In-line wheel chassis assembly

Abstract

The invention provides an in-line wheel chassis assembly having three or more wheels mounted in an in-line (tandem) arrangement for rotation in a common vertical plane, such that the chassis assembly is configured to (i) facilitate independent vertical movement of at least two of the three or more wheels mounted on the chassis and (ii) distribute across the mounted wheels, total impact and displacement occurring responsive to encountering an obstacle, thereby staggering transmission of the impact and displacement to any surface to which the chassis is mounted. The invention additionally provides a method for manufacturing the in-line wheel chassis assembly, and an in-line skate comprising the in-line wheel chassis assembly.

I claim: 
     
         1 . An in-line wheel chassis assembly comprising:
 n linearly arranged wheels arranged in a front to rear linear configuration, comprising a front wheel, a rear wheel and at least one intermediate wheel located between the front wheel and the rear wheel;   m rocker assemblies, such that m=(n−1), said m rocker assemblies including at least a front rocker assembly and a rear rocker assembly, each including a front end, a rear end, and a pivot point located such that said front end and rear end are pivotable about an axis of rotation passing through said pivot point;   
       wherein, the front rocker assembly is configured such that:
 the front wheel is rotatably mounted at the front end of said front rocker assembly; and 
 a wheel positioned immediately rearward of the front wheel is rotatably mounted at the rear end of said front rocker assembly; 
 
       and wherein, the rear rocker assembly is configured such that:
 the rear wheel is rotatably mounted at the rear end of the rear rocker assembly; 
 the front end of the rear rocker assembly is coupled with a pivot point of a rocker assembly that rotatably mounts a wheel positioned immediately forward of the rear wheel; and 
 the pivot point of the rear rocker assembly is pivotably coupled with a load bearing plate. 
 
     
     
         2 . The in-line wheel chassis assembly as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the m rocker assemblies includes at least one intermediate rocker assembly, and wherein:
 the intermediate rocker assembly comprises a front end, a rear end, and a pivot point located such that said front end and rear end are pivotable about said pivot point;   an intermediate wheel located between the front wheel and the rear wheel is rotatably mounted at the rear end of the intermediate rocker assembly; and   the front end of the intermediate rocker assembly is coupled with a pivot point of a rocker assembly that rotatably mounts a wheel positioned immediately forward of the intermediate wheel.   
     
     
         3 . The in-line wheel chassis assembly as claimed in  claim 1 , the axes of rotation corresponding to each of the n linearly arranged wheels, and the axes of rotation passing through pivot points on each rocker assembly are substantially parallel to each other. 
     
     
         4 . The in-line wheel chassis assembly as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the pivotable coupling between the pivot point of the rear rocker assembly and the load bearing plate is the only disengageable interconnection between the m interconnected rocker assemblies and the load bearing plate. 
     
     
         5 . The in-line wheel chassis assembly as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein:
 the front rocker assembly comprises an angled rocker arm connecting the front end and rear end of the front rocker assembly;   the pivot point of said front rocker assembly is located substantially at a vertex of the angled rocker arm; and   the vertex of the angled rocker arm is located further away from the load bearing plate than either of the front and rear ends of the front rocker assembly.   
     
     
         6 . The in-line wheel chassis assembly as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein radius of the front wheel is greater than radius of the wheel positioned immediately rearward of said front wheel. 
     
