Patent Publication Number: US-6666462-B2

Title: Brake for inline skates

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The field of the invention is a braking system for inline skates. Inline skates are increasing in popularity, but a satisfactory system for slowing down the travel of such skates has been elusive. The most common approach is a brake pad which is positioned at the rear of the skate. When the skater wishes to slow down, he tips the boot portion rearwardly so that the pad contacts the skating surface and frictionally slows down the skater. 
     There have been numerous patents issued on braking systems for exerting a braking force on one or more wheels. One such patent is applicant&#39;s U.S. Pat. No. 5,997,015. A brake member 22 is pivotally held by the frame and has a curved forward brake surface 26 and a curved rear brake surface 27. These brake surfaces abut brake drum members 28 and 29 to cause a braking action when activated. It is preferably activated with the rearward pivoting of a horseshoe shaped member 15. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,226,673 utilizes a remote control which, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, cause a pad 145 to rub against a pad-engaging structure 165. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,232,231 shows a brake which is activated when the skater rocks the boot of the skate backward. This puts pressure on the heel of the boot, which is translated into pressure on the brake pads 30. These provide rolling resistance via drums 41 and tires 42. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,351,974, as shown in FIG. 18, utilizes a brake drum 252 contacted by brake pad 250 when the brake is actuated. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,415,419 shows in FIG. 5 a flexible horseshoe arrangement which wraps around a steel drum 46 carried by the wheels. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,468 shows a hydraulic fluid operated braking system which is controlled via a radio frequency transmitter. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, brake pads 49 are caused to move inwardly and contact web 39 to cause the wheel to cause a braking action for movement of the skate. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,882,019 shows in FIG. 2 a pair of brake pads 20A and 20B which contact discs 21A and 21B causing a braking action. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,908,197 utilizes a turning, non-circular rod 8 which causes a pair of brake shoes 9 to contact a pair of brake pads 16. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,323 shows in FIG. 4 a flexible horseshoe brake collar which causes the collar to rub against a brake drum. 
     None of the prior art designs have found wide acceptance in the inline skate field. Many of the designs are too elaborate and, thus, expensive and prone to defects. Other designs do not dissipate the heat generated by braking satisfactorily and a better design is needed. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a brake for inline skates which is both inexpensive to manufacture and also is capable of dissipating the heat generated by the braking action. 
     The present invention is for a brake assembly for inline skates. The assembly has a movable brake arm supported by the wheel frame of the inline skates. The movable brake arm is movable between a pre-running position and a braking position. At least one braking wheel is supported by the wheel frame. The braking wheel has a rotating brake ring held by the wheel, which brake ring has an outwardly facing circular contact surface positioned so that it is contacted by a friction area of the movable brake arm when the movable brake arm is in a braking position and wherein the contact surface of the rotating brake ring has a brake pad surface thereon. Preferably, the brake contact surface on the rotating brake ring is shaped so that it positions the movable brake arm in a desired lateral location. A shape such as a concave shape on the brake ring and a mating convex shape on the brake arm is contemplated as is a V-shaped or cup-shaped configuration. Preferably, the rotating brake ring is molded into the hub portion of the wheel and preferably, is made from a brake pad material which tends to be more insulative than a movable brake arm fabricated from steel. Thus, the heat at the friction area between the movable brake arm and the rotating brake ring is carried away largely by the metal movable brake arm. The rotating brake ring may extend out of both sides of a braking wheel and there may be more than one braking wheel. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the brake assembly of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the brake arm contact area of the brake assembly of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the hub portion and rotating brake ring of the brake assembly of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 4 is a top view of the braking assembly of the present invention showing a brake ring on each side of a wheel. 
     FIG. 5 is a top view taken along line  5 — 5  of FIG.  4 . 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the brake ring of the brake assembly of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an adjustable link of the brake assembly of the present invention. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     A wheel and brake ring portion of the brake assembly of the present invention is shown in cross-sectional view in FIG.  1 . Wheel  10  has a tire  11  molded around a hub  12  which has a pair of bearing support cavities  13  and  14 . These support cavities  13  and  14  support wheel bearings  15  and  16  in a conventional manner. 
