IMPROVEMENTS IN ROLLER OR WHEEL SKATES
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederick Young, of No 197, Dalston Lane, Hackney, in
the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, and Charles Frederick Deacon, of
Southampton, in the County of Southampton, Solicitor, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN ROLLER OR WHEEL SKATES"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederick Young and Charles
Frederick Deacon at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 11th ·
September 1876.
FREDERICK YOUNG, of No 197, Dalston Lane, Пackney, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, and CHARLES FREDERICK DEACON, of Southampton, in the
County of Southampton, Solicitor "IMPROVEMENTS IN ROLLER OR WHEEL SKATES."
Our improvements consist in attaching to the footboard of the skate two carrying
plates, each by means of a jointed hinge These carrying plates have underneath at
their outer ends small frames, one for each roller, which frames are so formed as to
become at their lower extremities bearings for the shafts or spindles of rollers. The
frames are so secured to the carrying plate that each frame tuns upon its own
centre to the right or left, can ying with it the roller The fiames are each provided
with an arm or tiller, and to the under side of the footboard is secured, one for each
roller, a slotted guide piece into which the arm or tiller enters, and the pressure
applied by the skater on the side of the skate will by means of the moveinent of
the slotted guide piece thus affected cause each roller with its frame to turn to the
right on the left accordingly as the pressure is applied. The arms or tiller for the
foremost pair or the hindmost, or for both pairs of rollers, are usually connected by
means of a rod or link, so that each pair of wheels works in unison. The arms or
tillers are so arranged that upon each of the front wheels with its frame turning
upon its own centre to the right the hinder ones will turn to the left, or vice
versa.
We usually construct the skate with four wheels, but may apply this Invention
for skates having any number of wheels that we may deem convenient or expedient.
Around the jointed hinge herein-before mentioned by which the carrying plate is
attached to the footboard is an india-rubber casing or buffer for the purpose of con-
.

page_text: trolling the movement of the footboard For the same purpose we sometimes
substitute springs in lieu of the india-rubbor buffer.
Instead of attaching the carrying plates to the footboard by means of a jointed
hinge, we sometimes attach it by a T piece and divide the footboard into three
pieces, joining them together by hinges, and attach the T piece with the carrying
plate to the centre part; the slotted guides are then attached to the two outside
pieces or flanges.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Frederick Young and Charles Frederick Deacon in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 10th March 1877
FREDERICK YOUNG, of No. 197, Dalston Lane, Hackney, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, and CHARLES FREDERICK DEACON, of Southampton, in the
County of Southampton, Solicitor "IMPROVEMENTS IN ROLLER OR WHEEL
SKATES."
I. The object of this Invention is the application of wheels or rollers to the foot-
stand of skates, so that each wheel by pressure being applied by the skater will
cause each wheel to turn with its frame upon centres or bearings immediately
above the rollers or wheels, as in herein-after more particularly set forth and
illustrated
II. In the Drawings accompanying Specification of Letters Patent granted to
Alfred Vincent Newton, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of August, Eighteen
hundred and sixty-five, and numbered Two thousand one hundred and ninety, "a
communication" from abroad by James Leonard Plumpton, of the City of New
York, in the United States of America, it will be observed on reference to Figure 12
that the wheels converge round the centre of a given circle, and in the claim accom-
panying the said Specification (see the fourth edition, page three,.lines 41, 42, 43,
44, 45, he says, "under the above in part recited Letters Patent, I claim,-
"
"1
55
"
"First. Applying rollers or runners to the stock or footstand of a skate, as
described, so that the said rollers or unners may be cramped or turned so as to
cause the skate to turn on a curved line either to the right or the left by the
turning, canting, or tilting laterally of the stock or footstand."
Now on referring to the body of the said Specification, page 3, lines 18, 19,
20, 21, and 22, this is described in the following manner:-"In consequence of the
ledges of the plates being inclined, it will be seen that if the stock or footboard
"be tilted or inclined either to the right or left, the shaft hangers and consequently
"the shafts will be cramped so as to form radii of a circle, see Figure 12, and the
"skate will consequently move in or describe a curve."
