IMPROVEMENTS IN FACILITATING LOCO- MOTION ON FOOT, AND IN THE APPARATUS OR MEANS TO BE EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Keel, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN FACILITATING LOCO-
MOTION ON FOOT, AND IN THE APPARATUS OR MEANS TO BE EMPLOYED
THEREIN.
"
Sealed the 27th June 1876, and dated the 28th December 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Keel at tho
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
28th December 1875.'
-
I, GEORGE KEEL, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, do
hereby declare the nature of my said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
FACILITATING LOCOMOTION ON FOOT, AND IN THE APPARATUS OR MEANS TO BE
EMPLOYED THEREIN," to be as follows, that is to say :—
My Invention consists in building up in and with or otherwise
applying to the soles and heels of boots, shoes, or clogs supports for
carrying two wheels at or near the fore part of the soles of the said boot,
shoe, or clog, and two wheels at or near the heels of the same, the

page_text: said supports or carriage of the wheels being combined with suitable
mechanism that the wheels shall be caused to assume an angular
position horizontally with the longitudinal centre line of the boot, shoe,
or clog sole at the will of the wearer, whereby the said wearer is enabled
to describe curves, either to the right or left, or to progress in a straight
course after the fashion of skating.
In order to give the said angular position or adjustment to the wheels
lateral inclines acting upon the axis or axle frames of the wheels, or an
inclined longitudinal bearing or central axis which supports the axis
proper of the wheels, or inclined deflecting arms operating upon or
against a central spring bar, which may or may not be forked or divided,
or other equivalent arrangements may be used for canting the axis of
the said wheels for assuming at the will of the wearer a position of radii
to the curve to be described.
-SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions-of the-Letters-Patent,
filed by the said George Keel in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 28th June 1876.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
KEEL, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
thirty-ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said George Keel, Her special
license, that I, the said George Keel, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said George Keel, 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
FACILITATING LOCOMOTION ON FOOT, AND IN THE APPARATUS OR MEANS TO BE
EMPLOYED THEREIN," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
..George Kecl, my executors or administrators; by an instrument in writing
-

page_text: 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 Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Keel, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement thereof, that is to say:-
My Invention consists in building up in and with or otherwise
applying to the soles and heels of boots, shoes, or clogs supports for
carrying two wheels at or near the fore part of the soles of the said
boot, shoc, or clog, and two wheels at or near the heels of the same, the
said supports or carriages of the wheels being combined with suitable
mechanism that the wheels shall be caused to assume an angular
position horizontally with the longitudinal centre line of the boot, shoe,
or clog solc at the will of the wearer, whereby the said wearer is enabled
to describe curves either to the right or left, or to progress in a straight
direction after the fashion of skating.
In order to give the said angular position or adjustment to the wheels
lateral inclincs acting upon the axis or axle frames of the wheels, or an
incline with longitudianal bearing or central axis, which supports the
axis proper of the wheels, or inclined deflecting arms operating upon or
against a central spring bar, which may or may not be forked or divided,
or equivalent arrangements may be used for canting the axis of the
said wheels for assuming at the will of the wearer a position of radii to
the curve to be described.
But as my Invention will be more clearly understood by aid of the
Drawings hereunto annexed I will describe the same, reference being
had to the figures and letters marked thereon.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS.

