US20060220332A1

US20060220332A1 - Skate having a hidden type size adjusting function

Info

Publication number: US20060220332A1
Application number: US11/097,619
Authority: US
Inventors: Kun-Cheng Zeng
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2005-04-04
Filing date: 2005-04-04
Publication date: 2006-10-05

Abstract

A skate includes a wheel seat, a heel hard shell adjustably mounted on the wheel seat, a guide mechanism mounted between the wheel seat and the heel hard shell to guide movement of the heel hard shell relative to the wheel seat, and a size adjustment operation device mounted between the wheel seat and the heel hard shell. Thus, the user only needs to press the locking plate of the size adjustment operation device so as to adjust the position of the heel hard shell relative to the wheel seat, so that the size of the skate is adjusted easily and conveniently, thereby facilitating the user adjusting the size of the skate.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to one of a pair of skates, and more particularly to a skate having a hidden type size adjusting function.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional skate in accordance with the prior art shown in FIGS. 7-9 comprises a hard shell 10, a toe 11, a chassis 12, and a plurality of rollers 15. The chassis 12 has a surface formed with a positioning hole 120 and provided with a plurality of anti-skid serrated faces 13. The toe 11 has a bottom surface formed with an elongated slot 111 aligning with the positioning hole 120 of the chassis 12 and provided with a plurality of anti-skid serrated faces 130 engaged with the anti-skid serrated faces 13 of the chassis 12. A threaded tube 110 is slidably mounted in the elongated slot 111 of the toe 11 and inserted into the positioning hole 120 of the chassis 12, and a screw 14 is screwed into the threaded tube 110 and rested on the bottom face of the chassis 12 to fix the toe 11 on the chassis 12. When the screw 14 is unscrewed from the threaded tube 110 by rotation, the toe 11 is movable relative to the chassis 12 to change the distance between the toe 11 and the hard shell 10 so as to adjust the size of the skate.
However, the bottom face of the chassis 12 is almost covered by the rollers 15, so that the space of the bottom face of the chassis 12 for rotating the screw 14 is limited, thereby causing inconvenience to a user when adjusting the size of the skate. In addition, the anti-skid serrated faces 130 of the toe 11 are engaged with the anti-skid serrated faces 13 of the chassis 12, thereby causing inconvenience to the user when moving the toe 11 relative to the chassis 12. Further, the toe 11 is fixed on the chassis 12 by support of the screw 14, so that the combination of the toe 11 and the chassis 12 has a smaller structural strength.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided one of a pair of skates, comprising a wheel seat; a heel hard shell adjustably mounted on the wheel seat; a guide mechanism mounted between the wheel seat and the heel hard shell to guide movement of the heel hard shell relative to the wheel seat; and a size adjustment operation device mounted between the wheel seat and the heel hard shell to adjust a position of the heel hard shell relative to the wheel seat.
The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a skate having a hidden type size adjusting function.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a skate, wherein the user only needs to press the locking plate of the size adjustment operation device so as to adjust the position of the heel hard shell relative to the wheel seat, so that the size of the skate is adjusted easily and conveniently, thereby facilitating the user adjusting the size of the skate.
A further objective of the present invention is to provide a skate, wherein the heel hard shell is slidable on the wheel seat smoothly by guidance of the guide mechanism, thereby facilitating the user adjusting the size of the skate.
A further objective of the present invention is to provide a skate, wherein the size adjustment operation device is hidden in the guide mechanism entirely, thereby enhancing the outer appearance of the skate.
Further benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after a careful reading of the detailed description with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of one of a pair of skates in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a plan cross-sectional assembly view of the skate as shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a locally enlarged cross-sectional operational view of the skate as shown in FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a schematic operational view of the skate as shown in FIG. 2;
FIG. 5 is a schematic operational view of the skate as shown in FIG. 3;
FIG. 6 is a locally enlarged plan operational view of the skate as shown in FIG. 4;
FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of one of a pair of conventional skates in accordance with the prior art;
FIG. 8 is a plan assembly view of the conventional skate as shown in FIG. 7; and
FIG. 9 is a plan cross-sectional operational view of the conventional skate as shown in FIG. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to the drawings and initially to FIGS. 1-3, one of a pair of skates in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a wheel seat 21, a heel hard shell 20 adjustably mounted on the wheel seat 21, a guide mechanism 22 mounted between the wheel seat 21 and the heel hard shell 20 to guide movement of the heel hard shell 20 relative to the wheel seat 21, and a size adjustment operation device 23 mounted between the wheel seat 21 and the heel hard shell 20 to adjust a position of the heel hard shell 20 relative to the wheel seat 21.
The guide mechanism 22 includes a dovetail-shaped guide rail 220 mounted on the wheel seat 21 and a dovetail-shaped guide channel 222 mounted on the heel hard shell 20 and slidably mounted on the guide rail 220, so that the heel hard shell 20 is slidable on the wheel seat 21.
The size adjustment operation device 23 is hidden in the guide mechanism 22 and located between the guide rail 220 and the guide channel 222. The size adjustment operation device 23 includes an adjusting plate 232 mounted on the heel hard shell 20 to move therewith and having a plurality of positioning holes 2321, an elastic locking plate 230 pivotally mounted on the wheel seat 21 and having a first end provided with a locking stub 2301 detachably inserted into and locked in either one of the positioning holes 2321 of the adjusting plate 232, and an elastic member 231 pressed on a second end of the locking plate 230 to push the locking stub 2301 of the locking plate 230 to move toward the positioning holes 2321 of the adjusting plate 232 at a normal state.
The adjusting plate 232 is hidden in the guide channel 222, the locking plate 230 is hidden in the guide rail 220, and the elastic member 231 is also hidden in the guide rail 220. In addition, the elastic member 231 is biased between the second end of the locking plate 230 and the wheel seat 21. The first end of the locking plate 230 is provided with a press portion 2302 to facilitate a user pressing the locking plate 230.
In operation, referring to FIGS. 1-6, a user's one hand holds the wheel seat 21, with his one finger being extended into the guide mechanism 22 to operate the size adjustment operation device 23 hidden in the guide mechanism 22 and to press the locking plate 230 of the size adjustment operation device 23 to detach the locking stub 2301 of the locking plate 230 from the respective positioning hole 2321 of the adjusting plate 232, thereby releasing the heel hard shell 20 from the wheel seat 21, so that the heel hard shell 20 is movable relative to the wheel seat 21 to adjust the position of the heel hard shell 20 relative to the wheel seat 21.
After the force applied on the locking plate 230 is removed, the locking plate 230 is pivoted and moved to the original position by the restoring force of the elastic member 231 so that the locking stub 2301 of the locking plate 230 is inserted into and locked in another one of the positioning holes 2321 of the adjusting plate 232 so as to fix the heel hard shell 20 on the wheel seat 21 again, thereby accomplishing the size adjustment of the skate.
Accordingly, the user only needs to press the locking plate 230 of the size adjustment operation device 23 so as to adjust the position of the heel hard shell 20 relative to the wheel seat 21, so that the size of the skate is adjusted easily and conveniently, thereby facilitating the user adjusting the size of the skate. In addition, the heel hard shell 20 is slidable on the wheel seat 21 smoothly by guidance of the guide mechanism 22, thereby facilitating the user adjusting the size of the skate. Further, the size adjustment operation device 23 is hidden in the guide mechanism 22 entirely, thereby enhancing the outer appearance of the skate.
Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment(s) as mentioned above, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. It is, therefore, contemplated that the appended claim or claims will cover such modifications and variations that fall within the true scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A skate, comprising:

