Patent Publication Number: US-6213480-B1

Title: Roller wheel slider

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates generally to roller skates and roller blades. 
     2. Prior Art 
     Roller skates and roller blades are boots with wheels. A roller skate has four wheels on two axles, and a roller blade has four wheels in a straight line on four axles. Roller skates have 5 cm wheels, and roller blades have 8 cm wheels. Such large wheels lift the users noticeably off the ground and provide sensations which are very different from normal shoes. Novice users are not used to wearing very tall shoes, so they feel unstable and unsafe. This sense of fear discourages many people from trying roller skating or roller blading. 
     OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, objects of the present roller wheel slider are: 
     to enable a user to roll along the ground for recreation; 
     to add very little height to the user for improved stability; 
     to be low enough to the ground to give a sense of sliding along the ground; 
     to provide a sense of safety; 
     to provide braking capability; and 
     to be attachable to any shoe. 
     Further objects of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the drawings and ensuing description. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A roller wheel slider is comprised of a mounting plate with clamps on opposite sides for clamping to a shoe. The mounting plate includes a front roller wheel support plate connected to a rear roller wheel support plate by a connecting member. A plurality of axles are mounted transversely under each roller wheel support plate, and a plurality of roller wheels are mounted to each axle. A hard plate on the front end of the mounting plate allows the user to slide when the rear of the shoe is lifted. A resilient friction pad on the rear end of the mounting plate allows the user to brake when the front of the shoe is lifted. The roller wheels are preferably only about 0.5 inch (1.2 cm) in diameter, so that they raise the user by an almost imperceptible amount from the ground to provide a sense of safety, and a sense of sliding along the ground. The large number of roller wheels are distributed across a wide area under the shoe to share the load for durability. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING 
     FIG. 1 is a bottom view of the present roller wheel slider attached to a shoe. 
     FIG. 2 is a side view of the roller wheel slider attached to the shoe. 
     FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a roller wheel, taken along line  3 — 3  in FIG.  2 . 
     FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the roller wheel. 
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                   
               
               
                 DRAWING REFERENCE NUMERALS 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                 10. Mounting Plate 
                 11. Clamps 
               
               
                 12. Shoe 
                 13. Gripping Member 
               
               
                 14. Tube 
                 15. Thumb Screw 
               
               
                 16. Smooth Outer Section 
                 17. Threaded Middle Section 
               
               
                 18. Front Roller wheel Support Plate 
                 19. Rear Roller wheel Support 
               
               
                 20. Connecting Member 
                    Plate 
               
               
                 22. Keyed Socket 
                 21. Keyed Socket 
               
               
                 24. Keyed End 
                 23. Key End 
               
               
                 26. Brackets 
                 25. Axles 
               
               
                 28. Brackets 
                 27. Axles 
               
               
                 30. Roller wheels 
                 29. Roller wheels 
               
               
                 32. Star-Shaped Channel 
                 31. Bearings 
               
               
                 34. Hard Plate 
                 33. Transverse Channels 
               
               
                 36. Spikes 
                 35. Resilient Pad 
               
               
                 38. Vertical Support 
                 37. Hinged Head 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     A preferred embodiment of the roller wheel slider is shown in a bottom view in FIG. 1 and a side view in FIG.  2 . It is comprised of a mounting plate  10  with clamps  11  on opposite sides for clamping to a shoe  12 . Each clamp  11  is comprised of a gripping member  13  attached to a tube  14 , and a fastener or thumb screw  15 . Each thumb screw  15  includes a hinged head  37  which is pivoted to an orthogonal position after tightening to prevent it from protruding. A plurality of transverse channels  33  are arranged along mounting plate  10 . Each transverse channel  33  is comprised of smooth outer sections  16  and a threaded middle section  17 . Tubes  14  of clamps  11  are positioned in smoother outer sections  16  of channels  33 , and slidably adjusted for clamping onto shoe  12 , which may be of any size. Thumb screw  15  is inserted through tube  14 , screwed into threaded middle section  17 , and tightened. Alternatively, mounting plate  10  may be integrally attached to shoe  12 . Mounting plate  10  includes a front roller wheel support plate  18  connected to a rear roller wheel support plate  19  by a connecting member  20 . In FIG. 2, key sockets  21  and  22  at the inner ends of support plates  18  and  19  detachably mate with keyed opposite ends  23  and  24  on connecting member  20 . Connecting members of different lengths may be used for mounting to different size shoes. 
     A plurality of first axles  25  are mounted transversely under roller wheel support plate  18  by brackets  26 , and a plurality of second axles  27  are mounted transversely under roller wheel support plate  19  by brackets  28 . A plurality of first roller wheels  29  are mounted on each axle  25 , and a plurality of second roller wheels  30  are mounted on each axle  27 . Axles  25  and  27  are supported between roller wheels  29  and  30  by vertical supports  38  (only one shown). A plurality of small spikes  36  are arranged on top of mounting plate  10  to provide a non-slip surface. 
     A roller wheel  29  is shown in a sectional view in FIG.  3  and an exploded view in FIG.  4 . Low-friction “TEFLON” bearings  31  are arranged around opposite ends of a star-shaped channel  32  extending through roller wheel  29 . Contact between channel  32  and the axle (not shown) is minimized by the star shape of the channel. Roller wheels  30  are internally identical to roller wheels  29 . Referring back to FIGS. 1 and 2, a hard plate  34  is provided on the front end of mounting plate  10  to allow the user to slide when the rear of the slider is lifted. A resilient friction pad  35  is mounted to the rear end of mounting plate  10  to allow the user to brake when the front end of the slider is lifted. 
     Roller wheels  29  and  30  are each preferably only about 0.5 inch (1.2 cm) in diameter, so that they raise the user by an almost imperceptible amount from the ground to provide a sense of safety, and a sense of sliding along the ground. The diameter may be varied, as along as they are much smaller than roller skate or roller blade wheels. Such a small diameter necessitates a large number of roller wheels distributed over a wide area under shoe  12  to share the load for durability. The roller wheels preferably total more than eight, although greater numbers may be used. 
     SUMMARY AND SCOPE 
     Accordingly, the roller wheel slider enables a user to roll along the ground for recreation. It adds very little height to the user for improved stability. It is low enough to the ground to give a sense of sliding along the ground. It is low enough to provide a sense of safety. It provides braking capability. It is also attachable to any shoe. 
     Although the above description is specific, it should not be considered as a limitation on the scope of the invention, but only as an example of the preferred embodiment. Many variations are possible within the teachings of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, not by the examples given.