Resilient force-adjusting structure for skate board

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6616155
  • Patent Number
    6,616,155
  • Date Filed
    Friday, September 21, 2001
    23 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, September 9, 2003
    21 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Examiners
    • Johnson; Brian L.
    • Phan; Hau
    Agents
    • Troxell Law Office PLLC
  • CPC
  • US Classifications
    Field of Search
    • US
    • 280 87041
    • 280 87042
    • 280 87043
    • 280 1128
    • 280 1114
    • 280 11225
    • 280 1132
    • 280 1115
    • 280 1127
    • 280 628
    • 280 629
    • 280 220
    • 280 265
    • 411 383
    • 411 384
    • 411 395
    • 403 156
    • 403 22
    • 403 21
    • 403 96
    • 267 292
  • International Classifications
    • A63C1700
    • Term Extension
      138
Abstract
Resilient force-adjusting structure for skate board including at least two bracket bodies and a resilient mechanism disposed in the bracket body. Each bracket body includes an upper bracket and a lower bracket which are pivotally connected with each other, whereby the upper bracket can swing relative to the lower bracket. The resilient mechanism includes: a resilient body leant on the lower bracket; two stems uprightly fixed on two sides of top face of the upper bracket and passing through the upper bracket from inner side to outer side, each of the stems being formed with an axial thread hole; and two retainers each having a thread rod section and a retaining section disposed at bottom end thereof. Top end of the thread rod section is formed with a driving section. The thread rod sections of the retainers are screwed into the thread holes of the stems with the retaining sections abutting against top face of the resilient body. By driving the driving sections of the retainers, the retainers can be turned to adjust the height of the retainers so as to change the extent to which the retaining sections press the resilient body and adjust the resilient energy of the resilient mechanism.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




The present invention is related to a skate board, and more particularly to a resilient force-adjusting structure for skate board, which enables a user to easily adjust the resilience of the skate board.





FIG. 1

shows a part of a conventional skate board. The bracket body


10


is composed of an upper bracket


12


and a lower bracket


14


pivotally connected with each other. The upper bracket


12


can swing left and right relative to the lower bracket


14


. The step board


16


is fixedly mounted on the top face of the upper bracket. Two wheels


18


are respectively pivotally connected to two sides of the lower bracket. A resilient mechanism is mounted in the bracket body.




The resilient mechanism includes two resilient members


20


respectively mounted on two sides of the bracket body. Each resilient member has an upper and a lower spring seats


22


,


24


and a spring


25


. The upper and lower spring seats


22


,


24


are respectively locked on upper and lower brackets


12


,


14


by screws


23


passing through through holes


15


thereof. The spring


25


is fitted between the two spring seats


22


,


24


. When a user treads the step board


16


and makes it inclined, the skate board can be controlled and turned. The resilient members


20


provide a restoring force for the upper bracket.




In the above arrangement, the springs


25


have constant resilient force. Therefore, when adjusting the resilient state between the upper and lower brackets, the position of the resilient members must be changed. As shown in

FIGS. 1 and 2

, each side of top face of each of the upper and lower brackets


12


,


14


is formed with three through holes


15


. When the resilient member


20


is locked at the outermost through hole


15




a


, a maximum resilient force is achieved. Reversely, when the resilient member


20


is locked at the innermost through hole


15




b


, a minimum resilient force is provided.




In the case that the user is not satisfied with the maximum resilient state of the resilient member, as shown in

FIG. 2

, a column-like rubber bar


26


can be fitted in the spring


25


, whereby the upper and lower spring seats


22


,


24


can compress the rubber bar


26


to enhance the resilience of the resilient member.




However, the above structure still has some shortcomings as follows:




1. When adjusting the resilient energy of the resilient members, it is necessary to detach the upper and lower spring seats


22


,


24


and then lock the same at other through holes


15


. Such procedure is quite troublesome and time-consuming. Also, it is inconvenient to add the rubber bar


26


into the spring.




2. There are only three positions for the resilient members to change the resilient force. In other words, the resilient force can be only adjusted stage by stage so that the variation of the resilience is limited and it is impossible to precisely adjust the resilient force.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a resilient force-adjusting structure for skate board, which enables a user to easily adjust the resilience of the skate board.




It is a further object of the present invention to provide the above resilient force-adjusting structure for skate board, which enables a user to micro-adjust the resilience of the skate board within a larger range.




The present invention can be best understood through the following description and accompanying drawings wherein:











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is a perspective assembled view of a resilient mechanism of a conventional skate board;





FIG. 2

is a perspective exploded view according to

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 3

is a perspective assembled view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention;





FIG. 4

is a perspective exploded view according to

FIG. 3

; and





FIG. 5

is a longitudinal sectional view according to FIG.


3


.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT




Please refer to

FIGS. 3 and 4

which show the resilient force-adjusting structure for skate board of the present invention. The skate board has two bracket bodies


30


(only one is shown). Each bracket body includes an upper bracket


32


and a lower bracket


34


. The lower bracket


34


is pivotally connected to the upper bracket by a bolt


35


, whereby the upper bracket can swing about the bolt relative to the lower bracket. The step board


36


of the skate board is mounted on top face of the upper bracket


32


. Two wheels


37


are respectively mounted on two sides of the lower bracket. The upper and lower brackets


32


,


34


define therebetween a receptacle


38


in which the resilient mechanism


40


is mounted.




The resilient mechanism


40


has a resilient body


50


, two screwed members and two retainers


70


.




