Patent Application
20250143405
Embodiments of this invention relate to an article of footwear for use in an athletic activity and, more specifically, to embodiments of an article of footwear for skating on ice.
The game of ice hockey has undergone a massive evolution in the past 20 years, becoming much faster and higher-skilled. More particularly, quick movement and agility have become critical skating skills for the modern ice hockey player. At the same time, equipment (e.g., skates) has substantially decreased in weight, allowing players to skate faster and with less effort.
Early ice hockey skates—typically manufactured from leather and/or nylon fabrics and resembling traditional work boots—were heavy, soft, and broke down quickly. Problematically, the skate boots did not provide adequate support to the foot and ankle regions of the skater or enough protection to those and other foot areas against increasingly harder shots.
This changed in the late 1990s as skates manufactured from fiber reinforced composite materials (e.g., polypropylene fibers with a polypropylene matrix) were introduced. These stiffer boots offered more support and greater protection. Disadvantageously, stiffer boots came at the expense of boot flexibility and the associated range of motion. Furthermore, manufacturers conventionally employed orthotropic materials, which offer equal stiffness in every direction. The advantage to orthotropic materials is that a variety of shapes can be die cut from a single piece of material without any limitation to die orientation. Thus, nesting efficiency is higher and cutting loss is reduced during the manufacturing process. One disadvantage to these materials, however, is that lateral stiffness is directly coupled to the stiffness in the longitudinal axis. Thus, increasing lateral stiffness (e.g., to provide ankle support) tends to increase the longitudinal stiffness and the associated resistance to forward flex. In summary, stiffer composite boots restrict the movement of the skater's leg, requiring more work and preventing an efficient stride.
Due to the limitations on ankle range of motion imparted by the stiff, orthotropic materials, skaters have adapted various self-help techniques to facilitate the flexion they need to comfortably perform skating tasks. Since skate laces and the shoe tongue provide a majority of the support in dorsiflexion, they are also the primary areas where skaters adjust personal forward-leaning support and mobility. For example, a common tactic may include omitting laces in the top one or two pairs of eyelets of the skate. This tactic leaves more room for the skate tongue to move anteriorly (i.e., in the direction of skating) as skaters move through dorsiflexion, as well as lowering the fulcrum point between the skater's lower shin and the uppermost tensioned lace. Problematically, excluding the upper one or two laces mandates a loss of lateral support to the skater's ankle, with the stiffness of the boot being dependent on lace tightness.
Another trend for recreational athletes is the use of lower-end skate boots, made with orthotropic materials with less stiffness than upper-end models. Inherently, these boots also come with less lateral stiffness and support due to the orthotropy of materials used. Furthermore, such skates provide skaters with the desired range of motion at the cost of a weight increase and, often, a loss of product features.
Accordingly, conventional skate boots, accommodations made by skaters for greater performance, and correlated injury patterns demonstrate that there is a clear incompatibility between the standard human foot and current hockey skate products. The two main mechanisms are relative motion, and thus friction, between the foot and skate, and exaggerated pressure points between the two. Indeed, friction indicates a loss of energy, and, more particularly, the lever action of the foot within the skate indicates that force application to the ice is being reduced at a certain point, where expended energy is beginning to fight the boot and allow the foot to move independent of the boot. This is to say nothing of the compromise in terms of force application that is inherent to the change of the foot position relative to the skate, and loss of contact area resulting from heel lift.
A desirable skate is one that efficiently delivers energy expended by the user (e.g., wearer) to the ice to generate the desired skating motion. Modern skating mechanics require that the skater's weight can be centered over the blade and a change of pressure transferred easily. This requires, however, that the skater's foot and lower leg be easily positioned 45 degrees from one to the other. Therefore, a more flexible upper section is required to allow the player to flex forward more easily. Thus, more force can be applied and controlled during the skating stride.
Hockey skates typically include a boot to accommodate a user's foot, a skate blade that contacts the ice and supports the user, and a skate blade holder that fixedly and rigidly holds the skate blade and connects the skate blade to the boot. Conventional methods of manufacturing the boot for a pair of hockey skates include a last design method and a monocoque design method. The former follows traditional manufacturing techniques for articles of footwear, which is to say that, for the boot portion, flat materials of various compositions are wrapped around a footlike form to produce a shoe-like structure to which an outsole may be attached. The outsole may then be fixedly and rigidly attached to the holder and blade.
The latter manufacturing techniques include forming a shell for accommodating the user's foot and attaching (e.g., bolting or riveting) the skate blade holder and blade to the boot. For example, referring to
As shown in
In some embodiments, the (e.g., nylon, injection-molded) skate blade holder 12 may be structured and arranged to include a quick release mechanism that includes a trigger mechanism for releasably attaching the (e.g., stainless steel) blade 13 to the skate blade holder 12. Typically, the skate blade holder 12 may be riveted (e.g., using metal rivets) to the boot or shell portion 11 proximate the toe and heel portions of the boot or shell portion 11. Additional features of the hockey skate 10 may include a (e.g., injection molded, nylon) toe cap 14, a (e.g., felt or polyurethane) tongue portion 15, an (e.g., injection molded, nylon) Achilles heel tendon guard 16, and two (e.g., polyurethane) reinforcement portions 17 that are adapted to cover a periphery, e.g., edges, of the boot or shell portion 11. A number of (e.g., metal) eyelets 18 for receiving lacings 19 may be provided in each reinforcement portion 17 along a periphery of the boot or shell portion 11, with the eyelets 18 on opposing reinforcement portions 17 forming pairs of eyelets 18. As an example, the eyelets 18 may be provided along (e.g., opposing) edges of medial and lateral forefoot, quarter/midfoot, and/or ankle portions of the boot or shell portion 11. Each reinforcement portion 17 may include between five eyelets 18 and thirteen eyelets 18. As an example, the boot or shell portion 11 can include nine eyelets 18.
The desired thermoformability characteristics for a conventional skate boot design and the desired flexibility/stiffness characteristics for a conventional skate boot design are shown, respectively, in
Each of these manufacturing techniques employs a compression molding process that uses composites such as a (e.g., rigid) thermoset, a thermoplastic, and the like. Disadvantageously, these materials typically are very rigid at room temperatures; consequently, the composites are typically heated during the lay-up process, which requires expensive equipment for heating and laying the materials.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an article of footwear for ice skating that overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art. Although embodiments of the invention are described herein for the particular use of playing ice hockey, those of ordinary skill in the art can appreciate the applicability of the technologies described herein to other uses associated with skating on ice.
