IMPROVEMENTS IN ROLLER SKATES
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederick Edward Blackett Beaumont, of
No. 2, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, in the County of
Middlesex, and Woodford Pilkington, of Kent Lodge, Campbell
Road, West Croydon, in the County of Surrey, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN ROLLER SKATES."
Sealed the 18th February 1876, and dated the 4th December 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederick Edward
Blackett Beaumont and Woodford Pilkington at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the 4th
December 1875.
We, FREDERICK EDWARD BLACKETT BEAUMONT, of No. 2, West-
minster Chambers, Victoria Street, in the County of Middlesex, and
WOODFORD PILKINGTON, of Kent Lodge, Campbell Road, West
Croydon, in the County of Surrey, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN ROLLER SKATES," to be as
follows:-
Our Invention relates to roller skates of the kind whereby the canting

page_text: of the foot of the wearer on the one side or the other has the effect of
causing the axles of the fore and back pairs of rollers to converge
towards the depressed side, so that the wearer is thus enabled to move
in a curved path to the right or to the left as desired.
The chief objects of our Invention are to give to such skates a soft,
elastic, and noiseless action, to simplify their construction, and to
provide for continuous lubrication of the roller axles. For this purpose
we interpose between the axletree of each of the two pairs of rollers a
block or bracket, or a number of pieces of caoutchouc, which give the
elasticity of a spring and tend to deaden noise.
In order to provide means for causing the axletrees to converge
towards the one side or the other when the foot is laterally canted, we
adopt the following construction:-We make the caoutchouc in the
form of a bracket, which is secured to the under side of the sole plate,
and which terminates in a boss having a hole through it horizontally,
through which hole we pass the axletree, mounting the rollers on each
projecting end thereof. This caouchouc bracket is sufficiently elastic
and pliable to permit the axletree to be canted a little horizontally or
vertically relatively to the sole plate.
We prefer to secure the caoutchouc bracket to the sole plate by
means of a casing enclosing the upper part of the caoutchouc bracket,
which is made with a swell or flange, whereby the casing holds it in
position. We make one face of this casing inclined to the sole plate,
and a similarly inclined plate attached to the axletree is fitted to bear
on this inclined face, the inclination of the casing face and plate being
such that when the sole plate is laterally canted, the axletree guided by
the inclined plate is made to take an oblique position horizontally, so
that the two axles are thus made to converge towards the side on which
the sole is depressed, as in the skates above referred to.
The inclined plate is attached to the axletree by means of a bridle,
which is made with two sides forming disc washers, one on each side of
the caoutchouc bracket, and protecting it from oil that may leak from
the axles.
To prevent extreme canting and also to give the inclined plate a
steady bearing on the inclined face of the casing, we prefer to insert
in the latter a stud, screw, or rivet, which works in a curved slotted
hole in the plate, the slot being extended so far each way as to permit

page_text: as may be desnou, out to stop camemt m
ment.
According to another arrangement we mount the axletree so that it
can turn on a vertical axis provided on a plate, between which and the
sole plate we interpose a block or a number of pieces of caoutchouc,
partially casing them in to prevent them from shifting laterally, but
leaving sufficient openings in the sides of the casing to permit the
caoutchouc to expand laterally. Above the block or pieces of
caoutchouc we provide a plate which rests on them, and which is
jointed to the sole plate so that it can rock on a longitudinal axis. To
each of the axletrees we attach a yoke, from which an arm projects
towards the other axletree, and we fix to the under side of the sole
plate a pair of rigid arms or brackets which extend downwards and
enter each of them a hole in one of the yoke arms aforesaid. By this
arrangement when the sole plate is canted down on the one side or the
other the rigid arm or bracket acting on the arm of the yoke in each
case causes the axletree to which the yoke is affixed to turn partly
round on its vertical axis, so that the two axletrees are caused to
converge towards the side at which the sole plate is depressed.
Instead of a block or number of pieces of caoutchouc arranged as
above described with a casing and plates, a single piece of caoutchouc
may be employed made in the form of a bracket through which the
axletree passes, this caoutchouc bracket being made sufficiently pliable
to admit by its flexure of the canting of the sole plate, and by its
torsion of the oblique movement of the axletree effected by the rigid
arm acting on its yoke.
By suitably shaping the caoutchouc bracket the rigid arm and yoke,
as well as the inclined casing and bearing plate, may be dispensed with,
the conversion of the canting movement of the sole plate into the con-
vergent movement of the axletrees being effected by the change of form
in the caoutchouc itself. For this purpose we make the caoutchouc
bracket with inclined and curved ribs on its outer edge, so that when
the sole plate is canted down on the one side it tends to compress the
one of these ribs, and to elongate the other, and this strain of com-
pression and elongation being conveyed by the ribs to the boss
containing the axletree causes it to twist horizontally, thereby
effecting the convergence of the two axletrees towards the depressed
side.

