IMPROVEMENTS IN ROLLER SKATES
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Burstow, of Horsham, in the County of
Sussex, and 91, Queen Street, Cheapside, in the City of London,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN ROLLER SKATES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Burstow at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
22nd November 1875.
I, EDWARD BURSTOW, of Horsham, in the County of Sussex, and
91, Queen Street, Cheapside, in the City of London, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN ROLLER SKATES,"
to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to produce a skate more simple in con-
struction than those hitherto in general use, and by employing springs
as a means of connection between the wheel carriages and the footstock
to obtain an even and elastic motion with a minimum of friction con-
_ducive to the comfort of the wearer.
;
:

page_text: I construct the skate according to my said Invention with four wheels
or rollers, two under the heel and two under the toe, each pair
being mounted on a carriage, which is attached to the footstock by a
vertical spring of sufficient strength to support the weight of the skater,
and which is bent to the right or left by the tilting of the foot, whereby
the transverse horizontal axles carrying the wheels are canted respec-
tively to the right and left so as to enable the skater to turn at
pleasure.
I attach the springs to the footstock by means of two metal plates on
its under surface, one near each extremity. The outer end of each plate
may be turned downwards obliquely so as to form an inclined plane on
the under surface of which the carriage slides, and by which it is
partially supported and the strain on the spring lessened when the
skates are in use, and I prefer to make the springs thicker on one side
than on the other. Stops are provided to prevent the foot tipping far
enough to bring the wheels into contact with the footstock.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Edward Burstow in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 22nd May 1876.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
BURSTOW, of Horsham, in the County of Sussex, and 91, Queen Street,
Cheapside in the City of London, Architect, send greeting.
.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Edward Burstow, Her special
licence that I, the said Edward Burstow, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Edward Burstow, my executors,
administrators, and 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 "IMPROVEMENTS
IN ROLLER SKATES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the

page_text: said Edward Burstow, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
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 Scal Patent Office within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Edward Burstow, 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 Sheet of Drawings
hereunto annexed, and forming a part of this my Specification:-
The object of this Invention is to produce a skate more simple in
construction than those heretofore in general use, and by employing
springs or spring plates as a means of connection between the wheel
carriages and the footstock to obtain an even and elastic motion with a
minimum of friction and play, and thereby more conducive to the
comfort of the wearer.
Figure 1 in the accompanying Shect of Drawings represents a side
view of my improved skate; Figure 2 is an end view, and Figure 3 a
bottom or under view of the same, all drawn three-quarters of full
size.
Of the remaining Drawings, which are of full size, Figure 4 repre-
sents an under and also a side view of one of the castings; Figure 5
represents one of the wheels; Figure 6, one of the carriages; Figure 7,
the springs; and Figure 8, an axle and a washer.
Figure 9 shows a modified arrangement.
The same letters are used to indicate the same parts in the various
Drawings.
A represents the footstock of the skate; B, B, castings firmly attached
thereto by the screws a, a, a, a; C, C, are springs or spring plates, one
end of each of which is inserted between and rigidly attached to the cheeks
ff, in a vertical plane passing longitudinally under the centre of the foot,
from which when in use they are slightly bent to the right or left by the
rocking or tilting laterally of the footstock, cramping the transverse
axles E, E, slightly to the right and left respectively, so as to cause the
skate to run in a curve and enable the skater to turn at pleasure.
.....
i

page_text: The springs or spring plates represented in the Drawings, and which I
prefer to use, are built up of three layers of clock spring, of which
part of the centre layer is cut away, as more clearly shown in Figure 7.
C¹, C, are auxiliary springs placed one on each side of and serving to
support the spring C against the lateral pressure of the foot, more
especially that due to centrifugal force when travelling in a curve;
D, D, are the wheel carriages secured to the springs or spring plates by
screws; E, E, are axles having a stud c, which fits into a key seat in the
carriage at d, and is further secured by a pin e; f, f, are cheeks
forming part of the casting B, between which the springs or spring
plates are inserted, and to which they are screwed; 9, 9, are stops to
limit the inclination of the footstock, and are pierced by holes to enable
the screws k, k, to be inserted or withdrawn; h is a part of the casting
having a smooth under surface, which when the skates are in use presses
on the upper surface of the carriage and partly supports the weight of
the skater, thus lessening the strain on the springs; G, G, G, G, are
rollers or wheels, which I prefer to make of boxwood, and which rotate
freely on the axles E, E.
Figure 9, in which the skate is represented as being tipped up
obliquely so as to show a full view of the spring carriage, &c., is a
modification of the foregoing arrangement, in which the auxiliary
springs are replaced by blocks of vulcanized india-rubber H, H.
Having now fully described and set forth the nature and object of my
said Invention for "Improvements in Roller Skates," together with the
best means I am acquainted with of carrying the same into practical
effect, I would remark that what I claim as the Invention secured to
me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is constructing a
roller skate and supporting the footstock thereof over the wheel carriages
by means of springs or spring plates, substantially in the manner
herein-before described and for the purpose herein-before set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Burstow, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of May, One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-six.