Patent Application
20100311510
The present invention relates to skateboarding accessories, and in particular relates to a collapsible rail for skateboard grinding and a method of using a collapsible skate rail.
Skateboards are a popular recreation for children and adults. Skateboards come in various shapes and sizes, and are used for transportation, recreation and/or for competitions. Additionally skateboards are frequently used to perform tricks including jumps. Over the years, skateboarders have developed many tricks using objects in the urban environment, including steps and railings. One trick used by a skateboarder with a railing is to jump the skateboard onto the railing such that a truck housing for the wheels in the front and back of the skateboard contact the rail. Since the truck housing may be metal and the rail is typically metal, the contact presents a low coefficient of friction allowing the skateboard to slide along the rail on the truck housings. This trick is called grinding. Similarly, a skateboarder may also grind along the edge of a step or other similarly arranged article.
However, a public area which may be conducive to skateboarding may not have a handrail or step appropriate for grinding. Additionally, even if an area has a handrail, the handrail may not be at an appropriate height, may have a hazard situated close by, may be at an inappropriate angle or may be in inappropriate for any other possible reason. Furthermore, restrictions on skateboarders may be made by public or private entities for an area. Therefore, there is a need for a portable grind rail.
A collapsible skate rail is provided that includes, among other things, a first bar having a first support and a second bar having a second support. The second bar is connected to the first bar by a hinge, and the first and second bar form together a two-piece bar. The hinge enables the two-piece bar to assume at least two positions including a folded position and an extended position. The first and second bars form an angle with the hinge at an apex in the folded position, and the first and second bars are linearly aligned in the extended position. The collapsible skate rail further includes an internal sleeve adapted to occupy a first internal space of the first bar adjacent to the hinge and a second internal space of the second bar adjacent to the hinge when the two-piece bar is in the extended position.
In the collapsible skate rail, the first and second supports may have adjustable height. In the collapsible skate rail, the first and second bars may have about equal lengths, the first support may be mounted on the first bar a first distance from an end of the first bar away from the hinge, and the second support may be mounted on the second bar a second distance from an end of the second bar away from the hinge. The first distance may be unequal to the second distance such that when the two-piece bar assumes the folded position, the first and second supports do not contact each other.
In the collapsible skate rail, the first and second bars may have different lengths, and the first support may be mounted on the first bar a first distance from an end of the first bar away from the hinge. The second support may be mounted on the second bar the first distance from an end of the second bar away from the hinge, and when the two-piece bar assume the folded position, the first and second supports may not contact each other.
In the collapsible skate rail, at least one of the first and second internal spaces may include a storage space, and the at least one of the first and second internal spaces and the storage space may form a storage position adapted to accommodate the internal sleeve when the two-piece bar is in the folded position.
The internal sleeve may be attached to the one of the first and second bars having the storage space by a bolt extending out from the internal sleeve through a channel running along a part of a length of the one of the first and second bars. The bolt and channel may cooperate to allow the internal sleeve to slide between the storage position and a use position including the first and second internal spaces.
The bolt may be adapted to accept a wing nut on an end of the bolt, and the wing nut may be adapted to form a friction fit with the one of the first and second bars in a region of the channel and maintain the internal sleeve in at least one of the storage position and the use position.
In the collapsible skate rail, the internal sleeve may be adapted to support the two-piece bar in an area of the hinge when in the use position. The two-piece bar and internal sleeve may be adapted to bear the weight of a skateboarder grinding on the two-piece bar when the internal sleeve is in the use position. A force transverse to an axis of the two-piece bar may be opposed by the two-piece bar and the internal sleeve when the internal sleeve is in the use position.
In the collapsible skate rail, the two-piece bar may have an approximately square cross-section. The internal sleeve may have an approximately square cross-section. The first and second bars may be metal.
A method of using a collapsible skate rail is provided that includes, among other things, extending a two-piece bar from a folded position to an extended position, the two-piece bar including a first bar and a second bar connected by a hinge. The hinge enables the two-piece bar to assume at least the folded position in which the first and second bars form an angle with the hinge at an apex, and further enables the two-piece bar to assume the extended position in which the first and second bars are linearly aligned. The method further includes sliding an internal sleeve into a first internal space of the first bar adjacent to the hinge and a second internal space of the second bar adjacent to the hinge so that the internal sleeve spans the hinge area of the two-piece bar.
The method may further include locking the internal sleeve in position using a wing nut attached to the internal sleeve by a bolt, the wing nut being adapted to engage a channel accommodating the bolt on one of the first and second bars after the locking operation.
The method may further include adjusting a height of the collapsible skate rail using a first height adjuster on a first support on the first bar and a second height adjuster on a second support on the second bar.
These and other advantages of the invention will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by reference to the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.
The present invention provides a collapsible skate rail that includes two bars connected by a hinge and having an internal sleeve that is adapted to be arranged in an area of the hinge. The collapsible skate bar has two offset legs, one arranged at each end. The offset of the legs allows the folding of the collapsible bar to enable the two legs not to interfere with each other when the collapsible bar is folded. The leg stubs of the collapsible bar can be attached to leg platforms which have an adjustable height.
In an alternative exemplary embodiment, distance 340 and distance 350 may be equal, but a length of grind rail part 200 may be different from a length of grind rail part 205 to an extent that folding grind rail part 200 together with grind rail part 205 does not cause leg stub 112 to contact leg stub 114.
The foregoing Detailed Description is to be understood as being in every respect illustrative and exemplary, but not restrictive, and the scope of the invention disclosed herein is not to be determined from the Detailed Description, but rather from the claims as interpreted according to the full breadth permitted by the patent laws. It is to be understood that the embodiments shown and described herein are only illustrative of the principles of the present invention and that various modifications may be implemented by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.
