WO2005110558A1

WO2005110558A1 - In-line skate wheel with detachable tires

Info

Publication number: WO2005110558A1
Application number: PCT/KR2005/001402
Authority: WO
Inventors: In Jeon
Original assignee: In Jeon
Priority date: 2004-05-19
Filing date: 2005-05-13
Publication date: 2005-11-24
Also published as: KR200358915Y1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a wheel to be used in a travelling means such as an in-line skate, a roller skate, a skateboard, a kick board, and a carrying means such as a travel bag. More specifically, the present invention relates to an in-line skate wheel having a detachable tire, in which the central hub and the tire can be assembled to each other and disassembled from each other, the tire is prevented from being released from the central hub even in a user's vigorous actions or motions, and the central hub is formed of a metallic material to thereby absorb heat generated by the bearing. The in-line stake wheel of the invention is composed of a metallic central hub, a tire-fixing rim and a tire. Each constitutional element can be assembled to each other and disassembled from each other. The invention includes a means for preventing the tire from being escaped from the central hub, even due to a user's vigorous actions, a means for preventing the tire from being slid in the rotational direction relatively to the central hub, and a means for easily detachably attaching the tire-fixing rim to the central hub.

Description

IN-LINE SKATE WHEEL WITH DETACHABLE TIRES

Technical Field The present invention relates to a wheel for use in a

travelling means such as an in-line skate, a roller skate, a skateboard or a kick board, and a carrying means such as a travel bag. In particular, the invention relates to an in¬

line skate wheel with a detachable tire, which is useful in

case where a great force is exerted to the axial direction of the wheel, i.e., to the direction perpendicular to the

travelling direction thereof.

Background Art In general, in-line skates or skateboards have been

widely used for leisure sports, but not only for a simple

travelling means. Thus, the users enjoy various stunt actions such as rotations, jump, or sliding, along with a simple rolling motion. Accordingly, the wheel of these

travelling means has been especially designed so as to

secure durability and safety. The wheel of the in-line skate, which is representative

of these travelling means, is composed of a central hub

formed of a plastic material and a tire, in order to endure a user's vigorous actions and motions. In order to improve

the bonding force between the central hub and the tire, the wheel is formed in such a way that the central hub is inserted into the tire mould and then the tire is molded, integrally with the central hub. In this way, the wheel

exhibit a good bonding force between the tire and the central hub to thereby prevent the tire from being released

from the tire, but still embraces disadvantages as follows.

First, frequently the wheel is fabricated at the state

that the center of the central hub is not aligned with that

of the tire. In this case, when the wheel rotates, the

wobbling phenomenon occurs in the wheel, thereby leading to unnecessary energy loss. In addition, the central hub is formed of a plastic

material and thus when in a high speed travelling or

rotation, the central hub cannot effectively absorb the heat generated from a bearing, thereby imposing damages on the

bearing. Due to a user's vigorous actions, the bearing may

be displaced from the bearing seat. As a result, the

degradation of the bearing is accelerated and unnecessary noise is produced, which may cause uncomfortable feeling to

the users. Furthermore, if the tire is worn off, the wheel needs to be replaced. The conventional wheel is designed such

that the tire cannot be assembled to and disassembled from

the central hub, disadvantageously thereby involving

disposal of the entire wheel. In order to overcome the disadvantages of the

conventional wheel composed of a plastic central hub and a

tire, a wheel consisting of a metallic central hub and a

tire has been proposed. This wheel having a metallic hub

has solved many problems associated with the conventional

plastic hub wheel, but still embraces a disadvantage in that

the tire cannot be separated from the central hub formed of

a metallic material. Thus, considering that the metallic

hub wheel is more expensive relatively to the conventional

wheels, in the case where the wheel is replaced due to the

wearing-off of the tire, a significant financial burden is

imposed on the users.

