his foot forwardly or rearwardly along the radius curve of the blade and can easily shift his weight to the portion of blade he deems proper at the time. 
     The average distance from the bottom of the blade 13 to the bottom of the sole 21 on the boot 11 is an average of about 6 cm, thereby providing the skater a relatively stable footing. Moreover the blade 13 and the frame 15 are relatively small and are formed of light weight material, thereby contributing very little to the overall weight of the skate itself. 
     Referring now to FIG. 2, an inline roller skate 23 of the type presently used for playing hockey is shown. The skate 23 includes the usual boot 25 and a frame 27 including an inverted &#34;U&#34; shaped structure having a top portion attached to the sole 29 and a pair of downwardly extending side faces or brackets 31. A plurality of wheels 33 are arranged in tandem and secured between the side faces 31 by a series of axles 35. 
     As seen in FIG. 2 all of the wheels 33 lie in contact with the skating surface 37. In some instances a type of rocker is provided by having the rear and forward wheels being somewhat smaller than or arranged somewhat higher than the two center wheels. An example of such a rocker is shown in FIG. 3 where the rear wheel 39 and forward wheel 41 lie on a line 43 slightly above the line 45 connecting the center wheels 47. The skate may then contact the surface on any two adjacent wheels. Such skates have four wheels as shown and consequently there are three possible lines 49, 51 and 53 of contact with the surface. 
     Another simulation of rocker action has employed a set of pivoting frames as shown in FIG. 4. In this example, the frame 55 includes a bracket 57 secured to the sole of the boot. A pair of frames 59 and 61 are mounted to the bracket 57 by means of pivots 63 and a third frame 65 is mounted on the two frames 59 and 61 by means of pivots 67. Wheels are mounted on the frame 55 by means of axles mounted in the holes 69. With this construction, all four wheels may contact the skating surface simultaneously if the bracket 57 is kept parallel to the surface. On the other hand, if the heel is lifted, the pivoting action of the frames 59, 61 and 65 place the forward three wheels only in contact with the surface. Conversely, if the toe is lifted, a similar action places the rear three wheels in contact with the surface. 
     The inline skates of FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, because of the usual size of the wheels, have an average distance of about 8 cm from the bottom of the wheels 33 to the bottom of the sole 29 thereby raising the sole of the skater&#39;s foot about an inch higher than would normally be the case with the ice skate of FIG. 1. 
     Referring now to FIG. 5, there is shown an inline skate 71 in accordance with the invention having the usual boot 73 with a series of wheels 75 rotatably secured to a frame 77 by means of axles 79. The axles 79 are secured onto the frame 77 in an arcuate path 81 about a center point 83 with a radius line 85 of about from 2 to 4 meters, but preferably of about 3 meters. In order to provide as many wheels as possible for rocker action and to lower the boot as closely as possible to the skating surface, the tread diameter of the wheels is less than 50 mm. Moreover, the tread element, that is the portion corresponding to the usual wheel, is considerably narrower in the axial direction than is the usual inline wheel and is preferably less than 15 mm wide. 
     As seen in FIG. 6, which is a front elevation of the skate shown in FIG. 5, the front wheel 75a is shown raised from the skating surface 87 whereas the second wheel 75b is somewhat closer to the surface 87 and the third wheel 75c is actually in contact with the ground surface 87 all due to the arcuate disposition of the wheels on the frame 77. 
     As seen in FIG. 7, the frame 77 comprises a vertical bracket 89, a pair of rear horizontal flanges 91 and 93 extending to the inside of the boot and a larger rear horizontal flange 95 extending to the outside of the boot. A similar set of inside flanges 97 and 99 and an outside flange 101 are located at the forward end of the frame 77. In addition one or more tension rods 103 may be added to provide extra strength. Depending upon the strength of the material used, one or more openings 105 in the bracket may be provided to further lessen the weight. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 8 and 9, construction of a preferred form of wheel 106 is shown in detail. The wheel 106 incorporates a unitary tread element and braking element and includes a bearing 107 about which is fitted a light-weight plastic cage 109 which is generally hollow, but includes a hub area 111 and an outer basket 113 joined together by a series of fins 115. The outer basket 113 includes a large circumference portion 114 which forms the tread of the wheel and a smaller diameter portion 116 which forms the braking element. The cage 109 is a relatively strong, light-weight member and serves to secure and support a layer of tough resilient material 117, such as urethane, which forms the contact surface, or tread, of the wheel. Preferably the basket 113 and fins 115 are formed with a plurality of openings 119 which not only serve to further reduce the weight of the hub, but also to provide an anchor for the urethane which, when applied will penetrate the holes 119 and form anchor stubs 121 securing the urethane to the cage 109. 
