IMPROVEMENTS IN SKATES.
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred George Brookes of N° 59 Chancery Lane in the
County of Middlesex Patent Agent, for an Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN
SKATES. Communicated to him from abroad by John Albert Dodge of
Somerville in the County of Middlesex in the State of Massachusetts one of
the United States of America and George Robert Marble of Boston in the
State of Massachusetts aforesaid
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred George Brookes
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 16th October 1883.
ALFRED GEORGE BROOKES of N° 59 Chancery Lane in the County of Middlesex.
Patent Agent "IMPROVEMENTS IN SKATES" (communicated to me from abroad
by John Albert Dodge of Somerville.in the County of Middlesex in the State of
Massachusetts one of the United States of America and George Robert Marble of
Boston in the State of Massachusetts aforesaid
This invention relating to Skates is embodied in a skate provided with
independent clamping mechanism for engaging the heel and the sole of a boot or
shoe.
The usual blade or runner of the skate is provided with three uprights one at
the rear or heel end of the runner an intermediate one beneath the ball portion of
the foot of the wearer; and the third at the extreme forward end.
A heel plate is pivoted upon the said rearmost upright it having two fixed
clamp projections to engage the rear portion of the boot heel and a sliding clamp
to engage the breast of the heel.
The sliding clamp is operated by a clamp actuating bar engaging a stud or
projection on the runner between the heel plate and its pivot in such a manner
that as the said plate is rocked on its pivot from an inclined position to one
substantially parallel with the runner, the said sliding clamp is forcibly drawn
towards the fixed projections thus firmly gripping the heel.
The intermediate upright has rigidly fixed thereon a guide piece for the sole
clamps working in the guides transversely to the sole and operated by a cam plate

page_text: pivoted above the upright, the said plate being actuated by a lever detachably held
upon the same pivot and adapted to be engaged by the upright at the forward
end of the runner.
The sole clamps are connected with the cam-plate in such a manner as to bind
or wedge between the cam surfaces and the guides of the said clamps so that the
clamps will not yield or spring back after being pressed against the sides of the
Sole.
The invention consists in the combination with a skate runner having a heel
plate, heel clamp, and a screw threaded bar of a screw nut connected to said heel
clamp.
Also in the combination with a skate runner of said clamping jaws arranged one
in advance of the other to slide across the skate runner and each provided with a
pin to engage with circular slots of a rotating disc.
Also in the combination with a skate runner of side clamping jaws arranged to
slide across the skate runner and each provided with a pin to engage with circular
cam slots of a rotating disc which pins are placed one in advance of the other.
Also in the combination with a skate runner of side clamping jaws arranged one
in advance of the other and to slide across the skate runner and each provided with
a pin to engage circular cam slots of a rotating disc which pins are also placed one
in advance of the other.
Also in the combination with a skate runner provided with side clamping jaws
arranged to slide across the skate runner and operated upon by cam slots in a
rotating disc of a removable lever arranged to be connected with and to operate
said rotating disc.
Also in the combination with a skate runner of the detachable lever square
beaded and angularly arranged centre pin, rotating disc and side clamping jaws
said lever being provided with holes in the arc of a circle and the disc being
provided with a pin to engage with one of the holes of said lever and having
circular cam slots for engaging with pins of said jaws.
Also in the combination of the skate runner guide piece fixed thereon and
clamping jaws in guides thereof with the cam plate pivoted upon the said runner
and guide piece and its actuating lever mounted upon the pivot of the cam plate
and adapted to be disengaged by and detached from the said pivot when in a
certain position and means to connect the said cam plate and lever when in
various different relative positions
Also in the combination with a skate runner of the detachable lever having a
notched pivot socket, its pivot having portions of its head removed, rotating cam
plate and side clamping jaws, said lever being provided with holes in the arc of a
circle and the plate provided with a pin to engage with one of the holes of said
lever and having circular cam slots for engaging with pins of said jaws.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Alfred George Brookes in the Patent Office on the 10th April
1884.
"
ALFRED GEORGE BROOKES of 59 Chancery Lane in the County of Middlesex
Patent Agent
"IMPROVEMENTS IN SKATES (a communication to me from abroad
by John Albert Dodge of Somerville in the County of Middlesex in the State of
Massachusetts one of the United States of America and George Robert Marble of
Boston in the State of Massachusetts aforesaid.)
This invention relating to Skates is embodied in a skate provided with
independent clamping mechanism for engaging the heel and the sole of a boot
or shoe
The usual blade or runner of the skate is provided with three uprights, one at
the rear or heel end of the runner, an intermediate one beneath the ball portion of
the foot of the wearer and the third at the extreme forward end
A heel plate is pivoted upon the said rearmost upright, it having two fixed
clamp projections to engage the rear portion of the boot heel, and a sliding clamp
to engage the breast of the heel.
