Powered in-line skate
OwnerTimothy A. Gendleinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A powered skate having a small motor mounted on an in-line rollerblade with a hand-held throttle. The motor, such as a small internal combustion engine, is mounted at the rear of an in-line skate having a frame secured to a user's shoe or boot and drives the rear roller via a reduction gear train, which may include a clutch assembly. The engine is started by a pull cord, and the engine speed is controlled by a hand-held control unit attached to the engine via a throttle cable, which may be secured to the user's body via arm and leg straps. The powered in-line skate and a non-powered in-line skate can safely drive a user to speeds of about 20 MPH, this providing alternate transportation for the user.
Claims18
In a pair of in-line skates, each skate having a frame with two laterally spaced frame members and a single row of wheels rotatably mounted between the two frame members, the improvement comprising:
- power drive means mounted to the frame of at least one of said pair of in-line skates;
- a hand-held control unit connected to said drive means for controlling said drive means;
- and
- a reduction gear train operatively connected between said drive means and a rearmost wheel of said skate, said reduction gear train including two pairs of gears with each pair of gears being positioned alongside a respective frame member, each pair of gears having a first gear and a second gear with the first and second gears being drivingly interconnected, the first gear of each pair of gears being interconnected for simultaneous rotation and the second gear of each pair of gears being interconnected for simultaneous rotation, and each pair of gears being rotatably mounted to a respective frame member and drivingly connected to said rearmost wheel.
In an in-line skate having a frame with two laterally spaced frame members and a single row of wheels rotatably mounted between the two frame members, the improvement comprising:
- a second frame adapted to be secured to said frame of said skate, said second frame having a pair of spaced side members,
- a motor mounted on said second frame;
- a hand-held control unit connected to said motor for controlling said motor;
- and
- a reduction gear train adapted to be connected between said motor and rearmost wheel of said skate, said reduction gear train including two pairs of gears with each pair of gears positioned alongside a respective side member of said second frame, each pair of gears having a first gear and a second gear with the first and second gears being drivingly interconnected, the first gear of each pair of gears being interconnected for simultaneous rotation and the second gear of each pair of gears being interconnected for simultaneous rotation, and each pair of gears being rotatably mounted to a respective side member of said second frame and adapted to be drivingly connected to said rearmost wheel.
In an in-line skate having a frame with two laterally spaced frame members and a single row of wheels rotatably mounted between the two frame members, the improvement comprising:
- a second frame adapted to be secured to said frame of said skate, said second frame having a pair of spaced side members;
- a motor mounted on said second frame;
- a hand-held control unit connected to said motor for controlling said motor;
- a reduction gear train operatively connected between said motor and a rearmost wheel of said skate, said reduction gear train including two sets of gears with each set of gears being positioned alongside a respective side member of said second frame, each set of gears including at least two gears which are drivingly interconnected, a first gear of each set of gears having a different diameter than a second gear of each set of gears, the first gear of each set of gears being interconnected for simultaneous rotation and the second gear of each set of gears being interconnected for simultaneous rotation, and each set of gears being rotatably mounted to a respective side member of said second frame and drivingly connected to said rearmost wheel;
- and
- a clutch assembly operatively connected between said motor and said reduction gear train.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.