The present invention relates to dressing up standard roller-skates or in-line skates with a car model like a Corvette®. Novel attachment means are shown.
Kids love model cars, trucks, trains, airplanes, tanks and the like. Kids also love to skate on roller-skates and in-line skates. But nobody has ever provided the toy market with a means to attach a model car to a standard skate boot.
A brief summary of the known prior art follows below.
U.S. Pat. No. Des 232,108 (1974) to Krause discloses a car shaped roller-skate where the boot of the skate is shaped like a car. The foot slips into the body of the car. The roller wheels are coordinated to look like car wheels.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 298,158 (1988) to McKay et al. discloses a truck shaped roller-skate where the boot of the skate is shaped like a truck.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 336,972 (1993) to Diaz discloses a protective cover for shoes.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 356,619 (1995) to Shull et al. discloses a Walt Disney® amusement ride car.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 368,356 (1996) to Reale discloses a decorative cover for sneakers.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 379,395 (1997) to Aird discloses a ride bumper for a skate boot.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 395,479 (1998) to Gamzo discloses a roller board.
U.S. Pat. No. D447,320 (2001) to Chute discloses a jacket that fits over a shoe.
U.S. Pat. No. D459,777 (2002) to Yang discloses a sneaker with collapsible rollers.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,775,895 (1930) to Dupuis discloses a car shaped roller-skate with a sounder built into the housing.
U.S. Pat No. 4,043,241 (1977) to Liu discloses a musical shoe.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,311,676 (1994) discloses a changeable shoe covering.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,430 (1996) to Jacko discloses an athletic shoe cover.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,778,564 (1998) to Ketter discloses a removable cover for a shoe.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,570,955 (1986) Winkler et al. discloses a roller-skate with an interchangeable body looking like various cars. A light is included. Four nuts and bolts secure the assembly together. A custom skate frame is required to attach the car body model to the skate.
Winkler captures the idea of combining a model car to a roller-skate. He even teaches battery-operated lights on his invention. However, he requires a custom skate frame to execute his invention.
What is needed is a snap on means to removably place a model car or the like on a standard skate boot. The present invention provides two designs for attaching a model car to any standard skate boot.
The main aspect of the present invention is to provide a model car and the like with a two-piece construction, wherein the pieces can be connected around a skate boot.
Other aspects of this invention will appear from the following description and appended claims, reference being made to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views.
Two embodiments of a model car are disclosed herein. The preferred embodiment has a front-end assembly with sides and rear fenders cast from a single mold. The rear bumper assembly is cast from a second mold. The rear bumper assembly has a left and a right extension rod that engages a left and a right hollowed beam in the front end assembly. A pair of rubber bands keep the extension rods and bumper assembly pulling against the user's boot heel for a snug custom fit for various sized boots.
Another embodiment has the rear bumper assembly hinged to one side of the rear fenders to provide a swinging door type closure in the user's boot heel. Optional powered lights are shown.
Before explaining the disclosed embodiment of the present invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of the particular arrangement shown, since the invention is capable of other embodiments. Also, the terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.
Referring first to
Although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, numerous modifications and variations can be made and still the result will come within the scope of the invention. No limitation with respect to the specific embodiments disclosed herein is intended or should be inferred. Each apparatus embodiment described herein has numerous equivalents.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60572931 | May 2004 | US |