The sliding clamp is operated by a clamp actuating bar engaging a stud or
projection on the runner between the heel plate and its pivot in such a manner
that as the said plate is rocked on its pivot from an inclined position to one
substantially parallel with the runner, the said sliding clamp is forcibly drawn
towards the fixed projections thus firmly gripping the heel.
The intermediate upright has rigidly fixed thereon a guide piece for the sole
clamps working in the guides transversely to the sole and operated by a cam-plate
pivoted above the upright, the said plate being actuated by a lever detachably
held upon the same pivot and adapted to be engaged by the upright at the
forward end of the runner
The sole clamps are connected with the cam plate in such a manner as to bind
or wedge between the cam surfaces and the guides of the said clamps so that the
clamps will not yield or spring back after being pressed against the sides of the
sole.
The invention consists in the combination with a skate runner having a heel
plate, heel clamp, and a screw threaded bar of a screw nut connected to said heel
clamp.
Also in the combination with a skate runner of aide clamping jaws arranged one
in advance of the other to slide across the skate runner and each provided with a
pin to engage with circular slots of a rotating disc.
Also in the combination with a skate runner of side clamping jaws arranged to
slide across the skate runner and each provided with a pin to engage with circular
cam slots of a rotating disc which pins are placed one in advance of the other
Also in the combination with a skate runner of side clamping jaws arranged one
in advance of the other and to slide across the skate runner and each provided
with a pin to engage circular cam slots of a rotating disc which pins are also
placed one in advance of the other
Also in the combination with a skate runner provided with side clamping jaws
arranged to slide across the skate runner and operated upon by cam slots in a
rotating disc of a removeable lever arranged to be connected with and to operate
said rotating disc.
Also in the combination with a skate runner of the detachable lever square
headed and angularly arranged centre pin rotating disc and side clamping jawa,

page_text: said lever being provided with holes in the arc of a circle and the disc being
provided with a pin to engage with one of the holes of said lever and having
circular cam slots for engaging with pins of said jaws.
Also in the combination of the skate runner. guide piece fixed thereon, and
clamping jaws in guides thereof with the cam plate pivoted upon the said runner
and guide piece and its actuating lever mounted upon the pivot of the cam plate
and adapted to be disengaged by and detached from the said pivot when in a
certain position and means to connect the said cam plate and lever when in various
different relative positions.
Also in the combination with a skate runner of the detachable lever having a
notched pivot socket, its pivot having portions of its head removed rotating cam
plate and side clamping jaws said lever being provided with holes in the arc of a
circle and the plate provided with a pin to engage with one of the holes of said
lever and having circular cam slots for engaging with pins of said jaws
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a skate embodying this invention the heel plate
and its clamp being shown in dotted lines in position to receive the heel of the
boot or shoe
Figure 2 is a plan view of the said skate
Figure 3 is a plan view of the forward or sole receiving portion of the skate
the clamp operating lever being detached
Figure 4 a transverse section on line x-x Figure 3
Figure 5 a plan view of the sole receiving portion of the skate, the clamp
operating lever being in position to be detached
Figure 6 a sectional detail of the sole clamp operating cam-plate its actuating
lever, and their common pivot
Figure 7 a longitudinal section of the heel clamping mechanism and
Figure 8 a detail showing the arrangement of the sole clamping jaw and its
actuating cam-plate upon which the present invention is intended as an
improvement
The runner A of suitable or usual shape and material has three uprights or
standards, namely a heel upright c near the rear or heel end of the runner, an
intermediate upright at the sole supporting part of the runner and a toe
upright m at the forward end of the runner
The heel plate B having clamping projections or ears D fixed thereon to engage
the rear portion of the boot or shoe heel is provided with lugs d which embrace
the upright c of the runner and are pivoted thereto by the pin f located some
distance below the heel plate so that the latter with its ears D has a forward
movement relative to the runner A when turned from the dotted to the full line
position Figure 1.
