IMPROVEMENTS IN SKATES
Year: 1885

page_text: I MAX HILLIGER of the town of Dohna, Saxony in the Empire of Germany,
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of my Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN SKATES," and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:—
My invention relates to improvements in skates and consists of the rotary sole
rail or brace, the adjustable toe piece and the movable heel piece which latter is
pressed against the heel of the boot by means of a suitable spring.
The skate as represented in the accompanying drawing consists of the blade to
which a toe plate is fixed provided with a suitable bolt or screw and winged nut
so that the said plate can be adjusted in a slot in the blade and of a movable heel
plate attached to the rear end of the said blade which is held in position by a
suitable spring. In order to support the ball of the foot I apply a sole rail or
brace to the blade somewhat forward of the centre of the blade which said rail or
brace can move around a suitable screw so that the same when not in use can be
turned into a position parallel to the blade of the skate thus enabling the said
skate to be packed in a very small space, the skate not occupying more space than
the length breadth and thickness of the blade and the toe and heel plates.
Figure 1 represents a side view or elevation of my improved skate, the position
of the rail or brace c when the skate is not in use being shown in dotted lines.
Figure 2 is a top view or plan of the same with the rail or brace c in position
ready for use.
A is the blade of the skate, a is the toe plate, a¹ the teeth to the same, a³ the
winged or pressure nut for fixing the said toe piece a in position, a³ is a slot in the
blade to permit the adjustment of the aforesaid toe plate a-b is the moveable
heel plate, b¹ the pegs, centers, or conically pointed studs which penetrate into
the material of the heel of the boot or shoe 6 is the pivot around which the heel
piece b moves.
c is the rail or brace attached to the blade A of the skate somewhat forward of
the centre of the same for supporting the ball of the foot which said rail or brace
is arranged to rotate in the horizontal plane around a suitable bolt screw or
pivot c.
c¹ are small conical pegs or pointed studs which penetrate into the sole of the
boot or shoe so as to retain the same in constant position on the said rail or
brace.

page_text: dis the bolt, rivet or screw for attaching the bearing d to the blade of the
skate e is a screw for attaching the spring to the rear end of the blade-f is a
strong flat spring which operates on the rear surface of the heel plate b so as to
firmly press the pegs or pointed studs b¹ into the heel of the boot or shoe.
The operation of putting on or applying the skate to the boot or shoe of the
wearer is as follows.
The toe plate a is first adjusted to the length of the foot of the wearer by
loosening the winged or pressure nut a³ and adjusting the said toe plate in the
slot a³ of the blade A in such manner that the teeth a of tho said toe plate a, will
firmly grip the toe or forward end of the boot or shoe then tightening up the
nut a³ so that the aforesaid toepiece is firmly attached to the blade A.
The rail or brace c is now placed in position rectangular to the blade A and
firmly fixed in this said position and the heel plate b so pressed to the rear that
the skate can be applied to the boot or shoe of the wearer whereupon the heel
plate bis given free so that the powerful spring f can press the tips, pegs or
pointed studs & firmly into the heel of the said boot or shoe which is now securely
attached to the said skate. It will be evident that my improved skate can be
rapidly and readily applied to the boot or shoe of the skater and can be removed
with like facility by pressing back the heel piece b so as to free the pegs or pointed
studs 6 from their grip in the heel of the boot or shoe of the wearer.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
1. In skates the combination of the blade A with the adjustable toe plate a,
teeth a¹ pressure nut a² and slot a³ substantially as described in the foregoing
specification and shown in the accompanying drawings.
2. In skates the combination of the blade A with the movable heel plate b pegs
or pointed studs b¹ and pivot b' substantially as described in the foregoing speci-
fication and shown in the accompanying drawings.
3. In skates the combination of the blade A with the rail or brace c, the bolt,
screw or pivot c³ and the pegs or pointed studs c¹ substantially as described in the
foregoing specification and shown in the accompanying drawings.
4. In skates the combination of the blade A, rail or brace c, pointed studs or
pegs cand the bolt screw or pivot c² with the bearing d and rivet, bolt or screw d¹
substantially as described in the foregoing specification and shown in the accom-
panying drawings.
5. In skates the combination of the blade A with the spring f, screw e, and heel
plate b substantially as described in the foregoing specification and shown in the
accompanying drawings.
6. In skates the combination of the blade A, toe piece a, teeth a¹, winged nut a³,
slot a³, heel plate b, brace or rail c, bearing & and spring fsubstantially as described
in the foregoing specification and shown in the accompanying drawings.