Claims
- 1. A braking system for a roller skate having a plurality of wheels, the system comprising:
- at least one braking surface spaced-apart from the wheels; and
- a rotatable wheel engaging member between at least a portion of the braking surface and at least one of the wheels, the rotatable member having an inner surface which contacts the brake surface when forced against at least one of the wheels to slow or stop the wheel such that heat generated when slowing or stopping the wheel is created at the braking surface and is substantially prevented from reaching the wheel.
- 2. A system as in claim 1, wherein the wheels of the roller skate are in-line with each other, and wherein the rotatable member is positioned between one or more of the in-line wheels so that one or more wheels may be slowed or stopped at substantially the same time.
- 3. A system as in claim 1, wherein the braking surface is disposed within the rotatable member, wherein the rotatable member may be positioned to contact one of the wheels when rotating, wherein positioning of the rotatable member against the wheel causes the rotatable member to rotate, and wherein engagement of the braking surface with the rotating rotatable member slows rotation of the in-line wheel.
- 4. A system as in claim 3, wherein substantially no slippage occurs between the wheel and the rotatable member so that heat generated while slowing the wheel is generated away from the wheel at the braking surface.
- 5. A system as in claim 3, wherein the rotatable member may be positioned to contact one or more of the wheels at substantially the same time, wherein the two contacted wheels may be slowed by the rotatable member.
- 6. A system as in claim 3, further comprising an actuator which positions the rotatable member against the wheel and engages the braking surface with the rotatable member.
- 7. A system as in claim 6, wherein the actuator comprises a brake arm which moves the rotatable member into contact with the wheel upon movement of the brake arm.
- 8. A system as in claim 7, further comprising a cable connected to the brake arm, whereby the brake arm may be pivoted by pulling on the cable.
- 9. A system as in claim 7, further comprising an elastomeric housing, wherein the braking surface is positioned within the housing, and wherein the rotatable member is rotatably attached to the housing so as to be spaced-apart from the braking surface such that movement of the brake arm forces the rotatable member against the braking surface after the rotatable member contacts the wheel.
- 10. A braking system for a roller skate having a plurality of in-line wheels which rotate when the roller skate is rolling over a skating surface, the system comprising:
- a rotatable member which may be positioned to contact at least one of the wheels when rotating, wherein positioning of the rotatable member against the wheel causes the rotatable member to rotate; and
- a braking surface disposable within and engageable with the rotatable member, wherein engagement of the braking surface with the rotating rotatable member slows rotation of the in-line wheel.
- 11. A system as in claim 10, wherein substantially no slippage occurs between the wheel and the rotatable member, and wherein heat generated while slowing the wheel is generated away from the wheel at the braking surface.
- 12. A system as in claim 10, wherein the rotatable member may be positioned to contact two of the wheels at substantially the same time, wherein the two contacted wheels may be slowed by the rotatable member.
- 13. A system as in claim 10, wherein at least a portion of the braking surface is thermally conductive so that heat generated between the rotatable member and the braking surface may be dissipated into the atmosphere.
- 14. A system as in claim 13, wherein at least a portion of the rotatable member is constructed of aluminum and includes a plurality of heat transfer ribs.
- 15. A system as in claim 13, wherein the rotatable member includes insulation for preventing heat generated at the braking surface from transferring to the wheel.
- 16. A system as in claim 10, further comprising an actuator which positions the rotatable member against the wheel to engage the braking surface with the rotatable member.
- 17. A system as in claim 16, wherein the actuator comprises a brake arm which moves the rotatable member into contact with the wheel upon movement of the brake arm.
- 18. A system as in claim 17, further comprising a rod connected to the brake arm, whereby the brake arm may be moved by pushing on the rod.
- 19. A system as in claim 17, further comprising an elastomeric housing, wherein the braking surface is positioned within the housing, wherein the housing is operably attached to the rotatable member so as to be spaced-apart from the braking surface such that movement of the brake arm moves the rotatable member into contact with the wheel and then forces the housing against the braking surface after the rotatable member contacts the wheel, and wherein the brake arm is pivotally connected to a skate frame.
- 20. A system as in claim 17, further comprising a cable operably attached to the brake arm and an eccentric member having the braking surface so that tensioning of the cable by the brake arm moves the rotatable member in contact with the wheel.
- 21. A roller skate, comprising:
- a boot;
- a frame which connects a plurality of in-line wheels to the boot;
- a braking surface operably attached to the frame; and
- a rotatable member between at least a portion of the braking surface and at least one of the wheels for slowing or stopping the wheel such that heat generated when slowing or stopping the wheel is created at the braking surface and is substantially prevented from reaching the wheel.
- 22. A method for slowing or stopping a moving roller skate, comprising:
- contacting a rotating wheel of the roller skate with a rotatable member;
- frictionally slowing the rotatable member such that heat energy created in slowing the rotatable member is substantially prevented from reaching the wheel.
- 23. A method as in claim 22, wherein the slowing step further comprises positioning a braking surface against the rotatable member after the rotatable member begins rotating.
- 24. A method as in claim 23, wherein the roller skate further comprises an elastomeric housing having the braking surface positioned therein, and wherein the housing is operably attached to the rotatable member so as to be spaced-apart from the braking surface, and wherein the positioning step comprises forcing the housing against the braking surface after the rotatable member contacts the wheel.
- 25. A method as in claim 24, further comprising moving a brake arm to position the braking surface against the rotatable member.
- 26. A method as in claim 25, further comprising rotating a cuff on the roller skate to move the brake arm.
- 27. A method as in claim 22, further comprising engaging the rotatable member with the rotating wheel without causing substantial jerking motion to the roller skate.
- 28. A method as in claim 22, further comprising maintaining the rotatable member spaced apart from the wheel of the skate until contacting the rotatable member with the rotating wheel.
- 29. A method as in claim 28, further comprising allowing the wheels to rotate at varying speeds when there is no braking action to facilitate turning of the skate.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a continuation in part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/801,858, filed Feb. 18, 1997, and also claims benefit from U.S. Provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/053414, filed Jul. 22, 1997 (Attorney docket no. 17251-000920), the complete disclosures of all these applications are incorporated by reference.
US Referenced Citations (15)
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
801858 |
Feb 1997 |
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