Login| Sign Up| Help| Contact|

Patent Searching and Data


Title:
A ROLLER
Document Type and Number:
WIPO Patent Application WO/2019/092519
Kind Code:
A1
Abstract:
The present invention relates to rollers, especially to the rollers with auxiliary drive mechanism. A roller comprises a boot (10) and a chassis (20) attached thereto. The chassis (20) comprises a rear wheel (30) rotatably attached to the chassis (20); a drive wheel (31) rotatably attached to the chassis (20); a front wheel (32), which further comprises a lever (40), which at a one end is rotatably attached to a front part of the chassis (20) and at another end is rotatably attached to the front wheel (32), wherein the front wheel (32) is attached to the chassis (20) via the lever (40), allowing the lever (40) and the front wheel (32) to swing in relation to the chassis (20); and a power transfer mechanism adapted to transfer the swing movement of the front wheel (32) to the rotational movement, which in turn is transferred to the drive wheel (31).

Inventors:
BODNIEKS MARIS (LV)
Application Number:
PCT/IB2018/057718
Publication Date:
May 16, 2019
Filing Date:
October 04, 2018
Export Citation:
Click for automatic bibliography generation   Help
Assignee:
BODNIEKS MARIS (LV)
International Classes:
A63C17/12
Foreign References:
US20080061521A12008-03-13
RU2365398C12009-08-27
CN203001884U2013-06-19
US0732120A1903-06-30
Attorney, Agent or Firm:
KROMANIS, Artis (LV)
Download PDF:
Claims:
CLAIMS

1. A roller comprises a boot (10) and a chassis (20) attached thereto, wherein the chassis (20) comprises: a rear wheel (30), which is rotatably attached to the chassis (20); a drive wheel (31) which is rotatably attached to the chassis (20); a front wheel (32), which further comprises a lever (40), which at a one end is rotatably fixed to a front part of the chassis (20) and at another end is rotatably fixed to the front wheel (32), thereby the front wheel (32) is attached to the chassis (20) via the lever (40), allowing the lever (40) and the front wheel (32) to swing in relation to the chassis (20); and

a power transfer mechanism, which is adapted to transfer the swing movement of the front wheel (32) into a rotation movement, which is transferred to the drive wheel (31), when the front part of the chassis (20) is pushed downwards, moving the front wheel (32) forward in respect to the chassis (20) creating swing movement, thereby providing auxiliary driving force to the roller, characterized in that the power transfer mechanism comprises:

a drive gear (70), which is on common axis with the drive wheel (31) and connected to the drive wheel (31) in such a way, to transfer the rotation movement of the drive gear (70) to the drive wheel (31); a linear-rotational transfer device comprising a big gear (81) and a small gear (82), which are rigidly connected to each other and rotatably attached to the chassis (20), wherein the big gear (81) is positioned in such a way, that it engages with the drive gear (70), and a rack gear (90) with a one end connected to the front wheel (32) or lever (40) and at an another end having teeth (91), which engage with the small gear (82) in such a way, that by forward motion of the front wheel (32) in relation to the chassis (20), the rack gear (90), which is connected to the front wheel (32) or the lever (40), is moved, in result of which the rack gear (90) turns the small gear (82), while the small gear (82) transfers the rotation movement via the big gear (81) to the drive gear (70), which in turn drives the drive wheel (31), driving the roller.

2. The roller according to claim 1 , characterized in that a ratchet mechanism is mounted in the drive wheel (31) or in one of the gears (70; 81 ; 82) of the linear-rotational transfer device providing that when the linear-rotational transfer device returns to its initial position, which is when a longitudinal axis of the chassis (20) is preferably parallel to a driving surface, the drive wheel (31) will not turn contrary to the driving direction, creating a braking motion.

3. The roller according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it further comprises a first resilient element (60) having one end attached to the chassis (20) and a second end attached to the rack gear (90) in such a way, to provide continuous engagement between the teeth (91) of the rack gear (90) and the small gear (82).

4. The roller according to any of preceding claims, characterized in that it further comprises a second resilient element (61) having one end attached to the chassis (20) and a second end attached to the rack gear (90) or the lever (40) in such a way, to provide a retraction of the rack gear (90) in its initial position, when the longitudinal axis of the chassis (20) is preferably parallel to the driving surface.

