IMPROVEMENTS IN ROLLER SKATES
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Todd, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Mechanical Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN ROLLER SKATES."
Sealed the 18th February 1876, and dated the 2nd December 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Todd at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
2nd December 1875.
I, ALFRED TODD, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Mechanical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN ROLLER SKATES," to be as follows:-
.
My Invention consists of the improvements herein-after described in
constructing and arranging the parts of roller skates, whereby simplicity
of construction and efficiency of action are secured.
The base of the skate or clog may be made of wood, and has affixed
on its under side two metal plates, one at the front and the other at the
rear end. On each of the said plates a pair of rollers is mounted and

page_text: works the said rollers and parts connected therewith being constructed
as follows: As the construction and arrangement of parts is the same
at each end of the skate I will describe only one pair of rollers and parts
connected therewith. In the centre of the plate is a recess in which a
metallic sphere fits on the protruding hemisphere of which an arm
works, the said arm having a hemispherical cup which fits on the
hemisphere described. The said arm turns upon the said hemisphere as a
centre, and in its normal position is parallel with the under side of the
skate. It is furnished at each end with an antifriction roller, which
rollers bear against the metal plate.
The arm described carries a forked bracket which stands perpendicular
to the said arm and bottom of the skate, and the axis carrying the
rollers is supported by the said bracket. The plate carrying the forked
bracket has a V shaped bar or projection parallel to the axis of the
rollers, and the free end of a strong spring fixed on the bottom of the
skate presses upon the said V shaped bar, the said end of the spring
being of a V shape and fitting upon the V shaped bar when the parts
are in their normal positions: When the arm carrying the bracket is
turned in either direction through a small angle the spring is raised and
tends by its pressure to bring back the arm and bracket to their normal
positions. A strong rod is fixed perpendicularly in the under side of the
skate at a short distance from the hemispherical centre on which the
arm described turns, the said rod being somewhat nearer the middle of
the skate. A small bracket at the middle of the axis carrying the
rollers has a short arm, and in a slot in the said arm the top of the fixed
rod engages.
When the arm carrying the bracket turns it assumes a slightly
oblique position for its motion is about the hemispherical centre by
which it is held, and the fixed rod upon which the slot in the small
bracket on the axis works. The axis of motion becomes more oblique
as the arm and bracket move through' a greater angle, and is inclined in
one or other direction as the motion of the arm is in one or other
direction.
When by the pressure of the foot to the right or left one of the
rollers is pressed upon the floor or surface with greater pressure than the
other the arm carrying the bracket and rollers turns through a small
angle, and the required inclination of the axes of the two pairs of rollers

page_text: is produced necessary to cause the skate to move in the desired curve.
The axes of the rollers always return to their parallel position when at
liberty to do so.
.
The rollers are constructed as follows:-Each roller consists of a tyre
of the required shape, and a strong flat band of tempered steel coiled
into the form of a volute. The inner end of the spring is secured to the
axis and the outer end of the tyre. Pressure on the axis diminishes the
distance between the said axis and the lowest point of the roller, and
increases the distance between the said axis and the highest point of the
roller.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Alfred Todd in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 1st June 1876.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
TODD, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Mechanical Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Second day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
thirty-ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Alfred Todd, Her special
license, that I, the said Alfred Todd, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Alfred Todd, my executors, admini-
strators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN ROLLER
SKATES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Alfred
Todd, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, on one of their hands and seals, should particularly

page_text: describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be
filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alfred Todd, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
My Invention consists of the improvements herein-after described in
constructing and arranging the parts of roller skates, whereby simplicity
of construction and efficiency of action are secured.
The base of the skate or clog may be made of wood, and has affixed
to its under side two metal plates, one at the front, and the other
at the rear end. On each of the said plates a pair of rollers is mounted
and works, the said rollers and parts connected therewith being con-
structed as follows:-As the construction and arrangement of parts
is the same at each end of the skate I will describe only one pair of
rollers and parts connected therewith. In the centre of the fixed plate
is a recess in which a metallic sphere fits, on the protruding hemisphere
of which an arm works, the said arm having a hemispherical cup which
fits on the hemisphere described. The said arm turns upon the said
hemisphere as a centre, and in its normal position is parallel with the
under side of the skate. It is furnished at each end with an anti-
friction roller, which rollers bear against the fixed metal plate.
The arm described carries a forked bracket which stands perpendicular:
to the said arm and bottom of the skate, and the axis carrying the
rollers is supported by the said bracket. The arm or plate carrying
the forked bracket has a V shaped bar or projection parallel to the axis
of the rollers, and the free end of a strong spring fixed ou the bottom
of the skate presses upon the V shaped bar, the said end of the spring :
being of a V shape, and fitting upon the V shaped bar when the parts
are in their normal positions.
When the arm carrying the bracket is turned in either direction
through a small angle the spring is raised and tends by its pressure to
bring back the arm and bracket to their normal positions. A strong a
rod is fixed perpendicularly in the under side of the skate at a short

