Patent ID: 6874794

Claim:
A roller skate with a braking device, the skate having a boot with a toe section at a front end of the skate and a heel section at a rear end of the skate and a frame attached thereto, the frame supporting a plurality of wheels of the skate, the wheels defining a single skating plane, the braking device comprising: a front wheel located proximate the toe section of the skate; a brake member disposed proximate the front wheel and attached to the frame; means for mounting the front wheel to the frame for normally positioning the front wheel against the brake member, wherein the brake member comprises at least one one-way bearing, the bearing being freely rotatable in a clockwise direction when viewed from the left, and being nonrotatable in a counterclockwise direction when viewed from the left, and wherein the front wheel is elevated with respect to the skating plane, and thereby is elevated with respect to a skating surface corresponding to the skating plane, and whereby the brake will be activated when skating or pushing rearward and moving the skater's foot to cause the front wheel to engage the skating surface, causing the front wheel to tend to rotate clockwise when viewed from the left, thereby causing the at least one bearing to tend to rotate counterclockwise, when viewed from the left, thereby locking against rotation, whereby friction between the at least one bearing and the front wheel acts as a brake and provides a braking force on the front wheel, and when skating forward and moving the skater's foot to cause the front wheel to engage the skating surface, the front wheel will be rotating counterclockwise causing the at least one bearing to rotate clockwise freely when viewed from the left, so that the front wheel will rotate.