Patent Publication Number: US-2007114735-A1

Title: Knee skate and associated methods

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention relates to the field of construction tools, and, more particularly, to knee skates and associated methods.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      Certain construction tasks may require a worker to work and move while in a kneeling position, and possibly for an extended period of time. For example, the work may relate to flooring installation and/or maintenance, such as for nailing tack strips, spreading glue or other materials on a floor, installing Vinyl Composition Tile (VCT), or running vinyl base, for example. Of course, other trades may find additional uses for knee skates. Knee skates save time and wear on one&#39;s body from getting up and down and crawling around on one&#39;s knees.  
      U.S. Pat. No. 6,219,845 to Ferriter discloses a knee support for supporting a kneeling person including a frame, a pad mounted on the frame and three wheel assemblies mounted on a bottom of the frame. The knee supports may also be used with separate wheeled foot supports. Along these lines, U.S. Pat. No. 5,427,391 to Cooper discloses a pivoted knee skate comprising a wheeled leg rest and wheeled foot rest pivotally connected together. U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2004/0094915 to Warren discloses a rolling knee skate with a multiple-wheeled support assembly including swiveling caster wheels.  
      Applicant believes that back in the late 1970&#39;s knee skates were sold through floor covering installer pro shops made out of a hard plastic using castor wheels and rubber knee pad inserts. The problem with the hard plastic knee skates from the 1970&#39;s was found to be that they would get stress cracks and break in the area where the wheel housing met the main body. It is believed that due to such, these skates were only on the market for about three years.  
      In addition, several knee skates, such as those shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,219,845 and Published Patent Application No. 2004/0094915 have three wheels and may be relatively unstable. Despite continuing developments in knee skates, the ruggedness, durability and stability of such devices may still benefit from further developments.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      In view of the foregoing background it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a knee skate that is comfortable, facilitates movement, is stable, and is rugged and durable.  
      This and other objects, features and advantages in accordance with the present invention are provided by a knee skate including a rigid shell having a generally semi-cylindrical shape with an open rearward end, and a closed forward end. The skate may include rearward and forward pairs of rigid mounts carried by the metal shell, and rearward and forward pairs of rolling castors carried by respective ones of the rigid mounts. The closed forward end may have a radius of curvature substantially the same as the radius of the semi-cylinder.  
      The rigid mounts and shell may be integrally molded as a single monolithic body, for example, for ease of manufacture and durability. For example, the mounts and shell may comprise metal, such as aluminum.  
      Each castor may include a shaft with the castor wheel depending therefrom, and may facilitate movement in 360 degrees. Each mount may have a passageway therein for receiving a respective shaft of a castor. The user may position his knee, with or without additional padding, into the knee skate and readily move about a floor. The four castor wheels provide additional stability as compared to three-wheel versions as in the prior art.  
      Each of the castor wheels may comprise a spherical castor wheel that is self-lubricating, and that has no exposed axle. The castor wheels may also be readily replaceable.  
      A method aspect of the invention is for making a knee skate. The method may include integrally forming a rigid shell having a generally semi-cylindrical shape with an open rearward end and a closed forward end with rearward and forward pairs of rigid mounts carried by the rigid shell, and connecting rearward and forward pairs of rolling castors to be carried by respective ones of the rearward and forward pairs of rigid mounts. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a side perspective view of a workman using the knee skates in accordance with the invention.  
       FIG. 2  is a rear perspective view of a pair of knee skates as shown in  FIG. 1 .  
       FIG. 3  is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the knee skate as shown in  FIG. 1  with the castors removed for clarity.  
       FIG. 4  is a lateral cross-sectional view of the knee skate as shown in  FIG. 1  with the castors removed for clarity. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the illustrated embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.  
      With initial reference to  FIG. 1 , the knee skates  10  in accordance with the invention may be used by a workman  11  performing a task, such as the illustrated task of spreading an adhesive  12  onto a floor  13 . As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the skates  10  may have many other uses and applications as well. The worker  11  positions his knee, with optional additional padding  14 , into the knee skate  10  and may readily move about the floor  13 .  
      Referring now additionally to  FIGS. 2-4 , the knee skate  10  includes a rigid metal shell having a generally semi-cylindrical shape with an open rearward end  17 , and a closed forward end  16 . As shown in the illustrated embodiment, the closed forward end  16  has a radius of curvature Rce ( FIG. 4 ) substantially the same as the radius Rcs ( FIG. 3 ) of the semi-cylinder.  
      The skate  10  also includes rearward and forward pairs of rolling castors  21 ,  22  carried by the metal shell  15 . The castors  21 ,  22  are arranged at four corners of the metal shell  15  for enhanced stability. Each castor  21 ,  22  illustratively includes a shaft  21   a ,  22   a  with the castor wheel  21   b ,  22   b  depending therefrom. Such castor wheels  21 ,  22  facilitate movement in 360 degrees. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, each of the castor wheels  21 ,  22  may comprise a spherical castor wheel that is self-lubricating, and that has no exposed axle. The castor wheels  21 ,  22  may also be readily replaceable as will also be understood by those skilled in the art.  
      The skate  10  also includes rearward and forward pairs of metal mounts  25 ,  26  carried by the metal shell  15 . Each metal mount  25 ,  26  has a passageway  29  ( FIG. 3 ) for receiving a respective shaft of a castor. The metal mounts  25 ,  26  and metal shell  15  may be advantageously integrally molded as a single monolithic body for ease of manufacture and durability as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. The metal shell  15  and metal mounts  25 ,  26  may be molded of aluminum, for example, for strength and reduced weight. The metal shell  15  and mounts  25 ,  26  may have a powder coated finish thereon. The knee skates  10  will accordingly last a long time, and may only need occasional replacing of the castor wheels  22 ,  23 .  
      A method aspect is directed to making the knee skate  10  and may include forming a rigid shell  15  having a generally semi-cylindrical shape with an open rearward end  17  and a closed forward end  16  along with rearward and forward pairs of rigid mounts  25 ,  26  carried by the rigid shell. The closed forward end  16  may have a radius of curvature substantially the same as the radius of the semi-cylinder. The method may also include connecting rearward and forward pairs of rolling castors  22 ,  23  to respective ones of the rearward and forward pairs of rigid mounts  25 ,  26 .  
      Many modifications and other embodiments of the invention will come to the mind of one skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Accordingly, it is understood that the invention is not to be limited to the illustrated embodiments disclosed, and that other modifications and embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.