page_text: distance from the hemispherical centre on which the arm described
turns, the said rod being somewhat nearer the middle of the skate.
A small bracket at the middle of the axis carrying the rollers has
a short arm, and in a slot in the said arm the end of the fixed rod
engages.
When the arm carrying the bracket is in its normal position the said
arm and the sole of the skate are parallel, and when the said arm is
turned aside in either direction the sole and the said arm incline to one
another, and conversely the inclining of the sole to the arm produces
a change in the position of the arm.
When by the pressure of the foot to the right or left one of the
rollers is pressed upon the floor or surface with greater pressure than
the other, the sole of the skate is inclined, and the arm carrying the
bracket and rollers turns through a small angle by the action of the
end of the fixed rod on the short arm of the bracket, and the required
inclination of the axes of the two pairs of rollers is produced necessary
to cause the skate to move in the desired curve. The axes of the
rollers always return to their parallel position when at liberty to
do so.
The rollers are constructed as follows:-Each roller consists of a tyre
of the required shape, and a strong flat band of tempered steel coiled
into the form of a volute. The inner end of the spring is secured to the
bush, and the outer end to the tyre. Pressure on the axis diminishes
the distance between the said axis and the lowest point of the roller,
and increases the distance between the said axis and the highest point
of the roller.
Rollers of the kind described may be used in roller skates of different
construction from that described.
Having explained the nature of my Invention, I will proceed to
describe, with reference to the accompanying Drawings, the manner
in which the same is to be performed.
.
Figure 1 represents in side elevation, Figure 2 in vertical longitudinal
section, Figure 3 in transverse vertical section, and Figure 4 in plan of
under side a roller skate, the parts of which are constructed and
arranged according to my Invention; Figures 5 and 6 represent parts of
the same detached.
:

page_text: 3, 4, 5, and 6.
a is the sole or clog of the skate, having fixed on its under side two
metal plates, one at the front and the other at the rear end. The fixed
plate at each end of the clog or sole is marked b, and is shown separately
in Figure 6. Under each of the fixed plates b is a moveable arm or
plate c capable of turning through a small angle. The moveable arm
or plate c, in combination with a pair of rollers, is shown separately in
Figure 5. In the middle of the upper side of the moveable arm or
plate c is a hemispherical seat or depression c², and on the under side of
the fixed plate b is a hemispherical projection 62, which fits in the seat c²
in the arm or plate c, as seen in the section, Figure 2. The said
parts b², c², constitute a ball-and-socket joint. The said moveable arm
or plate c turns upon the hemisphere 6' of the fixed plate 6 as a centre,
and the sides of the arm or plate c in its normal position are situated
parallel to the longer sides of the sole a of the skate. The said moveable
arm or plate c is furnished at each end with an antifriction roller d,
which rollers bear against the under side of the fixed metal plate bon
the sole of the skate. The moveable arm or plate c carries on its under
side a fixed bracket e perpendicular to the said arm or plate, and the
eyes e², e², of the said bracket e are fixed to the axis f carrying the pair
of rollers g, g, (see Figure 3). The arm or plate c carrying the forked
bracket e, e, and rollers g, g, has a V shaped bar h on its under side
parallel to the axis f of the rollers, and with this V shaped bar h the free
end of the strong spring i fixed on the botton of the skate presses, the
said end of the spring being of a V shape, and fitting upon the V shaped
bar h when the parts are in their normal positions, as best seen in the
section, Figure 2. When the arm or plate c carrying the bracket e, e²,
is turned in either direction through a small angle upon the centre b
the V end of the spring i is raised from the V bar h, and the said spring
tends by its pressure to bring back the arm or plate c and bracket e to
their normal positions. A strong rod k is fixed perpendicularly in the
fixed plate a on the under side of the skate at a short distance from the
hemispherical centre 62, on which the moveable arm or plate c turns.
On the middle of the axis f carrying the pair of rollers 9, 9, a small
bracket is fixed, the bottom of the said small bracket having a short
horizontal arm ², in a slot in which the end of the fixed rod k engages.
When by the pressure of the foot to the right or left the sole a of the

