Suspension system for roller boards

Abstract

A suspension system for a motorized or non-motorized roller board includes a truck center housing, a pair of truck wings disposed on opposing sides of the truck center housing, and a pair of wheels connected to the respective pair of truck wings. The truck center housing is configured to engage with a truck assembly coupled to a deck of the roller board. The truck center housing defines a pivot axle cavity that houses a pivot axle, a pivot axle shaft and a pair of torsional springs disposed on each side of the pivot axle coupled to the deck of the roller board. The pair of truck wings includes a front cavity that receives the corresponding torsional spring and a wheel shaft that couples with the pair of wheels. The pair of torsion springs dampen the load of the roller board when a force is exerted on the wheels.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A roller board assembly comprising:
 a deck having a top surface and a bottom surface;   a mounting baseplate disposed at an end of the deck, the mounting baseplate mounting a truck assembly;   a suspension system configured to engage with the truck assembly, the suspension system including:   a truck center housing configured to engage with a lower portion of the truck assembly, the truck center housing defining a pivot axle cavity that houses a pivot axle, a pivot axle shaft, and a pair of biasing mechanisms disposed at respective sides of the pivot axle, the pivot axle defining a shaft orifice through which the pivot axle shaft extends from a first end to a second end of the truck center housing and defines a truck axis;   a pair of truck wings disposed at the respective first end and second end of the truck center housing, the pair of truck wings having a front cavity and a rear orifice, the front cavity configured to receive at least a portion of a respective one of the pair of biasing mechanisms and the pivot axle shaft, and the rear orifice configured to receive a wheel axle shaft, the wheel axle shaft defining a wheel axis; and   a pair of wheels configured to engage with the wheel axle shaft extending at respective ends of the truck wings and rotate around the wheel axis;   wherein the pair of truck wings is pivotable about the truck axis causing the pair of biasing mechanisms to change a biasing state.   
     
     
         2 . The roller board assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the pair of truck wings further houses at least one roller bearing disposed around the pivot axle shaft in the front cavity, the at least one roller bearing configured to allow independent rotation to each one of the pair of truck wings with respect to the truck center housing. 
     
     
         3 . The suspension system of  claim 1 , wherein the pair of biasing mechanisms is at least one of a pair of torsion springs, compression springs, tension springs, extension springs, conical springs, spiral springs, or leaf springs. 
     
     
         4 . The suspension system of  claim 3 , wherein the pair of biasing mechanisms is a pair of torsion springs. 
     
     
         5 . The roller board assembly of  claim 4 , wherein the pivot axle has a generally cylindrical shape and includes a center portion and arm portions disposed on respective ends of the center portion, wherein the diameter of the center portion is larger than the diameter of the arm portions and the pair of torsion springs respectively surround the arm portions of the pivot axle. 
     
     
         6 . The roller board assembly of  claim 5 , wherein the pivot axle defines a pair of spring notches at a circumference of the center portion, the pair of spring notches configured to receive a respective one of perpendicular legs of the pair of torsion springs and limit rotation of the pair of torsion springs with respect to the truck axis. 
     
     
         7 . The roller board assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the truck wings include respective motor mount plates disposed on opposite sides of the truck center housing, each of the motor mount plates configured to mount a respective one of a pair of motors, the respective one of the pair of motors driving a respective one of the pair of wheels. 
     
     
         8 . The roller board assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the suspension system includes a dampening system disposed on a respective one of the pair of truck wings, configured to absorb kinetic energy as a respective one of the pair of biasing mechanisms change their biasing state. 
     
     
         9 . The roller board assembly of  claim 1 , wherein each of the pair truck wings include a bumper stop disposed on a side of the pair of truck wings adjacent to the truck center housing, configured to limit the rotation of the pair of truck wings with respect to the truck center housing. 
     
     
         10 . A suspension system for a roller board assembly, the suspension system comprising:
 a truck center housing configured to engage with a lower portion of a truck assembly, the truck center housing defining a pivot axle cavity that houses a pivot axle, a pivot axle shaft, and a biasing mechanism coupled to the pivot axle, the pivot axle defining a shaft orifice through which the pivot axle shaft extends from a first end to a second end of the truck center housing and defines a truck axis;   a truck wing coupled to the truck center housing, the truck wing having a front cavity and a rear orifice, the front cavity configured to receive at least a portion of the biasing mechanism and the pivot axle shaft, and the rear orifice configured to receive a wheel axle shaft, the wheel axle shaft defining a wheel axis;   wherein the truck wing is pivotable about the truck axis and the biasing mechanism changes a biasing state.   
     
     
         11 . The suspension system of  claim 10 , wherein the truck wing further houses at least one roller bearing disposed around the pivot axle shaft in the front cavity, the at least one roller bearing configured to pivot the truck wing with respect to the truck center housing. 
     
     
         12 . The suspension system of  claim 10 , wherein the biasing mechanism is at least one of a torsion spring, a compression spring, a tension spring, an extension spring, a conical spring, a spiral spring, or a leaf spring. 
     
     
         13 . The suspension system of  claim 12 , wherein the biasing mechanism is a torsion spring. 
     
     
         14 . The suspension system of  claim 13 , wherein the pivot axle includes a center portion and an arm portion disposed at an end of the center portion, wherein the diameter of the center portion is larger than the diameter of the arm portion and the torsion spring surrounds the arm portion of the pivot axle. 
     
     
         15 . The suspension system of  claim 14 , wherein the pivot axle defines a spring notch at a circumference of the center portion, the spring notch configured to receive a leg of the torsion spring and limit rotation of the torsion spring with respect to the truck axis. 
     
     
         16 . The suspension system of  claim 10 , wherein the truck wing includes a motor mount plate disposed on a side of the truck center housing, the motor mount plate configured to mount a motor coupled to a wheel. 
     
     
         17 . The suspension system of  claim 10 , wherein the suspension system includes a dampening system disposed on the truck wing, the dampening system configured to absorb kinetic energy as the biasing mechanism changes its biasing state. 
     
     
         18 . The suspension system of  claim 10 , further including a bumper stop disposed on a side of the truck wing adjacent to the truck center housing, the bumper stop configured to limit the rotation of the truck wing with respect to the truck center housing. 
     
     
         19 . A suspension system for a roller board assembly, the suspension system comprising:
 a truck center housing configured to engage with a lower portion of a truck assembly, the truck center housing including a pivot axle, a pivot axle shaft, and at least one biasing mechanism disposed at a side of the pivot axle, the pivot axle defining a truck axis;   an at least one truck wing disposed at the side of the truck center housing, the at least one truck wing configured to receive at least a portion the at least one biasing mechanism and the pivot axle shaft, and configured to receive a wheel axle shaft;   wherein the at least one truck wing is pivotable about the truck axis and the at least one biasing mechanism is configured to change biasing states.   
     
     
         20 . The suspension system of  claim 19 , wherein the at least one biasing mechanism is configured to be preloaded between a more rigid suspension and a softer suspension.