In one aspect, embodiments of the invention relate to articles of footwear for use in ice skating. In some embodiments, the article of footwear includes a boot shell structured and arranged to accommodate a wearer's foot and having a medial forefoot portion, a lateral forefoot portion, a medial quarter/midfoot portion, a lateral quarter/midfoot portion, a sole portion, a lateral ankle portion, a medial ankle portion, and a heel portion and a cuff/tendon guard including a cuff mounting portion attached to the flexible rail portion. Advantageously, the boot shell further includes at least one flexible rail portion integrated into the heel portion of the boot shell.
In some implementations, the flexible rail portion includes a flange cantilevered from the heel portion of the boot shell, such that the flexible rail portion extends to at least one of: to, below, or above a height of the lateral and medial ankle portions of the boot shell. In some applications, the flexible rail portion is separated from the lateral and medial ankle portions of the boot shell by a pair of (e.g., symmetric or asymmetric) gaps. In some variations, each gap has a width selected from a range of between about 5 mm and 50 mm. In some embodiments, the flexible rail portion is structured and arranged to be elastically deformable along a longitudinal axis of the article of footwear. In some embodiments, the flexible rail portion is structured and arranged to (i) provide progressive flexure and energy storage during a loading phase of a skating stride, wherein the loading phase of the skating stride includes dorsiflexion of the wearer's foot to a dorsiflexed position and (ii) provide an energy return that is based on the energy storage during an unloading phase of the skating stride, wherein the unloading phase of the skating stride includes recovery of the wearer's foot to a neutral position from the dorsiflexed position.
In some implementations, the flexible rail portion may be integrated into the heel portion of the boot shell; may have at least one of a uniform thickness or a variable thickness; may have at least one of a uniform width or a variable width; and/or may have a width selected from a range of between about 5 mm and 70 mm.
In some implementations, the cuff/tendon guard may be a thermoplastic composite material; may be at least one of fixedly attached to the flexible rail portion or removably attached to the flexible rail portion; may include a sleeve portion that is configured to accommodate the flexible rail portion; may be posteriorly biased in a neutral state; may be configured to follow contouring of the boot shell; and/or may be at least one of removable or interchangeable to provide a desired stiffness level.
Advantageously, the boot shell may include layers of non-orthotropic fibers and, more particularly, the non-orthotropic layers may be asymmetric and/or unbalanced. In some variations, the article of footwear may also include a tongue component attached to the boot shell. Optionally, the tongue component may be removable and/or interchangeable.
In another aspect, the article of footwear may include a boot shell structured and arranged to accommodate a wearer's foot and having a medial forefoot portion, a lateral forefoot portion, a medial quarter/midfoot portion, a lateral quarter/midfoot portion, a sole portion, a lateral ankle portion, a medial ankle portion, and a heel portion; and a cuff/tendon guard (e.g., fixedly) attached to the boot shell.
In some implementations, the heel portion of the boot shell may include a lower heel portion. Advantageously, the boot shell may define an open back portion disposed above the lower heel portion of the boot shell. In some variations, the cuff/tendon guard may be attached to one or more points around a periphery of the open back portion of the boot shell and/or may be attached to the lower heel portion of the boot shell.
In some variations, the article of footwear may include a blade holder attached to a sole portion of the boot shell via one or more fasteners. In some variations, the cuff/tendon guard is attached to the boot shell via the one or more of the fasteners attaching the blade holder to the sole portion of the boot shell.
In some implementations, the cuff/tendon guard may include at least one flexible rail portion. In some variations, the flexible rail portion may extend to at least one of: to, below, or above a height of the lateral and medial ankle portions of the boot shell. In some variations, the flexible rail portion may extend to at least one of: to, below, or above a height of the lower heel portion of the boot shell. The flexible rail portion may be structured and arranged to be elastically deformable along a longitudinal axis of the article of footwear. In some variations, the flexible rail portion may be at least one of fixedly attached to the cuff/tendon guard or removably attached to the cuff/tendon guard. In some variations, the flexible rail portion may be integrated into the cuff/tendon guard. In some variations, the flexible rail portion may be positioned proximate a heel portion of the cuff/tendon guard. In some variations, the flexible rail portion may be structured and arranged to: provide progressive flexure and energy storage during a loading phase of a skating stride, wherein the loading phase of the skating stride includes dorsiflexion of the wearer's foot to a dorsiflexed position; and provide an energy return that is based on the energy storage during an unloading phase of the skating stride, wherein the unloading phase of the skating stride includes recovery of the wearer's foot to a neutral position from the dorsiflexed position.
In some implementations, the cuff/tendon guard may be fixedly attached to the boot shell. In some implementations, the cuff/tendon guard can include (i) a cuff portion manufactured from an elastomer material and (ii) a tendon guard portion manufactured from a thermoplastic composite material.
In some implementations, at least one of the lateral ankle portion or the medial ankle portion the cuff/tendon guard further includes a tensile structure manufactured from an elastomer material. In some variations, the tensile structure may be structured and arranged to be elastically deformable along a longitudinal axis of the article of footwear. In some variations, the tensile structure may be structured and arranged to: provide progressive flexure and energy storage during a loading phase of a skating stride, wherein the loading phase of the skating stride includes dorsiflexion of the wearer's foot to a dorsiflexed position; and provide an energy return that is based on the energy storage during an unloading phase of the skating stride, wherein the unloading phase of the skating stride includes recovery of the wearer's foot to a neutral position from the dorsiflexed position.
In some implementations, the article of footwear may include a compressible structure manufactured from a foam or elastomer material disposed between the heel portion of the boot shell and the cuff/tendon guard. In some variations, the compressible structure may be structured and arranged to be elastically deformable along a longitudinal axis of the article of footwear. In some variations, the compressible structure may be structured and arranged to: provide progressive flexure and energy storage during a loading phase of a skating stride, wherein the loading phase of the skating stride includes dorsiflexion of the wearer's foot to a dorsiflexed position; and provide an energy return that is based on the energy storage during an unloading phase of the skating stride, wherein the unloading phase of the skating stride includes recovery of the wearer's foot to a neutral position from the dorsiflexed position.