The heel plate B has at its forward end a guide i for the moveable clamp
projection or jaw C having a spur r to enter the breast or front face of the boot or
shoe heel
The said jaw C is connected with a clamp actuating bar g shown as threaded at
k and passing through a tubular portion c³ of the said clamp, it being provided
with an adjusting nut m bearing against the said clamp and having a groove n
engaging a pin o connected with the said clamp, so that by rotating the said nut m
upon the bar g the jaw C is moved backward or forward in its guide i to adjust its
position relative to the ears D to enable boot or shoe heels of different size to be
received between the said jaw and ears
The clamp actuating bar g is connected with the runner A it having as herein
shown a notch h which receives a spur a thus operating as a pivot for the bar g
and connected clamp jaw C in their movement from the full to the dotted line
position Figure 1 and it will be seen that owing to the difference in position of the
centres of movement or pivotal points d f of the said clamp jaw C and the heel-
plate and connected ears D the said jaw will approach the said ears in the
movement from the dotted to the full line position Figure 1. and a heel which
enters easily between the said jaw and ears when in the dotted line position will

page_text: be tightly clamped between them when brought to the full line position or into
substantial parallelism with the runner the normal position when the skate is
in use.
The clamp C will be adjusted by the nut m so as to just touch a heel placed
between it and the ears D when inclined to the runner as shown in dotted lines
Figure 1 and then by rocking the foot down towards the runner the said heel and
skate will be tightly fastened together.
It will then be necessary to retain the heel plate and boot or shoe with its heel
clamped thereto in the position parallel with the runner which is accomplished by
the sole-clamping mechanism which is wholly independent of the said heel
clamping mechanism in its operation and is connected with the intermediate and
forward uprights c¹. m³ of the runner A.
The said intermediate upright has rigidly connected therewith a guide piece E
having transverse guide-channels u to receive the shank portion t of the sole
clamping jaws F. G the said shank portions t being provided with pins or studs y
entering eccentric cam slots w. x in the cam plate H shown as a circular disc
centrally pivotted upon the screw at the middle of the guide piece E.
Owing to the eccentricity of the cam slots w. x the rotation of the plate H in the
direction of the arrow Figure 3 will separate the jaws F. G and rotation in the
opposite direction will draw them together and it will be seen that when they
are in contact with the edges of the sole only a small amount of rotation is
necessary to press them against the sole with sufficient force to give the requisite
holding power
The cam slots are made very long however to accommodate soles of different
width different portions of the said slots being employed for different soles
The plate is rotated to operate the clamps by the actuating lever K also pivoted
on the screw v and provided with a handle L having a portion f* bent to engage
the upright m³ at the toe end of the runner.
The lever has its pivot socket properly shaped to be engaged by the under side
of the head of the screw and portions of the sides of the said screw head are cut
away so as not to bear upon the lever at the edge of the pivot socket, and the said
socket portion is notched as shown at d' so that when the lever is turned to bring
the said notch beneath the over-hanging part of the head of the screw v as shown
in Figure 5 the said lever may be wholly disengaged from the said screw and
readily removed from the skate."
This affords an opportunity for rotating the cam plate H so as to bring the
proper portion of the cam slots to act on the pins y to place the clamping jaws at
the proper distance to receive between them the sole to which the skate is to be
fastened.
The lever K is provided with a series of engaging recesses or holes g* and after
the cam-plate H has been turned to the proper position, the said lever will again
be mounted on the pivot and will receive in one of the holes g³ a projection h*
upon the cam-plate, thus connecting the said lever and cam-plate so that by turning
the lever on its pivot the sole clamps will be operated.
Turning the said lever in the direction of the arrow 3 Figure 5. separates or opens
the clamps F. G and the cain plate will be so set when the lever is connected there-
with as just described that when the lever is turned beyond the runner A in the
direction of the arrow Figure 5 the jaws will be opened just enough to receive the
sole loosely between them, and when the said lever is turned back again the jaws
will be tightened upon the said sole and the portion f of the lever engaged with
the upright m' as shown in Figures 1 and 2.
A cam plate and lever has been heretofore employed to operate the sole clamps
of a skate, but the clamping mechanism heretofore employed is open to the objection
that the reaction or pressure of the sole upon the clamps tending to separate them
will cause the cam-plate and clamping lever to turn back in the direction to release
the said clamps, so that if the lever at any time becomes disengaged the skate will
immediately become loosened and perhaps cause a serious accident to the wearer,

page_text: This objection is wholly obviated by a novel arrangement of the cam-plate, clamping
jaws and cam engaging studs, and guides of the said jaws.
Figure 8. represents the usual arrangement in which the cam studs are in a
line parallel with the jaw guides and passing through the centre of rotation of the
cam-plate
By this arrangement an outward force acting on the clamp jaw in the direction
of the arrow 4 tends to move it freely in its guides and owing to the inclination of
the cam-surface to the path of movement of its stud easily rotates the cam-plate in
the direction of the arrow 5 and permits the clamp to be loosened.
