FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to amusement devices and more particularly to a novel in-line wheeled skate.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Skating has long been a favorite form of amusement, exercise, and recreation for children, and more recently for a growing number of adults. A consequence of such increasing interest has been the development of a wide variety of skate designs. These designs have become more sophisticated and thus, in certain instances, have become more expensive. A natural desideratum of the purchasers of such skates for younger persons is that the user does not too quickly outgrow the skate. It is another desideratum that persons of different feet sizes could use the same skate.

The prior art is replete with wheeled skate designs capable of being adjusted by accommodating different shoe and foot sizes. However, the prior art designs are typically complex and/or complicated in structure.

An object of the present invention is to produce an adjustable inline skate mechanism design having a foot receiving construction adjustable to accommodate different shoe and foot sizes.

Another object of the present invention is to produce an adjustable inline skate mechanism which can be quickly and easily adjusted to accommodate different shoe sizes.

Still another object of the present invention is to produce an adjustable inline skate mechanism which permits minute adjustments to be made to tightly and accurately fit the foot of the wearer SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above, as well as other objects of the invention, may be readily achieved by a skate assembly having ground engaging wheels comprising: a main frame having an upper portion and a lower portion; a toe section secured to the upper portion of the main frame ; a heel section slidingly secured to the upper portion of the main frame, the heel section including a helical rack member; and an adjustment screw rotatingly supported in the main frame and cooperating with the helical rack member of the heel section for effecting movement of the heel section in respect of the toe section.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above, as well as other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention, will be understood from the detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is an exploded view of the adjustment mechanism of the invention;

Fig. 2 is an inverted perspective view of the heel section of the adjustment mechanism illustrated in Fig.

1; Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of an in-line skate assembly incorporating the features of the mechanism illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2; Fig. 4 is a front elevational view of the skate assembly illustrated in Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a rear elevational view of the skate assembly illustrated in Fig. 3; and Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional elevational view of the adjustment mechanism for the heel section of mechanism illustrated in Figs. 1,3, and 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings, and particularly Fig. 1, there is shown generally at 10 an in-line skate assembly incorporating the features of the invention.

The in-line skate assembly includes a main frame 12 which is typically channel-shaped in cross-section. The main frame 12 includes an upper portion 14 and lower portion 16. The surface of the upper portion 14 is substantially flat. The forward end of a toe receiving section 18 is formed to substantially surround the toes of the wearer and support the undersurface of the wearer's foot. The toe receiving section 18 is suitably secured to the front end of the upper portion 14 of the frame 12 by a threaded fastener 20. The rearward end of the toe section 18 is open and adapted to be received within a heel receiving section 22.

The heel receiving section or cuff 22 which encompasses the heel of the wearer is provided with a pair of spaced apart downwardly depending slide members 24. The slide members 24 are slidably received within respective grooves 26 formed in the opposing side walls of the rear end of the main frame 12. An ankle support section 28 rests the upper marginal edge 29 on an upper portion of the heel receiving section 22. The ankle support section 28 and the heel receiving section 22 are suitably fastened to one another by fasteners, such as rivets, for example.

An adjustment screw 30 having an operating knob 32 is rotatingly disposed within a suitable cavity 34 formed in the rear end of the main frame 12. The adjustment screw 30 is operative to cooperate with a helical rack 36 suitably secured to the undersurface of the heel receiving section 22, as illustrated in Fig. 2.

The rearward end of the toe receiving portion 18 is secured to the upper portion 14 of the frame 12 by a pair of threaded fasteners 38 which extend through spaced apart elongate slots 40 formed in the heel receiving section 22.

A number of ground engaging wheels 42 are mounted to the main frame 12 by suitable axle members 43, as illustrated in Fig. 3.

In use, a boot 44 is supported on the main frame 12 in a conventional manner as clearly illustrated in Figs.

3,4,5, and 6. The toe receiving section 18 and the heel receiving section 22 are disposed within the interior of the boot 44.

It will be observed that by grasping the knob 32 and rotating the same, the adjustment screw 30 may be rotated, and the heel receiving section 22 may be moved toward or away from the toe receiving section 18, thereby adjusting the shoe size. The shoe size to which the skate is currently adjusted can be viewed in a window 46, as illustrated in Fig. 3. Movement of the heel receiving section 22 is guided by the slide members 24 and the respective slots 26. As the adjustment screw 30 is rotated, the rack 36, integral with the heel receiving section 22, is caused to move the heel receiving section 22. When the desired displacement of the heel receiving section 22 and the toe receiving section 18 is achieved, the threaded fasteners 38 are tightened to effectively militate against any relative movement between the toe receiving section 18 and heel receiving portion 22 during use of the skate.

From the foregoing description, one ordinarily skilled in the art can easily ascertain the essential characteristics of this invention and, without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, can make various changes and modifications to the invention to adapt it to various usages and conditions.