In some implementations, the cuff/tendon guard can be attached to one or more points around a periphery (e.g., edge) of the boot shell. In some variations, the cuff/tendon guard can be attached to at least one of the lateral ankle portion, the medial ankle portion, or the heel portion of the boot shell. In some variations, the heel portion of the boot shell can include a lower heel portion, an upper heel portion, and an Achilles heel portion. In some implementations, the article of footwear may include one or more engagement structures extending from the heel portion of the boot shell, the one or more engagement structures being configured to engage with the cuff/tendon guard. In some implementations, the article of footwear may include a number of eyelets defined by (i) the lateral and medial ankle portions of the boot shell and (ii) the cuff/tendon guard, wherein the cuff/tendon guard may be attached to the boot shell by one or more of the number of eyelets.
In another aspect, the article of footwear may include a boot shell structured and arranged to accommodate a wearer's foot and having a medial forefoot portion, a lateral forefoot portion, a medial quarter/midfoot portion, a lateral quarter/midfoot portion, a sole portion, a lateral ankle portion, a medial ankle portion, and a heel portion; a removable liner disposed in the boot shell; and a plate reinforcement portion attached to the removable liner to provide lateral stiffness. In some variations, the removable liner may be manufactured from a thermoformable foam material and the plate reinforcement portion may be manufactured from a thermoplastic composite material.
In another aspect, the article of footwear may include a boot shell structured and arranged to accommodate a wearer's foot and having a medial forefoot portion, a lateral forefoot portion, a medial quarter/midfoot portion, a lateral quarter/midfoot portion, a sole portion, a lateral ankle portion, a medial ankle portion, and a heel portion. Advantageously, the article of footwear includes at least one compressible structure disposed in the boot shell.
In some implementations, the compressible structure may be disposed in at least one of the lateral ankle portion, the medial ankle portion, the lateral quarter/midfoot portion, or the medial quarter/midfoot portion of the boot shell. In some variations, the compressible structure may be manufactured from a foam, elastomer, or thermoplastic composite material. In some variations, the compressible structure may include an accordion structure including two or more corrugations. In some variations, the compressible structure may be structured and arranged to: provide progressive flexure and energy storage during a loading phase of a skating stride, wherein the loading phase of the skating stride includes dorsiflexion of the wearer's foot to a dorsiflexed position; and provide an energy return that is based on the energy storage during an unloading phase of the skating stride, wherein the unloading phase of the skating stride includes recovery of the wearer's foot to a neutral position from the dorsiflexed position.
In the drawings, like reference characters generally refer to the same parts throughout the different views. Also, the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead generally being placed upon illustrating the principles of embodiments of the invention. In the following description, various embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the following drawings, in which:
Referring to
In some embodiments, the boot or shell portion (e.g., boot and shell portion 31) of an article of footwear described herein may be manufactured using techniques described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/586,090, incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
The (e.g., nylon, injection-molded) skate blade holder 32 may be structured and arranged to include a quick release mechanism that includes a trigger mechanism for releasably attaching the (e.g., stainless steel) blade 33 to the skate blade holder 32. Typically, the skate blade holder 32 may be riveted (e.g., using metal rivets) to the boot or shell portion 31 proximate the toe and heel portions of the boot or shell portion 31.
Unlike conventional articles of footwear 30, the lateral ankle portion 34a and the medial ankle portion 34b of the boot or shell portion 31 have been modified to create a (e.g., cantilevered) flange or flexible rail portion 35 proximate the user's Achilles heel and back ankle region in the heel portion of the article of footwear 30. As shown in
In some embodiments, the flexible rail portion 35 may be coupled to the boot or shell portion 31 via an intermediary structure. The intermediary structure may be housed within, assembled into, and/or coupled (e.g., attached) to a sole portion (e.g., outsole) or heel portion of the boot or shell portion 31 of the article of footwear 30. Optionally, the intermediary structure may be removably attached to the boot or shell portion 31. Advantageously, the intermediary structure may be interchangeable (e.g., modular) to provide a desired level of stiffness. In one example, the intermediary structure may be a rotational spring (e.g., metallic rotational spring).
As shown in
In some embodiments, the flexible rail portion 35 may be manufactured from a material that can elastically deform and recover to an initial position, where the material provides an energy return when recovering to the initial position after elastic deformation. The flexible rail portion 35 may preferably be manufactured from composite materials including carbon fibers, glass fibers, natural fibers, thermoplastics, and/or thermosets. In some variations, the flexible rail portion 35 may be manufactured from materials including injection-molded plastics, thermoformable plastics, and/or metals (e.g., spring steel alloys, Nitinol, etc.). The flexible rail portion 35 may be manufactured from the same or different material(s) as the boot or shell portion 31. When the flexible rail portion 35 is integrated with the boot or shell portion 31, the flexible rail portion 35 may preferably be manufactured from the same material as the boot or shell portion 31. In some embodiments, the flexible rail portion 35 may be manufactured from a material that is rigid or substantially rigid and that does not elastically deform or otherwise elastically deforms less than the intermediary structure. The flexible rail portion 35 may be coupled to the boot or shell portion 31 via an intermediary structure, with the flexible rail portion 35 being rigid or substantially rigid, such that the flexible rail portion 35 does not elastically deform or otherwise elastically deforms less than the intermediary structure. In some embodiments, the flexible rail portion 35 is more rigid than the intermediary structure, such that flexible rail portion 35 biases elastic deformation toward the intermediary structure (e.g., during dorsiflexion of the leg).
