IMPROVE- MENTS IN RINK OR ICE SKATES
Year: 1876

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Léon Delair at the Office of the Com-
missioners of Patents on the 17th June 1876.
LÉON DELAIR, of the City of Paris, in the Republic of France, at present of
6, Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer. "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN RINK OR ICE SKATES."
The object of the present Invention is to admit of skaters performing all the
graceful evolutions executed in ice skating, by so constructing the skate as to
permit of the skater directing him or herself with the greatest facility in any
desired course, and also to stop at will.
This improved skate is intended for use either in the rink or on ice. The
characteristic features in the Invention may be classified under four heads, viz. :-
1st. A flexible foot stock.
2. An improved ball roller in lieu of wheels, or to be used in conjunction there-
with.
3. A brake, for stopping the skater at will.
4. An improved method of attaching the skate to the foot, partly dispensing
with straps.
1st. The foot stock is by preference flexible or jointed, and is therefore made of
flexible metal, or of a combination of metal, wood, or leather in superposed sheets;
at the same time I do not restrict myself to its special employment, as it may prove
convenient to use a rigid foot stock of metal or wood. The advantages of this
flexibility have a particular recommendation when used conjointly with my im-
proved ball rollers, as tending to facilitate the execution of various movements by
the skater by raising or lowering the heel.
2. In lieu of the ordinary rollers I employ a ball turning in a socket in a suitable
frame. There is no novelty in this, as the principle is well known, especially in
the shape of furniture castors, and, moreover, has been employed for skates; but
the great objection to them has been the amount of friction produced when in con-
tinuous use, as would be the case with a skate. The aim in my improved ball and
socket roller has been to reduce this friction to a minimum; with this view the ball
and socket employ is made of metal or any sufficiently hard substance, the ball
turning as usual in the socket, but with this distinctive feature that it is surrounded
by anti-friction rollers resting on the ball and turning in suitable bearings simul-
taneously and in conjunction with it. These rollers are arranged triangularly round
the ball and one above it, or they are placed two vertically and parallel, and two
Price 11

page_text: horizontally and parallel; of these latter one is placed laterally and the other
immediately above the ball.
3. The brake consists of two spurs projecting from either side of the heel of the
skate and clearing the ground a little above the rollers; these spurs are crossed at
their extremities by a flat band, which, by raising the toe, is brought to bear on the
surface of the rink and instantly arrest the skater.
4. The attachment consists of a flexible metal band (of the form of the heel of
the boot or shoe), terminating, if desired, in rear of the foot stock, or in any other
suitable position, and united to the heel by a screw or some equivalent connection;
the fore part of the skate is provided by a laced clog or shoe cap as usual.
I either employ two of my improved ball rollers, one in front and one in rear
beneath the foot stock, or I make use of one of my rollers in front, and in the rear
I place a pair of ordinary wheel rollers, the axis of which passes in front of the heel
of the boot, so that a firm grip is secured round the heel when the screw of the
metallic attachment is turned.
When two rollers are used I supply the skate with rests or feet attached beneath
the foot stock by screws; these rests are placed on the inside edge of the skate to
steady the skater when stationary..