Technical Field

The present invention relates to a roller skate for recreational or sports activities that is very simple to use. Background Art

It is known that learning to correctly and effortlessly use roller skates is not an easy task and that before achieving an acceptable degree of skill, anyone suffers several falls that can have sometimes severe consequences.

In particular, anyone who has little experience in the field has considerable difficulties in managing, with a simple pushing action, to give the skates the desired advancement speed from a standing start, and in managing to brake in short spaces.

Another difficulty lies in making turns; with conventional skates, this maneuver requires perfect coordination of movements and a controlled shift of body weight. Disclosure of the Invention

The aim of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems by providing a roller skate for recreational or sports activities that allows even people with limited experience to skate easily and safely.

Within the scope of this aim, an object of the invention is to provide a roller skate that is easy to maneuver. Another object of the invention is to provide a roller

skate that is free from difficulties in starting.

Another object of the invention is to provide a roller skate that offers adequate assurances of safety during braking. This aim, these objects, and others which will become apparent hereinafter are achieved by a roller skate for recreational or sports activities, which comprises a supporting element that is associable, with its upper face, below a shoe and supports, in a downward region, wheels that can rotate about respective horizontal axes with respect to said supporting element, characterized in that at least one of said wheels comprises a one-way rotation device for the rotation of said at least one wheel only in the direction that corresponds to forward travel of the skate.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the description of some preferred but not exclusive embodiments of the roller skate according to the invention, illustrated only by way of non- limitative example in the accompanying drawings, wherein: figure 1 is a partially sectional lateral elevation view of the skate according to the invention; figure 2 is a partially sectional top plan view of the skate according to the invention; figure 3 is a schematic lateral elevation view of a wheel of the roller skate provided with a particular brake; figures 4 and 5 are views of a different embodiment of the skate with four steerable wheels; figure 6 is a lateral elevation view of a different

embodiment of the skate according to the invention, with four in-line wheels; figure 7 is a front elevation view of a detail of the skate of figure 6; figure 8 is an enlarged-scale sectional view of a detail of figure 2 or 7, taken along the plane VIII-VIII; figure 9 is a perspective view of the same detail of figure 8, with the wheel supporting shaft and the wheel itself removed. Ways of carrying out the Invention With reference to figures 1 to 5, the skate according to the invention, generally designated by the reference numeral 1, comprises a plate 2 that constitutes the supporting element of the skate and forms, with its upper face, a substantially horizontal supporting surface 3 for a shoe.

The plate 2 supports, in a downward region and so that they can rotate about corresponding substantially horizontal axes, a pair of front wheels 4a and 4b and a pair of rear wheels 5a and 5b. More particularly, as shown in particular in figure 2, the rear wheels 5a and 5b are fitted, with the interposition of a roller bearing 6, on the longitudinal ends of a rear shaft 7 that has a horizontal axis 7a and is fixed to the body of the plate 2 for example by means of a pin 8.

The wheels 5a and 5b are locked axially by an adapted cap 9 that is fixed to the corresponding longitudinal end of the shaft 7 by means of a screw 10.

The front wheels 4a and 4b are mounted, with the

interposition of a roller bearing 12, at the longitudinal ends of a front shaft 13 that has a horizontal axis 13a.

The front wheels 4a and 4b are also locked axially on the front shaft 13 by means of a cap 14 that is fixed to the corresponding longitudinal end of the shaft 13 by means of a screw 15.

The roller skate according to the invention comprises a one-way rotation device that is mounted on at least one pair of wheels to achieve the rotation of the wheels of said pair only in the direction that corresponds to the forward travel of the skate.

Preferably, a one-way rotation device is provided for each one of the wheels of the skate.

The device for the one-way rotation of the wheels of the skate can be constituted by a conventional freewheel device or, conveniently, as shown in particular in figures

8 and 9, the one-way rotation device can be included in the supporting bearing or bearings of the wheels 4a, 4b and/or

5a, 5b. More particularly, as shown in particular in figures 8 and 9, the bearing that includes the one-way rotation device comprises an outer ring 46, on which a wheel 4a, 4b and/or 5a, 5b of the skate is mounted, and an annular cage

47 that supports a plurality of rollers 48 that protrude toward the inside of the cage and are meant to make contact with the supporting shaft 7, 13 of the wheel 4a, 4b and/or

5a, 5b, which is fixed to the plate 2. The supporting function of the bearing is performed by two rows of rollers

53 that are interposed between the outer ring 46 and the shaft 7, 13.

