Improvements in or relating to Skates.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 4th Dec., 1899-Accepted, 28th Apr., 1900
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Skates.
I, HENRY BIRKBECK, of 31, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, London,
Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Patent Agents, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention (a communication to me from abroad by The Samuel
Winslow Skate Manufacturing Company, a Corporation organised under the
Laws of the State of Massachusetts, of 31, Mulberry Street, Worcester, Massa-
chusetts, U.S.A.) and in what manner the same is to be performed to be par-
ticularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention relates to that form of skates which is secured to the shoe of the
wearer by a clamping lever, and the object of this invention is to provide an
improved skate clamping mechanism employing a rearwardly closing heel clamp.
rearwardly closing toe clamps, and a pressure dividing connection for dividing
the pressure exerted by the clamping lever between the rearwardly closing heel
clamp and the rearwardly closing toc clamps.
A further object of this invention is to mount the rearwardly closing toe clamps
in a strong and attractive manner, and a still further object of this invention is
to provide for the transverse adjustment of a skate upon the shoe of the wearer.
so that the skate blade may be brought directly under the center of the wearer's
shoe, or at one side thereof, as desired.
To these ends this invention consists of the skate as a new article of many-
facture, and of the novel combinations of parts herein, as hereinafter described
and more particularly pointed out in the claims at the end of this specification. ¿
In the accompanying drawing,
Fig. 1 is a plan view of a skate constructed according to this invention,
Fig. 2 is a side view of the same.
Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the skate clamping mechanism, and
Fig. 4 is a fragmentary bottom plan view illustrating a form of construction
which may be employed to secure the transverse adjustment of the skate upon
the shoe of the wearer.
In prior forms of lever clamped skates variations in the width of the sole of
the shoe, or variations in the size of the heel of the shoe of the wearer, produced
changes in the relative positions of the foot with respect to the skate-runner.
For example, in what is known as the "American Club Skate," the heel plate
of the skate is provided with a fixed stop at its front edge, and the movable
heel clamps are located at the extreme rear of the skate.
This construction is open to the objection, that the movable heel clamps at
the extreme rear of the skate are liable to become bent or twisted.
This liability of the rearwardly extending movable heel clamps to become
bent or twisted is now so well recognized by the makers of the better grades of
American Club Skates," that these movable heel clamps at the extreme rear
of the skate are now frequently made out of high grade hardened steel.
The greatest defect, however, which arises from the use of movable heel clamps
at the extreme rear of the skate, arises from the fact that variations in the shape
and sizes of the heels of the shoes, and in the width of the soles, will bring the

page_text: wearer's foot to different positions with respect to the skate. That is to say, in
using lever clamped skates in which the movable heel clamps are located at the
extreme rear of the skate, if the shoe of the wearer is provided with an unusually
large heel, the foot of the wearer will occupy a position further back on the
skate than would be the case if the shoe was provided with a smaller heel.
All skates should be designed so that the center of the weight of the skater
should be over a fixed point with respect to the skate.
To this end, the object of this invention is to provide a skate having fixed
back heel stops, and a skate clamping mechanism therefor comprising rearwardly
closing toe clamps, a rearwardly closing heel clamp, and a connecting mechanism
which will divide the strain exerted by the clamping lever between the rear-
wardly closing toe clamps and the rearwardly closing heel clamp.
Referring to the accompanying drawing, and in detail, the skate herein
illustrated comprises a skate blade or runner 10.
Riveted or otherwise secured to the runner 10 is a toe-plate 11, and a heel
plate 12 having fixed heel stops or abutments 13.
The toe-plate 11 as herein illustrated is depressed at its rear end, and instead of
mounting the toe-clamps on the underside of the toe-plate, the rearwardly closing
toe-clamps 14 are preferably movably mounted above the depressed rear portion
of the toe-plate 11, and are movably held in place thereon by rivets 15 which
extend down through slots in the toe-plate 11 as illustrated by dotted lines in
Fig. 1.
On the underside of the toe-plate 11 and the heel-plate 12 is a plate 16 which
is movably supported on rivets 17 and is provided with a bent-up finger or
section forming a rearwardly closing heel clamp.
