GB2431887A

GB2431887A - Self-propelled skate

Info

Publication number: GB2431887A
Application number: GB0619783A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Bryan John Rawlings; David Andrew Bees
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2005-10-08
Filing date: 2006-10-06
Publication date: 2007-05-09
Also published as: WO2007042773A2; GB0520536D0; GB0619783D0; GB0807717D0; GB2447363A; WO2007042773B1; WO2007042773A3

Abstract

A self-propelled roller skate is responsive to longitudinal movement of a wearer's leg comprises a pair of splayed swing arms 16,17 pivotally mounted at their upper ends to a sole plate 11, ground-engagement wheels 13,15 mounted to the lower end of the arms 16,17, and a one-way drive transfer band 22 between arms and wheels. A user applying weight to the sole plate 11 causes the arms 16,17 to splay outwardly unwinding the drive band 22 which in turn causes rotation of the wheel 15. A uniform drive action throughout an arm driving stroke may be achieved by the use of a variable transfer gearing such as hub spacers 40 mounted to the drive band 22.

Description

SELF-PROPELLED SKATES

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to roller skates (including traditional quad-skates and in-line roller skates or so-called Roller Blades TM), in particular self-propelled roller skates, but which can be propelled by longitudinal' movements of a wearer's (or rider') leg and foot, thus using the same strong leg (eg calf and thigh) muscles that would normally be used for riding a bicycle A conventional skate, whether roller or bladed, is propelled by weight-shift action of a wearer, in particular swinging movement of the leg and foot; movement continues by inertia and directional change or braking is implemented by leg or foot movement and weight shift counterbalance action A ground reaction to a diagonal outward and backward pushing action by the wearer can also be employed to generate a forward thrust component. Generally, however mounted (i e whether fixed, rigid or with resilient suspension), the ground engagement elements are passive -i.e not themselves directly dnven or propelled Forward motion can be achieved by reaction from pushing an angled skate against the ground.

The Applicant envisages a supplementary active drive action associated with downward movement upon a ground running element. This to generate some propulsive thrust. The necessary attendant drive or drive transfer mechanism introduces certain complexity, but which the Applicant seeks to minimise in favour of a robust, reliable, drive with a linear response action to applied driving force.

The subject skates could be regarded as a form of paired miniature (bi-) cycles for attachment to a wearer's feet in the manner of skates, and which, whilst simple and compact, would be able to fulfil a similar function to conventional cycle in that they would be viable for medium distance personal transport.

Prior Art

Diverse self-propelled skates have been proposed, such as in GB2,061,334, GB2,449,871, GB2,536,569 and GB3,392,986, DE 3,436,836, and US 4,417,737, US4,602,801, US4,691,931, US4,706,974, US5,056,802 and US5,492,345. However, these suffer various constructional and operational deficiencies in complexity and even running

Statement of Invention

According to the invention, a skate comprises a sole plate a ground running element mounted upon a movable support arm a drive transfer and/or coupling operative between sole plate or support arm and ground running element and responsive to relative movement therebetween Certain refinement in wheel set, drive train and braking, with steering features are also envisaged as options These are reflected in subsidiary appended claims, the substance of which is imported herein as

supporting disclosure.

Embodiments There now follows a description of some particular embodiments of the invention, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic and schematic drawings, in which: Figures lAthrough 1E show side elevations of basic configuration and constructional features of a skate according to the invention.

Figures 2A and B show side elevations of an additional drive train feature, to improve consistency of drive gearing, and an optional sole-plate actuated brake mechanism.

Figures 3A through 3C show side elevations and local detail of an alternative drive transfer mechanism to improve the consistency of drive gearing Figures 4A through 4C show side elevations and local detail of a facility for a wearer or rider to change drive gearing ratio manually Figures 5A and 5B show side elevations of a skate variant with a supplementary wheel deployable at a shorter intermediate wheel base to improve directional control Figures 6A and 6B shows side elevations of a skate with drive transfer variant with solid spiral drive belt hub mounted upon a trailing strut and coupled to a wheel hub through differential sized transfer hubs to introduce a drive or gear ratio.