Advantageously, in some embodiments, the (e.g., cantilevered) flange or flexible rail portion 35 can provide increased flexibility to the article of footwear 30 and consists of or consists essentially of a structural member that is fixed rigidly or semi-rigidly to the sole portion (e.g., outsole) or heel portion of the boot or shell portion 31 of the article of footwear 30, protruding upward or substantially upward, perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the sole portion and/or in the same axis as the skater's leg. In some variations, the flexible rail portion 35 can include two or more (e.g., parallel or non-parallel) structural members that are fixed rigidly or semi-rigidly to the sole portion or heel portion of the boot or shell portion 31 of the article of footwear 30. In some variations, the flexible rail portion 35 can include one or more layers manufactured from the same or different materials. When connected to the leg via strapping or other material (e.g., the cuff/tendon guard), the flexible rail portion 35 is adapted to resist dorsiflexion of the leg. Advantageously, the flexible rail portion 35 has a relative stiffness high enough to support the user's body weight through dorsiflexion, imparting a bend and behaving like a spring such that any elastic deformation of the flexible rail portion 35 that occurs generates potential energy, which will be released when pressure is reduced or removed and the flexible rail portion 35 recovers to an original, neutral position and/or shape. Elastic deformation of the flexible rail portion 35 (e.g., by a user's body weight and/or dorsiflexion of the user's foot) may be referred to herein as a “loading phase” and a recovery of the flexible rail portion 35 from an elastically deformed position to an original position (also referred to herein as a “neutral position”) may be referred to herein as an “unloading phase”. Potential energy may be stored by the flexible rail portion 35 during the loading phase and the stored potential energy may be released by the flexible rail portion 35 during the unloading phase. Indeed, in some implementations, the flexible rail portion 35 may be structured and arranged to provide progressive flexure and energy storage during a loading phase of a skating stride, where the loading phase of the skating stride includes dorsiflexion of a wearer's foot to a dorsiflexed position and provide an energy return that is based on (e.g., positively correlated with) the energy storage during an unloading phase of the skating stride, where the unloading phase of the skating stride includes recovery of the wearer's foot to a neutral position from the dorsiflexed position. For example, the flexible rail portion 35 may be structured and arranged to provide progressive flexure of the article of footwear 30 in an anterior or forward direction of skating and provide an energy return in a posterior direction substantially opposite to the forward direction of skating. The stiffness of the flexible rail portion 35 may preferably be configured such that a user's mass is fully supported by the flexible rail portion 35 at the peak of dorsiflexion. In an embodiment, the flexible rail portion 35 may flex 5°-50° (e.g., preferably flex 10°-30°) in an anterior or forward direction of skating relative to a vertical axis (e.g., axis of a skater's leg or axis perpendicular to an outsole of the article of footwear 30). The flexible rail portion 35 may primarily flex (e.g., deflect) in an anterior or forward direction corresponding to a longitudinal axis of the article of footwear 30. In some variations, the flexible rail portion 35 may deflect in a medial or lateral direction during flexure (e.g., deflection) of the flexible rail portion 35 in an anterior or forward direction. A thickness of the flexible rail portion 35 may be uniform or variable over the length of the flexible rail portion 35, thereby providing uniform or variable stiffness of the flexible rail portion 35. For example, the flexible rail portion 35 may include one or more ribs or other stiffening features that form a variable thickness of the flexible rail portion 35. In an embodiment, a thickness of the flexible rail portion 35 may vary from 3 mm to 70 mm. The flexible rail portion 35 can reach the peak of dorsiflexion without muscular activation by the user as energy expenditure in this range of motion is inefficient with respect to the direction of motion.
Advantageously, when the (e.g., cantilevered) flange or flexible rail portion 35 is coupled to the boot or shell portion 31 via an intermediary component, the intermediary component can provide increased flexibility to the article of footwear 30 and consist of or consists essentially of a structural member that is fixed rigidly or semi-rigidly to the outsole or heel portion of the boot or shell portion 31 of the article of footwear 30. The flexible rail portion 35 coupled to the intermediary component may protrude upward or substantially upward, perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the outsole and/or in the same axis as the skater's leg. In some variations, the flexible rail portion 35 can include one or more structural members that are fixed rigidly or semi-rigidly to the intermediary structure. When connected to the leg via strapping or other material, the intermediary component is adapted to resist dorsiflexion of the leg and the flexible rail portion 35 is adapted to resist elastic deformation. Advantageously, the intermediary component has a relative stiffness high enough to support the user's body weight through dorsiflexion, imparting a bend and/or behaving like a spring such that any elastic deformation of the intermediary component that occurs generates potential energy during a loading phase, which will be released during an unloading phase when pressure is reduced or removed and the intermediary component recovers to an original position and/or shape. Elastic deformation of the intermediary component (e.g., by a user's body weight and/or dorsiflexion of the user's foot) may be referred to herein as a “loading phase” and a recovery of the intermediary component from an elastically deformed position to an original position (also referred to herein as a “neutral position”) may be referred to herein as an “unloading phase”. Potential energy may be stored by the intermediary component during the loading phase and the stored potential energy may be released by the intermediary component during the unloading phase. Indeed, in some implementations, the intermediary component may be structured and arranged to provide progressive flexure and energy storage during a loading phase of a skating stride, where the loading phase of the skating stride includes dorsiflexion of a wearer's foot to a dorsiflexed position and provide an energy return that is based on (e.g., positively correlated with) the energy storage during an unloading phase of the skating stride, where the unloading phase of the skating stride includes recovery of the wearer's foot to a neutral position from the dorsiflexed position. For example, the intermediary component may be structured and arranged to provide progressive flexure of the article of footwear 30 in an anterior or forward direction of skating and provide an energy return in a posterior direction substantially opposite to the forward direction of skating. The stiffness of the intermediary component may preferably be configured such that a user's mass is fully supported by the intermediary component at the peak of dorsiflexion. The intermediary component can reach the peak of dorsiflexion without muscular activation by the user as energy expenditure in this range of motion is inefficient with respect to the direction of motion.
Referring to
As shown in
The article of footwear 30 may also include a tongue that may be selectively removable and/or interchangeable to provide a variety of levels of stiffness at the wearer's instep region.
In some embodiments, the tendon guard cuff 40 may have unitary, monolithic construction, such that the cuff portion 41 and the Achilles heel tendon portion 42 are combined as one structure to form the tendon guard cuff 40. In some variations, the tendon guard cuff 40 may be constructed from two or more structures. When the tendon guard cuff 40 is constructed from two or more structures, the two or more structures may be coupled to form the tendon guard cuff 40 prior to coupling the tendon guard cuff 40 to the boot or shell portion 31 or coupled to each other while coupled to the boot or shell portion 31. As an example, the cuff portion 41 and the Achilles heel tendon portion 42 may be separate, distinct structures that are joined using one or more fasteners to form the tendon guard cuff 40 prior to coupling the tendon guard cuff 40 to the boot or shell portion 31. In some embodiments, the tendon guard cuff 40 may be made of and/or include one or more materials, such as composite (e.g., thermoplastic composite), elastomer, foam, and/or plastic (e.g., thermoplastic) materials. As an example, the tendon guard cuff 40 may include a unitary thermoplastic injection molded structure forming the cuff portion 41 and the Achilles heel tendon portion 42 and a thermoplastic composite structure co-molded with the thermoplastic structure that extends across the cuff portion 41 and the Achilles heel tendon portion 42. As another example, the tendon guard cuff or a portion thereof may be made of and/or include a high-rebound plastic such as Pebax® polymer produced by ARKEMA.