Disclosure Technical Solution Accordingly, the present invention has been made in

order to solve the above problems occurring in the art, and

it is an object of the invention to provide an in-line skate

wheel with a detachable wheel, in which the central hub and

the tire can be assembled/disassembled to/from each other, and the tire can be prevented from being released from the

central hub.

Another object of the invention is to provide an in^¬

line skate wheel with a detachable tire, in which the

central hub is formed of a metallic material to thereby

absorb heat generated by a bearing and thus alleviate the

damage of bearing, and also to effectively distribute the

central hub's weight far from the axis thereof and thus

obtain a high rotational moment of inertia. A further object of the invention is to provide an in¬

line skate wheel with a detachable tire, in which the

bearing can be prevented from being displaced from the

bearing seat, thereby retaining the precision and rigidity

thereof during an extended time of service.

Brief Description of Drawings

Further objects and advantages of the invention can be

more fully understood from the following detailed

description taken in conjunction with the accompanying

drawings, in which:

FIG. 1(a) is a partially cut-out perspective view of a

conventional in-line skate wheel having a hub formed of a

plastic material;

FIG. 1(b) is a perspective view of a conventional in- line stake wheel having a hub formed of a metallic material;

FIG. 2(a) is a perspective view of an in-line stake

wheel according to the invention; FIG. 2(b) is a front view of the in-line skate wheel of

the invention; FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the in-line

skate wheel of the invention; FIG. 4 (a) is a perspective view of the central hub of

the in-line stake wheel of the invention; FIG. 4(b) is a front view of the central hub of the in¬

line skate wheel of the invention; FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the tire of the in-line

stake wheel of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view and partially enlarged view of the tire-fixing rim in the in-line state wheel of

the invention;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the in-line stake wheel

of the invention, showing an assembling method of the tire- fixing rim; FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the tire-fixing rim, showing the inner face thereof; and

FIG. 9 is a partially cut-out perspective view and

enlarged perspective view of the in-line skate wheel of the invention.

Mode for Invention

The preferred embodiments of the present invention will

be hereafter described in detail with reference to the

accompanying drawings .

FIG. 1(a) is a partially cut-out perspective view of a

conventional in-line skate wheel having a hub formed of a

plastic material, and FIG. 1(b) is a perspective view of a

conventional in-line stake wheel having a hub formed of a

metallic material.

As shown in FIG. 1(a), the conventional in-line skate

wheel is composed of a central hub 10 and a tire 20. In the

manufacturing of the conventional wheel, the wheel is molded

with the central hub 10 inserted into a tire forming mould,

and thus a user cannot detach the tire 20 from the central

hub 10. In the in-line skate wheel of FIG. 1(b), the central

hub 10 is formed of a metallic material. The wheel of FIG.

1(b) is somewhat improved from one in FIG. 1(a), but still

embraces a problem that the tire 20 cannot be disassembled

from the central hub 10. In order to solve the problem, the

tire 20 is designed so as to have a good wear resistance. In this case, however, a sense of comfortable riding and

cushioning force are degraded disadvantageously.

FIG. 2(a) is a perspective view of an in-line stake wheel according to the invention, and FIG. 2(b) is a front

view of the in-line skate wheel of the invention.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b), the in-line skate wheel of the invention is composed of a central hub 10,

a tire 20 and a tire-fixing rim 30. The tire-fixing rim 30

is formed in such a manner to cut part of the central hub 10 such that the tire 20 can be assembled into and disassembled

from the central hub 10. After the tire 20 is inserted into

the central hub 10, the tire-fixing rim 30 is fixed to the

central hub 10, thereby preventing the tire 20 from being released from the central hub 10. The connection of the

tire-fixing rim 30 with the central hub 10 will be described

hereinafter.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the in-line skate wheel of the invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, the in-line stake wheel of the

invention is structured such that the tire 20 can be detached from the central hub 10, and, after assembled, the

tire 20 cannot be released from the central hub 10 by means

of the tire-fixing rim 30. The central hub 10 and the tire- fixing rim 30 are connected with each other through thread

engagement, i.e., a male thread is formed in the central hub

10 and a female thread is formed in the tire-fixing rim 30.