5. The roller according to any of preceding claims, characterized in that the teeth (91) of the rack gear (90) are placed so that, when the roller is in its initial position, the teeth (91) of the rack gear (90) do not engage with the small gear (82).

6. The roller according to any of preceding claims, characterized in that it further comprises a stop restricting a movement of the rack gear (90) behind a predetermined limit or a threshold, when the rack gear (90) retracts in its initial position, when the longitudinal axis of chassis (20) is preferably parallel to the driving surface.

7. The roller according to any of preceding claims, characterized in that another pair of gears is mounted between the big gear (81) of the linear-rotational transfer device and the drive gear (70), thereby further changing the gear transmission ration between the big gear (81) and the drive gear (70).

8. The roller according to any of the claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the drive gear (70) is a belt pulley and the big gear (81) is belt pulley, and both pulleys are coupled via a belt.

9. The roller according to any of the claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the drive gear (70) is a sprocket and the big gear (81) is a sprocket and both sprockets (70; 81) are coupled via a chain.

Description:
A ROLLER

The present invention relates to rollers, especially to the rollers with auxiliary drive mechanism.

Prior art discloses rollers, where their auxiliary drive is provided by electric motors. But sustainability of such kind of drive depends on capacity of a battery for driving electric motor. There are known mechanical drive rollers, which are disclosed in USA patent publication No. US 9,302,172, USA patent publication No. US 1,784,761, Korean patent application publication No. 20110051700, China patent application publication No. CN 102671360, where auxiliary drive of the roller is achieved via mechanism, wherein in a result of lifting a heel auxiliary drive is provided for one of wheel of the roller.

International patent application publication No. WO 2007/042773 and European patent publication No. EP 2 069 191 disclose a roller mechanism, where, as a result of lifting and lowering the roller boot, additional drive is created or generated to any of the wheels of the roller.

International patent application publication No. WO 91/15276 discloses another roller structure, where additional drive to the one of roller wheels is created via slide motion of the roller boot, where the slide motion of the boot via rack gear is converted to rotation motion that drives one of the roller wheels.

International patent application publication No. WO 2008/039020 discloses a roller skate which generates the rotating force and moves forward when the person wearing it walks. The roller skate featuring unidirectional bearings mounted on a shaft of wheel supporters which widen with an inclination when weight is loaded on the foot plate and close up when the weight is unloaded. Moreover, the unidirectional bearings generate the rotating displacement by the widening wheel supporters and increase the rotation by the power transfer mechanism, thereby the increased rotation being transmitted to the wheels.

Above mentioned designs of the rollers with additional or auxiliary mechanical drive also requires additional effort from a side of the user. Aim of invention is to create fundamentally different drive for the rollers, respectively, which requires less input of force from a user.

The aim of invention is reached by design of a roller comprising a boot and a chassis attached thereto, wherein all rotatable parts of the roller and drive parts is attached to the chassis. The chassis comprises at least three wheels - a rear wheel, which is rotatably attached to the chassis, a drive wheel, which is rotatably attached to the chassis, and a front wheel, which is attached to the chassis via a lever. Usually the drive wheel is placed between the front wheel and the rear wheel. One end of the lever is rotatably attached to the front of the chassis, while the second end of the lever is rotatably connected to the front wheel. Thereby the front wheel via the lever is in swing type connection with the chassis, allowing the lever together with the front wheel swing in relation to the chassis. In result of movement of a roller users' front part of a foot or a toe downwards, the front part of the roller moves the one end of the lever downwards, in the result of which the front wheel attached to the second end of the lever moves forward in relation to the roller or the chassis of the roller. Forward motion of the second end of the lever is converted to the rotation movement and rotation movement is transferred to the one of the wheels of the roller creating additional or auxiliary drive.

To accomplish above mentioned one wheel roller drive, the roller further comprises a power transfer mechanism configured to transfer the front wheel swing movement to the rotation movement, which further transferred to the drive wheel, thereby providing additional or auxiliary rotation or drive for the drive wheel.