page_text: skate is more or less inclined the fixed rod k is likewise inclined, as
illustrated in the cross section, Figure 3. By this inclination of the
fixed rod k its lower end, acting upon the horizontal arm 1 of the small
bracket fixed on the roller axis f, gives motion to the said arm 1,
bracket 1, and the said axis fin the same direction, and the rollers g, g,
are made to turn through a small angle, the forked bracket e and arm or
plate c moving through a partial rotation on the centre 6. The required
inclination is thereby produced in the axes f, f, at both ends of the
skate, and the said skate is caused to move in the desired curve, as indi-
cated by the position of the rollers and moveable parts in dotted lines in
Figure 4. By inclining the sole of the skate in an opposite direction to
that indicated in Figure 3 a corresponding angle in an opposite direction
is given to the fixed rod k and roller axes f,f, and the skate is made to
take a curvilinear path in an opposite direction to that indicated in
Figure 4. By bringing the foot into a horizontal position the sole of
the skate resumes its horizontal position, and the roller axes ƒ, ƒ,
return to their normal or parallel positions by the action of the
springs i, i, on the moveable arms or plates c, c, carrying the
brackets e, e.
in
Figure 7 represents in longitudinal vertical section, and Figure
cross section a modification of the skate already described; Figures 9,
10, and 11, represent parts of the same detached. In this modification
I dispense with the small bracket and arm 1, 12, fixed on the roller axis,
and I invert the position of the vertical rod through which the motion
is transmitted from the clog or sole, the said rod being fixed in the
rotating arm or plate carrying the forked bracket instead of on the
fixed plate; c is the arm or plate turning on the hemispherical pro-
jection c, and seating itself in the hemispherical seat m² in the fixed
block m, the said parts c³, m², forming a ball-and-socket joint. On the
side of the hemispherical projection c³ is a short arm which takes into
a conical hole or recess m³ in the block m fixed to the sole a of the skate.
The arm or plate c, vertical rod c³, and forked bracket e, e², is represented
in plan of upper side in Figure 9, and side elevation in Figure 10, and
the block m in which the hemispherical seat m² and conical hole m³ are
made, is represented in plan and sections at right angles to one another
in Figure 11. The other parts of the skate which I have not described
are the same as corresponding parts in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, and
are marked with the same letters of reference.

page_text: The action of this modification will be best understood by reference to
Figure 8. When the sole a is inclined it turns on the hemispherical
bearing c. The inclination of the sole carries the upper part of the
block m to the right or left, and with it the summit of the rod c³. The
said rod c³ being rigidly fixed on the plate or arm c, its summit can only
be carried to the right or left by the block m by the turning of the arm
or plate c upon the bearing c², whereby the required inclination of the
axis of the pair of rollers g, g, is produced, and the skate made to take
the required curvilinear path. The motion of the axis of the
rollers g, g, in one or other direction from its normal position is produced
by the inclination of the sole a in one or other direction. The return
motion of the parts is effected as herein-before described.
Figure 12 represents a roller for a skate constructed according to my
Invention; a is the tyre of the roller, and is the bush of the roller
working on the axis of the pair of rollers. The tyre a is connected to
the bush by the strong band of tempered steel c coiled into the form
of a volute, the inner end of the spring being secured to the bush 6, and
the outer end to the tyre a. When pressure is put on the roller axis
the distance between the bush b and the lowest point of the roller is
diminished, and the distance between the said bush and the highest
point of the roller is increased, and this position of the said bush is
maintained during the rotation of the roller, and so long as the pressure
on the volute spring c is preserved. By the use of rollers thus con-
structed great elasticity is given to the skate to which they are applied,
and the skate has the power of moving over rough surfaces and over
obstacles without producing the shock produced under like circumstances
in skates having rigid rollers.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that
I do not limit myself to the precise details herein described and
illustrated, as the same may be varied without departing from the nature
of my Invention; but I claim as my Invention of improvements in
roller skates.
First. The arrangement or combination of parts herein-before described
and illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of the accompanying
Drawings for causing the inclination of the sole of the skate to give
motion through a small angle to the roller axis, that is to say, by means

page_text: of a rod fixed rigidly to the under side of the sole of the skate and
perpendicular thereto, engaging with an arm on the fixed axis of the
rollers, the inclination of the said fixed rod on the inclination of the
sole of the skate causing the axis of the rollers to move through a
small angle, and the arm or plate supporting the said rollers to turn
upon its ball-and-socket joint, substantially as described and illustrated.
Secondly. The arrangement or combination of parts herein-before
described and illustrated in Figures 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 of the accom-
panying Drawings for causing the inclination of the sole of the skate to
give motion through a small angle to the roller axis, that is to say, by
means of a rigid rod fixed perpendicularly to the arm or plate supporting
the roller axis engaging in a conical hole or recess situated in the sole
of the skate, substantially as described and illustrated.
Thirdly. The construction of rollers for skates herein-before described
and illustrated in Figure 12 of the accompanying Drawings, that is to
say, connecting the tyre and bush or axis of the said rollers together by
means of a strong volute spring as described and illustrated.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Todd, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-six.
Witness,
RICHARD SKERRETT,
Clerk to George Shaw,
Birmingham.
ALFRED TODD. (L.S.)