Skate with pivotal tongue

Abstract

A skate includes a skate boot and wheel assembly; an outer seat disposed on the skate boot and wheel assembly; an inner seat disposed in the outer seat; a tongue disposed on the inner seat; a cover disposed on the tongue; a first hole disposed in a toe portion of the outer seat; a second hole disposed in front of the first hole; a biasing member disposed in both the first and second holes; two projections having a through hole disposed on a front end of the cover; and a pivot disposed through the through holes and the biasing member to assemble the cover and the outer seat. Thus, the tongue is pivotal.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to skates and more particularly to a skate including a pivotal tongue having improved characteristics.

2. Description of Related Art

The tongue of a skate is permanently connected to a toe cap of the skate. The tongue can also be removably connected to the toe cap. However, the conventional removable tongue is unsatisfactory due to complexity and insufficient reliability. Further, a skate having a pivotal tongue has not been disclosed in any patent and non-patent documents as the present inventor is aware.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore one object of the invention to provide a skate comprising a skate boot and wheel assembly; an outer seat disposed on the skate boot and wheel assembly; an inner seat disposed in the outer seat; a tongue disposed on the inner seat; a cover disposed on the tongue; a first hole disposed in a toe portion of the outer seat; a second hole disposed in front of the first hole; a biasing member disposed in both the first and second holes; two projections having a through hole disposed on a front end of the cover; and a pivot disposed through the through holes and the biasing member to assemble the cover and the outer seat.

The invention has the following advantages and benefits in comparison with the conventional art:

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a skate according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the skate; and

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the skate showing a closing or opening operation of the tongue by pivoting.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, a skate (e.g., inline skate) 1 in accordance with the invention comprises a skate boot and wheel assembly 10; an outer seat 11 disposed on the skate boot and wheel assembly 10; an inner seat 12 disposed in the outer seat 11; a tongue 13 disposed on the inner seat 12; and a cover 14 disposed on the tongue 13.

A first hole 20 is disposed in a toe portion of the outer seat 11. A second hole 21 is disposed in front of the first hole 20. A torsion spring 22 is disposed in both the first hole 20 and the second hole 21. Two projections 23 having a through hole 231 are disposed on a front end of the cover 14. A pivot 24 is disposed through the through holes 231 and the torsion spring 22 to assemble the cover 14 and the outer seat 11.

As shown in FIG. 3 specifically, a wearer may clockwise pivot the cover 14 prior to taking off the inline skate 1. Alternatively, the wearer may counterclockwise pivot the cover 14 prior to wearing the inline skate 1.

While the invention has been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced with modifications within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A skate, comprising: a skate boot and wheel assembly;an outer seat disposed on the skate boot and wheel assembly;an inner seat disposed in the outer seat;a tongue disposed on the inner seat;a cover disposed on the tongue;a first hole disposed in a toe portion of the outer seat;a second hole disposed in front of the first hole;a biasing member disposed in both the first and second holes;two projections having a through hole disposed on a front end of the cover; anda pivot disposed through the through holes and the biasing member to assemble the cover and the outer seat.