page_text: For the purpose of lubricating the wheels or rollers we make them
with an inner boss, in which we provide an oil cavity with a cap that is
screwed on to the front thereof, the axle passing through the cap and
having the usual lynch pin passed through its projecting part. The oil
cavity may have a sponge, cotton, or other absorbent material placed in
it to prevent the too rapid flow of oil through oil holes which conduct
it to the axle.
We prefer to make the wheels or rollers in several thicknesses with
washers of caoutchouc, leather, or other soft material interposed between
them for the purpose of deadening the noise produced by the rolling on
a hard floor.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Frederick Edward Blackett Beaumont and
Woodford Pilkington in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 1st
June 1876.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, FREDERICK
EDWARD BLACKETT BEAUMONT, of No. 2, Westminster Chambers,
Victoria Street, in the County of Middlesex, and WOODFORD PILKING
TON, of Kent Lodge, Campbell Road, West Croydon, in the County
of Surrey, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourth 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
successors, give and grant unto us, the said Frederick Edward Blackett
Beaumont and Woodford Pilkington, Her special license that we, the
said Frederick Edward Blackett Beaumont and Woodford Pilkington,
our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the
said Frederick Edward Blackett Beaumont and Woodford Pilkington,
our 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)

page_text: that we, the said Frederick Edward Blackett Beaumont and Woodford
Pilkington, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under our or their hands and seals, or under the hand and seal
of one of us or them, 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 Woodford Pilkington, on behalf
of myself and the said Frederick Edward Blackett Beaumont, 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, reference being had to the
accompanying Sheet of Drawings, and to the figures and letters marked
thereon, that is to say :-
Our Invention relates to roller skates of the kind whereby the canting
of the foot of the wearer on the one side or the other has the effect of
causing the axles of the fore and back pairs of rollers to converge
towards the depressed side, so that the wearer is thus enabled to move
in a curved path to the right or to the left as desired.
The chief objects of our Invention are to give to such skates a soft,
clastic, and noiseless action, and to simplify their construction. For this
purpose we interpose between the footstand and the axletree of each of
the two pairs of rollers a block or bracket or a number of pieces of
caoutchouc, which give the elasticity of a spring and tend to deaden
noise.
In order to provide means for causing the axletrees to converge
towards the one side or the other when the foot is laterally canted, we
adopt the following construction:-
We make the caoutchouc in the form of a bracket which is secured to
the under side of the sole plate, and which terminates in a boss having
a hole through it horizontally, through which hole we pass the axletree
mounting the rollers on each projecting end thereof. This caoutchouc
bracket is sufficiently elastic and pliable to permit the axletree to be
canted a little horizontally or vertically relatively to the sole plate.
We prefer to secure the caoutchouc bracket to the sole plate by
means of a casing enclosing the upper part of the caoutchouc bracket,

page_text: which is made with a swell or flange whereby the casing holds it in
position. We make one face of this casing inclined to the sole plate,
and a similarly inclined plate attached to the axletree is fitted to bear on
this inclined face, the inclination of the casing face and plate being such
that when the sole plate is laterally canted, the axletree, guided by the
inclined plate, is made to take an oblique position horizontally, so that
the two axles are thus made to converge towards the side on which the
sole is depressed as in the skates above referred to.
The inclined plate is attached to the axletree by means of a bridle
which is made with two sides forming disc washers, one on each side of
the caoutchouc bracket, and protecting it from oil that may leak from
the axles.
To prevent extreme canting and also to give the inclined plate a
steady bearing on the inclined face of the casing we prefer to insert in
the latter a stud, screw, or rivet, which works in a curved slotted hole in
the plate, the slot being extended so far each way as to permit canting
movement as far as may be desired, but to stop extreme movement.
According to another arrangement we mount the axletree so that it
can turn on a vertical axis provided on a plate between which and the
sole plate we interpose a block or a number of pieces of caoutchouc,
partially casing them in to prevent them from shifting laterally,
but leaving sufficient openings in the sides of the casing to permit
the caoutchouc to expand laterally. Above the block or pieces of
caoutchouc we provide a plate which rests on them, and which is jointed
to the sole plate so that it can rock on a longitudinal axis. To each of
the axletrees we attach a yoke from which an arm projects towards the
other axletree, and we fix to the under side of the sole plate a pair of
rigid arms or brackets which extend downwards, and enter each of them
a hole in one of the yoke arms aforesaid. By this arrangement when
the sole plate is canted down on the one side or the other, the rigid arm
or bracket acting on the arm of the yoke in each case causes the axle-
tree to which the yoke is affixed to turn partly round on its vertical axis,
so that the two axletrees are caused to converge towards the side at
which the sole plate is depressed.
Instead of a block or number of pieces of caoutchouc arranged as
above described with a casing and plates, a single piece of caoutchouc
may be employed, made in the form of a bracket, through which the