2 In another embodiment of the invention, the power transfer mechanism comprises a drive gear, which is on one axis with the drive wheel and is connected with the drive wheel in such a way to transfer the drive gear rotation movement to the drive wheel. The power transfer mechanism further comprises the linear-rotational transfer device, which transfers the front wheel or lever swing movement into rotation movement to the drive wheel. The linear-rotational transfer device comprises a big gear and a small gear, which are rigidly connected to each other and rotatably attached to the chassis. Furthermore, the big gear is positioned in such a way, that it engages with the drive gear. The linear-rotational transfer device further comprises a rack gear with one of its ends connected to the front wheel or the lever. The rack gear may be connected in swing type motion with the front wheel or the lever, or the rack gear may be rigidly connected to the lever. While a second end of the rack gear is a free end and having teeth created thereon, which engages with the small gear. Accordingly, when the front wheel moves forward, the rack gear transfers linear motion of the front wheel to the small gear, which transfers its rotational movement via the big gear to the drive gear, which turns the drive wheel, creating additional or auxiliary drive to the roller in direction of a movement of a skater.

Furthermore, a ratchet mechanism is mounted in the drive wheel or in one of the gears of the linear-rotational transfer device, wherein the ratchet mechanism is configured to return or retract the linear-rotational transfer device in its initial position, when the longitudinal axis of the chassis is preferably parallel to a driving surface, so that the drive wheel is not turned contrary to the driving direction, creating a braking motion. The function of the ratchet mechanism may be realized also by other means known to the person skilled in the art.

The roller may further comprise the first resilient element, one end of which is attached to the chassis, and the second end of it is attached to the rack gear in such a way, to provide continuous engagement between the rack gear teeth and the small gear. The resilient element pushes the rack gear against the small gear or any other linear-rotational transmission element, which transfers the rack gear linear movement into rotational movement. The resilient element may be a spring, a rubber or any other resilient element, which may be used by person skilled in the art to provide the above mentioned function.

The roller may further comprise the second resilient element, one end of which is attached to the chassis, and the second end of it is attached to the rack gear or the lever in such a way, to provide retraction of the rack gear in its starting or initial position, when the longitudinal axis of the chassis is preferably parallel to the driving surface. In one embodiment of the invention the second resilient element may be spiral type spring element, which is attached to the connection point of the lever and the mount, providing that the lever and the rack gear return to its initial positions. The resilient element may be a spring, a rubber or any other resilient element, which could be used by person skilled in the art to provide the above mentioned function.

Within the scope of the invention, the starting or initial position of the chassis is meant, when the longitudinal surface of roller chassis is parallel to a driving surface and the front wheel and the lever connected to it do not swing or move, which would happen when a toe or the front part of the roller will be moved downwards.

Furthermore, the teeth of the rack gear of the rollers are positioned so that, when the roller is in its initial position, the teeth of the rack gear are not engaged with the small gear.

The roller further comprises a stop, which restricts a movement of the rack gear behind the predetermined limit or a threshold, when the rack gear returns in its initial position, when the longitudinal axis of the chassis is preferably parallel to the driving surface.

In another embodiment, auxiliary gear pair is mounted between the big gear of the linear- rotational transfer device and the drive gear, thereby further changing the gear ratio between the big gear and the drive gear. Thereby providing further variations with transmission ration and torque.

4 In another embodiment, the gear to be driven may be sprocket and the big gear may be a sprocket as well, and both gears are coupled by chain. In another embodiment, the gear to be driven is a belt pulley and the big gear is belt pulley, and both pulleys are coupled via a belt. Both mentioned embodiments are alternatives for transfer of rotation movement from the rack gear transmission to the drive gear or the drive wheel. Furthermore, the drive gear may be integral part of the drive wheel.

Furthermore, the object of the invention - the rollers - may be combined with electric drive solutions already known in the art. For example, auxiliary electric drive may be installed in the drive wheel of the roller as a direct drive, when the electric motor is mounted in the drive wheel, or indirect, when the electric motor drive is associated with the drive wheel via a belt, a chain or any other well known power transmission mechanism.

Invention is explained in more detail by attached drawings, which illustrate and explain essence of invention.

Fig. 1 illustrates a roller in its initial position.