     
         7 . An in-line skate comprising:
 a skate boot;   an in-line wheel chassis assembly comprising:
 n linearly arranged wheels arranged in a front to rear linear configuration, comprising a front wheel, a rear wheel and at least one intermediate wheel located between the front wheel and the rear wheel; 
 m rocker assemblies, such that m=(n−1), said m rocker assemblies including least a front rocker assembly and a rear rocker assembly, each including a front end, a rear end, and a pivot point located such that said front end and rear end are pivotable about an axis of rotation passing through said pivot point; 
   wherein, the front rocker assembly is configured such that:
 the front wheel is rotatably mounted at the front end of said front rocker assembly; and 
 a wheel positioned immediately rearward of the front wheel is rotatably mounted at the rear end of said front rocker assembly; 
   and wherein, the rear rocker assembly is configured such that:
 the rear wheel is rotatably mounted at the rear end of the rear rocker assembly; 
 the front end of the rear rocker assembly is coupled with a pivot point of a rocker assembly that rotatably mounts a wheel positioned immediately forward of the rear wheel; and 
 the pivot point of the rear rocker assembly is pivotably coupled with a foot plate affixed to said skate boot. 
   
     
     
         8 . The in-line skate as claimed in  claim 7 , wherein the m rocker assemblies comprises at least one intermediate rocker assembly, and wherein:
 the intermediate rocker assembly comprises a front end, a rear end, and a pivot point located such that said front end and rear end are pivotable about said pivot point;   an intermediate wheel located between the front wheel and the rear wheel is rotatably mounted at the rear end of the intermediate rocker assembly; and   the front end of the intermediate rocker assembly is coupled with a pivot point of a rocker assembly that rotatably mounts a wheel positioned immediately forward of the intermediate wheel.   
     
     
         9 . The inline skate as claimed in  claim 7 , wherein a toe portion of the skate boot or of the foot plate is configured to conform to a surface of the front wheel, such that inclining the toe portion towards the front wheel causes said toe portion to interfere with motion of said front wheel thereby reducing motion of the inline skate. 
     
     
         10 . The inline skate as claimed in  claim 7 , wherein at least one of the m rocker assemblies includes a support surface for supporting the foot plate. 
     
     
         11 . The inline skate as claimed in  claim 10 , comprising a resilient support affixed to the support surface for resiliently engaging with the foot plate. 
     
     
         12 . The inline skate as claimed in  claim 11 , wherein the support surface includes a longitudinal opening, and wherein the resilient support may be affixed at a predetermined point within the longitudinal opening, which predetermined point is selected for optimizing support to the skate boot. 
     
     
         13 . The inline skate as claimed in  claim 12 , wherein the resilient support is affixed at the longitudinal opening by an adjustable retainer, wherein said adjustable retainer enables repositioning of the resilient support at any point within the longitudinal opening. 
     
     
         14 . A method for manufacturing the in-line wheel chassis assembly as claimed in  claim 1 , the method comprising:
 determining dimensions for each of the m rocker assemblies and locations for the front end, rear end and pivot point corresponding to each rocker assembly such that, for each of the n wheels, a ratio between displacement encountered at such wheel (D enc ) and displacement intended for transmission to the load bearing plate (D trans ) satisfies the following expression (I):   
       
         
           
             
               
                 
                   
                     
                       
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                           D 
                           
                             enc 
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                               k 
                             
                           
                           
                             
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                                 k 
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                     Expression 
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                       ( 
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       and
 configuring and interconnecting each of the m rocker assemblies and the load bearing plate in accordance with the determined dimensions; 
 
       wherein:
 i represents the number of interconnected rocker assemblies used to connect a wheel at which displacement D enc  is encountered, with the load bearing surface; 
 l k  represents a horizontal distance between (i) a pivot point disposed on the k th  rocker assembly and (ii) a wheel axis or pivot point axis disposed on the k th  rocker assembly at an end opposite to the end at which the displacement has been transmitted to said k th  rocker assembly; and 
 L k  represents a horizontal distance between an effective first end and an effective second end of the k th  rocker assembly, wherein effective first and second ends:
 for a front rocker assembly, respectively correspond to points at which said front rocker assembly engages with wheel axes of said front wheel and said adjacent wheel; and 
 for any of the other m rocker assemblies, respectively correspond to a point at which said rocker assembly engages with a pivot point of a separate rocker assembly, and a point at which the rocker assembly engages with a wheel axis.