In this embodiment, the resilient body


50


is a solid rubber block placed in the receptacle


38


and leant on inner wall of the lower bracket


34


. The resilient body


50


is formed with a through hole


52


for the bolt


35


to pass therethrough.




Each screwed member includes a bolt


60


and a nut


65


. The bolt


60


is formed with an axial thread hole


62


passing through the bolt


60


as shown in FIG.


5


. The two screwed members are respectively screwed in the through holes


33


on two sides of top face of the upper bracket


32


. The stems


64


of the two bolts


60


pass through the upper bracket


32


from inner side to outer side and are positioned on two sides of the pivot of the bracket body


30


.




Each retainer


70


has a thread rod section


72


and a disc-like retaining section


74


fixed at bottom end of the thread rod. The top end of the thread rod section


72


is formed with a hexagonal socket serving as a driving section


75


. The thread rod section


72


of the retainer


70


is upward screwed into the thread hole


62


of the bolt


60


with the retaining section


74


abutting against the top face of the resilient body


50


.




The present invention further includes two resilient members


80


which in this embodiment are two extension springs respectively disposed on two sides of the bracket body. Two ends of each resilient member


80


are respectively hooked with the upper and lower brackets


32


,


34


.




In use, as shown in

FIG. 5

, when a user treads the step board


36


to drivingly swing the upper bracket


32


, the retaining section


74


of the retainer


70


on a downward swinging side will downward press the resilient body


50


. At this time, the resilient body


50


reserves a resilient energy for providing resilient restoring force for the upper bracket


32


to swing back. Moreover, when the upper bracket swings, the resilient members


80


provide auxiliary resilient force for the upper bracket.




When it is desired to adjust the resilient state of the resilient mechanism


40


, as shown in

FIG. 5

, a hexagonal wrench


90


is extended into the thread hole


62


of the bolt


60


and fitted into the driving section


75


of the retainer


70


. By means of the wrench, the user can turn the retainer


70


. At this time, the thread rod


72


cooperates with the thread hole


62


so that the retainer can be adjusted in height to change the extent to which the retaining section


74


presses the resilient body


50


. Accordingly, the resilient energy of the resilient mechanism can be adjusted.




The present invention has the following advantages:




1. When adjusting the resilience of the resilient mechanism, it is unnecessary to detach the resilient mechanism. Instead, the user only needs to directly adjust the height of the retainer so as to change the extent to which the retainer presses the resilient body. Therefore, the adjustment can be conveniently and quickly performed.




2. The height of the retainer can be freely adjusted so that the resilience of the resilient mechanism can be stagelessly adjusted. Accordingly, the micro-adjustment is achievable and the range of adjustment is enlarged.




The above embodiment is only used to illustrate the present invention, not intended to limit the scope thereof.



Claims
  • 1. Resilient force-adjusting structure for a skate board comprising at least two bracket bodies, each bracket body including an upper bracket and a lower bracket which are pivotally connected with each other, whereby the upper bracket can swing about a fulcrum relative to the lower bracket, the upper and lower brackets defining therebetween a receptacle in which a resilient mechanism is mounted, the resilient mechanism including:a resilient body disposed in the receptacle and leant on the lower bracket; two stems uprightly fixed on a top face of the upper bracket and positioned on two sides of the fulcrum of the bracket body, the stems passing through the upper bracket from an inner side to an outer side, each of the stems being formed with an axial thread hole passing through the stem; and two retainers each of which has a thread rod section and a retaining section disposed at bottom end of the thread rod section, a top end of the thread rod section being formed with a driving section, the thread rod sections of the retainers being upward screwed into the thread holes of the stems with the retaining sections abutting against a top face of the resilient body, whereby by means of driving the driving sections of the retainers, the retainers can be turned to adjust the height of the retainers so as to change the extent to which the retaining sections press the resilient body and adjust the resilient energy of the resilient mechanism.
  • 2. Resilient force-adjusting structure for skate board as claimed in claim 1, wherein the resilient mechanism includes two screwed members each of which includes a bolt and a nut, the two screwed members being respectively screwed in two sides of top face of the upper bracket, the two bolts having two stems forming said stems.
  • 3. Resilient force-adjusting structure for skate board as claimed in claim 1, wherein the resilient body is a rubber block.
  • 4. Resilient force-adjusting structure for skate board as claimed in claim 1, wherein the driving section is a hexagonal socket formed on top end of the thread rod section.
  • 5. Resilient force-adjusting structure for skate board as claimed in claim 1, further comprising two resilient members which are respectively disposed on two sides of the bracket body and positioned between the upper and lower brackets.
  • 6. Resilient force-adjusting structure for skate board as claimed in claim 5, wherein the resilient member is an extension spring two ends of which are connected to the upper and lower brackets.
  • 7. Resilient force-adjusting structure for skate board as claimed in claim 1, wherein the retaining section is disc-like.
  • 8. Resilient force-adjusting structure for skate board as claimed in claim 1, wherein the upper and lower brackets are pivotally connected with each other by a bolt serving as the fulcrum, the resilient body being formed with a through hole through which the bolt passes.
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Number Name Date Kind
1401444 Roberts Dec 1921 A
1499448 Crawford Jul 1924 A
1549509 Schluesselburg Aug 1925 A
2275035 Pardon Mar 1942 A
2330147 Rodriguez Sep 1943 A
2557331 Wintercorn Jun 1951 A
5114166 McCosker May 1992 A
5161810 DeCesare Nov 1992 A
5997018 Lee Dec 1999 A
6158752 Kay Dec 2000 A
6244605 Liu Jun 2001 B1
6286843 Lin Sep 2001 B1
20020096846 Chen Jul 2002 A1