Claims
- 1. A roller skate comprising:an upper portion for receiving a skater's foot; a plurality of wheels; a base having an upper surface securable to an underside of the upper portion for supporting the received skater's foot, the base including a heel region and a forefoot region, the forefoot region having a flexible metatarsal head portion; a forward frame segment rotatably receiving at least two of the plurality of wheels, the forward frame segment being secured to the forefoot region of the base and comprising a pair of longitudinal, generally parallel sidewalls in spaced disposition to form a channel therebetween; a transverse stabilizing member connecting the forward frame segment sidewalls at a rear end of the forward frame segment sidewalls such that the rear end of the forward frame segment sidewalls are maintained with a predetermined spacing; a rearward frame segment rotatably receiving at least one of the plurality of wheels, the rearward frame segment being secured to the base at a front connection point and at a back connection point, and having a pair of longitudinal, generally parallel sidewalls in spaced disposition, the forward and rearward frame segments overlapping such that a portion of the rearward frame segment slidably engages the forward frame segment wherein the forward frame segment can rotate with respect to the rearward frame segment to accommodate flexure of the base; and wherein the transverse stabilizing member is longitudinally located between the rearward frame segment front and back connection points.
- 2. The skate of claim 1, wherein the forward frame segment is longitudinally aligned with the rearward frame segment and coupled to the rearward frame segment such that the forward frame segment cannot rotate out of longitudinal alignment with the rearward frame segment.
- 3. The skate of claim 1, wherein the forward frame segment sidewalls comprises rearwardly disposed flanges depending from a rearward end of the forward frame segment sidewalls and adapted to slidably receive a forward portion of the rearward frame segment.
- 4. The skate of claim 3, wherein the forward frame segment rotatably receives three wheels and the rearward frame segment rotatably receives one wheel.
- 5. The skate of claim 1, further comprising a longitudinal projection extending from one of the forward or rearward frame segments toward and slidably engaging the other of the forward and rearward frame segments when the heel region of the base is lowered and the forward and rearward frame segments are substantially longitudinally aligned, the forward and rearward frame segments freely pivoting relative to each other during flexure of the base.
- 6. The skate of claim 5, wherein the longitudinal projection comprises first and second stabilizing flanges projecting from one of the forward or rearward frame segments toward and overlapping opposing first and second sides of the other of the forward and rearward frame segments.
- 7. The skate of claim 6, further comprising at least one elastomeric bumper attached to the base and located above a portion of the rearward frame segment.
- 8. The skate of claim 7, wherein the overlapped first and second sides of one of the forward or rearward frame segments each define a recess that accommodates the transverse stabilizing member.
- 9. The roller skate of claim 1, wherein the transverse stabilizing member is disposed away from the rearward frame segment.
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/632,453, filed Aug. 4, 2000, now abandoned, which is continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/094,425, filed Jun. 9, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,120,040, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/957,436, filed Oct. 24, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,082,744, priority of the filing date of which is hereby claimed under 35 U.S.C. §120.
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Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
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Parent |
09/632453 |
Aug 2000 |
US |
Child |
10/188737 |
|
US |
Continuation in Parts (2)
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Number |
Date |
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Parent |
09/094425 |
Jun 1998 |
US |
Child |
09/632453 |
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Parent |
08/957436 |
Oct 1997 |
US |
Child |
09/094425 |
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US |