Figures 7A through 7C show a plan view and side elevations of a skate variant with an optional steering system for a leading wheel mounted as caster with a trailing link to preserve steering axis upon arm pivot.

Figures 8A through D show side elevations of a skate variant with a lever actuated brake operation.

Figure 9 shows a side elevation of a skate assembly overview derived from a CAD/CAM design drawing of a more refined production variant with compact drive train transmission and braking facility Figures 1OA and lOB show skate with bespoke skate boot, regular shoe or or direct foot mounting.

Figures 1 1A through liD show further illustrative shaded detail, including an opposite side elevation, of the production variant of Figure 9 Referring to the drawings It is believed the drawings are generally self-explanatory in conveying the subject invention by illustration, so only key features are discussed.

Common component references are used for the same or functionally equivalent parts in the different embodiments for ease of identification and so once introduced are not repeatedly described.

The skates 10 in a pair are handed, but generally symmetrical, so the following description applies to either a left (hand) or right (hand) of a skate pair.

An upper part, or sole plate 11, of each skate 10 is attached to the underside of a wearer's foot 71 -to span, ball, instep and heel -by straps 72 or a fitted boot 70 Longitudinally spaced ground running wheels 13,15 are mounted upon the underside of the sole plate 11 through a intervening movable support or carner mechanism, specifically of splayable opposed depending pivot arms or struts 16, 17, operable so that when the foot 71 is raised, the wheels 13,15 stay on the ground.

When the foot 71 or boot 70 is pressed downwards, the changing geometry between sole plate 11 and wheels 13,15 and attendant relative arm 16, 17 outward splay at their outboard ends is converted to rotary drive motion of one wheel or more in order to propel the skate 10 forwards. The rate of conversion reflects the mounting geometry and drive train A freewheel or over-run drive transfer coupling 26, such as a ratchet 24 and pawl 25 mechanism, allows a rear driving wheel 15 to continue rotation and roll forwards at the end of a driving stroke. This freewheel 26 could be set in the hub 23 of the driving wheel 15.

By continual alternate downward leg pushing action, the respective skates can be propelled forward in successive incremental strides for continuous wearer progress across the ground -with each rolling stnde building upon the preceding one in a seamless transition.

Basic Construction -Figures 1A through 1 E. A basic skate construction is shown in Figures 1A through 1 E as follows.

A pair of longitudinally spaced swing arms or struts 16,17 are hinged at their juxtaposed inboard ends from a sole plate 11 mounting. The upper, inboard arm ends can be intercoupled, for example by meshing cogs 18, so that the foot platform 11 stays level whilst struts 16,17 move. Gearing between strut end is symmetrical -although an asymmetric variant is described later.

An axle 20,21 and wheel 13,15 are attached to the other outboard end of each arm 16,17 A front wheel 13 is fully free to rotate When the rear axle 21 is rotated forwards, it drives the rear wheel 15 forwards - by a drive transfer, such as a drive belt or band, described later.

When the rear axle 21 is rotated backward, the rear wheel 15 can continue to roll forward, by virtue of a freewheel mechanism 26 in the hub 23 -such as a ratchet and pawl as shown in the inset, where the pawl 25 would be attached to the strut 17 and the ratchet 24 would be attached to the axle 21 One end of a flexible drive transfer belt, band or strap 22 (cord, cable or such-like) is secured to the rear axle 21. A suitable length of the strap is wound around the axle. The other end of the strap is fixed to the front or leading arm 16 When a wearers foot presses downwards upon the sole plate 11, the lower arm ends and axles 20,21 are drawn apart, causing the drive strap 22 to unwind. The configuration changes from that shown in Figure 1 A to that shown in Figure 1C, thus rotating the rear axle 21 and driving the rear wheel 15 and the skate forward.

When the foot is lifted, the arms 16,17 recover their original disposition -allowing their respective axles to move closer together again as shown in Figure 1A. A return spring 33 on the rear axle 21 winds the strap 22 back to its original position, ready for the next stroke.