In order for the tire 20 not to be released from the

central hub 10 even in a user's vigorous motion, and in

order for the tire not to be slipped relative to the central

hub 10, an additional means is to be provided, along with

the tire-fixing rim 30. Details on this purpose will be

described hereinafter. FIG. 4 (a) is a perspective view of the central hub of

the in-line stake wheel of the invention, and FIG. 4 (b) is a

front view of the central hub of the in-line skate wheel of

the invention.

The central hub 10 is composed of an inner bearing seat

15 where a bearing can be seated, an outer rim 11 where the

tire 20 is rested, and a radial connection support 16 for

connecting the inner bearing seat 15 and the outer rim 11

with each other.

Along one outer peripheral edge of the outer rim 11 is

formed a tire guard 12 protruded in a radial direction such

that the tire 20 is not released therefrom. The tire guard

12 is not simply formed of a simple " >= " shaped protrusion, but is provided with a connection projection 17 protruded in the direction that the tire 20 is contacted. The connection

projection 17 will be explained hereinafter.

In the outer circumferential surface of the outer rim

11 is formed a plurality of slide-inhibiting projections 13

having the form of a cylinder of semi-circle cross-section.

The slide-inhibiting projections are engaged with a

plurality of slide-inhibiting grooves 22, which are formed

in the inner circumferential surface of an inserting hole of

the tire 20, thereby preventing the tire 20 from being slid

in the rotational direction of the central hub 10 relatively thereto.

Along the other peripheral edge of the outer rim, i.e., at the opposite side of the tire guard 12, is not provided with a guard such that the tire 20 can be inserted and

released. However, a male thread 14 is formed therein so as

to fasten the tire-fixing rim 30.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the tire of the in-line stake wheel of the invention.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the inner face of the tire 20 is

formed an inserting protrusion 21 protruded towards the center thereof so as to be wrapped around by the tire guard

12 of the central hub 10 and a tire-fixing rim 30. In

addition, in the inner side of the inserting protrusion 21 is formed a plurality of slide-inhibiting grooves 22 having

the form of a cylinder having a semi-circle cross-section, which is to be engaged with the slide-inhibiting projections

13 formed in the central hub 10. To the left and right side along the axial direction of

the inserting protrusion 21, a connection groove 23 is

formed. The connection groove 23 is engaged with the

connection protrusion 17 and 31, which are formed

respectively in the tire guard 12 of the central hub 10 and

the tire-fixing rim 30. Details thereon will be described

hereinafter.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view and partially enlarged

view of the tire-fixing rim in the in-line state wheel of

the invention, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the in-

line stake wheel of the invention, showing an assembling

method of the tire-fixing rim using a special tool.

As illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, the tire-fixing rim 30

has the form of a rim, and in the inner face thereof is

formed a female thread 32. The female thread 32 is engaged

with the male thread 14 formed in the central hub 10 to

thereby function to combine the tire-fixing rim 30 with the

central hub 10.

When the tire 20 is inserted into the central hub 10 and then the tire-fixing rim 30 is combined with the central

hub 10, the fire-fixing rim 30 is to be fitted into the male

thread 14. At this time, the tire-fixing rim 30 is

configured such that it is to be inserted into a gap formed

by and between the tire 20 and the central hub 10, thereby

being unable to rotate and fit the tire-fixing rim 30 using

hands. Thus, a specially designed assembling tool 40 is

provided in order to rotate and fit the tire-fixing rim 30.