The rollers 48 are accommodated in appropriate seats 50 of the cage 47 and are pushed against an inclined lateral wall 51 of the outer ring 46 by a leaf spring 52 that rests against an opposite side wall of the seat 50. In this manner, when the wheel 4a, 4b and/or 5a, 5b rotates in the direction for forward travel of the skate, the rollers 48, due to the relative motion that occurs between the shaft 7, 13 and the outer ring 46, move away from the inclined wall 51, allowing the free rotation of the outer ring 46 with respect to the shaft 7, 13. During the rotation of the wheel 4a, 4b and/or 5a, 5b in the opposite direction, the rollers 48 jam between the inclined wall 51 and the shaft 7, 13, locking the bearing.

The same concept related to the one-way rotation device can be applied to a skate with in-line wheels of the type shown in figures 6 and 7 and generally designated by the reference numeral 101.

Said skate 101 is composed of a supporting element 102 that can be simply constituted by a plate-like element that is associable, in a per se known manner, with its upper face, below a shoe 103.

The supporting element 102 supports, in a downward region and so that they can rotate about respective horizontal axes, a plurality of wheels 104 that are mutually aligned along the forward travel direction.

According to the invention, the skate comprises a one¬ way rotation device that allows the rotation of at least one of the wheels 104 only in the direction that corresponds to the forward travel of the skate 101. Preferably, all the wheels 104 are equipped with a

one-way rotation device that is advantageously constituted by a freewheel device.

Said one-way rotation device can be included in the supporting bearing or bearings of the wheels 104, in a manner that is similar to what has been described with reference to figures 8 and 9, which also respectively constitute the sectional view of figure 7 along the plane VIII-VIII and the bearing used to support the wheels 104 so that they can rotate about the axis of the corresponding supporting pivot 109. For this reason, figures 8 and 9 also bear the reference numerals 104 and 109 related to the skate shown in figures 6 and 7.

In the embodiment illustrated in figures 6 and 7, advantageously, the supporting element 102 is formed by two parts 102a and 102b that are mutually pivoted about a horizontal pivoting axis 114 that is arranged transversely to the main dimension of the skate in a median region of the longitudinal dimension of the supporting element 102.

The axis 114 is preferably arranged after the first one or first two front wheels of the skate, so as to allow to bend the heel of the shoe upward. In this case, the one-way rotation device can be applied to the wheel or wheels that are arranged in front of the pivot 114, achieving smoother skating and optimally using the thrust applied by the skater.

In the embodiment shown in figures from 1 to 5, the front shaft 13 is supported, in a median region of its extension, by a front pivot 16 that is supported by the plate 2 so that it can rotate about its own axis 16a. The upper end of the pivot 16, which has a rectangular

cross-section, is fixed to a front portion 17 of the plate 2 that can rotate about the axis 16a, together with the pivot 16, with respect to the remaining part of the plate 2 that supports said pivot 16. The rear end of the portion 17 is conveniently accommodated in an appropriate sliding seat 18 that is formed on the portion of the plate 2 that is directed toward the front portion 17. The front portion 17 corresponds to the region where the metatarsus of the user's foot, inserted in the shoe, rests.

The capability of the front part 17 to oscillate about the pivot axis 16a, together with said pivot and thus together with the front wheels 4a and 4b, can be used to produce changes in the travel direction of the skate by varying the orientation of the front wheels with respect to the orientation of the rear wheels.

According to the embodiment shown in particular in figures 4 and 5, it is possible to provide the skate so that the shaft 7 of the rear wheels 5a and 5b is also supported by a pivot 19 that has a vertical axis, so that it is possible to change the orientation of the rear wheels as well.

In this case there are means for connecting the front shaft 13 to the rear shaft 7 to achieve the simultaneous oscillation of the shafts 13 and 7 about the axis of the corresponding front pivot 16 or rear pivot 19, with respect to the plate 2.

Said means for connecting the shafts 7 and 13 are preferably constituted by two parallel linkages 20a and 20b that are pivoted, at their longitudinal ends, to the shafts

7 and 13 on opposite sides with respect to the pivots 16 and 19.

By virtue of the simultaneous oscillation of the front wheels 4a and 4b and of the rear wheels 5a and 5b, it is possible to perform direction changes even more quickly with the skate according to the invention.

The skate according to the invention also comprises means for braking at least one pair of wheels.

