ROLLER OR RINK SKATES
Year: 1876

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Adams at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents on the 4th April 1876.
JOHN ADAMS, of the Strand, in the County of Middlesex.
ROLLER OR RINK SKATES."
"IMPROVEMENTS IN
My Invention is as follows:-Combined with arms through which the axle on
which the rollers or wheels are mounted is a vertical socket to receive a spindle
free to move therein. The vertical socket is in front of the hind axle and behind
the front axle. Each vertical socket is provided with an arm projecting therefrom
at right angles with the axle for the purpose of receiving in its end a spring
connecting the two vertical sockets required for one skate together. Another
purpose that these socket arms are intended to serve I shall describe further on.
The spindle received by the vertical socket above described has attached to
its top end a plate bevelled outwards on its top surface on both sides from the
centre, which centre coincides with the centre of the foot board of the skate. On
either side of this spindle plate and in a line with the ridge of the bevils are
formed two half-round projections rising vertically from the plate. Between these
half-round projections and bearing or nearly so on the centre of the bevilled
spindle plate there is another plate, having also half round projections to corre-
spond with those attached to the spindle plate, and forming, when together, round
projections for the convenience of manufacture. Through these projections when
the plates are together a pin is passed in a line with the centre of the foot board
and the whole let into the foot board, thus acting as a strong support. The pin
which passes through these projections acts as a fulcrum for the plates to play upon
to the extent of the bevils on the spindle plate, which play is regulated by
screws in the outward sides of the bevils and abutting against the under side of
the top plate, which latter is secured by screws or otherwise to the foot board
of the skate. Similar plates and parts connected therewith, as previously described,
are attached to the front and back ends of the foot board.
Between the vertical sockets and at a suitable distance from them are projecting
arms or brackets attached to the foot board or to the plate which carries the
vertical socket spindle and spindle plate. The bottoms of these arins or brackets
are provided with notches or slots with rounded points or cheeks into which the
vertical socket arms are fitted with sufficient freedom to ride or oscillate therein.
Any lateral movement of the foot board is thus communicated to the socket
arms and causes the wheels to assume the required position for describing large
[Price 2d.]

page_text: or small circles as may be desired. When skates fitted as aforesaid are placed on
the feet and secured thereto the pressure from the foot obtained by the weight
of the wearer is concentrated on the pin connecting the half-round projections
on the two plates together, and until the wheels or rollers commence to revolve
no lateral motion of the foot board takes place, but directly the wheels are required
to describe the radius of a circle the skate is set in motion and the lateral pressure
of the foot causes the vertical socket combined with the wheel axle to turn to the
right or to the left, and this movement can be reduced to any extent or taken
away altogether by the regulating screw, so that the skate will only run in a
straight direction.
The spring which connects the two vertical socket arms is useful for beginners,
as it offers some resistance to the lateral pressure of the foot.
But another part of my Invention is to construct skates as herein-before described
with the springs which connect the socket arms together omitted. Skates so con-
structed possess special advantages for the performance of graceful evolutions.
The bottom of the wheels to the limit of the stops are always in planes parallel
with the floor when raised clear of it, and always when so raised adapt theinselves
to the lateral inclination of the foot so that each pair of wheels will always touch
the floor simultaneously.