IMPROVEMENTS IN ROLLER AND OTHER SKATES
Year: 1876

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Jonathan Aldous Mays at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 31st March 1876.
JONATHAN ALDOUS MAYS, of 221, Gresham House, Old Broad Street, in the City
of London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN ROLLER AND OTHER SKATES."
According to one part of this Invention I propose to enable an oblique pressure
of the skater's foot to cause the axles to converge and steer the skate in a curve
proportioned to the angle of obliquity of the pressure exerted, and this I effect
without the canting, tilting, or partly turning over of the footboard. The footboard
or sole of the skate upon which the foot rests may be made to have a lateral move-
ment upon a frame or stock, to which latter the axles of the wheels may be pivotted
or otherwise suitably fixed, so as to be capable of being converged. The axles of
the wheels are connected with the footboard or attachınents thereof by arms, levers,
or other suitable mechanical contrivances, arranged in such a way that the lateral
movement of the footboard upon the stock or frame carrying the wheels shall have
the effect of causing the axles to converge toward the vertical centre from which
the oblique pressure proceeds. The movements of the footboard upon the stock or
frame, or of the pivotting or converging of the axles, may be checked or controlled
by means of a suitable spring or springs.
According to another plan for effecting the steering of skates by similar oblique
pressure the axles may be fixed upon the free ends of a blade or blades of wood or
metal, laterally flexible, and fixed edgewise to or forming part of the stock or foot-
board of the skate in the direction of its length. The oblique pressure of the
skater's foot will then have the effect of flexing or bending the blade or blades, and
causing, the free ends of the same to curve inwards in the direction of the vertical
centre from which the oblique pressure proceeds.
In the case of both of the methods of steering above referred to the steering is
effected by the oblique pressure of the skater's foot, arising from the heeling over of
his body in the direction of the curve upon which he wishes to turn, or of the
skater putting more of his weight upon one side of the skate than on the other;
as before stated, any tilting, canting, or partial turning over of the footboard of
the skate in order to effect the steering is unnecessary. According to a modifi-
cation of the last-mentioned plan however the steering may be assisted by the
tilting, canting, or partial turning over of the footboard. This may be effected

page_text: by making the blade or blades of wood or inetal, upon or at the ends of which
the axles and wheels are to be fixed sufficiently lissome and flexible to permit
of the same being partly twisted or contorted (as a rope is twisted upon itself)
by the weight of the body or pressure of the foot being placed more upon one
side of the footboard than on the other. The torsion or partial twisting of the
blade or blades that will then result will have the effect of assisting in converging
the axles and steering the skate. This part of my Invention is intended as an
improvement upon the already known methods of steering skates by means of the
tilting, canting, or partial turning over of the footboards thereof.
According to another plan I effect the steering of roller skates by fixing the axles
to the ends of a similar laterally flexible blade or blades of wood or metal forming
part of the stock or frame in the direction of its length, and upon this stock or
frame I cause a footboard or sole carrying the skater's foot to have a partly circular
or pivotting movement. I connect this moving or pivotting footboard by means of
studs, pins, or other suitable contrivances to the aforesaid blade or blades of wood
or metal forming part of the stock, or to arms, levers, or other suitable connections
with the same, in such a way that the pivotting movement of the footboard shall
have the effect of partly flexing or bending the blade or blades of wood or metal
and causing the axles to converge. The steering is accordingly effected in this case
by a twisting or pivotting motion of the skater's foot upon a horizontal plane.
For the purpose of permitting of the canting, tilting, or partial turning over of
the footboard, and in order solely to facilitate the heeling over of the skater's body
towards the centre of the curve upon which he turns, but not for the purpose of
facilitating or in any way effecting the converging of the axles, I cause the footboard
or sole carrying the skater's foot to have an oscillatory movement upon or in itself, or
upon or in the parts of the skate to which it is attached; or I cause the axles to
have like oscillatory or rocking movement upon or in their connections with the
other parts of the skate; or I make the rollers or wheels of a less diameter at their
outer sides than upon their inner sides or of a conical shape, so that the tilting of
tho skate may be effected by running on the coned parts of their peripheries.
The several parts of or the arrangements of the mechanism may be inade to
permit of adjustment, so that a given movement of the skater's foot may be made
to produce more or less convergence of the axles, as may be desired. The laterally
flexible blades of wood or metal for instance may have supplementary blades at
their sides which may be caused to move forward or backward upon the main
blades by means of screws having right and left-handed threads at either end, or
the studs or pins or other contrivances for connecting the footboard, with the
laterally flexible blades or with arms or levers connected therewith for converging
the axles may be made to shift backwards or forwards so as to have more or less
leverage.
The foregoing improvements in roller skates may be made applicable to skates
for use on ice by fixing blades or runners in place of the rollers or wheels.
Another improvement in roller skates consists in checking the action of the
rollers or wheels by means of a brake (which may or may not be provided with
rollers, and such rollers may or may not be faced with india-rubber or leather), such
brake being formed of, on, or by arms or axles connected by means of a suitable
screw to a fixed part of the skate in such a way that by actuating the said screw the
brake will be applied to the rollers or wheels of the skate. This arrangement is
intended for the use of beginners who are learning the use of roller skates. By
tightening the brake at starting the skate will run heavily, and the skater will be
compelled to place his full weight and force alternately on each skate, and as he
will not be embarrassed by his skates running from under him so readily he will
the more easily concentrate his attention on acquiring skill in balancing himself; as
he becomes accustomed to the action of the skate he will gradually loosen the brake
and eventually discard it altogether.
A further improvement in roller skates consists in furnishing the rollers with
bushes or sleeves having collars at their inner ends, these collars are to take into or

page_text: to be fastened into recesses formed in that part of the skate to which the axles are
fitted, or into suitable appendages applied thereto. These collars and the recesses
into which they are to be fitted are for the purpose of keeping the rollers or wheels
upon the axles. The bushes or sleeves are to be fastened into the wheels or rollers
by means of wedges, pins, flanges, caps, set screws, or other suitable contrivances.