Adjustment device, particularly for adjusting the length of a skate

Abstract

An adjustment device, particularly for adjusting the length of a skate, which comprises a frame provided with first connection elements to two or more wheels, a shell associated with the frame in order to accommodate at least the heel of the user, and a toe unit slidingly associated with the shell and/or frame in order to accommodate the tip of the user's foot. The device comprises a slider means that can be actuated by the user, and is substantially transversely associated to the toe unit in contrast with an elastic element and interact selectively with the frame and/or shell.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . An adjustment device for adjusting the length of the in-line skate, the skate comprising: 
 a frame provided with first connection means for connection to at least two wheels;    a shell, which is associated with said frame in order to accommodate at least the heel of the user;    a toe unit, which is slidingly associated with said shell and/or said frame in order to accommodate the tip of the user's foot;    the adjustement device comprising slider means that are actuatable by a user and elastic means, said slider means being connectable substantially transversely to said toe unit in contrast with said elastic means, so as to interact selectively with said frame and/or shell.    
     
     
         2 . The adjustment device of  claim 1 , wherein said slider means comprises second engagement means, which are adapted to act selectively with at least one abutment element that is provided at said frame and/or said shell.  
     
     
         3 . The device of  claim 2 , wherein the shell of the skate comprises a first plate that is flat and substantially horizontal and is coupled to a first base in an upward region thereof, said first base being part of said frame and being also flat and substantially horizontal, said first plate being provided, laterally and rearwardly, with a first raised edge, and extending over a second rear region of said first base that corresponds to a region of a user foot that goes from the heel to approximately the plantar arch of the foot, the at least one abutment element protruding at right angles and in an upward region with respect to said first base at a first front region thereof free from said first plate of said shell.  
     
     
         4 . The device of  claim 3 , wherein a first slot is formed longitudinally at the first upper surface of said first plate of said shell, starting from the front edge of said first plate, said first slot having a substantially C-shaped transverse sectional profile, with a front end being closed partially and transversely by two first tabs that are coupled thereat.  
     
     
         5 . The device of  claim 4 , wherein said toe unit has a second flat base that is provided laterally and at a front part thereof with a second raised edge, said flat base being adapted to rest at least partially with sliding engagement at said first front region of said first base of said frame.  
     
     
         6 . The device of  claim 5 , wherein a second flat tab protrudes substantially horizontally to the rear of said second base of said shell, at a central axis thereof, said tab having a substantially T-shaped plan shape and comprising a stem at one end of which a head protrudes at right angles, said head being substantially as wide as said first slot, so as to allow insertion, by way of a downward movement, of said second tab in said first slot.  
     
     
         7 . The device of  claim 6 , wherein said first slot of said first plate allows sliding engagement of said second tab until the tab abuts against said first tabs, so as to prevent axial extraction of said second tab from said first slot.  
     
     
         8 . The device of  claim 7 , wherein said at least one abutment element, which protrudes in an upward region and at right angles to said first front region of said first base, is constituted by a plurality of first toothed profiles and by a plurality of second toothed profiles, each of which is arranged along a same longitudinal axis thereof and parallel to each other.  
     
     
         9 . The device of  claim 8 , comprising a second slot and a third slot that are formed longitudinally at the second lower surface of said second base of said toe unit and are arranged parallel to each other at a distance equal to a distance between said first toothed profiles and said second toothed profiles, so as to slidingly accommodate both said toothed profiles.  
     
     
         10 . The device of  claim 9 , wherein said second and third slots have a transverse sectional shape that is advantageously complementary to a shape of said first and second toothed profiles, so as to allow, by way of a front insertion of said toe unit, sliding arrangement of said first and second toothed profiles respectively at said second and third slots.  
     
     
         11 . The device of  claim 10 , comprising a fourth slot and a fifth slot that are formed transversely to said second lower surface of said second base of said toe unit, at a region that is adjacent to said second tab, said fourth and fifth slots extending over an entire width of said second lower surface and being arranged at right angles to, and so as to intersect said second and third slots.  
     
     
         12 . The device of  claim 11 , wherein said slider means comprise a cheek that has a plan shape complementary to a shape of a recess or hollow of said second raised edge and a first arm and a second arm protruding from said cheek, said arms being parallel to each other at a mutual distance equal to a distance between said fourth and fifth slots.  
     
     
         13 . The device of  claim 12 , wherein said first and second arms are each shaped like a face-down letter F and have a maximum height, an overall length and a width that are equal to, or at the most slightly smaller than, corresponding dimensions of said fourth and fifth slots.  
     
     
         14 . The device of  claim 13 , wherein each one of said first and second arms comprises a straight bar having a height that is slightly less than a gap between upper ends of first and second teeth of said toothed profiles and said second lower surface of said second base.  
     
     
         15 . The device of  claim 14 , wherein said second engagement means protrude in a downward region of and at right angles to said straight bar and are constituted by a third tooth and a fourth tooth, which are adapted to be arranged temporarily in said gap between two consecutive said first teeth and between two consecutive second teeth of said first and second toothed profiles, respectively.  
     
     
         16 . The device of  claim 15 , wherein said elastically deformable means comprises a spring that is arranged between a wall of said recess or hollow and said cheek of said slider, so as to pull said slider toward an outside region of said first base and said toe unit.  
     
     
         17 . The device of  claim 15 , comprising a depression formed transversely on an upper surface of said straight bar of said first and second arms at a region that lies above said third tooth, said depression having a selected length that is equal to the length of said third tooth or of said fourth tooth.  
     
     
         18 . The device according to  claim 17 , comprising a second protrusion that protrudes in a downward region of said second flat base and at right angles to the upper surface of said fourth and fifth slots and is arrangeable at said depression.  
     
     
         19 . The device of  claim 18 , wherein said second protrusion is placed in abutment against step-like surfaces formed at ends of said depression when a mutual position of said slider and said fourth and fifth slots varies.