Advantageously, the tendon guard cuff 40 remains in position relative to the user's foot throughout the range of motion.
As shown in
Referring to
In some applications, the modified article of footwear 80 further includes a (e.g., thermoplastic composite and the like) cuff/tendon guard (“tendon guard cuff”) including a main (e.g., cuff) portion 81 and an Achilles heel tendon portion 82. In some embodiments, as discussed above with respect to
Advantageously, as shown in
As shown in
Referring to
In some applications, the modified article of footwear 90 further includes a (e.g., thermoplastic composite and the like) cuff/guard (“tendon guard cuff”) including a main (e.g., cuff) portion 91 and an Achilles heel tendon portion 92. In some embodiments, as discussed above with respect to
Advantageously, as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
The flexible rail portion 95 may be manufactured from a material that can elastically deform and recover to an initial position, with the material providing an energy return when recovering to the initial position after elastic deformation. The flexible rail portion 95 may preferably be manufactured from composite materials, such as carbon fibers, glass fibers, natural fibers, thermoplastics, and/or thermosets. In some variations, the flexible rail portion 95 may be manufactured from materials including injection-molded plastics, thermoformable plastics, and/or metals (e.g., spring steel alloys, Nitinol, etc.).
Advantageously, the flexible rail portion 95 can provide increased flexibility to the modified article of footwear 90 and consists of or consists essentially of a structural member that is fixed rigidly or semi-rigidly to an interior (e.g., interior sleeve or pocket) or exterior of the cuff portion 91 and Achilles heel tendon portion 92 of the modified article of footwear 90. In some variations, the flexible rail portion 95 can include two or more (e.g., parallel or non-parallel) structural members that are fixed rigidly or semi-rigidly to an interior (e.g., interior sleeve or pocket) or exterior of the cuff portion 91 and Achilles heel tendon portion 92 of the modified article of footwear 90. In some variations, the flexible rail portion 95 can include one or more layers manufactured from the same or different materials. The flexible rail portion 95 may protrude upward or substantially upward, perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the outsole and/or in the same axis as the skater's leg. When connected to the leg via strapping or other material (e.g., the cuff/tendon guard), the flexible rail portion 95 is adapted to resist dorsiflexion of the leg. Advantageously, the flexible rail portion 95 has a relative stiffness high enough to support the user's body weight through dorsiflexion, imparting a bend and behaving like a spring such that any elastic deformation of the flexible rail portion 95 that occurs generates potential energy, which will be released when pressure is reduced or removed and the flexible rail portion 95 recovers to an original position and/or shape. Indeed, in some implementations, the flexible rail portion 95 may be structured and arranged to provide progressive flexure and energy storage during a loading phase of a skating stride, where the loading phase of the skating stride includes dorsiflexion of a wearer's foot to a dorsiflexed position and provide an energy return that is based on (e.g., positively correlated with) the energy storage during an unloading phase of the skating stride, where the unloading phase of the skating stride includes recovery of the wearer's foot to a neutral position from the dorsiflexed position. For example, the flexible rail portion 95 may be structured and arranged to provide progressive flexure of the modified article of footwear 90 in an anterior or forward direction of skating and provide an energy return in a posterior direction substantially opposite to the forward direction of skating. The stiffness of the flexible rail portion 95 may preferably be configured such that a user's mass is fully supported by the flexible rail portion 95 at the peak of dorsiflexion. In an embodiment, the flexible rail portion 95 may flex 5°-50° (e.g., preferably flex 10°-30°) in an anterior or forward direction of skating relative to a vertical axis (e.g., axis of a skater's leg or axis perpendicular to an outsole of the article of footwear 90). The flexible rail portion 95 may primarily flex (e.g., deflect) in an anterior or forward direction corresponding to a longitudinal axis of the article of footwear. In some variations, the flexible rail portion 95 may deflect in a medial or lateral direction during flexure (e.g., deflection) of the flexible rail portion 95 in an anterior or forward direction. A thickness of the flexible rail portion 95 may be uniform or variable over the length of the flexible rail portion 95, thereby providing uniform or variable stiffness of the flexible rail portion 95. For example, the flexible rail portion 95 may include one or more ribs or other stiffening features that form a variable thickness of the flexible rail portion 95. In an embodiment, a thickness of the flexible rail portion 95 may from 3 mm to 30 mm. The flexible rail portion 95 can reach the peak of dorsiflexion without muscular activation by the user as energy expenditure in this range of motion is inefficient with respect to the direction of motion.
Advantageously, the cuff portion 91 and Achilles heel tendon portion 92 remains in position relative to the user's foot throughout the range of motion. More particularly, as shown in
Referring to
The tendon guard cuff 101 of the modified article of footwear 100 further includes a (e.g., thermoplastic composite, and the like) tendon guard 102 to which two tensile (e.g., elastomer) cuff portions 103 are (e.g., fixedly) attached. In some embodiments, the tendon guard cuff 101 may have unitary, monolithic construction, such that the tendon guard 102 and the tensile cuff portions 103 are combined as one structure to form the tendon guard cuff 101. In some variations, the tendon guard cuff 101 may be constructed from two or more structures. As an example, the tendon guard cuff 101 can be formed from one material or two or more co-molded materials to form the unitary tendon guard cuff 101. The tensile cuff portion 103 may be manufactured from elastomer, foam, and/or plastic materials. In some implementations, the tendon guard 102 may include a central portion 104, an Achilles heel tendon portion 105, and a (e.g., center) strap portion 106, while the tensile cuff portion 103 may further include a number of eyelets 107 for receiving laces to lacings. The eyelets 107 may be provided along a periphery, e.g., edge, of each of the tensile cuff portions 103 adjacent to medial and lateral ankle portions of the boot or shell portion.
