An Improved Skate.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Aug., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 25th May, 1893-Accepted, 5th Aug., 1893
PROVISIONAL
SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Skate.
GEORGE WHYTE of North View Elgin, Scotland, Doctor of Medicine, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
I employ a metal sole plate with the usual turned up lugs at the back end to form
stops for the heel of the boot. In front of the space reserved for the heel is a
sliding clip which projects through a slot in the sole plate. Beneath the sole plate
are three sliding bars one of which carries the aforesaid heel clip, while the other
two carry side clips to engage with the sides of the boot-sole. These bars slide in
grooves or channels formed below the sole plate.
The two bars which carry the side clips are connected to a short equal-end
pivotted lever in such a way that the movement of this lever actuates the bars to or
fro. The clips can be attached solidly to the sliding bars, or may be so fitted into
slots therein as to be adjustable, so that the skate can be adjusted to the boot of the
wearer, and very little slack be left to be tightened up in the final operation of
fixing the skate securely to the boot.
The short pivotted lever is connected by means of a long pivotted lever to a
centre nut working to and fro diagonally across the sole plate. The bar of the heel
clip is also pivotally connected by means of a link-bar to the end of the long lever.
The centre nut travels backwards and forwards on a screw or worm which is
mounted on two lugs, and is caused to rotate by a fixed or loose key at the side of
the skate. The turning of this screw to the right or to the left, causes the nut to
travel and by means of the link bar and levers pivotally connected together, opens
or closes the three clips simultaneously.
The pivot holes are slotted in some cases to allow sufficient play or permit
adjustment.
Leather toe caps or straps may be added.
When the skate is used as a roller skate a coiled spring support is used to
connect the axle of the rollers to the sole plate. This spring is pivotted loosely
to the sole plate and provided with guides on cach side so as to allow the
necessary play.
Dated this 25th day of August 1892.
S. S. BROMHEAD,
97, Newgate Street, E.C., Agent for Applicant.
COMPLETE
SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Skate.
1, GEORGE WHYTE of North View, Elgin, Scotland, Doctor of Medicine, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement :-
This invention refers to skates of both kinds, namely for ice and roller skates ;
and my improvements consist in, first, the mechanism by which the skates are
fixed to the boot, which applies both to the ice and roller skates, and secondly the
mechanism by which the wheels are mounted in roller skates.
I will now describe the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings
which illustrate the mechanism of the various parts.
Fig. 1 shews a side view of my improved roller skate.

page_text: Fig. 2 shews a plan view of my improvements. on a roller skate as seen from the
bottom of Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 shews a side view of my improvements as applied to an ice skate with a
runner or blade underneath.
Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the coiled spring .
a, is the fixed screw turned. by a milled wheel a; for regulating the travel of the
sliding clips b, c, d, by means, of, arms,e,f,and travelling nut ., is the pin con-
necting the arms e, f. Referring to arin e; 1, is the centre nut and, pin, forming a
pivot for the arme; i, is an elliptical slot formed in the end piece of arme, in which the
nut m, slides, and j, is another similar slot in the end piece of arm e, in which the nut m²,
slides. k, is an oblong slot in the clip b, for regulating the travel of same. 1, is a
similar slot in the clip e. m, m', are two bolts and nuts which hold the arms e, and
clips b, c, to the sole plate z. n, n, are side guides for keeping the clamps b, c, in position.
0, 0, are the wheels. , is the spiral spring. o is a rigid plate in the form of a
horse shoe fastened on the sole plate of the skate, and the spring is so fitted by a
loose pivot joint as to allow a slight rocking movement of same in between the
two arms of the horse shoe plate o o², is the centre pin on which the wheels
revolve.
Referring to arm f; p, is a sliding plate on the end of which is the heel clip d.
, is an oblong slot in the sole plate to allow the clip d, to travel backwards and
forwards. is an oblong slot in the sliding plate p, regulating the travel of the
clip d. p, are side pieces or lugs which serve as guides for the sliding plate.
p, is a nut and pin forming a pivot joint for the arm f. q, q, are bearings for the
screw u. , is a travelling nut through which the screw a, works. r, is a pin which
slides to and fro in the slot s, to allow for the movement of the arms e, f.
The method of use is as follows:-
P.
There are two sliding clips b, c, placed under the front part of the sole plate.
These clips slide out and in. There is another clip d with clamp or teeth which
slides backwards and forwards so as to engage the front part of the heel of the boot,
and there are at the back part of the sole plate the usual heel clips which engage
the back of the heel. The three sliding clips b, c, d, are under the control of the
screw a, which is turned by the milled wheel by means of the arms e, f, but when
the nuts m, m', p', are slackened the two sliding clips b, c and the sliding clip d, for
the heel, are all separately adjustable so that they can be fitted to any size
of boot.
The clips act thus:-The nuts m, m', ', are slackened and the boot is placed
upon the footplate, then the heel slide with its clip d, is moved so that the teeth
just touch the front part of the heel of the boot and, is then fastened by turning the
nut pt. The front .clips. b, c, are in like manner adjusted so that the clamps
just touch the edge of the sole of the boot and are then fixed by turning the
nuts m, m!.
This adjustment of the three clips never requires to be altered so long as the
same boot is worn, so that when the skater goes to the rink or ice, he only has to
place his foot upon the soleplate and turn the milled wheel a', giving it one,
or one and a half turns which is quite sufficient to firmly fix the skate to
the boot.
The screw is used solely for the purpose of tightening the clips and the movement
for this purpose requires only about one-eighth of an inch of the screw.
The sole plate is made of tempered steel and all superfluous metal can be cut
away so as to make the skate light. The milled wheel is made of. box-wood' or
ebonite or any other suitable material and is a fixture to the skate..
The ice skate blade is fixed to the sole plate at three points in the usual way, as
shewn in Fig. 3. The curve at the front, of the skate should just, touch the toc of
the sole piece and should be a little higher than the sole piece.
The arm e, has a bend so that it may pass the centre fixed point of the skate, as
the drawing shews (Fig. 2).

page_text: Mounting the wheels for the roller skates.
These are attached to coil springs, as shewn separately in Fig. 4 or mounted as
in Figs. 1 and 2. The coil spring is made from a strip of steel of the breadth of
about three-eighths of an inch or more, thicker at one end than at the other, and
coiled as shewn in Fig. 4. The centre pin o², for the wheels o, passes through the
centre of the coil and is fixed, the wheels being placed on either side of the
spring .
The running surface of the wheels should be slightly convex, or if it be desirable
to use an india-rubber tire their peripheries should be made concave so as to receive
the tire.
The coil spring is attached to the sole plate by a loose pivot joint in between the
two arms of the horse shoe plate o so as to give a slight side play to it.
If single rollers are employed, there must be two coiled springs, to each roller
instead of two rollers to one spring as above described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In a roller skate the combination of the coiled springs, x; and horse shoe
plates o, o regulating screw a travelling nut ; arms e, f clips b, c, d;
slots i, j, k, l, p', p², s; guides n, p³; pins or bolts g, h, o³, p', r; plates o¹, p; and
sole plate, as herein described and set forth.
2. In an ice skate the combination of the regulating screw a, travelling nut r ;
arms e,, clips b, c, d; slots i, j, k, l, p', p³, s; guides n, p, pins or bolts g, p*, h,
m, m', r; plates p, and sole plate, as herein described and set forth.
Dated this 25th day of May 1893.
S. S. BROMHEAD,
97, Newgate Street, London, E.C., Patent Agent.