Patent Publication Number: US-6698768-B2

Title: Sports shoe having a detachable ice/roller skate

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention is related to a sports shoe having a detachable ice/roller skate and more particularly to an ice/roller skate which utilizes a locking member and a pivotal member detachably connected to the sports shoe to insure assembled reliability. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     The technology trend in skates manufacturing has been toward a convertible shoe with a detachable ice/roller skate. Attaching the detachable ice/roller skate to the convertible shoe to produce an ice/roller skate which is capable of converting from a shoe into an ice/roller skate at will is known in the art. Also, detaching the detachable ice/roller skate from such a convertible ice/roller skate to convert it into a shoe for walking is known in the art. Thus, a skater can avoid carrying additional footwear for walking or other physical activity when the skates are not in use or are not allowed. A need exists for improving the construction of convertible shoes and facilitating their operation. Currently, with increasing demand for assembled reliability, convertible shoes have evolved over the years. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 2,998,260, issued on Aug. 29, 1961 to Meyer, discloses a skate shoe and interchangeable roller and ice skates therefor. The skate shoe includes the combination of a mounting plate secured beneath the sole of the shoe. This mounting plate is provided with a plurality of headed studs and a lug. A skate has a top plate matching the mounting plate having a plurality of keyhole slots and a locking slot. The keyhole slots are capable of receiving the headed studs when the shoe is placed upon the skate for retaining the shoe assembled with the skate. The lug is capable of being inserted into the locking slot so that a screw mount lug and a locking screw thereof is adjusted to abut against the lug to effectively lock the shoe in place upon the top plate of the skate. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,120,038, issued on Sep. 19, 2000 to Dong et al., discloses a skate having a shoe portion detachably secured to a plurality of longitudinally aligned skate wheels for traversing a surface. The shoe portion has a sole defining a toe end and a heel end. The skate further includes a frame having an upper surface and a lower surface attached to the wheels. The skate also includes a heel latch member rotatably attached to the frame for receiving and coupling to a heel binding attachment surface located in the heel end of the sole to the frame. A lever arm is attached to the heel latch member to selectively release or attach the shoe portion from the heel latch member. The heel latch member is rotatable about a vertical axis extending normal to the elongate direction of the frame. The heel latch member is rotatable between a locked position, wherein the heel attachment member is nested therein, and an open position, wherein the frame is detachable from the shoe portion to convert the skate into a conventional shoe. However, the structure of the heel latch member of U.S. Pat. No. 6,120,038 requires a complicated manufacturing process which increases the mass production cost. Meanwhile, a C-shaped hook portion of U.S. Pat. No. 6,120,038 is singular member that reduces assembled reliability of the shoe. 
     A variety of other roller skates are particularly disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,314,199; 5,340,132; 5,507,506; and 6,164,669. 
     The present invention intends to provide a pivotal rod seat and a blocking plate, and a space structurally defined therebetween for pivotally receiving a pivotal hook seat that enhances the entire assembled relationship between a sports shoe and an ice/roller skate. The sports shoe in accordance with the present invention confines the aforementioned space by providing the blocking plate for more assembled reliability in such a way to mitigate and overcome the above problem. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The primary objective of this invention is to provide a sports shoe having a detachable ice/roller skate, which comprising a blocking plate which is adapted to structurally confine the engagement of the sports shoe with the skate in an angular range that increases assembled reliability. 
     The secondary objective of this invention is to provide the sports shoe having the detachable ice/roller skate, which includes a latch means with a guiding stud for strengthening engagement of the sports shoe with the skate that increases lock and assembled reliability. 
     The another objective of this invention is to provide the sports shoe having the detachable ice/roller skate including a latch means with an elastic member that can enhance lock/release operating. 
     The present invention is a sports shoe having a detachable ice/roller skate. The sports shoe mainly comprises a pivotal means, a blocking plate and a latch means. The pivotal means is adapted to pivotally connect the sports shoes to a detachable ice/roller skate and the latch means is adapted to securely lock therebetween. The blocking plate is arranged in spaced relationship with the pivotal means and a space provided therebetween is adapted to receive a pivotal hook seat of the pivotal means. The latch means includes an elastic member and a plurality of guiding studs which are used to increase reliability of the assembled sports shoe in its operation of the detachable ice/roller skate. 
    
    
     Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings herein: 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the sports shoe having a roller skate in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of the sports shoe having the roller skate in a confined position in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the sports shoe having the roller skate in a locked position in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view, taken along  4 — 4  in FIG. 3, of a locked means in a locked situation in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of the locked means in an unlocked situation similar to FIG. 4 in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 6 is an exploded partial cross-sectional view of a sports shoe having a roller skate in detached situation in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view of a sports shoe having an ice skate in a locked situation in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the sports shoe having a roller skate in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the present invention; and 
     FIG. 9 is a partial cross-sectional view of the sports shoe having the roller skate in a detached situation in accordance with the fourth embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring now to the drawings, there are four embodiments of the present invention shown therein, which include generally a primary sports shoe member and a secondary roller/ice skate member. 