The clamping mechanism for actuating the rearwardly closing toe clamps and
the rearwardly closing heel clamp is most clearly illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3.
As shown in these Figures, 18 designates a toggle clamping lever pivotally
mounted on the lower end of the rivet 17.
The connections which are employed for dividing the strain exerted by the
clamping lever 18 between the rearwardly closing toe clamps 14 and the rear-
wardly closing heel clamp carried by the plate 16, comprise an equalizing lever 20.
which is pivotally connected by a rivet 21 at one end to a slide or rod 22 pivotally
connected to the rear of the toe-clamps 14.
At its opposite end, the equalizing lever 20 is pivotally connected to the slide
or plate 16 carrying the rearwardly closing heel clamp by a rivet 23.
An adjustable connection extends from the clamping lever 18 to the equalizing
lever 20.
As herein illustrated, this adjustable connection comprises a screw 19 having
its end bent up and pivotally mounted in the clamping lever 18, while its other
end extends loosely through a bracket or L-piece 24.
Threaded on to the screw 19 is a nut 25 which is preferably held in place by
the head of the rivet which pivotally connects the bracket to the equalizing
lever 20.
By means of this construction a skate is provided which can be readily and
quickly adjusted to different sized shoes, and the skate clamping mechanism con-
trolled by a single. clamping lever will, by reason of the fact that the skate has
fixed rear heel stops, always bring the foot of the wearer to the same relative
position on the skate.
In some instances, for example, for executing certain fancy skating figures,
it is desirable that the skate blade should not be located directly under the
center of the foot of the wearer.
In other instances where the shoe of the skater is made upon a very crooked or
offset last, the ordinary skate clamping mechanism will not bring the skate
blade near enough the center of the foot of the wearer to produce the best results.
In view of these considerations, it is sometimes desirable to provide a trans-

page_text: verse adjustment for centralizing or setting the skate-blade at one side of the
foot of the wearer, as desired.
A construction for accomplishing this purpose is illustrated in Fig. 4.
As shewn in this figure, 26 designates an adjusting screw having its head set
into the plate 16, and held in place therein by a tongue fitting into a groove
in its head.
The screw 26 as illustrated, is threaded into the rivet at the rear end of one of
the rearwardly closing toe-clamps 14, so that by adjusting the screw 26, one of
the rearwardly closing toe clamps may be set and adjusted independently of the
main clamping lever to produce any desired transverse adjustment of the skate-
blade with respect to the foot of the wearer.
Numerous changes may be made in the construction of this skate without
departing from the scope of this invention as expressed in the claims.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is:-
1. The improved arrangement and construction of skates substantially as
described, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
2. In a skate, the combination of fixed back heel stops, rearwardly closing toe
elamps, a rearwardly closing heel clamp, a clamping lever, and a strain dividing
connection arranged to divide the strain of the clamping lever between the rear-
wardly closing toe clamps, and the rearwardly closing heel clamp, substantially
as described.
3. In a skate, the combination of the fixed back heel stops, the rearwardly
closing toe clamps, the rearwardly closing heel clamp, a clamping lever, and a
lever for dividing the strain of the clamping lever between the rearwardly closing
toe clamps and the rearwardly closing heel clamp, said lever having a central
connection to the clamping lever, a connection from one end to operate the rear-
wardly closing toe clamps, and a connection from the opposite end to operate the
rearwardly closing heel clamp, substantially as described.
4. As an article of manufacture, a skate having the rear part of its toe-plate
depressed, and rearwardly closing toe clamps movably mounted above the depressed
part of the toe-plate, substantially as described.
5. As an article of manufacture, an adjusting screw for skates having a
threaded shank, and its opposite end bent at an angle to its shank, substantially
as described.
6. In a skate, the combination of rearwardly closing toe clamps, the rearwardly
closing heel clamp, and means for securing the transverse adjustment of the
skate with respect to the shoe of the wearer, substantially as described.
Dated this 4th day of December 1899.
TONGUE & BIRKBECK.
Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.