     A brake ring  17  is molded into hub  12 . Brake ring  17  is preferably injection molded from a ceramic or glass filled polymer having a set of openings  18  shown in FIG. 6 which help to hold it in hub  12 . Brake ring  17  may be placed in the mold and the balance of hub  12  molded around it so that it becomes an integral part of hub  12 . By forming brake ring  17  of a ceramic or abrasive-filled polymer, it is less heat conductive than a steel ring. A steel ring may, however, still be used if the hub and wheel are fabricated from a material which can withstand the heat generated by the brake assembly. 
     As shown in FIG. 1, brake ring  17  has a pair of generally V-shaped depressions  19  and  20 . These mate with V-shaped projections  21  and  22  on brake arms  23  and  24 . The function of the shaped depressions  19  and  20  and the projections  21  and  22  is to laterally align the brake arms  23  and  24  in the assembly so that they do not rub against the tire  11  or the frame. 
     Of course, the depressions and projections need not be V-shaped and a convex projection  25  is shown on brake ring  17  in FIG. 2 and a concave mating shape  26  is shown on brake arm  23 . By shaping the contact area between the brake arm and the brake ring, the brake arm is not only aligned in the lateral position but also the contact area is increased as compared to the conventional flat contact area. It can be shaped to occupy an area which would normally be contacted by tire  11 , as shown in FIG.  2 . 
     Hub  12  with integrally molded brake  17  is shown in perspective view in FIG. 3 where it can be seen that the hub has a series of openings  27  which are useful in integrating the hub  12  with the tire  11 . For instance, when a urethane tire is molded over the hub, the urethane headers openings  27  assist in the bonding of hub  12  with tire  11 . 
     A side view of an inline skate having a pair of brake arms acting only against the rear wheel is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 of the drawings. Their generally horseshoe shaped member  28  is pivoted at pin  29  on boot  30 . Boot  30  supports frame  31  which in turn rotatingly supports braking wheel  10  as well as free wheeling wheels  32 . A link  33  is pivotally supported at the upper end at the pin  34  and at the lower end by pin  35 . The action of the brake is analogous to that shown in applicant&#39;s U.S. Pat. No. 5,997,015, which is incorporated by reference herein. The brake may be on either the right and left side only of one or more wheels and a one-sided brake is shown in perspective view in FIG. 7, which also includes an adjustment feature. A threaded link  36  has a threaded shank  41  which screws into threaded opening  42  at the base of link  33 . The link between link  33  and arm  23  is shortened by screwing threaded shank  41  into threaded opening  42 . Conversely, the length is lengthened by unscrewing these two members relative to one another. The threaded link  36  is held in a fixed position by the connection of U-shaped connector  37  over opening  40  at the rear end  43  of brake arm  23 . This is accomplished by screwing bolt  38  onto nut  39  through the openings  44  in threaded link  36  and opening  40  in brake arm  23 . 
     Another feature is shown in FIG. 7, and that is the presence of removable and replaceable brake shoes  45  and  46 . Removable support  45  and  46  hold brake pads  47  and  48 , respectively. In this way, the brake pads can be replaced when worn. Brake shoe  45  can be removed through opening  45 ′ in frame  41  The pivot pin which holds arm  23  in place is indicated by reference character  49  and is supported by frame  31 . 
     It is also contemplated that brake ring  17  can be fabricated from steel or other material of construction and have an abrasive surface coated or otherwise affixed at the friction surface of the brake ring. When such friction surface becomes worn, the braking wheel is replaced to provide a fresh abrasive brake pad surface. 
     The result is a compact and yet easily operated braking system which provides much more control for the skater than the conventional drag style of brakes. The heat generated by braking is dissipated more in the brake arms  23  than in the brake ring. Since the brake arm is pinned to the frame, it is less sensitive to heat than is the wheel. 
     The present embodiments of this invention are thus to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive; the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are intended to be embraced therein.