     It will be noted that the urethane, which is a relatively heavy material, is applied very thinly, that is from 2 to 10 mm and, preferably about 2.5 mm, at the normal skating, or tread, area 123. In the braking area 125, the urethane is much thicker and preferably more than 5 mm. Thus, a heavy coating of urethane is applied only in the areas where it is principally needed thereby further reducing the overall weight of the wheel. 
     The axle 79 for the wheel is shown as being affixed to the vertical bracket 89 of the frame 77 by means of nuts 127 and 129. 
     In using the skate as described, the tread element 123 of the wheel 106 is in contact with the skating surface during the time of normal skating. When the skater decides to stop or brake, he may turn his skates perpendicular to the direction of motion and lean backward, whereby the sloped surface, which forms a braking area 125, comes in contact with the skating surface to provide an effective braking action. It should be recognized that the skater may apply the braking action by pushing primarily with his heel, with the center of his foot, or any other portion of his foot, merely by adjusting the position of his foot relative to the sliding direction. Since urethane is a somewhat soft material, it will somewhat flatten as it is placed into pressured engagement with the skating surface and thereby broaden the frictional area as described hereinafter. On the other hand, in the tread or normal skating area 123 of the wheel 106, the urethane is in a relatively thin layer not given to substantial flattening and thereby permitting a relatively higher speed as the wheel crosses the skating surface. 
     In combination then, the relatively small wheels, having a tread diameter in the neighborhood of 35 mm to 55 mm and preferably 40 mm to 50 mm; the light weight of those wheels by means of the reduction in the amount of urethane used; the large plurality of the wheels; and the wheels being disposed along a rocker arc; all provide an in-line skate having skating characteristics very similar to those of the usual ice skate. 
     While the wheel 106 has been described as having an tread element 123 and a conical braking element 125, various other shapes may be employed for the braking element of the wheel. 
     Referring now to FIG. 10, a wheel 131 is provided again having a tread element 133 and a conical braking element 135. The conical braking element, however, is provided with an opening 137 which permits the use of a considerably shorter axle 139 and bearing 141. If desired, a plug 143, can be positioned in the opening 137 to provide additional stiffness to the conical braking element 133. 
     Referring to FIG. 11, another variation is shown wherein a wheel 145 is provided having the usual tread element 147, but including an ellipsoidal braking element 149 as opposed to the conical braking element 145 of FIG. 10. Again, an opening 151 is provided into which a plug 153 may be inserted. It should also be noted that in the embodiment shown in FIG. 11, the braking element 149 does not extend tangentially to the tread element 147, but rather leaves a reentrant annular groove 155. With the embodiment shown in FIG. 11, particularly when the plug 153 is not employed, the ellipsoid braking element 159 will, during braking action, have a tendency to spread away from the tread element 147 where in contact with the skating surface and to fold into the reentrant portion 155 in the area remote from the skating surface. This will also provide greater skating surface contact and, of course, it will provide a substantially different feel to the skater which may be more comfortable to certain skaters. 
     Referring now to FIG. 12, there is shown still another embodiment 157 of the wheel including a tread element 159 and, in this case, a semi-spherical braking element 161. Again, a reentrant annular groove 163 is included which permits the semi-spherical braking element 161 to somewhat flatten where in contact with a skating surface and fold in on the upper side of the wheel. 
     Referring to FIG. 13, there is still another embodiment 165 of the wheel which includes a tread element 167 and a braking element 169 which in this instance is in the shape of a cylinder. The cylinder 169 does not join the tread element 167 in a tangential manner and again an annular reentrant groove 171 is provided to produce the same effect as such grooves in the embodiments of FIGS. 11 and 12. 
     Referring to FIG. 14, there is still another embodiment of a wheel 173 is shown. In this instance, the tread element 175 of the wheel tangentially merges into the semi-spherical braking element 177 at the outer extremity of the tread. 
     Referring to FIG. 15, an embodiment 179 of the wheel is shown which is essentially the same as the embodiment shown in FIG. 6. Contrary to the embodiments of FIGS. 8 through 14 showing unitary braking and tread elements, the embodiment of FIG. 15 has separate braking and tread elements. Here the tread element 181 and the conical braking element 183 are separate with separate bearings 185 and 187, but on a common axle 189. In the embodiment of FIG. 15, the tread element 181 and the conical braking element 183 are free to rotate independently and they therefore may rotate at different speeds to accommodate the fact that the circumferences of the tread element and the conical braking element are quite different. If desired, anti-friction means may be provided between tread element 181 and conical braking element 183 to further facilitate the different speeds of rotation in the two units. 