a wheel seat;

a heel hard shell adjustably mounted on the wheel seat;

a guide mechanism mounted between the wheel seat and the heel hard shell to guide movement of the heel hard shell relative to the wheel seat; and

a size adjustment operation device mounted between the wheel seat and the heel hard shell to adjust a position of the heel hard shell relative to the wheel seat.

2. The skate in accordance with claim 1, wherein the guide mechanism includes a guide rail mounted on the wheel seat and a guide channel mounted on the heel hard shell and slidably mounted on the guide rail, so that the heel hard shell is slidable on the wheel seat.

3. The skate in accordance with claim 2, wherein the guide rail is substantially dovetail-shaped.

4. The skate in accordance with claim 2 wherein the guide channel is substantially dovetail-shaped.

5. The skate in accordance with claim 2, wherein the size adjustment operation device is located between the guide rail and the guide channel.

6. The skate in accordance with claim 1, wherein the size adjustment operation device is hidden in the guide mechanism.

7. The skate in accordance with claim 1, wherein the size adjustment operation device includes an adjusting plate mounted on the heel hard shell to move therewith and having a plurality of positioning holes, a locking plate pivotally mounted on the wheel seat and having a first end provided with a locking stub detachably inserted into and locked in either one of the positioning holes of the adjusting plate, and an elastic member pressed on a second end of the locking plate to push the locking stub of the locking plate to move toward the positioning holes of the adjusting plate at a normal state.

8. The skate in accordance with claim 7, wherein the locking plate of the size adjustment operation device is elastic.

9. The skate in accordance with claim 7, wherein the guide mechanism includes a guide rail mounted on the wheel seat and a guide channel mounted on the heel hard shell, the adjusting plate is hidden in the guide channel, the locking plate is hidden in the guide rail, and the elastic member is hidden in the guide rail.

10. The skate in accordance with claim 7, wherein the elastic member is biased between the second end of the locking plate and the wheel seat.

11. The skate in accordance with claim 7, wherein the first end of the locking plate is provided with a press portion to facilitate a user pressing the locking plate.

12. The skate in accordance with claim 7, wherein a user's one hand holds the wheel seat, with his one finger being extended into the guide mechanism to press the locking plate of the size adjustment operation device to detach the locking stub of the locking plate from the respective positioning hole of the adjusting plate, thereby releasing the heel hard shell from the wheel seat, so that the heel hard shell is movable relative to the wheel seat to adjust the position of the heel hard shell relative to the wheel seat.

13. The skate in accordance with claim 6, wherein a user's one hand holds the wheel seat, with his one finger being extended into the guide mechanism to operate the size adjustment operation device hidden in the guide mechanism.

14. The skate in accordance with claim 1, wherein the heel hard shell is slidable on the wheel seat by guidance of the guide mechanism.