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 7th April, 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
movement 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 attachments 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,
and, 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 modification 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 by making the blade or blades of wood or metal upon or
at the ends of which the axles and wheels are to be fixed sufficiently lissome and
flexible to perinit of the same being partly twisted or contorted (as a rope is twisted
[Price 4d1

page_text: upon itself) by the weight of the body or pressure of the foot being placed more
upon one side of the foot board 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 propose to effect the steering of roller and other
skates without the aid of a rocking, canting, tilting, or partial turning over of
the foot board for effecting such steering. This I propose to accomplish by attach-
ing or fixing the axles to or upon flexible blades of wood or metal, and to attach
or fix the other ends of such said blades to the foot board or stock of the skate
edgewise thereof, and in such a way that the lateral horizontal twisting or turning
of the skater's foot to the right or left has the effect of making the axles converge
each towards the centre of the circle upon which the skater wishes to turn. These
blades of wood or metal are intended to be attached to the stock or foot board
of the skate forward of the wheels thereof in each case, in order to enable a right
or left hand turn or twist of the skater's foot to steer or guide the skate upon a
corresponding right or left hand curve, as the case may be. If the blades are
fastened to the stock or footboard aft of the wheels in each case, then a right hand
turn of the skater's foot will steer or turn the skate, upon a left hand curve and
vice versa.
Steering or turning according to this method may be facilitated or checked as
may be desired by increasing or decreasing the number, length, breadth, thickness,
or strength of the aforesaid flexible blades, or by causing the same to work in
adjustable grooves or slides, or by fixing suitable checks or check springs to the
blades themselves, to the footboard or stock, or other suitable part of the skate as
may be found most desirable.
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 skaters's foot to have a
partly circular or pivotting movement. I connect this moving or pivotting foot-
board 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 the 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 made to per-
mit 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

page_text: 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 embarassed 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
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.