Said braking means comprise, as shown in particular in figure 2, two drums, designated by the reference numerals 21a and 21b respectively, that are rigidly coupled to, and coaxial with, the wheels 5a and 5b respectively. A belt 22a and 22b partially surrounds each one of said drums and is fixed, with one of its longitudinal ends, to a pivot 23a and 23b that is associated with the body of the plate 2. The other longitudinal end of the belt 22a is connected, by means of a cable 24, to the corresponding longitudinal end of the other belt 22b.

The cable 24 is guided from the belt 22a to the belt 22b by a wheel or pulley 25 that is supported, so that it can rotate about a substantially vertical axis, by a pivot

26 that is connected to a movable portion 27. The movable portion 27 is pivoted to the portion 17 about a substantially horizontal oscillation axis 28. The portion 27, which is located below the toe of the shoe, is provided with means for engaging the shoe, which are constituted for example by a fixing strap 29. In this manner, by lifting the toe of the shoe, the movable portion

27 is made to oscillate upward about the axis 28. This upward oscillation of the movable portion 27 causes the

tensioning of the cable 24 and therefore the tightening of the belts 22a and 22b around the drums 21a and 21b, braking the pair of rear wheels 5a and 5b.

Conveniently, a layer 30 of high-grip material, such as for example a brake lining, is applied to the face of the belts 22a and 22b that is directed toward the corresponding drum 21a or 21b.

According to the embodiment shown in figure 3, the braking means can also be constituted by a brake shoe 31 that is fixed to the end of an arm 32 that is rotatably supported about an axis 33 and is horizontal and parallel to the axis 7a of the rear shaft 7.

The brake shoe 31 is connected to the movable portion 27 by means of a cable 34, in a manner similar to the one described with reference to the belts 22a and 22b.

The tensioning of the cable 34, which is performed by means of the upward oscillation of the movable portion 27 about the axis 28, causes the oscillation of the arm 32 about the axis 33 in a downward direction, in contrast with the elastic reaction of a spring 35 that is interposed between the arm 32 and the plate 2. The eccentricity between the axis 33 and the axis 7a causes the brake shoe 31, upon downward oscillation about the axis 33, to move gradually toward the drum, braking the wheels. In this case, too, a layer 36 of high-grip material, such as for example a brake lining, is applied to the face of the brake shoe 31 that is directed toward the drum.

The brake shoe 31 is arranged so that its downward oscillation, which causes the braking of the corresponding wheels, is increased by the contact of the wheel against

the brake shoe.

The brake shoe 31 can also face a drum that is rigidly coupled, and coaxial, to one of the rear wheels 5a and 5b or, as shown in figure 5, can directly face one of the rear wheels 5a or 5b.

Advantageously, the brake shoe 31 has, at its lower end, a block 42 that engages the ground, further increasing the braking action, when the arm 32 oscillates downward due to the rise of the movable portion 27. The movable portion 27 is supported, in a downward region, by ribs 37 that are fixed to the front pivot 16, for example by means of a pin 38, and extend forward so as to form a substantially horizontal supporting surface for the lower face of the movable portion 27. The ribs 37 are fixed, for example by means of screws 39, to the portion 17 of the plate 2.

There are also other ribs 40, also rigidly coupled to the front pivot 16, that extend toward the rear end of the skate and, like the ribs 37, are fixed to the portion 17 by means of screws 41.

For the sake of completeness in description, it should be noted that the plate 2 and the front portion 17 are provided, on their upper face, with strap-like fixing devices 44, or with other conventional fixing devices, for securing the shoe to the skate.

The operation of the skate according to the invention is as follows.

When starting, due to the fact that one or more wheels can rotate only in the direction that causes the forward travel of the skate, the user can fully utilize

standing-start pushing to cause the skates to move forward. In this manner, a standing start is considerably easier than with conventional skates.

If it is necessary to vary the direction of the skate, the user, by lifting the rear part of the shoe, can cause a partial rotation of the front portion 17 and therefore of the front wheels 4a and 4b about the axis 16a of the pivot 16, thus varying the orientation of the front wheels, which causes a change in the travel direction of the skate. If the skate is provided with four steerable wheels, this variation can be even more marked and immediate, allowing the user to effectively avoid sudden obstacles.

If it is necessary to stop the skate, the user, by lifting the toe of the shoe, produces the upward oscillation of the movable portion 27 and thus activates the belts 22a and 22b, or the brake shoes 31, which brake the rear wheels.

In practice it has been observed that the roller skate according to the invention fully achieves the intended aim, since it is significantly more maneuverable and easy to use than conventional roller skates.

The roller skate thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the inventive concept; all the details may furthermore be replaced with other technically equivalent elements.

In practice, the materials employed, as well as the dimensions, may be any according to the requirements and the state of the art.