     Referring initially to FIGS. 1 through 5, a sports shoe  1  in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention generally includes a sole designated as numeral  10 , a pivotal means designated as numeral  20 , a latch means designated as numeral  30  and a roller skate designated as numeral  40 . Much of the detailed internal structure of the sports shoe  1  is omitted. The sole  10  comprises two cavities  11  and  11 ′ at its underside each having an appropriate opening so as to contain the pivotal means  20  and the latch means  30  respectively. A sole-pad  12  is arranged between the two cavities  11  and  11 ′ and thus secures the pivotal means  20  and the latch means  30 . The cavity  11  further provides a hole  13  connected with the outer circumference of the sole  10 . A button  14  has a first end exposed on the outer circumference of the sole  10  and a second end extended into the cavity  11 . In addition, the roller skate  40  is preferably an in-line roller skate and includes a pivotal member of the pivotal means  20  and a latch member of the latch means  30  on its uppermost portion. 
     Construction of the pivotal means  20  shall be described in detail, referring now to FIGS. 1 and 3. The pivotal means  20  in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention mainly includes a pivotal rod seat  21  and a blocking plate  22  which are mounted to the sole  10 . The pivotal means  20  is projected downwardly for mounting the roller skate  40 . The blocking plate  22  is arranged in spaced relationship with the pivotal rod seat  21  to define a space  23  formed therebetween. The heel end of the roller skate  40  corresponding to the pivotal means  20  has a pivotal hook seat  41  which is adapted to align with the pivotal rod seat  21  in the cavity  11 ′. Dimensions of the pivotal hook seat  41  are thereby adapted to fittingly insert into the space  23  between the pivotal rod seat  21  and the blocking plate  22  during initial assembly. Thus, the entire pivotal hook seat  41  may be best engaged with the pivotal rod seat  21 , is confined within the space  23  and then as the roller skate  40  rotates a predetermined angle with respect to the pivotal rod seat  21  and the pivotal hook seat  41 , the heel end of the roller skate  40  is connected with the heel end of the sole  10 . 
     Construction of the latch means  30  shall be described in detail, referring now to FIGS. 1,  2 ,  4  and  5 . The latch means  30  in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention mainly includes a mounting seat  31 , a mounting case  32  and a slide  33  which are mounted to the sole  10 . The mounting seat  31 , the mounting case  32  and the slide  33  are nestled in assembled relationship within the cavity  11 . The mounting seat  31  comprises a guiding groove  34  defined by a pair of walls  35 . The mounting case  32  further comprises a hole  36  vertically aligned with the guiding groove  34  and a pair of guiding holes  37 . Meanwhile, a pair of springs  38  as well as elastic member abut against one side of the slides  33  and the button  14  is securely mounted to the other side. The slide  33  is capable of positioning at an end of the guiding groove  34  for locking the toe end of the roller skate  40  by means of the bias force of the spring  38 . And also the slide  33  is capable of transversely reciprocating along the guiding groove  34  while the button  14  is pressed for releasing the toe end of the roller skate  40 . Accordingly, the toe end of the roller skate  40  corresponding to the latch means  30  has a latch hook  42  being adapted to align with the mounting seat  31  and the slide  33  in the cavity  11 . The latch means  30  provided on the roller skate  40  further includes a pair of elastic members  43  and a plurality of guiding studs  44  which are used to increase assembled reliability of the sports shoe  1  for operating the detachable roller skate  40 . 
     Assembling operation of the roller skate with the sole  10  is described in three steps, referring back to FIGS. 2 and 3. In the first step, the pivotal hook seat  41  of the roller skate  40  is inserted into the space  23  and then engaged with the pivotal rod seat  21 . In the second step, the roller skate  40  is rotated a predetermined angle with respect to the pivotal rod seat  21  and the guiding studs  44  are inserted into the guiding holes  37 . In the third step, the latch hook  42  is completely inserted into the hole  36  of the mounting case  32  and pressed to engage with the slide  33 . 
     The locked condition of the latch means  30  shall now be described with reference back to FIGS. 3 and 4. In the locked position, the latch hook  42  which was previously inserted into the hole  36 , engages with the slide  33  which is positioned by the bias force of the spring  38  at the right side in the mounting case  32 . Meanwhile, the elastic members  43  provide appropriate bias force between the mounting case  32  and the latch hook  42 . The button  14  is capable of being pressed to release the latch hook  42  for detaching the roller skate  40 . 
