A NEW OR IMPROVED SKATE
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Percy David Hedderwick, of Glasgow, in the
County of Lanark, North Britain, Engineer, for the Invention of
"A NEW OR IMPROVED SKATE."
Sealed the 9th December 1875, and dated the 5th October 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Percy David Hedderwick
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 5th October 1875.
I, PERCY DAVID HEDDERWICK, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark,
North Britain, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention of "A NEW OR IMPROVED SKATE," to be as follows, that is to
say:-
This Invention which relates to a new or improved skate consists in
forming a disc or plate by which the jaws which grip the sole of the
boot are moved with two reverse eccentrically.curved slots. Into these
slots pins projecting upwards from the horizontal bars which carry the
jaws pass, and as the disc or plate is moved round upon its axis by the

page_text: lever which operates it so the jaws are moved inwards and outwards,
and thereby fastened or unfastened.
A portion of the periphery of the disc or plate is formed with a rack,
and on the operating lever a tooth or upright pin is situated which
passes in between any two of the teeth in the rack.
By means of the rack on the plate and the pin or tooth in the lover
the width or distance apart of the jaws is capablo of being regulated
through a wide range so as to fit a great variety of size of feet or boots.
The lever is provided with a catch for fastoning it when the skate is
tightened.
A portion of the after part of the blade is formed with a rack into
which a pall carried in the sole plate falls. The upper part of this pall
constitutes the front gripper for the heel, and being moveable in a slot
in the sole plate is also capable of adjustment. The sole plate and blade
are connected together by a hinge joint at the rear. The front part of
the lever by which the skate is tightened has a toe formed in it, which
in the act of tightening, and when the blade and sole plates have been
shut together catches under a hook in the upper part of the blade; this
hook also passing in between a slot in the front and drooping part of
the sole plate keeps it steady and prevents the sole plate and blade from
becoming disconnected at that part.
In the act of shutting the sole plate and blade together the front heel
gripper is forced backwards, by virtue of the pall having caught in one
of the teeth on the blade, which being a fixed point causes the gripping
jaw to close upon the heel.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Percy David Hedderwick in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 4th April 1876.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, PERCY
DAVID HEDDERWICK, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North
Britain, Engineer, send greeting.

page_text: of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the 39th.
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Percy David Hedderwick, Her special
License that I, the said Percy David Hedderwick, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Peroy David
Hedderwick, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an
Invention for "A NEW OR IMPROVED SKATE," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Percy David Hedderwick, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and
ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the
Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Percy David Hedderwick, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement, reference being had to the accom-
panying Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon,
that is to say :-
My said Invention which relates to a new or improved skate consists
3 in forming a disc or plate by which the jaws which grip the sole of the
boot are moved with two long reverse eccentrically curved slots.. Into
theso slots pins projecting upwards from the horizontal bars which carry
the jaws pass, and as the disc or plate is moved round upon its axis by
the lever which operates it so the jaws are moved inwards and outwards,
) and thereby fastened or unfastened.
A portion of the after part of the blade is formed with a rack into
which a pall carried in the sole plate falls. The upper of this pall con-
stitutes the front gripper for the heel, and being moveable in a slot in
the sole plate is also capable of adjustment.
And in order that my said Invention may be properly understood I
now proceed more particularly to set forth the system, mode, or manner
in or under which the same is or may be used or practically carried

page_text: into effect, reference being had to the annexed Sheet of Drawings,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
On the Sheet of Drawings hereunto appended Figure 1 is a plan, and
Figure 2 a side elevation of the new or improved skate, as constructed
in accordance with one modification of my said Invention.
As shown by these Figures a disc or plate A formed with two reverse
eccentrically curved slots B is mounted upon the forward end of the
sole plate C, whereto it is attached by means of the pin a and nut b,
between which latter and the under side of the sole plate a thin washer c
(of the kind known as D washers) is placed, as seen at Figuro 2, and
which turns along with the pin a, preventing the unscrewing of the
nut b. Into the slots B of the disc or plate A pins & fixed in the side
grippers D project upwards. By means of this arrangement when the
disc or plate A is moved round upon its axis a by the spring lever F
provided for that purpose, and which is also centred upon the pin a
the gripping jaws D are by the action of the pins & in the eccentrically
curved slots B moved inwards and outwards as desired, thereby fastening
or unfastening the front part of the skate to or from the sole of the
boot.
.
A portion of the periphery of the disc or plate A is formed with a
rack e, and on the spring lever F a tooth or upright pin is made
which passes in between any two of the teeth of the rack, by which
means the width or distance apart of the gripping portion of the jaws D
is capable of being regulated through a wide range, and the skate is
thereby adapted to fit a great variety of size of fcet or boots. To
bring the blade of the skate to about the centre of the foot, one side
gripper D is made longer than the other, as seen at Figure 1.
The spring lever F is provided with a catch g at its rearward end, as
shewn at g, Figures 1 and 2, for fastening it (when the skate is tightened)
by bearing against the side of the sole plate C. The said lever F is
weakened at the part marked i, Figure 2, by which means the catch g
on the rearward end of the lever is more easily raised over the solo
plate C in fastening and unfastening the skate. The lever F is also
weakened at the part marked j, so as to form a species of hinge which
when the lever is depressed permits of the tooth / being freed from the
rack e.
The lever F is further formed with a toes at its forward end
which acts in the manner herein-after described,