     In FIG. 16, still another embodiment 191 of the wheel is shown including a separate tread element 193 and conical braking element 195. It should be recognized, however, that rather than a single vertical bracket 89 of the frame 77, there are provided two downwardly extended brackets 89a and 89b, similar in many respects to the inverted U-shaped frame of the prior art skate shown in FIG. 2. The axle 197, extends through both of the downward extensions 89a and 89b of the frame and, in this instance, carries the conical braking element 195 totally outside the frame. Such a feature will be useful in a case of particularly heavy skaters who may apply too much force during a braking maneuver for single vertical section 89 such as shown in the skate of FIGS. 5 and 6. 
     In FIG. 17, still another embodiment 199 of the wheel is shown. In this case, the tread element 201 and the conical braking element 203 are again separate, but they are disposed on opposite sides of the brace 89. Thus, the frame 89 itself can provide separation and the reduction of friction between elements 201 and 203, thereby permitting substantially different speeds of rotation of the two elements. 
     Referring to FIGS. 18 and 19, a skate 205 in accordance with the invention is shown in a braking position. As shown, the skater has leaned over by an angle of about 45° and the direction of sliding/braking travel is as shown by the arrow 207. The lowermost surfaces 209 and 211 of the tread element 213 and braking potion 215, respectively, are in contact with the surface 87. If neither the surface 87 nor the urethane covering on the wheel were resilient, the contact would be at the point 217 and line 219 as shown in FIG. 19. However, because of the thin coating of resilient urethane on the tread element 213. There is an actual area of contact as shown by the small circle 221. Moreover, because of the thicker coating of urethane on the braking element 215, the actual contact is an enlarged area as shown by the line 223. 
     Because the braking element 215 is in the form of a 45° cone, the surface of the conical braking element contacts the surface 87 at such time as the skater leans 45°. If greater or lesser lean over is desired, a wider or narrower cone may be employed. For instance, a 60° cone would permit a 60° lean before the braking element contacts the surface 87; and a 30° cone would permit only a 30° lean. It should be kept in mind, however, that with a substantial lean over, the edge of the boot sole may contact the skating surface before the braking element 215 does so. Likewise, with other shapes of braking elements as shown in FIGS. 10 through 17, the degree of lean over required for braking can be determined by adjusting the axial extent of the braking element itself. 
     It should be recognized that the variations shown in FIGS. 8-17 may be combined with each other. For instance, the conical braking elements of FIGS. 15, 16 and 17 may be replaced by the ellipsoid, semi-spherical or cylindrical braking elements such as shown in FIGS. 11-14. It should be likewise recognized that the number of wheels may be different than the seven as shown in the drawings, keeping in mind that smaller diameter wheels permit a larger number and consequently are better suited for approximating the rocker of the usual ice skate. 
     Referring now to FIG. 20 there is a pneumatic wheel 311 having a tread element 313 and a semi-spherical braking element 315. The wheel 311 includes a cage 317 similar to the cage described herein above with respect to FIGS. 8 and 9. The cage is covered by a tough resilient material 319 such as urethane which forms the contact surface not only for the tread 313 but also for the braking element 315. 
     The resilient material 319 in the area of the braking element 315 defines an air chamber 321 which forms a ring about the entire braking element 315. Although the layer of urethane 319 in the braking element is preferably more than five millimeters overall, the effective thickness of the urethane there is considerably less in the area of the air chamber 321 so as to provide a considerably softer area than is provided in the tread area 313. 
     As shown in FIG. 21, when the wheel of FIG. 20 is used in its braking position the frame 89, of course, is leaned over and the semi-spherical portion of the wheel 311 comes into contact with the round surface 323. Because of the softness provided by the air chamber 321, the semi-spherical surface of the braking element 315 flattens as is shown at 325 and the air chamber 321 itself is somewhat flattened as shown at 327. Because of the flattening of the braking element 315 at 325, the friction of the wheel is substantially increased and provides a correspondingly increased braking action. 
     Accordingly, the wheel shown in FIGS. 20 and 21 provide an improved skate compared to that previously described and with the prior art. The wheel provides a good running or tread surface 313 which is hard as the tread surface of the wheel shown in FIGS. 10 through 17 hereinabove but the braking element 315 is much softer even though the same urethane is utilized. The softness is provided by the air channel which may, if desired, be adjustable so that the softness of the wheel may be adjusted to the individual skater. 
     It should be recognized that while the pneumatic braking element as shown in FIGS. 20 and 21 is in conjunction with a semi-spherical braking element, it should be recognized that the pneumatic system can be utilized not only in any of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 8 through 17 hereinabove but also in other forms of braking elements. It should also be recognized that although the air chamber 321 is shown to be elliptical cross-section, it could be circular or any other cross-section and in addition it may be more than one air chamber in the braking element. Furthermore, it should be recognized that braking elements may be disposed on both sides of the tread element wherein it would be advantageous to include the air chamber on both braking elements. Such an arrangement would be particularly useful for speed skates.