IM- PROVEMENTS IN ROLLER SKATES
Year: 1876

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Lewis and Hugh Jones at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 4th March 1876.
"
JOHN LEWIS and HUGH JONES, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster. IM-
PROVEMENTS IN ROLLER SKATES."
1st. The pedestals attaching the roller axles to the frame of the skate are made
to swivel on a vertical axis.
2nd. The lower end of these pedestals are constructed with a jaw or other
bearing for holding the axle of the rollers in such manner that it will give each end
of the roller shaft a vertical radial play, the axis of which is coincident with the
centre of said jaw or bearing. One form of doing this is to make the axle in the
form of a simple beam swaying in a horizontal pin in bearings or fastenings in the
jaw or bearing.
3rd. Under each roller axle on each side of the central axis is placed an inclined
plane of steel or other material springing from the main frame or foot stock of the
skate. The axle itself or a small wheel on the said axle bears upon this inclined
plane.
4th. It is sometimes preferable instead of these inclined planes to arrange the
roller axle to revolve in well fitted bearings in the pedestal, or to be rigidly attached
thereto, and to have inclined planes on which small wheels between the pedestal
and main frame work. Thus at the same time that the pedestal revolves by aid of
the said wheels one side is going down an inclined plane and the other up another.
The effect of this is, that when pressure is brought to bear more on one side of the
foot stock than the other the roller axle becomes inclined to the plane of the foot
stock or frame, and at the same time the two roller axles cease to be parallel
to each other but approach one another on that side and the skater performs a
curve.
To enable the roller axles to reassume their normal positions (parallel to each
other and at right angles to the axis of the foot stock) springs are occasionally
attached to the inclined planes and axles, to the two axles only, or to the foot stock
and axles, or in any other convenient manner so as to act on the axles; these
being one distended and the other compressed, whenever the axles are out of truth,
bring them back to their normal point. The inclined planes can be made of iron or
steel rods turned up at the ends to prevent the axles diverging too far.
The divergence of the axles can be reguled by making the inclines of spring
steel and regulating the position of their lower ends by a screw or other simple

page_text: mechanism for regulating their height. Sometimes too it is useful to crank the
roller axle by placing the rollers on what might be termed the crank pins, and
fixing the subsidiary bearing wheels to the ends of the shaft where the cranks join
The cranks are of course rigid and destitute of rotary motion.
on.
A variation of this apparatus, which we much prefer ourselves, is as follows:-
Instead of making all the inclined planes rise from the centre we make the two on
one side face one way, and the two on the other side face the other way. Looking
sideways therefore at the skate the planes at the heel are shown to cross, the same
with those at the toe. Along the centre line of the skate, somewhat like the
runner of an ice skate, we place a strong beam or lever pivotted in the centre and
held by springs to the skate foot stock at or near each end. These springs can be
adjustable at pleasure by means of screws or other convenient mechanism. To the
beam or lever we attach the axles, so arranged as to swivel on their centres in a
horizontal arc; each side of each axle rests on one of the inclined planes.
The mode of action is as follows:-Pressure being brought to bear more on the
toe than on the heel the lever is pressed down unduly at the toe, and thus causes
the axle to mount up one inclined plane and slide down the other, assuming an
oblique direction to the axes of the skate. A similar motion, but opposite in
direction, occurs simultaneously at the heel. The two axes therefore converge on
one side, and cause the skater to skate to that side. If the excess of pressure is put
upon the heel the reverse takes place, and the skater goes toward the other side.
Of course as in this arrangement the inclined planes can be made of wood, iron,
spring steel, or other convenient material, and bearing wheels on the axles can act
on them instead of the axles themselves.
It will be seen that this skate differs from other roller skates with adjustable
axles in that the turning is performed by simply bringing the weight to bear
unequally upon the toe or the heel, instead by lateral pressure.