Figure 1 D represents the rear wheel 15 with such a return spring 33 in the form of a coil spring, with an inner part 34 attached to the axle 21 and an outer part 35 attached to the rear arm 17. In this case spring 33 is shown slack, as would be the case in the Figure IA configuration.

Figure 1 E is as Figure 1 D, except that the spring is tensioned by wind-up, as would be the case in the Figure 1C configuration The normal way of propelling the skates would be by alternately lifting (Figure 1A) and lowering (Figure 1C) the left and right feet in a similar motion to pedaling a bicycle. This is the essence of the propulsive action That said, supplementary forward striding component might arise once some forward momentum has been achieved Drive Balancing, Brake, Parking Latch -Figures 2A through 2B In the form described above and illustrated in Figure lAthrough 1E seq, the invention would work, but there would be a variation in drive transfer gearing ration Thus, the gearing would be relatively high in the initial undisplaced configuration of Figure 1A, and would progressively change to become relatively low as the device approaches the fully-displaced configuration of Figure 1C. This would represent an undesirable non-linear drive action over each drive stroke.

Figures 2A through 2B show a means of compensating for this effect, and balancing the gearing to be more even from the top to the bottom of the stroke -that is from the Figure 2A configuration to the Figure 2B configuration. This could be achieved with successive incremental drive belt to hub spacers 40 attached to the strap 22 to form it into a logarithmic (or appropriately distorted spiral drive path when fully wound In the simplest version of Figure 1A without drive train compensation, the beginning of a downward stroke pushes the wheels 13,15 further apart per unit of downward travel than would be the case at the end of the downward stroke, so that more units of strap length are unwound from the axle, causing more units of rotation of the axle at the beginning of the stroke than at the end -which would in turn cause the gearing to be higher at the beginning of the stroke than at the end.

By adjusting the amount of rotation of the axle 21 that is caused per unit of length of strap 22 that is unwound, and thereby per unit of downward travel of the stroke, the configuration of Figures 2A through 2B can be set to even out or balance the gearing to be more uniform or consistent throughout the stroke -from the Figure 2A configuration to the Figure 2B configuration.

A wearer actuated braking mechanism can be provided on one or both skates. Thus, for example, a rear pivot 41 would allow the foot platform or sole plate 11 to be tilted, to pull a brake actuator cable 42 through a flexible outer casing 43 and operate a braking mechanism 44 on one of the wheels 15 Thus tilting the foot back about the heel applies the brake.

To facilitate a wearer putting on and taking off the skates, or so that the skates could be used like conventional in-line or roller skates, a securing latch or catch of some kind could be added, which would keep the skate in the down' position if so required. An example of such a catch 45 is shown schematically in Figures 2A -2B.

Alternative Gear Balancing System -Figures 3A through 3C.

There are different ways of achieving the balance of gearing described above. An alternative system is shown in Figures 3A through 3C, in which a drive belt, cable or cord 22 runs in a spiral channel 46 attached to the rear axle 21 (shown in front and side view in the inset detail of Figure 3B) Variable Gearing and Gear Change -Figures 4A through 4C A further refinement option is envisaged whereby a wearer could manually change the drive transfer gearing. This is shown in Figures 4A through 4C as a variation of the gearing balancing system using spacers attached to the drive strap.

To achieve a higher gear, a longer strap 22 would be wound around the axle 21 several more turns, Instead of the other end being fixed to the front strut 16, the strap 22 would pass around a roller or pulley 50 on the front strut 16, and return so that the end is fixed to the back strut 17 For a higher gear still, drive strap 22 could pass around the roller 50 on the front strut 16 and then a roller 51 on the back strut 17, and back to be fixed on the front strut 16 -and so on with more returns between the back and front axles for higher gears.

It would then be possible to have a system for a wearer to change gear Thus clamps 52, 53 (depicted schematically) could be applied to lock strap 22 next to one or other of the rollers 50, 51 when the skate is at the bottom of the stroke.

As an example of the kind of mechanism and operating system that might be used, inset Figure 4B shows diagrammatically an over-centre clamp 55 and an operating lever 56, in both applied and the released positions Applying a clamp would change to a lower gear, and releasing it would change back to a higher gear.

