PROVEMENTS IN ROLLER SKATES
Year: 1876

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Henry Walsh at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents on the 15th March 1876.
JOHN HENRY WALSH, of Putney, in the County of Surrey, Gentleman.
PROVEMENTS IN ROLLER SKATES."
"IM-
This Invention relates to an improved arrangement of means for connecting
together and attaching the fore and rear pairs of rollers of roller skates to the foot-
stand thereof, adapted to enable the skater to effect with the mere canting or side
inclination of the said footstand an approximation or converging of the roller axles,
and rollers at the depressed side of the footstand, and a diverging or opposite
movement thereof at the other or elevated side of the footstand, whereby the same
lose their parallelism and assume a converging radial or angular direction to the
degree required by the skater, and determined by the degree of canting or side
inclination given to the footstand; and thus to traverse a curved or circuitous
track or path with the greatest facility and case of execution.
The Invention consists in centreing or pivotting the axles of the fore and rear
pairs of rollers in such a manner as to allow of their rotating in a horizontal plane,
to and near the opposite ends of a shaft or perch running longitudinally under the
footstand of the skate, and journalled at its extremities in bearings secured to and
depending from the under side of the footstand which is thus supported. The inner
or opposite faces of these bearings are bevilled or inclined, and against these inclines
the roller axles bear for a considerable portion of their length centrally to the said
horizontal perch; I also attach a strong india-rubber spring, which by the canting of
the footstand is jambed in a recess. in the under side thereof, and prevents any
excessive inclination being given thereto, and also helps and materially assists the
foot in bringing back the footstand to its horizontal position, or any excess of
canting of the footstand may be checked by providing the said inclines with
suitable stops.
With this improved arrangement of parts in the traversing of curved or cir-
cuitous tracks or paths the strain upon the foot is reduced to a minimum, and the
desired angularity or convergence of the roller axles of the skate is effected with
ease, as upon the mere canting or side inclination of the footstand by the depression
of that side of the foot of the skater the said inclines at the depressed side of the.
footstand bear upon the roller axles in such a manner as to approximate or converge
them and their rollers (each to the same degree and both at the same time) at this
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page_text: side, and necessarily turn them about their centre studs, and cause them to diverge
or recede from each other at the other side.
A great advantage of this arrangement is that the wheel bases are always in the
same horizontal plane, and rest upon the ground whatever the canting given to the
footstand.
Other advantages are derived from the fewness of number and simplicity of
arrangement of the working parts, the less likelihood of their getting out of order,
and the facility they allow of repairing when required.