Skate chassis with pitch adjustment
View Patent ↗An ice skate chassis is configured so that a user can adjust the pitch of the skate chassis between a plurality of discrete pitch positions. The pitch is adjusted by locking the ice blade at a desired angle relative to a bladeholder of the chassis. The blade can be positively locked at a plurality of discrete, repeatable angle positions so that the angle will not slip or creep during skating.
1. An ice skate chassis having adjustable pitch, comprising:
an elongate skate blade having an elongate aperture, the aperture having a plurality of slots disposed at a plurality of heights relative to one another, each of the slots having an upper and lower engagement surface;
a bladeholder having an elongate kerf and a mount hole, the kerf configured to accept a portion of the blade therein, the mount hole having at least one slot and being configured to generally align with the blade aperture so that the mount hole slot aligns with one of the aperture slots, the mount hole slot having an upper and lower engagement surface; and
a key configured to fit transversely through the mount hole and aperture and generally engaging the engagement surfaces of the aligned slots so as to lock the blade in a vertical position relative to the bladeholder.
2. The skate chassis of claim 1 , wherein the key comprises a fastener.
3. The skate chassis of claim 1 , wherein the blade is at a first position relative to the bladeholder when the mount hole slot is engaged with a first aperture slot, and the blade is at a second position relative to the bladeholder when the mount hole slot is engaged with a second aperture slot.
4. The skate chassis of claim 3 , wherein the blade has a second aperture and the bladeholder comprises a second mount hole configured to align with the second aperture when the first mount hole is aligned with the blade aperture, and a second fastener extends transversely through the aligned second aperture and second mount hole so that the blade is rotatable about the second aperture.
5. The skate chassis of claim 4 , wherein the elongate aperture is generally arcuate.
6. The skate chassis of claim 5 , wherein the elongate aperture has a radius of curvature centered at the second aperture.
7. The skate chassis of claim 4 , wherein the blade is at a first angular position relative to the bladeholder when the mount hole slot is aligned with the first aperture slot, and the blade is at a second angular position relative to the bladeholder when the mount hole slot is aligned with the second aperture slot.
8. The skate chassis of claim 7 , wherein the difference between the first and second angular positions is within the range of from about ½° to about 1 ½°.
9. The skate chassis of claim 8 , wherein the difference between the first and second angular positions is about ¾°.
10. An ice skate chassis having adjustable pitch, comprising:
an elongate skate blade having a mount aperture with a plurality of teeth extending into the aperture, the teeth being disposed at a plurality of vertical positions relative to one another,
a bladeholder having an elongate kerf configured to accept a portion of the blade, and a mount hole, the mount hole selectively alignable with one or more of the blade mount aperture teeth; and
a fastener configured to fit transversely through the mount hole and aperture, the fastener configured to engage the teeth that are aligned with the mount hole so as to hold the blade in a vertical position relative to the bladeholder;
wherein the vertical position of the blade relative to the bladeholder can be adjusted between a plurality of discrete positions by selectively aligning others of the aperture teeth with the mount hole.
11. The ice skate chassis of claim 10 , wherein slots are defined between adjacent teeth, and the fastener comprises a key configured to generally complementarily fit into the slots.
12. The ice skate chassis of claim 11 , wherein the teeth are configured to bear the weight of a skater using the ice skate chassis.
13. The ice skate chassis of claim 10 , wherein the blade comprises a second mount aperture and the bladeholder comprises a second mount hole, the second mount aperture and the second mount hole being alignable with one another, and a second fastener is configured to fit transversely through the aligned second aperture and second hole.
14. The ice skate chassis of claim 13 , wherein the blade is configured to be pivotable about the second aperture when the second fastener is fit therethrough.
15. The ice skate chassis of claim 11 , wherein the second aperture is a front aperture of the blade, and wherein the kerf is recessed deeper adjacent a front end of the bladeholder than in a neck portion of the bladeholder.
16. An ice skate chassis adjustable between a plurality of discrete pitch positions, comprising:
an elongate skate blade;
a bladeholder configured to receive the elongate skate blade; and
a mounting mechanism for securing the blade to the bladeholder, the mounting mechanism configured to selectively secure the blade only at a plurality of discrete, pre-set positions relative to the bladeholder.
wherein the mounting mechanism comprises a hole through the bladeholder, an aperture through the blade, and a fastener extending transversely through the hole and aperture, the aperture being elongate and comprising a plurality of discrete engagement surfaces configured to support the fastener and prevent the fastener from moving along the length of the aperture.
17. The ice skate chassis of claim 16 , wherein the chassis has a neutral pitch position, at least one forward pitch position, and at least one rearward pitch position.
18. The ice skate chassis of claim 16 , wherein the bladeholder comprises an elongate kerf configured to accept at least a portion of the skate blade, and at least a portion of the mounting mechanism is disposed within the bladeholder.
19. The ice skate chassis of claim 18 , wherein the bladeholder comprises a transparent or translucent material configured so that a user can view the portion of the mounting mechanism disposed within the bladeholder.
20. The ice skate chassis of claim 19 , wherein the bladeholder comprises fluoropolymer.
21. The ice skate chassis of claim 16 , wherein an angle of the blade relative to the bladeholder varies within the range of from about ½° to about 1½° between adjacent discrete pitch positions.
22. The ice skate chassis of claim 21 , wherein the angle of the blade relative to the bladeholder varies about ¾° between adjacent discrete pitch positions.
23. A method of adjusting the pitch of an ice skate chassis between discrete pitch positions, comprising:
providing an elongate blade having a mount member comprising a plurality of teeth and a plurality of slots defined between adjacent teeth;
providing a bladeholder for holding the elongate blade, the bladeholder having an aperture that is aligned with a first slot of the blade mount member;
providing a key extending through the bladeholder aperture and engaging the first slot;
retracting the key from engagement with the first slot;
moving the blade relative to the bladeholder so that a second slot is aligned with the key; and
advancing the key into engagement with the second slot.
24. The method of claim 23 , wherein the key comprises a threaded fastener, and additionally comprising tightening the fastener once the key is engaged with the second slot.
25. The method of claim 23 , wherein the bladeholder has a second aperture and the blade has a mount hole, and a second fastener extends transversely through the second aperture and mount hole, and comprising the steps of loosening the second fastener and rotating the blade about the second fastener in order to move the blade relative to the bladeholder.
26. An ice skate chassis adjustable between a plurality of discrete pitch positions, comprising:
an elongate skate blade;
a bladeholder configured to receive the elongate skate blade; and
a mounting mechanism for securing the blade to the bladeholder, the mounting mechanism configured to selectively secure the blade only at a plurality of discrete, pre-set positions relative to the bladeholder:
wherein the mounting mechanism comprises a plurality of teeth and an engagement portion, the engagement portion configured to selectively engage selected ones of the teeth so as to selectively hold the blade at a plurality of discrete positions relative to the bladeholder.
27. The ice skate chassis of claim 26 , wherein the chassis has a neutral pitch position, at least one forward pitch position, and at least one rearward pitch position.
28. The ice skate chassis of claim 26 , wherein an angle of the blade relative to the bladeholder varies within the range of from about ½° to about 1½° between adjacent discrete positions.
29. The ice skate chassis of claim 28 , wherein the angle of the blade relative to the bladeholder varies about ¾° between adjacent discrete positions.