Steering for Directional Control or Stability -Figures 5A and 5B When the device is in the down' position (the configuration shown in Figures 1C, 28, 3C, 4C), the skate may have a longer wheelbase than would be desirable for the wearer easily to change direction of travel That is longitudinal stability may prove excessive and resistant to prompt directional change.

In order to improve maneuverability, a further variation is proposed as shown in Figures 5A and 5B. An extra wheel 54, free to rotate, is attached to the front strut 16 in such a position that, when the skate is in the down' position (Figure 5B), the extra wheel 54 descends to a lower position than the front wheel 13, thereby lifting the front wheel 13 off the ground, and thus shortening the effective or operational wheelbase and making the skate more maneuverable. It may even be feasible for the wearer to turn more sharply still by moving the body weight over the ball of the foot and pivoting on the extra wheel 54.

Supplementary Features -Figure 6A and 6B.

Provision is made for the foot platform 11 to tilt modestly, in a controlled and progressive way, as a wearer's foot or boot 71 is raised and gradually returned to the level position as the foot is lowered This is better ergonomically, as the foot 71 can be raised and lowered vertically, so obviating a tendency to step forward when the foot platform 11 is kept in a level position. This could be achieved by, say, making the meshing cogs 18 at the top of the struts 16,17 of different diameters -effectively a step up or down gearing for differential relative strut pivot.

Drive is now produced by a strap 22 winding around a small solid spiral mounted higher up on the rear strut 17 The spiral 60 is rotated only one revolution -allowing use of a solid spiral, rather than the previous proposal of a spiral formed by spacer blocks The drive is geared up from the rotating spiral 60 to the back wheel 15 -in a production version a 6mm pitch chain 62 runs from a larger to a smaller sprocket in a 3 to 1 ratio A freewheel 26 is now mounted inside the large sprocket, 61 instead of being on the same axle as the rear wheel 15.

Steering System -Figures 7A through 7C.

Figure 7A shows schematic overview of bi-directional cable connection movement of foot plate 11 and a castor wheel 81. Figures 7B and 7C show an optional steering system, with a front castor wheel 81 hinged to an intermediate strut 82 along with the front strut 16 The intermediate strut or link 82 is attached to a swivelling foot plate 11 allowing rotational movement of the footplate to affect the direction of the castor wheel 81 -allowing the foot to steer the direction of the skates.

Brake Operating System -Figures 8A through 8D.

An improved brake operating system obviates continual brake cable flexing, using a lever transfer system, unaffected by support arm or strut disposition. Tilting the foot platform or sole plate 11 backwards {at any stage in a downward operational or driving stroke) transmits the leverage from the foot platform 11 to a lever 80 on the rear arm 17 -from there to operate the brake 44. In a particular production design this is achieved by pulling a short cable, which is not subject to flexing, to operate a calliper brake on the rear wheel. An example is depicted in Figure 9.

Schematic Overview -Figure 9.

Figure 9 shows a schematic overview of a more refined production design of skate featuring a sole plate 11 with an additional steering castor wheel 54, braking lever 80 and mechanism 44 along with a solid drive train spiral 60 as described previously Supplementary step-up gearing is achieved with a follow-on drive chain and sprocket pair from a primary belt drive to hub spiral Footwear Variations -Figures 1 OA and 1 OB.

Footwear such as a boot 70 or shoe can be permanently of removably fixed onto the sole plate 11. The boot could be a ordinary type, but a bespoke boot with appropriate sole stiffness and side wall flex is preferred As an alternative, a foot 71 could be directly attached by adjustable strapping 72.

Figures hA through liD show illustrative variants of Figure 9, with selective exposure or reversal of overlaid or superimposed features viewed from one side or the other to help differentiate the various components in what is a more compact configuration. Thus wheels and drive train are carried to one side of support arm pressings Footwear 70 and/or a foot mounting could be optimised in construction and flexibility, for wearer foot action required in propulsion. Although pnmarily a foot-worn appliance, a skate could be feature a sole plate configured for other wearer mounting stances, such as upon head, hands and backside, and operational configuration adapted for athletic or acrobatic manoeuvrability.