page_text: A portion of the upper part of the blade H is formed with a rack 2, as
seen at Figure 2 of the Drawings, into which a pall m carried in the
sole plate C falls. The upper part of this fall constitutes the front
gripper m for the heel, and being moveable in a slot n in the sole plate
5 is also capable of adjustment.
To keep the heel gripper steady a slot is formed in the portion y
thereof, into which a tongue or projection z on the sole plate O enters.
The sole plate C and the blade H are hinged or jointed together by a
pin at their rearward ends, and the blade and sole plate are held
together at their forward ends (when in the act of tightening the skate
they have been shut together) by the toes of the lever F catching under .
the hook or projection at the upper front part of the blade, as seen at
Figures 1 and 2. The standard on which the hook or projection*% is
formed by passing in between the sides of a slot in the front, and bent
5 or drooping portion of the sole plate O steadies the blade H, and further
prevents the said plate and blade from becoming disconnected at that,
part. When open the blade is prevented from moving too far from the
sole plate by the hook & coming in contact with the part of the sole
plate which forms a closed end. to the slot.
In the act of shutting the sole plate O and blade H together, the front
heel gripper m is forced backward by virtue of the pall having caught
in one of the teeth on the blade H, and which being a fixed point causes
the gripper jaw to close upon the heel, the said gripper when the blade
is open having been pushed backward by hand until it bears against the
3 heel of the boot. The parts of the heel gripper by bearing upon both
sides of the sole plate O keep the gripper in position in the slot n.
: Under a modification of my said Invention illustrated at Figures 3, 4,
5, 6, 7, and 8 of the appended Drawings, the skate can be thrown to
either side of the centre of the foot, and the heel gripper is in a manner
fixed to the blade H, increased travel being given to it so as to do away
with the necessity of pushing the gripper m back to the heel of the boot
each time the skate is put on. The pins & which project-into the
slots B of the disc A. are fixed on bars or blocks E, Figures 3 and 5 ;
and to the said bars or blocks the jaws D which grip the sides of the
5 sole of the boot are attached corresponding teeth being formed on the
bars or blocks E, and the side grippers D for the purpose of adjusting
the skate to either side of the foot. The washer placed on the pin &

page_text: •
between the sole plate C and the nut is in this modification, as in the
first modification, formed with a flat side in its bore, as seen at Figure 8,
and which corresponds with a flattening in the centre pin a, whereby
when opening or closing the side grippers D the nut 6 is turned along
with the pin a and plate or disc A, and is thereby prevented from
becoming loose on the pin.
In order to allow the disc or plate A to be lifted sufficiently high to
admit of the grippers D, and pin bars or blocks E being withdrawn for
purposes of adjustment without drawing the flattened part of the centre
pin a entirely out of the washer c, the flattened part of the pin projects
through the sole plate C to a somewhat greater length than the distance
to which the disc A requires to be raised upwards. The washer being
correspondingly thick.
In the mode now under reference the front heel gripper m is attached
to the blade by means of a saddle or rider o, Figures 4 and 6, and 1
being like the heel gripper heroin-before referred to with reference to
Figures 1 and 2 of the Drawings moveable in a slot n, the said heel
gripper is also capable of adjustment; Figure 6 is a detailed plan of the
saddle or rider o (previous to being bent) by which the heel gripper is
attached to the blade H of the skate, a pin being passed through the 2
said saddle and through a slot formed in the blade, as seen at
Figure 4.
A spring p is employed to keep the pall in gear with the teeth of the
rack on the blade H.
The pin bar or block arrangement herein-before described and more 2
particularly seen at Figures 3 and 5 of the Drawings, besides being
employed in adjusting the side grippers of the skate constructed in
accordance with my said Invention may also be used for the like
purposes in analogous arrangements of skates, it being explained that
the pins d may themselves be withdrawn instead of lifting the disc or 3
plate A, as herein-before described.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my
said Invention, and the system, mode, or manner in or under which the
same is or may be used or practically carried into effect, I would observe
in conclusion that what I consider to be novel and original, and 3
therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-before
in part recited Letters Patent is,―

page_text: First. The construction of skate herein-before described and shown
under two arrangements at Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the appended
Drawings, or any mere modification thereof.
Second. The disc or plate A with long eccentrically curved slots, and
a rack e formed´ around a portion of its periphery, substantially as and
for the purposes described with reference to the annexed Drawings.
Third. The spring lever F and the employment thereof, substantially
as and for the purposes set forth with reference to the Drawings here-
unto annexed.
Fourth. The combination and arrangement of the bars or blocks E
and side grippers D, substantially as herein-before described and more
particularly seen at Figure 3 of the accompanying Drawings, and the
employment of such bars or blocks in conjunction with skates of
analogous construction to that set forth.
"
Fifth. The combination or arrangement of the centre pin a and
washer c, substantially as and for the purpose described and shewn at
Figures 3, 4, 7, and 8 of the Drawings.
Sixth. The arrangement of heel gripper consisting of the saddle or
rider o, rack l, spring p, pall m², and gripper m, substantially as herein-
before described and shewn on the accompanying Drawings.
. In witness whereof, I, the said Percy David Hedderwick, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Thirty-first day of March,
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-six..
PEROY DAVID HEDDERWICK. (L.S.)