The reaction from the cam surface on the stud tends to throw it and the clamp
away from the side 8 of the clamp guide, and the movement of the cam-plate will
immediately relieve any pressure of the clamp on the opposite side of the guide so
that by this arrangement the cam-plate will revolve and loosen the clamps except
when positively held.
In the present invention the studs y are placed at one side of the line parallel
with their guides and passing through the centre of rotation they being on the same
side of the said centre of the co-operating eccentric cam groove.
In order to bring the said studs as far as possible from the said central line
parallel with the guides, the said studs are placed near the edge of the clamp-shanks
and the said clamps themselves and their guides are carried towards one side of the
said central line as best shown in Figure 3.
By this arrangement when the clamps are forced outward in the direction of the
arrow 4 it will be seen that the studs y instead of reacting from the cam surfaces
and tending to move in the opposite direction to that in which the cam-plate tends
to rotate to relieve the clamps, tend to move with the said cam-plate or to come into
the line between the point of application of the force and centre of the plate so that
the clamp shanks are forced against the sides 8 of their guides with such friction as
to wholly prevent any further movement.
This lateral pressure and consequent friction of the clamp shanks upon upon the
locking faces 8 of the guides is due to the placing of the studs as shown so that
their line of action passes by the side of instead of through the centre of rotation
of the cam-plate or in other words so that the outward force on the stud; and the
inward force or reaction of the cam plate which is towards its fixed or pivotal
point are not opposite to one another and consequently when statically considered
do not balance but have the lateral resultant acting towards the locking face of the
guide.
This lateral force or the pressure of the clamp against the locking wall of its
guide will be in proportion to the outward force and the friction thus developed
between the clamp and its guide in addition to that between the studs and cam
surfaces is sufficient to lock the said parts against any movement under an outward
strain upon the clamps and is the essence of this part of the invention.
There will consequently be no strain on the actuating lever K tending to disengage
its locking portion f from the upright m³ and in case the lever should become thus
disengaged the skate will not become loosened.
There will be no such lateral force developed when the stud of the clamp is so
located that the line of action of the outward force upon it passes through the centre
of the plate and consequently the guide will have no locking face.
By having the clamp actuating lever extended forward as shown it serves as a
sole plate to support the forward part of the foot of the wearer.
Having thus described the nature of the said invention and means I adopt in
carrying the same into practical affect I would have it understood that what
I claim is,
1. In combination with a skate runner having a heel plate B. heel clamp C and a
screw threaded bar g the screw nut m connected to said heel clamp for operation
substantially as described
2. In combination with a skate runner, side clamping jaws F and G arranged one
in advance of the other to slide across the skate runner and each provided with a

page_text: pin y to engage with circular cam slots w. x of a rotating disc H substantially as
and for the purposes described.
3. In combination with a skate runner, side clamping jaws F and G arranged to
slide across the skate runner and each provided with a pin y to engage with circular
cam slots of a rotating disc H which pins are placed one in advance of the other
substantially as and for the purpose described.
4. In combination with a skate runner side clamping jaws F and G arranged one
in advance of the other and to slide across the skate runner and each provided
with a pin y to engage circular cam slots w. x of a rotating disc H which pins are
also placed one in advance of the other, substantially as and for the purpose
described
5. In combination with a skate runner provided with side clamping jaws F and G
arranged to slide across the skate runner and operated upon by cam slots in a
rotating disc of a removeable lever K arranged to be connected with and to operate
said rotating disc substantially as described.
6. In combination with a skate runner of the detachable lever K square headed
and angularly arranged centre pin o rotating disc H and side clamping jaws F. G
said lever being provided with holes g' in the arc of a circle and the disc H being
provided with a pin h³ to engage with one of the holes g² of said lever and having
circular cam slots w. c for engaging with pins y of said jaws, substantially as and
for the purpose specified.
7. The combination of the skate runner, guide piece fixed thereon, and clamping jaws
in guides thereof, with the cam plate pivoted upon the said runner and guide piece,
and its actuating lever mounted upon the pivot of the cam plate and adapted to be
disengaged by and detached from the said pivot when in a certain position, and
means to connect the said cam-plate and lever when in various different relative
positions substantially as described
8. The combination with a skate runner of the detachable lever K having a notched
pivot socket, its pivot having portions of its head removed, rotating cam plate H
and side clamping jaws F. G said lever being provided with holes in the arc of a
circle and the plate H being provided with a pin h³ to engage with one of the
holes g of said lever and having circular cam slots w. x. for engaging with pins y
of said jaws substantially as and for the purpose specified.
In witness whereof I the said Alfred George Brookes have hereunto set my
hand and seal this tenth day of April in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and eighty four
A
PRAATHA
(847)
& BROOKED.
TTAL TY