Fig. 2 illustrates a roller in lifted position, when a user of the roller moves a toe downwards, thereby creating additional or auxiliary drive to the drive wheel 31 via power transmission mechanism.

Fig. 3 illustrates another embodiment of a roller in its initial position.

Fig. 4 illustrates another embodiment of the invention which is similar to one illustrated in Fig. 3, but in lifted position, when a user of the roller moves a leg towards and with that a toe of the user goes downwards.

Fig. 1 shows a roller, which comprises a boot 10 and a chassis 20 attached thereto. The chassis 20 comprises a rear wheel 30, which is rotatably attached to the chassis 20, a drive wheel 31, which is rotatably attached to the chassis 20, and a front wheel 32. The roller further comprises a lever 40, which with a one end is rotatably attached to the front of the chassis 20 on an axis 41, and with another end is rotatably attached to the front wheel 32

5 on an axis 33. Thereby the front wheel 32 is connected with the chassi 20 via the lever 40, allowing the lever 40 and front wheel 32 to swing in relation to the chassis 20.

The roller as illustrated in Fig. 1 further comprises a power transfer mechanism, which is adapted to transfer the swing motion of the front wheel 32 to the rotational movement, where it is further transferred to the drive wheel 31, thereby driving the drive wheel 31. The front wheel 32 via the lever 40 swings or moves forward in respect to the roller chassis 20 when the front of the chassis 20 or toe of the boot 10 and with this the chassis 20 are pushed downwards, moving the front wheel 32 forward in relation to the chassis 20, thereby creating auxiliary drive to the roller via the power transmission mechanism. Position of the roller, where the front wheel 32 is moved towards result in driving the drive wheel 31 via the power transmission mechanism as it is illustrated in Fig. 2. In another embodiment, the same position of the roller is shown in the Fig. 4. The power transmission mechanism as illustrated in Fig. 1 - Fig. 4 comprises the drive gear 70, which is on one axis with the drive wheel 31 and is connected with the drive wheel 31 in such a way to transfer the rotation movement of the drive gear 70 to the drive wheel 31. The power transmission mechanism further comprises a linear-rotational transfer device, which comprises a big gear 81 and a small gear 82, which are rigidly fixed to each other and rotatably attached to the chassis 20. Furthermore, the big gear 81 is positioned in such a way, that it would be engaged with the drive gear 70. The linear-rotational transfer device further comprises a rack gear 90, which at the one end of it is connected with swivel type joint to the front wheel 32 (as it is shown in Figs. 1 and 2) or to the lever 40 (as shown in Figs. 3 and 4). Teeth 91 are created at the other end of the rack gear 90 or at the end, which engages with the small gear 82, wherein the teeth 91 engage with the small gear 82 in such a way, that by moving forward the front wheel 32, the rack gear 90 associated with the front wheel 32 (as it is shown in Figs. 1 and 2) or the lever 40 (as it is shown in Figs. 3 and 4) is also moved forward, in result of which the rack gear 90 turns the small gear 82, wherein the small gear 82 transfers the rotation movement to the drive gear 70 via the big gear 81, wherein the drive gear 70 turns the drive wheel 31, creating auxiliary drive to the

6 roller. Furthermore, the teeth 91 of the rack gear 90 are placed so that, when the roller is in its initial position, the teeth 91 of the rack gear 90 are not engaged with the small gear 82.

A ratchet mechanism is mounted in the drive wheel 31 providing retraction of the linear- rotational transfer device in its initial position without rotation of the drive wheel 31 contrary to the driving direction that would create a braking motion, when the longitudinal axis of the chassis 20 is preferably parallel to a driving surface.

The roller as illustrated in Figs. 1 - 4 further comprises a first resilient element 60 as a cylindrical spring, one end of which is attached to the chassis 20, but the second end of it is attached to the rack gear 90 in such a way, to provide continuous engagement between the teeth 91 of the rack gear 90 and the small gear 82. The roller as illustrated in Figs. 1 - 4 further comprises a second resilient element 61, one end of which is attached to the chassis 20, but another end of it is attached to the rack gear 90 or the lever 40 in such a way, to provide retraction of the rack gear 90 in its initial position, when longitudinal axis of chassis 20 is preferably parallel to the driving surface.

7