     Releasing operation of the latch means  30  shall now be described with reference back to FIGS. 2 and 5. In the releasing operation, the button  14  is pressed to move the slide  33  a predetermined distance along the guiding groove  34  from right to left so that the slide  33  can be disengaged with the latch hook  42 . As the slide  33  moves a predetermined distance to the left side, the latch hook  42  is disengaged with the slide  33 . In the released situation, the toe end of the roller skate  40  is automatically released from the sole  10  by means of the bias force of the elastic member  43 . 
     Referring to FIG. 6, reference numerals of the second embodiment have applied the identical numerals of the first embodiment. The sports shoe  1 , the sole  10 , the pivotal means  20 , the latch means  30  and the roller skate  40  of the second embodiment have the similar configuration and same functions as the first embodiment and the detailed descriptions are omitted. At the heel end of the sole  1 , the pivotal rod seat  21  and the blocking plate  22  of the first embodiment provided on the sole  10  are interchanged with those provided on the roller skate  40  in accordance with the second embodiment. By contrast, the pivotal hook seat  41  provided on the roller skate  40  of the first embodiment is interchanged with that provided on the sole  10  in accordance with the second embodiment. At the toe end of the sole  1  the mounting seat  31 , the mounting case  32  and the slide  33  of the first embodiment provided on the sole  10  are interchanged with those provided on the roller skate  40  in accordance with the second embodiment. By contrast, the latch hook  42 , the elastic members  43  and the guiding studs  44  provided on the roller skate  40  of the first embodiment is interchanged with those provided on the sole  10  in accordance with the second embodiment. 
     Referring to FIG. 7, reference numerals of the third embodiment have applied the identical numerals of the first embodiment. The sports shoe  1 , the sole  10 , the pivotal means  20  and the latch means  30  of the third embodiment have the similar configuration and same functions as the first embodiment and the detailed descriptions are omitted. The roller skate  40  of the first embodiment is interchanged with an ice skate  40 ′ in accordance with the third embodiment. The third embodiment allows interchangeability between a roller skate  40  and an ice skate  40 ′ at will. 
     Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, reference numerals of the fourth embodiment have applied the identical numerals of the first embodiment. The sports shoe  1 , the sole  10 , the pivotal means  20 , the latch means  50  and the roller skate  40  of the fourth embodiment have the similar configuration and same functions as the first embodiment and the detailed descriptions are omitted. The pivotal means  20  in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the present invention further includes two curved walls  24  which are mounted to the sole  11  and which extend from the pivotal rod seat  21  to the blocking plate  22 . As has been described in the first embodiment, the heel end of roller skate  40  also has a pivotal hook seat  41  corresponding to the pivotal means  20 . The two curved walls  24  are expanded symmetrically along a centerline and have a corresponding dimension slightly greater than that of the pivotal hook seat  41 . During the assembling operation, the curved wall  24  is adapted to facilitate the insertion of the pivotal hook seat  41  into the pivotal rod seat  21 . The pivotal hook seat  41  further includes an inclined surface  41 ′ provided on its top end opposite to a hook opening and thus can be conveniently inserted into the space  23 . The inclined surface  41 ′ is also adapted to facilitate passing the pivotal hook seat  41  along a top of the blocking plate  22  while assembling or disassembling. 
     Construction of the latch means  50  in accordance with the fourth embodiment shall be described in detail, still referring to FIGS. 8 and 9. The latch means  50  mainly includes a mounting seat  51 , a latch hook  52  and a guiding stud  53  which are mounted to the sole  10 . The roller skate  40  provides a pair of walls  54  and a guiding groove  55  on its uppermost corresponding to the latch means  50 . A mounting case  56  and a slide  57  are nestled in assembled relationship on the guiding groove  52 . The slide  57  is capable of being positioned at and end of the guiding groove  55  by means of the bias force of a pair of springs  58  for locking the toe end of the roller skate  40  with the latch hook  52  in the cavity  11 . And also the slide  57  is capable of reciprocating along the guiding groove  55  while the button  14  is pressed for releasing the toe end of the roller skate  40  from the latch hook  52 . The mounting case  56  further includes a guiding hole  59  and an elastic member  60  thereof being adapted to receive and bias the guiding stud  53  for facilitating in the assembling and releasing operations. 
     The assembling operation of the roller skate with the sole  10  is also described in three steps, still referring to FIG.  9 . In first step, the inclined surface  41 ′ of the roller skate  40  is passed on a top of the blocking plate  22  so that the pivotal hook seat  41  is easily inserted into the space  23  and is then engaged with the pivotal rod seat  21  along the curved wall  24 . In the second step, the roller skate  40  is rotated a predetermined angle with respect to the pivotal rod seat  21  and the guiding stud  53  is initially inserted into the hole  59 . In the third step, the latch hook  52  is completely inserted into a hole of the mounting case  56  and pressed to engage with the slide  57 . The guiding stud  53  is eventually positioned against the elastic member  60  in the hole  59 . 
     Although the invention has been described in detail with reference to its presently preferred embodiment, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention, as set forth in the appended claims.