III. This our Specification is accompanied by three Sheets of Drawings, numbered
I, II., III., and it will be seen by Sheet I., Figures 1, 2, and 3, that the wheels do
not come out of parallelism nor converge round the centre of a given circle, as in
Figure 12 of the said Newton's Specification, but that the wheels turn upon a fixed
centre immediately above them; and upon reference to Sheet II, Figures 4, 5, 6,
and 7, it will be observed that it is an absolute impossibility for the wheels on our
skate to be brought into the radii of a circle, as described and claimed in the before-
mentioned Newton's Specification.
IV. In the Newton Patent the wheels come closer together upon the inside of
a circle and wider apart upon the outside, and in our skate the wheels upon the
inside of the circle are the same distance apart as upon the outside, and from
centre to centre they never vary, thus giving to our skate a fixed and not a
moving base. The wheels in the Newton Patent in turning a curve take up new
ground, whereas in ours the wheels are simply turned upon the ground they already
stand upon.

page_text: V. In the Drawings accompanying our Specification, Sheet I., Figures 1, 2, and 3,
the full lines show the positions assumed by the wheels when in the act of turning.
VI The means by which this is carried into effect will be seen by reference to
Sheets II and III. of the Diawings accompanying this Specification, and to the
following description. These Drawings have figures and letters of reference marked
thereupon, the like letter being used to denote a similar or corresponding part in each
Figure.
VII. Figure 4 is a side elevation; Figure 5, an inverted plan partly in section;
Figure 6 is an end view at the heel part of skate, Figure 7 is a cross section;
Figure 8 is an elevation; and Figure 9, a section of buffer or spring F; Figure 10
is the plan of plate A; Figure 11 is is an elevation of the same; Figure 12 is a side
elevation of frame B; Figure 13 is an elevation and Figure 14 a section of the
same Figures 15 and 10 are elevation and plan of bar P, Figures 17, 18, and 19
are the section and two elevations of the roller or wheel R Figure 20 is the con-
necting bar G.
VIII. We attach to the footboards of the skates two plates A; these are of peculiar
construction. These plates have formed upon them the upper jaws (see Figures 10
and 11) of the lateral hinges A', also the guiding points D Immediately under-
neath the said plates we place two carrying bars P (Figures 15 and 16), which bars
have bearings for the wheel frames at their outer extremities, and also have formed
upon them the under jaws of the lateral hinge A'. Into the said bearings the studs
forming the pivots of the wheel frames B enter These frames have arms or tillers
formed upon them, see Figures 12, 13, and 14; these tallers are connected, that is to
say, the foremost pair together and the hindmost pair together, by rods G, Figure 20;
these rods have in their centres holes or slots into which the guiding points D enter.
IX. Figure 21 shews a modification in the mode of actuating the wheels, which
is effected by slotted guide pieces S, S, in lieu of the guiding point D
✗. Instead of attaching the carrying plate to the footboard by means of a jointed
hinge, we sometimes attach it by a T piece and divide the footboard into three
pieces, see Figure 22. We join them together by lunges and attach the T pieces
with the carrying bar to the centre part, the slotted guides S, S, are then attached
to the two outside pieces of footboard.
XI. Having now more particularly described and ascertained and set forth the
nature of our said Invention, and the manner in which the same is carried into
practical effect, what we wish to claim and desire to secure as of our Invention by
the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
Firstly The application of rollers or wheels to a skate in such a manner that it
will describe a curve in consequence of the wheels being moved by the application
of pressure, as is described in that section of this Specification numbered III., and
illustrated by Sheet I of the Drawings accompanying this Specification.
Secondly. We claim also the mechanical arrangements of carrying our object into
effect, as described in this Specification, and illustrated in the accompanying
Drawings, and all equivalent mechanical arrangements for effecting our object, as
herein-before stated.
In witness whereof, we, the said Frederick Young and Charles Frederick
Deacon, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Thirtieth day of
January, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
seven.
Witness,
ERNEST SPRULES,
7, Stafford Placo South,
Buckingham Gate, S.W.
(LS.)
FREDERICK YOUNG.
CHARLES F. DEACON. (L.S.)