For difficult terrain, larger diameter and/or profiled wheels, even serrated or spiked wheel contours could be employed to afford ground engagement grip.

The spiral spring in the belt drive train provides restorative bias for arm return movement, but supplementary provision might be made, some of which could contribute a ride cushioning action and/or to suppress any tendency for drive jerking.

Component References skate 11 sole plate I foot platform 12 13 front wheel 14 carrier mechanism rear / driving wheel 16 front / leading strut 17 rear strut 18 meshing cogs front axle 21 rear axle 22 strap / drive transfer belt 23 hub 24 ratchet pawl 26 free-wheel mechanism / drive-transfer coupling direction of travel 31 downward pressure by foot 32 drive wheel rotation 33 return spring 34 spring inner end spring outer end 40 spacers 41 pivot 42 braking cable 43 flexible outer casing 44 braking mechanism securing catch 46 spiral channel front strut roller 51 back strut roller 52 front strut clamp 53 back strut clamp 54 extra wheel over-centre clamp 56 operating lever 60 spiral 61 sprocket 62 drive belt/chain skate boot 71 foot I regular shoe 72 straps I fastenings 73 fixings for skate boot or shoe brake lever 81 castor wheel 82 intermediate strut 83 steering cable 84 swivel hub swivel hub 86 swivel hub 87 swivel hub

Claims

CLAIMS 1.

A skate (10) comprising a sole plate (11) a ground running element (13, 15) mounted upon a movable support arm or strut (16, 17) a drive transfer or coupling (22) operative between sole plate or support arm and ground running element and responsive to relative movement therebetween. 2

A skate of Claim 1, with opposed depending support arms pivotally mounted upon a sole plate, with a drive coupling (22) operable between one support arm and a wheel or wheel hub carried by another support arm with drive transfer therebetween upon relative arm splay.

A skate of either preceding claim, comprising a sole plate for demountable fitment to a wearer's foot or footwear, carrying a pair of longitudinally-opposed, mutually-playable, swing arms or struts, with ground running elements, such as wheels, at their outboard ends remote from the sole plate, a linear to rotary drive transfer operable upon arm pivot about the sole plate, and/or relative arm movement, with a one-way or free-wheel over-run drive coupling, such as a ratchet, to allow driving wheel free-wheel over-run for continued motion after or between drive stroke action. 4.

A skate of any preceding claim with a drive coupling comprising a drive band running between ground wheels, and/or support arm and around a drive axle or drive pulley of a driven wheel, to unwind and re-wind respectively upon opening and closing movement between sole plate and wheels and/or relative arm splay and closure. 5.

A skate of any preceding claim with gearing incorporated in the drive transfer, using different diameter drive pulleys, or a variable diameter pulley, such as with a spiral drive path, and/or intermeshed drive train gears. 6.

A skate of any preceding claim with a drive train intercouple between arm or strut splay and wheel rotation with a compensator to achieve uniform rotary drive action for a ground engagement wheel from non-linear variable spacing between drive arms or struts. 7.

A skate of any preceding claim wherein respective swing arm inboard ends are deceivingly inter coupled by complementary intermeshed gear teeth for synchronised ami movement upon a common relative sole plate movement.

A skate of any preceding claim wherein respective swing arm inboard ends are drivingly intercoupled by asymmetrical intermeshed cog teeth for differential respective arm pivot and sole plate tilt upon downward movement 9.

A skate of any preceding claim, with a spiral drive train coupling or belt drive path for uniform rotary drive to a ground wheel hub upon non-linear drive band movement 10.

A skate of any preceding claim, incorporating a brake actuator, operable by sole plate tilt about a ground wheel, to move an arm, wheel or wheel hub mounted brake arm, with brake shoe for wheel, hub or brake disk engagement 11.