Here, the tire-fixing rim 30 is provided with plural

auxiliary grooves 33 formed in the lateral face thereof so

as to be engaged with the assembling tool 40. That is, a

specific portion of the assembling tool 40 is engaged with

the plural auxiliary grooves 33 formed in the tire-fixing

rim 30, which then can be rotated to thereby be assembled to

and disassembled from the central hub 10. The assembling

tool 40 of this purpose is not included in the scope of the

invention, and simply a screwdriver or the like can be used

to connect or disconnect the tire-fixing rim 30 to the

central hub 10, using the auxiliary grooves 33. Details

thereon will not be described here.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the tire-fixing rim,

showing the inner face thereof.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, the inner lateral face of the tire-fixing rim 30 is provided with a connection protrusion

31 having a 'S' shape, not a flat shape. The connection

protrusion 31 is engaged with the connection groove 23

formed in the tire 20, thereby holding the tire 20 to the

central hub 10 so as not to be released therefrom. FIG. 9 is a partially cut-out perspective view and

enlarged perspective view of the in-line skate wheel of the

invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 9, in one outer peripheral edge

of the outer rim 11 of the central hub 10 is formed a tire

guard 12 protruded in the radial direction in order for the

tire 20 not to be released from the central hub 10. The

tire guard 12 functions to hold the tire 20 to the central

hub 10 so as not to be escaped therefrom when it is combined

thereto by means of the tire-fixing rim 30. However,

usually, users enjoy vigorous actions or motions with an in¬

line skate or a kick board, and thus the tire guard 12 alone

is not sufficient to prevent partial escape of the tire 20.

Therefore, the tire guard 12 is provided with a

connection protrusion 17 projected towards the contact with

tire 20. The connection protrusion 17 is inserted into and

engaged with the connection groove 23 formed in the tire 20,

to thereby prevent even partial escape of the tire 20. Similarly, the tire-fixing rim 30 is provided with a

connection protrusion 31 formed towards the contact with the

tire 20, and the connection protrusion 31 is engaged with

the connection groove 23 formed in the tire 20. The connection protrusions 17 and 30 formed in the

central hub 10 and the tire-fixing rim 30 respectively has a

rounded form, not a rectangular form. This form matches

that of the connection groove 23 formed in the inserting

protrusion 21 of the tire 20 and thus the connection groove

23 of the tire 20 is prevented from being partially split or

tore off, due to a user's vigorous action.

Industrial Applicability

As described above, in the in-line skate wheel having a

detachable tire according to the invention, the tire and the

central hub are separately fabricated and then assembled to

each other, thereby significantly reducing the wobbling

phenomenon of the wheel. When travelling with a high speed,

the metallic central hub can absorb the heat generated from

the bearing, thereby alleviating the degradation of the

bearing. The central hub is formed of a metallic material,

which has a rigidity higher than a plastic material, thereby

enabling to distribute the weight thereof towards the tire and thus obtain a higher moment of inertia. In addition, the tire is prevented from being slid against the central hub and also from being escaped partially or in its entirety

from the central hub, even due to a user's vigorous actions

or motions. The tire can be assembled to and disassembled from the central hub, thereby enabling to replace the tire

only and thus providing a financial benefit to the user.

Various tires having a variety of sizes and formed of a variety of materials can be used by replacing, thereby

providing a wide range of pleasures and joys to the user. While the present invention has been described with

reference to the particular illustrative embodiments, it is not to be restricted by the embodiments but only by the

appended claims. It is to be appreciated that those skilled

in the art can change or modify the embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

Claims

What Is Claimed Is :

1. An in-line skate wheel having a detachable tire, comprising: (a) a central hub formed of a metallic material, the central hub including an inner bearing seat capable of inserting a cylinder-like bearing thereinto, a plurality of connection supports extended in a radial direction from the inner bearing seat, an outer rim connected to the connection supports and having a tire guard protruded outwards of one

• edge thereof and a male thread formed in the other edge thereof;

(b) a tire rested on the outer rim of the central hub, the tire being provided with a plurality of inserting protrusions protruded in an inner face thereof; and

(c) a tire-fixing rim formed of a metallic material, the outer diameter of which is larger than the inner diameter of the tire, the tire-fixing rim having a female thread formed in the inner face thereof, which is to be engaged with the male thread of the central hub.