page_text: axletree passes, this caoutchouc bracket being made sufficiently pliable
to admit by its flexure of the canting of the sole plate, and by its torsion
of the oblique movement of the axletree effected by the rigid arm
acting on its yoke.
By suitably shaping the caoutchouc bracket the rigid arm and yoke
as well as the inclined casing and bearing plate may be dispensed with,
the conversion of the canting movement of the sole plate into the
convergent movement of the axletrees being effected by the change
of form in the caoutchouc itself. For this purpose we make the
caoutchouc bracket with inclined and curved ribs on its outer edge, so
that when the sole plate is canted down on the one side, it tends to com-
press one of these ribs and to elongate the other, and this strain of
compression and elongation being conveyed by the ribs to the boss
containing the axletree causes it to twist horizontally, thereby effecting
the convergence of the two axletrees towards the depressed side.
For the purpose of lubricating the wheels or rollers we make them
with an inner boss in which we provide an oil cavity with a cap that is
screwed on to the front end thereof, the axle passing through the cap
and having the usual lynch pin passed through its projecting part. The
oil cavity may have a sponge, cotton, or other absorbant material placed
in it to prevent the too rapid flow of oil through oil holes which
conduct it to the axle. We prefer to make the wheels or rollers in
several thicknesses with washers of caoutchouc, leather, or other soft
material interposed between them for the purpose of deadening the noise
Produced by the rolling on a hard floor

page_text: and down in the socket K, while the socket is free to oscillate laterally
on its pivot k. When the footstand is pressed evenly downwards by the
weight of the skater the disc b compresses the caoutchouc D, which acts
as an elastic spring like the spring of a carriage, and as the pin H
slides evenly down the socket K there is no change in the position of the
axle F. But when the footstand is depressed on the one side (in which
case the disc b takes an oblique position, compressing the caoutchouc
more on one side than the other) then the pin H, being thus caused to
take an oblique attitude, moves the socket K to the right or left as the
case may be, and thereby causes the box O to turn partly round on its
vertical axis. The two pins H acting thus on the two boxes C cause the
two axles F to converge towards the side on which the footstand is
depressed, and thus cause the skate to run in a curved path bending
towards that side.
Having thus described the nature of our Invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, we claim,—
First. The use in roller skates of an unconfined or only partially con-
fined block or bracket of caoutchouc interposed between the roller axles
and the footstand, and so arranged as to allow the axles to assume a con-
vergent position and the footstand to cant laterally, substantially as
herein described with reference to Figs. 1 to 5 of the Drawings.
Second. Providing the caoutchouc brackets referred to in the first
claim with an inclined metal face operating in combination with an
inclined plate connected to the roller axles so as to cause these to con-
verge on the canting of the footstand, substantially as described with
reference to Figs. 1 and 2 of the Drawings.
Third. Constructing the said caoutchouc brackets with inclined ribs,
causing the roller axles to converge on canting the footstand, substan-
tially as herein described with reference to Figs. 3 to 5 of the
> Drawings.
Fourth. The use in roller skates of a caoutchouc block carrying the
roller axles and connected to a pin projecting down from the footstand
in such manner that on the canting of the footstand the caoutchouc
block is caused to twist on its vertical axis so as to bring the roller axles

page_text: into a convergent position, substantially as described with reference to
Figs. 6 and 7 of the Drawings.
In witness I, the said Woodford Pilkington, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-six.
WOODFORD PILKINGTON. (L.S.)