A propelled skate comprising a mounting for a wearer's foot either directly or via footwear a plurality of lever arms pivotally attached to the mounting, a forward or leading lever arm and a rearward or trailing lever arm in relation to the orientation of the wearer's foot; a forward lever arm having a range of pivot movement provided from forwards and upwards to backwards and downwards, and the rearward lever arm having a range of pivot movement from backwards and upwards to forwards and downwards; a wheel or set of wheels, attached to the forward lever arm at the opposite end to its pivot, orientated so that any wheel would turn forwards or backwards in relation to a wearer's foot orientation; an axle carried by the rear lever arm, the rotation of which would be in the same plane as the pivot action; a flexible or interlinked drive connection, one end attached to the forward lever, a length of the connection being wound around a driving wheel axle, or wound around a spool the rotation of which would rotate said axle, and the other end of the flexible or linked connection would be fixed to said axle, the length of said flexible connection being such that when the forward rearward lever arms move apart, the winding around the axle spool would be forced to unwind, and the axle would be rotatably driven directly or indirectly by the spool, a rear wheel or set of wheels attached to the rearward lever arm at the opposite end from its pivot, and orientated so that any wheel or roller would turn forwards or backwards in relation to the orientation of said foot; a freewheel mechanism that would allow forward but prevent backward motion connected between the axle and rear wheel or set of wheels, so that any forward axle rotation would cause forward rotation of the rear wheel or set of wheels, but any rearward rotation of said axle, or slowing or cessation of rotation of the axle would not affect the forward rotation of the rear wheel or set; and a spring operative between the freewheel and axle that would be tensioned by axle forward rotation, and so would tend to rotate the axle backwards upon relaxation of forced axle rotation, with a flexible or linked connection formed into a spiral shape by one or more winding formers, so that as it unwinds, the effective axle drive radius decreases, thus compensating for what would otherwise be a variation in the gearing of the rotation of the rear wheel or set, upon downward foot motion 12.

A skate of any preceding claim with a ground engagement wheel mounted for steering swivel action and a steenng coupling between sole plate swivel mounting hub and a ground engagement wheel swivel mounting hub and a drive belt between swivel hubs 13.

A skate of any preceding claim with a swivel castor mounting of a lead ground wheel, with an orientation coupling to preserve castor action upon arm or strut movement 14.

A skate of any preceding claim incorporating a supplementary wheel at a shorter or intermediate wheelbase and deployable selectively for greater manoeuvrability 15.

A skate, substantially as hereinbefore described, with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings i2.

Claims 1.

A skate (10) comprising a sole plate (11) a ground running element (13, 15) mounted upon a movable support arm or strut (16, 17) a drive transfer or coupling (22), operative between sole plate or support arm and ground running element, responsive to relative movement therebetween, and configured to provide an even drive over support arm motion.
2.

A skate of Claim 1, with a spiral coupling in a drive transfer line.
3.

A skate of either preceding claim, in which the sole plate is maintained at a desired inclination, throughout its movement, by co-operative interaction of a pair of support arms, with variable relative splay.
4.

A skate of any preceding claim with a brake selectively operable upon a ground running element, throughout support arm movement to inhibit drive transfer.

S

: .. A skate of any preceding claim, in which the drive transfer mechanism is contained within the embrace of opposed support arms. S. ** * S * * 6.

* A skate of any preceding claim fitted with a supplementary ground running wheel * ** deployable to provide a manoeuvring or steering point. * S * **S. ** * * S I

* SI 7.

A skate of any preceding claim, with a pair of opposed depending support arms pivotally mounted upon a sole plate, at juxtaposed inboard ends, with a drive coupling operable between one support arm and a wheel or wheel hub carried by another support arm with drive transfer therebetween upon relative arm splay. 8.

A skate of any preceding claim, comprising a sole plate for demountable fitment to a wearers foot or footwear, carrying a pair of longitudinally-opposed, mutualty-splayable, swing arms or struts, with ground running elements, such as wheels, at their outboard ends remote from the sole plate; a linear to rotary drive transfer operable upon arm pivot about the sole plate, and/or relative arm movement, with a one-way or free-wheel over-run drive coupling, such as a ratchet, to allow driving wheel free-wheel over-run for continued motion after or between drive stroke action. 9.

A skate of any preceding claim with a drive coupling comprising a drive band running between ground wheels, and/or support arm and around a drive axle or drive pulley of a driven wheel, to unwind and re-wind respectively upon opening and closing movement between sole plate and wheels and/or relative arm splay and closure. 10.