Preferably, the tendon guard 102 and tensile cuff portion 103 may be fixedly attached to the boot or shell portion of the article of footwear 100 at two locations 108, 109. The first location 108 may be proximate the heel portion of the article of footwear 100, for example, between the outsole of the article of footwear 100 and the skate blade holder 12. The second location 109 may be proximate a midfoot portion of the article of footwear 100, between the strap portion 106 and the skate blade holder 12. In other variations, the first location 108 may be proximate a bottom of the heel portion of the article of footwear 100, for example, on an exterior surface of the skate blade holder 12. In other variations, the second location 109 may be proximate a bottom of the heel portion of the article of footwear 100, for example, on an exterior surface of the skate blade holder 12. The tensile cuff portion 103 may be structured and arranged to primarily flex (e.g., via elastic deformation) in an anterior or forward direction corresponding to a longitudinal axis of the modified article of footwear 100. Elastic deformation of the tensile cuff portion 103 (e.g., by a user's body weight and/or dorsiflexion of the user's foot) may be referred to herein as a “loading phase” and a recovery of the tensile cuff portion 103 from an elastically deformed position to an original position (also referred to herein as a “neutral position”) may be referred to herein as an “unloading phase”. Potential energy may be stored by the tensile cuff portion 103 during the loading phase and the stored potential energy may be released by the tensile cuff portion 103 during the unloading phase.
Advantageously, as shown in
Referring to
Further, as shown in
The compressible structure 117 may be an accordion structure including corrugated, folded, and/or fluted geometry (e.g., including two or more folds or corrugations) configured to reduce stiffness and modulus in a sagittal plane of a wearer of the modified article of footwear 110. The compressible structure 117 may be a portion of the boot or shell portion 111 having a reduced thickness relative to another portion of the boot or shell portion 111, where the compressible structure 117 is configured to reduce stiffness and modulus in a sagittal plane of a wearer of the modified article of footwear 110. Deformation (e.g., elastic deformation) of the compressible structure 117 (e.g., by a user's body weight and/or dorsiflexion of the user's foot) may be referred to herein as a “loading phase” and a recovery of the compressible structure 117 from an elastically deformed position to an original position (also referred to herein as a “neutral position”) may be referred to herein as an “unloading phase”. Potential energy may be stored by the compressible structure 117 during the loading phase and the stored potential energy may be released by the compressible structure 117 during the unloading phase.
Advantageously, the compressible structure 117 of the modified article of footwear 110 facilitates progressive forward flexure and energy storage during a loading phase of a skating stride, where the loading phase of the skating stride includes dorsiflexion of a wearer's foot to a dorsiflexed position and provides an energy return that is based on the energy storage during an unloading phase of the skating stride, where the unloading phase of the skating stride includes or recovery of the wearer's foot to a neutral position from the dorsiflexed position. For example, the compressible structure 117 may be structured and arranged to provide progressive forward flexure (
Referring to
The compressible structure 125 may be coupled (e.g., via adhesive or fastener(s)) to a heel portion of the outer surface of the boot or shell portion 121 of the article of footwear 120 and/or to an inner surface of a unitary, cuff portion 123 and Achilles heel tendon portion 124. Optionally, the compressible structure 125 may be removably attached to the boot or shell portion 121 and/or the cuff portion 123 and Achilles heel tendon portion 124. Advantageously, the compressible structure 125 may be interchangeable (e.g., modular) to provide a desired level of stiffness. Although
The compressible structure 125 may protrude upward or substantially upward, perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the outsole and/or in the same axis as the skater's leg. When connected to the leg via strapping or other material, the compressible structure 125 is adapted to resist dorsiflexion of the leg. Advantageously, the compressible structure 125 has a relative stiffness high enough to support the user's body weight through dorsiflexion, thereby behaving like a spring such that any elastic compression of the compressible structure 125 that occurs generates potential energy, which will be released when pressure is reduced or removed. Deformation (e.g., elastic deformation) of the compressible structure 125 (e.g., by a user's body weight and/or dorsiflexion of the user's foot) may be referred to herein as a “loading phase” and a recovery of the compressible structure 125 from an elastically deformed position to an original position (also referred to herein as a “neutral position”) may be referred to herein as an “unloading phase”. Potential energy may be stored by the compressible structure 125 during the loading phase and the stored potential energy may be released by the compressible structure 125 during the unloading phase. Indeed, in some implementations, the compressible structure 125 may be structured and arranged to provide progressive flexure and energy storage during a loading phase of a skating stride, where the loading phase of the skating stride includes dorsiflexion of a wearer's foot to a dorsiflexed position and provide an energy return that is based on (e.g., positively correlated with) the energy storage during an unloading phase of the skating stride, where the unloading phase of the skating stride includes recovery of the wearer's foot to a neutral position from the dorsiflexed position. For example, the compressible structure 125 may be structured and arranged to provide progressive flexure of the article of footwear 120 in an anterior or forward direction of skating and provide an energy return in a posterior direction substantially opposite to the forward direction of skating. The stiffness of the compressible structure 125 is preferably be configured such that a user's mass is fully supported by the compressible structure 125 at the peak of dorsiflexion. The compressible structure 125 can reach the peak of dorsiflexion without muscular activation by the user as energy expenditure in this range of motion is inefficient with respect to the direction of motion.
Advantageously, the cuff portion 123 and Achilles heel tendon portion 124 remain in position relative to the user's foot throughout the range of motion. More particularly, as shown in
Referring to
Advantageously, the cuff portion 133 and Achilles heel tendon portion 134 are structured and arranged to pivot about an axis of a skater's ankle based on the physical connection points 135. In some variations, the cuff portion 133 and Achilles heel tendon portion 134 may be configured to bend, deflect, and/or flexibly deform relative to an axis of a skater's foot or ankle. Dorsiflexion of a skater's foot may cause localized or distributed deflection (e.g., relative to a skater's foot or ankle) of the cuff portion 133 and Achilles heel tendon portion 134 about an area proximate (e.g., above) the physical connection points 135.