2. The in-line skate wheel according to claim 1, wherein a first connection protrusion is formed in the inner face of the tire guard, a second connection protrusion is

formed in the inner face of the tire-fixing rim, and a

connection groove is formed in the right and left lateral

faces of the inserting protrusion of the tire, wherein the

first and second connection protrusions are combined

respectively with the right and left connection grooves of

the tire.

3. The in-line skate wheel according to claim 1,

wherein the outer rim is provided with a plurality of slide-

inhibiting projections formed in the outer circumferential

face thereof.

4. The in-line skate wheel according to claim 1,

wherein the outer rim is provided with a plurality of pole¬

like slide-inhibiting projections formed in the outer

circumferential face thereof along the axial direction

thereof, and the tire is provided with a plurality of slide-

inhibiting grooves formed in the inner circumferential face

thereof, the shape of the slide-inhibiting groove

corresponding to that of the slide-inhibiting protrusion.

5. The in-line skate wheel according to claim 1,

wherein the tire-fixing rim is provided wit.h a plurality of

auxiliary grooves formed in the outer circumferential face

thereof.

6. An in-line skate wheel having a detachable tire,

comprising:

(a) a central hub formed of a metallic material, the

central hub including an inner bearing seat capable of

inserting a cylinder-like bearing thereinto, an outer rim

having a tire guard protruded outwards of one edge thereof

and a male thread formed in the other edge thereof and a

first connection protrusion protruded in the inner face of

the tire guard, and a plurality of connection supports

connecting in a radial direction the inner bearing seat and

the outer rim;

(b) a tire rested on the outer rim of the central hub,

the tire being provided with an inserting protrusion

protruded in an inner circumferential face thereof and a

connection groove formed in the right and left lateral faces

of the inserting protrusion; and

(c) a tire-fixing rim formed of a metallic material,

the tire-fixing rim having a female thread formed in the inner circumferential face thereof, which is to be engaged with the male thread of the central hub, the tire-fixing rim

having a second connection protrusion formed in the inner

lateral face thereof.

7. The in-line skate wheel according to claim 6,

wherein the outer rim is provided with a plurality of slide- inhibiting projections formed in the outer circumferential

face thereof.

8. The in-line skate wheel according to claim 6,

wherein the outer rim is provided with a plurality of pole¬

like slide-inhibiting projections formed in the outer circumferential face thereof along the axial direction

thereof, and the tire is provided with a plurality of slide-

inhibiting grooves formed in the inner circumferential face

thereof, the shape of the slide-inhibiting groove

corresponding to that of the slide-inhibiting protrusion.

9. The in-line skate wheel according to claim 6,

wherein the tire-fixing rim is provided with a plurality of auxiliary grooves formed in the outer circumferential face thereof.

10. An in-line skate wheel having a detachable tire,

comprising:

(a) a central hub formed of a metallic material, the

central hub including an inner bearing seat capable of

inserting a cylinder-like bearing thereinto, an outer rim

having a tire guard protruded outwards of one edge thereof

and a male thread formed in the other edge thereof and a

first connection protrusion protruded in the inner face of

the tire guard and a plurality of pole-like slide-inhibiting

projections formed in the outer face thereof along the axial

direction thereof, and a plurality of connection supports

connecting in a radial direction the inner bearing seat and

the outer rim;

(b) a tire rested on the outer rim of the central hub,

the tire being provided with an inserting protrusion

protruded in an inner circumferential face thereof, a

connection groove formed in the right and left lateral faces

of the inserting protrusion, and a plurality of slide-

inhibiting grooves formed in the inner face of the inserting

protrusion; and

(c) a tire-fixing rim formed of a metallic material,

the tire-fixing rim having a female thread formed in the

inner circumferential face thereof, which is to be engaged with the male thread of the central hub, the tire-fixing rim

having a second connection protrusion formed in the inner

lateral face thereof and a plurality of auxiliary grooves

formed in the outer lateral face thereof.