US20030098554A1

US20030098554A1 - In-line skate adjustment device

Info

Publication number: US20030098554A1
Application number: US09/993,690
Authority: US
Inventors: Ting-Hsing Chen
Original assignee: Far Great Plastics Industrial Co Ltd
Current assignee: Far Great Plastics Industrial Co Ltd
Priority date: 2001-11-27
Filing date: 2001-11-27
Publication date: 2003-05-29
Also published as: GB2386563A; FR2838064B3; GB2386563B; FR2838064A3; GB0206653D0

Abstract

An in-line skate adjustment device comprises a truck, a toe box and a heel with the heel fixed to the front and the rear sections over the truck; two ribs in parallel being provided over the front truck; an insertion rod between the two ribs; two reinforcement wings extending downwards from both sides of the toe box to slide relatively to the ribs; a slide carriage sitting between two reinforcement wings in relation to the insertion rod of the truck; a gear rack and a slot on one side of each the rib of the truck while a corresponding gear rack and a fixation hole on each the reinforcement wing with a bolt being inserted through the fixation hole and the slot; and a nut to press against the two toothed gear racks for adjusting the position of the toe box in relation to the heel and the truck.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(a) Field of the Invention

The present invention is related to an adjustment device for an in-line skate, and more particularly, to one having modified the toe box for adjusting its linear position on the truck, thus for adjusting the length of the boot.

(b) Description of the Prior Art

An adjustment device of the prior art for adjusting a proper length of an in-line skate functions by forthwith dividing the truck and the quarter into the front and the rear parts. Accordingly, certain portions respectively from the front and the rear parts of the adjustment actually overlapped, meaning that where the overlap takes place, there must be a structural strength sufficient to support the weight of the wearer so that he or she won't fall flat on the ground in case of any bump on the road. To adjust for a proper length to wear comfort, the wearer is not only exposed to serious safety concerns, but also has to bear extra weight since the mass of the adjustment is even heavier than that of a conventional in-line skate without the adjustment mechanism.

The extra burden of mass comes from that in the prior art, the truck requires to be adjusted at the same time. Based on the facts that the adjustment for a proper wearing length is the least affected by the truck and such affect can be ignored without compromising the safety and operation of the in-line skate; and that any adjustment made to the length of the in-line skate is always done is not so significant, wild adjustment of the length of the in-line skate can be neglected in the design of an adjustment by simply focusing the improvement on the toe box and the heel.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary purpose of the present invention is to provide an easier and safer adjustment device including a truck, a toe box and a heel for an in-line skate to correct those defectives found with the prior art. To achieve this purpose, the heel is fixed to the front section and the rear section of the truck. Longitudinal ribs in parallel are separately provided on the front section of the truck. An insertion rod is provided between the ribs. Reinforcement wings extend downwards from both sides of the toe box relatively to the sliding ribs of the truck. A slide carriage is provided between the reinforcement winds in relation to the insertion rod of the truck. A gear rack and a slot are provided on one side of each the rib while a gear rack and a fixation hole are provided on each the reinforcement wing. A bolt is inserted into and through said fixation hole and said slot. Both gear racks are toothed with a nut to adjust the position of the toe box respectively in relation to the heel and the truck, thus to adjust the length of the in-line skate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view of the present invention; [0007]
FIG. 2 is a cross section view taken along line A-A in FIG. 1; [0008]
FIG. 2 is a cross section view taken along line B-B in FIG. 1; [0009]
FIG. 2 is a cross section view taken along line C-C in FIG. 1; [0010]
FIG. 2 is a cross section view taken along line D-D in FIG. 1; and [0011]
FIG. 6 is a view showing the operation of the present invention. [0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1, a preferred embodiment of the present invention is essentially comprised of a truck ([0013] 1), a toe box (2) and a heel (3). As illustrated in FIG. 2, a pair of ribs (11) in parallel is longitudinally provided in the front section over the truck (1). An insertion rod (113) protrudes from where between the two ribs (11). Two rivets (12) penetrating the insertion rod (113) are fixed to a front pedal (31) of the heel (3). As respectively illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 5, on one side of the rib (11) of the truck (1), a gear rack (111) and a slot (112) are provided.
As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 4, two reinforcement wings ([0014] 21) extend downwards from both sides of the toe box (2) to slide relatively to the ribs (11) of the truck (1). A slide carriage (211) is provided between the two reinforced wings (21) to slide in relation to the insertion rod (113) of the truck (1). A gear rack (212) and a fixation hole (213) are provided on each of the reinforcement wings (21) relatively to a corresponding gear rack (111) and a slot (112).
Referring to FIG. 4, the front section of the heel ([0015] 3) is a front pedal (31) with its both sides each provided with a slit (311) to execute minor change of the overall width of the front section of the heel (3) to facilitate the adjustment made for the toe box (2). The front pedal (31) is fixed to the truck (1) with two rivets (12).
As illustrated in FIG. 3, a bolt ([0016] 4) is inserted into the fixation hole (213) and the slot (112). And a nut (41) is provided to lock up the two gear racks (111, 222) toothed to each other are used to adjust the position of the toe box (2) in relation to the heel (3) and to the truck (1). An eccentric handle (42) is pivoted to the outer end of the bolt (4) for the handle (42) to rest flush with the toe box (2) and stay in position.
As illustrated in FIG. 5, to facilitate the adjustment, both of said gear racks ([0017] 111, 112) are arranged in serrated form for sliding against each other when both are released.
Upon adjusting for a proper length of the skate as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 5, the handle ([0018] 42) is pushed outwardly to loosen up the bolt (4) for the bolt (4) to no longer press against the toothed gear racks (111, 112) allowing both of the truck (1) and the toe box (2) to slide against each other as illustrated in FIG. 6. Once the proper adjustment is made, and tooth peaks and tooth valleys from said two gear racks (111, 112) are respectively aligned, the bolt (4) is tightened up and the handle (42) pushed to its original position. To adjust for a longer skate, push outwardly the handle (42) and loosen up the bolt (4) for the bolt (4) to clear away from the nut (41). Upon completing the adjustment, simply lock up again the bolt (4) and the nut (41). The adjustment can be done fast and easily without even touching the truck (1) while the central gravity for the operation and control of the in-line skate remains focusing on the truck (1) without compromising the safety at all.
The adjustment device of the present invention for an in-line skate disclosed herein offers safer and easily adjustment for a proper length of the in-line skate as desired when compared to the prior art. [0019]

Claims

I claim:

1. An adjustment device for an in-line skate comprising a truck, a toe box and a heel with said heel fixed to the front and the rear sections over said truck characterized by that:

two ribs in parallel being longitudinally and separately provided over the front section of said truck; an insertion rod being disposed between said ribs; two reinforcement wings extending downwards from both sides of said toe box to slide relatively to said ribs; a slide carriage being provided between said two reinforcement wings in relation to said insertion rod of said truck; a gear rack and a slot being provided on one side of each said rib of said truck while a corresponding gear rack and a fixation hole being provided on each said reinforcement wing; a bolt being inserted through said fixation hole and said slot; and a nut being used to press against said gear racks for adjusting the position of said toe box in relation to said heel and said truck.