In some applications, based on relative positioning of the eyelets of the cuff portion 133 of the tendon guard cuff and the eyelets of the boot or shell portion 131, a lacing can removably couple the cuff portion 133 of the tendon guard cuff to the boot or shell portion 131 via shared engagement with the lacing by at least one eyelet of the cuff portion 133 and at least one eyelet of the boot or shell portion 131. A lacing can be threaded through each of a first eyelet of the cuff portion 133 and a second eyelet of the boot or shell portion 131, with the first and second eyelets being adjacent to each other. By threading of a lacing through adjacent (e.g., pairs of) eyelets of the cuff portion 133 and boot or shell portion 131, the tendon guard cuff can be removably coupled to the boot or shell portion 131. In the example illustrated in
Advantageously, in some embodiments, a configuration of the tendon guard cuff and coupling of the tendon guard cuff to the boot or shell portion 131 can provide increased flexibility to the article of footwear 130. When connected to the leg via strapping or other material, the cuff portion 133 and/or the Achilles heel tendon portion 134 of the tendon guard cuff can be adapted to resist dorsiflexion of the leg. Advantageously, the cuff portion 133 and/or the Achilles heel tendon portion 134 may be configured to have a relative stiffness high enough to support the user's body weight through dorsiflexion, imparting a bend and behaving like a spring such that any elastic deformation of the cuff portion 133 and/or the Achilles heel tendon portion 134 that occurs generates potential energy, which will be released when pressure is reduced or removed and the cuff portion 133 and/or the Achilles heel tendon portion 134 recover to an original, neutral position and/or shape. Elastic deformation of the cuff portion 133 and/or the Achilles heel tendon portion 134 (e.g., by a user's body weight and/or dorsiflexion of the user's foot) may be referred to herein as a “loading phase” and a recovery of the cuff portion 133 and/or the Achilles heel tendon portion 134 from an elastically deformed position to an original position (also referred to herein as a “neutral position”) may be referred to herein as an “unloading phase”. Potential energy may be stored by the tendon guard cuff during the loading phase and the stored potential energy may be released by the tendon guard cuff during the unloading phase. Indeed, in some implementations, the tendon guard cuff may be structured and arranged to provide progressive flexure and energy storage during a loading phase of a skating stride, where the loading phase of the skating stride includes dorsiflexion of a wearer's foot to a dorsiflexed position and provide an energy return that is based on (e.g., positively correlated with) the energy storage during an unloading phase of the skating stride, where the unloading phase of the skating stride includes recovery of the wearer's foot to a neutral position from the dorsiflexed position. For example, the cuff portion 133 of the tendon guard cuff may be structured and arranged to provide progressive flexure of the article of footwear 130 in an anterior or forward direction of skating and provide an energy return in a posterior direction substantially opposite to the forward direction of skating.
In some embodiments, the stiffness of the tendon guard cuff may preferably be configured such that a user's mass is fully supported by the tendon guard cuff at the peak of dorsiflexion. In an embodiment, the tendon guard cuff may flex 5°-50° (e.g., preferably flex 10°-30°) in an anterior or forward direction of skating relative to a vertical axis (e.g., axis of a skater's leg or axis perpendicular to an outsole of the article of footwear 130). The tendon guard cuff may primarily flex (e.g., deflect) in an anterior or forward direction corresponding to a longitudinal axis of the article of footwear 130. In some variations, the tendon guard cuff may deflect in a medial or lateral direction during flexure (e.g., deflection) of the tendon guard cuff in an anterior or forward direction. A thickness of the tendon guard cuff may be uniform or variable over the length of the tendon guard cuff, thereby providing uniform or variable stiffness of the tendon guard cuff. The tendon guard cuff can reach the peak of dorsiflexion without muscular activation by the user as energy expenditure in this range of motion is inefficient with respect to the direction of motion.
In some embodiments, the modified article of footwear 130 can include one or more slots (not shown) in the boot or shell portion 131 in place of or in addition to the eyelets of the boot or shell portion 131. Based on relative positioning of the eyelets of the cuff portion 133 of the tendon guard cuff and the slots of the boot or shell portion 131, a lacing can removably couple the cuff portion 133 of the tendon guard cuff to the boot or shell portion 131 via shared engagement with the lacing by at least one eyelet of the cuff portion 133 and at least one slot of the boot or shell portion 131. A lacing can be threaded through each of an eyelet of the cuff portion 133 and a slot of the boot or shell portion 131, with the eyelet and slot being adjacent to each other. By threading of a lacing through an adjacent eyelet and slot of the cuff portion 133 and boot or shell portion 131, respectively, the tendon guard cuff can be removably coupled to the boot or shell portion 131.
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
In some embodiments, elastic deformation of the tendon guard cuff, e.g., the cuff portion 133, and energy storage during a loading phase of a skating stride may increase as a tendon guard cuff is increasingly decoupled from a boot or shell portion along a cuff portion of the tendon guard cuff. In some variations, elastic deformation of the tendon guard cuff, e.g., the cuff portion 133, and energy storage during a loading phase of a skating stride may increase as a number of eyelets are removed from the boot or shell portion 11 and a number of adjacent eyelets of the cuff portion and boot or shell portion through which is lacing is threaded is reduced. In the examples illustrated in
Referring to
In some embodiments, the engagement structures 175 may be positioned between the boot or shell portion 171 and the tendon guard cuff. The position(s) of the engagement structures 175 on the boot or shell portion 171 may be selected based on a desired flexibility (e.g., stiffness) the tendon guard cuff. As an example, an engagement structure 175 positioned lower (e.g., toward the sole portion of the modified article of footwear) on a heel portion of the boot or shell portion 171 may increase the stiffness at which the tendon guard cuff flexes during dorsiflexion of the modified article of footwear 170, while an engagement structure 175 positioned higher (e.g., away from the sole portion of the modified article of footwear) on the heel portion of the boot or shell portion 171 may reduce the stiffness at which the tendon guard cuff flexes during dorsiflexion of the modified article of footwear 170. In some variations, engagement (e.g., contact) between the engagement structures 175 and the tendon guard cuff can constrain vertical translation and/or rotation of the tendon guard cuff about the eyelets by which the tendon guard cuff is coupled to the boot or shell portion 171 (if applicable). In the example illustrated in
Referring to
A boot or shell portion or a mating component for a boot or shell portion such as a tendon guard, a toe cap, an ankle cuff, a cuff/tendon guard, and so forth herein may be manufactured by various techniques, including techniques described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/586,090. In particular, in some embodiments, a boot or shell portion of an article of footwear (e.g., hockey skate) can be manufactured by assembling multiple layers of (e.g., relatively flat) two-dimensional fabrics, attaching the fabric layers to one another, and forming the boot or shell portion. Exemplary fibers for use in these fabrics may include: glass fibers, carbon fibers, fiberglass, natural fibers, plastic fibers, metallic fibers, and combinations thereof. By convention, before assembly, each fabric layer may be cut from larger fabric or material pieces or sheets. These sheets may include woven fibers alone (dry) or woven fibers embedded in a resin matrix. The cutting operation may be performed by hand or may involve using dies or a computer numerical control (CNC) process. Complex shapes allow the engineer to tailor performance and achieve a lighter weight boot.
