Tracked skate runner
OwnerSteven Dickinson Potterinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A tracked skate runner provides a low-profile substitute for a wheel with exceptionally low rolling resistance on rough or soft terrain. The runner includes a skate frame and rollers that bear against an endless track of hinged links devoid of pinch points that can get jammed with ground debris. The skate frame provides a channel with sidewalls and a top dirt shield. The sidewalls fit closely with the links of the track to seal out dirt, and the top dirt shield protects the rollers from dirt that shakes off the top recirculating portion of the track.
Claims27
A tracked skate runner comprising an elongate roller assembly and an endless track of hinged links wherein:
- a. the track has a bottom load-bearing portion, a top recirculating portion, a front turnaround portion and a rear turnaround portion,
- b. the roller assembly includes a skate frame supporting a plurality of mid-rollers configured to bear against the bottom portion of the track, and end-rollers configured to engage the front portion and rear portion of the track,
- c. the mid-rollers have outer rolling surfaces,
- d. the links have inner rolling surfaces configured to engage the outer rolling surfaces of the mid-rollers,
- e. the skate frame provides a channel having sidewalls and a top dirt shield,
- f. the sidewalls fit closely with the links of the bottom portion of the track to shield the mid-rollers from dirt,
- g. the top dirt shield is located between the mid-rollers and the top recirculating portion of the track, and is configured to shed dirt away from the rolling surfaces of the mid-rollers, and,
- h. the links are configured to avoid jamming of ground debris between adjacent links as the links make the transition from the front recirculating portion to the bottom load-bearing portion, preventing kinking of the bottom load-bearing portion of the track.
A tracked skate runner comprising:
- an endless track of hinged links having inner rolling surfaces, the endless track having a bottom load-bearing portion, a top recirculating portion, a front turnaround portion and a rear turnaround portion,
- a skate frame having a top dirt shield and sidewalls joined to the dirt shield to provide a downward facing channel, the top dirt shield being disposed between the mid-rollers and the top recirculating portion of the track, and,
- within the channel, a roller assembly comprising (a) a plurality of mid-rollers having outer rolling surfaces configured to bear against the bottom portion of the track and engage the inner rolling surfaces, and (b) end-rollers configured to engage the front portion and rear portion of the track,
- wherein the skate frame prevents fouling of the mid-rollers with dirt.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.