US 2003/0141680 A1Published application

Roller shoe

OwnerLarry Clark, Chi Hoon Kiminventors

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Abstract

A roller shoe has a pliable bottom. Rear wheels are independently rotatable about a rear axle recessed in the heel portion. A front wheel is rotatable on a front axle recessed in the arch portion. Both axles are removably yet firmly supported partially recessed within wheel housings. Rolling with front and rear wheels on a flat skating surface holds the forward portion of the shoe bottom clear of the skating surface. Tilting forward onto the front wheel alone allows pivoting while rolling. Tilting farther forward brings the forward portion down to sliding, standing or walking contact with the skating surface. Tilting backward onto the rear wheels alone allows pivoting while rolling. Tilting backward in the extreme brings the shoe heel into sliding or resting contact with the skating surface. Wheels are formed of urethane, axles and bearings of steel, shoe of textile or leather, shoe bottom of resinous or rubber material, and wheel housings of strong plastic such as nylon.

Claims12

Dependent claims

A wheeled shoe for rolling and walking, comprising:

a shoe upper;
a shoe bottom, said shoe bottom forming a top surface, a bottom surface, a front end, a rear end, a left side, and a right side, a lengthwise axis being defined relative to said front end and said rear end, a sideways axis being defined relative to said left side and said right side, and a vertical axis being defined relative to said top surface and said bottom surface;
said shoe bottom forming a heel portion, an arch portion, and a forward portion;
said forward portion of said shoe bottom forming at least one substrate-contacting portion;
a bottom surface plane being defined by said bottom surface of said heel portion and said at least one substrate-contacting portion, said bottom surface plane being normal to said vertical axis;
said shoe bottom forming at least one wheel-supporting means;
a plurality of wheel bodies, each wheel body forming a wheel periphery adapted to load-bearing, each wheel body being rotatably disposed on said wheel-supporting means so as to define a wheel axis of rotation, said wheel periphery and said wheel axis of rotation defining a wheel radius, said wheel axis of rotation being oriented approximately parallel to said sideways axis of said shoe bottom;
said plurality of wheel bodies defining at least two longitudinally spaced-apart wheel axes of rotation;
said wheel peripheries of said at least two wheel bodies defining beneath said at least two longitudinally spaced wheel axes of rotation at least one common tangent;
each one of said at least one common tangents passing beneath every one of said at least one substrate-contacting portion formed by said shoe bottom;
said plurality of wheel axes of rotation being located rearward of said forward portion of said shoe bottom.

8 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.