When assembled and attached to one another, the fibers of the fabric layers may be oriented symmetrically relative to one another. For example, a typical weaving loom produces fabric with fibers in the warp (longitudinal) and weft (crossing) directions. The warp fibers typically run perpendicular to the weft fibers. Therefore, a typical fabric increases stiffness in a first axis and a second axis running perpendicular to the first. The weaver may choose to apply more fiber in the weft direction and less fiber in the warp direction (or vice-versa) to tailor stiffness properties. An engineer may also consider one-dimensional fabrics.
During the weaving process, the individual fibers may move back and forth and slide on top of each other. As such, it may be preferred for the surface of the fibers to be smooth and free of tack. Indeed, this is the case with raw fibers and typical co-mingled fibers produced with thermoplastics. When weaving thermoset tow-preg tapes, steps must be taken to reduce or, preferably, remove the tack from the tapes. This may be done, for example, by adjusting the chemistry of the epoxy or substantially reducing the temperature in the weaving area.
Attaching the various fabric layers may involve, for example, one or more of: gluing, laminating, consolidating, and the like. Various compression or wet lay-up processes may be used to form the boot or shell portion. In some variations, the desired, finished shape or product multiple layers may be a boot or shell portion or a mating component for a boot or shell portion such as a tendon guard, a toe cap, an ankle cuff, a cuff/tendon guard, and so forth.
In some embodiments, a boot or shell portion can be manufactured by tailored fiber placement (TFP), which is an embroidery-based, tow-steering process that enables complete control over fiber placement and directionality. Succinctly, TFP enables embroidering and tacking a single, continuous fiber (or “tow”) or, alternatively, tacking any number of fibers of the same or different composition, onto a substrate in a process known as roving. For the purpose of illustration rather than limitation, the term “fibers” used in this description includes non-orthotropic structural material that may be raw fibers as well as co-mingled fibers. Raw fibers may be defined as a single tow comprised of one or more materials, which can include glass fibers, carbon fiber, fiberglass, glass fiber, copper filament, metal filament (e.g., steel filament and the like), aromatic polyamid (aramid), polydioxanone (PDO), polyester, polypropylene (PP), and the like. Typically, when raw fibers are used, a resin (e.g., epoxy) matrix is introduced (e.g., via vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM), infusion, wet lay-up, film lamination, and so forth) to create a composite structure. Co-mingled fibers are composed or two or more fibers made from different materials, one of which is often a thermoplastic fiber (e.g., nylon, polyester, aramid, polyamide 6 (PA6), polyamide 12 (PA12), PEAK, poly(p-phenylene-2,6-benzobisoxazole) (PBO), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), PP, and the like) or thermoset fiber (e.g., epoxy) that, upon heating, produces a resin matrix. Representative examples of co-mingled fibers (e.g., co-mingled thermoplastic fibers) include: carbon fiber/PA6, carbon fiber/PEAK, fiberglass/PA6, aramid/PA12, and so forth. Typically, co-mingled fibers may be heated to melt the thermoplastic material until flowing, which becomes a resin matrix that envelopes the remaining (e.g., solid) material(s) of the co-mingled fibers. An advantage to the use of co-mingled fibers is integration of the resin matrix directly into the fibers. By integrating the resin matrix directly into the co-mingled fibers, it is no longer necessary to introduce the resin matrix in a secondary step (e.g., VARTM, infusion, wet lay-up, film lamination, and so forth). A second advantage to the use of co-mingled fibers is the even distribution of the resin matrix relative to the fibers in a preform including the fibers. For example, when the co-mingled fibers are heated to melt the thermoplastic material until flowing, the thermoplastic material can evenly distribute across the remaining material(s) of the co-mingled fibers. Such use of co-mingled fibers reduces the likelihood of generating a finished shape or product with an uneven fiber volume fraction across the structure.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, TFP may be used, such that a pattern or preform of a part resembling a desired, finished shape or product (e.g., a skate boot shell, a mating component therefor, and the like) may be embroidered onto a substrate. The desired, finished shape or product described herein may be a boot or shell portion, an outsole for a skate boot, and/or a composite boot or shell portion and outsole. Each of the boot or shell portion, the outsole, and/or the composite boot or shell portion and outsole may be formed from one or more two-dimensional preforms that are formed into three-dimensional preforms and placed into and/or onto a mold. In some variations, the desired, finished shape or product of the preforms may be a boot or shell portion or a mating component for a boot or shell portion such as a tendon guard, a toe cap, an ankle cuff, a cuff/tendon guard, and so forth.
Embodiments of an article of footwear (e.g., hockey skate) may include one or more features and/or characteristics of any of the articles of footwear described herein. As an example, embodiments of an article of footwear may include one or more features and/or characteristics of any of the boot or shell portions and/or cuff/tendon guards described herein. The terms and expressions employed herein are used as terms and expressions of description and not of limitation and there is no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof. In addition, having described certain embodiments of the invention, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that other embodiments incorporating the concepts disclosed herein may be used without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The structural features and functions of the various embodiments may be arranged in various combinations and permutations, and all are considered to be within the scope of the disclosed embodiments of the invention. Unless otherwise necessitated, recited steps in the various methods may be performed in any order and certain steps may be performed substantially simultaneously. Accordingly, the described embodiments are to be considered in all respects as only illustrative and not restrictive. Furthermore, the configurations described herein are intended as illustrative and in no way limiting. Similarly, although physical explanations have been provided for explanatory purposes, there is no intent to be bound by any particular theory or mechanism, or to limit the claims in accordance therewith.
This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/516,731, entitled “ARTICLE OF FOOTWEAR FOR SKATING ON ICE,” filed on Jul. 31, 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63516731 | Jul 2023 | US |