page_text: flanges are marked in the edge views E and F; G and H are lateral
arms placed on each side, G being connected with a ball joint, as at P,
to the flange E, and down to the axis of the wheel marked J, on which
it is secured by a split cotter or otherwise. The inclining arm H is
connected to the flange F by a hanging joint, as at k, best seen at 5
Figure 2, which is a direct back view of Figure 1, showing the relative
position of the parts. The socket D connected with the flange F is
drawn partially in section for the purpose of showing the ball within
the socket marked L, which ball is connected and formed with the
shank M, which fits and passes down through a vertical hole formed 1
in the centre of the axle bar N, and which axle bar is shewn is a
separate top view at Fig. 3. The lateral arms H and H¹ are attached to
the hanging joints and k¹ by pins formed with or rivetted to the parts
a and a', which projecting pins are marked b and b', and which pins
may be screwed for receiving nuts (not-shewn-to-avoid-confusion), by J
which means the top ends of the lateral inclining arms are secured.
Fig. 4 is a direct bottom view of Figure 1, shewing the wheels A and
A¹, B and B¹, also the arms G and G³, H and H. The heel flange
F and F is secured by screws or otherwise, while the projecting part F"
supports the hanging joints and ¹ for receiving (as herein-before
stated) the top ends of the inclimed arms H and H' by being passed over
the projecting pins 6 and 6', the lower ends of the said arms H and H¹
being attached, as before described (with the front apparatus) by being
passed over the outer ends of the axis, as at R and R', and held in
position by split cotters or otherwise. In this view I am enabled also:
to shew clearly the manner of connecting the upper ends of the lateral
arms G and G¹ to the flange E, which I effect by forming the front end
of the flange marked c into a transverse circular projection, which may
terminate the front end of the flange, as here shewn, or project and
extend towards the too, and receive an additional rivet or screw for
securing the same to the sole, which addition I have shewn in dotted
lines at d, Fig. 1. The circular projection C is shewn partially in
section for exhibiting the ball P, with its shanks e, also shewn separate
at Fig. 5; this ball is held in position by a screw being passed down on
one side of the shank e, but before passing the ball P in position its
shank is passed through an enlarged hole at the top part of the arm G,
which part is countersunk to the shape of the ball, at shewn in section
at f, so that in action the face of the part frides freely on the inner

page_text: surface of the ball, and this description will apply to the ball P¹ in its
connection with the arm "G," and needs no further description.
In some instances the flange E and E¹ may have a strap extending
back to the heel in the form shown in dotted lines, and which strap may
have a central lengthway raised ridge formed on it, which will further
increase and impart rigidity to the boot sole, which may be necessary in
making the front and back appliances more united and certain in their
combined action for contracting when required the inner wheels, and
expanding the outer ones, from the boot being supported upon the ball
joints, as exhibited partly in section, as at Figure 2, for as the foot or
boot is laterally inclined on the universal joints (when used in pairs) the
wearer will be enabled to safely gyrate and move about with facility
and pleasure, for the slightest inclination of the body to the right or left
will alter the angle of the lateral arms, contracting them on the one side
and expanding them on the other, so that the degree of inclination will
define the radius or curvature of their motion, as for instance, if the sole
of the boot is depressed on one side until the sides of the heel and tread
of the foot is brought over, and depressed near the periphery of the
wheels, and as a consequence the lateral arm H, Figure 1, will be put
more in a horizontal direction by the depression of the hanging joint k,
which will be lowered according to the degree of angularity of the
wearer (or boot sole), and as a fact the wheel would be taken forward
from the arm H working on the fixed centre b, as also shown in dotted
lines in this Figure, as before mentioned, and as the arms are reversed
5 on each side the wheels are contracted and expanded in unison.
Having thus described my Invention, and the manner in which the
same may be carried into effect in accordance with the Drawings, I
desire to observe that instead of the flanges of the apparatus being
screwed to the sole and heel of the boot the same may be otherwise
O secured, or the flanges may be made of thin steel, and suitably held
between the inner and outer boot soles, in which case the socket for
receiving the ball joints at the heel would necessarily be required much
longer for the heel action than at the tread or forward part, as the
socket would have to be increased in length to the thickness of the boot
5 heel through which it passes, and instead of deriving the directing
action of the wheels by the lateral arms herein described and exhibited
lateral including arms may be secured on to the bottom of the boot heel
or sole, the said arms being curved to the concentric vertical action of

page_text: the wheel carriages, a portion of which rising against the arms will
diverge the wheels according to the degree of the inclination of the body
of the wearer, or other equivalent actions may be used without departing
from the spirit of my Invention, which consists in applying to boots,
shoes, or clogs, in pairs, wheels and attending parts, whereby the said
boots, shoes, or clogs may be worn and used in every way in the place
of skates, thus obviating the necessity of the use of wood or iron stocks
or stand, or straps and buckles, or other appliances commonly used as
an appendage to rink skates, and this I claim as of my Invention and
desire to protect under these my in part recited Letters Patent without
binding myself to the use of the action here shown, as other equivalent
actions applicable for directing the wheels may be used.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Keel, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of June, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-six.
1
Witness,
J. S. COCKINGS,
Patentee's Agent,
17, Ann Street,
Birmingham.
GEORGE KEEL. (L.S.)