A skate of any preceding claim with gearing incorporated in the drive transfer; using different diameter drive pulleys, or a variable diameter pulley, such as with a spiral drive path, and/or intermeshed drive train gears.

: . A skate of any preceding claim * with a drive train intercouple between arm or strut splay and wheel rotation with a compensator to achieve uniform rotary drive action for a ground engagement wheel from non-linear variable * ** spacing between drive arms or struts. *** 12.

* .. A skate of any preceding claim * wherein respective swing arm inboard ends *. : are co-operatively inter coupled * *. by complementary intermeshed gear teeth for synchronised arm movement upon a common relative sole plate movement. 11+ 13.

A skate of any preceding claim wherein respective swing arm inboard ends are drMngly intercoupled by asymmetrical intermeshed cog teeth for differential respective arm pivot and sole plate tilt upon downward movement. 14.

A skate of any preceding claim, with a spiral drive train coupling or belt drive path for uniform rotary drive to a ground wheel hub upon non-linear drive band movement. 15.

A skate of any preceding claim, incorporating a brake actuator, operable by sole plate tilt about a ground wheel, to move an arm, wheel or wheel hub mounted brake arm, with brake shoe for wheel, hub or brake disk engagement. 16.

A propelled skate for foot or footwear mounting comprising a mounting for a wearer's foot either directly or via footwear; 17.

A skate of claim 16 with; a plurality of lever arms pivotally attached to the mounting, with a forward or leading lever arm and a rearward or trailing lever arm * in relation to the orientation of the wearers foot; * *.* a forward lever arm with a range of pivot movement from forwards and upwards to backwards and downwards, and a rearward lever arm " * with a corresponding or synchronised range of pivot movement from backwards and upwards to forwards and downwards; **

S

a wheel or set of wheels, attached to the forward lever arm * *. at the opposite outboard end to its pivot, :.. orientated so that any wheel would turn forwards or backwards in relation to a wearer's foot orientation; * * S * S. an axle carried by the rear lever arm, for rotation in the pIvot plane; a flexible or interlinked drive connection, one end attached to the forward lever, a length being wound around a driving wheel axle, or wound around a spool whose rotation would rotate said axle, and the other end of the connection fixed to said axle, the length of the flexible connection being such that when the forward rearward lever arms move apart or splay, the drive connection unwinds around the axle spool, and the axle would be rotatably driven by the spool; a rear wheel or set of wheels attached to the rearward lever arm at the opposite end from its pivot, and orientated so that any wheel or roller would turn forwards or backwards in relation to a wearer's foot orientation; a freewheel mechanism that would allow forward but inhibit backward motion connected between the axle and rear wheel or set of wheels, so that any forward axle rotation would cause forward rotation of the rear wheel or set of wheels, but any rearward rotation of said axle, or slowing or cessation of rotation of the axle would not affect the forward rotation of the rear wheel or set; and a spring operative between the freewheel and axle that would be tensioned by axle forward rotation, and so would tend to rotate the axle backwards upon relaxation of forced axle rotation; with a flexible or linked connection formed into a spiral shape by one or more winding formers, so that as it unwinds, the effective axle drive radius decreases, thus compensating for what would otherwise be a variation in the gearing of the rotation of the rear wheel or set, upon downward foot motion. 18.

A skate of any preceding claim * with a ground engagement wheel * *.. mounted for steering swivel action and a steering coupling between sole plate swivel mountuig hub and a ground engagement wheel swivel mounting hub . . and a drive belt between swivel hubs. * *

S S., 19.

* ** A skate of any preceding claim * with a swivel castor mounting of a lead ground wheel, with an orientation coupling : to preserve castor action upon arm or strut movement. U.

A skate of any preceding claim incorporating a supplementary wheel at a shorter or intermediate wheelbase and deployable selectively for greater manoeuvrability. U7 21.

A skate, substantially as hereinbefore descnbed, with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings. * * * *** **** * * **** ** ** * S S * *

S *5* * * S. * S S
5.5 S. * * . *

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